Ordinary Miracles (5)

I apologize, this post should have posted last Monday (like the Mondays before it), but it was not written.  It was a busy weekend, no school on Monday and before I had time to blink (aka type) Friday (today) arrived.  So here I sit, indulging in a beverage, with the Olympics playing in the background while I am remembering the ordinary miracles of the previous week.  

1.  I was asked to help out at Smiley's Valentine Party at school.  It was very fun to watch her interact with all of her preschool friends.  

(us, being goofy, just before going to her party)

2.  February is "I love to read month".  Sassy volunteered to read stories to children who called in to a phone number given out to children in our school district.  She read continually for 2 hours and said she can not wait to do it again next year.  Makes me proud to see her wanting to volunteer and contribute to her community.

3.  Valentines day ~ the kids had the day off of school.  I pulled a quick birthday party together for Action and his friends (planned it the day before).  I took Action, 3 of his friends, Sassy and Smiley to the Lego Movie.  We basically had the theatre to ourselves, except for one older couple (60ish).  Then we came back to our house for pizza and cupcakes ~ not to mention fort making and Nerf gun fights.

4.  My mom came for a visit.  While she was here only a short time, it was great to see her!

5.  Sassy had a big volleyball tournament ~ we spent about 15 hours watching or waiting to watch volleyball (in Sassy's case she was either playing, refereeing, or waiting to play volleyball).  Her team ended up 5 th  out of 64 teams.

Oh, and I must mention, Action had a blast hanging out watching volleyball ~ ☺

So these are a few of the Ordinary Miracles of my life and I ask you to look back at your week and think about the ordinary things, people, places or happenings that took place in your life.  The ordinary that is usually taken for granted, but if you think about it are miracles in and of themselves ~ snuggle time with one of your kids, a minute to yourself to do something you enjoy, a package in the mail..... 

Think about it, how would our perspective change if we chose to see our ordinary days as miracles that we should find wonder in and be thankful for.

(See Previous Ordinary Miracles Here)

Leave a comment and tell me, What Ordinary Miracles have you witnessed lately?

Last Minute Valentine Idea

One of Smiley's favorite treats is popcorn.  And, I'm certain she will get plenty of candy at her preschool Valentine's day party, so we decided popcorn would be a fun valentine to hand out to her friends.

Here's how we turned some ordinary microwave popcorn into some cute valentines:

To make them exactly like we did, you will need:

White Paper
Red cardstock paper
Microwave popcorn
Blank Address Labels
Stickers

This is what I did to prepare for assembly:

First, I created a little label wishing her friends a Happy Valentine's Day

I cut them out using my handy 2 1/2" circle punch, but a scissors would work just fine.

I also designed a simple "From" label, using the blank address labels.  Since her class doesn't write individual names on each valentine, on the address labels, I designed it to say "Your Friend, ", Then Alayna wrote her name on each one.

Finally, I cut each 8 1/2" x 11" piece of red cardstock in half.

Now to assemble:

First we wrapped the red cardstock around the popcorn and secured it in place using the "Your Friend" address label.

Then we glued the "Just Poppin' in to say, Have a happy Valentine's Day" label on the front.

Finally, Smiley added a heart sticker to the back of each one under the address label.

Voila ~ easy peasy valentines for all of her preschool friends!

Valentine Pom Pom Wreath

With Valentines Day just around the corner, I thought I would repost a craft Sassy and I worked on together a couple years ago.  She just requested I get it hung up for this Valentine's day :)

I don't usually decorate for Valentines day. I'm not the type of person who feels the need to decorate for every holiday.  However, I've seen so many cute v-day wreaths out in blog land recently and Sassy has been bugging me to let her decorate.  So, I regressed back to my days in grade school.  Art class to be exact.  The assignment was to make a Christmas wreath.  My mom helped me come up with the idea to make a pom pom wreath.  I made it with green yarn and adorned it with red bows.

Today I bring you our (Sassy and myself) Valentines Day version.

Supplies:

Foam heart shaped wreath

and

Yarn ~ as many or as few colors as you desire 

(Sassy chose a deep red, pink and white)

Directions:

1.  Start by making your pom poms.  To do this we wrapped the yarn around our fingers ~ Sassy used 4 fingers, I used 3.  When you wrap the yarn around your fingers, make sure you keep it loose ~ not slip off your hand loose, but make sure you are not going to cut blood supply off to your fingers.  We went around our fingers about 85 times.

2.  Slip the yarn off of your hand.  Cut a piece of yarn long enough (around 6" should do) to tie your wrapped yarn together and to tie the finished pom pom to the wreath.  Now center your wrapped yarn over the new piece you cut ~ make sure it is centered on top and bottom, then tie in a double knot.

3.  You should now have a bunch of little loops.  Cut all of these down the center.  Be careful not to cut the piece of yarn you tied with ~ Sassy did this soooo many times ~ easy to fix, just tedious.  But it did make us giggle a lot!  When you are done, you should have a pom pom in need of a haircut.

4.  Trim up your pom pom and go on to the next.

5.  Once your pom poms are made, you can tie them onto your heart form.  Finally, trim up all the extra string on the back

Voila ~ a fun valentine wreath ~ perfect to hang on Sassy's bedroom door.

Someday Crafts

♥ From my house to yours ♥

The Valentines have been addressed, and yes, they were store bought (fine, Internet bought), and being delivered as I type.  Actually, the mail lady (☺) just grabbed her note and chocolates out of our mailbox. Teacher gifts were created (You can find the tutorial here, Thank-you Jen! We purchased our sanitizer at the $1 store, for $1 ☺, instead of rub-on transfers, we used decorative stickers with clear backgrounds ~ 8 sheets, $1.99 on clearance at Michael's and pipe cleaners instead of wire and beads)

The house is decorated, well kind of (Thank-you bloggy friends, for my new fabulous accessories, you ARE the best).

And the Salmon is thawing for tonight's dinner.

Why?

Well, today is Valentine's day ~ The day we tell the people around us that we love them.

But WHY?

Saturday, we received a phone call extending the sad news that a dear family friend had passed away.

He was a Young "old" man.
Happy
Thoughtful
Prayerful
Playful

He was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, and the outlook was not good.  He was a man of God and he fought.  He won too. He won more time with his family, his beautiful wife, and his friends.  He won the hearts of many with his outlook on life, his prayerfulness, his optimism and his spirit.

Of course, there are the standard word said, "he's in a better place" and "he feels no pain".  While these words are true, they do not fill the whole left behind by this great man.

Which, brings me back to today, Valentine's day.

Why not celebrate the ones you love everyday?

Why not let those who are important in your life, those you are thankful for and those you should be thankful for know how you feel everyday?

A quick note.
A kiss (ok, not just anyone gets a kiss ~ don't go kissing the newspaper delivery person, if you want them to come back, and not with a lawyer!)
A hug (see above disclaimer)
A word of thanks
A letter via "snail mail"
A simple thank-you
A smile
Your undivided attention

Something, somehow, someone EVERYDAY.

Not just on a "holiday".

So tonight, it's Salmon, tomorrow, it may be leftovers, but you can better believe, they will be hot, on a clean plate and served with love and a smile ~ as long as no one yells "ewwwww GROSS" before they even sit at the table ~ HA! ;).  After all, it's nourishment for the body as well as for the soul.

Have a beautiful day my friends and know I am thankful for you today, and everyday!

♥

Jim ~ you will be missed!

(Jim, Sassy and Grandpa ~ hunting 2007)

Red, Pink and White

We are ready.

Valentine's cards are addressed and stuffed with candy.

Treat jars for the teachers have been made. And small treats for the bus drivers are ready do be delivered.

A few decorations here:

(felt ball as seen here)

(easy twine wreath made with a foam wreath, glue gun and craft jute ~ I first saw it here)

A few decorations there:

(pom pom tutorial here)

Some delicious sugar cookies baked:

And some of that cold white stuff played in:

Valentine's day

WE ARE READY!