An Ode to Daisy May

"I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren't certain we knew better." - George Bird Evans

"Some days you're the dog, some days you're the hydrant." - Unknown

"A dog will quickly turn you into a fool, but who cares? Better your dog than your boss. I'm a fool for my dog and proud of it."

"No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich." - Louis Sabin

Q: What happens when a dog eats onions?A: His bark is worse than his bite.

'Tis sweet to hear the watch dog's honest bark Bay deep-mouthed welcome as we draw near home; 'tis sweet to know there is an eye will mark Our coming and look brighter when we come. Lord Byron

Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog;but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog. Douglas Mallock

I talk to him when I'm lonesome like;And I'm sure he understands.When he looks at me so attentively,And gently licks my hands;Then he rubs his nose on my tailored clothes,But I never say naught thereat.For the good Lord knows I can buy more clothes,But never a friend like that. W. Dayton Wedgefarth

We love you, Daisy May!

A Girl After My Own Heart

I couldn't believe it when I caught Galina reading on the sofa the other day. Apparently she was reading to her baby. Here she's making sure the baby sees the picture.

Amazing how much our children copy us. Makes me wonder what other behaviors she's copying (of mine?!?) that drive me nuts. Hmm.... I 'd better watch it!

Strawberry

I used 2 kids to make this craft because I trusted one with paint more than the other. Here's Treyton painting on a grocery bag. After it dried, I cut out a strawberry shape from the painted grocery bag and a stem from green paper.

Then Little Miss Sunshine got to glue the stem to the berry.

Not bad, if I don't say so myself.

Next I gave her some black beans to glue onto the berry for the seeds.

She needed a little help at times but did pretty good....when she wasn't eating the glue.

Little fingers are so adorable....I can't stand it!

Thank goodness Elmer's dries clear. Here's the finished project!

God Blew Us A Kiss

Here was an early valentine I gave Bryce this week.

And here's how we celebrated. I think I ate about half this cake since Wed.

PRAISE THE LORD! So many people have been praying for us and supporting us through this process (which we started when Galina was born). I want to thank everyone who has been with us through this rollercoaster ride. It's really early but we have hopes that this baby will grow and be strong. Our first appointment is next week but my HCG levels and Progesterone levels look great. I'm so excited I can hardly contain my joy! Thank you Lord for this precious gift!

Valentine Suncatcher

Treyton was singing away. He inherited my singing skills, so to combat them I decided to help him make a suncatcher. We took some black paper, folded it in half, and cut out a heart.Just like you learn in 2nd grade.

Then I cut another heart to make the middle open.

He's still singing.

Next we taped wax paper to the back of the heart outline.

The singing slowed down.

And finally stopped! My trick worked.

Then we slathered glue on the wax paper.

And Treyton added the tissue paper.

Now a hint to the wise. I think it would be better to tape the black heart frame onto the wax paper after the kid adds the tissue paper. Otherwise you will encounter this mess.

But since the wax paper was just taped on part of the back, it was easy for me to tuck the tissue paper behind the heart frame.

Here Treyton is relishing in his production.

Let the light shine!

Milk Tops

Treyton's preschool teacher mentioned that Treyton's been having trouble spelling his name. His last name...no prob. It's only 3 letters. But his first name, not so much. So I decided to help him through the use of milk tops. I've been collecting the tops of milk for the past month or two. For no reason really. I just thought someday I'd use them for a craft or something. Then it dawned on me! I could use them to become a sort of name puzzle.

Ironically, I had exactly 7 tops. Two were pink. Humph. Treyton has 7 letters in his name and 2 are vowels. I guess the teacher in me never died.

I began by having him try it on his own to no avail.

So then I just said the letters and he placed them in order. We're also singing "Camptown Races" using the spelling of his name as the lyrics. I think he'll get it soon.

Cute little booger, isn't he? Even if he can't spell his name!

Valentine Wreath

It's upon us. Valentine's Day is this week, and we haven't done anything to celebrate....yet. So I decided to grab my 3 1/2 yr old and get to work. First I cut out a bunch of hearts. Then I got a paper plate.

Next I cut out the middle of the plate.

Then I just added some glue.

Now the fun part...putting on the hearts!

I soon discovered that a styrofoam plate and Elmer's glue don't work so well. So I shifted to my favorite tacky glue. It did the trick. It always does, actually. I love that glue!

I was going to have Galina do this craft too as it is totally in her range of abilities, but she was having so much fun running around, yelling into a cup, that I just didn't disturb her.

Nice hair, Galina. What? Did you stick your finger in a light socket again?

And there's the finished project.

It took under 10 minutes start to finish and adds a little festivity to the house.

Happy Valentine's Day!