Cute Clara Quotes

{While giving her a bath one morning...}

Clara {in a moany voice} --"Mooooommm,
there's water in my eye.
My eye swallowed the soap!"



            Clara--"These aren't Bubby's jammies,
                             they are MY jammies!",
            as she holds his footy PJs up to her tummy.

            Me--"Oh really?!, But they won't fit you,
                                                you're too tall."

            Clara--"They will fit, see?!
                          I'm just too tall for the Footy Pockets!!"

                            "Mama, I have an owie.
                              My lip is falling off!"

                                               "No Sticks in the Car!,
                                                  That's a good rule!"

I'M FAMOUS!!

What?!?, You didn't know??!?? Wipe that shocked expression off your face; it's true! lol

My sweet friend and fellow-missionary blogger, Maria, has been doing some awesome posts recently. They are simple challenges for us busy mamas to "Take the Time To... {fill in the blank}" with our precious kiddos. They are really easy things that don't take more than a few minutes, but so often get lost and left out in the hussle-bustle of our daily tasks.

Well, I am honored and privileged to be Maria's special guest and share my own "Take the Time To Challenge" over on her blog Raising 4 Princesses. Go check it out and make sure to go back a few posts and look into her other challenges as well. She has some great ideas to share with us!

Also, {lest you think I am only "tooting my own horn" honk! ~giggle~} Maria's blog, not just her challenge posts, is such a blessing to me and is what inspired me to start blogging myself. She is a super fun mama to 4 pretty princesses striving to raise them and serve the Lord as a missionary wife on the island of Jamaica. Her writing style and way of life are completely down-to-earth and she has learned to take what life brings her and make the best of it. She is the real deal and I am blessed to call her my friend.

I hope you stop over at her blog; I KNOW you will get a blessing from it if you do!!

 Maria~

Thanks so much for the opportunity to share a thought on your blog.

It was so much fun.

I appreciate you and your sweet family and the encouragement you are to me so much.

I am glad that we can be sisters in Christ and kindred spirits as missionary mamas.

Thank you for your kindness to me!

Keep on keepin' on!

Love you, friend!

Heather

Laundry Lovin' Helpers

 Who says laundry can't be a barrel {or basket} of laughs?! My kids think it's so much fun that they want to get right in the middle of it.

Sometimes there are just no words!

Not to be left out or out done...

Say "CHEESE" and hold on tight!

 Ethan decided to find his own spot to steal the show.

Sittin' in the bathroom sink

Since I am here..."Toothpaste, anyone?"

He is part monkey after all...makes sense to me. :))

We ♥ Our Papa!

 Oh yes, we sure do! I know, you are probably thinking, "Papa???!!?? Are you talking about their grandpa or what?" Let me explain. If you haven't figured it out yet, we are a little scatter-brained, mixed up and confused on languages around here. {Be very thankful that I proofread my posts before sending them out into bloggy land or they probably would not be decipher-able!} Well, it's not just me, it gets passed on to my kiddos and they don't know the difference. They think that the crazy use of 2 languages interchangeably mid-sentence is completely normal. Don't worry--Clara has no problem speaking either one fluently and Ethan is on the fast track, too. So the point is, in Spanish, the word for daddy is papá {accent on the 2nd syllable}. Therefore my kiddos, both of them, call their daddy "Papa" {accent on the first syllable, kind of a mixture of Sp/Eng.} at least 50% of the time. Honestly, I think it is about the sweetest thing ever and I love to hear them say it with so much love in their little ♥s for their papa!

Kiddos with their Papa on Father's Day!

Clara was very excited about all the special things we had planned for Father's Day and even kept our present a secret. Good thing we just bought it on Friday, nevertheless, pretty impressive that she held out that long! :)

Papa with his "Toolbox" card

Papa's "Tools"

Clara and I made this for papa while he was at the teen activity on Sat. Quick, easy and turned out cute!
One of the tools says, "We couldn't have 'built' a better dad!

Reading his "Dad Facts" Sheet ;)

 
We tucked the "Dad Facts" Sheet into daddy's toolbox, too. He got a kick out of reading some of Clara's answers. Such as:
Daddy weighs: 5 lbs.
He loves to:  Work on some things.
What I love most about my daddy is: I love him because I have a ♥.
It makes Dad happy when I: obey! {yep, she's got that one down!}

Papa with his present--a work/casual watch

Papa's new scarf

 This was our Sunday School project and present for Father's Day. {It's winter down here, remember?!} Fleece scarves with their kid {or kids, in my case ;) } hand prints on them, and it says "Papa, I ♥ U!" Isn't that the sweetest thing?! Then when they wear it, everyone can see how much their kiddos care about them! ♥

Here's all the fun crafts, including the nice "shirt and tie" cards that we also made in Sunday School class. The kids loved gluing little pieces of paper on the tie to decorate it for papa!

I would say we did alright in spoiling our Papa for Father's Day. And if anyone deserves it, he sure does! He is an amazing husband and father to our kiddos. He takes time for the kids, playing and tickling and wrestling and loving them, everyday. He takes care of our every need and puts us before himself.  He makes us feel special and wanted and loved. We want him to feel the same way, too! WE ♥ U, Papa!

Dad's Day Ideas

Father's Day is upon us...Let's let those amazing guys in our lives know how much we love and appreciate all they do. How they work hard to "bring home the bacon". How they protect us and guide us in every way.

Lookin' for some quick, easy, inexpensive gifts/crafts to do with your kids for Father's Day? I sure was. Dads always seem to be so difficult to buy/make for. They don't get into all that nice, frilly, impractical stuff like us girls do and, what do they really need/want? Even harder, what do they want that doesn't cost a fortune {or 2} and is possible for my kids to make.
Well, this is what I have found. I think they are some pretty good options that Daddy-O is sure to enjoy/get a kick out of!

Dress Shirt and Tie card

This one is great because it comes with template, instructions, and even a cute poem. Check it out HERE.

Toolbox Card

This Toolbox comes with easy instructions and template for your "tools", too! Go HERE to find out more!

Dad Facts Sheet

This is just a little "fill in the blank" page of stuff you can ask your kiddos about their daddy. Let's see what they really think of him; ages 2-5 will probably give you the most entertaining answers! You can get your own HERE!

Dad, we love you to PIECES!!

Isn't this sweet?! For my PB candy lovin' hubby, this will go over great! You can even download the cute little tag HERE.

Hope this helps! Or maybe you have an idea of your own to share? Please do, I will take all the creative inspiration I can get! ;)

7 Years = Perfection!

 This is me. 7 years ago {tomorrow}. Walking down the aisle to say "I DO"....

...To this wonderful man that I get to call my husband.

Sometimes, I don't say much about him, especially as there always seems to be some funny, cute little thing that the kiddos are doing to write about. But the truth is, somehow I just can't seem to find the words when it comes to this man. He completes me and meets my needs. He loves me and puts up with my moods and hair-brained ideas. When I get caught up in the middle of my latest project, he is there to step in and help keep things going. He is so special and gives of himself to me everyday.

 I was 20. He was 23. We were young and in love...

 And WE STILL ARE!!! 

...and they lived "Happily Ever After"!

Now I realize, that although "7"  is the number of perfection, that we have not quite attained yet. ha! But, that's why I am "in the making", remember?! We are working on it, little by little, day by day. Plus, I look at it this way~~although neither Matt nor I are perfect, although our marriage is not perfect, we are most definitely perfect for each other and there's no one I would rather strive for perfection with! ♥

And in the lives of missionaries there is no such thing as "a dull moment." We have lived through/enjoyed many things together already, such as:

1. I finished and graduated from Bible college
2. Deputation--traveling for mile after mile, with only each other as company, if you still like each other when the ride stops, you are doing good! lol!
3. Birth of Clara Grace in the midst of deputation
4. International move
5. Birth of Ethan Matthew in the first year of living on the field
6. Learning and adapting to another language and culture--still working on this!!
7. Teaching and preaching in Spanish
...just to name the "Big" things!

Praying for many more "perfect" years together with my "perfect for me" man! Such a joy, not only to go through life together, but to serve the Lord and raise children for Him, side by side, hand in hand!

♥ I love you, babe! Happy "Perfect" Anniversary!!!  ♥

Bilingual Birthday and Bowling Bash!

{Anymore good "B" words that I can fit into that title?! Hmmmm.....I am sure I can think of a few more. ha!}

Wow, so much has happened in the last few days, its hard to know where to begin. We started our celebratin' in Sunday School. Clara helped me pick out her favorite snacks to share with all her buddies. They had fun and devoured almost all of it in record time! :)

Here they are, hard at work, even Ethan ;)

The rose amongst the thorns, giving hugs!

Silly faces, she is an expert!

After lunch that day, we decided to take a few "glamour shots" for her 4 year old pictures. It was a miracle that her outfit and hair were still in tact, and that I actually got a few "normal" smiles out of her.

She looks so grown up!

B-E-A-U-TIFUL!!!

Monday morning, we awoke to a cold and very damp world outside, so no trips to the park. But, we had lots of things at home to keep us entertained. We had a good day together as a family!

Waking up on her birthday!

Princess Clara, all dressed and ready to party!

Her princess decor.

Getting ready to Skype with G. and G. Reed and open presents!

Ripping into the first gift

Princess hair clippies from G. and G. Reed

"Winnie the Pooh and the Hefalump" Movie

After presents, daddy set up the projector in the office and let Clara watch her "Pooh Bear" movie on the "big screen" er....wall. She loved it!

Playing "Don't Spill the Beans" or as Clara calls it  'the peanut game' lol!

Later mommy and Clara had to try out her new game. I Won! Not a lot of glory in beating your 4 year old in a game on her birthday, huh?! ha! She took it well, though!

Coloring the "Princesses"

Bible Story Time with Daddy {and her balloon} :)

The next day was the biggest surprise as we all got up and got ready to head to the big mall. When we got there Clara was very surprised and perplexed to see our Pastor and his family there, along with her "adopted" grandparents. It took her a while to catch on that they were all there for her!!
We ate together in the food court and daddy even bought Clara her own Happy Meal. Now that's Big Stuff!! Then we got out the cake I had brought and sang "Happy Birthday" to my sweetie. Yep, in English, right there in the middle of all the Argentine bystanders! ha!

Clara's princess cake!

More presents--Hello Kitty watch!!

Then we headed upstairs to the arcade and rides area. Matt and the guys had fun playing a game of bowling while the ladies and kids spent the rest of the money on the kiddie games and rides.

A bit blurry, as they were whizzing by!

They had to get in on the bowling fun, too!

It was so fun to see how excited Clara would get when she knocked down a pin or 2. And, of course, Ethan was right there to cheer her on.

Daddy with his babies--Ethan's going to help him throw a strike!

We saw this at a toy store and she needed a pic with Mickey!

So, our 3 day celebration was a great success! I am so glad we were able to make Clara's birthday special for her and make memories that we will cherish as the years go by, too!

4 years of Smiles!

I remember...oh, so many, many things...

I remember going to the hospital and after thankfully a short and fairly easy delivery {water births are the BEST!!}, meeting my sweetie girl for the first time. We came to the hospital, like all 1st time parents-to-be, not really knowing what was in store for us. On top of that, we came with 2 names picked out--Clara Grace and Seth Matthew, because we had decided to be surprised and didn't know that we were having a Clara yet. Well, actually, if you ask my hubby, he was pretty sure it would be a girl. With both of my pregos. he has had a dream and very vividly saw what gender baby we would have. So far, he's 2 for 2! Stinker! I thought it was us girls that were supposed to have "women's intuition"  and all that?!?

Anywho, our darling bundle of joy came into the world on Wednesday, June 6, 2007, at 7:13 p.m. She weighed in at a whopping 6 lbs. 15 oz. and was 19 1/4 in. long. Her sweet little head was covered with a good amount of dark brown hair that curled when wet and had her daddy's beautiful blue eyes. She was a picture of perfection, sweetness, and all things girly. And to me, she still is!!

Just moments out of the oven!

♥ Our first family pic! ♥ {Yes, I know how exhausted I look!}

A few hours old and very alert!

Home from the hospital!

♥ My all time favorite pic of Hubby and baby Clara ♥

1st Father's Day--1 1/2 weeks old

We enjoyed our little sweetie so much that we decided to take her "show on the road", a.k.a. deputation. She made a big splash, let me tell ya!

My favorite pic of me and my baby girl! ♥

Such a happy, relaxed baby!

Check out those chubby cheeks!! ♥

Lovin' Life, Lookin' Cute!

Playing with mama!

Lookin' Mischievous!

6 month/Christmas pics

First piggy tails and waving!

First time to swing!

First Easter--9 months

Her shirt says: "Everybody Loves a Blue Eyed Girl!"

Lighting up the room with her smile!

Time at Grandpa G.'s farm--doing laundry and playing with cats = FUN!

One cool chick!

And before we knew it, it was birthday time.

"Happy Birthday toooooo Yoooooouuuu!!"

Showing us that she is "1" year old!

1 year pic

Family pics on her 1st birthday!

And somehow, 1 turned into 2.

Daddy/Daughter moment on her 2nd birthday

Which quickly jumped to 3.

3 year old "glamour shot"

Until we find ourselves here, with our "baby" girl turning 4!!! I know what you are thinking, it's only going to get worse. The time is not going to slow down any time soon, but rather fly by faster and faster like a spinning top or a rushing wind. And I know that is most definitely true! So, I will be thankful for today and for the 4 years of beautiful, precious life that the Lord has graciously given our daughter. She is truly a gift from God that has brightened our day, everyday of her life.

4 year old "glamour shot" from Sunday

My princess on her birthday!