I love your top side. I love your bottom side.

I love your inside and outside.

I love your happy side, your sad side, your silly side, your mad side.

I love your fingers and toes, your ears and nose.

I love your hair and eyes, your giggles and cries.

I love you running and walking, silent and talking.

I love you through and through…

yesterday, today, and tomorrow, too.

I Love You Through and Through by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak

Sometimes you go all out for your party and sometimes the 13 year old boys end up toasting sparking cider in girl print sippy cups because no one gave any thought to which glasses were available to use. It was the kind of night that nobody cared.

The kind of night where the friends were so close that you didn’t need to clean the house for their arrival. No agenda. Just being together. Chillin’, snacking on Christmas abundance leftovers, watching Dick Clark Ryan Seacrest, and trying to figure out what it would take to get to Time Square one year in person.

It was indeed quite perfect. We have two sketchy phone pictures and full hearts to show for it.

We slipped into bed just before 1 am.

New Years Day 2012.

It seems like just yesterday we were preparing and anticipating Y2k.

We got up today around 9.

It’s been a LAZY day around here.

Although I am somewhat whiny about the lack of rain that we are having, you just can’t beat this weather.

We got outside this afternoon and it was almost warm.

My head and heart are on warp speed today. I love new beginnings. The possibilities leave me almost breathless.

While the to do lists are plotting a somewhat hostile takeover of my brain, today I am opting to be still.

Focusing on what is here right in front of me.

…because while the future is pretty exciting, right now is pretty great too.

And I. am. thankful.

We used to be awakened by loudness. I am not a morning person. I am a Christmas person…to the nth degree B U T…apparently this does not over shadow my lack of ability to get yanked away from dreamland as I am being jumped on and become instantly joyful. SO, this one day in the year 2006, I uttered some of the wisest words that have ever left these lips.

“When you wake up in the morning the only option for waking us up early is to come in and stand at the foot of our bed and sing Jingle Bells…in HUSHED TONES.”

Now keep in mind, I have a tree full of presents waiting to be opened and I can pretty much get my children to instantly agree to do ANYTHING I wish at this point. I am pretty sure if I said they had to scrub their toilet before opening presents, they would do so, agreeably.

However, I am not that mean and this little tradition of song, has become one of the highlights of the year. Truly. It is the simplest things in life, most of the time.

The first couple of years, my husband and I would actually be awakened by giggles and whispers as they plot their entrance and grand presentation while just steps outside of our door. We would fake sleep and listen to the pre show with smiles on our “sleeping” faces. It was priceless. Soon, they were on to us and now their goal is to truly wake us up with song. This year they definitely achieved it.

We wake up to the sweetest, softest voices. They are filled with excitement ~ and anticipation ~ and joy. Listening to children try and bottle up the joy of Christmas morning into a whispered version of Jingle Bells is amazing. It is beautiful. Each year I lay there and pretend to be asleep a little longer so that I can bask in the delight for a chorus or two.

After this we ask the kids to go sit on the stairs and wait for us for just a few minutes.

2006 (Emma was just 3 and still asleep)

They huddle and giggle and talk about what they might see. For in our house, upon reaching the bottom of the stairs and turning the corner, they will find their “big gift”. It is in plain sight with no wrapping.

2007

It is not necessarily big in size or price, but big on a child’s Christmas wish list. It usually creates screams, falling on the floor, and jumping for joy. Sometimes a delightful happy dance will spontaneously erupt. It is all so magnificent.

2008

…But those moments of waiting on the stairs, are some of my most treasured memories. The anticipation is at its absolute height of the season. All of the planning, preparing, decorating, and waiting is at the peak of its crescendo and for those few moments everyone in our house is on the same page.

2009

I love it. I LOVE IT. I L O V E I T. I dangerously push the line of inflicting childhood torture as I stall as long as humanly possible.

2010

We take our positions. My husband takes video and I take still. We wait for a moment and yell G O. A year of waiting, gives way to laughter and screams and imprinting more memories, that will hopefully last a lifetime.

2011

Hope your Christmas days are Merry and Bright.

First ~balloons. Did you know that Walmart sells polka dot balloons for just $1.50? Also, Party city sells their balloons~ by the balloon~ for just .$.19. Blow ‘em up yourself and hang upside down and there is no need for expensive helium. Plus, you can choose which ever colors you actually want instead of buying a million of one color or those bags of assorted. It’s like a balloon buffet, really.

 Pinterest led me to some free monster inspiration from this genius woman. She shared her darling monster coloring sheet. I was able to copy it onto a transparency and armed with a sharpie, an overhead projector and some white paper from Lakeshore Learning (all of which I had on hand), I was able to bust out the monster banner for free.

I also made copies of the original sheet and included a couple of crayons with it in the goodie bag. Monster flyers and sparkly bouncy balls were purchased at the Michaels 70% off toy sale and joined them in a clear cellophane bag, which was given to all the munchkins who helped us celebrate.

Back to the dessert table…I made Greyson his very own monster cake to smoosh and eat. First attempt at cake pops. Those little suckers are not as easy to make as they seem.

I served monster marshmallows ~made with marshmallows, coconut and Wilton chocolate.

There were Monster cupcakes for the guests and

A jar of lollipops that I collected from Staples…completely free!

($3.00 off any purchase coupon and the lollipops were .50 each)

The birthday cake dip from Pinterest quickly upstaged the entire table. It has three ingredients. THREE. It took approximately 46 seconds to make.

Try it. Don’t delay.

* Tip~ always make a DOUBLE BATCH!

Some chocolate covered pretzels, caramel corn mix and pixie sticks were all purchased from Target at the 90% off of Halloween sale.

The 50 napkins,  50 plates, and tablecloth were all purchased from Walmart for just $9. Amazing price difference from the pricey party stores.

I purchased the case of short water bottles for just a few dollars at Costco and wrapped them in aqua duct tape.

Then I purchased a couple of  packs of googley eyes from the Dollar Tree to put on the oranges and the water bottles.

My girls and I created a monster banner from construction paper that I had on hand. Again FREE and they loved helping.

We played Pin the Eyeball on the monster. It was made with left over white paper, scrapbook paper, and duct tape from the water bottles.

The highlight of the party was watching a one year old who was given an entire cake to destroy  eat, at will.

My little guy was quite polite and didn’t get too messy.

This little guy was showered with gifts.

I can not believe a whole year has passed since I met him. It hardly seems possible.

Sometimes words just are not enough. They do not do justice in this case. Not. what. so. ever.

Your family loves you Greyson Michael, SO MUCH.

Happy First Birthday ~my sweet sweet little Boy.

Two years ago, I started homeschooling. Kicking and screaming. It was not MY plan. My education plan was Christian school…the end. I didn’t really look at any other options.

LIFE took a VERY different turn. God showed up and gave me something better, as HE always does.

Homeschool.

It’s harder.

It’s rewarding.

It’s messy.

We are still learning.

It’s what HE’s called us to.

It’s not for everyone.

It is for us.

It’s not superior. It’s just different.

I used to be embarrassed of it ~The heads slightly angled to the side. The questions. The comments. DRAINING.

Now I feel like I have a wonderful secret. I’m following where God wants me to be and there is no shame in that.

I get asked all the time, “How long will you continue?” I don’t know. I am already three years behind what I said I would do. I’m learning to shut my mouth to His plans. It’s better that way.

I feel like I am ALWAYS reading people who write these beautiful thoughts of WHY THEY HOMESCHOOL…

I found out last Tuesday, that mine were already written.

“…Because homeschooling is this magnificent crucible, to reveal impurities and sinfulness and brokenness. It keeps us on our knees. Homeschooling often hurts and disappoints. You cry and wonder if you are insane to try to educate these children, to disciple these little hearts, while laundering, cooking, cleaning, managing a household, and still being a wife, a sister, a daughter, a missionary in your community, a servant to Christ and in your faith community. And He smiles and say that He walks with you, has grand and glorious purposes, and He understands radical and crazy!

Homeschooling is about going higher up and deeper in, for you learn to sacrificially love in ways you have never loved before. You come to know your own heart in ways you never imagined, the souls of your children in intimate, very real ways.

For you will be together, making memories together, laughing together, crying together, praying together, and asking forgiveness together. Throughout your day, you worship God, together. And you learn to die-to-self together. It’s about doing hard things… together. And there will be nofragmented scraps of learning, home-life, friends, work, God.

We keep homeschooling to weave a one-piece life – hallowed threads of parenting, love, pain, education, growing, stumbling, creativity, forgiveness, wonder, sacrifice, and God all woven together.

We wear it, and it fits –”

~Ann Voskamp    www.aholyexperience.com   

….and so we continue…..until HE says otherwise. May I never forget to ask.

In the first four weeks, we have a review of phonics and then the spelling lists begin. I’ve been waiting to see how she will do. She has spelled three letter words out in various ways with magnets and things, but SPELLING just seems so grown up.

In the pursuit of practice~ I pulled out some letter flashcards. I made four piles. First was 5 letters like C, B, M, F, S. The second pile only had A. The third pile had T, S, N, D, and I threw in a V just to keep her on her toes. The instructions were to pull a letter from each of the three piles and make a word. The fourth pile was all the extra letters and it was set off to the side.

I stepped out of the room to switch a load of laundry and when I came back in, I was expecting to find  C A T ,                    M A T…you know those types of things.

I N S T E A D, this was the result…

True Story.

I love this girl.

Carefree.

Hesitant.

Innocent.

I am blessed beyond measure.

pictures by Ryan Black.

A person’s a person, no matter how small…..

~   Dr. Seuss

picture by Ryan Black.

]]> http://justanightowl.com/2011/01/28/my-favorite-people/feed/ 0 http://justanightowl.com/2011/01/22/little-man/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=little-man http://justanightowl.com/2011/01/22/little-man/#comments Sat, 22 Jan 2011 21:50:05 +0000 just a night owl http://justanightowl.com/?p=1895 Dragon tales and the water is wide
Pirate’s sail and lost boys fly
Fish bite moonbeams every night
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

The rocket racer’s all tuckered out
Superman’s in pajamas on the couch
Goodnight moon, will find the mouse
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

God bless mommy and match box cars
God bless dad and thanks for the stars
God hears “Amen,” wherever we are
And I love you

Godspeed, little man
Sweet dreams, little man
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Godspeed
Godspeed
Sweet dreams

Adorable lyrics by the Dixie Chicks

Precious Pics by Ryan Black

or you just very well

might miss out

on some of life’s

most precious

and amazing moments. For

life that is lived

with reckless abandon

brings joy

beyond measure

and memories

worth keeping.