Claire's Faces

Marker Face: Claire decided it would be a good idea to mark up her face with markers. And the funny thing about it is that she did some of it sitting right in front of me on the table. By the time I looked at her and realized what she had done it was too late.

Then she came out of the bedroom covering her face like this. That's when I knew she'd added to her masterpiece while hiding away in one of the bedrooms.

Nutella Face: Around our house, a toasted Nutella and peanut butter sandwich really hits the spot. I was making one for Emma and this is what I found when I came back to the counter when the toast popped up. I guess Claire really likes it too!


Craft the Night Away Spring 2010

Craft the Night Away went really well tonight. Jason and one of his Deputy friends helped me set up all the tables and chairs. That was so nice. They did it so fast and put them right where I wanted them. I set out all the orders and supplies last night and so things went a lot better this time around. I was so grateful for all the help of others being in charge of crafts and helping clean up and put everything away. It was a fun night!

Who's Erin?

We had to do some last minute errands today for Craft the Night Away. When I told the kids Paul questioned, "Who's Erin?" Ha! "No, errands," I had to clarify.

Here we are at Ace trying to find gel stain. Aside from Paul poking Benjamin in the eye with a dowel, we had a pretty good time.

This is after the dowel incident

Me and photo a day

This is how I see life lately - from behind my camera. Not that I'm claiming to be anything but amateur level. I do enjoy thinking each day of how to capture the little things that make up our daily activities.

"hat" & Cleanup Crew

This morning I told Benny that he couldn't go out in the rain. He simply said, "No, hat." As if to say, "Come on mom. The hat makes everything OK."

Jason was cutting my block sets for our Craft the Night Away this Friday and these two little helpers came in to clean up the mess. Claire got so mad at Benny when he dumped the dustpan out in the grass before she was ready.

puppet show

I caught Emma and Paul putting on a puppet show to no one in particular. Once they saw the flash of my camera they quickly hid. They were occupied for quite a while though.

Grandkid Luncheon 2010

We held our second annual Grandkid luncheon out at my Mom's today. It went really well. Planning a day to honor such a great group of kids was fun for me. We took our customary group photo before we ate.

Here's Claire & Emma this morning as we got ready for church. Claire actually kept her headband and flower on all day. Her and Emma looked so cute!

For lunch we had sub sandwiches and chips and salads - potato, pasta, and green - Yummy! It was a little chilly to be eating outside, but the fresh air and sunshine was welcome indeed. You can tell the boys liked the grub.

After we ate, I gathered them all together for my little message. This year I chose "I know who I am, I'll take a stand" as my theme. Last year we talked about who they are-children of the most High (Heavenly Father). And so this time I had them tell me different things that we stand for and how important it is to stand up for one another. I also just reminded them we love them and that we recognize their efforts to be obedient and do what is right.

I kept the message short, but I felt the spirit throughout the rest of the day as I interacted with each of my nieces and nephews and even my own children. I just felt an increase of love for these wonderful children that are part of our family. I couldn't thank them for their help cleaning up or helping each other out enough. I want to remind them how special they are as often as I can.

A Good Book

We (my mom, sisters, and sisters-in-law) had our book club this evening and this is the book that we discussed. I really liked it and the new perspective I gained about the Atonement. Thanks Mom and Dad E for watching my kids so I could go.

"Bird died"

So I was sitting at the computer checking my e-mail when a loud bang startled me half out of my chair. A couple of unsuspecting birds ran into our huge family room window next to me. One of them didn't make it, and of course, all of my little ones wanted to see the little bird. We put him in a sack and then I led a processional out to the garbage. Then we all waved and left him to his peace. Ben and Claire kept saying "Birdie died?." (A question and statement combined.) Paul and I had a great conversation about guts.

Blocks of Inpspiration

I have been working on some Inspiration Blocks and a photo block just for fun. I have wanted to do them for a while and since I needed to do some blocks for my sister-in-law, I decided to break out all my stuff and finish mine. Oh, it was so much fun! Not a lot of work involved, just a lot of pausing in between steps, or in the middle of steps, depending on what the kids were doing or how late I was on getting lunch and dinner going. I've wanted to do the photo block for a while when I found the idea at Little Birdie Secrets. I finally got it done. I haven't stained it like they did; I painted mine yellow - so bright and happy. The other two blocks sport quotes that I liked and wanted to have around to remind me of choosing each day to follow Christ and to become a better person.

5x7 photo on a 7x7 block

7x8 block

6x8 block

Fun in the Dirt

Lately we've been doing a lot of this - digging and playing in the dirt. They come in just covered from head to toe in dirt. We have to escort them back out the door to brush them off and tousle their hair to get somewhat clean. But what can I say? They absolutely love playing in the dirt. This area used to be over run with weeds and debris from previous renters until Jason cleaned it up. Now it is the favorite play spot of all the kids. (Paul is holding his shorts up because he fell and scraped his knee.)