Getting ready for Christmas!

I can't believe how fast Christmas is coming... it's kind of making me all panicky!! Ack! Do you have your tree yet? We always wait until after Kade's birthday to decorate. We're hoping to get a tree on Sunday and bring out the big box of ornaments, stockings, snowflakes, and the nativity.

The main problem is WHERE to put the tree.... going to have to move some furniture and probably block one of the doors.... hmmm...

Look what is up for sale in my shop!


Hopefully he will be sold in time to arrive in his new home by Christmas!

I also have more Dino's ready. Only two are listed at the moment, but I have a stack that I'm working on that will be ready very soon! Some of the ribbon I used isn't being made anymore, so I decided it was time for me to update Dino and make him even better! He now has 7 ribbons instead of 6, and I altered the pattern a tiny bit. Here is his new look:


I'm going to go work on them right now.

Here is one of my favorite Christmas songs to listen to, enjoy :)

5 years ago

5 years ago at this moment I was sitting in a chair in the NICU, holding my 8 hours old baby boy, stamping his footprints on his birth certificate, and listening with worry to his raspy, gasping breaths. I was wondering if I could really do this - be a mom.

I was debating in my head whether his middle name should be Elisha or Elijah. I was waiting for the ambulance to come and transport him to Childrens Hospital so they could stick a camera down his throat and see what was making that horrible, desperate noise. I was overcome with joy, adoration, and love over this adorable little baby, who was mine. Ours. Somehow, God trusted us enough to give us this precious gift. I was in awe about how tiny he was, and finding it hard to look into the future and see him holding his own bottle, crawling, walking, talking, going to school. I wanted to know if he would be artistic, or love sports, if he would be shy or outgoing, if he would like music, if he would be a daddy's boy or a mamma's boy.

I was also scared, because I knew he faced many hardships in his life to come- broken bones, broken hearts, fear, loneliness, grief, inadequacy, guilt. I wanted only happiness for him.


Today, 5 years later, I can't even believe how much has changed in this amount of time. It feels like a lifetime ago, and at the same time, it feels like it was just yesterday. Many of the questions I had then are now answered, but only to be replaced by hundreds of others, of course. I've done things as a mother that I could never do otherwise.

Kade has already had many hardships, including eye surgery in which he proved to be braver than me, many bumps and scrapes, and the harsh realization that everything that is alive will someday die. I have accepted that these things will happen and the only thing we can do is try and find the good in them. Because of his surgery, he can now see much better. All his bumps and scrapes have helped him learn that if he keeps trying, he can reach his goals. His realization of death has caused him to understand the need for a savior, and just 8 days before his 5th birthday, he asked Jesus into his heart.

Kade is so much more amazing than I ever even imagined, 5 years ago, holding the 6 pound newborn. Daily, he makes me laugh with his hilarious sense of humor, he challenges me with his stubbornness, he asks questions I don't know the answers to, and he showers me with hugs and kisses and sweet words.

I can't wait to see what the next 5 years brings. Happy birthday, Kade!

Fun Memories

Yesterday, we had a party to celebrate Kade's 5th birthday! A tradition seems to have fallen into place of having themed birthday parties. Kade has chosen them all out except for #1. So far we have had:
#1- Teddy Bears
#2- Cars and Trucks
#3- Mickey Mouse
#4- Yellow Lion
.....and this year we did Spongebob. I'm not sure he'll want to do a "theme" every time... he might be getting too old for that in a few years. I'll enjoy it while it lasts! We always do the parties at one of the grandparents houses, because our house is a bit too small for a crowd. This year we even invited more than normal- there were over 30 people there, and 11 of them were under the age of 8! Everybody was able to make it, which we were very thankful for! I got to see some great friends that I haven't been able to see for a long time! Kade got so excited as each of his cousins and other friends came through the door. I heard him say several times, "HI!!! Welcome to my Spongebob birthday party!!!" I think the best gift for Kade was getting to play with them all together!

So, one of the things that I noticed while browsing the net for ideas, was that there are not many pictures of these ideas! And since I am a visual person, I thought maybe there are others out there who would appreciate the pictures. Many of these things could be applied to any type of birthday party. We made most everything ourselves. It was a fun project to do together, plus it kept costs down, which is always good! First, I made invitations using Print Shop.

I downloaded a free Spongebob font, and found all the images using Google. The little song at the top was an idea from this party website.

Next I created a banner in Print Shop, 4 pages in width. Jer and Kade colored it in for me after it was printed. This was hung above the front door.


I decided to include a game at the party, which is a first. I also got this idea from the party website linked above. I drew and colored Squidward on poster board. I drew, colored, and cut out the 4 funny noses, and about 10 Squidward noses. For the game, I asked the kids what was missing from the picture. I told them I happened to have some noses, and stuck each one on and said, "is this the right nose?" It had all the kids laughing, it was really cute! Finally I found the correct nose, and then each child got a chance to spin around, close their eyes, and try to stick the nose in the right place. They each chose a little prize out from the prize bucket. After the party, I stuck the game up on Kade's door, so he can switch the noses around or play the game whenever he wants.


The party decorations were done by Jer's parents - they went all out! The place looked awesome... here is a view of the atrium:

To top it all off, they had a bubble machine and a fan to blow around the streamers and jelly fish hanging from the ceiling! They did a great job!

I decided to make treat bags this year, but I forgot to take a picture of them. Kade loved picking out special things to include. I made a small coloring book using some of these images. We also put in a few crayons, a noise blower, Spongebob fruit snacks, animal crackers, chocolate coin, gummy krabby patty, bubbles, and a Spongebob tattoo. Kade decorated some lunch bags with stickers, and we tied the tops with blue ribbon and added a tag with the child's name.

Jer's mom made most of the food, and I made little signs for each thing, to keep in the Spongebob theme. We had:

Gary's Favorite Kelp Juice

Sandy's Jelly Fish Jam and Sea-Nut Butter Sandwiches

Spongebob's Pineapple House Special

Krabby Patty Secret Ingredient

Patrick's Crackers and Cheese

Squidward's Shark Fin Surprise

Mrs. Puffs Pirate Booty

Last but not least, the BIRTHDAY CAKE! My mom made it for us. She could sell these cakes that she makes, they are amazing! I always feel bad cutting into them! This cake was so yummy, it disappeared in no time :)


Kade loved his cake, loved the party, loved playing with all his friends, loved all the awesome presents, and had a great time... all the preparation was worth it to see his smiling face!


When the party was over, Kade looked completely overwhelmed, exhausted, and ready to go. Later in the night he came down with a fever, and today he is sick. Maybe he just partied too hard! Or maybe he was just hanging on to get through Thanksgiving and his party, and finally let the fever take over. He hasn't had one in over a month, so it was about due. It's so sad to see him sick, but right now he's cuddled up on the couch in some new Spongebob pj's, watching a new Planet Heroes movie, drinking apple juice, and playing Spiderman checkers. He doesn't let a fever get him down!