Showing posts with label 7 Quick Takes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 7 Quick Takes. Show all posts
Sunday, July 26, 2015
7 Quick Takes a Few Days Late: Haircut, #JumpforDystonia, Our REALLY Flexible Baby Girl!
It's been awhile since I updated my blog here. (Over a week and a half to be exact!) I'm beginning to be consistently inconsistent with updating my blog, but I'm not really sure if that bothers anyone but me. So for this post I'll do it 7 Quick Takes style hosted by Kelly at This Ain't The Lyceum. I know I'm a few days late on the link up, but that's blog and real life sometimes. :)
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I'm happy to be here again with another post while my husband takes my oldest daughter to the beach to hang out with some of her soccer teammates and the other kids are outside playing with neighbors and my almost 2 year old (she'll be 2 this Thursday!) is napping. Ahhh... a quiet house! I'm savoring it. So after The Edel Gathering 2015 and my (early) 40th birthday party surprise my husband organized and threw for me, I haven't been busy blogging (obviously), but rather...
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I've been busy getting a (much needed) haircut! This is the same salon where my daughter got her haircut last year. My daughter donated 10 inches and I cut and donated 8 inches. Somebody needed my long hair more than I did! The salon gives free haircuts if you donate at least 8 in. that is uncolored and can't have too much gray in it. No problem with either of those restrictions for me :) The salon cuts the hair and mails it off to Pantene vs. Locks of Love. The reason the salon donates to Pantene is because they will give wigs to cancer patients where Locks of Love charges people for the wigs. I haven't confirmed this information, but it sounds like a good reason to me to donate to Pantene.
And while I was at the salon one of the hair dressers looked so much like my oldest daughter! I had to do a double take! Here's my daughter and the arrow below is pointing to the hair dresser that I think looks like my daughter. What do you think? It really did "wig" me out. (pun intended..LOL!) :) Their hair is so much alike and I think that's what I first noticed :)
And here's the "After" shots....It's so much cooler and faster and easier to manage my shorter hair!
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Last week our family participated in an awareness campaign for Dystonia. The campaign was called #JumpforDystonia and you take photos of family/friends jumping and then post the pictures on social media with the hashtag #JumpforDystonia.
Have you heard of Dystonia before? My parent's neighbor, Tom, has suffered many years with this disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contractions that
cause slow repetitive movements or abnormal postures. Tom has written a book titled Diagnosis Dystonia about his life and journey as he continues to battle the disorder everyday. His story is inspiring and I was so happy that he asked if my kids could #JumpforDystonia one afternoon last week at my parent's neighborhood pool as a way to make others aware of the disorder and have a little fun at the same time.
The Smith kids loved to #JumpforDystonia
My daughters take gymnastics and so I had them and their friends jumping too!
And then my daughters' teachers were so kind to show us their mad jumping skills...
For more information about Dystonia and Tom Seaman's book be sure to visit his website.
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Speaking of gymastics, my almost 2 year old daughter is super flexible (and she doesn't get that from me or my husband!) That's not quite unusual for a little tot, but she is like really freaky flexible. (Note: I'm not calling my precious little one a "freak" :) ) She hangs from our oven door and shows off her skills.
See? Crazy huh? I will be taking her to her 2 year well visit and I will be asking the doctor about this to make sure her legs/hips aren't doing things that they shouldn't be doing and could give her problems in the future. Thanks T.T. for our discussion on the beach about how I should really get her checked out to make sure all is well :)
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So what do you do with a super flexible child who likes to hang from oven doors? Sign her up for a gymnastics class as a gift for her upcoming 2nd birthday, of course! Yep, for the rest of the summer she is enjoying her class and really loves to hang from the parallel bars, like all.the.time.during.class!
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I captured this sweet moment with my youngest and my mom one day last week. My mom came over to wish my 11 year old daughter a "Happy Baptism Anniversary" on July 17th. Baptism anniversaries are always acknowledged and I love that my mom always remembers my kids' baptism anniversaries! I can't say I always do something special for the anniversary day except give my kids' a big hug and kiss :) If I was really on top of my family's sacramental lives, I'd have a blog post about how we always do A, B, and C for my children's baptism anniversaries. But, I think just having my kids spend time with their Nana makes for a great way to celebrate such a special day! :)
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I've been busy trying to prepare my children's curriculum and lesson plans for the upcoming 2015-2016 homeschool year. I don't buy a "box" curriculum which is good and not so good sometimes for our family. Maybe more on that topic later. This year I'll have my oldest going into 10th grade, my son will be in 8th grade, my daughter in 6th grade, another daughter in 2nd grade and then our youngest will be 2 this week! Yeah, I'm not sure how I do it either. By the grace of God for sure!
So if all goes well I'll have a blog post about my daughter's birthday this week (I'm working on an idea for her cake too) and I'll post our 2015-2016 curriculum (and photos of our homeschool room) like in year's past. So stay tuned! :)
Hoping your weekend was blessed!
Friday, May 15, 2015
7 Quick Takes: Posts and Support for Smith Catholic Art
It's another Friday and I thought I would take this opportunity to write this 7 Quick Takes post all about Smith Catholic Art.
Maybe you have seen some of my blog posts about Cameron Smith, the very talented artist at Smith Catholic Art. Not only does he have an awesome last name (no relation to me, but he and his family are dear friends of our family), but Cameron Smith has incredible talent! I thought I would go back in the blog archives and share the links to the posts where I mention Cameron Smith's beautiful work! Check them out below!
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"Happy UN-Birthday to you!" (hand-made) Jewelry Giveaway!: This blog post was written when I first started blogging in 2010 and it tells about my deceased grandparents, Cameron's talented daughter who makes hand-made jewelry and I mention Cameron Smith and his artwork at Smith Catholic Art.
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7 Quick Takes: 7 Simple Ways to Celebrate Saint Valentine's Day: I mention our family's favorite image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which is Cameron's painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
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Image and prints found here: http://www.smithcatholicart.com/
Celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday and Canonization of Two Popes!: This was a joyous post to write especially since I was able to brag about this PENCIL drawing of Saint John Paul II by Cameron. Cameron sketched our beloved JPII before JPII became Saint John Paul II. View a larger image of this "Portrait of a Saint" and be amazed! I never grow tired staring at this print!
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In 2005, when I first started homeschooling at Sacred Heart Academy I had these 3 cuties who are standing by a tall statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
We {Heart} Jesus' Sacred Heart with Edible Art, Painting, and Book: I show Cameron's Sacred Heart of Jesus painting in this post as I shared how we {heart} Jesus' Sacred Heart.
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7 Quick Takes: 7 Reasons To Be Thankful This Week: This post mentions how thankful I was to stumble upon one of Cameron Smith's first sketches of Saint John Paul II and our Blessed Mother in the most unusual place!
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Saint John Paul II's FIRST Feast Day Today!: Saint John Paul II's first feast day was on Oct. 22, 2014 and of course, a celebration like this meant another great way to show the blogosphere the pencil drawing of the "Portrait of a Saint".
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Immaculate Heart of Mary by Cameron Smith
My Pinterest Present and Edible Rosary for our Blessed Mother's Birthday!: This was a fun post to write as I posted a few pictures of my college roommate and I when we were 19 (!!!) and I also shared about our donut rosary for our Blessed Mother's birthday. At the end of the post I showed Cameron's print of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Like I mentioned earlier in this post, Cameron Smith and his wife, Kristen, are dear friends of our family. So I'm not only a big fan of Cameron Smith's artwork because he's got incredible artistic talent, but he and his family are faithful Catholics and friends.
Cameron and Kristen are our 5th child's Godparents. Here they are holding our little one on her baptism day on August 31, 2013. They are a beautiful couple inside and out!
Recently, Cameron and Kristen asked me to help spread the word about their GoFundMe page that they set up as a way to raise financial support for his calling and artistic
pursuits. Go check out their GoFundMe page to find out more about Cameron's family of 7 and their goals. Your prayers and/or financial support will be greatly
appreciated. Thank you!
For more Quick Takes, go to This Ain't The Lyceum.
Friday, April 24, 2015
7 (very random) Quick Takes: Dragon, Clothespins, Hummus, Spiritual Adoption
This edition of 7 Quick Takes is going to be random and hopefully quick since it's late and I have a full weekend ahead...
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Yesterday, April 23, was Saint George's feast day. We snacked on this veggie dragon after I read Saint George and the Dragon to my children. Thanks Jessica at Shower of Roses for the idea of the veggie dragon!
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Do you need a different and fun way to do math facts? How about trying out "Clothespin Calculations"? I came up with this idea a few weeks ago as my 7 year old daughter was staring at her addition worksheet that had several problems on it. I spotted the clothespins in our art closet and thought I would cut apart her math sheet and write numbers 1-10 on the clothespins. She could then answer each addition problem by clipping the slip of paper onto the correct answer. This definitely got her motivated to answer the problems vs. just writing down each answer on the worksheet.
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I call these pictures of our 20 month old "Hummus Hair". She was so proud of her hair style and I was so glad to get her in the bath after she "styled" her hair. Yuck! :)
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Our little one loves playing with Daddy's ties and wearing Mommy's shoes. As soon as I called her name she looked up at me and said, "Cheeeeeeese!" Yep, she knows the routine :)
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She loves to walk over to near our neighbor's yard and check out their "doggie". :)
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This Spiritual Adoption Prayer Adventure by Holy Heroes looks really awesome!
"Looking for a fun, engaging way to pray for
the unborn, as well as teach your children
about the miracle of life? Join Holy Heroes’
Spiritual Adoption Program – a 9-month
prayer adventure that follows the
developmental cycle of an unborn child."
I registered my email for free and can't wait to participate in this prayer adventure with my family that begins May 1st! I hope will you want to join the adventure!
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See? I told you this post was going to be full of randomness :) My 10 year old daughter and 13 year old son will be playing in a soccer tournament this weekend! We look forward to the busy weekend filled with lots of soccer and making memories!
Have a blessed weekend!
Thursday, April 9, 2015
7 Quick Takes: 7 Ways to Celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday with Children (and Adults too!)
This post contains affiliate links.
Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter Sunday. So this year Divine Mercy Sunday will be celebrated on Sunday, April 12, 2015.
Last year on Divine Mercy Sunday, it was an extra special day for many reasons, including the great canonization of two Popes: Saint John XXII and Saint John Paul II, pray for us.
Here is a list of 7 ways to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. Don't know much about Divine Mercy Sunday? No worries! I'm still learning about this devotion myself with our family and I hope my list here will help our family and others learn more about this beautiful story and devotion.
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Photo Credit: Catholic Inspired
If you are looking for a great resource to learn about the Divine Mercy for children (and I'm sure adults will learn a thing or two), look no further than this beautiful ebook created by Jennifer and her husband at Catholic Inspired! Wow! I just printed mine out and plan to go through it with my children. It has everything you need to learn about the Divine Mercy, including a life summary of St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy. The ebook is filled with information, as well as fun and easy activities and crafts that the entire family can enjoy! Be sure to find out more information and purchase this ebook!
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While you are learning about the Divine Mercy, dive into "Divine Mercy fruit platter" filled with raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. We ate this last year for the first time and it's an easy enough and healthy enough snack to do it again this year!
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Photo Credit: http://www.divinemercypictures.com/
Expose and venerate the Image of The Divine Mercy in your parish or home. "I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and then throughout the world," Jesus told St. Faustina (Diary, 47). He also said: "Yes,
the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must
also be acts of mercy, and I demand the worship of my mercy through the
solemn celebration of the Feast and through the veneration of the image
which is painted. By means of this image I will grant many graces to
souls" (Diary, 742).
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St. Faustina was given specific instructions by our Lord when He appeared to her about what the image should look like. Find out what the ray colors mean and Jesus' promises to those who venerate the image.
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Enjoy Divine Mercy "Sundaes" after coloring a Divine Mercy image coloring page. This was definitely a hit with my kids last year! Thanks Lacy at Catholic Icing for this idea and so many other ideas for Divine Mercy Sunday!
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Read a book about Saint Faustina Kowalska, who Jesus appeared to and asked her to have a painting made of her vision with the words “Jesus I Trust in You.”
Do you celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday? If so, how? I would love to hear other ways to remember Jesus' infinite mercy and love!
Thursday, February 26, 2015
7 Quick Takes: Snow, Swimming, and Sickness!
It's been a week since I lasted posted on my blog here with my 7 ways to bury the "ALLELUIA", which by the way is still not too late to do :)
Some of the reasons I have not updated my corner of blog land can be explained by this edition of
7 Quick Takes hosted by Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum. This past week can be summarized nicely by the 3 "S's": Snow, Swimming, and Sickness!
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This past Monday through Wednesday we went down to Myrtle Beach, SC for a little break from the books. The trip only takes us about an hour and a half from where we live and I went with a friend of mine and her 3 younger children. We went to a resort with an indoor water park with heated pools, waterslides and an outdoor hot tub. The kids loved sitting in the hot tub outside while the freezing rain and sleet pelted their faces. Back home we got a dusting of snow as my husband sent the photo of part of our backyard. My kids were disappointed to miss the "big" snow while we were away, but it came and went so fast in our area and they were a little distracted with water fun they quickly got over the snow.
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So I wish I could say I enjoyed getting my bathing suit on and jumping in the pools and hot tub with my kids, BUT I went down to SC not feeling great and I only felt worse on Tuesday. Soooo my little one and I literally stayed in our room in our "pent house" on the 14th floor of our hotel because I had chills, cough and a slight fever. The picture above on the right is what I took while laying in the King size bed trying to rest with my youngest daughter in the darkened room with the door to the room ajar a little. My friend was in charge of my older 4 kids and her 3 kids at the water park while I tried to survive sickness away from home. Ugggghhh!
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It wasn't a bad view from one of our windows in our hotel room even with the gray skies and cold rain.
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Tuesday afternoon I was going a little stir crazy in my hotel room while all the kids were at the water park downstairs. I knew I didn't want to go swimming having chills already with a coat and long pants on so we broke up the day and headed to the nearby Ripley's Aquarium. It was worth the trip just for me to get out of my room, though I didn't feel great and it was cold and rainy in and out of the car. But, it was also worth the trip to the aquarium because as a homeschool family instead of paying $23.99 per ticket, it only cost $8 per child and per adult. That's one of the best homeschool discounts I've seen for an attraction so we have visited this aquarium many times before.
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I counted down the hours until my husband could drive down to meet us after his work on Tuesday evening because I wanted a little break from my toddler and I was trying to get enough energy to make it through the trip. Here is a picture of all the kids and my husband swimming in one of the heated pools on Tuesday evening after our pizza dinner. My youngest was finally able to get in the pool since I was still bundled up in my winter coat and pants.
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More pool pictures of our 18 month old with Daddy and big sister.
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Here is a very short clip of my husband going down one of the various indoor water slides. The camera goes crazy as the water gushed over the side onto my socks and tennis shoes as I tried backing away from the splash. The kids and my husband enjoyed the slides too! I, on the other hand, took their word for it that the indoor water park was a blast for them. :)
I'm happy to say I'm finally feeling better, of course, after the vacation :/
This weekend we will have our annual breadmaking gathering with our homeschool group as we will prepare breads for our annual St. Joseph altar and celebration coming up in March. The breadmaking and St. Joseph celebration are some of our family's favorite traditions with our homeschool group!
For more Quick Takes, be sure to visit This Ain't The Lyceum
Have a blessed weekend!
Friday, January 30, 2015
7 Quick Takes: 7 Reasons I Love the Saints and Saints Go Social!
This post contains affiliate links.
It's another Friday, which means it's another opportunity to link up to 7 Quick Takes hosted by Kelly at This Ain't The Lyceum!
For this week's 7 Quick Takes, I thought I'd briefly tell you why I love learning about the Saints' lives.
I was born and raised in a Catholic home and went to Catholic school in grades 1st through 6th grade, but I don't have many vivid memories of learning about the lives of the Saints.
But, I'm also guilty of having a terrible memory. :/
I knew about St. Mary, the Mother of God, of course, and I did a school report on St. Francis of Assisi in 6th grade (that I still have) and I picked my Confirmation Saint in high school, St. Anne, (only because that's my middle name), but I don't remember learning too much about the many other Saints that the Catholic Church has canonized. I'm not criticizing the Catholic school I attended or how my parents raised my siblings and me, it's just what I experienced growing up.
I love you Mom and Dad :)
Part of the our morning routine with my children is to have our Couch Catechism time and one of the books we read from daily is Saints for Young Readers for Every Day Volume I (January - June) and Volume II (July -December). They are the best books about Saints that we use literally everyday!
So here are the 7 reasons why I love the Saints and learning about them alongside my family:
1. The Saints (men, women, and children) are perfect and pious role models and I pray that our family, especially my children, will look up to them as they grow in their faith.
2. Their lives are inspirational and many of their life stories have more twists and turns than any novel out on the market.
2. Their lives are inspirational and many of their life stories have more twists and turns than any novel out on the market.
3. The communion of Saints up in Heaven are praying for us as they are more alive in Christ than our mortal bodies here on earth. I like getting to know these special Saints as they pray for me, just as I can ask a friend to pray for me.
4. I love knowing that the Saints weren't perfect on earth and many of them strayed from God's ways, but each of them sought God's will in their lives. This helps me relate to them even more because, like them, I stray and seek
5. The Saints' lives are filled with miracles while they were living on earth and now while they are living with Christ. Saint miracle stories, such as this one at Bonnie's blog at A Knotted Life about Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, are just awesome and challenge my faith, but also make my faith stronger.
6. Knowing that so many Saints suffered with grace and for the love of Christ gives me strength and courage in my trials and crosses in life.
7. The Saints want to help us in our time of weakness here on earth and I need all the help I can get. "Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death" (St. Dominic). "I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth" (St. Therese of Lisieux).
Whether you know a lot about the Saints' lives or if you want to learn more about these holy men, women, and children, I am so excited to announce a tool that brings a whole new way of learning about the Saints!
This new project is fresh off the ground and the team members are still working hard to bring visitors this one place where Saints' resources and materials can be accessed and searched in a great, fun way!
So what's this awesome, fun, and faith-filled site called? Drum roll........................
Think of SaintNook as a Social Network for Saints where "The Saints are Always Online." For the first time anywhere, the Saints are presented in all their holy, connected glory!
At SaintNook, you can browse profiles, explore biographies, see whom they were friends with and whom they might have known from their century. Read more about SaintNook HERE.
Dominic de Souza, is the founder and chief designer of SaintNook. His creativity is inspiring and as soon as I heard his SaintNook idea, I knew I wanted to be a part of a new way of teaching others (and myself) about the Saints' lives. Thanks to Dominic's hard work, creativity, tech knowledge, and patience with our team, SaintNook has been launched and is ready for visitors!
SaintNook has a vision to bring together
everything possible under one roof, and we’ve started with standardizing Saints' information, creating beautiful, in-depth Pinterest boards and funspirational playlists.
Go check out SaintNook now and tell us what you think! We would love your feedback to make this one stop social network for Saints as faith-filled, user-friendly and fun for all! If you have any questions, comment below or contact us at SaintNook! We have loaded some special February Saints and next up the Saints with March feast days will be getting social so stay tuned!
For more Quick Takes visit the link-up at This Ain't The Lyceum.
This post is also linked up to New Evangelists Monthly - Issue #26
Thursday, January 15, 2015
7 Quick Takes: 7 Cute Pics of Cupcake #5
Our Cupcake #5 will be 18 months old at the end of January. It is so hard to homeschool while she is around. I bet you are thinking homeschooling is a "challenge" with her because she's almost 18 months old and pulling, climbing, running, chasing, dumping, "organizing", and playing constantly?
Well, you are right.
BUT, the other reason and the best reason homeschooling can be challenging with our youngest is because she.is.so.funny (and darn cute too!) My older Cupcakes and I literally watch and laugh at her during our Couch Catechism time in the morning and all day. I love to see the joy she brings to our family, but it's so hard to get anything done in our homeschool day with such wonderful entertainment. :)
For this week's Quick Takes hosted by This Ain't The Lyceum, I thought I would show some cute pictures of our Cupcake #5 just because she's cute, funny, and lately my phone camera is full of her sweet face so I thought I'd share the cuteness :)
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Even when she's under the weather she's cute :) This was taken over Christmas and she had a fever, but she still loved drinking my Chocolate Green Smoothie from a straw.
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These pictures look like Cupcake #5 was not happy about her big sister's idea to play dress up, but she really liked it and they both had a great time.
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Dressed up again by her older sister, but this time it's the Snow White dress. Snow White loves to do school work with the big siblings and stand on chairs all.the.time! Ugggh!
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"Mom-O! Mom-O!" (that's her way of saying "Mom, look!") She was so proud that she got the green bean on her fork at dinner last week so she just had to show me! Our family got a kick out of her new skill and how she demanded my attention. My 10 year old made cookies that night too so the big girl with the green bean fork trick got a cookie for her performance. :)
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Our "Cradle Catholic" is always fun to watch as she makes the sign of the cross by tapping her fist on her cheek (haven't snapped a picture of that yet) and holds her "prayer hands" together during family prayer time. She likes her toes too. :)
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She got a new pink brush with her name on it since she loves to brush her beautiful hair. Here she is trying out her new gift from Christmas.
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This video shows how super flexible our youngest is (and how annoying my voice sounds on video!) Maybe she will be a gymnast or a ballerina (she loves to dance too!) She makes a straight split and it always amazes our family when she does this little talent.
If you have made it this far in my post, thank you for letting me "brag" a little about our cute Cupcake #5. :) She is such a joy and delight, don't ya think? ;)
Have a blessed weekend!
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I'm Tracy. I love my faith, family and on most days, homeschooling my 5 blessings. When I'm not busy baking cakes for my family or making memories in real life or dreaming I had a housekeeper or professional chef, I enjoy documenting a slice of Smith life in blog land.
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