Birthday Celebration 2012, Part 1

It began Monday afternoon... shortly before 2:00pm, Daniel informed me that I had a massage that afternoon. Awesome! I told him I didn't get anything out for dinner yet, and he said, "I have an idea." Hmmmm....

I got home from the massage, and he said he made a reservation for Farrel's Ice Cream Parlor -- a fun place for the kids! We had just driven by it the day before, and I commented -- "Look! They got a Farrel's here in Rancho Cucamonga!" ( I thought it was brand-new, but apparently it had opened in early December.)


It was indeed a fun place for the kids... they had a cherry-finding whip cream contest, pizza, balloon hats, and of course ice cream; lots of it!








So, for the third year in a row; and probably 7 out of the last 10 of my birthdays, my husband successfully pulled off a wonderful surprise party. What a blessing!!
And, here are some pictures my friends sent me from their cool phones:

Dear Family,

Dear Allison, Natalie, Sierra, and Malachi,

Did you know that I write this blog for YOU? I feel so grateful for everyone else who reads, comments, and is inspired by it; but in the end, it is for YOU! It is a way for you to look back at all our wonderful memories with joy. It is a cookbook for you to find some of your favorite recipes when you have your own families. I hope it inspires you to try some of our crafts and traditions with your kids. And, it is a glimpse of God’s thumbprint on our family.

Today was a special day. It was special for so many reasons. One HUGE reason is each of YOU! Did you know I always wanted four kids? God, in His infinite wisdom, grace, and LOVE has blessed me with just that! I am so grateful my heart could burst! What joy I felt watching you run around the beach today. You are so full of life! What a smile I had on my face listening to you sing in the car. What an incredible surprise to find you cleaned the car for Papa and me without being asked. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.

I also always wanted a wonderful, Godly husband. (What woman wouldn’t?) It is something I prayed and waited for for a very long time. Did you know that? Your Papa was my first boyfriend, and he stole my heart. Together, we prayed about our future. We memorized Scripture. We sought wise counsel before getting married. We are not perfect people. There is no such thing. But, in this matter, we did things the right way… and God has blessed us! It is important for me to say that, not to brag; I truly am thankful to God for sparing me from making some mistakes. I say it because I want you to know that you can do things the right way; you can wait on the Lord and you can expect Him to give you a Godly spouse. You can pray specifically and God will bless you with the desire of your heart!

Today was extra special because your Papa made it an extra special day. He picked out and wrote special Valentine’s for each of you. He made me feel like I was the most special person in the world, blessing me with gifts, cards, flowers, chocolate, and yet another surprise party. Again, my sweeties… I say this not to brag, but to encourage you! We are SO blessed. God has given us a wonderful head to our household; one who models Christ’s love, and takes pleasure in spoiling loving us! Pray, be patient, and wait for a spouse like your Papa! And, always thank God for everything!

Love, Mama

Dear Daniel,

How can I say thank you? Each year you amaze me with your creative way of showing your love. Each day I am blessed to call you my husband! Our kids are blessed to call you “Papa.” You are the best, and we love you!! Happy Valentine’s Day to the love of my life!

Love, Cara


p.s. Pictures to come!

Heart Window Gels

I bought some heart gels on clearance at Tuesday Morning for 19 cents. Although they never last more than a day before getting torn-up and thrown on the floor, they are well-worth the few minutes they give me to do school work with the big girls while Sierra plays with them. We did school today, even though it's Presidents Day, so we could take tomorrow off. It's Valentine's Day. And, it's the teacher's birthday. And, this teacher needs to get to bed... my age is definitely catching-up to me! Have a blessed Valentine's Day, and know that you are loved.

For God so loved YOU that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but have eternal life.

Father/ Daughter Fishing Trip

Last Saturday, Daniel and Allison went to a Jr. Fishing Workshop put on by the regional parks. Because it is run by volunteers, the only cost is a $7 fishing license. (I tried to get my husband to be a "guest blogger" today, but he said no thank you... so here is what happened as told to me by him and Allison.)

They learned all about the anatomy of the fish, different lures and baits, how to cast, and all the fishing terminology. Apparently, it was very cold so Allison wore Daniel's extra jacket!


The next picture says it all: Allison was VERY worried they were not going to catch anything!


She was wrong... their final count for the day was 2 fish! And, they caught the last fish of the day, just as time was being called!

Back at home...
Daniel fileted the fish and cooked it. He had never been fishing, either, and learned a lot.


Sierra pretty much consumed the fish by herself!

When It Rains...

You know how the saying goes... when it rains, it pours! Yesterday it may have been sunny and warm, but we were "showered" with some fun mail! First, look what came in the mailbox:

This personalized tote was from a sweet friend of mine who grew-up with me, but then moved to the south when we were in high school. (See... Facebook can be good for more than wasting time! At least that's what I tell myself.) She has two darling girls, and I only wish she was closer because I know our girls would be great friends! Thank you SO much, Holly!

Also in the mail were these hand-painted Valentine's for each of the kids from Grandma...

Aren't they precious? This may need to be a tradition, (hint, hint, Grandma!) The girls were sooo excited! I kept telling Sierra to turn her card around, and she would spin in a circle. Ha! Love that 2 - year - old!


Next came the ring of the doorbell... (Warning: I will be bragging about my husband. If you don't like bragging, do not read on!)


Oh, my sweet husband... Here's a little story for you:

Once upon a time, we were married and a dear friend of my mothers was a friend of Joseph Schmidts'. Who is Joseph Schmidt? An incredible chocolatier from San Francisco. So, we had Joseph Schmidt truffles on each plate at our wedding. They were to die for! Once we married, I would get the most amazing hand-painted box of Joseph Schmidt truffles each Valentine's Day. Alas, Joseph Schmidt sold-out to one of the big chocolate companies, and then disappeared. I was heart-broken, but not for long. First, my husband found a box of chocolates from a new gourmet chocolatier via my favorite magazine, Sunset. He has since explored and researched and found some absolutely incredible gourmet chocolate companies. Today I had a lavender vanilla flavored chocolate. It is SO hard to eat just one a day. They are absolutely uh-mazing! And, I don't share. Not even a little. My poor girls... they can have m&m's or something!

Next, the doorbell rang, again!


Awww.... I am such a girl. LOVE flowers and chocolate! I had to call my husband at work and let him know I had a secret admirer.

So, it was a day showered with fun surprises.

Fast forward to today, and we awoke with another surprise; REAL RAIN SHOWERS! And, another surprise... my husband got forced to work overtime, so I was on my own! Today was a Lowe's Build and Grow day that was actually girly... Not monster trucks, fire trucks, trains or dinosaurs... today was Valentine Boxes! I couldn't let the girls miss out on that. Somehow I needed to shower and pile the 4 into the car and head out in the rain; I was not too excited!


Half-way to Lowe's I noticed we had a stow-away in the car; Triscuit had jumped in thinking we were going to the park! It was too late to turn-around, so Triscuit came along for the ride. We arrived, and I was SO happy to see some friends of ours who immediately offered to help one of the girls make her Valentine Box. What a blessing! With Malachi in the Bjorn, we hammered away and I am proud to say we left Lowe's with 3 complete Valentine boxes!

Once we got home and had lunch, I put Sierra and Malachi down for their naps and turned on the tea kettle and the worship music. Malachi had a rough patch sleeping last night, which made me extra tired. I find that worship music, (and a little caffeine), really help my parenting when I'm tired! The big girls and I enjoyed some tea while they painted and stuck stickers on their boxes.

About half the time now, Sierra never falls asleep for her nap, so I go get her before it gets too late. This afternoon, I had her help me with an edible project; (her favorite kind). Because I can't resist sweets I wanted to not waste our leftover peanut butter playdough, I decided to make the extra into a little treat. We cut it into hearts and dipped them in chocolate and added a few sprinkles.


And finally, what is a rainy day without a little puddle jumping?



Yes, that is my little sick girl out in the cold with no shirt on. I already showed you that her afternoon snack consisted of peanut butter playdough and chocolate, so I figure it's safe to say I'm not winning any healthy parenting awards today anyway.

Honestly, I was going to call them in but decided to run for my camera instead. This lasted for quite a while; they were having such a great time! And, I was experiencing their joy with them through my camera lens. We already had a crockpot going, so I had time for a warm bath afterward. They kept saying it was the best rainy day ever. I agree. It was a pretty awesome rainy day!

Valentine Fun

It's Friday... Hallelujah! Whew, I'm beat! This week was filled with a lot of fun, mixed with a few minor inconveniences. We had a plumbing issue and a car issue, but thankfully my husband was home and both were taken care of fairly easily. (I don't know what I would have done if he was working those days, though!)

Yesterday we had friends over for a Valentine card making date. (Ok, I am very tired -- I just typed "Halloween" and had to change it to "Valentine!") It was very cute...

Sierra was so excited to have a friend her age! She wouldn't let go of her hand. Today she told Grandma all about her friend on the phone, and tonight she prayed for her friend!

Of course, the attention span for Valentine making with 3 2-year-olds is about 5 minutes! (Just long enough to snap a few pictures!)

Luckily, the older 3 lasted a bit longer...

I love that Allison's first Valentine was for her daddy. And, I love that her second valentine was also for her daddy.


...And, I love that she couldn't even wait for her card to dry before sticking it in her daddy's mailbag:

For lunch, I tried a new recipe from my new friend Darcy's blog. (Her blog has been my favorite for a while, so I stalked her until she became my friend :) ) It was yummy! You can get the recipe HERE.

For the kids, I went with something I found in an old issue of "Family Fun."

The table was such a mess inside It was so gorgeous outside that we decided to eat lunch outdoors. Seriously, 80 degrees in February?? The pool looked tempting; a little!

Fried Apple Pancake Rings

We love a good breakfast around here, and love that homeschooling allows us the time to make a good breakfast most days. When I saw these fried apple pancake rings on Pinterest, I couldn't resist...

We used our Pampered Chef apple corer-peeler-slicer to cut the apples, which makes it super fast and easy. We didn't have Bisquick, so we used any old pancake recipe, but did add the teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice the original recipe called for. Oh, how wonderful they turned out!


These are so yummy that by the time I grabbed my camera, Allison had finished hers! You can get the original instructions here.

Schoolin' Around

I try not to take too many pictures of school activities, simply because I take too many pictures as it is! But, we've had a few fun science experiments lately, so I thought I would share... (Not to mention, I need some science pictures to turn-in to our charter school!)

Today in science we learned about insects, and the three parts that make-up an insect's body. Our curriculum instructed us to make insects using peanut butter play dough. We have only made it one other time, as it is way too yummy to make too often!

Here is the recipe: (Warning: this stuff really is awesome, both in texture and in taste!)

Peanut Butter Playdough:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup honey
Mix together and have fun!


The other day we learned about birds, and the different beaks from various types of birds. The girls used things like a slotted spoon to scoop marshmallows from a bowl of water like a pelican, or a straw to suck nectar like a hummingbird.


And, Sierra's favorite science project: learning about clouds. Once we read about the 4 different cloud types and looked outside to see which clouds were out that day, we folded a wax paper into 4 sections and squirted whip cream in each section. The girls then "attempted" to make the 4 cloud types using the whip cream. Really, this was just more fun than anything else!

Hope this has inspired you... have fun!