Behind the Camera

Hello, Friends! 

Here are a few shots of what I've been working on during my time away from etsy.  

Originally, I was just going to upload these photos to my Facebook album, but after a phone conversation with a friend, I decided to go ahead and write a full post about it.

See, over the few minutes that we were on the phone, my children came to interrupt me more than a couple of times (mind you, I care for three children). Frustrated, I joked about needing a sitter for the day to save my children from my own crankiness. Last night, hubby had an engagement so I didn't get my usual -and much needed- break from parenting duties.

We laughed together about how many times we've had to apologize to our children for snapping at them in frustration. 

Yesterday was one of those days for me.

I took them outside to snap a few pictures when suddenly I heard water running. I turned around to find them playing in the water faucet. Being the chill mom that I am, I laughed and kept snapping away. I had to run inside the house for a second and when I got back outside, I found mud splattered on the side of the house. Again, being the chill mom that I am, I took it in stride and just rinsed it off with a brief lecture on keeping mud on the ground.

It was all fun and games until I was done with the photos. I went inside the house to put things back for what felt like a nanosecond. That's when my son ran up to the porch's screen with chunks dripping from the mud pie on his head, "MOMMY! We're putting mud on each other's head because it's fun!!!"

Deep breaths, Mrs. Chill Mom.

I had just washed my daughter's mini-Diana Ross fro the night before. And mud doesn't mix well with that! Besides, they knew better!

I quickly shut down the party and dunked both of them in the bath. I gave them a harsh lecture and didn't do it with a smile.

Later on, I had to apologize for overreacting. We snuggled on the beanbag together to read a few books, and I lead the three of us in a prayer. We asked God to help us treat each other with love and to erase the first part of our day so we could start over.

Ah! The joys of being a Mom!

I'm so glad I'm not alone in this journey and that I have friends who are willing to be honest enough to encourage me.  

So there you have it! The pictures may appear perfect, but behind the camera is a work in progress.


Thanks for reading, 
Debra
xo

{Crafting with the Kiddos} Homemade Birthday Cards

Earlier this week, I learned someone whom my children love would be spending their birthday inside a rehab facility. It made me sad, but I knew immediately this was a great opportunity to make a difference in someone's life and expose my children to the joy of caring for others. The fact that this also turned out to be an all-morning-long craft was the icing on the cake. Summer days can be long, so I appreciate activities that can keep 3 kids ages 2 through 9 engaged for more than 20 minutes.

During our morning devotional time this week, the kids and I have been examining our thought life and perspective. 

(In toddler terms: "What you think, becomes your attitude and behavior. If you think about bad things, you'll feel sad. If you think about the good things in your life, you'll feel happy. For example, if you complain 'Ugh! Mommy gave me white milk but I wanted chocolate milk' then you'll be upset. If you say 'Thank you, Mommy, for giving my something to drink, I'm not thirsty anymore.' Then your thankful attitude will make you a happy person.") 

We've also been talking about the love of God: receiving it, accepting it, and sharing it. 

I enlisted the kids to help me create three beautiful birthday cards to send to our loved one. My 2 year old said she wanted her card to make our loved one feel better. My 4 year old said he wanted to make our loved one laugh because laughing makes you feel good. My 9 year old niece said she wanted our loved one to make better choices. 

With the purpose of the card clear in their minds, they went to town. I must say, their designs turned out even more beautiful than I imagined: 

Zia, Age 2

I gave my littlest designer some white paper to scribble on. She insisted on water colors, so I busted out the paintbrushes and let her go at it. When she completed one sheet, she would ask me to hang it up to dry and give her another sheet. Three sheets and a few tragic water holes later, she was satisfied.

Inspired by an old pin, I cut the sheets into petals to create a few flowers. Green ribbon for the stems and a free-hand cut vase out of scrapbooking paper and voila!

The message she asked me to write on the inside of her card just read "I'm sending you a hug." Fitting since her goal was to make the person feel better.

Joakim, Age 4

Joakim wanted to send presents, so I cut a few squares out of the papers he chose then let him glue them on the card. I must admit I was proud of his color choices and positioning. He picked the ribbon and I made bows for him to attach. 


The inside of his card had a joke. A joke that makes no sense. Which is his trademark. And those of us who adore him think it's pretty freaking hilarious. So, indulge me. 


Our loved one once made a joke at a restaurant that he never forgot. Today he asked me, "remember when [name] said nobody was there and then didn't say anything?" 

background: 

"Knock, Knock" 

"Who's there?"

"Nobody."

 "Nobody who?"

silence

He remembered sharing laughs with this person and wanted to send a few more their way. So here's what the inside of his card looked like:

I love that fun kid.


My niece designed a card with a bouquet of balloons. She picked out her favorite papers and punched 1" circles out of them for the balloons. Then, using skinny strips of paper scraps, she made the strings. The inside of her card had the verse from John 3:16 written out in her handwriting. Hopefully, that knowledge will indeed empower them to make better choices. 

Tyara, Age 9

What a fun craft to do with the kiddos! My favorite part was that it was free! I already owned every single supply we used. It was rewarding to finally put scraps of scrap booking paper from my daughter's party last summer to use. "See Honey, I do have a purpose for saving them..." LOL! 


Thanks for reading!
xo,
Debra

The face of Autism - Becoming informed

While going through my Masters Program at the University of Florida for Special Education, I learned some valuable lessons about how to treat people with disabilities.

One message that stuck with me was to not define a person by their condition. You should never refer to a person as "an autistic child." Instead, say "a child with autism."

"People before the condition," is what I learned and what I hope to leave with you today.

My niece is a brilliant, beautiful girl, full of joy and energy. She has suffered mild to severe seizures since birth. It's been a few years since her last severe seizure, but doctors believe she continues to have silent ones.

The seizures left her with delays in cognition, coordination, and most of her motor skills. She was formally diagnosed with autism two years ago.

The most heartbreaking piece to our puzzle is not the challenges she faces; she is determined to succeed. It's not the added responsibility to her single mom; my sister is the most hardworking person I know!

The hardest part is dealing with people who don't understand; seeing adults ignore her because they've given up on her, and watching kids exclude her because she is different.

As her family, we can chalk it up to ignorance when we hear people judge her or her mom, but as a nine-year-old girl, sensitive about her self-image, it is beyond damaging.

That's why autism awareness is so important. Education is the key! An informed public can make a difference. I invite you to get to know a family with a child who has autism. Your life will be better by it.

I recently saw this quote in Pinterest and couldn't have said it better myself.

Make a difference! Be informed.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo,

Debra

Hip Hop Birthday! (Take two)

1....2....1-2-3-4!!!!!

On November 22nd, my little "Man-boy," as he now refers to himself, turned 4.

Based on his personality, I had two definite directions to take for his birthday: books or music because if you ever lose him, you'll find him either engrossed in a chapter book or dancing in front of a mirror.

Last year his theme was the cartoon Super Why? and revolved ar

ound the alphabet and primary colors. This year, I went in the other direction and decided to throw a hip hop themed party. I initially thought of doing a rockstar or music party, but a hip hop theme seemed more like him.

The main elelements of the event were boom boxes, vinyl LPs, and cassettes. Hope you enjoy the concept as much as we enjoyed our time there.

Decor Details:

Can I be totally honest with you? I will, because this IS my blog and I AM naturally a totally honest person...this party did not turn out as pretty as I envisioned. Definitely more fun than pretty, and for that, I can't complain. After all, little Man-boy wanted it to be "cool not cute." Thank God for my amazing arsenal of vendors whose beautiful goodies made up where I fell short.

There were many things that went on the last few days to take my attention away from the final details and many things that did not work out according to plan on the day of. It made me sad for about a minute, before I shook it off in the name of enjoying the moment. Now, looking back at the pictures, I feel al ittle disappointed again but, remembering how much fun my little man had, makes it all ok. (let the record show though, that I'm already working on his 5th - I refuse to be caught off guard again!!)

Although it wasn't all I had hoped for, there were a few decor elements I loved. The night before the party, my father in law brought us boxes full of LPs, strobe lights, and an antique turntable that had been in the family for years. I used the turntable to display the cupcakes. My husband made a wall using the vinyl LPs to suspend over the dessert table. Piggy Bank Parties designed a gorgeous banner from their "Glow in the Dark" collection to coordinate with my son's color scheme! As for the main table, We made a garland from spray-painted cassettes and placed it beside a giant number 4 I made and covered with metallic silver paint as well.

Actitivites:

As the guests arrived at the little shop, they played on the indoor slide and tree house. When all the guests were ready, the first thing they did was get their hip hop gear on. Each little guest received star glasses, a personalized VIP tag, a metal studded cuff bracelet, and a hat. For the first group activity, the kids decorated their own hats. As they finished their designs, they got to scribble "graffitti" on the plexi wall.

After all the kids had their hip hop star gear on, the group went outside to watch some live performances on the lawn by singer Kelsi Maria and the OneWay Hip Hop Dance team. The Birthday Boy even made an appearance as guest dancer!

Once back inside, the kids got their wiggles out while playing the "Hip Hop Stop" freeze dance game. After dinner, the kids resumed the dancing at "Joa's Friends Got Talent" free style dance competition complete with a strobe light. It WAS as awesome as it sounds. Envision break-dancing 3 year olds...pure awesomeness!!!

Food:

You can't really tell from the photo but, when you walked up to the food table, the platters resembled a boom box design with speakers, a tape deck and buttons. We enjpoyed coming up with clever names for the food items printed on labels designed by the super talented Kristy from Itsy Belle.

Street Rap (assorted veggie and beef wraps)

Re-Mixed Greens (Salad)

YO!gurt (Vanilla yogurt)

Chips and Salsa

Cuban Sliders

Fruit Skewers

Sweets:

Microphone Pops from the amazing Renee at Bee's Knees Creative

Fondant Cupcake Toppers by the fabulous Lynlee of Lynlee's Petite Cakes

(cupcakes baked and iced by Daddy as is our family tradition)

Boom Box Cookies and Chocolate #4 Pops by my long-time friend Melissa from The

Sugar Loft Events

Chocolate Donuts Shaped like headphones (I tried...)

M&M Candies (Birthday Boy's favorite candy in his favorite colors)

Favors:

One of my favorite elements of the party was the favor bar. I designed little boom box favor boxes for each child personalized with their name on it. Each child got to take their box to the favor table and fill it up with their choice of: gloves, glow sticks, stickers, notebooks, pencils, lollipops, tootsie rolls, m&ms, and giant erasers. Instead of using the traditional crinkle paper, I decided to fill the bottom of the favor jars with tape from old cassettes. It was so fun watching all the little people walking around holding their mini "boom boxes!"

The Thank You cards went out in a note inside a CD case with the top songs from the party. The little guests are STILL jamming to those!

Thanks for reading!

An enormous and sincere THANK YOU to my spectacular Vendors:

Venue & Appaman B-Day Boy Top - the little shop in Tioga Town Center

Invitation & Printables - Itsy Belle

Fondant Cupcake Toppers - Lynlee's Petite Cakes

Microphone Pops - Bee's Knees Creative

Boom Box Cookies and #4 Pops - Sugar Loft Events

"Glow in the Dark" Banner - Piggy Bank Parties

Live Music - Kelsi Maria & Anthony Acevedo

Dancers - OneWay Hip Hop Team

Photography - Catherine Deason

Find us on Catch My Party to see more photos.

{Prayers Wanted} The West Family's Story

The first two things I learned upon meeting Rebecca West were she was pregnant with twins, and they were seen holding hands at their last sonogram.

From that moment, I was smitten by them!

Rebecca and her husband, Jason, already had a beautiful little girl and were looking forward to adding two more princesses to their castle.

Tragically, at just 24 weeks, Rebecca had to go in for an emergency c-section. Ellie Grace and Emmie Claire were born on January 14, 2012 weighing 15.2 oz and 1lb 2oz respectively.

Just seven days into their difficult journey, before they were even able to hold her, the West family had to say goodbye to their precious little Ellie Grace due to a severe infection.

Sweet baby Emmie

Thankfully, the West family is not alone. As part of a larger community of faithful friends and believers, The Wests are covered with prayers. Even my 4 year old recently told me his class at school prays for baby Emmie "every day, Mommy, EVERY day!"

Holding Mommy's hand

The West family is witnessing miracles every single day and is beaming with hope. I have personally been so touched seeing them, each Sunday, mustering up the strength to come to church and worship through their grief with beautiful smiles on their faces and with more love than you can imagine.

I'm in awe of how this family has resisted the understandable desire to succumb to grief and has chosen instead to be thankful and joyful in the midst of this trial.

Meeting her baby sister for the first time.

Reading to her baby sister.

All they ask is for as many faith-filled people as possible to stand with them in prayer, believing Psalm 118:17 - Emmie Claire will not die, but LIVE, to proclaim the works of the Lord!

Please take a moment to follow this miraculous family's journey at www.caringbridge.com/visit/ellieandemmiewest

If you would like to become involved, please visit www.marchforbabies.org/djasonwest to find out how you can help.