Super Saturday #2

A Very Merry Unbirthday To You! All three children woke up to a balloon tied to their bed with this message on it. Since my children have never seen Alice In Wonderland, we started the day by watching it. The animated Disney version, not the creepy Johnny Depp one! Of course we baked our "unbirthday" cake and ate it! The boys and I played an indoor game of croquet while Eliana cheered us on. Other games included: "Find the Queen of Hearts!" and "I'm Late, I'm Late!" We also had several Alice activity sheets and we created our very own Mad Hatter Hats! The messages, "Eat Me" or "Drink Me" were found on various food and drink items. We had such a nonsense-filled day!

Super Saturday #1

Summer break is (almost!) upon us. This year I'm trying something new: Super Saturdays. Each Saturday will have a theme and our activities that day will revolve around that theme. My boys woke up to a note telling them to look under their pillows for today's theme which was pajama party day. Everyone wore pajamas for the entire day (except Eliana. She got a new Dora swimsuit yesterday, tried it on this morning and refused to take it off!) Breakfast was pancakes, lunch was pb&j toast sandwiches, fruit, and yogurt, and for supper we ate blueberry muffins and cereal. Polar Express played in the Schoonmaker bed-in theatre. Games were sprinkled in throughout the day; teddy bear toss, pillow pass, sleeping bag races, and "what am I dreaming?" charades. Quiet time was spent reading in a fort made of blankets. To end the day we sat in circle and took turns adding to a bedtime story I started. Here's a preview:
Me: Once upon a time there was a princess and two brave knights. They were lost in a forest of purple trees and they were hungry!
Caleb: They tried to get out of the forest but they just went deeper until the didn't even know if they were still alive!
Ethan: Then they saw a shadow on a big rock. The knights whipped out their shields and the scaredy princess hid behind the knights. It was a giant duck!
Ellie: He had no brains!
It was a comfy, cuddly, laid-back kind of day!

Overwhelmed Mommy

This morning I sat in a pew at our church and felt overwhelmed. We served on staff at this church many years ago and after a season away, we returned here for a time of healing and restoration. Eight years ago today, in this church, our Pastor closed the mother's day service by praying for couples who were struggling with infertility. For anyone who doesn't know our story, we hoped and dreamed and prayed for seven years to be parents. I was told by doctors that I would never conceive without medical help. After years of failed procedures, medicines, and a drained savings account, we had come to the end of ourselves. We walked forward that day and were prayed for. Three months later we were blessed to stand before that congregation of people who had prayed for us, cried with us, encouraged us and tell them that I was expecting a miracle. God had healed me. I was pregnant with no medical intervention, just Divine intervention! This morning I walked memory lane. I remembered the years of devastation and disappointment. I remembered the years of wanting to skip church on mother's day because I was so sad. I remembered the pages of promises, prophetic words, and scriptures God had given over those years. I remembered the moment the Dr.'s office called to confirm what I already suspected. The joy, the tears, the feel of my babies the first time they were placed into my arms. I looked into the faces of my three beautiful miracles and I was overwhelmed.