The Royal Jewels

Tonight we had a girls night out. And in honor of the Royal Wedding, it was themed. To be honest, I didn't even know about this wedding until I got the invite for the party. Maybe I should watch the news more often. Nah.

We had such a fun time getting all dressed up in our fancy headbands, hats, and ginormous rocks on our fingers.

We enjoyed tasty treats and even a wedding cake for dessert.

But the real reason for the get together was to buy some jewelry to support Florence and Ayiko.

A friend of mine met this mother and son while on the mission field in Uganda, Africa. It is such a sweet story about how the boy and Alissa became best buds. When Florence realized Alissa was not the same age as her boy, she just had to meet this girl. Even though Alissa is now back in the states, they are still dear friends and she continues to help Florence. Here is her story:

"Florence Kamure is a single mom from northwestern Uganda. In February 2010, she was unemployed and she and her son Ayiko, were homeless. In June of 2010, she began creating and selling paper bead jewelry. Since then, the proceeds from her jewelry sales have provided for Ayiko's school fees and allowed Florence to purchase a plot of land where she hopes to build a home soon."

Last summer a friend (GC) went on a short term trip to see Alissa. When she came home, she brought a sampling of these paper bead necklaces. For only a few dollars, I snatched one up. I LOVE it and wear it all the time. And the best part is knowing that a mom worked so hard making it to provide for her child.

When my friend Rhonda invited me to a party at her house to browse though necklaces for Florence, I was all in! There were boxes and boxes of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.

We shopped and shopped. It was so fun trying on all the different styles she is now making and the fun colors.

In just a few short hours, Florence made a little over $700!! Praise the Lord! I cannot wait to see exactly how the Lord will use this money for her family!

And we couldn't let the evening pass without a group shot!

If you are interested in hosting a party in your home or want to buy some jewelry for yourself or a gift, please let me know and I will send along Alissa's contact info.

The Easter Dress

I saw this dress over at TaDa! Creations. It had a $145 price tag on it. Woah. I didn't necessarily care for the Mary had a Little Lamb apron on the front, so I thought to myself, "you CAN make this." And so I did.

I had THIS peasant dress pattern (with multiple sleeve options).

And I knew how to make a gathered skirt from THIS tutorial.

The sash, it was the biggest challenge. After a couple of tries, and some advice from a friend, I got it to work. I didn't have a pattern. And I won't bore you with the how to, unless you want me to share. Send an email.

The finished product.

Oops. Wrong lighting setting on the camera...hence the blue tones. 

Now isn't it fun? And LilE wore it ALL day long. I think she liked it too.

The Tomb is EMPTY!

A couple of years ago we made Easter Story Cookies. They we fun to make and we enjoyed the reading that went along with them. But we didn't like the end result (the taste, not the "empty tomb" analogy).

This year I decided to give the Resurrection Rolls a try. (And I kinda tried to take pictures along the way...kinda).

Gather:

One can of crescent roll dough  (I had biscuits, so I used those...be sure to keep reading)

One large marshmallows for each roll you’ll be making (not pictured, oops) 

Melted butter (1T was plenty)

Cinnamon sugar

Bible or Easter storybook

          
Assemble rolls and read the story:
 
1. Read John 19 while the oven is pre-heating according to the package directions. If you’re really on top of things, spend the week before reading John 12-18 with your kids.

2. Unroll the crescent rolls. Explain that this is like the cloth they wrapped Jesus in.

3. Give your child a marshmallow and explain that it represents Jesus… all white and pure because He was without sin.

4. Roll the marshmallows in the melted butter. This symbolizes the embalming oils.

5. Roll the marshmallows in the cinnamon sugar. This is like the spices used to prepare his body for burial. (or use a spoon because you don't like to get too dirty)

6. Wrap the marshmallow in the crescent roll cloth, pinching the dough together securely. Don’t worry about the shape so much, they’ll taste the same no matter how you roll or bundle them. This represents how they would have wrapped Jesus’ body.

7. Lick fingers.

8. Put the rolls in the oven (symbolizing the tomb) and bake for the amount of time specified on the package.

9. While the rolls are baking, read John 20:1-18.

10. Open the tomb (oven) and remove the rolls.

YIKES! They are supposed to be closed up. And obviously, they are NOT! Note to self, use crescent rolls next time!

11.When they’re cool enough to handle, break one open and discover what happened to the marshmallow. Jesus is risen! At this point, I also read 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. Jesus is coming again!

Shew, this one was closed enough to see the 'emptiness'.  These tasted SO good! Live and learn!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Or maybe not.
But it is Easter weekend!

We took it easy on Saturday morning, baking and preparing for Sunday.

Saturday afternoon we had a couple of Life Group (aka Sunday School) parties at one of the lakes around here. It was a perfect day to be outside. We got to catch up with some old friends as well as meet some new ones.

Once home, I had put the final touches on LilE's Easter Dress (that will be another post in itself!) and gathered all the goodies for her Easter basket. It wasn't too exciting, lots of candy and a pillow pet--the Purple Unicorn. She is in love with Maggie. She goes everywhere with us now.

But the real celebration was on Sunday! What an amazing day of WORSHIPPING the LORD! I am so thankful to have the freedom to openly worship the Savior! I think I take that for granted just about every day. I shouldn't!

After church we got together with the "framily" for lunch. Ham, green beans, mac n cheese, biscuits, strawberry salad, and Kentucky pie. ALL so delicious! And yes, we put the kids in front of a movie so the adults could talk. Don't judge. They weren't getting into trouble!

After a nap, we went to hunt some eggs in the front yard. The egg hunts this year just weren't working out as planned. The first go-round we made it hard--because LilE is now a big girl and has to hunt with the big kids. And we learned at one hunt that she doesn't run and fight after the eggs. Therefore, we made it a big of a challenge. And she wasn't really up for it. So we did it again a little more on her level and she had fun.

 And she did just about eat her weight in sugar on Sunday. But didn't we all?

Spring Break

Spring has sprung and with Easter right around the corner, Spring Break has arrived! We had lots planned for the week.

Monday: Picnic play date at a local university
We played and watched the ducks before having our picnic lunch.

Tuesday: Trip to the zoo.
We met up with some new friends for a walk around the zoo and a picnic lunch. We are so thankful that it was a free trip to the zoo!

Wednesday: Shopping and Dinner

LilE and I took it easy all morning and then headed to the outlets in the afternoon. I had seen some stuff awhile back at the Carter's outlet, but wanted her to try stuff on. Plus I had a 20% off coupon (to add to the already way reduced prices).  We came out of there purchasing $198 of clothes paying only $92!! Score! Three knit dresses, two short/shirt sets, one skirt and matching shirt, and three pairs of PJs. I feel like we hit the jackpot. That is about as bargain shopping as I can get. And I LOVE how modest Carter's is. The older LilE gets, I am realizing what a challenge modesty is going to be.

We ended the evening trying out a new Mexican place in town with some friends. It was tasty, but a bit of a drive across town. I might go back again and try out something else on the menu. I hear the fajitas are awesome.

Thursday: Egg hunt

This morning we had planned to hit the park and have an egg hunt with friends. But the rain came in and we had to go to plan b. And inside hunt. Fortunately, the gym at church was open for free play. Then we headed upstairs to the children's area for the hunt. (There are perks to sleeping with the children's minister.) We had a picnic lunch in the cafe before heading home for a bit of quiet time.

Friday: Work/Good Friday Service

Bummer--I had to work. First time in seven years the office has been open on Good Friday. BUT it was a quiet morning and I was finished at noon. I didn't make it back to church for the noon service, but I did make it to lunch with the family and some friends. Pizza, followed by Yogurt Mountain. So yummy!

So, as you can tell, it was a busy and FUN week for us! What did you do for spring break?

Have You Seen the Bump?

Don't forget that all things baby (and baby bump) are being posted at Come and Listen. Head on over and check out the growing belly.

Don't forget to subscribe via your reader of choice. Only 10 more weeks before Tres Alejandros is no longer. We are super duper excited about the change!! And we don't want you to miss out on finding out if Baby Alex is a boy or girl!!

Daddy Daughter Date

JD has been talking about taking LilE on a date for quite some time.

LilE has been trying to read for quite some time. She likes to read signs as we drive along. Waffle House is one she has learned.

JD and LilE have a tradition of making waffles together each and every Saturday morning while Mommy tries to sleep a bit. Each time LilE gets to pick out the color of the waffles. It is a sweet time for them. It's funny that when I roll out of bed, JD is usually asleep on the couch.

Therefore, the first official daddy-daughter date was to...drum roll, please...Waffle House.

LilE got all dressed up.

She even picked out Daddy's clothes.

And they enjoyed their time together eating yummy waffles.

The only negative? My two favorite people smelled like they had each smoked a pack when they got home. Hmm...

I learned a valuable lesson though. When I say, "take the camera," I will give instructions for them to have a picture taken...together. All I got was what you see and Emma's pictures of Waffle House staff. I want them to have pictures other than cups and waffles to remember one day!

The Beach Girls, Take 3

I am blessed. So blessed to have such super great friends! The LORD is good!

The past two summers I have been able to get away with these girls. This summer would be a bit different. I was going to be super great with child and MF would have a newborn. Not the best plan for a relaxing weekend away. Therefore, we headed out a few months early this year before the babies arrived.

We headed out of town on Thursday night after a quick dinner with the girls. Food, what a great way to start the weekend. It was a running theme throughout as well.

Friday morning some of us slept in (while the grandma's headed to the grocery--love ya!) and had a relaxing breakfast on the front porch. We then made our way to the beach. But the clouds came with us. We were a bit chilled and ended up going back to the house to warm up a bit. Not our typical weekend at the beach.

Friday night after relaxing all afternoon not on the beach, we headed out to celebrate BAC's birthday! I just love her so much and was so thankful to be able to share the weekend with her! She is such an encouragement to me!

There was no one outside to take a group picture--so we took turns with the birthday girl!

After dinner we headed to the outlets for a little retail therapy--sans kiddos! It. was. awesome. Granted, most of us only bought for our kids. Oh well.

Saturday we got up and went for a walk. The weather was a bit cooler than desired, but being with friends makes the world go round. So a little overcast and cool weather wasn't going to get us down! We went out for lunch and then stepped it up a notch. We went to Professional Body Piercing by Jackie. MB wanted to get her nose pierced. So who more fun to do it with than the girls!

How 'bout that for some adventure?

When we got back a few of us went to walk on the beach. Yeah, it was a teeny bit cold.

We saw a few star fish (the day before it was over 100, but no camera) and one huge jellyfish. It was a monster.

That night we stayed in and played a little beauty shop while a huge storm blew through.

Sunday we got up and cleaned up before heading home. It was a fast weekend, but so relaxing and fun. I so enjoy these ladies who LOVE the LORD and who are such an encouragement to me. I love the talks we have about what the LORD is doing in each of our lives. It is such an honor to call them friends!

Out of Town Guests

Mimi and Pop were ready to come out...and we were ready to have them! It has been 3 full months since we have seen them and 10 months since they have been out here. (We enjoyed LOTS of trips to Texas last year!)

Due to ticket prices, we got to have them for an extra day! Woot!! They flew out Thursday afternoon. We picked them up and then Mimi and I went grocery shopping. Sounds like your idea of a grand weekend, right? Next time hopefully I will be better prepared, but I do enjoy that one on one time with my mom. Usually LilE has her undivided attention.

LilE did have her plans for what Mimi and Pop were going to do with her when they arrived--color. And color they did. Isn't it great that her idea of a grand time with the grands is coloring. I love it! (but didn't take a single picture on Thursday)

Friday morning, LilE got up and went to school. We kinda piddled around the house. Mimi and I cooked a gourmet lunch--seriously. I tried out Pastor Ryan's Pasta Carbonara (from The Pioneer Woman). It was delicious! So, I am keeping that recipe for another meal.

photo courtesy of The Pioneer Woman

After lunch we packed up our letterboxing gear and headed out to the Science Center here in town. They have several boxes so we went on a hunt. And then we all got tired and called it quits after we found 4 of the 10. All that means is we get to go back and enjoy the facilities again. They release the butterflies in May. That sounds like fun. And while I was there I picked up some info and registered my sweet girl for some big girl summer camps!

Saturday it decided to rain on us. All. Day. Long. Boo. But my child was in heaven. That meant she and Mimi could craft and craft and craft!

We picked up some pine cones on Friday while on the Nature Trail. Didn't they turn out cute? It is our family in Pine Cone Bunnies. Awww.

Sunday we headed to church and then came home and rested the rainy afternoon away. My parents were able to rock it out in our new Modern service. It wasn't so bad, they said, but they will stick with the contemporary at home. :)

Monday was a laid back morning and day of packing and picking up and playing and picture taking. 

After lunch, we headed to the airport. Back track a bit. LilE was out of sorts all morning. Nothing going her way. And we realized she understood Mimi and Pop were heading home in the afternoon. After we hugged and waved and blew kisses, LilE just buried her head in my leg. And as we walked away, she began to cry. This is the first time she has cried when company has left. It broke my heart. She is finally old enough to understand and it hurts her heart not to be with family.

But to our rescue came the TSA guy. (I know...out of character for those guys!) He gave us a website to watch Mimi and Pop's plane fly back to Texas! How neat! After their flight took off we headed on over to FLIGHT AWARE and put in our airline and flight number. This is what it showed us (click to see the detail):

How fun! Then we snuggled and watched a movie and she was good to go.

We are super-dy duper-dy excited that the next time we see them we will have a new baby in our house!! We can't wait!!