When an American says that he loves his country,
he means not only that he loves the New England hills,
the prairies glistening in the sun,
the wide and rising plains,
the great mountains, and the sea.
He means that he loves an inner air,
an inner light in which freedom lives
and in which a man can draw the breath of self-respect.
~Adlai Stevenson
So, of course, we had to make his second birthday an extra special day.
His mom and dad gave him a construction birthday party with lots of
Trucks, Construction, and DEMOLITION too!
So I made him this card to go along with the theme.
(front of card is above and inside below)
Above is his party invite with a construction, uh, demolition theme.
we bagged little toys with a construction theme in orange netting.
We thought the orange netting resembled the orange border
usually draped around construction areas for security.
and then appliquéd the 2 motif on a tee shirt, cutting the truck out of the short’s fabric.
This was the demolition zone.
We wrapped empty boxes of different sizes with red wrapping paper and then marked them to resemble bricks. My daughter wrapped a beach ball with black fabric and tied it from a tree for the demolition ball. The children loved swinging the ball and knocking down the blocks.
You can see the children loved throwing the “dynamite” in the wading pool!
I think he liked it!
And, yes, I had to make him an outfit too!
Linking my party ideas to others great little boy ideas at
“What are little Boys Made of”
and
(P.S. I love to create party invites and favors for parties of all ages.
If you don’t want to do your own, email me and we can discuss creating
a custom party for you or your child.)
Want a keepsake from your vacation that’s not a cheap cheesy souvenir that you’ll toss out soon?
Let me tell you about something I tried the other day you might like.
It all started when I rearranged my bookcases on each side of my entertainment area and it got my creative juices to flowing. On one of my shelves sets a souvenir from a recent Alaskan trip that Cigar Man and I took. This adorable little bear was crafted by a local Alaskan artist who fishes in the summer and creates during the long winter months. I fell in love with him. Isn’t he adorable! The platform he’s standing on is fashioned from stone from the area and his rust color goes so well in my room.
I had an idea to place a picture of Alaska in a frame behind it. You know the kind where you’re smiling real big and a majestic snowy mountain juts out of your head. Yea, you’ve been in those. J
So I went to my computer reminiscing over our vacation pics and playing around with ideas. I ran across a postcard texture from Shadowhouse Creations and the wheels started turning.
Over my scenic photo, I layered Shadowhouse Creations’ Texture ABT2 at 35%. Next, I layered the postcard also at 35% and then placed the photos of Cigar Man and I in digital frames with Photoshop Elements. Lastly, I wrote a message and the date and place the photo was taken, printed and placed it in a frame.
I know. You’re thinking that’s not such a big deal. And it’s not. Just a simple idea to make a vacation souvenir a little unique and something you can display and enjoy for a long time.
Sharing this decor idea with some other great ideas at Funky Junk Interiors, SNS.
(A) good food?
or (D) family and friends?
(Answer) all of the above!
~
“We are always the same age inside.”
- Gertrude Stein
~
Hope your weekend was filled with “all of the above” !
Where do you start when you’ve been gone so long?
Well, how about a coming home party! Yea! That’ll do!
Did you notice what’s missing on the side bar?
Here’s a reminder.
I promised to keep this little guy adorned with his yellow ribbon posted on my side bar until his daddy came home. He’s been posted there since a cold winter day in December when our soldier boy left home to serve his country in Iraq.
Do you see him over there? NOPE? Guess that can only mean one thing…
He’s HOME!
What a sweet day it was!
Here comes the bus! And I was so excited, my daughter had to tell me to get out of the road!
Families and friends eagerly waited to embrace their soldier.
There he is, scanning the crowd……Where are you?
Ahh!
There you are!
I ask you, is there a happier site?
(watch out..baby blue-eyes will have to breathe soon!)
And it didn’t take long for this family to get reacquainted.
We are so happy to have our son-in-law home and their family united again.
Thanks so much to many of you who prayed and showed care and concern for our loved ones and all the soldiers sacrificing and serving our great land!
Let’s don’t forget them!
Just had to tell you about pretty boy getting his very first haircut today.
Here he is patiently waiting.
Don’t you sometimes wonder just what they are thinking?
Well, I just know if he could talk during his first beauty appointment, he’d be saying…
“Oh, the work it takes to be handsome; it’s SO SO TIRING!”
“So you did say this wouldn’t hurt, RIGHT?”
“uh…did she go to school to learn how to use that weapon?”
“Hey! You didn’t tell me this haircut thingy comes with freebies!”
“ouu..la..la..lady, that tickles.”
“Would you take a look at me! I’m styling!”
“WHOA BABY! I’m a looking GOOD!”
two lucky boys…
…and we’re lucky to have them!
They keep us laughing, for sure.
As I write this post, Pretty Boy #1 is dancing, singing, and clapping to American Idol while Pretty Boy #2 watches and smiles in his swing. Hilarious!
From our home to yours, hope your St. Patrick’s Day is a lucky one too!
some things never change
Thirty-seven years ago, the peace symbol, paisley, and Elvis Presley were so “IN”. (Well, maybe not so much with Elvis, but it fits my post. Just work with me, here.)
In 2010, the peace symbol and paisley have made a comeback and Elvis never died.
Some things never change. This week, I was reminded of that when cigar man and I celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary.
Well…ur…maybe we have changed a bit.
By the way, cigar man didn’t bring home those “grocery store” flowers. Click here to read the history. I guess he’s caught on to what I don’t like. It just took him 37 years. That’s not bad, is it? J
Aren’t they beautiful!
Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I'm sixty-four?
Yep, we'll be keeping the postman busy this year.
Here's the first package to go out from my daughter to her hubby.
Looks like it made it to its destination.
Kind friends in Kuwait were able to assist in making sure he received his package in time for his birthday.
This whole adventure makes me realize what a small world we really live in.
I'll always think of this couple in a fond way and I’m reminded of the verse,
"Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12:13
They are truly living it!
May God bless them in a foreign land until their return to the States.
Soldier boy has written another letter to us and I'd like to share with you. If you missed his first letter you can catch it here.
Hopefully it will give you some insight of a modern day American soldier and his daily life.
~
“As my time here in Kuwait comes to an end I can share the experience thus far.
It started at cold Camp Shelby, I was sure my destination would be warm so I chose not to wear any snivel gear. [Snivel gear is defined as rain gear, jackets, or anything that protects you from wet or cold. Tough guys don’t use snivel gear, wink wink.] 34 hours later I arrived at my destination, a cold and rainy Kuwait. Great, my first time in the desert and it is cold and raining. We made our escorted and secure movement to the base and got checked in shortly before midnight of the 31st. This is significant because 1 day in a combat zone equals tax-free pay for that month!
The next 4 days were rough trying to adjust to the loss of 9 hours. Not sleeping during the day was hard and I figured sleep would come easy at night but it was as if the body knew it was day back home and after a few hours of sleep I would wake up and stay awake. I finally got adjusted after 4 days or so. The base here was a big improvement over our previous home. We have Internet access, fast food, great food in the dining facilities, awesome gym and other recreational places, a movie theatre, etc. The training here is very good and the schedule was very easy to allow time to adjust for the lag. The tents we live in are heated and cooled. The material is very thick and coated so the hot sun doesn’t turn it into an oven. The only knock on this place is sleeping on cots and jamming so many people in a tent. With all of the other good stuff, how can you complain though?
Some unique experiences thus far have been seeing camels out in the desert. 1 day we had to stop as a herd of them crossed the road! The desert has its own beauty somehow. A barren landscape with dunes and sparse vegetation wouldn’t seem beautiful but looking out as far as the eye can see with nothing but sand gives you a sense of just how small you are in the big picture and how great God is. That is beautiful. Also out here are Bedouins, people that live in the desert and herd camels and sheep. They usually live in tents or in trailer homes pulled by a big water truck! Some of these tents are enormous and some have compounds with multiple tents surrounded by a wall. Outside some of these tents you will see a H2 Hummer or Toyota Land Cruisers. Yes, $50,000 cars outside of tents! These tents have electricity and I can only assume what they have inside. I am thinking the well to do Bedouins don’t herd animals but I could be wrong. The Superbowl aired at 2 a.m. so I woke up at 1 and went to the theatre. The MWR (morale, welfare, and recreation) folks had pizza, soda, chips, and candy, and door prizes. It was actually a lot of fun as the crowd was into the great game but they can’t show commercials over here so all of the commercials were little clips of players saying hi to the troops. At one point I thought about how they show groups of soldiers watching stuff on TV back home, now I was one of those guys! Lastly, some friends of my MIL actually work here! That has been a very nice surprise to meet good Christian people out here to bond with.
I try to soak up everything I can as I realize this is a special adventure that I am on. I also want to share this with my boys some day so I write in a journal every chance I get. I talk to my wife everyday that I can and we share pictures and notes on facebook because email is too slow and limited. I miss everyone terribly, there is nothing to remind you of home here except what things you brought with you. The Army does a great job of having a variety of activities and services available so soldiers stay busy, but nothing can substitute seeing your little boys grow up or the soft touch of your wife. Unfortunately there are plenty of ugly reminders of why I am here so staying focused on the task at hand is easier than I thought it would be. Faith in God and dedication to the mission will get me and my guys home soon and safe. I look forward to that day; it will be oh so sweet!”
Until we hear from you again,
Be safe, soldier boy!
Since his birthday gift is all wrapped in red,
I'm sharing it today with others at Ruby Tuesday.
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