Love At Home

My amazing mom did it again!  As a gift to each of her grand babies, she writes or arranges a special lullaby just for them.  For my sweet Skylee she used the hymn Love at Home.

This song is so appropriate for my girl.  She seals the joy into the walls of our home.  Her smiling eyes, little giggles, and precious cuddles have melted all of our hearts.  She has bewitched us.  I am so, so eternally grateful for this perfect soul that has nestled into our family.

Click HERE for the sheet music and my mom's full post about the arrangement.  

Toddler Sticker Chart

Trekker recently had his third birthday.  The boy is growing into a man.  So it's about time we slam down some responsibilities.  Just kidding.  I've been wanting to make him a sticker chart for a while now and finally sat down to do it.

T's chores and rewards goes as follows:

Clean up all toys before bed for five days = piece of candy

Brush teeth without throwing a tantrum = Day at grandma's house

Potty training = Happy meal

Sleep in bed all night without climbing in to bed with Mommy and Daddy = New toy

My husband was mad at me for adding the last one.  😂  He loves it when Trex climbs in bed and cuddles us at night.  Easy to say when your side of the bed isn't the one being bombarded and you're not being pushed into the corner and sleeping in the fetal position.  Psh!  So over it.  

Download sticker chart HERE.

I'm including a blank chart as well for filling in custom chores/rewards too.  Enjoy, friends!

Download plain sticker chart HERE.

Family History Singing Time

🎶Family history!  I am doing it!  My family history🎶

This week we'll be making a singing family tree for primary.  Each ancestor can be printed on a full-page of card stock paper then pinned up on the chalkboard like on the FamilySearch website.

All the ancestors have their "favorite primary song" on their card for everyone to sing.  I thought it could be fun to hide the relatives under the kids' chairs.  When someone comes up to the front of the room with their card they can make up a funny story about their family member.

"Great-Grandma Harriet loved baking and was known for her famous holiday pumpkin rolls.  She played the Chinese fiddle, trained wild horses, and kept a secret collection of dried-out butterfly wings."

Download Family History PDF HERE.

Download PDF without favorite songs HERE.

Happy singing!!

Summer Singing Time

Summer is coming to a heartbreaking end and the school year is just around the corner.  We've had sooooooo much fun this summer, especially welcoming Little Sissy to the family.

Now that I'm trying to get back into the swing of singing time 

 and bringing a new baby to church in general

 SIDE NOTE : 

Don't wear a white skirt with a newborn because they're destined to poo all over you

... I wanted to start things out super simple.  

I was kind of going for a game similar to "Ten Fingers" to highlight all of the fun activities the kids did over the summer.  

Everyone starts out with five beach ball sticks in their hand.  I'll have the kids take turns coming up and drawing a slip of paper with a summer activity.  If someone draws "went to the beach" all of the children who went to the beach this summer lose one of their beach balls.  It's nice because if they lose the game they can't get too upset because they are winning at life !

It's easy.  It's mind numbing.  It technically doesn't have anything to do with singing, but it can keep the kids entertained between songs.  

Most of the activity ideas came from my Summer Bucket List post from last year... Here's some slips of paper that can be printed and cut out or you can totally come up with your own ideas!

After cutting out the beach balls, I just hot glued them to the back of some skewer sticks and BOOM! You've got yourself a primary activity.

Click HERE to download the PDF printable

Life as a Family of Four

World, meet Skylee, the newest member of our family.  The transition going from one child to two has been quite an adventure.  It still feels a little surreal, but it's becoming more and more natural as the days go by.  I feel a new freshness and energy for life (well, as energetic as you can be recovering from childbirth) and I am so excited for this new chapter.

Here's some happy memories of our first week and a half as a family of four!

July 9th: Let's head to the hospital and get this baby outta here!

"A hairnet?!  Really though?" - Mitchell

First picture of Mommy and Sissy

The hospital stay

I have a cool roommate....

Trekker's first time meeting Sister.  He was so shy when he first walked in the room.  But after receiving a "gift" from her with Lightning McQueen car toys, he totally approved.

For those who don't know the story behind this... This cow slept with me in bed every single night from seven years old to college.

Sweetest Daddy in the world

Summer babies are the best.  I love how they don't have to wear a billion layers to keep warm like a winter baby.

Having my mom help out this week has been AMAZING.  

To all the grandmas out there: You are seriously the best!

Love this guy

Can't get over this kid's smile!

Trekker likes to crawl into Skylee's bed with her now and play.  It just tugs at my heartstrings.

So grateful for my blessings!  I love this family so much.  Here's to more memories and adventures!

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