Friday, February 18, 2011

A Valentine Funny

On Valentine's Day, my husband, 7 yr old daughter and I all went to eat.  While eating, we started hearing the little boy behind us talk to his grandma.  The next thing we know, the grandma said, "Yes, she is pretty."  At that point, she and I just slightly turned around.  The little boy then said to her, "You are SOO beautiful!"

Since our daughter didn't really react...I said thank you for her.  Then the little boy said,  "You could be my girlfriend but I already have one.  She is 7 and I am 6."

After they left, our daughter said, "I want no part of that!  I am not dating until I am in high school!"

Do you think we can get that in writing?

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Birthday Themes

I love planning birthdays for my daughter.  It is a time when I love to make the cake.  The only time I ever purchased a cake for her was shortly after a move from another state and was still unpacking and didn't have time to make one AND plan a party.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road!
My daughter has a tradition of selecting some creative birthday themes.  Since she was 3 yrs old, her birthday theme coordinated with the previous Halloween costume.  She has a March birthday so it seemed as if the Halloween theme continued until her birthday.  We went through 2 years of Disney Princess birthdays.  Those were super easy because you could find theme items everywhere.  When she turned 5 years old, she decided that she wanted a Wizard of Oz party.  Of course, the previous Halloween she was Dorothy.  At that time in 2008, it was hard to find party items for that theme.  We made it work and I had a blast making the cake for it, complete with yellow brick road, emerald city and the rainbow.


When she was 6, she presented me with the biggest challenge ever!  She wanted to have a Fancy Nancy party.  Fancy Nancy was a new children's book character.  At that time, the merchandise had not hit the stores and it was hard to find!  The cake was so - so...not my favorite.  I tried to make a purple purse...let's just say, it was very purple.


 



For the 7th birthday, she didn't really decide anything so we went with a spring theme -- butterfly cake and flower cupcake cake. Easy but not too exciting...



Now she will be turning 8 years old soon. (ugh, where did the time go?)  She decided that she wanted a luau theme.  A Luau theme??!!  YES!  That is super easy and exciting to plan an awesome birthday cake!  I can see flip flops, leis, limbo, grass skirts...ahhh....easy birthday planning for mom. Since I am a big fan of the Cake Boss (Carlos Bakery), I know what I can do to make sand and other features.  My daughter would love to have a cake from Carlos Bakery but they don't ship and I also wouldn't have as much fun.
It's definitely a birthday party that I am excited to plan! I am open to ideas for this fun theme.  It celebrates the life of our daughter and we are very blessed to celebrate this special day -- the day God gave her to us!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Are you a Treasure to Others? (Continued)

Everyone is created by God and God looks at us as a treasure.  It is how we live our lives that determine if we are a treasure to others.  Are we consistently lifting others up by encouraging them and being compassionate?  Do we genuinely care what is going on in someone else's life whether it is good or bad?  Do we just stay wrapped up in our own little world thinking that everyone is against us or that no one else cares?  These things can determine if we are being a treasure to others. 

There is a book that is circulating through elementary schools that is encouraging people to think of others first.  It is helping to teach about bullying, name calling and put downs.  It helps to promote respectful and encouraging environments.  I have seen it in action and it is amazing what it brings to your mind to help you remember.   The book is called "Have You Filled A Bucket Today?" 

The main premise of the book is that we all have this invisible bucket and when we do kind things for others such as saying something nice, helping others, or giving a hug -- we fill their buckets and we fill ours at the same time. When we are unkind to people like calling them names, being a bully, degrading their character -- we dip into their bucket and our own. The fuller your bucket is, the happier you are, so the idea is to keep your bucket full through kind deeds as much as possible.

This not only applies to children but to adults also.  It is so important that we show the examples to our children.  I see so many children that are so full of attitudes and not encouraging one another.  Sometimes you only have to look at the parents or the homelife.  Some don't have the homelife that will encourage them.   As parents and adults, we need to lead by example making sure that we are forming the next generation to love and encourage each other.  It is important for us to be a generation that is not only creating heart treasures with the younger generation but also preparing them to have warm hearts for the future.  

Are you a Treasure to Others?

Are you a treasure to others?  Stay tuned to find out how you can tell...

Other Treasures

Not only do I embrace heart treasures, I also have a heart for treasure.  I love to be creative!  It is a form of relaxation for me.  Most of my current creativity is poured into my 7 year old daughter.  She is a competitive cheerleader and I love doing crafty things for her cheer team.  When she was younger, I loved making hair bows for each and every outfit, holiday, you name it!  She grew up and became more interested in headbands and flower clips.  That gave me another craft to make.  I also have a Cricut and love designing and experimenting with new things.  As I become more familiar with this blog, I hope to add pictures of the things we have created!  Recently, she has fallen in love with American Girl dolls.  She currently has 3 and Lanie, Haley and Megan have all become part of the family.  For Halloween, my daughter was convinced that I could make an outfit for her doll to match hers.  I couldn't let her down so I did.  That sparked the idea that I could make doll clothes.  With the help of some patterns, it will be my newest adventure!

What is A Heart Treasure?

A Heart Treasure is something that can lift your heart and help brighten your day. It could be a word of encouragement from a close friend, a smile from a stranger or a hug from your child. Lately, I have realized how important these heart treasures are. Life changes and people change. Those who you may have thought might always be there sometimes go suddenly without warning. Situations arise that cause friction between friends and sometimes the only choice is to let go. Events in communities and in the world can also awaken your senses to the hearts of others, whether good or bad.

Heart treasures can make the difference in whether you move forward with hope and peace or if you are held back by hurt feelings and despair. It is my hope that this blog will make people aware of the heart treasures that people can grasp and embrace. Through words of encouragement, humorous stories and even a little creativity, you can be a heart treasure to others, as well as have it in your own life.