More about Birthdays at our House

Birthdays in our house start a few months before actual birthdays. That is because the girls and I make the invitations and the decorations, and I want to give enough time so that it does not become too overwhelming. (This part of the birthdays is the part that is all me…it is my personality to want to hand-make them…if this stresses you out…don’t do it…I know plenty of people that would be totally overwhelmed by this and that is not the reason I am sharing this. It is to inspire and motivate you to celebrate your family in the ways God has gifted you).

We spend a lot of time talking about what the theme should be for each party. Some years it is really easy and others we struggle a little more. I usually do not try to sway them one way or another…other than trying to help them choose something that is really them at that moment and to make sure it is something that is doable. For Maddie’s 4^th birthday we decided on a “dem bones” theme (a favorite song…long story…another days post) and Abigail decided on a mermaid theme from a book she was reading with her best friend. Both themes captured who they were at that moment and were doable…with some creativity.

When Abigail chose a Mermaid party, we decided to combine mermaids with an underwater theme so we would have a few more choices for decorations. I used new sand toy buckets to serve the food and beverages in…they worked great. I just hand washed them and set the food in each one…very cute!

I also found these adorable plastic fish plates on sale at TJMaxx. This is a little tip I will share…if you check out clearance racks and discount stores you can often find reusable dishware that is cheaper or the same price as disposable plates and decorations. I have collected a variety of plastic plates in various colors to use at my parties. I end up saving money in the long run because I can reuse the dishes as opposed to throwing them in the trash. I try to find generic plates that can be used for various themes. I have cute pink flower plates that I used for a flower party for Abigail and them reused them at a pink party I had for Maddie. I am also fortunate enough to have storage space so take that into account when deciding what to buy as well.

Although I absolutely love making the invitations, I think the reason I take the time is to be able to do it with my girls. They love helping me and I love the time we spend together. We usually make the thank you notes at the same time as the invitations to save time on the back end. The thank-yous are often very similar to the invites…we just leave a space for each girl to write out their thank-yous.

Here are a few more pictures from the past years’ birthdays…let me know if you have any questions…Have fun celebrating with your family!

Birthdays at our House

This week I am going to share a little about birthday celebrations in our home...

We love celebrations and birthdays are no exception. I absolutely love the planning, making and executing of these parties. My favorite part has to be working with each of my daughters to make their party a celebration of who they are at that moment. They help me create the invitations and decorations, help bake and frost the cake and set up on the day of the party. It is a whole process that we do together. That is why I love these parties. I am able to use my strengths to help them have a day that really celebrates them. I will share more about what we do for their parties in the next few days, but today I am going to share a few traditions/ideas we have for our girls’ actual birthdays.

The first being we do not have their party on their actual day. That day is a day to celebrate just as a family. I decorate their door the night before so they wake up to streamers and balloons as they open their door. I also decorate the table for breakfast...breakfast just happens to be my girls’ favorite meal. While the decorations/theme may change from year to year, there are a few constants at each birthday morning celebration.

A few years back I came across this adorable glass cupcake called "The Hidden Cupcake." It can be found here: http://www.thehiddencupcake.com/

(I found mine at TJMaxx or Marshall's for a fraction of the cost, but it is fun to read the stories and ideas on their website).

At this time we do not hide the cupcake we use it to write what we love about the birthday girl. I set it out for each of my family's birthdays. A few days prior to a birthday, the rest of the family writes a few things that they love about the birthday boy/girl on small pieces of paper. I set the cupcake on the table and it is the first thing that gets opened on their birthday. I love the idea of telling each other what we love about each other, and I love that it has become one of my girls’ favorite part of their day.

One other tradition we have is we let our girls choose what is for dinner. They may choose something at home, but more often than not it is Chuck E. Cheese. Whatever it is...we do it just as a family. I love that part as well. It makes for a relaxed day for all of us...

We also have our girls open their presents from us on their actual day. We usually give 1 larger gift and maybe 1-2 smaller gifts. We are trying very hard to be aware of the number of gifts we give. Our girls are so very blessed and need very little, but we also still want them to receive gifts…we just don’t want the celebration to be all about the gifts. That is basically my whole philosophy on birthdays…to celebrate the person and their special day.

Celebrating with Abigail

This past weekend we celebrated with Abigail…we celebrated her Christian birthday. I posted a little about this back in February in this post: celebrating your kid’s Christian birthdays but I thought I would share what we did on her special day this year. We actually celebrated a day early since it fell on Memorial Day this year, that way we had two days of celebration…

Jeff and I spend a few moments the night before writing notes to her on heart cutouts about ways we see Jesus living through her: evidence of her faith, things she should be proud of, and behaviors we hope to reinforce. She loves waking up to these hanging from her doorway…it is a fun way to start her day.

The table is also set (I use my Valentine plates-double duty again). I also use a heart punch to make small heart confetti and write her favorite verses on hearts that I tape to skewers and use as the centerpiece. The main part of the decoration is her album that I made on the night she asked Jesus into her heart. She loves to read through and remember that day. (This is my favorite part of the day). We also always buy her a new Adventures in Odyssey CD to listened to. This is one of her favorite things to do and we love listening to them just as much as she does…it is a win-win. If you have never listened to them I would highly recommend them. They cover a ton of great topics and are great things to listen to with your children and then discuss with them. You can pick them up locally at Northwestern Bookstore or online at Focus on the Family.

The main thing we try to focus on for this day is trying to teach her ways to help her strengthen her relationship with the Lord. We want to provide tools and ideas on ways she can use to help her stay connected to the Vine and grow on her own. So we try to keep most of the activities of the day geared toward Christian activities. We are huge movie buffs so we have numerous videos that she can choose from to watch for our family movie night. We also love board games and have accumulated a few Christian versions of some popular games, and they often lead to good discussion. We played Answer That (a board game having to do with Adventures in Odyssey) before bedtime. We ended the night by reading from a new devotional we got called Did You Know Devotions. It is a devotional right up Abigail’s alley…fun little bits of trivia with a biblical perspective.

I love these celebrations, not only for our girls, but for me. I need reminders of what I should be putting into my mind and how I should be spending my time. I once heard a quote that went something like this, “You cannot impart that which you do not possess.” That is a very powerful statement and makes me really think as a mother how am I spending my day and what I am hoping to impart onto my girls.

I would love to hear your ideas on how you celebrate the everyday with your kids. Share a comment below…

Happy Thursday!

A few Memorial Day Ideas...

I absolutely love celebrating the everyday and Memorial Day was no exception. I thought I would share a few things that we did to celebrate. These ideas could easily be used for your 4th of July celebrations as well.

I absolutely love decorating the table to fit the holiday we are celebrating. I also love when I can use items I have for more than one holiday...I purchased these flags a few years back in the dollar section at Target and I keep them for all the patriotic holidays we celebrate. I just place them in small glass vases...very festive.

For lunch I made these red, white and blue fruit cups. The girls (and Jeff) loved them. So easy...just layer strawberries, bananas and blueberries in a glass dish. Add whipped cream and a cherry just for fun...

The girls made these "safe" sparklers at Lifetime Fitness on Saturday and I thought they would be so fun to make and use for the 4th of July. They just cut small slivers of red, white and blue paper. Then take a few of each color and place them inside one end of the straw about 1/2 inch. Staple the papers through the straw. See the first photo below...they look really cute grouped together as a table decoration.

Making and writing thank you notes to soldiers is a great activity to do on Memorial Day. Here is a sample of an easy card to make with young children. Just let them punch the stars along the bottom of a pre-made blank card and glue a piece of colored cardstock behind it. Stamp a sentiment on another colored cardstock and glue above the punches...
Hope you enjoyed a few of these ideas. I am always looking for new ways to celebrate so please share your ideas in the comment section below...Happy Tuesday!

The True Meaning of Memorial Day

As I was trying to figure out how to celebrate this Memorial Day with my girls this year, I came across this video. I played it this morning for my girls and we talked about what Memorial Day really means. While I still think my girls do not really grasp the idea that men and women have died so that we can be free, my hope is one day they will realize it. Please take a moment to watch this video and say a little prayer for all those families who do not have a loved one to celebrate with this Memorial Day. Thank you to all those men and women who have fought and died protecting my freedom...the freedom that allows us to have a blog like this...we are so blessed!

Happy Memorial Day to you and your family!

Happy New Year!!!

Barb has a New Year's Eve tradition that she has been doing since her kids were very young. I love this idea and wanted to share....

Make your table festive for New Year's Eve or New Year's Day by adding the following:

CANDY... for sweet adventures in the New Year!

AN APPLE... for a New Year of smiles!

COAL... for love and warmth throughout the New Year!

PEANUTS (in the shell!)...a New Year of surprises!

Scatter some of the items around the table, putting an apple on each plate. A quick note written on the computer could sit beside each place setting to explain your wishes for each of your loved ones.

Simple, but it works to stimulate a discussion for everyone's dreams for the New Year.

Have a Happy New Year!

Father's Day Week!

"Father!--to God himself we cannot give a holier name."
William Wordsworth

"Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope."
Bill Cosby

Two quotes from Tony Dungy's new book, Uncommon. If you are looking for a great gift for your dad or the dad of your kids, consider picking up a copy of this book. The subtitle is 'Finding Your Path to Significance'.

It's a good read for a man.

First day of spring!

Today is the first day of spring! It doesn't seem like it here in MN beause it's cold, cloudy and raining. But isn't rain the first sign of spring?

As if this week doesn't hold enough opportunities to celebrate, today is another one.

Put away your winter decor. Get out your spring colors...rugs, pillows, centerpieces, etc.

Get out your recipes and make a list of good ones for the spring. Include a handful of new ones to try in the next few months.

Go through your wardrobe and pack up the heavy sweaters (leave some of the lighter ones if your weather is still cool like ours).

Most of all, take time to notice the sunshine, the longer, lighter days and the changes nature brings this time of year.

Go for a walk - with friends, your spouse, your kids, whomever. Enjoy and celebrate the gift of health and the smell of spring!

Happiness

"Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember."

Do you agree with this quote of Oscar Levant?

There is real power in any moment when it is remembered...but I think women can be very good at finding happiness in any given moment because we are emotional and relational beings.

As moms, we need to celebrate often...to experience the happiness at hand and also to store away moments to remember.

I took the liberty to re-write a favorite Hallmark card that was about Fathers;

"This is how you can tell a mom
She is a woman who will play with you even though she has friends her own age to play with!"

Make today a 'happiness day'...play with your kids even if you have friends your own age to play with! Take pictures along the way or write a quick note in your journal so you can continue to experience happiness when you take time to remember.

March Madness

March Madness starts tomorrow!

We have friends hosting an all-day party at their house...possibly for multiple days in a row.

Are you aware of March Madness? It's not something we really celebrate or watch a lot of in the May household, but it's fun to hear the excitement of those who love basketball.

If your husband or children are basketball fans, tomorrow and into the weekend is a great chance to surprise them by having b-ball days at your house.

Make game friendly food.

Wear team colors (here it's maroon and gold for the gophers!).

Watch the games as a family and talk about the players together. Or rent and watch a basketball movie and then talk about the sport. Some movie options are (be sure to check movie ratings):
Coach Carter
Glory Road
Air Bud
Forrester
He Got Game
Hoosiers

Whatever you do, make it fun and memorable and celebrate the little things in life!

Home Improvement...Valentine's Day

"I wish I were younger...I could be married to you longer!"

Wow, is that the ultimate line for a perfect Valentine card or what?!

Have fun tomorrow with Valentine's Day.

Brent Curtis and John Eldredge says in The Sacred Romance: "The most crippling thing that besets the pilgrim heart is simply forgetfulness, or more accurately, the failure to remember."

Remember the 'good stuff' about your spouse tomorrow and then let the Valentine celebration begin!

Ahhh, Love Is In The air!

I love Valentine's Day. I love all the fun things that the stores promote this time of year. Maybe it's the RED color that excites me, but I do love Valentine's Day!

My husband and I met and married within a 6 month time frame...and then he left for a 6 month stint with the Marines right after our honeymoon.

When we began living together as husband and wife...well, we had alot to learn about one another. Praise God, His hand was in our marriage because I don't think that anyone would advise 2 people to marry who hadn't even experienced 3 seasons of the year together!

One good thing that did come out of our whirlwind marriage was GOOD HABITS! I don't mean hygiene habits, I mean habits in the way we treated each other. I don't think we intentionally set out to develop good habits, we were just strangers who treated each other kindly and spoke with respect. We married before we had down and dirty fights! We had promised each other "til death do us part" so we must have instinctively responded with GOOD HABITS as we interacted those first years.

Since then, I have read that true ROMANCE is a relationship with GOOD HABITS! Dean and I could be the poster couple for that definition:

We don't go out to dinner on Valentine's

He doesn't buy me jewelry

I don't make him a 4 course meal

He does occasionally buy me flowers

But we have ROMANCE! I haven't always acknowledged that. There were years when I felt bad I didn't get wined and dined...until I realized I didn't need that 'bling' to convince me of Dean's love. I needed his daily care and concern that comes from his kind and good habits.

Good habits...treating each other with respect, enjoyment, and kindness has built an atmosphere of ROMANCE into our marriage that is dependable and certain.

Dr Laura says "CHOOSE WISELY" then "TREAT KINDLY". It's all about the habits.

September celebrations and planning

As you get back in the routine of fall, considering doing a little celebrating and planning to acknowledge this special time of year...

If you have kids (or a spouse in school!), plan a first-day-back-to-school dinner with your family or make a special dessert to celebrate the beginning of another year.

Talk to your spouse and/or kids about everyone's dreams and goals for the next 9-month school year season.

Write a letter to your spouse or your children as this new school year kicks off. Tell them what you most love and appreciate about them and why you are looking forward to this next year.

Take a family picture outside the front of your house. You'll see how your family grows and your home changes from year to year.

Look at your calendar and plan a date night once a week or twice a month for just you and your spouse. Take turns planning the date and don't let other activities replace this valuable time together!

If your kids are too young for school, consider wrapping up a new book or puzzle or game to enjoy together as a family. You can read or play together and make wonderful family memories.

You can start traditions such as these that will continue in your family for years to come. It's never too late to start a family tradition!

Home Improvement

What's your system for celebrating birthdays? Do you have names written on your appointment calendar? Outlook reminders on your computer? Do you rely on your good memory? Or maybe you have a birthday card calendar?

There is no right or wrong way, as long as you have a system that is working for you!

Home Improvement for this weekend is to get out your calendar, or whatever system you use, and make sure you have every person's name listed that you want to remember and celebrate...whether that's a card, a quick e-mail, gift-giving or a party. The only way to celebrate those you care about, is if you have reminders that their special day is coming so you can plan ahead!

If you have a good system for remembering to acknowledge and celebrate special days, would you please share it with us all so we can learn from you? Thanks!

Celebrating you

All week we've been talking about ways to celebrate different people in our lives. Today lets talk about celebrating....you.

That's what I'm doing today.

I'm celebrating me as I enter into my 32nd year of life. This is where you would expect to read that you should take time for yourself, get a pedicure or a massage, and relax and be good to yourself. And you should. Most definitely. But I also want to suggest a different kind of celebrating.

Barb and I love this quote: "You will be the same person in 5 years that you are today except for 2 things: the people you meet and the books you read."

Today I am choosing to celebrate that I am not the same person today that I was five years ago (or even one year ago!).

Today I am celebrating the growth I've experienced, the lessons I've learned, the life experiences I've had, the opportunities I've shared in, the people who have influenced me, the places I have visited, and the memories I have made.

I've grown a lot in the past 5 years. I've changed. I've made good choices and I've made some bad choices. I've made mistakes and I've tried to learn from those mistakes. I've experienced great joy and great heartache. And I've learned to deal with it all through the influential people in my life and the amazing books I've read. And at the top of my list would be the Lord and the book of Psalms.

I can honestly say that it feels good to know that I've grown and that I am not the same person I was.

When your next birthday rolls around can you make it your goal to celebrate yourself in a unique and meaningful way? Choose wisely who you spend time with. Choose carefully what you place before your eyes. And when your birthday rolls around, celebrate you and all that you've become.

Thanks For the Memories...

Yesterday was my friend's birthday! I have sent her a birthday card for over 50 years!!! We grew up together but weren't particularly close. Sandy lived on my block and occasionally I would play at her house and she would come over to mine. We had dogs in common. My family owned a big, beautiful collie and Sandy absolutely adored our dog.

For some reason, we just kept sending each other birthday cards as we grew up! It didn't surprise me to learn that she has become the proud owner of 5 dogs (3 collies, all at one time!).

As I sent off a card to her on Monday, I enclosed a little clipping about getting older and wrote a brief paragraph about what I was up to. I realize with each passing year how precious it is to be able to send a card off to her. Memories beyond measure fill me up as I look for her address. Abit of nostagia and wonder are written at the bottom of my card as I realize how quick the years pass and how a simple habit...sending a birthday card, has anchored me to my past and made me appreciate the fleeting years.

I am looking forward to receiving a card from Sandy in a couple of weeks when my birthday rolls around again. If someone had told me the impact of receiving a card from a friend each year, I probably would have agreed with them. If someone had told me the impact of sending a friend a card each year, I am not sure I would have understood...until I discovered for myself the treasure of sending off a card filled with memories and remembrances of my childhood, that only Sandy can appreciate.

Any chance you have a friend you may want to send a birthday card to this year...and for the next 50 years?!

Celebrate...their way

Have you heard of or read the book The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman? The premise of the book is that we all have languages in which we prefer to show love to others and be loved ourselves.

The languages are:
Quality time
Physical touch
Words of affirmation
Gifts
Acts of service

It is incredibly valuable to know the way in which you desire to be shown love and the way in which your spouse and other family members desire to be loved.

When it comes to celebrating your spouse’s birthday, this is especially helpful. Case in point: My husband Ryan’s top two love languages are quality time and physical touch. Ryan celebrated his 32^nd birthday on March 17. On March 16 we had a get together at his parent’s house with about 11 people. We had lunch together and played the Wii all afternoon. I surprised Ryan with a gift I knew he would enjoy -- a new pair of Rollerblades! It was so fun!

I assumed that because we were all together that afternoon, that was plenty of quality time for Ryan.

Not so.

He informed me that spending time with 10 other people was not the one-on-one quality time that fills his love tank. So on Monday night, March 17, we ate dinner at home together, watched a movie and just hung out. He loved it! I wanted to go out. I wanted to do something. I wanted to celebrate him!

Turns out, I wanted to celebrate my way, not his.

His idea of celebrating was staying home and having quality time with his wife. And that's exactly what we did.

I highly recommend The Five Love Languages book (there is one written about children's love languages as well). And I especially recommend putting what you learn into practice when it comes to celebrating your husband’s birthday!

While I know my husband will enjoy his Rollerblades, and I REALLY enjoyed giving them to him because I have gift giving as a love language, I learned some good lessons this year about being mindful of how my husband wants to celebrate.

Wow…it’s only taken me 7 years!

Happy Birthday To You!

That should be one of the sweetest sounds a child can hear!
"Happy Day...you were born on this day,and the world has never been the same!"

I won't compete with web sites and books on how to put a great birthday party together for your child, but I would like to emphasize the importance of simply making your child feel like the world stood still on the day he/she was born! That's it. That is all that is really necessary from a good mom.

Take some time to process the miracle of your child's birth or adoption and have that wonderment spill over to your child as they realize how special they are to you. Taking time to count the blessings that they have brought into your life will give you the right attitude to handle the spills, interruptions, messes and expense that children create in a family.

This year try slowing down before your child's birthday approaches and take a good look at that scrapbook you created for him/her. It wasn't a masterpiece to show the world, it was a way for you to capture the miracle of your child's birthday...for you.

As you sing the "Happy Birthday" song to your child from now on, consider singing a second verse to yourself...giving thanks for all that your child has brought into your life.

Use It Up! Wear It Out! Enjoy It While You Can!

Life, that is!

I had a great coat I bought in London when I was a college student. It was expensive, but it was beautiful. I got compliments every time I wore it and it went with everything. I loved wearing it, but noticed that the lining was wearing thin, so I put it in the back of my closet intending to wear it only for special occasions. I guess I never ‘defined’ what made an occasion special, so I rarely reached for that coat. I always thought I should ‘save’ it because it was such a memory to me, I didn’t want to wear it out.
You guessed it; it lost its appeal over the years as the styles changed. I ended up giving the coat away to Good Will. It was in good shape…but now someone else would enjoy it because I was too concerned about wearing it out back when it was stylish!

Does that sound familiar to you? Well, for ‘home improvement’ this week, I challenge you to celebrate and use all your ‘good stuff’! No saving for special occasions…

Celebrate…use your best china, even with the kids (it’s time to teach them manners!)
Celebrate…wear your fancy push up bra today
Celebrate…spray on that expensive perfume
Celebrate…use twice as much bubble bath in your tub this weekend!
Celebrate…eat that dessert you’re saving in the freezer
Celebrate…write on that new stationery and use up the whole box!

Celebrate by using your stuff, enjoying your stuff, wear it all out! That means you are living in the moment and enjoying the day. You aren’t promised tomorrow…so celebrate today, celebrate your life!

So much to celebrate

Oh what fun today is! Are you celebrating today? You should be because today is...

• Find a Rainbow Day
• American Circus Day
• National Chocolate Mousse Day
• Don't go to Work unless it's fun Day (you may want to remind your boss of this!)
  

Did you know that April is full of things to celebrate? It's national frog month and straw hat month and daisy flower month and soft pretzel month and stress awareness month and grilled cheese sandwich month. How fun is that?

If you'd like to add a little fun and creativity to your home and life, check out the web sites below for some daily celebrations and holidays. Plan ahead to celebrate in a goofy way with friends, your spouse, your co-workers or your kids. Yesterday I made a chocolatey layered dessert for our Bible Study group. I have some left overs....which is the perfect way to celebrate National Chocolate Mousse Day :)

Check out these sites:

Everyday is a holiday

Holidays for Everyday

This Day in History: While I think everyday celebrations are wonderful ways to enjoy the day, I think recognizing and celebrating This Day In History is not only fun, but educational as well -- especially for kids. Today the first Pony Express took off in 1860 (want to take a trip to the mailbox, kids?) and Jesse James was shot and killed (kids could dress up but also use this opportunity to talk with them about stealing).

Tomorrow in 1818 congress authorized that the American Flag would have 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars with a blue background. And Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. This could lead to some great discussion about our freedom as well as racism and how God created all of us equal.

Have fun with these celebrations...whenever or however they fit into your life and see if it doesn't give you cause to celebrate. Oh how I wish I had known that yesterday was National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day!