Favorite Easter Video...two years in a row...

We first discovered this video last Easter.  It is still a favorite...Enjoy!

I prefer the video to this version of the Easter season:

Happy Easter!!!

Love...Build a Bear Style...

Grace and I had the opportunity to sneak away to the mall while the "big" kids were at school.  I am starting to freak out a little when I realize that I only have a couple more months of one-on-one time with Grace left...full day kindergarten starts in the fall, and with the other kids home for the summer, our days together will be gone in a flash.  We decided to use a (long forgotten about) gift card for Build A Bear that Grace received as a Christmas gift.  It was a fun surprise since she had no idea that she possessed such a treasure.

So, off we went to the mall to have some "fun."  I mentally psyched myself up for the outing.  I promised myself I would let her choose whichever bear (or animal) she wanted.  I was even planning to let her pick out the clothes she wanted for her new friend.  It is SO incredibly hard for me to let go of the control - after all, I know how to MATCH the outfits and I know which animals are really going to get played with (really? you think the hamster is a cute little friend for you Grace?  Ugh).

It turns out that we could BOTH be satisfied with the choices.  After all, it is REALLY easy to "help" a child choose when you ask a few questions...for example..."Grace, I will hold up the three animals you are choosing between...Do you want the (weird looking) hamster (flashed at her quickly), the (weird looking) dog (shown to her for a quick second), OR the (super cute) cuddly, soft, white bear (presented last with more emphasis)?"  The choice was easy FOR GRACE, the white bear it was!

In case you haven't been to a (ridiculously appealing) Build A Bear store for awhile, they now have the coolest little hearts that can be put into your bear when you are "making" them. 

Grace choose one of these new hearts for her bear.

The heart BEATS.  It is a little freaky.  When you hug your bear, the heart starts BEATING!  It feels pretty realistic too.  

 Grace made a wish before sticking in the heart...I wonder what she wished for (probably for her mom to stop trying to interfere with the building  process).

 After giving her bear a bath, we  she choose some cute clothes for the bear.  She named her new friend "Sparkle" - now she calls her "Glitter."  The bear was lucky enough to come home in an adorable pink, white and lavender dress that did, in fact, have a lot of "sparkle" to it.  And to top things off, when the pushy  nice saleslady asked if Grace needed shoes for the bear, Grace said no.  Instead, Grace asked for ORANGE hair bows for the bear.  Ugh.  Let it go mom...who cares if the bear has on orange bows, right?  Luckily the sales lady must have seen my eyes roll around my head a bit, and she threw the matching pink bows in the box too.

 Before heading home, Grace wanted to be a model at Old Navy.   She looks a lot like the girl on the left, doesn't she?

 Grace and her new friend "Sparkle Glitter."  

Oh yeah, Grace lost another tooth.  I told her she must stop wiggling them now.  I am so sad that her perfect little teeth are changing.  She has been warned that the Tooth Fairy won't come again if she takes out any teeth before they are ready to fall out on their own...Hoping we still have a long time before the crazy days of missing top teeth!!!!

Grace's Tutu Birthday Party

In an effort to blog about our daily life (and to replace my long gone scrap booking days), it is important that I document Grace's 5th birthday party!  I am very late in posting about what was a really fun day.

Before I start, I must give full credit to my fellow blogger, Missy.  She inspired me to skip the (very expensive) party that I had scheduled at a local kid party place (kind of a cute, kid hair salon/spa place)..after all, the salon was not going to be able to do a fancy "up do" with the birthday girl's hair anyway!

So, thanks to Missy's wonderful Tutu Party idea, we were all set to celebrate Grace's big day.

I started by ordering the same invites Missy did (sure hope she feels honored and not annoyed by my lack of originality).  I bought them on Etsy.  The seller was super quick which was handy since I changed my party plan a mere week and a half before Grace's birthday.  You can visit her site HERE.

Everyone loved Grace's invite.  They were totally convinced that the ballerina's silhouette was actually Grace!

This was a super easy party for us to host because ballet costumes are something we have A LOT of! We used many of Alyssa's old costumes as decorations.  We are also very familiar with tulle, tutus and all things related to dance!

 The cute blue tutu is Grace's costume for her upcoming recital.  

 I found a super cool craft idea on Pinterest.  The girls painted their hand prints onto a canvas (that I had already glued a tutu leotard top to).  After the paint dried, the girls used stick on pearls and ribbon to finish off their adorable piece of art. 

The plush roses were found in the dollar area at Target.  I used them as a decoration, and each girl took a rose home at the end of the party.

 Another easy Pinterest idea was to use plastic pink tablecloths to decorate the ceiling.  

Super easy and very cute!

 The girls made a tutu of their own to wear at the party.  I had most to the tutu made ahead of time, so all we had to do was have each girl tie on a few pieces of tulle to complete her tutu.  This would have been very time consuming with the little ones doing it themselves.

Decorating for a tutu party is so easy.  Just look for anything pink and frilly.  I tied tulle on everything.  We made pink lemonade and even found chocolate/yogurt covered pretzels that were pink! 

I found little tulle circles (already cut) that I filled with candy and tied with pink ribbon.  They were passed around during a game similar to hot potato.  Ballet music was played, and when the music stopped, whoever was holding the candy was the winner (of course they all won an equal amount of times).

 Tutu cupcakes (thanks again Missy).  Just pink cupcakes with pink frosting and cotton candy on top!  ***The cotton candy must be put on at the last minute...it tends to shrink quickly.

 Sweet ballerinas!

 Such a happy birthday girl.

 As a special treat, a certain "prima ballerina" showed up to give the girls a few pointers.

Happy Birthday Sweet Grace!  

You are an amazing little dancer and an amazing little girl!!!!

Need Some Inspiration?

I can't wait to read Stephanie's book.  It will be available on April 3rd.

You can follow her blog HERE.

She is truly an inspiration!

Tooth Fairy Visit...

 I can't believe it!  My LITTLE girl lost a tooth!  Ugh!  I hate that...I love Grace's sweet smile and don't want it to change.  The missing tooth also symbolizes something to me...she's growing up.  

I was in Atlanta (Created for Care retreat) when the tooth came out.  It is probably best that I wasn't home. I would have told her NOT to take it out and it would still be hanging in her mouth by a thread.

Grace was excited.  She looks pretty adorable.  But, it's still a little sad for me.

 The Tooth Fairy came.  Grace told me all about it when I returned from my trip.  She was excited to find "lots of coins" under her pillow.  She was also VERY excited about all of the "fairy dust" that was on her pillow and bed (and face!).  Fairy dust is pretty neat...it looks very similar to the ultra fine iridescent glitter that the sell at Hobby Lobby.  My kids have always been lucky enough to find fairy dust after the Tooth Fairy visits.  It is pretty cool.

(Super cute Africa shirt is from Naartjie...every time they have clothes with Africa on them, I scoop them up for Grace.  I wonder if she'll ever get sick of wearing them???)

Well, I better get used to Grace's new smile.  It might be changing again soon...her other bottom tooth is super loose.  Ugh.

$4 for Four

Take a look at this adorable family...this is my friend Kim and her beautiful family.  

I am so very impressed with Kim's ability to step out of her comfort zone and adopt from Ethiopia.  Kim has NOT been on a typical adoption journey...the road has been filled with challenges and disappointment.

She began her adoption journey on a mission trip to Ethiopia last summer.  Since returning home from Ethiopia, she has been following God's lead and has been on an incredible ride.  

 Little did she know that her family would DOUBLE after her amazing experience in Ethiopia.

 You see, after meeting the beautiful children she served while on her mission trip, her heart for the orphans of the world was magnified in ways she could never dream of.  She and her husband have decided to pursue adoption and were matched with this beautiful baby girl.

 Funny thing...God was not done transforming this adorable family yet...

Soon after accepting the referral for their baby girl, Kim and her husband accepted the referral of THREE more kids!!!!  They said "YES!" to a sibling set of three!  

I have met a lot of adoptive families, but I have met very few who have stepped out in faith in such a huge manner.  FOUR NEW KIDS AT ONE TIME!

Now it is time to bless this family with a little support.  If everyone just gave a little, it would make a HUGE difference to them.  You see, Kim will be flying to Ethiopia NEXT MONTH to meet her FOUR new kiddos.  She has less than a month to raise A LOT of money.  She is doing a really cool give away on her blog, you please check it out!!!!!

JUST $4 to help bring FOUR orphans home to their forever family.  We can do this!!!!!  Let's bless this sweet family with a little financial help!

Please consider heading over HERE to make a $4 donation.

You just might win a fabulous prize in the process!!!!

St. Patrick's Day Ideas...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  OK...I realize I am a day early (which never happens around here), but I wanted to post a few really cute St. Pat's ideas that I found on Pinterest.

Today Grace got this super cute leprechaun hat at school. What? You can't see it?  Well, it is barely visible     on top of her sweet little fro.

Here are a few ideas to make tomorrow extra fun...

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I just know my little Bryce (who is a lego builder extraordinaire) will love this idea.  He loves to make leprechaun traps.

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Since it is the day before St. Patrick's Day and we still haven't made this little trap, I am not sure it is going to happen.  I still thought I should share it with you because it is just so darn cute!

The blogger who crafted this beauty also taught me a few things about leprechauns...did you know that:

•     You can find a Leprechaun if you hear the sound of a hammer.
•     If you take your eyes off a captured Leprechaun, they vanish.
•     If captured, a Leprechaun has to lead you to his treasure, he cannot lie.
•     If a Leprechaun looses his gold, he also looses his magic and becomes more and more human.
•     Leprechauns spend their time making shoes.
•     A Leprechaun is and Irish Fairy
•     Leprechauns live in the hallows of trees.
•     Leprechauns carry a hammer in their belts.
•     Leprechauns keep their gold at the end of a rainbow.

Hope you enjoy these ideas.  Just click on "source" to learn more about each project.  I can not take any credit for these amazing ideas...I just choose to share the work of those who are way craftier than me! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!