Girl, I'm Gonna Miss You!

This week, our family had to say goodbye to one of our favorite neighbors.  We met Kelsey five years ago, when she showed up on our doorstep, offering her services as a "mother's helper".  She has brightened many a day at the Sherman household and we are sad to see her leave.  We know God has many great things in store for her and her family as they start their new adventure in Charlotte, N.C.  We love you Kelsey and will miss you so much!!!

You Light Up My Life...

Tonight, I'm looking back at pictures of my baby boy.  He just turned four today.  Four.  He's getting so big. 

 

 

Dear Birthday Boy,

Happy BIG four, stinker-bottom!  Thank you for being a cutie pie, and Mommy's little snuggler.  You are 100% boy.  And yet, you have been known to wear Sissy's princess shoes.  You are a daredevil.  Thanks for making life exciting (although I could do without the ER visits and the broken collarbone).  Just like your Daddy, you have a sensitive side (shhh...I won't tell).  When Sissy gets upset, you try and do something funny to make her laugh.  I've even seen you rub her hair.  Thank you for your tender heart. 

I love you more than words can say,
Mommy 

And here's a layout from tonight's celebration:

Everyday I Write The Book...

Okay, lots of randomness going out to you today, brought to you by a Mommy stuck in her house on a gloomy, overcast day.  Little Aaron has a fresh cold, but he's determined to take out every board game we own and scatter their contents all over the living room and office floors. For real.

First of all, yesterday's post title?

Those lyrics are from an Old Harry Connick, Jr. song, "Recipe for Love".

HLo, will you please come on over and pick something out of my prize box? Kudos to you for identifying the artist.

Now, moving on to today's title.  Anyone know the artist? I must say, this song makes me chuckle.  Not because of the lyrics themselves, but because of the words I ACTUALLY SANG for the longest time.  Chronic lyricosis strikes again.  And I guess you have to realize that my primary mode of transportation WAS the yellow school bus.  Picture a gangly, frizzy-haired and brace-faced adolescent belting out these words:  "Everyday, everyday...everyday I ride the bus."  Okay, well it makes me laugh.

I chose today's title as an introduction to another short story that our very own Miss Katelyn typed up last night.

 Please enjoy her VERY SHORT story, The Fairy and the Family:

There was a family that was cleaning a house but the daughter complained so the dad sent her up to her room to take a rest.  But the girl did not sleep, she played.  While she was playing she saw a sparkle float in the air.  It popped and became a fairy.  She blinked her eyes to see if she was awake.  The fairy said that her parents needed her.  But the girl said that she would never help her family.  So the fairy asked the girl to go with her.  So she did.  The fairy took her to a magical world.  It had signs like "be nice" and "don't brag".  Finally they got to a castle that said, "only for people who don't follow the rules".  Soon the fairy brought her to a room with two chairs and a movie screen.  The fairy showed her clips of her family working hard.  She turned off the movie screen and said, "Do you want to help them now?"  The girl said yes.  So the fairy took the girl back to her house.  The girl went downstairs and asked to help her parents.  So her mom said yes!! 

The End.

Maybe not the most dramatic story ever written, and it's pretty predictable, but I love how my baby is writing things like, "She blinked her eyes to see if she was awake".  Of course, I'm not sure what inspired her to write this one.  I mean, it's not like I FORCE her to clean or anything.  Guess it's time for a chore list or something.

And finally, want to know what this sweet face is reading?

We've been going to the new library lately, and he's getting better about letting his Dad and I read to him.  So, at night, his Daddy has been reading:

These are funny books and they lend themselves to a LOT of laughter (especially once you master pirate-speak).  Big sister Katelyn even joins in on the fun.  It warms my heart to hear soooo much giggling coming from his room. 

I also picked up this book yesterday, and it's fast becoming a favorite:

Aaron is so cute...he hides his eyes when David gets in trouble.  And he will say "I don't do that." or "That's naughty, David".  So cute!

What do you like to read to your kids?

I didn't get it from my grandma's book upon the shelf...

Know those lyrics? Come on...take a wild guess!

I'll give you a hint.  The song touches upon my blog post topic tonight...recipes.

Don't go cheatin' and Google it, but leave me your guess in the comments.

As you may remember, I've shared recipes on here before, using my handy-dandy recipe template.
I love the fact that I can just plug the different recipes in to the same format, and print out my own
special recipe cards (or just upload them for your viewing pleasure).  Here's a sample of
what I'm talking about:

By the way, this is a great recipe if you are looking for some good dip & chips!

So basically I just take this template (in Adobe Photoshop Elements) and add the words.

Okay, so without further adieu, I want to show you a few of the templates I've been workin' on.  I realized after the fact on some of these that I needed to change the font color, but you get the idea.  What do you think? Which one is YOUR favorite?

Ballerina Girl...

Katelyn has been taking dance classes at Carolina Dance Center for several years now (well...she took last year off because she said she was bored with dance, and Mama ain't shelling out any hard-earned cash for something she doesn't appreciate!).  This year, Katelyn is enrolled in Ballet 1, and the awesome part is that our sweet neighbor and friend Kesley is her T.A.  Not only does Kelsey really encourage Katelyn to try and do her best and improve her dance skills, but she is Katelyn's biggest fan.  I am so thankful to have someone who spends time with Katelyn, on and off the dance floor.  We have always thought of Kelsey as Katelyn's big sis, and so today, they decided to dress alike and take pics before dance class! Don't faint, but I actually spent tonight scrapbooking these pictures....check it out:

(Remember, you can click to ZOOM in for a bigger picture.)

 

 

Thank you Kelsey for all the love and support you have given Katelyn these past few years.  If she has half your passion and dedication, I think she'll make a great dancer!  We love you for always being there for Katelyn. 

A Funny Conversation

Katelyn, Kelsey and I were in our office, discussing the typical melancholy that can occur after Christmas & New Year's Day.  Here's how it went down:

Katelyn (looking at our Countdown to Christmas decoration):  Mom, how many days until next Christmas?
Me:  How about we count down to something a bit closer?
Kelsey (who is getting ready to take a cruise to Jamaica in March for her spring break): Yeah, like Jamaica!
Katelyn (very serious here):  Umm...we don't celebrate Jamaica.

That was just too funny.  I had to explain to Katelyn that Jamaica was a place, and not a special holiday.  We all got a big laugh out of that one!