This dude. My life shifted course five years ago when I first held this bundle of passion, laughter, and amazement in my arms. When I look through my “monthly” collage for Dylan I can’t help but realize how fast those years have gone by – I vividly remember so many of those moments like yesterday and when I see how little he was and...
My heart swells with gratefulness for the gathering of Whitney’s all-star friends and family at her sixth year parade. We know that friendships for six-year-olds are pretty simple (hey – you like Ariel, so do I? My favorite color is blue, too!) and are grateful that Whitney’s school community has made a very accepting environment for her to have so many connections to her...
Leslie turned one today! From discovery and anticipation, through birth, and now this first trip around the sun this little sprout has been such a blessing. She’s almost walking (just a few steps here and there), says mama and dada and signs more. She loves chasing her siblings and laughing at them, giving kisses, flipping through book pages, everything active, pen and paper, eating...
Dylan’s obsession with collecting “treasure” made it easy to do a birthday party theme for him this year….a gold treasure party. For the first time, we decided to have a small collection of kids WITHOUT their parents! Of course, I stacked my party team with grandparents, aunties and uncle to help out, but all in all I’m a fan of the party focusing on...
Considering that my citrus trees are wafting out brand new fragrant blooms getting ready for next season’s fruit, it’s about time to share details of a super fun citrus-themed gathering a while back with the other ladies of our neighborhood court. I have two mature navel orange trees (that still hold fruit year round, mind you, I just can’t eat enough!) a mature happy...
We’ve started a tradition of gathering some close friends and family every 5 years to reflect on our marriage, renew our vows, and be encouraged by those in our life now to keep choosing to love and honor each other. As a bonus, we’ve had a number of our guests comment that the time was really encouraging for them as well – making them...
Earlier this year the New York Times published a compelling article about the importance of knowing and retelling the positive parts of your family’s story. Familiarity with both the beautiful moments and those when the family overcame challenges contribute to a person’s strong sense of connectedness. Each person has a place in the family, and there is strength in knowing you are a part...
Whitney’s Alphabet Party was my first Pinterest-inspired party…I scoured people’s boards to come up with ideas for all sorts of things….a fraction of which came to fruition or worked out as initially intended. All in all the party was great fun and I enjoyed all the projects that made the theme come alive. And I learned a bit in the process. For instance, make...
Whitney’s almost three! While the official day is not until Friday (8/9) she had a party and her annual parade with friends and family today. It was an Alphabet Themed Party. We played a simple game kind of like musical chairs but with letters and lollipops for prizes for landing on the letters I called out. The day we brought Whitney home from the...
Today I rocked it. Whitney’s birthday is coming up and I actually did something to prep for the party more than a week in advance! We’re having an ABC themed party (Alphabet, people. My Pinterest research taught me that apparently there is another type of ABC party out there…you college and otherwise eccentric folk can rest assured knowing the dress code is indeed family...
There really is nothing like a dance party to de-stress. Especially when it’s toddlers. Especially during the after-dinner mania. The past week has been a rough one. Very needy kids, tired mama, and hearts carrying heavy stuff going on with close family and friends. Thank God for the levity amidst the mess. Next time I think I’ll DJ. And then join in and show...