Easter time is here

Happy Easter

"Mommy, I can hardly wait for the Easter Bunny to come tonight"

Sophia's last words before going to bed tonight

:)

That makes e smile

the girls left the eggs we colored by the door for the Easter Bunny to hide. Sophia did not want him to miss them so they were up close right next to the door. She included a picture she colored and a letter she wrote to him

:)

that makes me smile

They are going to love what the

Easter Bunny brought them

:)

This makes me smile

Sunday muffins

this week have given way to Easter Cupcakes

Mascarpone Mini Cupcakes with Strawberry Glaze

The glaze did not come out exactly as it should have but let me tell you they are

SUPER DUPER DELISH !!!!!

:)

They make me smile

Creamy light cake

sticky sweet strawberriness

(I know that is not a word but it should be when describing this glaze)

on top

YUM!!!!!

Courtesy of Lowe's

and

their

"One in a Million"

Free tree give away in honor of Earth Day

the girls each go a tree to plant and care for. It may take One Million years for these little guys to grow but we are dedicated to their future

LOL.........

:)

Yes this too makes me smile

a celebration of 3

Today is not only Good Friday and Earth Day, it is also my in-laws wedding anniversary. We are going to have dinner tonight with them complete with a yummy homemade classic yellow cake with chocolate frosting that Sophia helped me make. We want to wish them a very happy 43rd Wedding anniversary,with many more to come in the future.


We are gearing up this Good Friday for an Easter Celebration complete with Easter Mass on Sunday at church, Easter Egg Hunt and a nice Beach Picnic with the girls to end the day. It is hard with a 2 and 4 year old to get away from the candy and Easter bunny(and to be honest I love that stuff as much as they do) but we also want them to know what Easter is truly all about and how much Jesus sacrificed for all of us. We have been reading the Easter Story to them and trying everyday to remind them the REAL meaning of the Easter celebration.

"Today is Good Friday!! Better than any other Friday because it is when we remember and celebrate what Jesus did for each and every one of us when He died on the cross so we may live. Not good for Him but great for us. It is Friday and that meant death for Him but we must remember that Sunday is coming and that means LIFE for us!! Peace and Love to all." ~ Pastor Jim Clark*

Today was also Earth Day. We have been reading and learning all week about how we can help save the Earth for future generations. One of Sophia's favorite authors right now is Todd Parr ( I love his books too). He has a way with simple words and pictures to help young children understand his message. We have been reading hi new book "The Earth Book". It is simple yet covers the importance of doing small things to help conserve. We have come up with our top ten list of way s to help preserve the world around us for each other and the generations still to come. An added bonus to these things helping preserve the Earth they are money savers and just plan logical for a family stretching the dollar.




OK here is our list



1. Turn off the water when you brush your teeth



2. Recycle (plastic, glass, paper, newspapers, etc)



3. re-purpose empty paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, foam trays from produce for art projects.



4. Turn lights out when you leave a room.



5. use reusable bags at the grocery store



6. plant a tree



7. save left overs for lunch or compost for your garden



8. plant a garden



9. share books



10. be good and kind to animals



OK so we had





11. do not litter and pick up trash when you see it lying around.



what do you do to help the environment?

vintage memories

One of the really cool things about owning a 106 year old house is all of the stuff that you find in it, stuff left behind by previous owners, gems from their past. Over the years we have found all sorts of things in this house. When we bought it 7 years ago the previous owner pretty much packed a suitcase and walked out, leaving the house FULL to the brim with 60 years of life. When we started to sort through the mountains of belongings (and I do mean mountains the women could have been a featured guest on the show Hoarders) we found an old trunk full of cards, letters, pictures and momentous. It was full of the kinds of things we all save for our children. Things like First birthday cards, lockets of baby hair and pictures on Santa's lap. The remnants of a happy family and childhood memories. Several times we tried to return the trunk to the previous owner but she would only say she did not want any of it and to do whatever we wanted to with it.Neither Riz nore i felt right about discarding the trunk so for the last 6 years the truck has been tucked into a corner in our attack. We thought about trying to find the child that the cards and letters were addressed to but could never contact him. So for years it has just been up there holding the memories of a boys childhood. Fast forward to this past weekend and our spring cleaning project. We have been trying to purge the house of all the extra stuff that accumulates with a busy family. I was also pulling down some Easter decorations to decorate the house for the Easter season when I came across the trunk again. I sat down on the attic floor and began to look through it, it captured me again. It astonishes me that the previous owner did not want it or the contents back. It makes me wonder what could have happened to her relationship with her son that would cause her to not care about these memories. There were other strange things like this that we came across in the house her husband's World War II Diary, his writs watch, countless things that most of us would hold close and treasure. While I was going through the trunk I came across a stack of Vintage 1940 - 1950 greeting cards. Some of the cards were Easter cards others were birthday cards and still others were get well cards. They all had really cute vintage graphics of spring time on them. This gave me the idea to use them in my Easter decorations in the house. I gathered them all up and decided to string them together like a banner. I think they turned out pretty cute and in some way I feel like at least they are honoring the boy who they were intended for...

Sophia really enjoyed sorting these cards and helping me string them together. She loved how they felt and how they all sparkled with glitter. Some how these cards seem more substantial then the cards we buy today. They all have texture to them flocked or glitter adorning the images. They make me think I should always give really nice cards, you never know who will be looking at them 50, 60 or 70 years from now.

:)