we’ve been doing happy dances in our backyard because it’s summer time! (where Rilyn learned this…I don’t want to know!)
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| Ella may look innocent in this picture but she is really
peeing on the grass. (Hey, don’t judge me until you have 3 kids with wet bathing suits on and one needs to go potty but you have a baby in the pool!) |
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| From June 2009 |
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| From June 2009 |
Saturday night was Ella’s first dance recital. She had a great time and never was scared to go on stage and perform (or some would call it, ‘stand there and look cute’) Was there any real ballet moves being done? No, not really. But it’s all about the experience (at least that is what we tell ourselves and we pay $50 for each girls costume! Yikes!!)
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| From June 2009 |
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| From June 2009 |
Rilyn had her 5th birthday party on Saturday and we invited Cinderella to be our hostess! She was lovely and the big surprise was Prince Charming popped in to present Rilyn with a diamond necklace! (Really Prince Charming was Rilyn’s aunt’s boyfriend who is such a sweet heart for renting a costume! And it was totally his idea!) Rilyn was very shocked and started blushing! Her party was so much fun because I didn’t have to host it! (I highly recommend this route in party planning!)
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| I always wonder why you want to ‘hit’ your favorite character. You would think the pinata should be the uglystepsisters or something. |
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| So this is how Rilyn’s face was the whole time Cinderella told the story about how she got to the ball. It was so cute! |
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| Let me tell you, she wanted very badly to answer every question that Cinderella asked!! And she got every answer right too! “Who knows the names of my stepsisters? What is their cat’s name?”… |
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| Prince Charming, Rilyn, and Cinderella |
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| Rilyn wanted a Barbie Cinderella cake. I like how Cinderella will even hold your child’s hair so it doesn’t catch on fire! |
Rilyn is in her 3rd dance recital dancing to ‘Broadway Baby!’
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| From June 2009 |
This is Ella’s 1st dance recital and she is dancing to ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’!
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| From June 2009 |
The actual recital is tonight so wish them luck! (Although no matter what they do at this age, it’s adorable!)
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| From June 2009 |
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| From June 2009 |
I thought I would share a great idea that I got from Focus on the Family. We’ve been doing it for a year now on and off and just recently we have made if officially part of our Monday night bedtime routine with the girls. They love it! In order to teach them a great ‘recipe’ on how to pray, we use the ACTS model. We put all the following items in a shoe box.
A- Adoration: Praise God for who He is.
-play money or coins: God is our Provider (1 Tim. 6:17)
-Band Aids: God is our healer (Psalm 103:3)
-wrapped Lifesaver candy: He saves us (Matthew 1:21)
C- Confession: Repent of sin.
-Mr. Potato Head tongue: teasing, arguing, lying (James 1:26)
-wooden spoon: stirring up trouble (Proverbs 10:12)
-compact mirror: being selfish and having bad attitudes (Psalm 139:23-24)
T- Thanksgiving: Express gratitude.
-a popsicle stick cross: for Jesus and salvation
-a pocket Bible: for God’s Word
-a small photo album: for friends and family
S- Supplication: make requests for others and myself.
-toy car: for safety in travel
-little flashlight: for God’s light to show the way
-a watch: for spending time with family, friends, and Jesus.
On Monday nights, we take out our prayer box and we go through each item and talk about what they mean and then say a prayer after each ‘letter.’
God made me a mommy by blessing me with Rilyn FIVE years ago today. She is such a sweet little girl who simply desires to please others through obedience and kind acts.
She is artistic. One of the best gifts I could give her today would be a ream of printer paper! She sits for hours at our kitchen table creating art for her family and friends.
She is a girly girl! I asked her a couple of questions yesterday and her answers, I think, sum up her ‘girlyness’.
Mommy: What do you first think about when you wake up?
Rilyn: Princesses.
Mommy: If you had a million dollars, what would you buy?
Rilyn: a wedding dress (James, do we have a savings account started already for the girls’ weddings?!?)
Mommy: If I was a genie and granted you three wishes, what would they be?
Rilyn: First wish would be to be a beautiful princess. Second wish would be to be a beautiful queen. Third wish would be that all my friends would be my sisters.
Rilyn is a lover, not a fighter.
Mommy: What are you most scared of?
Rilyn: Ella hitting me.
I was interested in finding out Rilyn’s vision for her future in her wise old age of five.
She told me very matter of factly that:
When she is 10 she will be at Disneyland.
When she is 15 she will be graduating high school. (Sorry to burst your bubble, sweetie, but that’s not going to happen.)
When she is 20 she will NOT be taking naps anymore.
When she is 25 she is going to be married, a teacher, and a mommy with four kids (wow! A true mommy’s girl-minus one child)!
When she is 30 she will be cooking. (I hope she will be doing more than that at 30!) 😉
And when she is 35 she will be sitting in a wheel chair. (I told Rilyn that 35 was older than I am and I guess she thought that naturally old people sit in wheel chairs!) 😉
Asher is walking! Well, technically, he is walking from one piece of furniture to the next, but I know he’ll be walking around everywhere in a matter of days. Both Rilyn and Ella walked at 13 1/2 months so all my kiddos are par for the course. Here’s to a new stage in my life!
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| From May 2009 |
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| From May 2009 |
My Oma (grandma in German) plays soccer.
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| Rilyn-17 months old |
My Oma carries canoes on her head.
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| From November 2008 |
My Oma has Battlefield (pc game) birthday parties.
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| From May 2009 |
Does yours?
James’ mom is super fun and our kids are blessed to have her!
Ella had splash day on Tuesday at her preschool and, well, I’ll let the pictures do the talking…
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| warming up and getting in ‘the zone’ for the big water slide |
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| Whoa! This is steeper than it looks!! |
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| (Anna, and a boy who obviously likes her, Jake, and Ella) Hike up that bottom girl! |
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| Again, this boy must really dig Anna! Ella is leaping for joy?!? |
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| From May 2009 |
the paquettes 