Because It's Wednesday

For your Wednesday, folks:

I keep watching it over & over and laugh every time! That camel!

Some more corny humor for ya:

"How do you make a tissue dance?" 

Put a little boogie in it!

Happy Wednesday!

Art by Liam

"All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Pablo Picasso

My little guy loves to create. It's become a daily thing now to grab his box of art supplies (for now it contains crayons, washable markers, stickers, and the coolest gel sticks) and color at the art table. Of course I am thrilled about this having studied art throughout middle and high school (and regrettably only one class in college). It's always been something I enjoyed and sometimes feels therapeutic. 

Recently a friend asked if I would do an art project with her kiddos, and I had a fun time putting it all together and teaching my first art "class" (there were 4 students, so that counts, right?). To add meaning to our project, we read "A Color of His Own" which tells a story of a chameleon who tries so very hard to remain just one color so he could have his own just like the other animals. He eventually learns, with the help of a friend, to be as he was created. Not a Christian book, but at the end I add that God made us unique (Psalm 139) and for a purpose. We should live as He made us and not try to be something we are not. 

Then we made our own chameleons with poster board and water colors. 

To start out, trace your chameleon onto the poster board, but do not cut out until the very end.

After tracing, take a medium-sized paint brush, fill with only water, and spread the water all over the chameleon. Then take a color from you water color tray and dab onto the watered surface. By doing the water first, this allows all of your colors to blend well together and have a tie-dyed effect like this:

Even my 22 month old was able to water color his chameleon - so easy! After drying, cut the chameleon out then draw his facial features with a sharpie. 

I am looking forward to our next art project and fostering my little guy's creativity!

Pastels, oil pastels, acrylics, charcoal, colored pencils...there are so many ways to create!

Homemade Popsicles

We've been celebrating summer and warm temps with popsicles! To cool off and replenish electrolytes, we started Liam out on the Pedialyte pops, and he was immediately a fan of these "cold" (his word) treats. I've always wanted to try making my own, so I took a stab at it the other night. Liam was my guinea pig (he just learned how to say "pig" this week too) and tried out the first one. 

After his first bite of the homemade pop, I was so proud when he handed me the store-bought one and said "no" while shaking his head. Then he took another bite of mine and said "yummmm." Homemade popsicle success!! 

I bought very basic and inexpensive molds off of Amazon and then experimented with different fruits and juices. These are great because they are not too large and little hands can hold them.

Banana-orange, pineapple, strawberry-blueberry, and strawberry-apple Popsicles are some of the flavors I made.

Recipe for Banana-orange:

1 whole banana

1/2 cup orange juice (NOT concentrate)

Puree the banana until well blended, then add the orange juice and stir. Fill mold to the fill line and place handle on top. Freeze for 4-5 hours. Makes 2 popsicles. 

The banana has a creamy texture to it and was Liam's favorite (and he doesn't even like bananas). 

Recipe for Strawberry-Blueberry:

1 cup fresh strawberries

1 cup fresh blueberries

Slice strawberries. Puree strawberries and blueberries together until smooth. Pour into mold to the fill line and place handle on top. Freeze 4-5 hours. Makes 4 popsicles.

You could also try other fruits such as apples, mangos, peaches, and raspberries. Foods like yogurt, applesauce, or pudding would be tasty as well. What combinations would you want to taste?

Enjoy! 

Friday's Fav Finds

Four things that I find helpful or delightful in our lives...

1. Almost everyday I find myself using the Evernote app. Within the app I have folders for recipes, books, travel, sermon notes, and things I don't want to forget. What I love about it is you can type in one word and it will search through your notes to find what you are looking for. No more clipping recipes or magazine pages or saving sticky notes. Less clutter. It is making life more simple.

2. Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney. The first time I heard about this book was from my eighth grade campers when I was a winter-camp counselor in 2011. We had to pick a team name, and although I had no idea at the time that it was referencing the book, this is what we went with:

Obviously it made an impression on those sweet middle-schoolers when they were little bitties, so I thought it was worth trying out with my little guy. It has proven to be one of the most fun books to read now with Liam. I really get into the loud voices and motions...and lots of toddler giggles erupt.

3. My favorite blog the past few years to read is Mabel's House. Her writing is open, honest, and speaks to the stage of life I am in. Her perspective on life is really a delight to see, and so is that super cute daughter of hers. You can find her here. 

4. When it comes to gifts for Will, this is one that has become a tradition (Will insists that he get one every birthday/Father's Day/Christmas/Valentines now) - the classic photo mug. The pictures are sweet and chronicle are favorite memories together. Two of the companies I have used and are pleased with the quality are York Photo and Shutterfly. Shhhh!...they often send emails with $10 off coupons and free shipping, so don't tell Will I end up paying only $2 or $3 with tax and everything included. Just put yourself on their email list and you can get free mugs too. 

InstaFriday: July Recap

Oh my goodness, it's August! July seemed to soar right past us, 

but we did manage to make some fun memories: 

 We had picnics with friends...

 and watched fireworks fall from the night sky.

 We drove to the farm for the fourth...

 and visited with Nanny and Papa. 

 We watched our favorite movies ("Gru" and "Up!")...

 and played with sea lions at the zoo.

 We traveled to Jackson, MS to see our sweet friends marry...

 while Liam and the cousins partied hard at Grumps' and Mimi's.

We hiked to waterfalls in Gatlinburg with Grammy B, Gran, Uncle Paul, and Aunt Sarah...

 and we cherished each day on our visit to Knoxville with Gran.

We celebrated our friend's birthday...

 and stayed up late with friends.

 We hugged Daddy real tight...

as we welcomed him home from Haiti. 

Thank you, Lord, for each and every sweet day together in July!

Things I Learned In July

What I learned during the month of July...

1. I mentioned in my "Things I Learned" post from last month that I love movies that are true stories. This one rocked my world...My mom rented "The Impossible" and we sat down with my grandmother to watch (so glad I wasn't alone). At moments I caught myself holding my breath, closing my eyes, and at one point I got up to check on Liam because I needed a break. You're probably wondering why I would even suggest that you watch it? Because I'll never read about a tsunami or natural disaster again without getting on my knees and praying right there for those affected by it. And because I learned to always be grateful for each moment I get with these precious ones:

2. I learned that not only do I enjoy the sermons and writings of C. H. Spurgeon, but those of his wife as well. Susanna Spurgeon has written devotionals which are included in this book along with her biography. Both have been bringing conviction and inspiration to my life this month.

3. Did you know I have the best neighbors? Yep, I learned that this month, but not exactly the way I would've planned. You see, we had a random five minute "storm" with strong winds come through Cordova one afternoon, and it cut our bradford pear tree in half. Within minutes neighbors from four different homes on our street were helping me cut up the tree, move the heavy limbs, and helping Liam and me get safely inside the house. So thankful. 

4. Memphis' downtown IS really awesome. Our favorite in town date nights have been to downtown spots, and we have significant memories there (like the time he proposed!). But I realized this all over again when we visited Jackson, MS last weekend to see the guy in the pic below marry his beautiful bride. Jackson, I loved you when I lived on your soil several years ago, but you have GOT to do something with your downtown. It's the pits. {But the church and reception venue for the wedding were beautiful, historic, and a perfect choice.}

5. During the weekend of wedding mentioned in #4 I learned I love traveling with friends to celebrate friends getting married. It was such a joyous, worshipful, and encouraging time with sweet people that are dear to my heart. I cherished the time that I spent with my one and only that weekend as well. Here we are in the coolest-wedding-favor-ever shades at the reception: 

6. This amazing girl spent the summer in China, and over stuffed french toast breakfast Thursday she taught me so much. God has been and is doing BIG things in China, and I'm so grateful for Hanner and her heart for people to come to know Christ. She established relationships with other students, discipled girls, shared the Gospel in unreached people groups, and even got to baptize one of the girls she discipled. God is using college students all over the world this summer...unbelievable stories...only things He can do...He is so good. {Ways to pray for China here.}

This post is linked up with Emily at Chatting at the Sky. I'm grateful for Emily's inspiration and that I now can put onto "paper" what I've been learning and experiencing in life. What have you been learning this month? 

Fireplace Makeover

For a few years now I've wanted to paint our fireplace, and I've always loved the look of painted brick. Will was going out of town soon to summer camp, so I saw it as a perfect opportunity to get a new project started. Two nights and two coats of paint later, I had a fresh-faced fireplace. 

{A before picture complete with toddler fireplace protective cushions.}

First, I cleaned the brick with a mixture of half water and half white vinegar. Once I sprayed the cleaning mixture on to the brick, I used a wire brush to knock off the dust and dirt. I had no idea how dusty a fireplace could get! I went over it twice and then waited for the brick to dry before taping off with the painters tape. Also put up poster board to protect the inside from paint mis-haps. The inside was already painted with a black heat-resistant paint, so that saved me a step.

With Lowe's gift card in hand (thanks family!) I bought a gallon of Valspar white latex paint in satin (and also scored a rebate by buying from Lowe's). I bought a gallon so I would have enough to paint our trim in the living room and kitchen, and I ended up only using about one-third of the gallon. The first coat went up with a brush and LOTS of paint - the brick soaked up the paint like a sponge. If I did it again, I would've used an old brush instead of new because as I got into the cracks it tore the brush up a bit.

 {After the second coat. Mantle is the same color.}

{Before & After}

I'm loving the newly painted fireplace. It makes the room seem a bit brighter, and makes it feel cleaner as well. Now maybe I can convince will to paint the exterior bricks of our house?!