We must be doing something right!

Being married to a die hard Cubs fan has its up and downs.  We love going to the games in Chicago (if you have never been there is nothing like it) and the excitement of the games can be fun.  He is so very passionate about his love for the team, but having family connections to the Cardinals adds to the family dynamic.

From day one, Mr. Sharktank has told Matthew how great the Chicago Cubs are (even with their struggles over the years :)   Every baseball season we are sure to deck him out in Cubs gear and take pictures.  But, now that Matthew is four he knows that we live in St. Louis and his uncle plays for the Cardinals.  This causes quite the dilemma for him.  We have his father who tells him the Cubs are the best team to root for, but then he watches his uncle play on television and at the games.  I often hear Mr. Sharktank telling Matthew that "the Cardinals are mean, the Cubs are nice, but you can cheer for your uncle."  I repeatedly tell Matthew he can make his own decisions, but at his age I have no clue if he understands that.

Well, I walk into the kitchen on Thursday afternoon.  I see Matthew sitting at the table eating snack.  He looks up at the ceiling and I hear him say, "Dear Jesus can you please talk to my daddy and tell him to like the Cardinals?  Can you tell him that he can like the Cubs and Cardinals?"  He then saw me and asked me if I could pray to Jesus and God to help daddy like both teams.

Now, I know the goal of prayer is not to ask God for things, but this is not the first time Matthew has prayed or told me to pray to God.  If anytime he hears of someone who is sick, he immediately tells me that I need to "talk to God and tell him that you are scared or sick."  Every time he says something like this my heart melts.  We are not a super religious family, but we do say prayers every night, read bible stories, go to Mass, and Matthew attends a Lutheran preschool program.  When we go to church he recognizes some of the readings that are read and he gets excited and tells us about them in his own words. I am proud that he is catching on to everything in church, his teachers, and what we teach and read to him.

As parents, Mr. Shartank and I feel that faith and religion need to be a part of our children's lives.  The expectations of going to church, saying prayers, and respecting our religion is a must.  While they are children we will make sure they are raised in our faith, but when they are older I hope that they continue to follow religion and let their faith help them find their way.  Whether that takes them to a different religion or not, that is up to them, but I am glad that Matthew is showing us that he is listening now and trusting in the Lord above at this young of an age (even if it is just to pray that daddy will grow to love both rivaling baseball teams).

Ready for Spring!

I am a little late posting, but two weekends ago we celebrated Matthew's 4th birthday.  We had cake two days in a row and he got a lot of wonderful gifts from people we love.  That Saturday night he had three cupcakes and blew out candles each time (he has a hard time blowing them out, but we are doing daily exercises to improve his speech and ability to control his breath).  He was so excited to turn four and cannot wait until he is five now.  Overall, it was a great weekend.  He received a scooter that he rides in the house a lot these days (due to the snow we had and colder temps), a camera (so he can catch us at our best worst moments), Angry Birds everything (from swim trunks, to pajamas, to games), and bath toys that make it so much more fun for Matthew and Natalie.

Seeing four candles on his cake just put me into shock lol. 

I also finished up our chairs for our new table this week.  Who knew painting pine chairs black would take so much work?!!  I wanted to do it right, since we have an in home daycare, so I lightly sanded, primed, sanded again, painted three to four coats of black paint, and then two coats of polyurethane.  I also waited a day in between each coat of paint and sealer.  Needless to say, they took a lot longer than expected, but I am so happy I distressed the chairs and took the time to do it right.  I think the whole set looks great and the kiddos love sitting on the bench together.  Who knew lunch time with the daycare kids could be so easy.  We successfully had lunch with no runners from the table for 20 minutes the first day!

I ordered the table by chance when I came across a relatively new company on Craigslist.  They linked me to their facebook page and I fell in love. Mr. Shartank was pretty much confused as to why I wanted a new table so bad, but now he loves it too!

J & K Custom Tables and More

I love how we can all sit at the table together now!  Matthew picks a new seat every time!  Also, I truly fell in love with the table the first night when I took this picture!  They did this on their own!  I mean how cute are they? The kids love sitting together when they eat and I could not be happier!

I used the products below to finish the chairs.  I was very surprised by the quality of the Rustoleum paint.  For under nine bucks a can I was weary, but the reviews were fabulous.  It had great coverage and was not too thick or thin.  Oh, and Purdy brushes are wonderful.  I have used a number of brands to paint and seal products, but they are by far the best!

Oh, and last week Mr. Sharktank booked our next relaxing vacation.  This will only be our second vacation together in seven years, but will also probably be the last vacation we will take without the kids for a while.  So, we wanted to do a tropical destination with another couple.  Dominican Republic here we come!  We cannot wait go to Melia Caribe Tropical and be with one of our favorite couples! Mr. Sharktank and I have never taken a big vacation with a couple before, so we are really looking forward to this trip!