Resurrection Cookies - Smith House 2010

I've made resurrection cookies 2 years ago with my daughter, but this year I decided to be brave and do so with all three kids.  We made it through and they actually all paid attention quite well and really were excited about it.  I must say I was a bit surprised when I asked what happened to Jesus before He was resurrected and my three year old popped up first to say "He died!"  Now the same dear boy almost had his fingers taken off when he decided to sneak a taste from the bowl while the mixer was in it on high speed, but over all it was great.

Boys watching as I spoon out the "tombs"
(Photographer: Tyler)

One finished sheet of our resurrection cookies. 
Ready to be sealed into the oven.

While dishing the mixture onto the cookie sheet to make the mounds representing the tomb Jesus was buried in my daughter informed us the biggest cookie was going to be for her.  I replied by asking her if that is what Easter is all about. 

Austin pops up with "I want the smallest one!"

I smile and said, "I guess Austin gets the whole the last will be first concept."  I was actually kind of proud of him until...

"Yep, the last will be first, which is me!  And that means the first will be last, that's you!" he actually cackled after saying this while pointing to Tyler.

But I still think they got the idea of the whole thing and really enjoyed it.  I can't wait to see the expressions on their faces in the morning when they open the "tomb" they sealed tonight.

Putting the two sheets in the oven - to be left overnight.

The kids "sealing" the oven with tape until morning.

Risk Taking according to Ang

Yesterday was a day full of risks for me.  Please don't judge me as being too pathetic.

• Lunch at a non-drive-thru restaurant with the family:  Yesterday was Opening Day for Pony Baseball.  Our middle child is playing t-ball this year so we all piled into the Tahoe and headed over to the ball park in the morning for the Opening Day parade and Austin's first game.  After over 2 hours at a crazy ball park packed full of people we all piled back into the Tahoe and decided to have a sit down lunch at IHOP.  Now this may not seem like a big deal but for our family, it is.  Since the boys were born we have rarely done this.  When we eat out we either go through the drive-thru or choose take out.  The kids actually did pretty well.  I think it may have had something to do with the fact that they were giving out pictures of Sponge Bob Square Pants for the kids to color.  Austin will be the first to tell you that they are not allowed to watch this so I think they thought it was pretty cool to get to color a picture of him.  After the game we went home and laid the boys down. They both swore they were not tired, but I convinced them to lay in our bed to "rest" while watching a few cartoons. It was not long after this I walked in and was greeted to this picture.
  
  
  

• Driving on E:  After the game myself and three of my girlfriends had plans to go out and watch a movie and have some dinner.  I rarely go out and do this.  In fact, the last time I remember going out for dinner and a movie with a girlfriend was when I switched jobs three years ago!  On my way to pick up one of them I realized my gas gauge was very near E.  Growing up I had it put in my head that if you ever got down to half a tank it is time to gas up.  I've grown out of that mentality now, probably not a good thing, but I have.  Yesterday I was running a bit later than I wanted to so I decided to go for it.  The good news is I made it home last night and this morning the car started no problem and I made it to a gas station.

• No Fandango:  I don't go to the movies very often anymore.  I have a couple girlfriends from work who "kidnap" me from work for my birthday each year.   But other than that the only movies I see are 2 or 3 times a year with my daughter.  I always order my tickets ahead of time on Fandango and print them.  I don't want to take a chance that the movie is sold out or that I have to stand in a long line and get a bad seat or worse - I might miss the previews!  But my printer is dead right now.  We can make copies with it but no luck printing anything from our computers.  So I decided to risk it.  We got to the theater less than 30 mins before the movie started.  I got my tickets and we even made a quick trip to the snack bar for soda and popcorn.  AND I did not miss any of the previews!

• Sushi:  I make many people cringe because of how raw I like to eat my red meat - but I am NOT a sushi person.  When I worked in internal audit and traveled the group I worked with were sushi fanatics and they always drug me along with them.  I got pretty good at finding other things on the menu that I liked.  I was brave once and they fed me some sushi.  It was eel and was disgusting.  Afterwards they admited that the eel had smelled "a little funny".  Nice to know after!  But last night my friends talked me into giving sushi another try.  It's been almost 10 years, maybe my tastes will have changed.  I did order some seared tuna just in case as a fall back (red tuna of course!).  But I must say - I loved what they had me try.  I think I just might have to give sushi another try.

So - all in all - yesterday was a day of risks for me.   But it was a wonderful day full of people who are very special to me.  I really need to do this stuff more often.

My Birthday

Yesterday was my 34th birthday and it was wonderful. My kids most of all made the day amazing.

The day started off with me getting ready for work. My hubby and the kids were staying home for the day so I got up quietly and got ready to go. I was actually almost out the door without anyone waking up when my 4 year old came stumbling out of his room. He asked me where I was going and I told him I was heading to work. At this he started sobbing, "But its your BIRTHDAY, Mommy!!!" My hubby spoke up at that moment though and asked him if he wanted breakfast. Immediately the tears dried up, a smile lit his face and I was forgotten. He is only 4 and his stomach already rules that boy!

Work was pretty quiet as I had expected. I did not mind being there though as I'm working on documenting processes for the new hire that is starting next Monday so I can move on to a new and better position myself. At lunch I had two co-workers "kidnap" me and take me to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch and then to a movie.

After this I went home and was greeted by my little angels. My youngest who usually greets me with a loud "Mommmmmyyyyy, Mommmyyyy!" and a hug, saw me come in through the garage. He immediately ran away from me yelling "Mommmyyyyy!" while pointing behind him. Obviously my 2 1/2 year old was the "lookout".

Then my 4 year old jumped out and yelled "Surprise!!!"

They had gone out during the day and picked out frosting, cake mix and ice cream. My daughter then made me her very first cake. My hubby said all he did was get out the ingredients and measuring cups for her. She did the rest. Then each of them signed their names in frosting on the cake. Even my youngest (if you look really hard you can make out the yellow frosting squiggles in the middle of the cake).

They had 34 candles on it so the first ones had melted quite a bit and were dripping wax by the time the last were lit. After they sang "Happy Birthday" and more wax had melted onto the cake, I had all three kids help me blow out the candles. It is a good thing there was not a smoke detector right above the kitchen table. It would have gone off for sure!

All in all, it was not a birthday with tons of material gifts, however, it was filled with the best gifts of all. Lots of love and joy. My friends and family made me feel like a Queen for the Day and made it one of the best birthdays I've ever had!

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mother's birthday - so Happy Birthday Mom! from all of us down here in NCal. We are all sorry we can't be up there to give you hugs and kisses so I'm sending them to you virtually.

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking
Author Unknown

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator,
and I wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you feed a stray cat,
and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I heard you make my favorite cake for me,
and I knew that little things are special things.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I heard you say a prayer,
and I believed there is a God I could always talk to.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I felt you kiss me goodnight,
and I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw tears come from your eyes,
and I learned that sometimes things hurt,
but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw that you cared
and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked. . .
and wanted to say thanks for all the things I saw
when you thought I wasn't looking.

Happy Birthday Mom - We all Love you!!!!!

Happy Birthday!

Today my middle precious baby is turning 4! I've realized that I've been thinking of him as 4 for quite awhile now. Maybe it is because of how much he talks and some of the stuff he comes up with. I would not be surprised if he ends up on a stage entertaining people some day. His goal in life is to make others laugh.

Everytime I said "Happy Birthday" to him today he would respond with "Happy Birthday!!". He had been so excited for this day to come. Shaun has been marking off the days on the calendar since the beginning of the month. He's told me many times today that he has had a "very wonderful and fun birthday!"

I took him to get his very first Webkinz today because his sister has quite a few and he wanted one of his own. He picked out a snake which he decided to name "Snake". We got online today and adopted his Snake and his sister sent him a Webkinz mail already with a package for his birthday. He loved that!

One the way to church tonight he took his sister's little bible that she received when she was dedicated. He wanted to read to us so he opened it to the front and started "reading":

"First God made the world, and he made all the animals, and he made the plants grow. Then he put a rock over there and then he made the dirt and some streams. He put the sky up there and made the grass grow. He made everything and then he made ME! Happy Birthday!!!"

So Happy Birthday my dear boy. You have definitely brightened our life!

Our Day in the Snow

Today we took the kids up to the snow. We had a really nice time, but unfortunately were not able to stay for all that long. Tyler loved the sledding, but at one point her face hit the ground and she got scratched up a bit and bit her lip. She cried like the world was coming to an end, actually she wailed! But after less than a minute she was back on the sled again.

We ended up ending the day early though because the boys just were not doing well in the cold. We had gloves for Jesse but he would not leave them on so his little hands were red by the time we left. Austin was a bit fussy, but that is pretty much normal for him. The snow was pretty deep, but it has not snowed recently so the snow was all really hard.

I think we'll try to go up again soon, but probably just take Tyler. That way we can can spend some time with Tyler and not have to cut the day short because the boys are cold and tired.

Here are some pictures of Tyler after her incident. The first is while we were still there. The second is after we got her home and cleaned her up a bit. She is a tough little girl ~ instead of getting upset and not sledding anymore, she gets mad and determined to do it again. Kinda scares mom at times! She definitely has her daddy in her!

Our 1st Gingerbread House

I've always wanted to make a gingerbread house and this year Tyler kept asking about it. So when I went to Michaels this week to get some other items, I decided to pick up one of those gingerbread house in a box kits. Tyler and I worked on it one day. It does not quite look like the examples on the box, but we had lots of fun and added a few touches of our own with left over Halloween candy.

Here is the result.

Current California Legislation

California currently has legislation pending which could be very detrimental to our children's education. As Christian's we need to make a stand for our beliefs and if we are passive and don't let our voice be heard, we have only ourselves to blame.

Therefore, in order to ensure my voice is heard I have done my part to let our Governor know where I stand. If these bills are not vetoed by him by Oct. 14th my understanding is they will become law without his signature.

My daughter is currently in a Christian private school so I have a bit more control over what she is taught and to ensure the "values" she is taught are in line with what I'm teaching her at home. However, the reality is, I have three children and I don't know that I can afford to have all three in private school once my boys get older. And the reality also it that these bills will affect more than our schools in the end if they are passed.

If you live in California and want to learn more about these bills please visit Save California - Campaign for Children & Families. I have also added a link to this site to both of my blogs for future reference.

Here is a video that is referenced on the site as well regarding how similar things are affecting other schools across our nation It's Elementary - Talking about Gay issues in School

Birthdays & Trips back home!

This last weekend was quite eventful. To begin with, it was my first time off since the Monday prior to Labor Day. That was something to celebrate all on its own! Quarter end was over! Yeah!
I took Friday off so I could get ready for Austin’s birthday. He turned three on Friday. It was kind of weird because for some weird reason, I’ve been thinking of him as being three for a few months now. But if you ask him, he’ll tell you he is eight!

I bought him a cupcake cake, like I had Tyler. They are not as expensive, they are really cute and you don’t have to worry about finding a knife to cut the cake with.

A few people started arriving and Austin asked if it was time for cake. I told him no, we needed to wait for a few more people to get there first. A few minutes later he comes walking in the front living room with a cupcake in hand. I went into the kitchen wondering how many of the cupcakes he had grabbed and what the cake looked like now. What I found was the entire cake upside down on the ground! Luckily, the lid had stayed shut and the cake landed on it (I had just cleaned the floor that day though!).

I had Shaun help me pick up the box and we just set it on the table as it was, placed the candle on it and sang Happy Birthday to him. He loved it! The cupcakes were a bit messier to serve than I had originally planned, but they still tasted great and everyone was happy.

In the end it was a memorable night and we had lots of people we love show up to help us celebrate the night.

Then on Saturday, my aunt and I flew up to Washington state for my mother’s 50th surprise birthday party. Dad took her to play golf that day and when she came home she was surprised by over 40 people in her house. Somehow, we were all able to keep it a secret for 2 months and she had no idea! She was even more surprised to see my aunt and I. Then she was bouncing up and down like Austin the night before when she saw the new set of golf clubs we had all bought for her!

The next day she had already been committed to a golf tournament to raise money for breast cancer. So the four of us (mom, dad, my aunt and I) played in the tournament. It was best ball, which was good since it was only the third time I had ever played. We did use my ball some though. I found out my short game is not bad! We all had a lot of fun. We walked the entire 18 holes which was really good exercise and it started to rain on the last 6 holes. That was kind of nice because I do get homesick when it does not rain very often and it has been really hot and sunny (until yesterday) here in Northern California.

So all in all, it was a great weekend, if not exactly restful!

What's New?

I'm in the middle of quarter end right now, so very busy and lots of hours at work, but I really miss writing and decided to take some time out to update anyone who is still visiting my blogs on what is going on with me.

Shaun is now officially a stay at home dad. He is still doing his Harley work, but things are a bit slow now. And he is able to do that in the evening and weekends when I'm home (except this weekend when I'm working). We hated taking the boys out of daycare because she is like part of the family for us, but we are still involved with one another and the boys are getting much more "daddy time" now. Shaun will be sharing carpool duties with our now ex-daycare provider for Tyler and her grandsons.

Tyler starts school in two days! She will be going full days now. I can't believe my baby is going to be in 1st grade! We went to meet her teacher on Thursday and I kind of wish I could go with her. She got to choose her desk and chose a seat in the front row. She absolutely loves school. She is also very excited because we had to buy her a Bible for school. She already has a couple at home but this one is for her to use at school. They will be spending 20 minutes everyday in school reading and some of that will be the Bible.

Austin is on his way to being potty trained. YEAH!!! He still does not have the poop thing figured out and he still has his accidents, but he is spending a large part of the day in "underwears" now as he call them. Shaun's mom was here last week for a few days and I think she was a big help in getting him excited about using the potty.

Jesse is walking, or I should say running, all over the house now. Once he finally started, he caught on really fast. At first he looked a lot like Frankenstein walking around the house but that stiffness is disappearing fast. He wants to run everywhere now, but doesn't have his balance down real great yet. Now instead of Frankenstein, he just looks tipsy.

That pretty much sums up the major events in our life right now. I hope all is well with you and your families!

Happy Father's Day

Belated Photo Friday

Here are the pictures I promised from last week when our scanner and printer were not hooked up due to new carpet and painting. It is hard to believe my little baby is six years old now. She was so excited to have her kindergarten graduation on her birthday that she did not care that her party was pushed out a week.

I really do have a good excuse for being late this time! Last night was our "Royal Princess Only Birthday Slumber Party". I picked up all the girls by 3PM for the festivities to begin. Five girls ages 4 - 6 (includes the Birthday Princess). The activities for the night included:

* Swimming (twice - it's official Shaun is more fun in the pool than me!)

* Dinner - hot dogs!

* Cake - See picture below

* Presents

* Painting Princess picture frames

* Making beaded watches

* Watching Gigi - God's Little Princess

* Playing Disney Princess Monopoly (makes me want to get out our Monopoly game and challenge the hubby again, it's been a long time!)




Unfortunately the night (or I should say early morning) ended with us having to send everyone home because both Jesse and Tyler started throwing up. Since they did not eat the same thing, I'm thinking it was just a stomach flu thing. They are both fine now. Just really bad timing. But I think everyone had lots of fun though.

I'm also including one of my favorite photos from the night. The girls playing Disney Princess Monopoly with Shaun being the banker.

I'm back!

I know I missed photo Friday last week, but the good news is that year end is over now. Still some clean up and other stuff to do, but the worst is over! So I'll try to make up for it this week.

I spent this last weekend taking kids to two birthday parties, going to a t-ball closing day ceremony, moving furniture (we are getting some new carpet) and painting. Not exactly relaxing, but it was nice to be with my family.

I was also planning a birthday party. To be specific I was working on a "Royal Birthday Princess Only Slumber Party" for Princess Tyler. It should be fun. Tyler and four other little girls over for the night. I'm wondering how many will make it through the entire night. I'm guessing only one of them.

I would be including pictures of Tyler as a newborn and one of her kindergarten graduation if it was not for the fact that my main home computer and our scanner are not hooked up right now (I'm on my laptop). We were supposed to have our carpet laid today, but they called to reschedule because the installer was sick this morning (hmm, sick on a Monday morning?!). So we still have not hooked our computer up yet. I'll post these for all of you later.

Last Thursday (June 7th) was my Princess' 6th birthday AND her kindergarten graduation. She was so excited! To be honest, I've always thought kindergarten graduation was stupid, but it is amazing how your opinion changes when it is your child. It was so cute to see about 60 kids in caps and gowns walking up onto the stage and accepting their "diplomas". At one point the teachers had each child come up and say what they learned during the year (a lot more than I did in kindergarten, that is for sure!) Tyler was probably the 6th child to get up there. Others were saying they had learned their letters, to read, etc. My daughter walks up shyly, looks at everyone one and quietly says

"I learned to love Jesus."

Everyone is the audience did a collective "ahhh!". I was in the back of the room trying to keep Jesse quiet and almost started crying. I was so proud of her. But then my brain started working as always and I started thinking - Are people going to think I don't teach her to love Jesus? That's my overactive brain for you!

A couple days before she had tried on her cap and gown at home.

Tyler : "Look, mommy. I'm 18!"

Me: "Why do you say that?"

Tyler: "Because teenagers wear these. That means when I wear it, I'm 18!"

Mom's having problems just accepting that she's going to be in school for a full day starting next fall. I'm not ready for her to be 18 yet!

Photo Friday - 33 Years

This week for photo Friday I am sharing a photo of my parents. As of the day of this post (Thursday, May 31, 2007) they have been married 33 years. This is a photo of a frame they received for their 25th anniversary. They had not had a big wedding the first time around so they renewed their vows and went on the honeymoon they never had before.

They are going out for dinner tonight and if she is able mom was going to get a picture taken of them. Until then enjoy these two of them on their wedding day and then 25 years later. (BTW - Mom is wearing my wedding dress at their 25th anniversary!)

My Memories Wall

I actually bought this expression before I signed up to start selling Uppercase Living, but I just put it up right before I left for my trip to Washington. Shaun helped me get the pictures up and to make sure the bottom was all straight. I have to say, it actually turned out even better than I expected! The picture is a little fuzzy, but you can still see how it looks.

* * * Update:

If anyone is interested you can get this expression and many others through me. You can not order these online, but you can view the catalog online and/or play with the custom tool if you want a custom expression. Just go to http://www.uppercaseliving.com and login. You'll need my ID and token to set up a login, then you can view the entire catalog online.

ID: 308964

Token: smith

A Blast from the Past

Last night Shaun and I were going through some old pictures and I came across this one from our wedding day. I can't believe in August it will have been 12 years! Amazing how the time flies by.

New Blog - My Life

I have decided to divide my current blog Ang4him into three different blogs. This is one of those blogs.

Ang4him - A Moment in My Life is where I will share about the funny (and sometimes not so funny) moments in my life. This means you'll get to see lots of pictures on here of my family (especially my kids, since my hubby is a bit camera shy, as am I). You'll also read alot about little things my kids do, which should be entertaining since they are all under 6 years.

Here is a little bio about my family:

Shaun - my wonderful hubby of almost 12 years (August). We met in high school and started dating our Senior year. I fall more in love with him every day. Especially when I see him with our kids. He is a great husband and an even better father!

Tyler - our only daughter. She will be 6 in June and is in kindergarten this year. Since she is the oldest and the only girl, she tends to be a bit bossy towards her little brothers sometimes. She is a daddy's princess and is turning out to be our little athlete. She played soccer last summer, is playing t-ball right now and the neighbors are teaching her hockey (street hockey to be exact!) She is actually amazingly good at them all!

Austin - Although the middle child, he will never be the one who is ignored as is often the stereotype for middle children. He is our comedian. He will do anything to make you laugh, even if he knows he'll get in trouble for it. And I have to say he is adorable with that big ole dimple! He loves to terrorize his sister, but can be very cuddly and lovable too! He is 2 1/2 right now, oh what a fun age!

Jesse - This is our surprise baby. He is very active and alert. He is constantly watching his big brother and sister and I think he will learn alot from them. He is my good baby for the most part, however he does have a temper if he decides you've not done what he wants! He will be a year old the beginning of May.

In addition to this page, I will be keeping my original blog Ang4him. This will be the place I will continue to share what the Lord is teaching me in my walk with Him and in my studies. I am also starting a blog called Ang4him Reviews which is where I will review anything that I find worth sharing. This will be books, movies, websites, blogs and anything else I come across that I like!