To work with your hands

A Sibling Story

To Paige...

You adore him already and he has a soft spot for you.. that is for sure.  He loves to snuggle up to you and be sweet.  He is eager to help me and tell me just what he thinks you need.... quite compassionate for you and nurturing.

Will you two be more than just brother and sister?  Playmates?  Friends?  Confidants?  I hope so.  I can't wait to see what this relationship will change in to. 

Right now, he humors me for a quick snap shot... But he is busy and you are on a different "speed" - a little bit too still for him usually.  I know you will be right behind him soon... You watch his every move - intrigued by him. 

That is your big brother, Paige.  He loves you and he's going to take care of you.  He's a wonderful guy... and you are a special little girl to have him as yours.

I'm a blessed Mama to get to watch this sibling story unfold right in front of my eyes, everyday.

School Buses, Rock Stars, and Dirt!

I have been working on getting caught up with my scrapbooks (I'm through Dec 07 now!).  I realized that having this blog has encouraged me to write more than I usually would.... So, when I sit down to a layout, a lot of my journaling has already been done for me - right here.  I just print out my posts and use bits and pieces that apply to each layout.  I have been just handwriting them directly onto my pages, but I also plan to use some just printed out.  One of the big reasons that I am so passionate about scrapbooking is because it provides me a way to tell my family's story.  I didn't realize this adventure in blogging would help me so much with that love! 

Three huge hits around here lately:

FIRST.... Visiting Uncle Jeff at his school and seeing his SCHOOL BUS!!!!

Connor loves school buses right now.  Uncle Jeff invited him to come to his school on a day that he would be driving his kids to a track meet.  Connor's favorite parts of the morning were opening and shutting the door, honking the horn, and pointing out to us that this was a very "old" bus!  Guess that is all Plano ISD trusts "Coach McDonnell" with! ha!

SECONDLY.... Connor has finally mastered his guitar playing skills standing up.   Watch out American Idol Season 20!  We have a ROCK STAR on our hands!

And LAST... DIRT!!!  We have been learning about the word "patience" - SO to help understand what it means to "wait quietly for something" we planted some beans in some cups to wait for them to grow.  We have had a ball "patiently waiting" for the roots to spread, the stems to shoot up through the dirt, and now the leaves to grow. 

Today, we tried to trick Daddy and made pretend dirt that we got to eat at lunch (with oreos and chocolate pudding).  We even added some of our mint plant from our herb garden.  Connor loved sharing that we "ate dirt!"  Can you tell which one is our "edible variety?" 

Now I am off to some more scrapbook pages and I think there is another cup of "dirt" calling my name!!!

Tips for capturing Moments to Remember

The past two weeks have been really nice for me.  We returned from a long vacation, and I have been able to get back to normality.. .laundry, vacuuming, cooking, playing in the backyard, and my outlet of making stuff.  I have done a few scrapbook layouts of our summer, but I have also been making a few things just for fun… Like this page I have hanging on the fridge. 

I put a little list up last month and it filled up quickly.  Just recorded cute things Connor said or did… things I want to remember.  Like when he unexpectedly said,  “God Bless You, Mommy” when I sneezed.  And how he stands in our front window watching the men mow the lawn.  Those priceless little moments that I might forget….

One of my favorite gifts to give new mommies is a small journal that I title “Some little things this mom wants to remember.”  Nothing fancy.  Just a little blank notebook where a busy new mom can either scribble in a few thoughts, or she can throw in a few snapshots.  These have been a real hit with friends, family, and customers.

Here are a few other ideas I have gathered.  Ways to help you collect those “moments to remember.” :

• Carry a small notebook in your purse to jot down your thoughts while you sit at a long red light or in the carpool line – or maybe even a post-it note on the dash.  I get my best thinking done in the car!
• Keep a spiral by your bed to write a few lines about your day before you doze off for the night.  Or, just when you are watching t.v – during commericials… or while your kids do homework.
• Print out a simple calendar from your computer (I use my Microsoft Outlook software).  Keep this on your fridge.  As funny things happen day-to-day, write them in the squares.  This is a great idea for moms of babies who like to record all those “firsts”  –that first tooth poking through, first playdate, first night to sleep in their room, first babysitter, and on and on.  This helped me to be able to go back and scrapbook those details in Connor’s album… it was all there on my calendar.  And, if you are a scrapbooker, you can even include that on your layout.
• Open a document just for journaling on your desktop of your computer – so you can quickly type in happenings that you want to remember.  My friend, Kara, does this because she doesn’t really want to scrapbook – but she does want these memories documented for her kiddos.
• Keep your camera handy all day.  You never know when you are going to see your children do something that just can’t be explained in words… only a picture will do!  Like this one of Connor trying to put on his daddy's sock.  Isn’t he a doll?

How ever you choose to do it… FIND TIME to CAPTURE those MOMENTS TO REMEMBER.  You are going to be glad that you did it.