16 months to eternity

Yesterday we went to Marbles Museum for the second time and got a membership. That place is wonderful and the girls are so happy. I love that it wears the girls out so that when we get home they nap great but it also wears us out and I think I napped the whole time they did.

While at Marbles I took a photo of the girls sitting in a little red car.
I see two 16 month old girls playing in a make believe car, but I also see two 16 year old's preparing for a trip to the mall.
I know time flies and it drives me nuts when people constantly remind me "Enjoy it while it lasts." or "Don't blink."
I know I know, and it is- I don't like to be reminded as I remind myself often enough.

My sweet babies are so big and when I hold them I recall how they once were 15 pounds lighter and curled into perfect balls upon my chest. I know I can't hold them like I do now forever, and there will come a day that I will see them drive off together....
But they will be together.

The way they play with each other, follow each other, chase, laugh at each other, copy and shadow. I feel this guarantee of a unique relationship that will go beyond toddlers, tween, and 16.
I feel this reassurance that when they hit the road of life and I'm not right behind to watch their every move that they have each other and they have each others backs.
I feel comfort.



I have been asked to help do the 'Parent Talk' during FUSION a few times.
Fusion is a time where all the kids from all three hours of church come together on a weeknight with their parents and celebrate together in worship, dancing, skits, games, teaching and family time.
It's a wonderful thing just to be apart of it. But to be asked to help do a part where I speak to the parents about parenting.... that's humbling.
These parents have kids from the ages of 4 to 11 yrs and probably have older children and more children than me. They have much more experience than I do. I am trying to influence parents to participate in their children's spiritual growth for an age group I do not have myself.

It has taught me a lot. It makes me ask myself questions, to look deeper and think harder.
After all if there is one thing I can teach Lilly and Rose - it's God. To show them and reveal God to them. His love His hope His spirit.

There is nothing I can keep in this world.
There is nothing that I can leave to this world that will last, that will not eventual grow old or fade away.
All I have is the legacy of God that I can leave. The only thing that will last. To my girls I want them to know the One thing that will last, the One thing they can turn to. The One thing that will never grow old or fade away.

I can look back in my life, my history and see God everywhere.
Not just a one time event. Not a one time deal.
If I can help my girls build a relationship with Jesus. Then I am leaving them in the Hands that has and still holds the weight of the world (& mine) without strain. Without fail.

Eternity doesn't seem possible but the idea that there is no eternity seems less possible.
The idea of nothing after we die, the thought that my mind, my being becomes nothing is impossible for my mind to wrap around. None existent- seems less believable than living everyday for the rest of days, even in another world like Heaven.
Eternity is real.
God is real.
I want my girls to have that, to know that. To live a life in reverence to that. 

I can talk up and down about it to them, but I honestly think it wont mean a thing if I am not living my life the same way I hope and dream they will.

I really want to reach a higher goal each day than the last of growing my relationship with God. Each day a better building I am building on the Rock.
I just keep praying I can be better, to reach farther and walk greater distances- so I can lead my girls to those distances.

I say I want these things but I know I don't show it.
I am working to fan a flame. My own to help start two new flames.

So someday when my two 16 year old girls go for a trip to the mall, I wont have just the comfort of knowing they have each others back. I know something Greater and Bigger, Lovelier, Stronger, Mightier, and Perfect has their back as well.



This life wont last. Not here anyway. It can be the scariest thought in this world, or most reassuring.

Rainbow Party

Sooooo. I decided to randomly blog the girls birthday party 3 months after. 

I really wanted to have something special but inexpensive. In order to do inexpensive then you got to be willing to do extra work and make most everything. In which I did. 

I tried to make a rainbow party with the feeling of being up in the sky with the rainbow. I did clouds, birds 'floating' in the air and a rainbow :)

 

 

 First off are the cake pops. Super easy recipe but a little tedious. 

-Cake Mix-

-Ingredients for the Cake Mix-

-Cream Cheese-

-Crisco Oil-

-Candy Melts-

-Candy Sticks-

-Sprinkles-

 I used the rainbow sprinkle Pillsbury cake mix thinking it would make it rainbow inside- it does not. But still good!

Bake the cake as directed or be lazy and cheat like me and microwave it in a microwave safe dish. 8x8 greased for 10-15 minutes. 

Crumble the cake and add one package of cream cheese per cake mix and mix thoroughly together. 

Roll into balls

Put a touch of melted candy to the end of a candy stick and place it half way into each rolled cake ball

Freeze for 20 minutes

Melt candy melts in a double broiler and add some Crisco oil to thin it out

I bought pre-colored candy and mixed some colors to make secondary colors

Dip each cake ball and tap off access candy by taping a knife on the stick.

Added sprinkles before it hardened.

Keep cool and ooooooh sooooooo yummy.

 Here is us with the girls in front of their Happy Birthday Sign. This was much easier than I thought it would be to make.

-Scrap Book Paper-

-Letter Pop Outs-

-Rotary Cutter-

-Glue Stick-

-Hole Puncher-

-Ribbon-

I bought a large book of Scrap Paper. It was the cheapest and easiest to me as the book all matched in color scheme and similar patterns.

I measured out the sizes for the solid colors and patterns. I wanted the solid on top so it wasn't too busy and I could actually see the letters. I matched the solid and pattern papers to match and in order of a rainbow.

I cut my circles with the rotary cutter and glued them together.

I bought the letter punch outs at Micheal's and glued those on.

Hole punched the tops and strung ribbon I happened to have.

I really like how it turned out and I can use it every year!!

 I love this picture! I feel like I can see all the work I've done in one!

I bought tulle with my sister in law at Hobby Lobby and hung it with just tape.

I bought white poster board paper and drew clouds with faces on them and cut them out. Hole punched them and strung them with string and tape from the ceiling.

The cranes.... ugh the cranes. I LOVED them but it was lots of work, I started on those months before the party. Every night after the girls went to bed I pulled out the origami paper I bought at Micheal's and folded and folded till I got tired. By the time the party came I had a tone of cranes! I used tape and string to hang them from the ceiling.

 I made smash cakes for the girls. Heart pan, cake mix, icing... that's it. They did not smash them. They were uncomfortable with everyone watching them and nervous. So they cried instead hahah

 Rainbow Cupcakes!

OOOOOH they always turn out perfect and so pretty!

-White Cake Mix-

-Ingredients for the Cake Mix-

-Food Coloring-

- Six Zip Lock Bags-

-Cupcake Liners-

-Icing-

Mix the cake mix and ingredients

Divide the batter up between the 6 bags. 

Drop in a few drops of food coloring in each bag, red, orange, yellow... etc.

I like neon food coloring it's much brighter and kind of pastel.

Zip the bags and then knead the bags till they completely mixed with the color.

Line the cupcake liners in the cupcake pan 

Snip a small hole at the bottom corner of the red color cake mix bag

Squeeze a little mix into the bottom of each liner. 

Then do the orange

Then Yellow and so on

I had to use a knife to kind of swirl over and make sure each layer completely covered the last. Either way the top doesn't have to be completely purple cause the icing will cover it.

I do red as the color at the bottom because the purple is so dark it blends into the browned baked part at the bottom of the cupcake. I wanted it to stand out so red first does the trick!

 The girls tutu's! My sister Brenda made, I have no idea how.... You'll have to ask her.

 The shirts I bought at Hobby Lobby. I had some scrap material. I just sewed it up to look like flowers and I sewed everything onto the shirts, including a number 1. It was super easy and simple!

 These are the party favors I forgot to hand out to half the kids LOL

-Zip Lock Snack Size Bags-

-Fruit Loops-

-Stapler-

-Design-

The simplest and cheapest party favor. The idea came from my sister. This really doesn't need to be explained... it's all right there!

The only thing I did was draw the cloud and rainbow on my computer with my tablet. I used snapfish.com to print the picture and cut it out then stapled it.

 Just a few pictures of the party stuff

& here are my baby girls! SO beautiful!!!

 Amanda Ivey took their photo's. 

I attempted to do the 'O N E' idea but trying to get two girls happy in one photo is tough. But at least we got a small N.

Love these angels! 

1 year down! a lifetime to go.