“my mom….”

To celebrate moms, Hudson’s school had a Mother’s Day Luau in his classroom.  It was so much fun. Really.  The classroom was decorated in tropical theme, he made a lei necklace and a tie-dyed coffee filter flower for my hair, and we made a fun pineapple magnet craft together.

But one of the funnest (yes, funnest) things about the Luau was a power point movie that his teacher put together with pictures of them, songs and their responses to questions she asked them about their mommies/grandmoms.  On the sly, she contacted all the daddy-figures and had them do a q & a with their little ones. 

Describe a great mom.  “She’s very good at playing with me.  She makes good food.  She washes my clothes and picks up after me.”

What does your mom do in her spare time? “She likes to read books.  She likes to exercise.  She talks to her friends and writes about us on her blog.”  :o)

My mom’s as beautiful as a… “flower – she’s pretty and she smells good.”

My mom’s so smart, she even knows…. “All about fires, how to count, how to plant a garden.”

My mom is special to me because…. “She likes me; she loves to read books to me; she does crafts with me and plays board games.”

My mom is best at…  playing board games, decorating the house, making cookies and making me feel better.”

Hudson is still a cuddle bug.  I love the fact that when I drop him off at the bus stop, he is still sure to plant a big kiss on my lips before he climbs up onto the steps of the yellow submarine. 

I love the fact that as soon as I walk in his class once a week to help, he demurely waves and gets a big smile on his face, and knowing he isn’t allowed to get out of his seat, he waits until a transition and then will come give me a hug and a kiss. 

I love that when we walk down the hall together, he grasps my hand and holds it for all it is worth….and that he counts down the minutes and announces it to me of how long it will be until he sees me after I leave his presence.

And yes….those answers will most assuredly be tucked away in a special place for me to keep forever.

Pampering the princesses

A friend clued me into a rockin deal at a local beauty school.  For the month of May, if you say you are a mama, you get a pedicare for 5 dollars! So while Hudson was in school today, Anna and I went for me to get a pedicure and they painted her nails too!  She was so excited to get her nails done, especially because they painted them pink AND purple with a pink rhinestone bow on her big piggy.  (pics from my phone)

6th Baseball Bash

Take me out to the ball game….

          Take me out to the crowd…..

Hudson’s official birthday party was this past Saturday – and what a glorious day for baseball.  All guests were asked to wear their favorite team’s colors, and we were happy to see a lot of Philly red and white among the crowd.As friends and family arrived, the kiddos were “tatted up”, played and colored pictures of baseball players and equipment.  Even Great - Grandmom Smith joined in on the fun with a baseball tattoo on her cheek…she’s a cheeky one, I tell ya! (hehehe) Chris and his grandmoms supervised the play from the upper deck grandstand, and made sure the “dawgs” were properly prepared for the ballpark concession stand.  The birthday boy and his pals certainly had a lot of fun – especially making a train down the slide. After the pre-game show, the concession stand opened for ballpark fare….can’t have a ball game party without soft pretzels fresh from the Philly side of town!  We played a game where the kids were blindfolded, spun and had to stick their baseball on a “base” on the field that Daddy drew.  It was fun…some kiddos asked to go again…and again….Daddy and Mom-Mom supporting their team proudly.

The cutest 6 year old on the planet blowing out his candles and making his wish….the wish?  He told me he wished that the cupcake would be delicious…how funny is that?!?!  (Note to self:  sparkling candles kinda freak out even a 6 year old.)

  After baseball cupcakes, Hugs dug into his pile of presents….full of games, outdoor toys, baseball goodies, legos and Playmobil.

Piñata time! 

(and yes….it is homemade and slightly mis-shapen.  But they loved it!)

Look at all those treats!

We love our family – they make us feel so loved and special….and they are all Phils Phans (never mind Anna’s costume change into her Ariel Mermaid.  She was dressed in red at one point.)

L-R: Poppy, Chris, Mom-Mom, Anna, Great-Grandmom Smith, Grandmom, Hudson, Beth, Great Grammy May Hudson’s favorite things from his party?  He can’t get enough of his new Playmobil Airplane (yes, he still wants to be a pilot), his new Legos and all of his games.  We’ve played a lot of Dog-opoly, Clue Jr. and Buzz Lightyear Operation recently!    Phew!  We had a blast, but us Smith ball players were plumb tuckered out.  Everyone took a nap….and I couldn’t help but snap a picture of these two before I woke them up for dinner. 

 

Hudson’s 6th….

Hudson had a super 6th birthday and he felt very special with all of the well wishes and kind words from friends and family.    I can’t believe that our little boy is 6 – oh my gracious.  There are so many things about him that have changed over the past 6 years, but so many things that haven’t – and it just solidifies in my mind how great his character and personality are going to be as he grows.

Anna, even though she was sick, wanted to make sure her big brother, her BFF, her playmate at all times, had a super birthday card.

Birthday dinner request?  Homemade tomato soup.  The boy loves tomato soup.  So, I obliged and we had Pepperjack Tomato Soup with Salads.  He helped  with most of the preparations.  He had also asked for PB cup cookies as his bday dessert.After dinner, we gave him the few presents that Daddy, Mommy and Anna had for him.  I love this shot – he was so excited to get a Lego set that builds a helicopter and other vehicles.   

We are so proud of how he is growing, learning and loving.  Hudson, you are a joy to love ~ and your love brings us joy.

Happy 6th Birthday Bubba!

Proudly sportin’ the 6th birthday crown, eating off the special birthday plate, and taking well wishing calls from admirers…

Happy Birthday, handsome!

Anna’s clean heart

“Jesus please come in my heart.  Make it clean.  Help me make good dee-shizons.  Show me how to love.  Amen.”

These were Anna’s words as she laid in bed tonight and we were chatting.  My heart was, and is, overflowing with the joy of hearing her ask very intuitive questions and put the pieces together.

She has been very aware the past month as she has memorized our family verse for April; “God loves the world so much that he gave His son to die for our sins.” John 3:16 

Sometimes I look into her beautiful chocolate eyes and wonder if what we hope to be living and teaching is soaking in…and over the past month I’ve been hearing words come out of her mouth that indicate a 3 1/2 year old’s level of introspectiveness. 

She is beginning to see the world outside of her own eyes – seeing and understanding consequences; feeling a great deal of empathy.  We’ve been talking a lot about why Jesus had to die on the cross?  Why did he have to die to make our hearts clean?  What is sin?   She has been saying at the end of her prayers (be still my heart), “thank you for the cross”.

And tonight, it was very apparent as she was talking to me that she got it.  She’s talked around it before, but tonight, she knew in her head that she wanted to be clean.  That’s where it started.  She asked if her heart was dirty because of sin.  “Is my heart dirty when I fuss and whine and not show love?”

How I wanted to say no (because who wants to think their child is anything but perfect?), but I know the truth, and so did she.  “Yes Anna.  Our hearts are dirty when we sin.  Who is the only one who can make our hearts clean for God?”

“Jesus.  He makes my heart clean.”  She then continued to talk about loving others more and making good “dee-shizons” and being nice to her friends.  “I love God, mommy.  I want to have a clean heart and be nice.”

Anna, when Jesus is in your heart, you have to ask Him to  help you make good choices.  He will help you love others more, but you have to ask Him to help you do that.

And then came the moment my heart has been hoping for….a moment that we have been praying for since her conception, before we knew her face or her name….we prayed together and she asked God to make her heart clean; to live in her.  And I know that while Chris and I rejoice here, that there is one big party goin’ on in heaven tonight!

Nearly every night before I go to bed, I go in and kiss her beautiful face and admire the gift that God has given me in this child; a child that teaches me everyday what grace, mercy, faith, love, joy, peace and forgiveness look like.  I whisper these words as my heart overflows with thanks…and I will continue to do so, with fervor and gratitude.

“May she walk in grace, live by love, and may her heart see and know the truth to share it with others every day of her life.”