Happy Birthday Will!

Our energetic, full of laughter, baseball playing, Hardy Boy reading, animal loving son turned six on June 30th. Will played t-ball for the Tampa Bay Rays this spring, so we celebrated his birthday with a Rays theme.

He chose the often requested cheeseburger meal and a chocolate cake with Blue Bell caramel turtle fudge ice cream. (Blue Bell is a locally made ice cream we enjoy very much. We are excited to know it is now available in TN!)

He received a Better Batter Baseball and a knights and castle felt set from his grandparents. Brian and I gave him a set of Star Wars books, an I Spy book, an UT t-shirt (that would be the University of Tennessee, not Texas) and some more animals for his collection. Once again his siblings enjoyed making gifts. One sister made a secret message decoder while another made stickers for various professional and college sports teams.

(Sorry my pictures don't fit with the text. My computer has stopped cooperating. I don't know why they won't move where I want them to go. I'm giving up for now.)

Rotating Children's Toys

My friend Kimberly at Raising Olives is taking a break from Tuesday's Tips for Moms in order to spend more time on curriculum reviews and other things. I had been planning to stop anyway as we are moving this week and will then be starting our new school year in a few weeks. I do want to share one more tip. (And yes, I know it's not Tuesday!)

I have always rotated my children's toys. They never have access to everything we own at one time. When a box comes into their room that they haven't seen for awhile, everything seems fresh and new. I always enjoy toy rotation day as I get a few extra hours of quiet as my little ones enjoy exploring the boxes. I have at least 4 boxes for each age group, therefore the boxes are absent for about a month before the reappear.


I use plastic boxes/tubs from Wal-Mart to store the toys. I put infant toys in shoe box size plastic boxes. I put one in the family room and one in the pack 'n play. My toddlers get a box that is about triple the shoe box size in addition to a puzzle or two and one or two larger toys (Fisher Price Little People sets, Duplo blocks, etc.) I also rotate toys for my older children, especially big things like our doll house, train set, Playmobil, etc. I store toys under beds, in closets, in the garage and in the attic. It is one of my children's chores to rotate the toys each week. I even rotate our board and picture books every 4-5 months (or when I think about it).


I have enjoyed watching the children be creative when a certain item isn't available. For a couple of years it seemed like my oldest three girls only wanted to play with the dollhouse. They loved dividing the people up among them (we have lots of people so each girl can have a "large" family) and acting out daily events. Whenever the dollhouse was not available they would play the same thing but use blocks or Legos to make houses and represent the people. We have quite a few wooden blocks with faces drawn on them. :-)

So, my last Tuesday's Tip for Moms is to rotate your children's toys. I think it's a good way to get more enjoyment out of fewer things.

Tuesday's Tip for Moms- Family History

While doing a craft with my children last week, I began to tell them stories about doing crafts with my maternal grandmother. She loved crafts and was always trying new things. Theses stories then progressed to other memories I have of time spent with my maternal grandparents. As we talked, it occurred to me how important it is for my children to hear these stories as my grandmother is now in the final stage of Alzheimer's.

My children have never known the grandmother that I know. I want my children to see beyond the woman in the wheelchair who can no longer care for herself. I want them to know she loved to make things. She loved to watch old movies. She loved to dance.

Thinking about this reminded me of a gift I gave my paternal grandmother about 15 years ago. I created a book of memories about the Berry family. Her husband ( my grandfather) died when I was nine. I thought she would enjoy reading about the memories others had of him and their family. I wrote a letter asking family members (children, grandchildren, siblings, in-laws, etc.) to contribute stories and memories about them. I typed up everything I received and had it bound into a book.

I thought I was making a nice gift for my grandmother. I later realized I had created a wonderful family history. All of the events and many of the people mentioned in these writings are unknown to my children (and some to me ). My father wrote of hunting with his father and fishing with his grandfather. My aunts wrote about making molasses, quilting bees, sewing disasters and how their parents supported them in all they did. I treasure this volume of memories.

My paternal grandmother will be 101 on her birthday. I don't know how many more years the Lord will give her. When she is no longer with us, I'm glad my children will be able to know her, my grandfather and his side of the family through this special collection. My Tuesday's Tip For Moms is to find a way to record the stories of your family.

Tuesday’s Tip for Mom is a blog carnival hosted at Raising Olives to allow moms to share what they have learned along the path of motherhood. Join us every Tuesday as we learn and share tips and ideas for spending time with, encouraging, training or relating to our children.

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Beating the Texas Heat

We have finally discovered something we enjoy about your Texas neighborhood...the pools. A new pool opened a couple of weeks ago that makes a trip to a waterpark unnecessary. It has two large slides and a nice play structure for the younger ones. There is even a splash pad area. Most places in the pool range from 6inches to 2.5 feet. There is a deeper section where the slides empty, but it is only 5 feet. Since there is no "deep end" I don't have to worry about my older kids too much, and there is lots to occupy my non-swimmers. I also liked that there were 3 lifeguards on duty at all times. I think the pools are the one thing my kids will miss when we leave Texas.

San Antonio

We took a day trip to San Antonio last week. On the way down we picked up barbecue from Texas Pride (a place recommended on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives). We got our food "to go" and headed to Mission San Jose for a picnic.

Mission San Jose still has most of its original buildings and has retained an authentic apperance. We watched a brief film that explained why people came to the missions (there are several in San Antonio) and then toured the grounds on our own.

The church (pictured above) was the center of the mission. The walls that made up the courtyard square held over 80 individual rooms. We think each family had two rooms. They were tiny!

After visiting Mission San Jose, we went to the Alamo. Only the long barracks and the church remain of the original Alamo structure. I was glad we had already seen Mission San Jose so that we had a good idea of how a mission was structured and what the Alamo probably looked like.

Our next stop was the famous River Walk where shops and restaurants line the San Antonio River. The children thought it was pretty. Some said it was their favorite part of the day. The fact that we stopped to cool off at the Rainforest Cafe with drinks and dessert didn't hurt their opinion. :-)

Our final destination was the Japanese Tea Garden. Visiting it was a nice relaxing way to end our day.

Although it was very hot, we enjoyed our day in San Antonio. The best part...everything we did was free! We only paid for gas and food. I told Brian it was nice to know there are still things you can do that don't cost any money.

The Teenage Years Begin...

There is a teenager in my house!!! ( The exclamation points represent joy, not dread) Ashley turned 13 on June 5th. We had a wonderful celebration with our oldest daughter. We feasted on cheeseburgers, hashbrown casserole, baked beans and homemade apple pie. Brian and I gave her a necklace, piano sheet music from the Lord of the Rings and the second set of Elsie Dinesmore books. She also received gifts from her siblings and grandparents.

Ashley is a delight to Brian and me. She helps around the house and in the kitchen (often without being asked), cares for her younger siblings, does well in school and is diligent in all she does. She loves horses, reading, drawing, reading,the Lord of the Rings, reading, playing the piano and reading. Did I mention reading? I can't keep enough books in the house to satisfy her voracious appetite. Ashley's current desire is to write and illustrate her own books some day. I look forward to seeing how God uses this special young lady for His glory.