Friday again

This picture has nothing to do with what's written below. My kids are just cute and I thought I'd share cause I'm nice like that!

I'm so glad it's Friday.  We've had a good, but busy week.  Its been filled with lots of good things and little drama which is a nice change.  I've gotten to spend more time then usual with some of my favorite people.  We spent Tuesday morning at an Open House for a program we anticipate being part of Haven's schooling next year.  We made progress on some home projects that have been languishing for years, literally.  We ate dinner at home every night and had a new recipe four out of five of those nights (all good!).  We get to spend tonight with good friends who are about to grow from a family of 3 to a family of 4.  Today's been exciting because I chopped my hair off!  I've been debating going short after 1.5 years of letting it grow.  I woke up this morning and literally couldn't stand it one more minute.  So I called a new salon, got an early appointment and by 10:30am, I felt like myself again.  At this point in my life, I'm just a short-haired gal.  And I like that.

See, all just good, normal stuff.

And then there is this weekend...I get tired just thinking about it!  We've had the privilege of being part of a ministry through our church that is starting a food pantry to help families in need in our community.  None of us really know what we're doing, but by God's grace and His people getting involved, ten of our local families will get a weeks worth of groceries next week.  We've gone from zero to 60 with this ministry in a very short amount of time and we're so excited to see it all coming together this weekend.  We've also got another outreach event going on with our home group on Sunday.  After a two year break from any type of church/ministry leadership, I'd say we're back with a bang.  And I really love it.  Mostly. I love getting to serve alongside my friends and meet people's needs and hopefully share the love of Jesus with them.  It excites me like nothing else.  So Sunday is going to be a little crazy, but a lot good.

Happy weekend, my friends!

Giving up to get more

This Wednesday is the beginning of Lent.  The next 40 days will be spent preparing our hearts and minds to remember the death and resurrection of Christ.  Different denominations mark the time of preparation differently, many observing a fast of some sort.  Like last year, Cale and I are giving up beverages other then water to participate in Forty Days of Water. This is a challenge I both look forward to and dread.  It's such a simple way to get outside myself and wipe some of the accumulated sleep from my eyes to the world around me.  But more importantly it's an opportunity to open myself up to more of Him.  I'm ashamed to admit how hard it was some days last year.  The hard days were used to draw me closer to Him as I denied myself of such a simple luxury.  Can't have an Iced Capp or some milk or tea?  Well, at least I've got an abundance of clean water.  That's more then many can say.  And I need to be reminded of that. 

There are other areas of life that I've felt the Lord leading me to give up.  I feel like the next 40 plus days are going to be a time of purging, getting rid of some junk I've picked up.  I need to give up some things so I have room for more...of Him and the life He has for me.  There's nothing this world offers that I need more of...not more stuff or technology or ideas or words or money.  I need Him and all that He offers to give, which, coincidentally, is everything that I need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).


His grace...love...peace...joy...hope...perspective...heart... knowledge...wisdom...power...truth...I'll gladly give up anything to make room for more of these in my life.

Lost: Haven's first tooth

It took one teeth to the head accident, one kick in the face, and 2 nasty falls for it to finally happen...

Haven lost her first tooth!  

I can't believe it hung on as long as it did; we thought they'd not last into the new year.  A fall on Tuesday into the concrete floor at Chipotle finally did it in.  I think the other front one will follow quickly.  For now, we'll need some time to get used to this minus-one-tooth-smile.  Good thing she's cute no matter how many teeth she's got!

Friday Favorites

I don't know about you, but today was just a lazy day.  Doesn't help that 4 out of 4 of us aren't feeling that great.  Good thing we've got a wide-open weekend ahead of us and can do whatever we please.  We need a weekend like that.  And because I've got nothing better to say, I'll now share some new favorites, in no particular order.

-New album: Gungor Beautiful Things I might be the last one to get on the Gungor train, but I'm glad I did.  My brother got me hooked and I'm totally enjoying this music.  Very chill, kinda funky worship music.

-New book: Doodle Dolls which contains hundreds of outfits to color and decorate for paper dolls.  Haven picked this out with some birthday money and she's already spent hours playing with it.  It's a great value on Amazon- we paid much more for it at Target.  I would highly recommend this if you've got a daughter with any sort of artistic interest, especially at this price!

-New fun thing: I had to get a new phone a few weeks ago.  It's much nicer then anything I've ever had, but I've got to be honest and tell you that my favorite part is the cute case I could pick out.  And to think I almost bought a boring red one at the phone store.  I would have missed out on this little spot of happy!

-New recipe: Haven and I watched Rachael Ray make Grilled Chicken and Bacon Mac & Cheese on her tv show a few weeks ago and she turned to me and said, "Mom, you've got to make that!"  So I did and we all loved it.  Not so much a healthy dish, but well worth it.  Made even better by a new item at Trader Joe's- a white sharp cheddar and Gruyere cheese mix.  I don't know how they make it, but it's delicious and was perfect for this recipe.

-New show: Have I mentioned how much I enjoy Netflix, especially now that we watch through our Wii?  Well, I do.  This week we started (and finished) watching a new show via Netflix that Cale and I both absolutely loved, Downton Abbey. It's the story of a family and it's servants in early 1900's England.  It's witty, charming, smart and engaging.  There were only seven episodes, but we were hooked from the start and are excited that it's been renewed for next year.  I'm sad there's no more to watch right now.  If you like Jane Austen at all, you will love this show!

Anything new that you've been enjoying?  Happy weekend!

Craft Night: Fabric Flowers

Last night, five lovely ladies joined me at home and we spent a few hours whipping up some fabric flowers.  I had fun and I hope everyone else did, too.  Here's our handiwork!

 For many of these we cut out six inch circles and then folded "petals" and stitched them together.  And once people had made one, they started branching out and we ended up with all sorts of variations.

 Not bad for a few hours of hanging out, snacking and getting our craft on. Can't wait to see what we make next time!

Here's one that I made, attached to my cute new bag for spring.  (From Target, of course!)  The flower adds a touch of personality and I'm sure will make me happy every time I see it.  In fact, I made two to switch out on this bag and another one to go with my favorite red purse that I got a few years ago.  Several of us also made some cute hair bows and I can't wait for Haven to try out the one I made her that matches a dress her Nana made.

All-in-all, a productive night and I can't wait til next time!  Thanks, girls!

Newness

Remember me? Not sure what's happened the last week, but I do know what's occupied my time this weekend.  A certain little boy entered the world and he's already taken residence deep in my heart.  I'm not technically his aunt and he's not technically my nephew, but who cares about technicalities.

We hopped in the car Friday afternoon and ended up pulling off a great surprise, that was never intended to be surprising.  I spent lots of time with the new little family, celebrating and laughing and just sharing in the joy that this baby's arrival has brought into the world.  I wouldn't have been anywhere else this weekend, but by their side.

Haven got denied entrance twice, so we snuck her in.  She was desperate to get her hands on this little guy.  Can't say I blame her; I would have smuggled him out of that hospital if I could have!

Sweet Micah, I'm so glad you're here.  We've been waiting and praying, trusting and hoping. And the Lord has outdone Himself with you.  A perfect gift, from the Perfect One.

Happy hearts

We've been doing a little Valentine crafting here the last few days.  Some projects have worked out better then others, but this one was a complete hit!  The original idea I saw was to paint circles overlapping one another, but I thought it would be fun to try it with hearts for Valentine's Day.  And it worked out perfectly!

I used a cookie cutter and watered down black watercolors to trace the heart shapes.  I'd recommend tracing the inside of your cookie cutter, not the outside.  Wish I would have thought of that before I got to the end.

Then Haven got to work painting in all the different sections.  She tried hard to get nice bright colors by using less water.  She worked diligently for almost 40 minutes and here was the result! (Gotta love the crazy hair and squinty eyes!)

The pictures don't do the color justice- it really is bright and happy! I loved this project probably more then Haven did.  We will definitely do it again with the circles and I will make one for myself to paint, too!