Kind words...kind of

I was recently tipped off to this great blog-site. Every week there is a new Bible verse for your little one to learn.

For the last 2 weeks, we have printed it out and put it on the fridge. At every opportunity, I say the verse to Garrett, and try to apply it in a lot of situations throughout the day--good and bad.

Last week's verse was: "Kind words are like honey, they cheer you up and make you feel strong." Proverbs 16:24.

We really focused on the "kind words are like honey" part, and after a day or so, Garrett could repeat the verse.

That was last week. This week we've moved on to Phil. 4:13--much harder, I'll say. But this morning, after Garrett had to stand in time-out, he came to me and this is how the conversation went:

Garrett: "Mommy, I'm sorry for yelling at you."

Me: "That's okay. I forgive you."

Garrett: "I just didn't want to use kind words like honey."

So, not only did he remember last week's verse, he applied it to his life!

(I did have to suppress some snickering, though!)

Happy Father's Day, from Garrett and Charlotte!

These are some of the things I think Garrett and Charlotte would like to say this Father's day:

-Thank you for working hard so Mommy can stay home with us.

-Thank you for teaching us all the things we should learn from a Daddy, like baseball and golf; also how to love our Mommy.

-We love it when you take us to the park, and on hikes, and the pool.

-I love it when you call me "Mr." (Garrett)

-I love it when you call me "Beautiful" (Charlotte)

-I hope I marry someone just like you. (Charlotte)

-We love it when you wrestle with us.

-We love your tickle fights.

-I can't wait 'til we can play golf together. (Garrett)

-Thank you for all your hugs and kisses.

-Thank you for loving Jesus, and teaching us to love Him too.

-Thank you for teaching us about hard work.

-Happy Father's Day, Daddy! We love you!

Attention: All You Gardeners Out There

I could never be mistaken for a Green Thumb.

I can't even keep a cactus alive.

Last year, my mom says to me: "Here, grow this. Nobody could kill this vine." And, you know what, I DID kill it, although I think it was more to prove to her that I COULD kill it. You know what I mean?

Anyway, here is my newest project:

My Herb Garden

I picked up this little beauty at the Farmer's Market in Columbia a few weeks ago--and look how its thriving!

I even water it everyday (well, except the days I don't).

I have even used some of the herbs from it to cook with!

Here we have Dill. I used it with some fresh squeezed lemon juice on our grilled tilapia last week (yes, not only do I grow my own herbs, I also eat fish now--its a whole new me)

Here is a bit of a mystery to me. I want to say its cilantro, but part of me thinks it also might be parsley. Any thoughts?

This is Chives (or is it "These are Chives"?) which I'm told you should use in mashed potatoes or baked potatoes, but which I always tell the waiter to hold.

This is Rosemary, which I single-handedly started from a clipping! I placed it in water until it rooted, then planted in here in the Herb Garden Extraordinaire ! (Also good in potatoes and pork loin)

This one, again, not sure of. My latest guess is Savory, which I don't even know what its for. Maybe good on chicken? Its definitely not rosemary, but looks something like it.

This one, I decided today, must be Oregano. Yummy in all kinds of Italian foods. By the way, how 'bout that bokeh?! (That was totally an accident!)

As is this one: Basil. I am in love with the Pollo Rosa Maria from Carrabba's (mushrooms withheld), which has an amazing basil lemon butter sauce on it. I'm gonna make my own sad attempt at that one any day.

This is Red Basil. Apparently it is very mild and shouldn't be used with other stronger herbs, like oregano. One suggestion I found was used in icecream. Huh?

This is the mystery of the day. Any idea what this is? If you can tell me, I promise to cook you a meal using this herb as a feature. I've Googled everything I can think of, and can't find it. It has a mint-y fragrance, but doesn't look like anything I can find from the mint family. The leaves are very tiny and numerous. Talk about bokeh! Aren't you impressed?

Somebody please help me out with these! I want to use them, but feel I should know what they are before I start throwing them all in a pot! Anyone wanting starts? Let me know!

Water Fun!

Garrett and Charlotte have always loved bathtime, so this activity was a hit from the word "Go!" It started out with just Garrett playing water and Charlotte playing with dry toys while having snack and water to drink, but she quickly got into the action with one of these:

So, inspire me...what kinds of creative things have you done with your kiddos lately?

My creative juices are flowing

Thanks to some recent inspiration, and a Dora movie we got from RedBox, we set sail for our own Pirate Treasure Hunt!

I found a great treasure map and adapted it things around our house. I rolled it up and put it in an empty water bottle. Hobby Lobby has all their unfinished wood on sale 40% off this week, so we got a great treasure chest for a little over $2 a little bottle of brown paint for $.99! They also had Pirate Gold Coins for $2.99!

Garrett had a blast!

This is our Pirate Ship, complete with Pirate flag and Spy Glass!

Garrett was waving that flag like he knew exactly what he was doing! Charlotte wasn't really happy here!

Here he is going through the "Dragon Cave" which was heavily guarded by several of his dinosaurs!

Now he is going around Skull Island, only after finding the Mermaids on the Rocks, which happened to be some baby dolls from Charlotte's room!
There were dolphins Sticky-tacked to the wall leading to the tall mountain with the treasure chest. (No, S.Y., my bed is not made!)

Here is the Treasure, which also had an ample supply of M&Ms with it!

This was so much fun! Garrett kept saying, "Let's do it again!" We did about 8 times until my knees could no longer take crawling through the Dragon Cave--oh, yes, I went along!

What do you think?

Sanity Saver? or Creativity Stifler?

Under Construction

I'm currently working on the header for my new blog design...be patient, people!

Vacation Photoshopped

First of all, let me just say a few things:

One: I'm not totally impressed with the resolution and color I'm getting on these photos here in Blogger. They look much better elsewhere.

Two: While on vacation, I lost one of my memory cards containing about 350 photos taken on the first day (the only actual day we could go to the beach because of rain) and the beginning of this "photo shoot" with the whole family. What you see here is only a representation of the actual events of the we. You can imagine my utter disappointment! But, at least we did get a few.

These are some of the photos that I worked with in PhotoShop this week. There are before and after shots. It seems like some of the After shots are a little washed out here...not sure what that's about.

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She'll have her cake and eat it too

Happy Birthday, Little Princess!

These are some pictures from Charlotte's birthday party this weekend! She is the sort of kid that will have a good time wherever she goes--especially when its all about her!

Mama Cook has been with us for 2 weeks, counting vacation at the beach. My babies are really gonna miss her--and I think she will miss them a little!

Nana calls Charlotte "Princess" and Charlotte knows it too! She automatically turns when she hears her nickname!

Granny and Papa were here for the party, too. They tend to spoil my kids a little! I think that's good for them!

Charlotte really liked her cake! She dived right in!

Can you tell?

She got tired of the mess really quickly though!

Poppy brought her a princess castle moonwalk--she loved it!

The 2 birthday girls!

Charlotte is a Daddy's girl!

Opening presents--this is her new princess hat with her name and a cute bow on the back!

And of course, Garrett got some presents, too!

All the grandparents got together and got her a little playhouse that she and Garrett both already love! When you ask if she wants to play in her play house, she gets really excited and starts kicking her legs and smiling and jumping!

Happy Birthday, Funny Girl!