Lorraine D. Hebler

The Kiddos

By Lorraine

 Cambrie loving Chloe
 Cambrie Keri & Chloe
 Keri ~ motherly and girly
 Cambrie ~ tiny and independent (capable of holding her own as one of six siblings)
 Also… soft and pixie-ish  (loud and clear when defending herself)
 Silas ~ sweet and connected
Ella (like a grandchild) Very girly, bright, capable
Keri ~ thoughtful artistic and creative
Noah ~ strong, athletic and organized 
Caleb John ~ full of fun quirky character.  Wish you could hear the sweet musical way he talks.  It would warm your heart.
 Keri and Chloe

Chloe Keri and wiggly Cambrie (even Gummy Bears couldn’t keep her in place for a photo)

Jared ~ self-proclaimed geek, academic neat organized even-keeled, affectionate and tender-hearted

Baby Chloe ~ tiny soft kissable snugly happy smiley

Jamie and Chloe

Family gathered together for a lovely bridal shower for my niece Toni
sisters ~ caring, thoughtful encouraging helpful fun-loving and oft times downright giddy
Carol is the mother-of-the-bride
 Ryan’s birthday gift from Aunt Erin ~ he thought this was very cool
 Ryan ~ Bright, athletic, respectful, attentive considerate
Brenna ~ quiet, athletic, thoughtful and nurturing
Shaela ~ Adorable, fun, affectionate leader and Daddy’s girl
and Ella who love spending time with the kids.
Guess who lost her first baby tooth while visiting Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop’s?

Linking to:
Happy Family Times @Crafty Moms Share

Life Overflowing

By Lorraine

The days have been so busy I’m not sure where to begin.
Recapping some of the recent happenings…

A few days after Chloe’s birth, Caleb celebrated his 4th birthday. He was most happy all day and each thing he said seemed to come out in song.
Amid everything else, we had the roof replaced. It was a bit unnerving to have the house draped in dark plastic while workers tore off the old roof making a racket for those inside, but now we have a roof that should last longer than we do.
There was an unexpected return to the hospital for Jamie but baby Chloe was allowed to be there too. I gave her her first bath on the tiny counter in the bathroom while Pop-Pop snapped a few pics with Jamie’s camera phone.
This little dear didn’t give out a peep as I jostled and ruffled her trying to keep her warm in a less than ideal space. I couldn’t refrain from kissing those soft baby cheeks.
Jamie’s hospital stay brought Jill, Brad and kids down to lend a hand and give opportunity for Cousin~time.
Some more lovin’ and a primrose and hyacinth announcing spring is on the way.
We watched Keri and Noah at Salao Soccer.
Jamie is home now and feeling much better. So good, that we all met at the playground to enjoy the warm sunshine (even thought the air was still nippy). Jill, Brad and kids will be heading back to NY in the morning.

With Family

By Lorraine

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
 Giving thanks to God for sending His Son for us

 Christmas Eve Cousin time

 The big kids

 together

 taking turns reading the Christmas Story before bed

 Christmas Morning

 Snuggle time

 Jamie Josh and their children (with one on the way)
Keri Noah Silas Caleb Cambrie

 Jill and Brad and their children, Ryan, Brenna and Shaela

 Erin and Jared ~ Me and John

 Silas Shaela Cambrie and Aunt Abbey

boys in hats & chocolate wand pretzels
Our Family

Surprise!

By Lorraine

Sitting at my computer last night, I heard children’s voices on the porch and caught a glimpse of blond hair.
It was late but I thought it was Silas and that Jamie was stopping by.
I was delightfully shocked that Jill and the kids were here!
Brad and his dad drove to North Carolina, for a basketball coaches clinic hosted by North Carolina’s coach and Duke’s Coach K. Jill and the children drove in their car to our home.
Ryan, Brenna, Shaela and Raider
Of course, we had to brew a pot of tea to have with our oatmeal breakfast, because tea with cream and sugar cubes is a tradition at Mom-Mom’s.
I loved the sweet note little Shaela left.

Fresh Flower Ice-Cream Sundae Craft Project

By Lorraine

My dear friend, Susan told me about something she made at a Flower Camp she attended with another friend. I was looking for a craft project to make with the kids for a garden themed birthday party I was planning for my granddaughter and her friends and cousins. This sweet fresh flower ice-cream sundae arrangement was a perfect craft project for little girls!


Cute, huh! And just the kind of project that turns out well for kids giving them a sense of accomplishment without being too difficult or boring. It isn’t a messy project and nothing that might stain or ruin their clothing or surroundings.

With a little prep work ahead of time, the project goes smoothly and does not take a long time to complete. I had the Oasis foam cut to size for the ice-cream shaped vases and the flowers trimmed to the right length, sitting in containers ready for “picking.”

Because the glass is clear and I didn’t want the oasis to show, I had pre-cut pieces of white plastic, cut from the bags you get when shopping. It was free and worked for what I needed. Older kids could add the plastic and then inset the foam themselves.  Littler one might benefit if this step is already done for them.

If you have pitchers of water ready, bigger kids can pour the water into their vase. If you think it easier for the littler ones, have the foam wet already.

 Let each child pick their flowers and insert each stem into the oasis foam. A little instruction about placement and they catch on quickly creating their sundaes. Ruffly carnations are ideal for the look of scoops of ice-cream in this project but they were not available this day. As you can see, the mums worked well.
 
 They were intent on their creations and enjoyed the process.
 Little red pom-poms could be used for the cherry on top, but we gathered bright red flower blossoms from my window boxes.
 Even the little ones did a great job.
sweet cousin, Brenna
Pretending to sip their Ice Cream Sundae’s, the girls later took them home as favors and were able to enjoy their pretty flower arrangements for many more days.

Here is the list of supplies you will want to gather to make
Fresh Flower Ice-Cream Sundaes

  • Ice-cream vase or something similar
  • Bend-y straws 
  • Floral foam for fresh flowers (pre-cut and pre-moistened if needed) Another option is to fill the vases with those little floral marbles/beads
  • Bunches of flowers like carnations or Mums ( pre-snipped the stems to about 4-inches long and had the foam in each glass.  I could have let the kids do this themselves but for the sake of time and the littler ones, I did it ahead.
  • Little red flowers (or tiny pom-pom’s) for the cherry on top (I snipped red impatients from my kitchen window box)
  • Squares of white plastic so the green floral foam doesn’t show through the clear glass (I cut white WM bags) I would double this next time.
  • water
  • Scissors and garden clippers

NOTE: We didn’t do this for the birthday party craft, but my friend said they lined the top edge of the cup/vase with green leaves before adding the carnations. I’m sure that would look pretty too.

Here is the birthday girl! Oh, Keri, with the dark brown eyes ~  Mom-Mom loves you!
♥

 

There are affiliate links in this post. That
means if you buy something from that link, I will earn a small commission, but
it won’t cost you anything additional.

If you are looking for inspiration and ideas for decorations and food for a sweet girl’s birthday party, check out Keri’s Garden Themed Birthday Party.

Keri Jill is 8 Garden Themed Birthday Party & Chocolate Piped Butterfly Toppers

By Lorraine

Preparing a sweet birthday party for little girls isn’t hard with a fun garden theme. Invite friends and cousins and watch their delight to see chocolate butterflies perched on frosted cupcakes, fruit skewers in rainbow colors and mini blueberry muffin bouquet treats. Ending with a fresh flower ice-cream sundae craft that doubles as a take-home party favor.

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Ocean City with Family

By Lorraine

Jill and Brad are spending the week in Ocean City, as leaders for a Youth for Christ retreat.
There are 75 people part of the group so they are very busy.
John and I met Erin on the beach and were later joined by Jill, Brad and kids for a really beautiful day.

 The weather had been not-so-nice for the previous few days, so on this gorgeous day, the beach was really packed.

 

 

 Walking the boards, miniature golf with Ryan, Brenna and Shae, then pizza for dinner and finally Kohr’s Bros  Custard.  Perfect!

‘Twas a Most Happy Birthday

By Lorraine

Perfect in every way
 Me and my mom
 me and my girlfriend since childood
 me and my sister
 of course we can’t be together for two minutes without breaking into giggles
 playtime
 Delicious dinner made by Jill
 eating on the patio
family including my sweet niece, Eva.

birthday cake (actually Banana Blueberry Pie)
Our August is FULL of birthdays…  I am planning a birthday party for our little Keri Jill on the 19th.

Jane & Alex

By Lorraine

Our trip to New York a couple weeks ago was short (Friday evening to Sunday afternoon) with every minute filled to the brim and so exciting. Time with our kids and grandchildren as well as (our son-in-law) Brad’s family was the best.
I even found time to teach Rudy (a little yorkie poo) how to shake with his paw.
Brad’s sister, Jane asked me a year and a half ago, if I would take pictures of her wedding.
 

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