Mark and his Princesses

Some wonderful ladies at our church organized a magical evening for Fathers and their Daughters earlier this month. All of the little girls had been buzzing with excitement about the upcoming night with their Daddy! The evening began with a Daddy/Daughter Dance for preschool girls and was followed by a Father/Daughter Ball for the older girls.

Mark and Anna Grace headed out on the town first. Each little princess was greeted at the door and handed a magic wand. A talented lady from our church took pictures of the girls with their daddies. Steven Curtis Chapman's "I Will Dance with Cinderella" was the first dance of the night, and it was followed by classics like "The Hokey Pokey" and "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes." The little girls ate lots of sugar and had a great time!

After the little girls finished up, I dropped Bailey and Olivia off at the church. They spent the evening dancing with their daddy and their friends. They were served dinner, and our minister John Mark gave a talk that challenged the daddies to bring up their daughters in the Lord. He also challenged the girls to honor their parents. The girls (and their daddies) were positively glowing when they got home! Apparently, Mark was quite a dancer. I got to hear all about it at church the next day! I am so thankful that Mark loves his children and is doing all he can to be a Godly dad. I am also thankful for our church. I am truly blessed!

Happy Birthday Anna Grace!

A Happy Day!

Her grandparents called with birthday wishes!

Our big five year old!


Anna Grace celebrated her 5th birthday last week (I am not sure how that is possible, it seems like just yesterday she was two!). She had been looking forward to her special day for a long time. She had six families over for lunch to help celebrate. She chose the menu (which seemed vaguely familiar -- it was the same as last year!). We had pizza, Sun Chips and orange soda, with cake and ice cream for dessert of course! She had a wonderful day! Happy Birthday Anna Grace!

Our Little Chef

Bailey made dinner for us tonight. She chose the menu from her kids' cookbook. We had Tex-Mex Baked Turkey Burgers and Chili Fries (which is a fancy way to say frozen fries sprinkled with chili seasonings). The meal was a hit, and Bailey was very proud!

Tex-Mex Baked Turkey burgers

1 1/4 pound ground turkey

1/4 cup bacon pieces

1/4 cup pasta sauce

1/2 packet chili seasoning

Cheese for topping

Buns

In a large bowl, mix turkey, bacon, pasta sauce and chili seasoning. form into patties and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

Living the Dream

I was flipping through my calendar one day this week, contemplating the upcoming year. I started to panic a little bit when I thought about the fact that I will be turning forty this year. For so many years, that seemed so old! Now, as it is quickly approaching, it does not feel old at all. Sometimes, age twenty just seems like a few days ago. I have heard it said that the days drag and the years fly, and that pretty much sums up my concept of time these days.

I started to worry a bit that my life is passing by too quickly. I also began to think a bit about what I want to accomplish during my short time here on Earth. In the midst of my stress, it dawned on me that I am truly living my dream life. That is not to say that my life is perfect, it is just that I am truly doing what I have always wanted to do. For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of being a wife and mommy, and here I am living the dream. God has truly blessed me, and I am so very thankful!

I have never been a great flu shot mama. For most of my mothering years, we have only gotten flu shots when we just happened to be in the doctor's office at the right time and they offered us one. I have done better the past couple of years. The fall that Eli was born, we took the whole clan in for the sole purpose of getting shots. It was a nightmare! Last year, I discovered this wonderful thing called a flu mist. The children just sniff, and it is over. I vowed that we would make sniffing an annual event! Fast forward to this year. Flu mists were on my to do list, they really were. It just never happened. Mark and I would discuss it, and then forget about it a few minutes later. We had great intentions...

Sunday morning, Olivia had a slightly scratchy throat and some congestion. She was her usual perky self, so we went on to church, without giving her symptoms much thought. Later that afternoon, Anna Grace went from acting normal to lethargic in a matter of minutes. She said her throat hurt and she had a fever, so I took her to a walk in clinic for a Strep test. It was negative, so I assumed we had some type of a virus. The next afternoon, Olivia' s fever was over 104, and we had a positive flu test! We all immediately started on Tamilflu (to the tune of $420) to try to stop the flu in its tracks. By bedtime, four of the children had a fever.

Thankfully, Olivia and Anna Grace have perked up some today, and everyone else is acting pretty normal. We are quarantined for the week. I sense some cabin fever and lots of TV watching in our future. I have learned a valuable lesson. We will be standing in line for flu mists next year!

Happy January

I am going to ignore the fact that I have not posted since October, and just jump right into January. It is that time of year again, when I want to change everything in my life, from the state of my cabinets and closets to the state of my body. I wanted to get it in writing (or typing) so that I will remember! This year, I am including a couple of things that involve my own personal interests, which I often push to the bottom of the priorities.

Kim's 2011 Tweaks/Projects

Read through the Bible -- Our church is doing it together, so I am hopeful that will make it easier!

Attend church more-- I am always at the church building on Sunday mornings, but a majority of the Sundays I have spent working with the children. I want to be more balanced this year.

Lose twenty pounds-- That makes the list every year!!!

Dust off the treadmill and use it three times a week.

Have a garden again this year, and kick it up a notch (which probably means weed more).

Create a small herb garden in the back yard.

Learn to knit-- I bought a cheap kit at Walmart, and I am on my way.

Learn how to use my sewing machine -- I have had it four years, so it is time...

Finish Eli's first year scrapbook -- That will give him one less thing to talk about in counseling when he is thirty...

Scrapbook our Disney trip.

Get back to blogging -- I don't want to forget this precious time of our life.

Give all of our cabinets, drawers and closets a once over (that should be a monthly goal, but here we are...)

Redo Eli's room-- We have not changed a thing since we moved in. It is mint green and there are still flowers hanging from the ceiling. It does not match his personality!

Start painting the trim in our house. The people who built the house and lived here first were not so much into finishing touches...

Travel Hopes--
Travel to Colorado to see Wes and Rebecca.
Travel to Louisiana to see Baton Rouge friends.
See the Stuarts when they visit from the other side of the world.
Go on a weekend trip with some homeschool friends.
Get away for a night with Mark.
Spend time in East Tennessee.
Explore the great state of Arkansas.

Wow, it sounds like I am going to be busy! Have a wonderful 2011!

The Johnsons at Epcot

We headed to Epcot on our first full day in Disney World. Mark and I had spent some time reading The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and the Tour Guide Mike website, and we had a tentative plan for each park. We even had spreadsheets (We are Disney Geeks!), although we managed to leave a few of them at home! We got off schedule first thing when we saw Daisy Duck signing autographs. We immediately got in line, and a new obsession was born! We were prepared with autograph books and clickable Sharpies. The children loved it!

After meeting Daisy, we headed to Soarin', which was my favorite ride. Everyone except Eli rode the ride. There were very mixed reviews. Bailey loved it, Isaac and Olivia were a bit alarmed, and Anna Grace came out in tears (the fireworks at the end did her in!). We spent time checking out The Seas with Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush. Eli loved looking at the fish. After lunch, Mark took the older children to Mission Space and Test Track, while I took the three younger ones back for a nap (I think that I got the better end of the deal!).

We ate supper at the Coral Reef, which was very yummy! I had read some complaints about how loud it is, but since we are a bit loud ourselves, we fit right in! The children loved the smoothies, and the food was delicious. It was my favorite food of the week.

After dinner, we stood in line to meet Mickey Mouse and all of his pals. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald were all there. Eli was not patient enough to wait, so my dad stood in line for him and got autographs in his book.

Afterwards, we walked around the World Showcase. We got a nice overview, but we could have spent a lot more time checking out the exhibits. I read a quote that Epcot really stands for "Every Person Comes Out Tired" and I agree! There is a ton of walking! The highlight of the night for the children was getting to meet Aladdin and Jasmine.