Tea Party for the Ladies

Danielle's birthday falls right in the middle of the Christmas Holidays. This year she wanted to invite a few friends and go to a tea house for Tea. Now please keep in mind Danielle does not like tea. But she wanted to experience a TEA. So on Saturday, January 31st, Danielle, a couple of her dearest friends, Arielle and I went to tea at With Flair Tea House. This place is a hidden gem of Chesapeake. Pam Fogle, the owner has converted a small older home into a charming tea house. When we arrived we were seated at a table with the china tea cups, crystal water goblets, glass plates and linen napkins. Pam brought out the tea menu and we each chose our own tea. Three of the girls chose Wild Raspberry, Danielle chose a lemon blossom, and I had Pomegranate Raspberry. We were each served our tea in individual silver tea pots and sugar cubes were plentiful, which is good. I am a southern girl and I like all my tea sweet. Then Pam brought out serving trays piled with wonderful food. Because we had reserved the Royal Tea, we had finger foods. Tiny sandwiches, and desserts. I will try to name a few; Chicken Salad on Croissants ( this was fabulous), Pimento Cheese on Wheat bread, Quiche, Virginia Ham on Yeast Rolls, Cucumber sandwiches, stuffed grape tomatoes, lemon bars, Raspberry Scones that were DIVINE, and two other desserts that were rich and sweet. It was a fun time and I know that Danielle loved her experience. I am thinking I am going to set up a luncheon there with some of my girl pals. I could go back and just enjoy trying each of the teas. Hey what a great idea! The day was a success. The night did not end well but that is another blog.

Chinese New Year 2009

Arielle called it a work of art.

Craig loved the plating of the food.

The Girl loves her noodles!

We had a quiet Chinese New Year celebration this year. We stayed home and ordered in Chinese Food. So not much to blog on this time just a couple of pictures.

The Things They Pick Up

Arielle, Danielle and I are memorizing Bible Scriptures this year along with Beth Moore and a couple of thousand other people. You memorize 2 Scriptures of your choice a month. On the first and fifteenth of each month you choose a Scripture verse, post it on Beth Moore's Blog, and then get busy. It is a such a joy to read the thousands of verses and feel a bond with these sisters in Christ. Anyway, on the first of January I chose Isaiah 43:1-2. So each day I repeat it out loud. Then this past week as the girls and I were reviewing, Shoshannah starts saying my verse. Not word for word but pretty close. Once again this just reminded me what little sponges these little ones are and how much they can truly learn. And what better thing to learn than God's Word. So, starting now we are going to include Shoshannah on our adventure. I have recorded her saying Isaiah 43:1-2. The facial expressions are great. Again remember to turn off the music at the end.

And the Emmy goes to....

Okay before you watch this there is a warning. If you are a fan of the Disney Teen idols then don't watch. Don't read but if you choose to no offense is attended.
My girls thankfully are not Hannah Montana, High School Musical or Jonas Brother fans. They have not found these "teen idols" to be anyone they want to look up to. And they just don't understand what all the hype is about. But anyway, we watched part of Jonas Brothers show on TV and Danielle found the girls reactions funny. So being Danielle she has worked on and perfected her reaction to the Jonas Brothers.. Don't forget to go down and turn off the music before you play this video.

Happy 14th Birthday Arielle

I am behind on the blogging. So we are backtracking to Monday, December 29. It was Arielle's 14th birthday. Arielle requested homemade donut holes for her birthday breakfast. So, Danielle and I arose early and made her donuts. Danielle and Shoshannah took her breakfast in bed and the day began. After breakfast we headed to the mall. Arielle's big gift this year was a docking station for her ipod which she got for Christmas. We found one right away and then we just walked the mall checking out what was going on. We didn't discover any big sales. It was very sad for us but great for the bank account. We decided to have lunch at Chick Fil A. We ate and then headed home. I put Shoshannah down for a nap then got that sick feeling you get when the food you eat is bad. Yes, Arielle, Danielle and I ended up with a slight case of food poisoning. WE took some supplements and prayed for the best. Not a good way to spend the birthday. But later that day we were feeling somewhat better. But the birthday girl did not want more chicken for dinner which is what she had requested. So instead we had pizza rolls and she did not want a dessert, but I couldn't let the day go by without something so I picked up one of those Oreo Frozen pies and it was just the thing. So she opened a few more gifts and we just hung out for the rest of the night.

Arielle is 14 but going on 17. She has matured into such a sweet young lady who is such a joy to have in our family. We love you Arielle, you are a blessing to us!

What a Wonderful Life

This has been one of the most wonderful Christmas' times ever. Ellis and Gina came home on December 20 so I had all my children home. It was a great week, the kids played card games, Spit/Spoons, Clue came out a couple of times, they talked music, listened to music, watched movies together and did lots of eating and laughing. It made this momma's heart soar. You know when you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your calling in life is to be a Mom then the things that bring you the greatest happiness are those things that involve your children. I am so proud of my children. They all love the Lord and each other,and are truly a joy to have around. When Ellis and Gina read this I hope they truly know the gift they gave me by being home for Christmas. I know as God directs their lives they will be moving far away to attend Grad school so each moment I have with them is precious. This is Gina's first year as part of our family and she just brought a freshness to our holiday. I am so blessed!

Of course, for our family this time also involves lots of birthday fun.Danielle turned 12 then we had Christmas Eve. We opened the family gift early in the morning as Andrew had to work in the afternoon. Guitar Praise was a big hit here. I think Shoshannah and I are the only ones who didn't get into that gift. But Shoshannah had fun with the box it came in. The game was played all day and they had a blast. Then we had our traditional Christmas Eve meal of grilled Steak, shrimp, baked potatoes, peppers and onions,and fruit. It was great and that evening our entire family attended our Christmas Eve service at church. Then home to snack and play more games. Christmas morning dawned and it was funny. Shoshannah chose to sleep in until 6:30 and when we walked outside my bedroom door there stood Andrew, Danielle and Arielle waiting to go down and see what Santa brought. Ellis and Gina were quick to be up.

We came down and Shoshannah's new baby doll high chair, bed and stroller were out. Craig told Shoshannah that while she was sleeping that Santa and brought her presents. Her reply.. I don't mind. So then we were off to opening. Shoshannah got a new doll that moves and says mama. I wish I had a picture of her face when the doll first spoke. Priceless. The gifts were opened and then everyone went on his and her way to enjoy all their gifts. I cooked breakfast then started on our late lunch. It was just a lazy day of fun!

Then Friday morning I got breakfast in bed from my girls and the family took me out for dinner. Hey that video camera that I hinted at in a previous post well santa missed his turn and Craig gave it to me for my birthday.

God has blessed our family in so many ways and we are so thankful of His unending mercy and grace. And we are most thankful for the gift of our Savior. As I reflected on Christmas morning and all that it symbolizes, God just brought to me that this was all intentional. Jesus knew when He stepped out of Heaven, that He was coming to give His life for me. He knew me then, He loved me then, He willingly left the splendor of Heaven to die for me. AMAZING! As I was sharing this with the girls that morning, I said I love my children more than words can explain and there is not one person I would willingly give my children for. Aren't we all glad I am not God??

I hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas with your families and friends. We have one more birthday for this year. Arielle will be 14 tomorrow. Oh My!

I will leave you with a few pictures, video to come soon.

Happy 12th Birthday Danielle

Well, one of our Princesses turned 12 today. For Danielle it started with breakfast in bed, well sorta bed. She asked for Toaster Strudel and Pop Tarts for breakfast. So at 7am today I was making a run to Wally World. Brought it home and Arielle, Andrew and Shoshannah delivered it to her in her temporary room. She gave up her room while Ellis and Gina are home. Since, Andrew was working tonight he presented her with a book and she spent most of the day reading. Then Ellis took her to the library for some bonding time over books and movies. For dinner she requested, Chicken Alfredo over Fettuccine with Spinach and also yeast rolls. Then off to open presents and enjoy Candy Bar Cake.

Danielle, has always been a precious little girl. She has a servants heart, she loves so deeply and is truly just a wonderful light to our family and those who know her. I stand amazed that God placed her in our family and I get to be her mom. While I am not rushing her growing up I am looking forward to seeing what God does in and with her life. It is gonna be AWESOME!.

So Happy Birthday Danielle your family loves you!