CD Review: "O What A Savior"

 

 There are certain things that one associates with the South: fried chicken, humidity, open-armed hospitality and foot-stompin', hand-clappin' music. "O What A Savior" is 10 songs of that kind of music.

These are not "put you to sleep" hymn renditions. They are much better at waking you up! I didn't love everyone song on this album, but I freely admit that instrumental hymns are not my typical genre of choice. I did, however, appreciate the skillfulness of the musicians, and there were several tracks that I  thoroughly enjoyed.

I was a bit surprised at the variety of the arrangements-they are definitely not monotonous. My favorite track was "There's Something About That Name". That is one of my favorite hymns to sing and this rendition made me fall in love with it all over again.

There is also an incredible variety of instruments, including the mandolin and bass. It gives the music personality and vivacity. You can picture yourself in a little white-steepled church, fanning yourself  with an old-fashioned paper fan, while clapping  and singing along with the musicians.

If you are a lover of Southern gospel music, this is definitely an excellent choice. How can you go wrong with beautiful reminders of the glory that awaits us in our heavenly home and the power we have through our Savior here on earth? This CD is kind of like a musical big tent revival- it will get your blood flowing and remind you that earth is passing and heaven is the place to be!

I was graciously provided a copy of this CD to review by Discovery House Publishing. If you would like to find out more please check it out here!

A "Thirst Quenching" Thank-You

 My children attend a marvelous Awana program. If you are not familiar with Awana, it is worldwide Scripture memory organization. Kids memorize Scripture, learn about missionaries and play games. They earn awards based on their performance. It requires a ton of workers, and this year my kids both had wonderful groups of  leaders.

I think it is so important to thank your children's church teachers. Everyone remembers their children's school teachers-and that is great, too. But I am so appreciative of the people that work hard to teach my kids about the Bible and how to love and obey the the Lord.

Our budget is really tight right now, and I was hard pressed to come up with an original idea. Candy or baked goods are so frequent, and personally, I am not overly appreciative of all those extra calories! I would have loved to have given each person a gift card, but even then, not everyone likes Starbucks as much as I do, and that was definitely not in the budget.

My sister suggested giving out bottles of water with packaged drink mixes. I would have needed to re-label the bottles, and I learned from Carson's party last year that labeling water bottles is a pain! However, I took the kernel of her idea and expanded on it.

Part of my difficulty was that I needed at least 12 gifts, for both adults and teenagers, and men and women! I wanted something memorable, that wasn't expensive and would be fun.

This is what I came up with: the Dollar Store had fun reusable island themed water bottles. I filled each bottle with two ice pops (unfrozen, of course!) two packages of Hawaiian punch drink mix, two expandable sponges and some bubbles. Then I attached a water gun on the outside.

It might seem like that was a bunch of silly things, but I knew almost all of the adults had kids, and that the kids would enjoy  the toys. I knew the adults could use the bottles. I thought all the teenagers (there were four adult leaders and eight teens) would love the water guns!

 I filled the bottles with all the things, and it was easy to get the ice pops in there, I just bent them at the bottom since they were still liquid. I looped the rubber band through itself around the handle of the water gun, and then placed it over the bottles. It made them look even more fun and colorful.

 All ready to go, but there was something missing. I wanted to let the leaders know how much I appreciated their hard work...

 So I grabbed my trusty mailing labels and printed off some thank you stickers! Each one says,

" Every good and perfect gift is from above..." James 1:17
Thank you for being a gift from God to me! Enjoy your summer and have fun!
                                                       In Him,

The each child drew a picture of themselves with each leader and signed their name (I helped Carson with his, can you tell?)

 I could have done a variety of verses, such as:

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” Matthew 10:42  with "You gave far more than a cup of water, so here are some "refreshing" things to say thanks!"

but I have always been partial to James 1:17, so that is what I went with. I know that child of one particular teacher was thrilled with everything- he thought it was fantastic that there were popsicles in it! It would be so easy to put a variety of things in there, and it ended up costing me less than $2 per gift. I have a feeling I know what the VBS teachers will be getting...

A Wonderful "Wicked" Time

 Waaaay back in November my dear friend, Kristan, said, "Do you want to go to "Wicked" with me?". I had really only heard a few mentions of the play, but immediately I agreed. It is fun to do...well pretty much anything and everything with Kristan. And this was no exception!

We drove up to Denver and were so excited to see all the banners advertising it! I didn't bring my camera because I didn't want to drag it around all night, and I knew we wouldn't be able to take photos in the theater. So, you are privileged to get more not-so-great phone pics. You can still see Elphaba's green face though!

We made sure to leave *really* early to avoid traffic. And we did such a good job that we had plenty of time to enjoy wandering 16th St. It would have been more fun if it had not been "National Legalize Pot Day"- really! I am not well experienced with marijuana...but I am pretty sure we were treated to the smell more than once! Oh well, it definitely made it unique...

 We decided to have dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. I had a very tasty burger, and as a joke I took a photo of it-because isn't that what bloggers do? The burger was good, but the fries were delicious! Kristan and I had a great time cracking up over the music- especially when they dragged out Depeche Mode, and a Beastie Boys song. See, I said she makes everything fun!

We even had time to run into H & M. If you have never been to one, it is basically the Ikea of clothing. Fashionable, European, and cheap! I really restrained myself and only purchased a couple of things for Josie. But I will definitely be going back.

 Then it was time for the main event! I had to snap a shot of the iconic poster. If you are not familiar with the story it is about the Wicked Witch of the West- before she was wicked. It is absolutely delightful and I would go again in a heartbeat!

 Always having fun! I was so amused that I could reverse the camera on my phone to get a semi- decent (and very smiley) pic of me and my BFF.

The show was fabulous- although Glinda absolutely stole the show. She was charming and funny and just adorable. The set was gorgeous and we had wonderful seats. Good job, Kristan!  All of the performers did an terrific job, and I love, love orchestra music. Kristan bought the sound track and we enjoyed a "repeat" performance on the way home. I am ready to buy tickets to see something else...hint, hint, Kristan!:)

"Perfect Timing" Baby Shower

I am not a fan of "typical" baby showers- which goes to show you that when I am pregnant myself, that my brain does not operate normally. My dear sister threw me a shower when I was expecting Josie and I started crying when she showed me the chic black, purple and green theme she had been thinking of. I wanted "Winnie the Pooh", to match my nursery, of course! Ugh! My taste has changed dramatically since then.

I can't picture myself planning a Pooh shower (sorry, Robyn!) now. I love doing things that are not quite as expected, and the only reason I would ever do a "typical" pink or blue shower if that is what the mother wanted! This shower, the sweet mommy-to-be was so easy to please-she had no demands at all.

The pregnancy was unexpected, and the parents have significantly older children. So as I was mulling over ideas in my mind, the concept of timing kept coming up. How this baby was coming in God's perfect timing. Watches and clocks! I called up my party planning pal, Sarah, and we went with it!

I knew one of the first things that I wanted to do was to make a yarn pom pom garland. The inspiration came from one that I saw on Pinterest, but mine turned out looking quite different. Pom poms are pretty time consuming! I also wanted to incorporate these great "pocket watches" that I found at Hobby Lobby. They were actually scrapbook embellishments- I just covered the stickers on the back with paper so that there weren't big ugly white dots on the backs of all of them. I staggered them in between the pom poms.

The dear hostess, Brooke, Sarah and me! I think this is the first time that Sarah and I have decorated and actually gotten a photo of the two of us. We choose colors that coordinated with the nursery but felt fresh. We used a rusty orange and sage green. It was very calming and they actually turned out to be very easy to work with.

I forgot my camera! That is what happened when you try to fit in too many things! I used my new Iphone to take some pictures, but I am not very good with it yet. All the blurry photos are mine, all the good ones are courtesy of Brooke!:)

Sarah suggested the floating candles in the mason jars (another Pinterest idea) and they added just the right touch. I love water elements, and candles for a late afternoon shower were great.

The lunch box is mine, it belonged to my grandfather. He used it as a little boy during the Great Depression! It was a great color. I also picked up the chipboard "T" - the initial of the family's last name- baby boy doesn't have a name yet, at Hobby Lobby for about $1. I used the same variegated yarn on it that I used in the pom poms. I love how it turned out perfectly striped. It was super easy- I taped the end of the yarn on the back, and wrapped it around. It took me about 5 minutes and made a nice keepsake for the mom.

Staggering anything is more complicated than it seems. It is an art that I haven't mastered, but using clothespins (the same ones I use on my laundry at home-I am so cheap!) made it easier to adjust the garland pieces.

Here is a close up of the garland. I used dark brown speckled yarn, rusty orange and the green variegated. I used the yarn to hang the pom poms and then I put the watches on ribbon. I like to mix up textures, even little touches make it more interesting.

Brooke made the delicious cupcakes, and Sarah provided the stand. I made the "toppers"- a one inch round punch on clock face scrapbook paper with a toothpick sandwiched in between. That is definitely a trick I will be using again!  A little dab of hot glue held them together.

May I profess yet again my undying love for for scrapbook paper?! We used the different pieces to make a runner down the center of the bar. Laying the pieces on the diagonal adds a nice touch, as well as using 8x8 pieces on top of the traditional 12x12 ones.

A pennant banner! LOVE. Bakers twine, and I cut the paper while folded in half so I simply had to dab hot glue on the pieces to keep them on the string. Sarah graciously provided her giant clock and it made a beautiful focal point. I free handed the flags, and it was really easy. I made two sizes. Another tip: always lay any type of "pattern" out in advance- then you don't have to try to unglue things later!

The buffet. It doesn't matter how beautiful the decorations are if the food isn't plentiful and tasty. We had no problems in that area! Yummy salad, fruit, meatballs, wraps... I am drooling just thinking about it.

 Some things are easier said than done. I suggested the ribbon topiary, and Sarah bravely volunteered to make it. It turned out adorably (the mom was so excited to take it home and use it in the nursery) but Sarah said it was pretty pesky to make- and expensive!

I made the framed scripture- Dollar Store frame, with some round punch pieces and one of the watches. Of course, it is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8! I highlighted all the good words, like "dance" and "love" and "embrace" by enlarging the font, bolding it, and adding color. It was one of the best ones I have done.

A shot of the clock on the wall. It matched Brooke's decor so well I am guessing a few people didn't realize it was Sarah's! 

The orange vase is mine from Hobby Lobby. It is a worthwhile space investment to me to keep around different things like this. These are so cheap and the colors make so much more of a statement than plain clear glass. A couple of the tulips were broken, so it made it easy to pop them into these little bud vases.

Thanks, Mom, for the black crock! I tied some ribbon around it and literally threw the tulips in. You can't beat fresh flowers and tulips are always appropriate. Thanks Walmart for having them for $5! I printed off the chorus to a hymn and did the same font coloring. I backed it with scrapbook paper and added ribbon and dots to it.

It turned out beautifully and I am glad that I finally made the time to post the pictures! No pun intended. Well, maybe a little...:)

Easy Easter 2012

 First, let me apologize for the poor photo quality. I have been having problems with my camera, and I am not quite sure how to fix them. If I stage the photo just right, and make sure I have tons of natural light, then I can usually get a decent photo. However, the nature of children is to be ever moving and never quite where you want them to be, so many of my pics lately have been less than perfect. One day, a DSLR. Today, problematic point and shoot....

Anyway, Easter fell right in the middle of some insane business in our house. It seems like I am always saying how busy we are, but truly this was out of the ordinary. I spent Friday finishing up JBF stuff (consignment sale) and then we babysit for some friends so they could go out for a birthday. Saturday we had an Easter egg hunt at church, which I got zero pictures of because I was manning the VBS registration table. Which, I also had to make clipboards for, did that on Friday too. Also on Saturday, Sarah and I were decorating for a baby shower. I spent Thursday, Friday and some of Saturday afternoon working on that. I am hoping to post photos soon, because I forgot my camera, but *thankfully* I had my snazzy new IPhone. I hope I got some decent shots! Anyone know how to do that?

So, all that said, (and by the way, Tuesday of that next week was Carson's birthday AND JBF drop-off, so still the craziness was not over) so I really wanted a low-key day. And I got one. It was wonderful. Joel picked up donut holes for the kids, and we surprised them with the basket above while they were still in bed.

 I filled large eggs with two donut holes each. I call those preschool eggs because they are just perfect for toddlers. I like to keep them on hand, in case I have something bigger that I want to put in an egg. In this case, it was breakfast!

 They loved it! They both love donuts, but they had never had donut holes before. Besides, having breakfast in bed is always a treat.

 I may have snuck a couple of chocolate rabbits in there, too. Jocelyn always loves candy, but especially at breakfast time!

 Of course, church was on the agenda. I was running the VBS table again, so we had to be there early. This photo so reminded me of "American Gothic". Jocelyn is definitely not an early bird, and the sun shining in her eyes wasn't helping!

 I did get this adorable photo of my two best guys. Carson has black dress shoes, but I couldn't resist pairing his Converse with his outfit. He is such a little hipster!

 After church we skipped the traditional ham dinner in favor of Qdoba. I was pretty much tapped out from all the busyness so I couldn't even think to plan something in advance. I am so blessed to have such a great family that doesn't care about those things. It also gave us time to just relax together. And stock Easter baskets.

 The baskets are always a hit, but "Baby Chewie" was Carson's favorite. When I saw the tiny stuffed Chewbacca at Target I couldn't pass it up. And I am glad I didn't!

 I won't lie. It pained me to let them hunt eggs looking like this. The perfectionist in me wanted to send them to change clothes-preferable something spring colored with a collared shirt for Carson and something not so short for Josie. But I am trying to battle that OCD so I let them hunt eggs looking like homeless children. In mini skirts and pajamas. Ugh. Jocelyn is checking to see how many eggs Carson has found.

 They were as adorable as ever. We mixed all their eggs together (Usually I separate them into sections, so they each get their own dozen eggs) and it actually made it really fun. They didn't even fight over who got the most eggs. I love those kids.

 The surprise hit of the whole day was the glow in the dark egg hunt. I had briefly glimpsed a photo on Pinterest of a glowing egg. I assumed (correctly, I found out later) that it was activated glow sticks in eggs. I took glow bracelets from the Dollar Store and shoved them in light colored eggs.

 They loved hunting eggs in the dark! I didn't even put any candy in them, just the bracelets. We didn't give them flashlights, so the eggs were actually pretty hard to find, but in a good way.

 My camera doesn't like the dark. I have no idea why it looks like it is snowing in these photos. Carson's outfit just keeps getting better doesn't it? Loving the flip flops. Oh well. Anyway, the glow in the dark egg hunt wrapped up our night. It was a really nice day.

One last photo. Jocelyn's egg hunting basket (I don't let them drag their Longabergers around the yard-those are keepsakes!) got broken after the church egg hunt. I was a little frustrated with her. She proceeded to make her own basket! It was so cute. She decorated a shoebox all on her own and tied on some ribbon she found. She was so proud. I loved it. She is such a little artist! Glad to see that creativity isn't necessarily genetic...