back to school...

My baby boy started Kindergarten last Wednesday...and he LOVES it!  We are so thankful for a sweet teacher who loves her job.

Here are a few "back to school" pictures!

 A little heart to remind him throughout the day that his mommy and daddy love him!

happy {heart} day...

from my two little valentines!

31 days of warming up to the holidays: {day 19} wooden nativity blocks

When Grayson was just shy of 1, I was in charge of the crafts for our MOPS meetings.  This is the craft that I came up with and it’s one of my favorite things to pull out of our Christmas decoration bins.

I wanted to make a nativity that my little guy could play with…that I wouldn’t be worried about him breaking.  Then I found this blog post one day and loved it!  The stickers that they used are out of print, but you can download the clip art that I used here: http://www.pccrafter.com/shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?id=168&s=1  The clip art has many more “characters” including King Herod, the inn, the star, etc.

I took it a step further than the original blogger did and added Bible verses to the back of my blocks.  This makes it easy to tell Grayson about the Nativity while playing with him…and hopefully these blocks will still be around when he can read the verses for himself!

Here’s what you need for the blocks:

• 1 2x4 piece of lumber
• A print out of the clip art – I printed mine on a laser printer because ink from an ink jet printer tends to bleed when you use Mod Podge on top of it.
• Paint of your choice
• Mod Podge

1.  Cut your 2x4 into 3-inch pieces, enough for the amount of characters that you’d like in your Nativity.  You’ll have blocks that are roughly 3 1/2 x 3 inches, because  a 2x4 isn’t really 2 inches x 4 inches.

2. Sand down any rough edges.

3. Paint your blocks the color of your choice.  I painted all of my blocks white, then went over them with a light coat of brown.

4. While the paint is drying, cut your clip art out.

5. Once your blocks are dry, adhere the figures to the blocks using Mod Podge.  Put a coat of Mod Podge over the top of the figure, too.

6.  Adhere the verses to the back of the blocks if you’d like.

7. I didn’t do this step, but you might spray them with a clear sealer of some sort.  My blocks probably wouldn’t look as worn if I had sealed them.

8.  Wrap them up for your favorite child!

 

If you’d like a .pdf file of the verses for each character, send me an e-mail and I’ll gladly send them to you!

31 days of warming up to the holidays: {day 10} footprint ornament

Almost 4 years ago our Christmas present came a little early…in the form of this precious baby boy.  Truly a miracle boy.  Shortly after a very routine delivery, both of Grayson’s little lungs collapsed.  I’ll save the rest of the story to post on his birthday, but it’s a great story.                           



This was the Christmas card we sent out in 2007 – with all of Grayson’s announcement information on the back.  I can hardly believe the wild, crazy, fun-loving almost 4-year old boy was once that tiny.  Oh my heart, I love that boy. 

I like to make an ornament for our family every year and made this one with Grayson’s tiny little footprint:



I must love crafting, huh?  I was crazy enough to make these with a newborn who was fresh out of the NICU…but I’m so glad I did! It was such a simple project but such a sweet memory and great keepsake.  I simply took a 3 1/2 inch brown paper/cardboard ornament from Hobby Lobby (these are very inexpensive, but are often on sale for 50% off!) and painted it green.  I then painted the bottom of Grayson’s tiny little foot and “printed” it on the ornament.  After it was dry I added the “g” using a paint pen and hot glued a ribbon to the top.  The back is labeled with “Grayson’s First Christmas” and the year.

These would be great ornaments to make with your kiddos!  If there feet (or hands) aren’t tiny enough to fit on an ornament, how about having them paint the ornaments?  Pick out a color scheme that you like and let them have at it!

This is my favorite ornament to hang on the tree….what’s yours?

31 days of warming up to the holidays: {day 5} the jesus storybook bible

Looking for a great Bible to read through with your kiddos during this Christmas season?  The Jesus Storybook Bible is perfect.

The Jesus Storybook Bible isn’t your typical Bible in that it is written as more of a story, with each “chapter” leading to the next.  You won’t find books/chapters/verses, but this Bible doesn’t leave anything out, in fact it points children to the Big Story. As author Sally Lloyd-Jones says in the introduction:

“…the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne – everything – to rescue the one he loves . It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life! You see, the best thing about this Story is – it’s true. There are a lot of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.”

The Jesus Storybook Bible is recommended for ages 4 and up. I would encourage you, as the parent, to read through each story before you read it to your child. Not because you’ll have to censor anything in the story, but because it’ll give you a totally different perspective on a lot of the “stories” we’ve heard growing up. In fact, Dr. Tim Keller (of Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City) suggests,

“I would urge not just families with young children to get this book, but every Christian--from pew warmers, to ministry leaders, seminarians and even theologians! Sally Lloyd-Jones has captured the heart of what it means to find Christ in all the scriptures, and has made clear even to little children that all God's revelation has been about Jesus from the beginning--a truth not all that commonly recognized even among the very learned.”

The illustrations are amazing, the words remind us that Jesus is the center of the Story, and that all of the stories whisper his name…in fact, here’s a little excerpt of the Bible as it tells us about Jesus’ birth:

“And there, in the stable, amongst the chickens and the donkeys and the cows, in the quiet of the night, God gave the world his wonderful gift. The baby that would change the world was born.  His baby Son.

Mary and Joseph wrapped him up to keep him warm.  They made a soft bed of straw and used the animals’ feeding trough as his cradle. And they gazed in wonder at God’s Great Gift, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.

 Mary and Joseph named him Jesus, “Emmanuel” – which means “God has come to live with us.”

Because, of course, he had.”

**The people behind the Jesus Story Book Bible have no idea who I am…I’m not being paid to share my opinions.  I just love this resource for my family and think it is a wonderful gift for the child in your life.**

a conversation with Grayson...

My child is saying the funniest things these days and I want to remember them. So when I came across this idea on Pinterest, I knew that I had to re-create it.

 

I took most of the questions used on the original idea and simply had a little "interview" with Grayson while he was playing.  He LOVES to tell me stories, so this was right up his alley.

Some of his answers crack me up...he calls pepperoni pizza, "macaroni" pizza; Bart is my husband's intern (my hubs is a youth pastor); Trenton Moeller is one of the students in my husband's student ministry; and Grayson thinks it really is a dining board, instead of a diving board.

I'd love to do these little interviews a couple of times a year to remember all of the funny things that Grayson says!