A Father's Love

Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world. -Sarah Ban Breathnach

The book by Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, that I blogged about a few weeks ago is still changing me daily. It is still changing the way I see the world. I am allowing the little things in life to change me.

As I was writing about Presley's reunion with her daddy at the airport in my Eucharist (thanksgiving) journal I started to think about God's love for us. The one thing that I love about this book (and keeping a journal about the little things that I am thankful for) is that I am forced to make a connection between the "little things" in my life and what God is trying to reveal to me daily. It's just like Ann says in her book,

"these little things are just the common things and maybe I don't even know they are gifts until I write them down. Gifts He bestows. This writing down-it is sort of like...unwrapping God's love."

I felt this when I sat down this morning to document in my journal the reunion between Presley and her daddy. I looked past the way it made me "feel" and looked deeper- to see what God was trying to show me. I saw Him. I imagine that the reunion Presley had with Joey- Presley with the biggest smile on her face, running as fast as her little legs could carry her right into her daddy's opened arms- is the same type of reunion we will experience in heaven when we come face to face with our Savior. What a wonderful image to have ;o) especially with Father's Day just around the corner.

I learned so much about Christ's love for me when I was little because of the way my dad fathered me and my sisters. Today, I continue to experience Christ's love for me through my precious daughter. It is being a parent that allows me to experience the love God has for me. It is because of this experience that I have greater insight into who God is as a Father. It is the sacrifice He made for us through his Son that reveals His unconditional love for us.

I think it's the circumstances and the things we experience throughout our life that molds us and makes us who we are. If you think about it, if there was no pain in our life then how would we truly know God? I am certain that I would have never experienced God's comfort, love, or peace as deeply as I did after my mom's death had I not gone through the experience of losing her. I can also say that, to this day, I have not experienced His comfort in that same way...at least not that deeply or intensely. Probably because I have not experienced that deep of a hurt or loss since then....If that makes sense?

"God is in the details; God is in the moment. God is in all that blurs by in a life-even hurts in a life." -Ann Voskamp

This morning as I was searching for a specific Bible verse I came across a website called, "Father's Love Letter" This was the first time I have ever heard of this website. I read through the written form of the letter first and then clicked on the video...reading it first made the video come alive. Click HERE to see the video and read the words (10 minutes) or Click HERE to listen to the video (6 minutes).

Thanks is what multiplies the joy and makes any life large, and I hunger for it!
-Ann Voskamp

10 Days Gone

Presley and I just got back from a 10 day trip to Colorado and San Antonio. It was a great trip, but a little too long to be away from Joey....especially for Presley. ;-( Poor girl really started missing him on Sunday! Joey bought us an iPad the week before we left so it was great to be able to use "facetime" while we were gone. Facetime allowed for us to see Joey while we talked to him. By Sunday, Presley was asking to "talk to daddy" and telling me that she wanted to "go bye-bye in mommy's car." I started feeling like a horrible mother by the time Monday rolled around. We had been really busy and moved from my Grandparent's house in Colorado, to my Aunt Reen's house, to the Axtell farm, back to my Grandparent's house, to my dad's house in San Antonio, and ended at my Grandma Cose's house for the last 2 days of our trip. Needless to say, Presley was stressed out and her little body showed it! Now that we are back home, she is back in her element and back to her old self! When we got off the plane yesterday afternoon, Joey met us at the baggage claim and when Presley saw him she ran to him as fast as she could....and with the biggest smile on her face. I could just kick myself for not getting it on film, but the image of her running to him is etched in my mind forever. I couldn't help but tear up when I saw her run to him....she ran quite a ways too! ;o) More pictures/posts of our vacation to come! ;-)

New Discoveries...

I am a teacher blog addict. I miss teaching so much and just can't imagine never going back to it. Crazy that I would even think of going back since my greatest desire was to quit 3 years ago! eek! Teaching has changed so much just within the past 3 years! There are so many new creative ideas rolling around out there and so many ways for teachers to share ideas. When I was teaching, it was just a natural part of my daily routine to seek out advice and share ideas with other teachers. Some ideas failed and others helped spark new ideas. I loved being a part of such a tight knit group of teachers at the school I taught at and I loved working within a "team" setting. I can't help but approach parenting with a little bit of a teacher mentality. Some of you know exactly what I mean and probably think it's completely normal while others think I'm crazy. ;o) Ha! There are several teachers (mostly k-2) who have started blogs and share with the world what they are doing in their class. Some of the lessons are wonderful and some of them aren't, but that is the great thing about teaching....trial and error. ;o) Last week, I came across a blog called Teachers Pay Teachers and all I have to say about it is....where was this website when I was teaching? As I was looking through some of the lessons, ideas, curriculum, etc. I came across a blog that just made me want to jump back into teaching next week! It reminded me so much of the lessons and things we used to do in our first grade classrooms....it made me miss the "teaching" aspect of teaching. The teacher of this blog uses a lot of techniques from a book called Reading with Meaning. She also uses a lot of ideas from a book by Debbie Diller called "Literacy Work Stations." Debbie just came out with a new book called Math Work Stations which I haven't read yet, but it looks awesome! Check out this blog ;o) Mrs. Jump's Class Don't you just love it! ;o) I'm a dork, I know! ;-p
Some other things I have discovered in this past week...
pinterest don't know yet if I will be joining this...not sure I can keep up with another thing
Teachers Pay Teachers
iBooks and a ton of iPad Apps: My favorite for Presley is the Elmo's ABC app. AWESOME! It kept Presley and Reid busy for hours in Colorado one night when Sara and Brian were out on a date...and there was no fighting between the kids!! Imagine that!
Teaching Blog Addict
Head Sprout (thanks Sara!)
Jones Design Company

Father's Day Frame

I made this frame for Joey last June for Father's Day. Since then, I have had many people ask me how I did it. And since Father's Day is just around the corner I thought I'd repost! It was rather simple actually, it was just very time consuming. It's also a bit hard to explain if you aren't familiar with Photoshop Elements or digital scrapbooking, but here is how I made the frame...
1-I bought the wood square frame at Michael's for $1
2- I painted the frame (front,back, and side) black
3- I printed out about 40 black and white photos measuring 1in. x 1in., and 4 large black and white pictures measuring 2in x 2in. (I used a regular printer, and printed the photos onto regular paper, but you could use actual pictures if you wanted)
4- I cut out each picture using an exacto knife
5- I used Mod Podge to paste down the pictures (I used tweezers to help place the smaller pictures down)
6- I waited about 60 minutes for the Mod Podge to dry and then brushed a thin layer of Mod Podge over the pictures...be careful to use a very thin layer because the pictures will smear.
7- (optional) the center photo is a digital scrapbook page I created using Photoshop Elements 6. I wanted the picture in the middle to "pop" to give it a 3D effect. So, I took a piece of cardboard measuring 3in x 3in, painted it black, and then super glued it to the center opening on
the front of the frame. Then, I mod podged the photo to the piece of cardboard and brushed a thin layer of Mod Podge over the front of the photo.

NOTE: **I used Photoshop Elements 6 to create the 1x1 inch and 2x2 inch photos. If you are familiar with digital scrapbooking and creating templates then this should be the easiest way to convert your pictures to BW, crop your photos down to size, and print them.
**I also used Photoshop Elements 6 to create the center picture. I created a "new file" that measured a standard picture size of 4x6. Then, I created a 3in x 3in. mask and re-sized one of my scrapbook pages to fit. I sent it off to Walgreens to be printed off as an actual picture and then just cut out the 3in x 3in part.

2 and growing...

Presley, you just turned 25 months and I can't believe how much you've grown just within the past few months. A few weeks before your second birthday we converted your crib into a toddler bed. I was really nervous that you would be in and out of it nightly, but surprisingly enough, it was a very easy transition for you. You've only tried getting out of bed twice! Although, there have been quite a few times where some of your toys have mysteriously appeared in your bed after nap time. ;o) I imagine that you pop out of your bed, grab your toys, and then return to your bed in just a matter of a few seconds...not so easy for a busy mommy like me to catch! Sneaky...ha!
You are talking A.LOT! You pick up on new words and phrases every day. Your daddy and I have to be careful about what we say because you repeat everything! Your pronunciation and enunciation of words is still developing so it's hard for others to understand what you are saying sometimes, but I can usually understand just about everything you say.You continue to love animals and you still have a special place in your heart for Goose....not so much for Jester, but that's ok because nobody really likes him anyways. ;-) j/kYour schedule is all messed up right now so you are not taking too many naps these days. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that you don't have a daily "nap time." If you are not tired enough to sleep then I just leave several books in your bed and let you read through them for awhile. ;o) You just love to read and we go to the library about every other week to pick out new books. Every time we walk up to the library you look at me, put your finger up to your lip, and say... "shhhh. You have to be quiet." You know exactly where your section of books are. You love to go through them and pick your favorites. Your daddy and I are quite amazed at how much you love to read.We continue to do room time with you every day and you really seem to enjoy it. You always tell me exactly when it's "room time." It's so nice to sit back and watch you play contently in your room. You sit and read through all of your books, pull out your dress up clothes, and play with your kitchenette. The other day you spent the entire 40 minutes just reading through your books! Right now your favorite books are the Frog Street Press Alphabet books You also love your Fancy Nancy books :o) which makes me very happy!!!You love to play outside, go down your slide, ride your bike, rock on your horse, and splash in your water table. Last week you started swim lessons with your daddy at Aqua Kids and you go to gymnastics with me on Monday mornings.You are still timid around other children...unless their name is Reid. ;o) You know most of your alphabet and a handful of numbers, but you are having a hard time learning your colors....but that's ok, I am sure you will learn them sooner or later. We started potty training at 24 months and you had a pretty good week of it. You had 2 really good successful days and then we had to postpone the training because you got sick. I decided to put the potty training on pause until after our 10 day trip to Colorado, but you are definitely ready! You tell me pretty much everyday that you need to go "poo poo in the potty."You are a bright little girl and seem to be a very visual learner. You love music and definitely have your Grandma Vickie's musical gene. You have only had a couple of meltdowns and one major temper tantrum a few months ago at the mall. You are learning to assert yourself more and we have had to tweak that assertiveness a little bit. Some of those phrases that need tweaking are...."I WAaaANT it", Turn it OOON", "NOoooOOooo!" There have also been lots of tears lately. It's hard for me to separate the mommy from the teacher in me so I usually end up meshing the two together. Lucky for you, I am in the process of creating a new behavior chart for you that involves the "I Can's" of life....something we used in first grade. ha!
Presley, you are... sweet, cheerful, happy, peaceful, observant, cautious, loving, gentle, and caring. You are also....timid, impatient, and reluctant to do things on your own. You don't like to try things unless you are sure to succeed, you tend to give up quickly or call for help before trying your hardest. I love the prayer journal that I started for you last January because it helps me to focus my prayers on growing your strengths and awakening me to your weaknesses. We continue to pray the verse we dedicated to you when you were born...

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may life a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience...
Colossians 1:9-11

USA Volleyball Nationals

the team in 2010

The USA Volleyball Nationals were in Dallas this year. ;o) Yeah! Joey and his team, Team Next, did fairly well for a bunch of 30+ old men. lol. They got 7th place this year. There has been lots of marriages and babies born within the last few years so this was the first time back at Nationals since 2007. Also, the team doesn't play, but 4 times a year now so they did great getting 7th place.
Volleyball has always been a huge part of Joey's life....especially when we first started dating. He used to play indoor and outdoor volleyball. I don't think there was ever a weekend that he was not playing....which provided me with a lot of down time. I think I would rather be playing!
Thankfully, he just plays indoor now! The guys did a great job playing and Joey played awesome! I love it when he does that. ;o) I was hoping for a repeat in the finals like they had in Austin in 2007, but it didn't happen this year....maybe next year boys!

Sensory Tubs

I set out Presley’s water table a few months ago and noticed that she played in it for a few minutes and then lost interest. This was crazy to me because she loves water and she has always loved this table….it used to entertain her for hours! A lot of my mommy friends use “sensory tubs” with their little toddlers and so I thought I would give it a try. Last March, while Presley and I were planting a few flowers, I decided to create a sensory pan with dirt, fake grass, and flowers in it so that she could play in the dirt without getting into the flower beds. Presley loved it and was entertained for hours…for about a week and a half. I ended up having to switch out the contents of these sensory tubs quite often and eventually I exhausted all of my creative juices. Thankfully, I am addicted to “former teacher turned stay-at-home mommy bloggers” so I was able to get lots of ideas from their blogs. Here are some great links to using sensory tubs...

Early Childhood News: Why Sensory Tubs?

Sensory Tub Ideas

Counting Coconuts: Sensory Tubs

Most of our sensory tubs are done outside as they tend to be extremely messy. Sara created a sensory tub last week with colored rice She kept it outside in the back yard. Her boys LOVED playing in it and Reid asked to play in it several times while we were at her house last Sunday for Memorial Day. Also, Presley is very visual so she tends to keep things out of her mouth now, but for some reason she has a liking for dirt. She doesn’t like the way it feels on her feet or hands, but she likes to put it in her mouth and then wipe it out…don’t ask me why! Anyhow, I usually have to watch her closely when she is playing in her tubs to make sure she doesn’t swallow anything.

My favorite thing about Sensory tubs is that they cost little to nothing to keep up and provide for hours of entertainment over a few weeks time. :o) Presley has never had a ton of toys, but she does have a handful that are pretty pricey and rarely used. Every day during her room time I can usually find her reading books, playing in her kitchen, getting into her dress up trunk, or playing with all of my nail polish by lining them up and re-organizing them.