The Celebrated Family

Girls Weekend

2008-08-17T21:26:00.002-06:00

The girls, (also know as Heidi, Fara, Caroline and Manya) and I arrived at my house a few hours ago. We spent three great days up in the mountains. Our plans were thrown out the window by a major cold front that blew in Thursday and brought snow - yes snow - to the mountains. We cancelled our biking trip and went to the movies instead. We saw Mama Mia and did some shopping on Friday. Saturday we spent most of the day in our condo as rain and hail poured down outside.

Last year we spent the whole weekend saying, "what do you want to do?" "I don't care, what do you want to do?" So this year we decided to try something new. Each of us have developed unique hobbies and interests over the years, so we decided to celebrate by having each person pick/plan an activity that reflects their interests or life at home. It worked out great. Caroline, who just finished yoga instructor training, led us all in an incredible hour of yoga. It was wonderful getting to see a different side of her. I actually cried at the end of our little class, because she is SO amazing! I am so proud of her! Our resident crafty gal Fara, brought a fun craft for us to do. We spent Saturday morning beading and creating away. It was great for all of us to get to start and complete a craft without a preschooler interrupting.

The activity that I planned was a book club night. I love my book club here in Denver and wanted to share the experience of reading a book and discussing it together. We read The Geography of Bliss. Friday night we went to the grocery store and bought a variety of yummy munching food. We stayed up snacking and talking until about 1:30 in the morning. It was a great discussion book as it makes you thing about what makes you happy. It was a great way to really share what is going on in our lives at home. So frequently when you talk on the phone, you just don't say all the things that you can say in a face-to-face uninterrupted conversation. It was a wonderful night.

I will post some more pictures later this week. This photo was taken on Manya's phone and is the only one I can get to tonight.

The girls are coming to town …

2008-08-13T21:11:00.001-06:00

Fifteen years ago this month, my life was getting ready for a big change. A big BIG change. I moved from Denver to Miami, Florida to attend UM. When I arrived there, I was faced with a totally new world. A world without any friends or even familiar faces. Looking back now, I can't believe what a brave 18 year old I was. Would I move across the country not knowing a soul now? Probably not.

Amidst a sea of 8000 strangers a miracle happened, I met a group of the most amazing women. Women, who I quickly became my sisters. Fifteen years, six marriages, nine children and nine intrastate moves, they are still my sisters, and tomorrow they are coming to town! ( All but one – Jenny we will miss you!) Each year we get together for a girls weekend. From beach weekends in Florida to city weekends in NYC or Chicago, we try each year to get together for four days. Our lives have moved us all over the country – Penn, Florida, North Carolina, Illinois (soon to be Kuwait!), Georgia and Colorado. But one weekend a year we get together for rest, relaxation and lots of reconnecting.

This weekend we are going to Breckenridge. Everyone is flying into Denver tomorrow and then we will drive up to the mountains. We had lots of plans for the weekend, but a huge cold front is moving in which may keep us inside. Even though our activities may change the things we are looking forward to will not. With all of our children being under 6, Fara and I made a list today of things we were looking forward to doing while we are sans kids for four days.

Here are some of them:

We will only go to the restroom when we actually have to use it ourselves.
We will get to go to the bathroom all by ourselves.
We will not be required to dispense juice boxes, goldfish or graham crackers to anyone.
We will be able to carry little purses whose sole purpose in life is to be cute.
We will be able to wear a shirt all day long without it being used as a napkin, tissue or towel.
We will sleep in until hearts' content.

And most importantly ... we will have very long, drawn out conversations without any interruptions! We will actually complete whole thoughts! Can I hear an amen?

I will post some pictures from the weekend come Monday. Have a great weekend.

How to host an activity bag swap

2008-08-09T19:31:00.001-06:00

So have my postings on activity bags caught your interest? Why not host a swap. Sherri MacLean, co-founder of Activity Bags LLC, offers the following advice on hosting your first swap.

We found that holding a swap is a really fun way to accumulate a variety of preschool activities without having to assemble every one by ourselves. Basically, you get a few friends together. We found twenty to be a great number for a swap, but it also works well with fewer. Each person receives instructions for assembling one activity. They will put that activity together twenty (or whatever the number of participant) times. Then, you swap, and each person gets one activity from every other person! It is great fun! When the swap is over, each participant will walk away with many completely different preschool activities. You can certainly do all the activities by yourself; you do not have to do a swap. The activity instruction sheets are very clear for assembling one, ten, fifteen, or twenty activity bags.Coordinating an activity bag swap is not only easy, but very fun! Below are some tips to give you an idea of how simple it is to coordinate a swap. More detailed instructions are contained in each book.
Set Important Dates. Before you start calling all your friends to participate in your swap, you need to do a few things first:- Decide on the dates for assembling your activities.- Determine the date for the actual swap.- Select the activities you want to assemble. Having all this information at the ready will help you when you make your calls or send emails to the potential swap participants.
Find Your Participants.Now that you have all your important dates and activities picked out, you need to find some participants to be in the swap. Once you have an idea of potential participants, you can either send them an e-mail or call them. All of our books include a Participant Information Form to help gather all your information on each swap participant. Below are some suggestions of where to find participants for your swap:- Preschool play group- Church- Moms in your neighborhood- Friends and family- Homeschool Support Group- Moms you meet at the park- Basically, any mom, grandmother and or teacher with preschoolers
Assign the Activities.Every book includes a Preschool Activity Supply List to help you find an activity based on what supplies your participants may have on hand. When you talk to your potential participants, ask them what supplies they have on hand at home and try to match an activity to what they already have. Every bag is designed to cost $1 or less to assemble. But, the more items you have at home on hand, the less each bag will cost.
Communicate and Stay Organized.It is important to communicate with your swap participants in case they have questions regarding buying supplies, assembling the bags, etc. You can send an email out about 2 weeks before the swap date just to check in and see how things are going. About a week before the swap date, send one more email to check in and remind the participants regarding the swap date and time. Each includes sample emails and letters to help you communicate.
Learn from Other Coordinators."The best tool for me was communication. After I made the first contact with my participants via phone using the script in the book, I followed up with an email using the example in the book. Everybody knew what was going on and if anyone had questions regarding their activity, I caught it early. Also, the Activity Instructions are VERY clear. The majority of the questions I received were regarding the best places to buy supplies and substituting items.""Try to find people you think are truly willing and committed to following through with assembly etc. That was my biggest challenge. Take the time to do a lot of follow up calls, reminders and make yourself more available to pinpoint potential problems before the swap.""Do not be afraid to work with the number of participants you have. If you do not have 20, do not worry. If you have less than 20, you can just make that number of activities or everyone can do 2 activities and double the number of activity bags you will receive. If you have more than 20, you can split into 2 groups. Be creative"

Thanks again Sherri!
Wendy

An Interview with Activities In A Bag's Co-creator

2008-08-06T19:00:00.002-06:00

I posted a few weeks ago that I was going to participate in a preschool activity bag swap. I went to the swap and it went great. I recieved 24 different activity bags for Emily. I have given her about 7 of them so far and she loves every one. I am so impressed with the variety of activities and what she is learning from playing with them.
Sherri MacLean, one of the co-creators of Activity Bags LLC, agreed to answer some questions for me. She gave me so much wonderful info, it will be in two posts. In this post, we'll talk about Activity Bags and in the next post, Sherri will share how you can host a activity bag swap of your own. (Don't miss the free gift offer from Sherri at the bottom of this post!)

CF: Welcome Sherri! You and Paula spent 2 years field testing your first Preschool Activities in a Bag book. In your experience, what makes a good self-directed activity for preschoolers?

SM:What makes a great preschool activity for us is one that 1) cost $1 or less to assemble, 2) it needs to fun, educational, and require little to no help from Mom to do the activity and 3) it needs to have skill sets that help prepare the preschooler for Kindergarten.

CL: Having created so many different activity bags, surely you have a lot of bags around your house. How do you organize your children’s activity bags?
SM: We keep them organized in file folder boxes. We label them on the outside and stack them near our school area. You can fit 20 Preschool Activities in one file box quite nicely. How do your children use them? We take one activity out at a time and set the timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off they may open another activity ONLY when the first one has been put away, zipped up and put back in the box. And, if you ask our seven, eight, nine and ten year olds, they will tell you YES! They STILL play with the activities and ask to do them after school is over. One of the favorites involves stacking cups, plates, and bowls. They also love the matching activities and bead activities. Basically, they love them all and will tell you they are not just for preschoolers!
CF:Do you strategically bring out different bags at different times?
SM: Not really, unless we are working on how to hold a pencil, or small motor skills. We try to rotate them but they always have a favorite they could use over and over. Also, the great thing about the activities is that they can be used over and over again as well as passed down from child to child. Some of the activities do contain consumable items such as paper, which can be replaced easily to keep the activity going and going.
CF: According to your website, you have quite a few new books underway. Can you share with us what your Science Experiments in a bag, Craft Kits in a Bag and Math games in a bag will look like? What ages are they geared toward? When will they be available for purchase?
SM: Most people think we only have activities for preschoolers, but we have more books on the way that have been tested and are being prepared for print. Including: Preschool Activities in a Bag - Book #3, filled with 34 brand new preschool activities, three volumes of Science Experiments in a Bag (Ages 3 - 12), three volumes of Craft Kits in a Bag (Ages 5-12) , and Math Games in a Bag - Book #1 (ages 5-12). All of our books are in the same format, allowing participants to hold a swap with other friends. Each experiment, craft kit, and math game has been tested by over eighty different moms, and they love them! So, Activity Bags, LLC is not just for preschoolers.Between the two of us, Paula and I have 11 children and writing books in the mix, along with homeschooling, can be challenging. So, it is hard to say when all the books will be finished - but know we are working on them. :)
CF:A large portion of my readers are in the Denver area. Is there a way that moms can participate in testing activities for the new books?
SM:Yes, we keep a data base of moms who are interested in testing our new kits. All you need to do is send an email to www.ActivityBags.com and let me know you want to be on our mailing list for testing. I will add any Mom who is interested in testing to our main data base. Next time we hold a test swap, you will receive an email invitation with all the details to join the swap(s). It is really that easy. So far we have held to date over 30 groups of 20 moms. That is a total of 600 participants and 12,000 kits being assembled!
As a gift to all your Moms reading this, we would like to offer you a complimentary copy of our Ebook Sampler that includes:7 Preschool Activities in a Bag assembly instructions3 Science Experiments in a Bag assembly instructionsA 30 Day Challenge Devotionalhttp://www.activitybags.com/Sampler.pdfPlease feel free to write to us anytime with questions - we would love to hear from you!

Thank you Sherri!

The scary hostess

2008-07-31T16:03:00.003-06:00

Tonight Joanne and her family are coming over for dinner. Partially because my back is still sore and partially because it is 101 out, I was not super motivated to do a lot of cooking today. I came up with a pretty simple summer dinner menu and everything has been ready to go since about 2 this afternoon. The ease of today got me thinking to how I use to prepare for guests. There is only one word for it - scary. I don't know why, but for the first 5-7 years of Pete and I's marriage, I became completely insane when people came over for dinner. The menu was planned out in extreme. There had to be 2-3 appetizers. Some huge hunk of meat, like a lamb roast or a prime rib. Of course the meat needed 3-4 sides to go with it as well as a homemade dessert worthy of a Martha Stewart magazine cover. ( I tried today to find a picture of this pumpkin cake I used to make each October - it's pretty insane.)
Well after all that planning, and cooking and of course cleaning, I rarely had a good time. Pete and I would fight in the hours (or sometimes days) leading up to the party. I would be exhusted when people arrived and after everyone left, Pete would swear we were NEVER having guests over again. I created so much pressure on Pete and I. It was ridulous.
The sad part was, that I really enjoy having people over. Having a meal at home is so much more relaxing and enjoyable than going out. With kids now in the mix, resturants are always a sad disaster and babysitters get expensive.
Sometime in the last 2 years, I finally realized that my friends don't want to come over to my house to have a four course meal of fancy food. They want to come over and hang out. They want to let the kids run wild in the backyard while we eat stinky cheese on crusty bread. (Because what is better than stinky cheese among friends!) What a relief this realization has been. The best part has been that we actually have friends over a lot more often then before and we go over to friends houses quite frequently as well. When you set the bar at prime rib and Martha Stewart cake - who wants to try to reciprocate!
So what are we eating tonight?
Chips with mango or tomato salsa (all from the store)
Dinner: Roast chicken, green salad (Joanne's bringing that), Orzo salad, and of course a loaf of bread with some stinky cheeses.
For dessert the kids are making us ice cream in our ice cream ball and I bought a pie.
Easy, easy, and I can't wait for the Heim's to arrive.

Adventures in Garage Sales part 2 - Should we call an ambulance?

2008-07-30T07:00:00.001-06:00

Friday night I went to bed exhausted from a great first day of our garage sale. Although I was tired, I was excited about how much we had sold. I said to Pete, “I would feel that it was a successful sale, even if we didn’t sell one thing tomorrow.” Oh if only I knew what a prophet I was! Saturday morning, while I was trying to move a king size bed out of the garage, the frame came apart. I badly twisted my back. For an hour or so, I thought the pain would go away, but it only got worst. Two hours later, I couldn’t sit down, bend over or move my arms without horrible pain. Our wonderful friend Vanessa came to our rescue. She helped Pete pack up the sale and took the girls back to her house. Pete took me to the ER where we spent the next 6 hours. X-rays showed that nothing was broken, it was just a bad sprain. I was ordered to spend three days in bed and take three strong prescriptions for pain, swelling and muscle spasms.
While preparing for the garage sale, my time and thoughts were focused on all the worthless stuff that crowds our house. I kept thinking about the money I have wasted on toys, clothes and kitchen gadgets that go unused and are unappreciated. Because I am a hopelessly cerebral person, the piles of unwanted stuff made me start thinking about our family. Who are we? What do we value? I don’t think of us as being materialistic. I think of us as valuing our friends and family, not things that can be bought. I think of us as a family who stores treasures in heaven, not junk in the garage. But seeing all of our extra stuff piling up for the sale seemed to be evidence to the contrary.
But as I have watched friends come to our aid and Pete take such amazingly tender care of me the past few days, I’ve realized that we really are who I want us to be. We’re surrounded with amazingly generous friends who are willing to drop everything to help us. We’re part of a faith family who knows the power of prayer, and covers us with it. And most importantly, I’ve been freshly reminded of how truly incredible my husband is. He has juggled the roles of single dad, nurse, chef, chauffeur and Technical Product Manager (the job that actually pays him) beautifully.
I think that is the danger of having too much stuff. We get blinded by it. It absorbs our space, time, and energy. We start to think that all those things have value. We lose focus of the fact that it is indeed just stuff. So although this was not the ending I had pictured for my adventures in garage sales, it’s a perfect one for bringing my priorities back into focus.
** As for all the garage sale leftovers – they are going to Goodwill this weekend!

Adventures in garage sales part 1 – the good stuff

2008-07-28T11:32:00.002-06:00

For the last few weeks I have been getting ready for a garage sale. It is just frightening to me to see the amount of stuff our family has amassed. I don't think of myself as a shopper. I really don't like shopping. But the amount of stuff we have must mean that I do shop (or maybe our stuff is breeding – that is very possible). As I sorted our belongings out I found enough Tupperware for 3-4 families, enough stuffed animals to open a toy store and enough Citrix (the company Pete works for) logoed shirts, backpacks and water bottles for an entire village. The bags and boxes of stuff just kept piling up. Books I'll never read again, clothes with the tags still on them, blah, blah, blah, just way too much stuff!

But as the saying goes, one man's junkola is another man's treasure.

After days of tedious sorting and pricing, Friday finally arrived. I love garage sale days. I love meeting and talking to complete strangers. I think it is so interesting to see what people buy and how much they offer for it. Friday's sale went great. We had crowds most of the day and sold so many things. Sarah and Emily sold donuts, juice and water. Emily was quite the forward saleswoman, walking around asking people if they wanted a donut. Sarah was mortified by her little sister's forwardness, but it paid off and they made $17. By the end of the day, I had made over $500! Who new my junk treasures could be worth so much?

Interested in having a garage sale? Here are my tips and links to two sites about having garage sales.

Make a lot of signs. I did bright yellow arrows that said "Garage Sale" leading to our house.
Post on Craigslist. I posted an advertisement on Craigslist, listing types of things we were selling, our address, and told people to follow the yellow arrows.
Keep the kids busy. Having the kids have their own sale really helped me keep them busy during the morning rush. They were very excited about making their own money.
Organize your items by category. Place all kitchen items on one table, baby things on another. You get the idea.
Tips for having a sucessful garage sale or tag sale.
10 tips to a wildly sucessful garage sale

Ladybugs, ladybugs, ladybugs!

2008-07-24T12:49:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago our rose bushes started to be overtaken with aphids. Sarah, in her sage five-year-old wisdom, told me that what we needed was ladybugs, because they like to eat aphids. That sounded like much more fun than spraying our garden with chemicals, so we started our search for ladybugs. Apparently we are not the only family in town with the same idea, because all of our local nurseries have been sold out for weeks. I looked online but could only find enormous, mass amounts of ladybugs to cover acres of land. That seemed like a bit of overkill even for me. Last week we stopped by our favorite nursery and got lucky. For just over $8 we were the proud new owners of 1750 ladybugs! The girls were so excited. Their friends Adalae, Liam and Sophia came over that evening. We made ladybug homes out of old Tupperware. I told the kids that they could each select two as pets, and we released the rest into our garden. The kids had a great time having the ladybugs climb all over them before they flew away.
As for the aphid situation, the roses actually look a lot better. I’ll admit though, of the 1750 ladybugs we let go, I would estimate that 12 are still in our garden. But we had fun!

Mother Love

2008-07-22T12:44:00.002-06:00

My book club is reading Lisa See's Peony in Love this month. It is the story of a young girl name Peony who lives in 17^th century China. While the story is mostly about romantic love, I have found myself drawn to the mother-daughter relationships and the Chinese concept of "mother love." While helping with the binding of a young cousin's feet, Peony writes, "The written character for mother love is composed of two elements: love and pain. I had always thought this emotion was felt by the daughters for their mothers, who inflict pain on us in binding our feet, but looking at Second Aunt's tears and my mother's courage I realized that this emotion was for them. A mother suffers deeply to give birth, bind feet and say goodbye to a daughter when she marries out." (Peony in Love by Lisa See, pg 44, Random House 2008)

Four centuries and half a world away, this passage has affected me deeply. There has been much mother love happening in our house lately. My daughter Sarah, who is 5 ½, has been testing her boundaries in talking back, ignoring me and flat out being mean. Lately we have been fighting like never before. I have become that screaming mom I never thought I'd be and she's become the arrogant, and sometimes mean spirit girl I hoped she'd never become. I have heard the first five years of parenting are physically hard as you get little sleep and are constantly carrying a little one, but the next 10 years of parenting are emotionally hard as you fight to mold your child's character. I guess we are entering that second stage of parenting. I'll admit that it terrifies me and I don't feel ready.

I think the character Peony may have been wrong, mother love is an emotion for both mothers and daughters. Whether it is forming our daughters' feet or their character, the work is hard and painful on both the mother and the daughter. Last Friday, I had planned to take the girls on their first camping trip with two other moms and their daughters. Friday turned out to be a terrible day. Sarah refused to do the four simple chores assigned to her that day. Our tempers both escalated throughout the day as I insisted she do them and she continued to refuse. Sarah told me that she wished I'd go get a job because she was sick of having me around. I told her the camping trip was off. Both of our words were like arrows to the heart.

I was responsible for bringing part of dinner for camping that night. So I packed the girls in the car and drove through two hours of traffic to deliver the food. The girls had never seen a camp site. As we pulled in and they saw the tents there was much begging, pleading, and crying. I felt bad for the girls. (By the way Emmie had followed Sarah's lead all day and wouldn't do anything I asked either, so it was a fair punishment for both of them) The soft part of my heart screamed, "let them go camping!" The sensible part of my heart argued, "If you don't try to mold her now, it will only get worse." The sensible part won out and we pulled out of the campsite. They cried all the way home. My heart cried too. I realized that can no longer ease every tear with a tender embrace, a Dora sticker or a tickle fest, that's not my job. My role as mother has become much more complicated. It is time to begin in earnest the job of molding Sarah into the person God wants her to be. I guess that means there is much more painful mother love in our future.

When we got home, I went and sat on our front porch. A huge lightening storm had started. The loud crashes of thunder echoed the girls' and I's mood. I sat on the porch and prayed. I prayed for wisdom, for strength and for peace. The lightening gave way to a driving rain storm. The first we have had all summer. As the rain began to fall, Emmie came outside with me. She snuggled on my lap and we quietly watched the rain. I praised God for the rain, which drove away the heat of the day and washed away my tension. Sarah soon came to find us and we finally had a productive conversation about our day. Cuddling on the porch, watching the final drops of rain fall, I was reminded that Mother Love comes from two characters - it is not just pain, the first character is love. With the grace of God, that love will get us through this new season of mothering.

Things to overload my brain … it doesn’t take much

2008-07-20T20:07:00.002-06:00

I have a hard time grasping the world outside of about 50 miles from me. I know that is not a very flattering thing to say about myself, but it is true. The fact that life is going on right now in Venice and Cairo and Moscow all at the same time, is just totally weird to me. I don't know why. When I try to think about the fact that the planet is currently hurdling through space in a perfect path around the sun, my brain sort of freezes.

I recently have been sent a number of world meters or clocks which tell you all sort of fascinating data such as how many people have been born today, how many gallons of gas were pumped and how many species went extinct. Check out Worldometer. It has great stats such as net gain of people on the planet today or how many overweight people there are compared to malnourished people (it will surprise you!) When my brain gets overloaded trying to think about the fact that there are 170,000+ more people on the planet today than there were yesterday, I check out how many hours humans have wasted on the computer waiting for websites to download. Then I turn off my computer and go back to my very small world.

World Vision Experience: Aids

2008-07-17T15:46:00.003-06:00

After hearing amazing reviews about the World Vision Experience: AIDS exhibit, from my friend Joanne, Sarah and I went to see it Tuesday. The exhibit puts a face on the AIDS crisis in Africa. Actually, it puts four faces on it. The exhibit tells the stories of four children: Babirye, Mathabo, Kombo and Emmanuel. When you enter the exhibit, you are given an IPOD with the story of one of the four children. Sarah and I listened to Emmanuel's story. Using words like "listen" and "exhibit" do not do it justice. The word experience really describes it well. You enter and sit down in Emmanuel's home and travel from his hut, to the nearby banana forest, to the local clinic to see if Emmanuel is HIV positive. It is just incredible.

The exhibit is recommended for children over age ten. Sarah is five but I felt that it was completely appropriate for her. There were no graphic images in the photography, nor graphic language on the IPOD. Without a doubt it is very sad, but Sarah and I have had great conversations about Emmanuel in the last few days. We live in a rich community, in a rich nation, and I want Sarah to see that the world is so much bigger than what she sees every day. She may not have a horse or every Webkin that she wants, but she is a very blessed little girl. I don't think children need to be 10 to start learning that lesson, and frankly, as an adult, I can't remind myself of it enough.

The exhibit is traveling around the country. Check out the website to see the locations and dates. If it is coming to your hometown, take your kids and go see it, you will be so glad you did.

Fingerprint Art

2008-07-11T11:41:00.002-06:00

Last year, my friend Susan was Sarah's classroom mom. She had the children make fingerprint art note cards for each teacher's birthday. They turned out so cute, I was inspired to borrow her design book, (Ed Emberley's Fingerprint Drawing Book) and try it with the girls. This week the girls and I made this card for Pete's grandmother's birthday. Each of the girls picked which bugs or flowers they wanted to make with their fingerprints. I added on the faces, legs and stems. (I used Pete's thumb to make the sun!) It was very easy to do and the girls loved it. I am thinking of making up some note pads or gift cards at Kinko's with fingerprint flowers along the bottom.

Ed Emberley's website has great drawing activities on it as well as fingerprint patterns. 123Child has patterns for fingerprint animals and plants which children over age 5 could do on their own.

Enjoy!

Activity Bag Swap

2008-07-09T20:21:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago, I was invited to participate in a Activity in a Bag swap. Each mom makes 25 sets of an assigned activity. We are all getting together in a few weeks and will each take home 25 different activities for our preschoolers. Each activity is contained in a gallon size plastic bag. The activities are self directed so preschoolers can get out an activity and do it on their own when mom is busy cooking, taking a shower or home schooling older siblings. The activities come from a book entitled Preschool Activities in a Bag which was written by two home schooling moms. Each of the 30 activities in the book has clear directions and can be assembled for around a $1 per bag.

I was assigned a beading activity. Each bag has 100 beads, two 24 inch lanyard strings and one pipe cleaner. I test ran the activity bag with Emily today while I had a doctor's appointment. She actually spent 45 minutes playing with it. I can't wait to have 24 different activity bags to use. I plan on putting aside 6-7 of the bags for an upcoming airplane trip and keeping 2-3 bags in the car for restaurants.

The group of moms I am swapping with is each making two extra bags. One extra set is going to a family whose son is undergoing chemo treatments. The family has two preschoolers who will get to play with their new activity bags during big brother's doctor appointments and hospital visits. The second extra set is going to Denver's Children's Hospital. My mother volunteers in the play room there. When I told her about the activity bags, she thought it was a great idea for patients who are in isolation. I am going to divide the activities up into some canvas bags that volunteers can bring to patients' rooms.

We are doing our swap in a few weeks. I'll let you know how Emily likes her new activities.

Blogging off for now …

2008-06-02T21:53:00.001-06:00

Two weeks from today 325 children, teens and adult volunteers will be participating in Power Lab VBS at our church. I am our church's VBS Director, which means things are getting a little hectic around here. Instead of everyone wondering where in the world I am, I thought I would sign off for a couple of weeks. I know that God has amazing things planned for all of us who will be involved with Power Lab. I look forward to sharing it all with you after VBS ends on the 20^th. I know many of you are busy at work with your own church's VBS programs. I wish you joy along your journey. J Keep smiling – God has it all under control!

The prettiest mommy in the world…

2008-05-26T15:00:00.002-06:00

I am interrupting our regular programming of Amazing Mama Mondays to share this completely insane story with you. Sadly, because we live in America in 2008, it is true. This past Mother's Day Florida-based plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Salzhauer, released his first children's book, My Beautiful Mommy. This is a book for children who are confused about their mommy's upcoming plastic surgery and why she will look different. The cover is so amusing, I thought it was a joke, but alas it isn't. Isn't Mommy beautiful with her new nose, jumbo boobs and trim tummy. She is downright sparkly, just like a Disney Princess.

At first glance this book is truly comical. Want a laugh? This is what Dr. Michael looks like in real life. Take a look inside the book. This is what Dr. Michael looks like in his book. He's a super hero here to save mommies from their saggy breasts! Inflata-man here to save the day!
But a second look at this book, which was written for the 4-7 year old market, shows how truly sad and dangerous it is. On one page the Mommy explains, "Not just different honey … prettier," while she is imagining herself being crowned in a beauty pageant. The little girl looks alarmed and replies, "But you are already the prettiest mommy in the whole wide world!" I wonder if the author knows how real this interaction is. Our kids do think we are the prettiest mommy in the world. It is one of the most wonderful things about having young kids. I put on a dress, Sarah is in awe. Emily is perpetually telling me I "look pretty." What we do with this impressionable window in our daughters' lives is critical. What we teach our daughters today about self image, is what we will reap ten years from now. If our response to "Mommy you are beautiful," is "Oh if only I could lose 20 lbs," or "Well, mommy will be prettier when Dr. Michael is done with me," than Dr. Michael better get working on a second book. Here are some suggested titles for him; Mommy I Need a New Nose – preparing for your daughter's first plastic surgery or how about Saturday with Sophie – a parents guide to visiting your daughter in Eating Disorder Rehab.

Heritage Table – a great idea for weddings, reunions and family celebrations

2008-05-21T20:42:00.002-06:00

Last week, we were in Florida for my husband's cousin's wedding. Stephanie and Danny planned out every detail of their wedding with amazing care and thought. The service was beautiful and the reception was amazing, but there was one little table that left many guests speechless. It was the Heritage Table. A small rectangular table was left empty until just before the end of the reception. Then, guests were invited to go over to the Heritage Table for a special take home treat. So what was it?

Along the table were lovely glass platters and containers of cookies. But these were no ordinary cookies. Each platter had a sign in front of it with the name of the cookie and whose recipe it was. They were the special cookie recipes from each of their grandmothers and great grandmothers. Isn't that beautiful! Really, it makes me tear up just thinking of it. Each guest was invited to fill up a small box to take home. It was the most beautiful way to honor and include the special women in their families, most of who have passed on. It was so touching seeing the older generation of guests go up to the table and see platters their own mother's peanut butter cookies or layer bars.

I love this idea, so I had to pass it on. I think it would be a wonderful inclusion at any wedding, shower, reunion or large family celebration. Thanks Steph!

Amazing Mama Monday part 3 – A mama with heart

2008-05-19T23:08:00.002-06:00

(As of posting time I have 53 minutes in Monday left! J )

Mother Teresa once said, "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But if that drop was not in the ocean, I think the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. I do not agree with the big way of doing things."

I love to read biographies of people who have devoted their lives to trying to change some giant injustice in the world. I get fired up about trying to do something about AIDS orphans in Africa or little Afghan girls without educational opportunities, then reality settles in and I think, "What can I really do as a stay at home mom in suburbia Colorado?" I love the above quote by Mother Teresa because it reminds me that I can do seemingly small things and still change the world. I am lucky to have several friends who are great examples of this principle. One of them is my friend Julie, and she is this week's Amazing Mama.

Julie has three children ages 6, 4 and 2. She is one of those refreshingly real women. She hides behind no fake pretense or persona, she's just Julie, and if you know her, you love her – everyone does. I have known Julie for about 2 years. Over the years I have heard her talk about her assorted volunteer roles. She has a very full plate, yet she somehow makes time to work with organizations close to her heart. In addition to volunteering at her son's school and with her church's school board, Julie works with the fundraising efforts of Hope House of Colorado and Play for a Heart.

If you give Julie the opportunity to talk about either of these groups, she'll have a lot to say, because she is very passionate about them. Her work is driven by a heart-felt connection to both groups.

Hope House is a Christian home for parenting teenage mothers, providing a two year self-sufficiency program in a safe, structured environment, offering each resident the opportunity to build a firm foundation for her life. Julie started volunteering with Hope House after attending a fundraising event and hearing the Hope House residents talk about their lives. As a mom, she related to these teenage moms, but she also remembered being a teenager, and couldn't image having had to deal with motherhood at that age. Her heart was so touched by these girls; she knew right away that she wanted to help.

Play for a Heart is an annual event to build awareness and raise money for congenital heart defects. Julie became involved with this event through her husband's childhood friend. His daughter was born with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD). She is the same age as Julie's daughter Olivia. When Julie learned the severity of CHD (this year 40,000 children will be born with CHD, 4,000 of them will not live to see their first birthday), she knew she had to get involved.

Having said all that, what makes Julie an Amazing Mama is not what she does, it's who she is. Julie has a heart for loving people. She keeps her eyes and heart open to where she can be of service. She reflects the love of Christ through the way she servesand that is amazing to me. The perfect illustration of this is that while Julie and I were talking about this article, we started talking about some dear friends who are going through an unimaginably difficult time. Immediately, Julie started formulating colossal yet concrete ways that we can help this family, and there isn't a question in my mind that she won't get it done. The girl has heart!

It is so easy as a mom, dad, student, employee – any title will do here – to get stuck in our own lives and not see a way that we can help those around us. I asked Julie to share some advice for those people who want to be a drop in the ocean as Mother Teresa described.

Here is what she said:

Follow your heart – Find organizations/causes that touch your heart.

Bring your work skills to the table – Volunteer through your skill set. I use to work in sales, that's what I know. I have become the "Silent Auction Maven." I use my professional experience in sales to put together successful events to raise money for the causes I care about. Take a look at your resume and bring your skills to volunteering.

Go deep not wide – Select 1 -2 organizations to work with. If you try to be everywhere, helping everyone, you will be left feeling like you are just giving pieces of yourself here and there. Select your 1-2 causes and give deeply; it will be much more rewarding.

Know when to say no – learn when to say no, and do it. My main mission field is my family, when that starts to suffer because of my volunteer work; I know it is time to say no.

Thanks Julie! I am a better mom and a better woman for knowing you! Happy belated Mother's Day.

Need stationary? Julie also works as a Duly Noted rep.

It's called The Magic Kingdom for a reason

2008-05-14T21:09:00.004-06:00

We just returned home today from a week in Orlando. We celebrated Pete's cousin Stephanie's wedding to a wonderful man, Danny, who has been family in all of our hearts for several years now. The wedding was amazing and will get it's own post (or two) later this week.

We went to The Magic Kingdom on Monday with 15 Schulzes. We had a truly magical day. It was wonderful getting to experience it through the eyes of the girls. Sarah was uncharacteristically brave and went plunging down Splash Mountain, not once but twice. Emily, our 2 year old thrill seeker, loved the tea cups. We couldn't spin her fast enough. She would lay back in against the seat and belly laugh the whole time. It was hysterical.

I was told a few weeks ago that Pete's cousin Jeff was making us all matching shirts. I must admit I am not a matching shirt kind of gal, but it made the day. . It was so much fun seeing this sea of family members troop from one ride to the next, and it made spotting the girls much easier. I had to share this picture from the afternoon parade - it really captured the day. The parade theme was Wishes, which was very fitting, as Pete's Aunt Sue told us it had always been her dream that we would all go to Disney in matching shirts. Wish granted Sue - wasn't it great!

(Photo Left to Right: Cousin Mike, Aunt Dianne, Uncle Jeff with Emily, Pete with Sarah, Cousin Jeff with Kacie, Shantelle)

Amazing Mama Monday – The mom who could

2008-05-11T21:22:00.002-06:00

(Photo note: Jinny is in the black, Anna is in the pink).

For the first few years of my mommyhood, I believed that being a "good mom" meant giving everything to my daughter. The more I did for her the better. I don't believe this anymore. Being only five years into being a mom, I still have much to figure out, but one thing that I have learned is that if mommy doesn't take care of herself, everyone suffers. I still know a lot of moms that believe they need to give everything to their kids. But that mentality bears a heavy price. It costs different things to different moms; personal dreams, mental and physical health, and even marriages. The old cliché is true," If mama ain't happy, nobody's happy."

I am greatly blessed to have my friend Jinny as an amazing example to me, of how a mom can achieve a huge personal goal and in the meantime become an even better mother and wife to her family. Jinny is a wonderful mom to two childre, ages 6 and 4. She and her husband Jason have been married for 10 years. She is currently a full time mom. I asked her to share her story with The Celebrated Family. I hope you are as encouraged and inspired by Jinny as I always am!

My journey started with a long hard look at myself in the fall of 2006, I was 30 years old, and 65 pounds overweight at least. I had spent the last 10 years of my life packing on the added cushioning for various reasons. I was a decent athlete in high school and my freshman year of college, not great, but definitely an identity I enjoyed about myself. For the next 10 years I pretended that part of my life was over. Then in August 2006 I took a really good look in a mirror (sans clothes) ick! Here I was, I had a GREAT life, a wonderful husband, wonderful children, and so many excuses why I couldn't be healthy. I had one last Wednesday fling with food, the next day I went to my first Weight Watcher's meeting. At the same time my friend Anna, who was had just had a baby got to talking to me. She wanted to do a triathlon that coming summer. I decided that I would train with her. Anna became my training partner, support and very close friend.

In mid February, having lost 30 pounds, my life changed drastically, my mother was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. I had to sit down and evaluate if I now had time to meet the goal of completing a triathlon. What would my mom now need from me? This was a huge personal test of my commitment to the new me. Exercise ended up being up the answer to dealing with the stress of my mom's cancer. I ran my heart out and in doing I found the old Jinny. The one who could compete. The one who touted herself "The Fastest KID in the third, fourth, and almost all of fifth grade". My husband figured what I needed, he would say "Go run and I will do the dishes" and he actually would do it. Through running I endured my mom's mastectomies, and other procedures and treatments.

By summer 2007, I had lost 45 lbs and six sizes. I looked better than I had in 10 years. I had lost my fat suit and found the Jinny that was in there the entire time. I really, really liked her! I vowed out loud, I will never ever lose her again, she is my best friend and I treasure her. I thanked myself for finally laying the excuses aside, for counting my calories, for making tough eating decisions, and for working out as much as possible. I had great support, but they were always there really, my husband and friends would always have supported me, I was the one to make my decision to change my life.

Triathlon day arrived for Anna and I. Before we dive into the water, I grabbed Anna and thanked her for taking this amazing journey with me. We swam through cold water, biked through bike issues and ran in sweltering heat. With my husband, kids, parents and 80 year old grandmother watching, I finished. I literally leapt for joy. I was broken in half by my smile. I was Jinny again. Finally. Yes, I was tired, but not that tired, labor was more difficult!

I am Jinny, the triathlete, NO ONE can take that away from me.

I still look at my medal every day. Now I take the time to workout frequently and I eat better most of the time. I just ran my fastest 5k time since high school. My son says I have bubble muscles, which I like. With spring finally arriving in Colorado, triathlon season is just around the corner. Anna and I have been training with three other newbie triathlon mom's this winter, helping them along the same path we traveled last winter. I am striving to push myself to the next level and lose the last 20 lbs that I need to lose – man, imagine how fast I will be then!

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

2008-05-08T23:01:00.000-06:00

This Saturday, May 10th is the National Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive by the National Assocation of Letter Carriers. In it's 14th year, this is the nations largest one day food drive. Last year it collected over 70 million lbs of food! Amazing huh!

Your family can participate by putting out no perishable food items next to your mailbox this Saturday. Your letter carrier will pick up the food and bring it to your local post office where it will be sorted and delivered to a local food bank. It is a great way to help out the hungry in your own community.

Those wonderful cookies

2008-05-06T22:53:00.002-06:00

I have received a number of calls and e-mails asking for my mom's chocolate chip cookie recipe. Here it is. Enjoy. As you read the ingredients, note that I just said they were wonderful, I didn't say they were good for you. :)

Nancy's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 20 cookies

1/2 cup Crisco

1/2 cup Sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sifted flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

6 oz chocolate chips

Cream together shortening, sugars, egg, vanilla until fluffy

Sift together dry ingredients

Stir into creamy mixture - mix well

Add chocolate chips

Bake on greased cookie sheet for 8 -10 min (she takes them out when they are still soft) in a 375 degree oven.

Enjoy!

Amazing Mama Monday - A mom who mothers many

2008-05-05T16:12:00.002-06:00

I think that having a celebration of mothers which lasts only one day is a great travesty. So each Monday during May I am going to share an amazing mom with you. Each of the women inspires, encourages and changes the lives of the people around them. I am so excited to share them with you because their lives reflect things that everyone can do. They are from all appearances "average" suburban moms, but in reality they are spectacular women. I hope that in reading about them, you will be as encouraged and inspired by them as I am.

There was only one woman whom I could kick off this series with, that's my mom of course. I have been talking to my friends about my mom for the last week or so. Each of them has such beautiful things to say about her. My mom has two children of her own, but throughout my life I have watched her be a mother to many. She quietly watches people, sees their need and reaches out in ordinary ways full of extraordinary love.

A package for Nicky - when I was 12, I went to summer camp in Minnesota with my friend Nicky. Each day, I received a letter from my mom and once a week a care package. Nicky's parents were traveling a lot that month and letters were not as frequent. I wrote to my mom, and told her that Nicky had not received a care package from home. The next week there was a package for Nicky. It was from my mom. I can't remember everything that was inside, but I remember watching Nicky open it, and how very happy she was. That package was worth its weight in gold to a little girl who was far from home and needed a motherly touch.

Cookies for Ryan - My husband tells people that my mom's chocolate chip cookies were my dowry, they are that good! While I was at UM, my mom's cookies developed quite the reputation. When I was seen walking from the post box with a brown paper box, word spread quickly. The cookies never lasted long. Oh how we all loved them! My friend Ryan really struggled in school. His grades were not great and he had little support from home. His mom had moved out when he was young and he had been raised by his father. For Ryan, a care package of cookies from a mom was something that only happened on TV. On one of my mom's visit's to Miami, she talked to Ryan about his grades and made him a deal. (I can't remember the details, but he had to get a rather average grade and mom would send him cookies.) Ryan worked all semester toward making his end of the deal, and he did it. The next week, sitting in his post box was his own brown paper box of cookies. Ryan still talks about those cookies. Through two dozen homemade cookies, my mom gave Ryan a glimpse of what the unconditional love of a mom could look like. To this day, it hurts my heart to think of what those cookies meant to him.

Showers of love for the girls – While I was in college, my mom also send countless loaves of pumpkin and zucchini bread. I lived with four girls throughout college, who are now sisters to me. When they each got married, my mom made them a cookbook and put the recipes of the bread she used to send us. My mom's zucchini bread has now because my friend Fara's signature dish which her parents and kids ask her to make. When each of the girls had her first baby, my mom knit them a baby blanket. My friend Manya's son was obsessed with his blue blankie. It was his comfort and friend during the first few years of his life. I love that my mom's recipes and blankets are part of my friends' children's lives. Through them, my mom's love is already touching another generation of kids.

A letter in the mail, a dozen cookies, a cookbook, a baby's first blanket, all such ordinary things. But the extraordinary thing about them is the love which they were given with. One of the questions at my mom's bible study this week was, "How are you loving your children's friends?" It is such a good question. There are children all around us who need some love. Children who need to see the love of Christ through our lives. The wonderful thing about my mom's example is that is shows us that you don't need lots of money or a PhD in Psychology to touch children's lives, it is something we can all do.

All you need is a willing and loving heart.

Thank you for your example mom – you are an AMAZING Mama! Happy Mother's Day! I love you.

May Day Baskets …

2008-04-30T20:55:00.003-06:00

The girls and I had a rare quiet morning at home today. We spent the morning making May Day baskets. We made simple cone shaped baskets using scrapbooking paper and ribbon. We filled them with popcorn, candy and a packet of seeds for kids and biscotti, tea and flower seeds for adults. We delivered one today (Sarah couldn't wait) and will do the others tomorrow. Here are some links on instructions for making a variety of May Day Baskets. Enjoy!

Charming May Day Baskets

A variety of baskets made from household items

Paper plate baskets with paper flowers

Duck baskets

There is still a hole in my bucket …

2008-04-29T07:18:00.003-06:00

Friday, I told you that I had a hole in the bucket of my life. The hole is that I am frequently overwhelmed by what I think needs to be done. So many things seem to be slipping through the crack. Time with my husband, fun with my kids, details at work, laundry … need I say more. I had that song about the hole in the bucket running through my head all day. I decided to follow Liza's advice in the song and go and fix my bucket. My strategy was to go on our church's women's retreat and fix my poor little bucket.

There is only one problem with following the advice of this children's song. Do you remember the rest of the lyrics to the song? Well after Liza tells Henry to go fix his bucket, he asks her how to do it. She tells him to fix it with straw. The song follows in the same pattern with the following verses.

Henry: But the straw is too long.

Liza: Then cut it.

Henry: With what shall I cut it?

Liza: With a knife

Henry: But the knife is too dull.

Liza: Well sharpen it

Henry: With what shall I sharpen it?

Liza: With a stone

Henry: But the stone is too dry

Liza: Then wet it

Henry: With what shall I wet it?

Liza: With the water

Henry: But where shall I get it?

Liza: In the well

Henry: With what shall I fetch it?

Liza: With the bucket

Then the song starts all over again, because the darn bucket still has a hole in it! It is truly an annoying song. But, it is also a wonderfully insightful song about human nature. I know I am not the only one out there with a hole in my bucket. 60+ women from my church shared with me this weekend, that they too have holes in their buckets. We all do. Just like Liza and Henry, we try to fix them on our own. We try to fill holes like loneliness, stress, heartache, and worry with shopping, television, new organizational plans and yoga classes. In the end, all these worldly patches get us about as far as Henry got with his bucket. The holes are still there.

After a lot of prayer and walks with the Lord this weekend, I realized He likes the holes, because He can use them. It is often because of those very holes, that we fall on our knees and turn our face to His.

"I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber. The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." Psalm 121 1-3, 7-8.

When we do look to the Lord, He is not only ready to be our help, but also to reveal His amazing never-ending, never-changing love for us - and that is an incredibly powerful thing. So, I am actually happy to report this week that there is still a hole in my bucket. I am going to stop trying to fix it. Instead, I am going to wake in the morning and say;

"Lord, there is a hole in my bucket. I know today I will not get everything done that I need to. I know things will fall through the cracks. Lord, be my help. Be my guide. Help me to do what should be done today and let go of things that really don't matter. Lord, walk with me today."

And praise the Lord, I know He will.

There is a hole in my bucket

2008-04-25T14:26:00.004-06:00

Do you remember the little song,

"There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza.
There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, a hole."

Poor old Henry is trying to get through his farmer day, but there is a hole in his bucket. So Henry calls out to very practical Liza and whines about his issue. Do you remember what Liza says back?

"Then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry.
Then fix it, dear Henry. Dear Henry, fix it!"

Such sage advice from old Liza, I can just hear her hollering over from the chicken coop, "Fix the darn bucket Henry and get on with your life!"

Well there is a hole in my bucket. I have been whining about it for a while. Each day, I try to run through my life with a bucket that's leaking. So much seems to be slipping through the holes ( there is probably more than one.) At the end of each day, I turn around and look at a path of dropped balls, half finished projects and missed opportunities.

*** Okay I have to implant this illustration. Just now as I was typing "unfinished" I remembered that I was baking cookies. I ran up to the kitchen and the cookies are completely ruined! Fudge! Why am I making cookies you may ask? Well I need cookies for this weekend. Yesterday I went and bought a tray of two dozen cookies and apparently drove off leaving them in the parking lot. So I have to make cookies – now I have to make MORE cookies! Oh my goodness, need I say more about my scattered state!***

I don't think my bucket is irreparably broken, I think that it has just been a long time since I did any maintenance work in it. This weekend I am taking Liza's advice. I am going to try to fix my bucket – or at least take a good look at it. In one hour and 47 minutes my friend Bobbie is picking me up and we are headed to our church's women's retreat Two days, 60 + women, the quiet of the Colorado mountains and one great big powerful loving God. I can't wait and I look forward to sharing it with you next week.

*** Sidebar #2 in case you actually had to ask – Yes the TV is back on. We made it until this afternoon but it's on."