Tea for Three!

This year we had a mega birthday party for three of the cutest girls I know. :) Avery (my sister, Cortni's, daughter) turned one, Abby Kate turned two, and Kendyll turned seven all within a couple of weeks of each other. So, in order to save time, money, and most importantly, energy...we combined forces to throw a fun Mad Hatter tea for three!

And, oh my goodness, it was so much fun! Cortni & Adam came over the night before to decorate, and we were quite proud of how fast we pulled this party together...especially for starting everything at 9:00 pm. :) Our husbands were great sports, as their jobs entailed everything from hanging paper lanterns from the ceiling fan, to making apricot tea sandwiches!

Cassie also came over early to take the CUTE tutu pictures of the girls. This one is one of my very favorites...thank you Aunt Cassie, for always giving us such "keepers" of our girls.

Here are more pictures from the party too!

The decorations...

The "kids table"...

The party guests (I am severely lacking in this section...hopefully some others took more pictures of our guests!! If so, send them my way!)

I love this picture of the girls with my dad. It reminds me of many other funny pictures of us as girls with our dad, rolling our eyes at his goofiness. :)

And, the always-important sister picture. I love that no matter what---at least two of us dress alike. This time, the popular choice was argyle!

And, here are some sweet shots of the three birthday girls (and some of their mommies too):

And, then there was cake time! (Since I was busy lighting three sets of candles, I'm REALLY lacking in cake pictures...Cass, I hope you have a few too!) But, here is Abby Kate, at least!We decided to play some crazy but fun games, including "unwrap tiny presents as fast as you can to music". Which kind of didn't work. :) But, the kids still had fun unwrapping lots of little party favors, while listening to some of our favorite silly music from Go Fish.

We also played a sugar cube relay with adults and kids, involving spoons held in everyone's mouths. We have this on video and it is so funny. Even Abby Kate gets in on the relay action. (but, unfortunately, I didn't take one picture.)

It was a fun party, and Cortni and I are definitely in favor of the combo party. I think all the girls felt very celebrated, and hopefully our family enjoyed having ONE party instead of three in two weeks. Happy Birthday Avery, AK, and Kendyll!

Happy 7th Birthday, Kendyll!

SEVEN? How can you be seven?! We love you, Kendyll Grace! Today is a fun celebration day for our big girl, who is finally feeling better after having a flu-like virus since Friday! Lots of birthday fun planned today, and we're glad she's feeling better for it!

We'll be back later with a "guest blog" by the birthday girl herself!! As well as her "birth story", which she has been very curious about this year for some reason. :)

By the way, if you read this blog today, and have a moment, she would LOVE reading your birthday comments. :) She is excited to be in blog-world later today...

Happy Valentine's Week!

Apparently, my last blog sounded depressing... and I didn't really mean for it to! So, now with a new blog entry, and some fun new pictures, my mom can stop worrying about my state of mind! :) Ha ha.

So....Happy February! Except for a fever virus that has hit our house the last few days, we have been in a state of constant celebration around here!! Kendyll's turning 7, Abby Kate's turning 2, Valentine's day has brought party after party, and we are one week down in Reading Rally! So, we're blowing and going and having a great time with it all.

Last week, was Valentine's parties like crazy! Carlie had THREE parties, and Kendyll had one. It really is one of my favorite times of year, and it's a perfect holiday for our girly household. :)

Somehow I only got pictures at Carlie's school party. This is when they are singing "This is the Day the Lord has Made" for us.

She never lets me take a picture with her at her parties. So, this was a big deal that I got one this time! :)
(Aunt Carol, do you recognize those shoe boxes?! Grammer would have been proud of how much Carlie's friends loved those boxes. :) )

And, Kendyll's school party was so entertaining. This is the perfect age for exchanging Valentine's, and they all had so much fun reading each others. It was adorable to watch them treasure each little card and talk about it with each other. Look at that face of concentration as she reads!Aunt Cassie found us the MOST adorable Valentine's this year. They are vintage-style, with the sweetest little pictures on them. I'm addicted to this new-found old-style Valentine, and hope to find them again next year! Why don't they make them like this anymore? Here, Kendyll is showing her friend, JoAnna, the one she made her.

And, this is the part of their parties that always makes me cry. :) They sang their "hymn of the month", The Lord is My Shepherd.

Kendyll decorated her "creative Valentine container", and she was very proud of it, jewels and all. :)

She also got a little "extra" Valentine after class, that made me laugh. A little boy named Charlie, who is not in her class, came up to us in the hallway after the party. He had a little box of chocolates and a card for Kendyll. He walked directly up to her, and at the very last minute, turned and handed it to me...said, Here, Mrs. Jacobs...and walked off. It was so funny. I told Kendyll to say "thank you", so she walked up to him, looked at me the whole time, and said "Thank you, Charlie." Talk about AWKWARD! It was hilarious. And, unfortunately, the box of chocolates were not very treasured. They ended up in the backseat of a friend's car, never to be seen again. :) Oh, the joy of school-age Valentine's parties.

Of course, I managed to not get one sister picture in all of their pink and red, which is really funny, seeing that they wore it ALL month. But, oh well. They looked alot like past years anyway. Ha ha.

Some other Valentine events from the month:

We had Valentine milkshakes in a tub full of bubbles...a Valentine heart pizza with red & pink fruit salad...Valentine goodies from grandparents...Krispy Kreme heart donuts...and more Valentine treats and cards than we could have imagined!(Little sister had to wait until after the bath...who knows what she would have done with a milkshake in the tub. :) )

She LOVED it...look at that smile! My Valentine gift from Mark was a night without children. :) We went to a long dinner, walked around Target, and home to hang out. It was wonderful. We also watched Fireproof, which we had not seen yet. SUCH a great movie, with so many great messages. Very much inspired me to strive to be a better wife every day.

Of course, along with hearts and doilies, glue sticks, and valentines, we've also seen a lot of this around our house:

Kendyll has spent time reading to herself, reading to her parents, reading to her sisters. And, then, has already had the opportunity to listen to books read by Daddy, by Mommy, by Pops, by Grandma, by Aunt Cassie...and more guest readers to come! It has been a fun time for us, even though it takes up literally every spare minute we have. I can already tell it will make great memories for our family in future years. And, I can also tell that February will officially wipe me out every year. :)

But, it's worth it.

Next blog: Our Mad Hatter Tea Party this weekend for Avery, Abby Kate, and Kendyll!!

Forcing Myself...

This was written last week....and I never actually got finished in time for it be a "January" post. Oops!


I won't lie. January has been tough. Not only for my "blog world" motivation, but also for my "real world" motivation. I guess it's the "January blues", but I just can't get myself to stay in a happy, productive mood for more than a few hours at a time. Therefore, the blogging has fallen WAY off the map. So, here I am, somewhat forcing myself to re-enter.

By the way, we did have a wonderful Christmas, and I really plan to add that to the blog eventually. Unfortunately, paired with my "January blues" has been a very fussy computer and a missing camera, which was left at one of our family Christmas events, and we finally thought to get it this week! :)


For now, I have a few scattered thoughts to share....

1. Mark's sweet Grandmother passed away last Thursday, and we just returned home from a few days spent in Abilene. It was four days straight of cherishing family and just being together. We celebrated Grammer, for her life well-lived, and her legacy of love and selflessness she left for all of us. I'm inspired...and convicted...that I need to love more, and worry about myself less. :) We love you, Grandmother, and we will miss you so much.



2. Kendyll had a tough time with Grammer's death. She cried and cried and was most upset by the idea of never seeing Grandmother again. Fast forward a few days, and she is now at peace with the idea of Grandmother in heaven. We all painted a picture of what we know she is doing, and Kendyll loves the mental image of Grandmother and Grandad--together again--dancing on the streets of gold...and, of course, Grammer is in her diamond studded high heels too. Such a sweet picture, and perfect for my little six year old's mind's eye. :)


3. I have felt absolutely uncreative, ineffective, and bogged down by the details of my days. I know, that's not how I should be, but it's the truth. So, it's always a refreshing thing when a sister calls to say "I'm feeling creative, and so I made you a new blog template." Thank you, Cassie, for putting a little pink in my day and making me look creative, even when I don't feel it at all. :)


4. Feeling this way---"uncreative" and "uninspired"---does not work very well when you have TWO daughters with birthdays in the next three weeks. Man, I have some work to do...not to mention the big Valentine's day thrown in there as well! (I am better now, by the way. Just give me a good theme (thanks to Cortni!) and a sister to split the party with (thanks to Cortni, again!), and my inspiration is back! We're having a Mad Hatter Tea Party for all three girls next weekend...SO fun!!)


5. Okay, I need something positive for my #5. I am totally Debbie Downer! Ummm....In June, I get to go to Italy with my husband. This is on my mind because we finally looked at flights today, and it made me excited and a bit overwhelmed at this idea.


6. Okay, the randomness might be getting worse....there are just some one sentence thoughts running through my head....probably because I haven't blogged in so long, there is too much to say!


Today, Abby Kate asked me for ear drops. Do you think the girl is way too used to ear infections?? (She got tubes the week after Christmas, and also had her adenoids removed. Today her ears started hurting again, so she leaned her head to the side, pointed inside her ear, and said "dops, dops". Only later to say "med-sin" and point to her Motrin bottle. Wow.)

7. Mark and I are painstakingly making the decision about Carlie's school next year. At this point...today...we are going to hold her back and have her start kindergarten in 2010. This decision literally wavers with each setting sun. So, who knows what will actually happen. If anyone cares to share their wisdom about this, please do. I never thought of this "issue" when I got pregnant with an August baby. It's tough, I tell you!


8. I have been asked a few times why I don't join Facebook. I really wish I could form an intelligent answer to that question. I don't know exactly. I just know that I can't imagine anything else taking my time. But, I do love you, facebook friends. :) And, someday my answer might change...maybe.

9. February is a BIG month at our house. Not only because of previously mentioned birthdays and holidays. But, it's also READING RALLY at Kendyll's school. This is our first experience, and I'm actually nervous about it! Veteran moms warn that the month is literally spent reading every spare minute. Kendyll's goal is to read 5,000 minutes in 4 weeks. Many of her friends have set the same goal. We'll see if we can do it. (Do you realize that is HOURS of reading a day?! Luckily, if dad reads, they get double minutes! But, still!) I already have a basket of books for Kendyll, and activities for Carlie to pass the time as she listens. Now, as you can imagine, the wild card will be little AK. Don't know how she will handle her first annual reading rally. But, we'll do the best we can! :)

10. I can't come up with a #10....but I really can't end on an uneven 9. So, I'll just add that my BABIES ARE GROWING UP! In so many ways. We have noticed the "little things" that mark the passing of the baby stage with Abby Kate. And, it makes me completely sad and completely happy at the same time. The latest with AK is wanting to do everything herself, from climbing into the car, to "going potty" (never for real), to talking on the phone and cleaning up her toys. I stumbled on a picture of her at 3 months with Grandmother holding her. And, it literally made me stop in mid-sentence. Where did that baby go??

Okay, this has been good for me. I'll be back soon with Christmas...in February. :)

Ho Ho Ho Holiday Breakfast

This year was a new event at our church, and one that a few of us had the privilege of planning with one VERY creative leader in charge. :) It was a big success and the kids enjoyed their time doing crafts, visiting Santa, eating a yummy breakfast, listening to a Christmas story from Mrs. Claus, and getting in the Christmas spirit!

The decorations made me so happy to look at, and really made me want to turn my house into a whimsical lime green and bright red Christmas after it was over!! It was so much fun to work on, plan, and decorate, and I hope it becomes a new tradition for the children at Prestoncrest.

My girls enjoyed sitting on Santa's lap (also known as "Mr. Marshall" or "Caroline's Daddy" to my girls). This was the only Santa pictures we got this season, so I'm glad we got a couple of good ones (thanks to Taylor, Amber's sister, who was our photographer for the morning). AK wasn't so sure about the Santa thing, but she definitely did not scream like her two sisters did at this age! She just frowned her "Abby Kate frown", and got through it.We even got a picture with Sophie, who came for the fun as well.

The girls apparently also enjoyed hot chocolate, powdered donuts, storytime with Mrs. Claus, and making all of their fun crafts....but I wouldn't know that because I was behind a craft table. :)

Here are a few pictures that Mark took of the morning.

And, apparently Abby Kate felt the same way I did after it was over. :)