the BIG 7!

the tootsie pop spiders



my oldest turned 7 this weekend. crazy. my husband and i recounted to him the story of his birth...a pretty quick story, actually, but one that he loved to hear. especially in light of the fact that he has a(nother) little brother coming into the world in 20 weeks, give or take.

he requested a "spider" themed party. we haven't ever given him a party before, except those that involve family. this was indeed new territory for me, and was a tad bit frightening!!

i waited too long to place my order from oriental trading company for all things buggy. silly me. i thought i would be able to find spiders and such at the local hobby lobby, but it was full of christmas stuff, not spooky, creepy crawly things :)

note to self: start encouraging alternate themes for birthday celebrations early on!

anyway!

we had 8 children total, 7 boys and one girl! bless her heart! she jumped right into the creepy crawly stuff!!

we started the time doing bug sun catchers. the paint tubes were a big plus so we wouldn't have to deal with paintbrushes.



then we read a really gross bug book, which the boys all laughed hysterically at and the moms all wrinkled their noses at. (sorry, moms! he asked for it, how could i say no?)

BUGS! by David T Greenberg, scholastic inc.



then we made I Spy bug bottles using small empty G2 bottles, plastic bugs from OTC, and rice.

we had our green spider cake with licorice legs and then spent a LOT of time outdoors running off the sugar!



i think, all in all, it went off pretty well for my first attempt! no one was injured (that i know of) and very few tears were shed. except by me, of course, as i always cry on my babies birthdays! how dare they get any older???

too soon...

is it really almost the end of the year?

did my oldest really just turn 7?

am i really going to have a 4th baby?

am i really that far behind on my homeschooling ideas?

am i really up for a 12+hour drive to northern california with 3 kids?

have i really been married for 10 years?

life is just passing me by way too quickly. i haven't done nearly enough with my children.

i haven't spent the time with them that they need or deserve.

i haven't spent the time with JESUS that He deserves.

what the heck do i do with my day? my months? my years?

will next year be different?

or will i be lamenting the fact that i haven't spent enough time with my Jesus, my husband, my children, my friends?

Abba Father, please help me to be more aware of time with You. please surround me with accountability so that i do not waste what precious time i have serving You. please enable me to be more of a helpmate to my wonderful husband and have more of a servant's heart for him. please enable me to be a better mother and help me raise my children to love you with all of their hearts, souls and minds. please forgive me for my apathy, my laziness, my lack of faith in You to provide what we need always.