Cuteness Lately

So, I don't forget. I wanted to blog a few cute things my kiddos are saying/doing lately...

• Sophie wants to name the new baby Cinderella if it is a girl. She told me when she is a grown-up she is having three daughters named Angelina, Sleeping Beauty, and Sleeping Beauty (yep, that is two Sleeping Beauties.
• Sophie uses the word amen't a lot... I think it means "am not". 
• Max told me he is having 4 children when he grows up. Jeremiah, James, Sally, and Isaiah.
• Max tells me lately that he is an "expert at everything"... we might need to work on being humble.
• Jack sings constantly these days. He usually makes up his own songs. But tonight, during family worship he was belting out "The Old Rugged Cross". I have never heard a sweeter sound... 
• Jack is really talking up a storm these days. His favorite words are truck, twactor, boat, nack (snack), Night Night (his blanket), Sissy, Max, and of course no.
• Max talks about natural disasters... all the time... constantly.
• Sophie has two dolls, Big Erica and Little Erica. We recently made a carseat out of a basket for Big Erica so she now goes pretty much everywhere with us. She is well behaved so I don't mind.

I just love my kiddos ages right now! They crack me up all the time and are so much fun!

Big news!

Well, the exciting news in our house is that we are expecting Baby #4! We had our first doctor's appointment on Tuesday and everything looks great. Our due date is February 21st! We are so excited and just feel so blessed that God would see fit to give us another baby.

 So, that pretty much explains why I have fallen off the planet lately. I don't feel good (nausea, tiredness, the works) so it takes pretty much all of my energy to take care of my kiddos during the day. So, poor little bloggy is not getting much attention these days.

On top of that we are quickly approaching "Birthday Season" so I have also been working on planning Jack's birthday party and starting to think about Sophie's. Jack's birthday is August 2nd and Sophie's is August 14th. We like to do family parties when the kids are little so this year we are having Jack's birthday party at my aunt's house because... well, she has a pool! And they have tractors and Jack LOVES tractors! So, win!

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great weekend! I will leave you with a picture of the soon to be birthday boy... how is he almost 2?

Toddler Tapas

Lunch time tends to be one of my least favorite meals to make for my kiddos. Breakfast is usually the same handful of things and I make dinner most nights. But, lunch, it just seems like it should be a fun meal but I never know what to make. Then I remembered how much my kids love fruit and veggie trays and I decided to try the same approach for their whole meal. They were thrilled and ate a great variety of healthy foods. And clean-up was a breeze!

What do we boast about?

 ^{2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "}But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."


Do you boast about your weaknesses? I don't very often. I like to boast about my strengths! I like to share stories of when I did something very well and I like to share my victories. I do not like to share my weaknesses.


But, 2 Corinthians 12:9 says that Christ's power is MADE PERFECT in weakness. So, why am I so hesitant to share my weaknesses? I certainly want the power of Christ to be made known and I would love nothing more than for my life to be an obvious testimony of His power. But, still, I have a hard time. I think it is pride. I think I seek my own glory first. I think I want to measure up to others.


I think that we should be more honest about our weaknesses and struggles. I think we shouldn't shy away from sharing what Jesus saved us from. Because in doing this we are able to glorify God and help others. I know I have been encouraged and strengthened by hearing of God working in the life of someone else. I have never really been encouraged by someone who acts as if they are and always have been perfect. And yet, that is my own tendency.


So, I want to attempt to boast more gladly in my weaknesses and I want to encourage you to do the same... that the power of Christ may rest on us! I don't know about you, but that makes me excited!


I want to clarify what boasting about our weaknesses IS NOT....
It is not complaining about our circumstances.
It is not an excuse to not try to do better.
It is not an excuse to be lazy.
It is not an opportunity to be prideful (example...my weakness is that I am too nice...)


I could share a whole list of my weaknesses with you right now. But, I will just leave you with a few and I will praise God that He works through these weaknesses....

• I am naturally pretty lazy. I have a hard time motivating myself, especially in the area of housework.

• I can be overly critical of others.

• Speaking kindly to others when I am frustrated is very difficult for me.

• I am selfish and would often rather spend my time doing something relaxing (watching a TV show or checking Facebook) then doing things that need to be done.

And the list could go on and on... The point is not self condemnation. The point is to say, wow, look at what Christ is doing in my life through me despite the fact that I am a sinner with a heart bent towards doing the wrong thing!

Our {Homeschool Room}

(I apologize for the wonky first pic but I couldn't get my picture to size correctly and I figured too big was better than too small)

I finally got stuff hung up in our homeschool room (and of course by "I" I mean, the hubs) so I wanted to give you all a little tour. I know that I am totally blessed to have a whole room we can dedicate to homeschooling. I know it is not a necessity by any means. But, we have a smaller front room at the entry of our house and ever since we moved in we have struggled to know what to do with it. It has been an office, a playroom and a sitting room. But, none of it ever seemed to be a good fit. When we decided to homeschool I decided that might be the perfect way to use this room and I think it is! So, without further ado. here is where the Little R's will be learning the 3 R's... (sorry, couldn't resist!)

 I pointed out some of my favorite features of the room!

1. I got these little boards at the Container Store and you can use magnets or push pins for them! I think I bought them for their novelty but I also think it is a great way to display our work!
2. These little round containers come from the Container Store as well. They are magnetic and awesome for storing small things like paper clips and erasers.
3. We keep all of our books we use daily on this shelf.
4. These magazine boxes from Target are awesome for storing soft cover books, extra workbooks and well... magazines

 Here is a closer look at some of the items on the shelf. I ordered the bin on top from an Etsy seller and it is perfect for storing some board books for Jack to keep him busy while we are hitting the books.

 I got this calendar at Amazon and it is one of the kiddos favorite activities. I also keep most of our learning toys on these shelves.

I hope you enjoyed a little peek into our school room! We are getting quite a bit of use out of it already and are certainly grateful to have it!

P.S. The balloons hanging from the ceiling over the table are from our solar system project we did today! I didn't just put random balloons up for decoration.
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Quick Update

Sorry I have been a little absent from the blog lately! My mom is off for the summer and she has been blessing us by going on weekly field trips with us. She is also blessing us BIG time by keeping the kiddos Thursday and Friday nights this week so that Nick and I can have a little early-anniversary stay-cation!

We also spent this past weekend in Kansas City visiting my sister and brother-in-law who moved there a few months ago. We had a blast with them and also ran into some old friends we got to spend time with too. It was a great little get away!

I am also just soaking up this time with my kids right now. They are at such fun ages and I am trying to enjoy every minute of it. We have been going to the library every week. We are really enjoying reading lots of new books. Our favorite read alouds right now are:

The Bravest Knight by Mercer Mayer


Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson


Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff

What is on your summer reading list?