A Little Valentine Fun

     Since Valentine's Day is all about love, I like to spend the days leading up to it talking with the boys about God's love and how we are treat each other. I found some really cute things that are super easy to prep on Pinterest.

I printed Bible verse cards from Happy Home Fairy.

Then I copied the 14 acts of love ideas from Makes and Takes onto the back of the Bible verse cards I printed and cut out.

I printed and cut out these Valentine jokes from Over the Big Moon to put in the boys' lunch boxes.

     I got everything ready in less than 10 minutes. That's my kind of holiday fun-purposeful and super easy. I put our cards with the verses and acts of love into a little heart bucket I bought at the Target Dollar Spot several years ago. Target had different Valentine buckets similar to mine in the Dollar Spot when I was there earlier this week. I'm all ready for our little Valentine countdown fun to begin!

Celebrating with Cupcakes

     It's been a tough week, especially for Logan. I told him this morning if he could make it through school without calling me, we would go to the cupcake shop. He was very excited when we pulled up in front of Big D's Cupcakes. He picked out his cupcake first, and then helped me pick out one for everyone else. He ate his all up as soon as we got home. Logan chose Vanilla Bean. He picked out Strawberry Lemonade for Lucas! Lucas loved his too! We've decided this will be one of our new favorite after school treats! And a little fun fact is the couple who owns Big D's used to watch my boys in the church nursery. 

 

One of the Sweetest Sights

     I walked into the den this evening and saw this:

Logan and Joshua taking turns reading from Logan's Bible and discussing what they were reading. Joshua was helping him make connections between the Old and New Testaments. It's one of the most precious sights. I'm so thankful Joshua takes the boys' spiritual growth so seriously. It fills my heart with so much joy! 

I Love This Man

     I'm so thankful for Joshua. We've walked some very difficult journeys and suffered world ending losses. We've also experienced indescribable joys. There is no one else I would want to walk this journey with. 

     I love you, Babe! 

Our Week in Pictures

Sunday~Lunch at Dickey's and a big grocery shopping trip. That's what happens when you put off grocery shopping.

Monday~Selfies for my online Bible study group

Tuesday~After my workout

Friday~STAAR Reading

Saturday~Lucas ate donuts while Logan went to work with Daddy. And then it was puzzle time!

Logan the Evangelist

     When we returned from Christmas break, one of Logan's teachers told me Logan is always taking about the Lord with him. Mr. Foster told me Logan is a great kid, and he loves Logan. That made me so happy. But I didn't get the whole story until yesterday.

     I was meeting with another teacher, Mr. Asake when Logan walked by on his way to class. He started laughing and told me Mr. Foster loves Logan and Logan has been evangelizing him. 

     They were standing outside at drop off when Logan got out of the car, and Mr. Foster told Mr. Asake, "See that kid right there?" 

Asake said, "Logan?"

Foster said, "Yeah. I love him. He's an awesome young man. He told me real serious one day. Mr. Foster, you're a good man. I like you cause you're a good man. But being a good man is not going to get you to heaven. Do you know the Lord? Jesus is the only way to heaven."

      After my meeting, I found Mr. Foster and told him I knew what Logan had said. I wanted to make sure Logan hadn't been disrespectful. He assured me there was no condemnation in what Logan had said. Only love. 

He told me, "No offense. Logan doesn't see color. He only sees people. Logan loves all people. I see it in the way he interacts with the other kids. There's a couple of kids in his lunch group that were pretty wild. But through Logan's encouragement and example, they are now much better behaved at lunch. I may be dead and gone, but God's going to something special and big through Logan. I prayed and thank God for you and your husband and the way you're raising Logan. I pray Logan stays this way. He's been such spiritual encouragement for me. Logan's my right hand man, and I love him."

     Those words brought so much joy to my heart! A teacher is a powerful influence in a child's life. Lo has Mr. Foster at lunch three times a week for thirty minutes each time. Mr. Foster teaches older kids in the classroom. Logan loves Mr. Foster. He's always talking about him. It's amazing the influence he has had on Logan in chaotic lunch room three times a week. And it's amazing the influence my lil Lo has had on him as well. Teachers get just as much, if not more, from our students as we give to them.

      I'm thankful for all of our friends and Logan's Sunday school teachers. I'm thankful for all the volunteers in AWANA and the children's and preschool department at church. For each person who has come along side of us as we try to raise Logan up in the Lord and teach him about Jesus, and what it means to live life with Jesus. 

Dear Logan, 

      

     We are so proud of you. What a courageous thing it is to be obedient to the Lord and share Jesus with people! We pray you continue to grow in your relationship with the Lord, and continue loving people and pointing people to Jesus. I always said I only wanted you to see two kinds of people-those who have Jesus and those who need to meet Him. I'm thankful God has answered that prayer. Mr. Foster is right, if you continue following Jesus in obedience, God is going to do something big and special through you. He's already working in your obedience. 

Love, 

     Mom & Dad

I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth. 

(3 John 1:4 NLT)

A Hard Thing

     I did a hard thing. Something I've been dreading. I cleaned out and donated some baby things. It was hard, but it had to be done. We just decided maybe it was better for me if I wasn't coming across those things all the time. And if the Lord should choose to give us another child, we'll just buy new things. The only thing baby left out is the bassinet, but I just can't bring myself to let go of that yet. The bassinet has much meaning to me not only because of our boys, but several of our friends' babies slept in that bassinet too. For quite a while, we passed it around because when one family was done with it, another family needed it. For me, there's much joy when I think of all our precious little friends who have slept in that bassinet. 

Closet Organization

     It was time to clean out the linen closet, coat closet, and cabinet in the laundry room. All three were crammed full. I mean open at your risk because you may get hit with an avalanche full. If it had been shoved in there and not touched again, it was trashed or donated. I'm so happy with the way those spaces look, I sometimes open the door, stand there, and smile.

The Boys' Room

     Sunday evening, Joshua and I decided to de-clutter and organize the boys' room. We've discovered Logan is a pack rat. I threw so much away out of his dresser drawers, it was insane. It's so clean and organized. Now if I can get them to keep it this way.

Cowboy Lucas

DQ Family Date

Daddy surprised us at bedtime on Saturday night with a trip to Dairy Queen for blizzards. The boys shared a mini M&M blizzard. With Logan's milk allergy, it's all he can handle, and he was very appreciative because we don't allow blizzards very often. 

Our Week in Pictures

Sunday~playing with their wrestlers in front of the fire

Monday~We cheered for Oregon. 

Tuesday~I worked out with my some ladies at church. My calves still hurt. 

Wednesday~Lucas's snowman

Thursday~One of my students brought me this crown because I'm Queen of the classroom. 

Friday~Lucas and I showing our eagle pride. 

Saturday~Playing Jenga on the train table 

How I Feel A Year Later

Sad. My heart aches for her. 

Thankful. I carried Liana for 14 weeks. I'm so very thankful for those 14 weeks. I'm thankful we knew she was a girl. I'm thankful for the love and support of Joshua, the boys, and my mom. So many friends loved me where I was at. I know that was not always easy, and I'm so thankful for every hug given and prayer spoken on my behalf. 

I'm in a much better place than I was a year ago. But I still have a long way to go in my healing. 

God is good. God is faithful. I would not be where I am today in my healing process without His grace. God is good. 

"I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD."

(Psalms 27:13-14 NASB)

AWANA Verses

     We try to practice the boys' AWANA verses everyday. I need a visual reminder to help me. I found these cute chalkboard easels at Target dollar spot right after Christmas. I bought one for each boy. We keep them on the fireplace, so they are always in sight. 

Our Week in Pictures

Sunday~Lucas is really into puzzles right now.

Monday~I've been working on de-cluttering around the house a little bit everyday. 

Tuesday~Logan went for his eye check from his surgery when he was 4. 

Wednesday~Jungle Animal night at AWANA 

Lucas went as a (Ninja) turtle. Miss Kelli asked him if he was a turtle that lives in the jungle, and he told her no he was a ninja turtle. She gave him points anyway. I'm surprised he didn't tell her he lived in the sewer. 

Logan wore a monkey tail. 

Thursday~The boys played so sweetly before school. 

It's been so cold lately. My scarves have been getting lots of use! 

Friday~Lucas had an errand date with Grammie. I got him all bundled up to go out in the cold. 

Saturday~We've had a lazy day. Lucas and I aren't feeling well. Again. 

A Few Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes

     I'm kinda obsessed with slow cookers. I have six different crock pots, and I use them all the time. Several people have asked me for recipes recently, so I've included links below for a few of our favorite recipes.

Kraft's Slow Cooker Lasagna

Betty Crocker's Slow Cooker Enchiladas

Tammilee Tips's Crcock Pot Tater Tot Casserole

The Recipe Critic's Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

Eat Drink Love's Crock Pot Ranch Chicken Tacos

A Sweet Moment

     I caught the boys playing together quietly this morning before school. They were so sweet together. It made my heart happy.

First Day of Spring Semester

     It's hard to believe Logan is starting the second half of third grade and getting ready to take his first STAAR exams. And my lil Lucas is finishing PreK and will start kindergarten next year. Time does fly.

Logan's Eye Appointment

     This morning, Logan saw our favorite eye doctor, Dr. Norman. We go annually to check his eyes as a follow up from the surgery he had four years ago.

     Logan loves wearing the different glasses and doing the different activities they ask him to do. 

     Dr. Norman said everything looked okay, but noted that Logan still has head tilt. But he can't find a reason concerning Logan's eyes for the tilting. He said there's nothing he can do for Logan to fix it. We will go back in a year unless I see signs of eye crossing or he has trouble with his vision. Dr. Norman also said Logan will probably be near sighted. 

Fall Family Photo Favorites

     These are my favorite pictures from our fall family photo session. I didn't share them before because I used these for our Christmas card, and did not want people to see them before they received their cards. The first picture is my absolute favorite!

Photos by Meg of 3 Birds Photography