Yep, tomorrow we celebrate being married for 11 whole years. I can't hardly believe it's been that long, really. Oh, how the years just go flying by!!!
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Today, is Hadassah's 10th birthday! Last night when I was tucking her into bed, I said, "I can't believe that you are almost 10 years old!!!"
I remember so well when I took my very first pregnancy test and how I felt!!! So excited to have a 'real life' inside me, yet so scared that I might not "do the parenting thing just right"!!! Kinda funny now. The past 10 years flew by with a blink and if the next 10 go just as fast (which I know they will), she could be dating, grown into a young lady, even married!!!???!!! Yikes!
To celebrate her birthday, we did a school snack a day early. Yesterday, I made a homemade cookie pizza and a panda cake. Hadassah loves panda bears and so I decided to make a cake look like these cute bears. I found the instructions online. Not hard at all .... just time consuming! When I walked into her class with it, everyone gave an impressed remark and loooovvved the cake and cookie! (Chalk one up for me, right? Ha! The excitement of even fourth graders is a nice reward for my work!) We have a family night planned for tonight. It will most likely consist of some cheese fries, bowling and movie!!!
The "cookie pizza" ...
Making the panda cake ...
Getting ready to cut out the pieces ...
The final project complete ... hence, the PANDA CAKE!!!
Totally spoiled if you pose with "all your birthday presents"!!!
Candles on creamed beef and toast??? Why not?
Every birthday the kids get one of these from my mom!
Delicous! Thanks mommy!!!
All week, Hadassah has been dealing with "witnessing". I'm not real sure how this all started. They watched parts of "Courageous" last weekend (I did not know they were watching it. When they paused it and took a break from watching, Matthew came up to me and made some remark about how they were beating up the kid so bad in the movie. I firmly asked and told them to not watch anymore. I think the movie is great, but not for our 10 and 6 year old. Some kids are more sensitive and this was too heavy for their minds. We had lots of questions to answer after that night.)
So, maybe there was something from the movie that started all of this??? Witnessing is not a bad thing at all. It's actually something really great! Something I need to do better at. A few days ago, Hadassah asked me if she thinks her bus driver is a Christian? I don't know if she is (they have public busing for just their school kids). I told Hadassah that maybe she should just ask her if she knows Jesus. She took it right to heart. Then on Tuesday night, Lena took Hadassah out for her birthday, just them two. They went out eat and then to an indoor pool to swim. While they were swimming, Hadassah suddenly felt like she should ask those that were also there if they know Jesus. SHE DID!!! She went around the room and asked each one. Of course there were those who said, "Yes, I go to church and I know Jesus." Then there was one man that said that he used to go to church and that as a young man, he moved out of the house. He turned rebellious. Hadassah was so broken. After her and Lena left, she cried. She felt like she should have said more or the "right thing" and then maybe that man would turn to the Lord again.
Everyday since, she's not been her usual self. Yesterday, she came home and said she asked her bus driver and she said, "Oh, yes!" Now she wants to ask the middle scholars yet on her bus! I keep praying with her and telling her that her SMALL words will make a BIG difference. Even in that man's life at the pool. Maybe her boldness of asking him if he knows Jesus, was another seed planted!?
I gave this shirt to Hadassah today. I thought it serves truth to what she's doing with witnessing!!!
You can really change the world girl! (The panda was a plus!!!)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HADASSAH!!! WE LOVE YOU AND ARE SO HAPPY YOU ARE A PART OF OUR LIVES.
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Ashlyn turned another week older too this week and now she is 10 months old! Amazing! She is taking a lot of steps. Anywhere she can go, she will. She grabs tight and pushes her little car and toys all around. She still loves cheerios and enjoys the foods we eat! She's so happy and pleasant! Love her!
10 months ...
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Matthew is loving school. Every morning he gets up and is ready for the day after his soak in the tub! Right now it's creamed beef and toast for his breakfast fuel and lunchables with lots of cheese curls in his lunch box. I try to get the kids to eat more veggies. They both love cucumbers, so that's what we have in our veggie draw in the fridge. Lots of them!
He reads really good and I am so impressed at his progress so far in first grade! He went from learning letters and sounds to reading quickly! He does great with his spelling words too! Math seems to be a strength! Natural. He brought his report card home the other day and was proud to see all of his "S" and "E" 's!
KEEP WORKING HARD BUDDY! YOU DO GREAT WITH SCHOOL WORK! GOOD JOB!
Never enough of cheese on a cracker right? Seriously!!!
