Fairy land quote

"There is such a place as fairyland-but only children can find their way to it. And they do not know it is fairyland until they have grown so old that they forget the way. One bitter day when they seek it and cannot find it they realize what they have lost; and that is the tragedy of life. On that day the gates of Eden are shut behind them and the age of gold is over. Henceforth they must dwell in the common light of common day. Only a few who are children at heart can ever find that fair lost path again; and blessed are they above mortals. They and only they can bring us tidings from that dear country where we once sojourned and from which we must evermore be exiles. The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and story tellers. But they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairy land." - L.M. Montgomery. The Story Girl. I first read this quote in the blog Dear Lillie. She had it inscribed on a hoodie. After I finished reading it I had some chores and so I went downstairs to the kitchen but could not get this quotation out of my mind. I felt I understood what salvation is all about when I read this quote. I feel that God intends our lives on this planet to be like a fairy tale. That is how it is even now when we are children. When we are children we wonder at the beauty of the world around us, and we dream and we believe. I remember when my kids were young and I took them to the park they would pick up acorns, rocks, flowers and wonder at them. And if I or my husband told them anything they believed. And they dreamed. They dreamed that they can fly, and jump from tall buildings and become heroes. But there is something about the world that makes us change. The world wants us to conform to its standards. The world wants us to stop appreciating and wondering at the beauty of this world God created for us. The world wants us to stop believing God and the world want us to stop dreaming. Children are believers. Then as I was doing dishes it came to me that that is what Christ wants to do. Take us to back fairy land. Give back to us what we loose when we are in exile from the land of believing and dreaming and wondering of our childhood. Did Christ not tell us that we cannot have the kingdom of God if we do not become like a child. I think, Christ wants to make us like a child in our heart. My camera has run out of batteries and that is why I am unable to post pics of the collages I made. Hope you have a great day

Tri-fold and collage (updated)

Here is the tri-fold presentaion board of Jeremiah's certificates, and press reports that featured Jeremiah for his achievements and accomplishments. I also included a letter and photograph Jeremiah received from former president George Bush, and also an autographed photo of former President Jimmy Carter. Jeremiah wrote to these two former presidents and they replied back with gracious and kind words.

The collage I made yesterday had only little kid pictures. Jeremiah said he wanted more big kid pictures. Then I got the idea that each collage can be a snapshot of his entire life and all the things he did. school, soccer, baseball, tennis, west High bros, friends, speech and debate etc. So that is why this collage is different from the other collage. I am planning to include more pics in this one and share later.

I hope you have a beautiful day!

Jeremiah's Graduation Pictures

Here is a quick look at the graduation pictures. It was a very solemn ceremony. As the senior class students walked into the arena the school band played music which was a little bit sad but also filled with hope for the future type of music. Thanks for reading!

Growing up Together Memory book pages

Here are some pages I made for an album I am making filled with pictures of both my children. Since they are only two and a half years apart in age they are very close and grew up doing many things together. From stroller rides on the double stroller, to playing with legos, doing art together sitting with paper, scissors and paint on the dining table, to piano lessons with the same teacher, to riding bikes, going on vacations and sharing a room they have a ton of shared memories.

This picture was taken in Iowa City. I think I had given them craft supplies to craft simple art projects at a table in the kitchen and after that I took a picture of them.

This picture was taken in Tallahassee, Florida. Jeremiah was always trying to hold Joshua. He totally adored his baby brother.

Picture taken in Iowa City in our old house where they shared a room.

This picture was our Christmas card in 2006. I love the short poem on Christmas I found while searching for good scrapbook page layout ideas. I found a page just like this, of two bothers and copied it exactly since I loved that page. The poem says, CHRISTMAS IS the gift of love. the warmth of caring, a time of wonder the joy of sharing. I think that is perfect and captures the true meaning of Christmas if we think about it. God's son Jesus is the gift from our heavenly Father. At Christmas time we take time to think about others and take a break from our fast paced to-do list life, connect with family and friends and that warms our hearts, and then we are struck with wonder at the magic of it all, that a part of heaven is actually a part of our life, that God's son was born in a stable and a tiny baby's cry intermingled with the moos of cows and the bleating of sheep. Outside in the clear midnight sky from a distance we can hear songs of angels announcing the birth of God's son that breaks the silence of midnight and even though we cannot fully fathom the mystery and beauty of it all we share our joy with others. Since I thought that tiny poem captured the essence of Christmas I included it in the page.

We went to Disney World in 2002. We did the 100 acre wood ride, the to infinity and beyond ride, dumbo ride, watched the parade, went to the Little mermaids cave and much much more. There is so much to do in Disney World.

iv>

Both my kids loved legos. Saturday mornings or any other free time they got my children would build things with legos. We always encouraged them as they used their creativity and imagination by taking pictures of their creations and talking in detail about what they had made.

Jeremiah always loved the outdoors. Regular trips to the park, rides on the stroller, and lots of play time on swing sets, slides and sand boxes are completely essential to him. Even when he was a tiny baby if we just bring him to the porch/patio of our house he is immediately all smiles. When Joshua came along, my mom brought us a double stroller and both of them absolutely loved going on it. The first two years of Joshua's life we lived in a place filled with trees and green grass and all of the trees dripped with moss and it was so peaceful and nice. Just perfect for long walks with two kids in the stroller.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Christmas Tree Show memory book page

When our kids were young we always made it a point to travel to interesting places near our home in Iowa City. Since my son is interested in history we took our children to a city called West Branch where there is the Herbert Hoover Presidential Museum and library. We have been there several times because they always have something that kids can enjoy every summer and winter. The first winter we went there there was an exhibition of Christmas trees. It was so gorgeous; every tree was amazingly beautiful. Here is a picture of our children in front of a tree decorated completely with teddy bears.

I was not able to take good pictures of this page I made. Since it was a Christmas tree show I cut our christmas tree shapes with different colored paper. I also cut out snowflake shapes and stuck it on the paper since in Iowa it always snows in the winter. Shall try to take better pics soon and post. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Three memory book pages

I am just quickly popping in to share the three pages I made between yesterday and today. All these pictures are from when our family was in Tallahassee Florida. Jeremiah has always been a very loving and protective older brother to Joshua.

I hope you have a great day!