Today You Are You...

Today you are you,

That is truer than true,

There is no one alive,

Who is youer than you!

-Dr. Seuss, Happy Birthday To You! 

Happy Birthday to Brayden! Our little bear turned 4 years old today.

This year we are celebrating with "Cat In The Hat" per Brayden's request. We had a mini party today with PaPa & MeMe while they are here visiting us and we will have another party next Monday night with the rest of our family. 

Brayden's day started off with a trip to church where he celebrated with friends in his Sunday School class and a box of his favorite D&D Munchkins. Next we went to his favorite playground and enjoyed a bagel. Later in the afternoon we opened presents and had cake and ice cream. I made the "Hat" cake, with help/advice from my Mom and Sarah. I was pretty happy with how it turned out considering I have never done a cake like this.

He was excited about all his presents - Spiderman Pj's, slippers and underwear, a Nerf gun, Tron figure, Lego Star Wars DVD, Star Wars Lego set, Star Wars shirt and money.

Sarah drew the "Cat In The Hat" picture freehand. I think it was really good. She loves doing special things like this to help decorating for parties.

A Special Prayer

Every night Jason or I pray with Sarah and Brayden when we put them to bed. When I pray with Brayden I always ask if there is something he would like to specifically pray for and tonight he said "I want to pray for Jesus to come into my heart". Nothing could make me and Jason happier than to hear our children say they want to ask Jesus to live in their heart and be their Saviour. I know seeds are being planted in Brayden's life to know Jesus Christ in a greater way. Tonight was only the beginning.

Fashionista

Last Saturday I took Sarah shopping for some new school clothes. She was so excited, this girl loves shopping! She likes to call herself a "Fashionista". I was excited because Brayden stayed home with Daddy, which makes it so much easier to focus on shopping. Cayla, her BFF, joined us for the day and even picked up a few things.

We had a GREAT day! I said a little prayer before the day started, patience and good deals, which we had both of. The first store we found 2 pairs of shoes for $10 each. I knew it was the start of a good day. Five stores and 5 hours later we had some cute outfits and were all exhausted.

I am learning to be patient in the shopping process. My little girl is no longer a little girl anymore and at 10 years old she has her own taste and style and wants to make some of her own choices. Here is where the learning comes in for me, learning when to let her make her own choices and learning when to say no. I know the learning and letting go is only at the beginning stages with my kids, but this particular day I think I did great.

These are some of the pictures from our day and some of the outfits my Fashionista picked out.

1, 2, 3, 4

I have a Sesame Street song that has been stuck in my head all day long. Yes, I watch Sesame Street. When you have a toddler you can't help it. I love the characters just as much as Brayden. Anyway, I saw this segment over a year ago and periodically the song pops into my head and when it does I just can't seem to stop singing it. Something triggered it again last night and I have been singing it all day long. Maybe its because I will soon have a 4 year old and I am focusing on "4", or maybe because it is a catchy tune. Who knows!

I have posted the link below so you can watch the segment, but let me add a WARNING, you may be singing this song the next 24 hours. Watch at your own risk. :)

1, 2, 3, 4

Best Friends

Brayden went to give Sarah a hug goodnight and he put his arms around her and said "We are so best friends".

I love that they love each other so much. Don't get me wrong they definitely have their moments of bugging each other and Jason or I have to step in, but for the most part they enjoy being together. Brayden really looks up to Sarah and wants to copy everything she does and says. If Sarah tells me something he repeats it to me in his own version of what he thinks she said. If Sarah gets a new IPod app, he wants it to. If Sarah is doing her homework, he wants to work on his "homework". It is funny. A little annoying for Sarah at times, but cute.

I am praying that as they get older, no matter what they age, Brayden will still be saying "We are so best friends".

Time Away...

Jason and I got a chance to get away for a couple of days this past weekend, which was wonderful! His parents were invited to the New Jersey Bible Alliance Fire Bible Summit at Crystal Springs Resort & Spa in Vernon, NJ but were unable to go, so they said we could take their place. Thursday afternoon Don and Donna picked up the kids and we headed to the hotel until Saturday morning. On Friday we were both treated to some amenities. Jason was a part of a golf tournament where he won some new golf wedges. I got to go to the resorts spa to have a massage and facial. It was wonderful. A girl could get used to that kind of treatment. The rest of the day I spent in our room working on my digital scrapbook, watching movies and eating chocolate cake in peace and quiet. :)

The summit has pastors attend the weekend and they raise money to translate the Fire Bible into different languages so they can be distributed all over the world.  We attended a dinner and heard a sobering message of how many are persecuted for their faith throughout the world. We are so blessed in this country to be able to own bibles, carry them with us, go to church and to be able to publicly proclaim our faith. Many in the world are persecuted by being outcast from their culture, physically persecuted and sometimes even killed. My day to day problems are so small compared to what many Christians in this world go through on a day to day basis for their faith.

Happy 8th Birthday Claire!

Tomorrow is my niece Claire's birthday, so I am sending out a special post to wish her a Wonderful, Fabulous, Amazing, Exciting, Awesome birthday!

Claire you are such a beautiful girl. We love your smile, it is contagious. You make us laugh, with your silly stories and by just being you. You make us feel good when you make special crafts or gifts for us. You make us happy by just being you and being our niece and cousin. There is no one like you in this world. God has created you uniquely and beautifully. We think your perfect! Happy Birthday! Love, Aunt Amy

These are some of my favorite pictures from our time together this summer with you in North Carolina.