The crib is up!

Our carpet has finally been installed. This is the Roops Carpet man. I asked him if I could take pictures for my blog. He had no idea what a blog was so he was totally fine with it!

After working a 12 hour day Daniel was a trooper and moved the dresser into the nursery.

He made me wait a WHOLE day to put the crib together. It was worth the wait! I love it. I have decided to veto the rocking chair. I just don't think it matches and we don't have the time to sand and stain it. I am now looking for the perfect chair for the nursery to purchase new!

(Daniel isn't as excited as I am about shopping for a new chair. He also wasn't real excited about getting his picture taken.)

Finally. My baby will have a place to sleep! The crib bedding is being made. I can't wait to see it finished!



The crib mobile (made by me!) is on top of the dresser. All I need is the clear fishing line and I can hang it up!

He is the Shepherd and we are his sheep.

For this at home Bible lesson you will need the following.

1) The Bible, or The Beginner’s Bible (The Beginner’s Bible is a MUST in every child’s library. If you have children you should get one. For this lesson read page 190)






2) A bag of cotton balls. (Each little cotton ball will be a sheep)







3) A basket. (The basket will be the sheep pin or barn. Their safe place)

This lesson is best for toddler and preschool age children, but it can be taught at any age.

Scared of storms? As a child storms can be scary just like the dark or the monster that lives in the closet or under the bed. Sometimes even as adults we need reminders that God is with us taking care of us. He is our Shepherd, and we are his sheep.

It says in John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” This is a great memory verse for older children to learn. Just make sure they understand the meaning.

Read your child Psalm 23. This is on page 190 in your Beginners Bible.
As you read pause and ask your child the following.

Do you know what a shepherd is? Explain that their job is to take care of their flock of sheep and keep them safe. Just like God keeps us safe. We are his sheep.
Do you ever get scared? Remember, when you are scared that God is always with us.
Remind the children that they always have food to eat and a safe place to sleep, all because God is taking good care of them.

Now, show your child the sheep (cotton balls) are safe inside the basket. Tell your child that they can practice being a shepherd and take care of the sheep. Scatter the cotton balls all over the room and have your child pick them up. Put them in the basket where they will be safe. (Repeat as much as you would like.)


Side note for Adults (You can teach your child this as well if you would like to): Did you know there is such thing as a shepherd and shepherdess to people in TODAY’S time? It’s true. These are men and women that are dedicated to serving God’s people. Many people are shepherds and don’t even know it. How great would it be to raise a child to be a shepherd! Start having them serve now. Service is a gift as well as a learned skill. Help your child think of something nice to do for someone else. I bet they can think of someone they feel is a shepherd. Have them draw a card or write them a thank you note. We recently had a church work day at our building and several children came with their parents to help clean. What a wonderful way to teach your children about serving others! A challenge to you. Say thank you to someone who is your shepherd here on earth. They probably have no idea how they are impacting your spiritual walk, and they should know… job well done. This is dedicated to the Hefley’s. They are shepherds and don’t even know it.

By the way... I have video for this post and can't seem to get it to work. Grrrrr... I'll try again at a later date.

Easter. It's not just about a bunny that hides eggs.

First off I would like to say that any and all teachable bible lessons for children I post are not my own creation. They are a collaboration of several ideas gathered from several sources. I take no credit.

I love Easter. Probably because it’s my Mom’s favorite holiday. I loved getting dressed up in pretty dresses, a hat and little white gloves. I loved the excitement of walking down stairs Sunday morning to see what the Easter bunny (Mom) had left in a new cute basket. The basket usually held a chocolate bunny, Cadbury eggs, nail polish, lip gloss, a little money and other glittery girly things inside of little plastic eggs. What wonderful memories. I asked my 3 year old class at school on Friday why we celebrate Easter. I had the typical answers I expected, because the Easter bunny comes, because we look for eggs and so on… One child did say because it’s Jesus’ birthday. At least they got the Jesus part right. So many people remember all the moments leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. We think of the pain of his death and the humiliation of being hung for all to see. BUT… I don’t think that’s what Easter is all about. Anyone can die on a cross. Anyone can be made fun of, beaten, betrayed and die. But only one person can die for the sins of others. Only one person can rise again. That is what Easter is all about. We were bought with a price. The blood of a prince. The Easter bunny is a much easier concept to understand as a child. So, for the first lesson I am going to suggest an alternative meaning to the symbol of an egg, a very common thing seen by children on Easter. This lesson will work best with children 3 years and older. For younger children just shorten the story.

You will need the following… A copy of Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss (Buy it, check it out at the library, or borrow it from me.) The Bible (If you don’t have one contact me, I’ll get you one) Start off by reading Galatians 5:22-23. The Fruit of the Spirit. If your child goes to my school just have them recite it. In the book Horton is gentle, kind and faithful. Focus on faithful. Let’s be faithful to God like Horton is faithful to the egg. Now read Horton Hatches the Egg. The book pretty much does all the work for you. Make sure you pause and talk about what Horton (the elephant) is going through. (I have included what to talk about below.) “I meant what I said and I said what I meant…an Elephant’s FAITHFUL one hundred percent!”

In life we have storms we must endure. For you child they might be difficulties in school. Struggles with making friends, feeling lonely, but we must still be FAITHFUL to God. Sometimes being a FAITHFUL Christian is not the popular thing to do. Sometimes you will get made fun of and teased. Jesus never said it would be easy. But we are ALL called to live a FAITHFUL life to God.

Even in our darkest hour we need to remember that we are God’s children. Hold your head high like Horton. Stick out your chest and be proud to be a prince or princess of the King! div> Sometimes things in life don’t go as we have planned. Horton is stuck on top of a tree, dug up and hauled off to be sold. He travels by cart, then by boat only to be a circus attraction. But he still remained FAITHFUL. In the end, it’s all worth it. Horton’s gift was an elephant-bird. Our gift is much greater. An eternity with our Father. This Easter every time you see an EGG let it be a reminder to us all that we are to be FAITHFUL to our God. We were bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. On the 3rd day he rose. (Children don’t understand the word rose or risen, so you might say,… On the 3rd day Jesus came alive again and is no longer dead, in fact, even though we can’t see him, he lives in our hearts.) I love this lesson. Faithfulness is difficult. The reward is great. Remember the best way to teach your children faithfulness is by showing them. Is soccer more important than church? Sleep? Work? Whatever you set as a priority in life your children will do the same. Taking your kids to church is not enough. I am challenging my self to be a servant so that my son will serve others as well. John F. Kennedy once said, “My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.

So… My fellow Christians: ask not what your church can do for you- ask what you can do for your church. Think about it. It’s not about you, it’s about Him. Now teach it to your kids. Let’s change our churches into faithful families!

This and That...

The nursery progress is moving at a snails pace.

Because things are taking FOREVER to get done I have decided to rejoice in the small accomplishments. A new fan is finally in place!

Out with the old. YUCK!

In with the NEW!!

As you can see the green tape is still up because we still need to paint all the trim. When we finally finish that, the new carpet will go in! Then the furniture and decor! It's killing me to look at the crib and dresser in boxes everyday. I'm learning patience... I think.

The Belly Book I want to share this fabulous find with all the soon to be pregnant ladies. I can not take credit for this discovery. My good friend Beth Light was the first of the "roomies" from college to get pregnant and she kept a pregnancy journal using this book. Since then another "roomie" Sara Randolph used the same book as well, so you know my little Cooper couldn't be left out. It has space for a weekly journal entry as well as space for your weekly photo. It also asks questions about how the pregnancy is going. The only negative about this book. You can see in "slow motion" the weight gain from week to week. blah

As you know I love showing off what the mail man brings me. Cooper's baby book has finally arrived! I ordered it off Etsy. LOVE IT!

Look at how cute they packaged it.

I hope Cooper likes orange.

New Blog Idea! Updated Nursery Argyle pic:)

I’ve been lacking in blog ideas for the past few days. It’s been crazy around my house lately. We are still working on Cooper’s Room so his crib, dresser and his ridiculous amount of clothes are all crammed in my guest bedroom… along with Sam, Daniel’s youngest brother who is visiting from Kuwait. I think God is giving me a little glimpse of what it will be like to live with two boys. Lots of laundry, messes, video games, cartoons (Sam loves cartoon network so it’s on all the time) and messing around outside. I had a fabulous weekend shopping with Dana, my mother-in-law, and leading my Little Saints singing program on Sunday. After Sundays surprisingly amazing performance by my 3, 4, and 5 year olds I came up with a great blog idea! People are always amazed at the Bible knowledge my Little Saints have. I would love to take credit for there amazing memory and ability to share God’s word, but that credit belongs to the wonderful teachers that teach them each day.

Warning: I’m now going to challenge all parents and ask that you hold me accountable to do the same with my own children. Parents, ask yourself “Who is in charge of teaching my child the word of God?” Is it your church? Your child’s school or caregiver? We all know the answer to this. It’s you. You and you alone are responsible for teaching your child about God’s word. Yes, a wonderful children’s program at church and school is helpful in reinforcing what you teach at home, but you can’t expect other people to be responsible for your child’s spiritual growth. They will live how you live. Are you faithful? Are you dedicated to learning more about God’s word? Do they see you reading your Bible? Are you actively putting his word in your heart? These are all things I want my Cooper to do, REALITY CHECK, Daniel and I must do them as well. Something I have discovered in my last 6 years working in education is parents are often willing and able to teach at home, however they are lacking the proper recourses to teach at home. Finally a fantastic blog idea! I have UNLIMITED recourses in this area! All of my ideas are kid tested and God approved! Starting next Sunday I will give parents a quick and easy Bible lesson to teach at home. Believe it or not, you might see your spiritual life change drastically as well. They are fun easy things you can do at home to teach your children that God is priority. My mother loves to use the word “intentional.” Lets be intentional parents. I have a feeling if we were all intentional in our homes we could change the future of our churches. In fact, I don’t think we have a choice. You have been called to be intentional about teaching your children. It’s your challenge, take it or leave it. Tune in on Monday’s to see the lessons! If you need a little inspiration read Psalm 119:11. Lets start by hiding God’s word in our heart.

Now on to less serious matters. The nursery. The photo below contains a picture of my labor of love over the past few weeks. I would like to dedicate this argyle strip to my 6th grade math teacher, with out you Ms. Woolly, my Cooper would have plain walls.

The Mail Man Delivers again!

Look what the mail man delivered today! My summer diaper bag. Yes, I know that most people use only one diaper bag, and yes. I know that this one is not very practical and will get dirty easily. But who cares! Just look how fabulous it is!!!!!! As soon as it’s dirty it will be time to change to my awesome timi & leslie diaper bag. I am having way to much fun checking the mail these days.

Fabulous Finds!

Time for me to blog and brag! I found the most fabulous deals this weekend. I love to organize, well… maybe I should rephrase that… I love to buy stuff to organize. I found these two baskets for the total bargain price of $6! I’ve been begging Daniel to let me buy a pillow with a chalk board on it for Cooper’s room. It’s $30 on Etsy so I’m thinking the $3 basket with a chalkboard on it is a little more practical. You can’t ever have to many baskets! (My Mother-in-law really lives by this motto. She has over a hundred. No lie.) I also wanted to show off a fun play outfit that I’m in love with. People keep asking me what my style is and this is it! No smocked clothes here, we are going for a more modern look, however this seems to be popular with just me and Daniel. The Grandmothers are all about baby blue and little sleeper outfits. Cooper will just have to wear both. Any of you who grew up with me will recognize this toy. Austin street had one in it’s cradle roll class. When I saw this at Target I just had to have it. It was purchased two years ago! I love all the old Fisher Price toys they are bringing back. Finally all my argyle diamonds are done. Now I just have to paint on the stitching. More math. Yuck.

This Tuesday is the dreaded glucose test at the doctor. After that it’s off to register at Hays and then pick out our new carpet! FINALLY.

Counting Down from 100!

For some reason I find myself walking down memory lane today. Today is special because I only have 100 days left until my due date. I’m the kind of person always looking forward to something. The wedding countdown, the I’m flying to Kuwait to see Daniel countdown, the Daniel is flying home from Kuwait after 13 months away countdown… and now finally the I’m going to have my very own real kid countdown! As I prepare the nursery I have had to do a little reorganizing and in doing this I found a little scrap book I made Daniel titled 100 days until the big I DO! Each page included a different reason I loved him. I decided to sit and read all 100 things I listed 6 years ago. I can honestly say that I could easily come up with 100’s more now that we are married. The one that stood out to me the most was… “I love you because you will be the most AMAZING father in the world.” Of course with the crazy pregnancy hormones I cried. I love when God so clearly answers my prayers. I am one very blessed wife and mommy.

Take a look at what I’m working on! I am adding one stripe of argyle print to Cooper’s nursery. You can see that it’s not done yet but I think the finished product will be fabulous! Stay tuned to see it when I’m done!

Side note: This required lots of math. I have teachers that would be so proud.