Transformers Party!

I finally finished this post about Little Man's 5th Birthday and Going Away Party! Little Man's Birthday Celebration was actually spread out into 2 days so he was excited to extend the Birthday Boy spoiling for an extra day :o) He even wore his Transformer Birthday Ribbon both days. We started the excitement last Friday on his actual Birthday. The Birthday boy requested to have strawberry-blueberry pancakes with whipped cream... they were delicious!

A quick side note: I mentioned in an earlier post that Squishy broke my camera ( a Nikon Powershot ) Well I was unable to get a new digital camera before the party of the same quality. I bought a $20 camera and the picture quality shows! Its not the best but at least I was able to snap a few pictures of the big day. I also have some pictures on my phone but I still haven't found the USB cord that goes with a Pantech Phone. Does anyone know where I can find one?

Sorry about that...continuing on with the party now...

After breakfast Little Man opened a few gifts that came from family and put together puzzles all afternoon while I worked a short shift. My parents took us all out to see Disney's new movie Brave. Little Man has wanted to see this movie since he saw the first preview on Cars 2 so it was a great way to end the first day of his Birthday Celebration!

The following day, Saturday, we had a party with about 16 kids in honor of Little Man's big day. I am so glad that his friends from school, soccer and church were able to make it out to see him. We set the location at a local park that has a water park inside the slides and jungle gyms. I was super nervous that Tropical Storm Debbie was going to rain it out. God blessed us with an amazing sunny morning with a light breeze for the party and a few rain clouds came in later in the afternoon, when the party was finished. The party was Transformer themed with  red and blue as the colors and a gorgeous Transformers cake that Publix was able to make in less than 24 hours notice (Another blessing). The pictures of the cake are among the pictures I need to download off my camera... sorry for the suspense until I get a USB cord. 

The kids were very helpful getting Little Man to open his presents. Some kids get upset with help unwrapping gifts but Little Man welcomes it knowing he can see what's inside sooner. 

Little Man received Transformers... Transformers and some more Transformers!

I'm glad my husband was excited about trying to figure out how to "transform" the toys because it looks pretty complicated to me. I think he feels like he's reliving his childhood. 

Little Man was proudly showing off his new movie How to Train Your Dragon to everyone. We actually owned a copy about a year ago but it was broken when Little Man was trying to take it out of the case. 

God showered us with so many blessings on this day it was amazing! No rain although there was a Tropical Storm. We were able to get a cake with less than 24 hour notice.

If you were starting to wonder why there are hardly any pictures with Squishy in them that is because he was having a blast running around, trying to eat dirt and chasing the stray cats around the picnic area. At one point he jumped off the picnic table into the dirt and rolled around in it. He was a muddy mess because he had run through the water park several times before he decided to roll around in the dirt. Little Man thought this behavior was hilarious and was continuously laughing at Squishy. I, on the other hand, was exhausted! Chasing Squishy around was a serious workout for me! But my Squishy marches to the beat of his own drum and continued with his craziness until the party ended. He passed out in the car on the way home. We didn't even reverse out of the parking lot and he was already asleep. 

Little Man was sad to tell everyone goodbye. He was especially sad to say goodbye to a sweet little girl he met at Spring Soccer this year. 

Here is the sweetest picture from the Two-day celebration. Little Man telling Squishy goodbye as he was taking his nap after the party. Little Man went to spend some time with his Ga Ga and Pop Pop in Central Florida. He kissed his little brother on the head and said, "Don't be sad Baby, I love you and I will come back in 100 days!" LOL

Children are truly a gift from God and his way of saying that the world should go on. The innocence and pure love that pours from their hearts is enough to make the most calloused heart melt. My Little Man is no different. He is turning into such a little gentleman! I think his party was everything he could have hoped for and imagined. 

Happy 5th Birthday Little Man!

Urgent Prayer Request

I attended Elementary and Middle School with a sweet girl named Whitney. She is one of those people with a beautiful smile and sweet personality. Since our early school years we have lost touch but she will always be one of those friends I will always remember when I reminisce on those simple years of my childhood. Today I was stunned to hear that a man broke into her home and stabbed her along with three other people. Whitney's fiancee was killed in this brutal attack and it has left her in the ICU. The man responsible went on a crime spree injuring many people along his destructive path.

Please keep Whitney and her family in your prayers and those of all the other victims and their families that have had their lives turned upside down from this tragedy. I hope that God's grace will be the safe place these families turn to in order to help them navigate through the sadness, grief and confusion I am sure they are enduring. These are one of the moments that remind us that our time here on Earth is for a short time and we don't know when our time will be done. Live life fully, laugh unconditionally and love deeply.

Here is the most recent article.

Happy 5th Birthday Little Man!

Five years ago today I was given the amazing gift of Motherhood! My first born little boy weighed 5lbs. 14oz and was 18 inches long. Tomorrow is the party but today was one of the happiest moments in my life! We love you my sweet boy!

Haircuts For All!

Squishy is almost 20 months old and has never had a haircut. I am sure you can tell by the crazy curly long locks that surround his face in all of the pictures I have posted of him. Well today was the day we cut off all those long curls! I was able to snap a few shots of my sweet baby sitting in the hair dresser's chair. I was so nervous Squishy was going to be very angry and cry that we were having him "sit still". He only had a few seconds of unhappiness, then he saw his reflection. I guess he decided sitting still wasn't so bad as long as he could stare at himself. I am so glad he didn't seem to mind the process after that except the fact that his hair would fall into his face ever so often. After a few strands would hit his nose he would try to take off his smock.

After a few minutes Squishy felt confident enough to pose for a picture. Look at my sweet boy giving me a slight smile. I think he was wondering if the promise for a lolly would be fulfilled. Thank goodness the nice hairdresser was patient with the me even though she was dealing with me taking pictures of my squirmy child while she is taming his crazy hair. 

And as promised... a sugary treat as reward for being as well-behaved as possible for the First Haircut experience. He chose a watermelon flavored lolly :o)

This was not Little Man's First Haircut obviously but it is adorable to watch him get his haircut. I feel bad because it has been a long time since his last haircut and he has been asking to get it cut for at least a month. As you can see from the pictures...He is so serious and watches the hairdresser the entire time. He will even ask for his hair to be "just a little shorter please, I look really handsome with short hair. My mommy says so!" 

Squishy has a great example for a Big Brother and I couldn't be more proud of my two handsome young men.

Babylon: Daniel's Courage in Captivity {Day 3, 4 & 5}

I am sorry I wasn't able to keep up with the daily updates. Working extra shifts is starting to catch up to me and my schedule feels completely jumbled. Here is a small overview of the past three days at VBS. On Wednesday I did manage to get an adorable picture of Little Man in the lion cut out on my cell phone but I am still searching for the USB cord to download it onto the computer. I did get a cute magnet to add to the refrigerator that just so happens to have a picture of Little Man in the lion cut out! 

The pictures around him are foam stickers of lions, angels and a sign that says "The God We Serve is Able to Save Us". The picture is up close because it also has Little Man's name across the top of the magnet with foam letter stickers! Its absolutely adorable and looks amazing next to the magnet he made last year. My favorite new magnet was the only thing that was brought home this week. We had several coloring sheets portraying different parts of the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den. Little Man also made several finger puppets and a jewelry box. The jewels that adorn the box have already been sprinkled all over the carpet and on random objects but for one whole day it was Little Man's prized possession. He even asked me if I had any diamonds and gold that I needed him to keep safe. He was really disappointed I said I didn't have any diamonds or gold but offered my watch (which wasn't good enough for the jewelry box lol) but was happy when I told him he could use it as a treasure chest instead. 

I think the plant project completed on the last day of VBS is Little Man's most favorite. The jar is decorated with a lion and Daniel is on the other side. The paper on the side says "Please water me so I can grow big & strong like Daniel". We need to find a safe spot that little fingers or crazy cats can't reach our special plant this weekend. We may have to leave the little guy outside on the patio, at least until we get the house a little more organized. I wonder what kind of plant it could be?

During the week there have been several feast days I have yet to post about. Wednesday was the Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua and Today is The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Tomorrow is the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Sunday is Father's Day.

Above are the only pictures I have from Wednesday during our small celebration of Saint Anthony of Padua. We enjoyed some delicious spaghetti and meatballs. I know Saint Anthony is mostly known for his time in Portugal but he also ministered in Italy. We needed something easy and quick and who doesn't love spaghetti night? As you can see by the pictures... Spaghetti night is always accompanied with a long bath :o) I am planning to incorporate the Feast of the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart on Sunday.

 Another craft that Little Man is extremely proud of was his lion hat which he shared with Squishy after his delicious pizza party. We are having a great start to the summer and have many more fun activities coming up including Squishy's first haircut tomorrow along with a friend's birthday party and an outside movie for the boys! Little Man's 5th Birthday and Going Away Party is also coming up next weekend! Please keep us in your prayers while we try to get this move underway.

The Divine Mercy Chaplet for Kids {Movie Review}

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I love that this movie makes it fun to pray! Check it out!

The Divine Mercy Chaplet for Kids is a beautiful depiction the Chaplet for the entire family. Sister Faustina is the host of this illustrated Divine Mercy Chaplet. Along with Sister Faustina is a group of young children that learning to say the Chaplet. Sister Faustina explains the way to properly pray the Chaplet and explains when to meditate on the Sorrowful Mysteries. The Sorrowful Mysteries are accurately portrayed and but is still sensitive to the eyes of the youngest viewers. The reactions of the children with Sister Faustina help children viewers to understand the overwhelming love that Jesus has for us and the importance of his sacrifice he made for us all. The children characters are easy to relate to and are shown participating in activities such as studying, playing with friends and receiving Reconciliation. I love how all of these daily activities are tied back to the Catholic Faith and the importance of how Jesus wants us to be self-sacrificing and forgiving people.

There are several learning tools utilized in this DVD that make a profound impact on children's ability to retain the prayers and how to use your rosary. The Chaplet is said out loud with Sister Faustina as the lead but it is also captioned below in an easy to follow format. The rosary is also shown along the bottom and lights each bead as the corresponding prayer in the Chaplet is said. In addition to the teaching of this important prayer, I love the music that corresponds with the illustrated story. My oldest son, who is only four, knows the Chaplet by heart thanks to this DVD and very often sings the "Thank you, my dear Jesus" song.  This DVD is the best way to make learning the Chaplet for children of any age easy and fun! 

I wrote this review of The Divine Mercy Chaplet for Kids for the free Catholic Book review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods, your source for Baptism Gifts and First Communion Gifts. Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases. I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River. Since writing this review the link to Aquinas no longer provides information on this product. Please use the link within the review to find the product on Amazon.

Babylon: Daniel's Courage in Captivity {Day 2}

 Today was the second day of VBS. Little Man had another amazing day with great stories and crafts.  It is so adorable to listen to him sing the songs he learned on the car ride home. I am pretty sure he makes up most of the words since he is still learning them but it makes it even more cute.

Crafts today included creating a stamp and picture from your unique stamp and a collar decorated rhinestones. It looks like the stamp was made my using a plastic lid from a peanut butter or mayonnaise jar that had foam cut out stickers on the top. The stamp was brought home with Little Man but when I tried to clean the ink off the stickers fell off as well. I had to throw away the wet project while no one was looking. The stamp craft seems like something that would be a great way to decorate handmade cards or scrapbook and I will be trying them out sometime too!

Here are the pictures of Little Man's prized artwork that will adorn the refrigerator until August. A color page of Daniel in Babylon to the left and his stamp artwork created from his homemade stamp to the right. I noticed today  that there is the cutest lion backdrop for people to take pictures with at Little Man's classroom. I didn't have my camera on me today but you better believe I will get a picture of Little Man with the lion tomorrow! Maybe even a picture of Squishy... I don't know if he will be tall enough but its worth a try!

Little Man wearing his decorated collar

Does anyone have any fun ideas to incorporate in Summer Learning? I have found a Book Adventure by the Sylvan Learning Center and The Summer Faith Adventure by Holy Heroes. We completed the Lenten Adventure with Holy Heroes for the first time this past Lent and it was an awesome experience for the whole family! I think I am just as excited as the kids about the Summer Adventure starting. This is our first time participating in the Book Adventure but Little Man is having fun creating a book list and reading some of the books we all ready own to get more reading points. I would really like to try a few more programs out if anyone has any suggestions... I would greatly appreciate it!

Time to make some coffee and get started on some cleaning and preparations for the Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua tomorrow. If you are looking for some quick ideas check out Catholic Cuisine! They have some wonderful recipes... some of which I will be trying out tomorrow! Pain Perdue (Lost Bread) and possibly the Multitude of Fish Trail Mix.... God Bless!