We Interrupt This Crafty Blog For...

LIFE!

It's been one of those full weeks, with plenty of "best" and a few "worst" moments wrapped up into its days.

The view from outside the Bayside Lodge, where we stay during the family retreat.

We started our week in Harvey Cedars, New Jersey, with our church family, finishing up our weekend retreat at the Harvey Cedars Bible Conference.  My husband and I have gone most every year since 2005, though not the year my younger daughter was born, since her due date was at the same time.

An unfortunate reminder of Hurricane Sandy's destruction--the little pier outside our lodge was destroyed.

This year was the first time that the girls were old enough to join in the general fun, racing around the lodge with a few other girls almost exactly their same age and size.  What a sight to see them all tearing around together and calling themselves a "Girls' Club"! 

Here are some of the girls dressed up as sheep for our skit of the Parable of the Lost Sheep.  We won't mention the fact that our "costumes" make them look a bit more like little pigs!  It was a low-budget affair!

I had plenty of "Grown Up Time" with my church friends, playing box games like Apples to Apples and Taboo.  Something about playing these games at 10:30 at night sent us into huge outbursts of laughter, and I loved it! 

That's me in the foreground of the photo, looking studious as I wait for one of sessions to begin.

I also enjoyed watching our youth group (and a couple of crazy adults) doing the Polar Bear Plunge on Saturday morning, enjoying five meals that I neither prepared nor cleaned up after, and working with the children to create heart-shaped "stained glass window" crafts to remind us of God's love during this Valentine season. 

We came home on Sunday afternoon, and used Monday for catching up on laundry and getting back into our usual routines.

On Tuesday, I registered my older daughter for kindergarten in the fall--what a milestone!

My younger daughter turned four on Wednesday, so I visited her preschool classroom to read a book to the class and listen to everyone sing her "Happy Birthday."  Later in the afternoon, we had children in our Moms' group over for a cupcake-decorating playdate.

Later in the afternoon brought gift-opening time!

Wednesday night, either because of too many cupcakes or a nasty virus, my older daughter spent the evening throwing up, and eventually all four of us ended up spending the night all together in a queen-sized bed.  It would have been endearing if it hadn't been so darn uncomfortable to be squashed together like that!

Thursday brought Bayla's four-year well-visit at the pediatricians's office.  We have to address some ongoing digestive issues with her that will be familiar to those of you who have gone through motherhood, but I'll spare you the details.  I decided that with all of the authority I wield in this household, it is ridiculous that I continue to make the eating of vegetables and other healthy food choices "optional" for my girls.  I came home from the grocery store with the announcement that we are a now a family who eats vegetables and other healthy foods!  I made a whole-grain pasta primavera for dinner that Bayla ended up loving, and Katy ended up crying over.  I told Michael that I was happy enough with a 50 percent success rate for now!

Tomorrow evening I am going to a Craft Night at the house of a woman in my Bible Study Circle at church; I've never done something like that, and will give you a full report!  Then Saturday we are having my daughter's entire preschool class over for a birthday party.  (I am now heartily wishing that I had called the cupcake-decorating playdate her birthday party, and left it at that, but it's too late for that now!)

So life has been abundantly full, and not necessarily with art-making and craft projects.  I DO have two spreads in my Round Robin Art Journal to show you, and some more fabulous mail art to share with you, but that will have to await a few moments of calm for my next post!