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Word Snapshot

Just some of the things that have come out of Penelope's mouth recently. Worth Remembering!

When talking about how we're going to live with God after we die, her response was "we're going to live in my heart??"

She asked me yesterday as she noticed my iron, "is God this iron?" I said no, to which she replied "but you said God was everything!"

And my absolute favorite, still makes me laugh every time I think of it. She recently ended a prayer with a very earnest "and I love you God, so much more than Noah does!"

Looking Back

When I think of my relationship with God in terms of spiritual growth, I definitely feel "I have so much further to go" much more frequently than "wow, look how far I've come." So it's nice when I do experience those occasional moments when I can testify that yes, I have grown in my faith. Yesterday was one of those days when one thing after another just kept throwing a wrench in my plans - and on my birthday, no less! In addition to our celebratory plans for the day, we had long-held plans to visit my cousin in Austin early this morning. Just the kids and me. Before the road trip though, I needed to replace my worn tires. You see where this is headed. First my tires weren't shipped in time; then after getting past that hurdle with loaner tires, the car just flat out broke down! Old me would definitely have had a little huge tantrum about my plans being ruined. Current me had a different perspective. While I did miss the first little tap on my shoulder, when the second tap came I was quick to realize this trip was not in His plan. And just like that, it was so easy to accept and move on. I'm thankful for the grief and frustration that I was spared, especially after a somewhat stress and emotion-filled weekend. Obviously, I'm thankful we didn't break down in the middle of nowhere. Mostly though, I am grateful to have this little milestone to remind me of where I began, where I am now and where I am headed. All in the name of His precious son!

Dusting off the Cobwebs

Well, it's been two full years since my last post and I'm finally back. It feels good to get back on the horse, and I'll try not to dwell on the fact that two years of my kids' antics and cuteness are potentially lost forever in the black hole called my memory. Since 2010 I have learned to sew, thrown a few parties, made some new friends and oh, right - had a new baby!!! The sweet, chubby little addition to our family is Phoebe Adele - a.k.a. "Phoebe Cheeks" - and she turned one last month!

Hence, the need for a new blog title. I'll be trying to come up with a fabulous & charming new name but until inspiration strikes, this will do. :)

In trying to determine where to begin after a two-year blogging sabbatical (no pressure!), I've decided to focus on our most recent event - Noah's SIXTH birthday party (!!) Oh, where does the time go?? I'll follow up with more pics later (sound familiar?) but for now, just a sneak peek at my most recent labour of love...

I'll be back soon, and by soon I mean Noah's 8th birthday party. Kidding! Sort of... TTFN!

Noah's Batman Party, Part 1

Our sweet Noah turned four on July 7th. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said he wanted a Batman cake. Easy enough! After going back and forth about whether to have a party, I decided in the 11th hour to go ahead. It was going to be a small party, but of course with our family and neighbors alone, there is no such thing as small. I am so happy that we decided to have a party because it ended up being such a wonderful day. And, I got to put my budding craft skills to work. This will be the first in a 2-part post chronicling Noah's Batman party and all the decorations, food and activities that were prepared for the event. I owe many thanks to my search engine and the blogs where I found inspiration and free files!

With only three weeks to pull it all together, I had no time to spare. Inspired by this invitation that was comic strip style, I found a website with archives of the actual 1940s "Batman & Robin" comic strip. I personalized it to include the details of the party, pasted it to black card stock and, voila! Homemade invitations.
I really wanted to go with vintage Batman & Robin, and came up with the idea of creating "Pow, Zok, Wham!" signs to post around the house.

I also really wanted a Happy Birthday banner, so I decided to make one in the same style. Strung together with black satin ribbon that I found at a discount store, I was very happy with the final product.
The rest of the decorations were kept pretty simple.
The cupcake toppers were super fun to make!
I can't take credit for this one. My artist niece-in-law, Sofia, made it.
I borrowed the super cute idea of a Superhero Academy from Designer Girl 007 and Executive Homemaker and got to work creating all the crafts, decor and signage for the back yard obstacle course. The first step in becoming a superhero is to look like one, so I made foam masks (templates from Family Fun) for all the superheros in training.

Next step, Leap Buildings in a Single Bound. The kids had a blast with this one, so I let them go several times. Third was to rescue Superman from the Batcave.
Using glow stick necklaces and a giant Superman figure that was given to Noah recently, their mission was to remove the cryptonite from Superman's neck and meet me at the next station, which was...
Mr. Freeze had frozen Batman and Robin, and the next mission was to use squirt guns to free them from the ice blocks.
Finally, the superhero wannabe's moved on to the last step in Superhero training - show off your Mighty Muscles!
With all of the steps successfully completed, we were now ready for Justice League certificates and favor bags, handed out by a very special guest.
Of course, no Batman party is complete without an appearance by the superhero himself...
I kept it simple with finger foods.
Of course some specialty Bat-food and Bat-Candy for the kiddos.
I had to frost these the day of the party...
And last but NOT least, my friend Mary whipped up this FABULOUS Bat cake. Isn't she amazing!
My first attempt at cape-crafting.
He was too overwhelmed to participate in Superhero Academy during his party...
...but he was ready for action the next day!
Stay tuned for part 2!

New Stuff to Remember

So it seems I have a new animal/insect/arachnid rights activist in my home. We have always battled itsy-bitsy spiders, and sometimes not-so-itsy ones. So naturally, my first instinct when I see one is to kill, I mean remove it. Well now one of these eight-legged thorns in my side has become a "pet." Noah found it yesterday and immediately ran up to me, insisting "DON'T kill it Mom, it's a nice spider. He's my friend." I guess he was still traumatized by the last one I smushed and his protective instinct kicked in. I am proud of my son, but also completely defeated by the loss of this long-standing battle. Although - I wonder how long spiders can survive in a can with no food or water...?

I thought Penelope had found her voice a long time ago, but she has reached new heights recently. I suppose it was inevitable. Along with every beautiful little girl, eventually comes a high-pitched screech/scream... right? I know I shouldn't be surprised, but it is really deafening! She was actually shushed by our grocery sacker yesterday... sorry! On a much cuter note, I was spying on her via baby monitor yesterday morning and she was so adorable with her babies. She was sitting up in her crib, hugging Curious George and patting it's head. Then she sat it down facing her, and began to feed it chicken nuggets, french fries and ice cream. What a nice mommy!

In Loving Memory

G.G. Romero (1995-2010)
Gentle, loyal, protective, intelligent and irreplaceable. I hope there are plenty of tennis balls and adventures where you are, sweet girl. We love and miss you.