Just a quick Hello

It's one of those days that will probably be one of those weeks... You know the kind, where it takes 25x longer to do ANYTHING than it should. Where you pick up something and put it away to find 5 more things where they shouldn't be. You get to the post office and realize that the address you need is at home.... That kind of week.
But that's ok. God is working in the lives of people around me, and I see His will being done, and I can feel His grace and hand upon my life. So I'll take this week and know that He has ordained it and will use it to His glory, because it's definitely not being used towards my own.

 My big boy wanted to be carried around (a little sibling jealousy has been going on) and when he climbed in the wrap, he hugged me and told me to never let him down. Makes my heart melt.

Baby Blue Eyes blowing a kiss trying on a Mama-made dress.

::Right Now::

I love a little boy who dresses himself...

and dresses himself

I love a little girl who is getting so big! (9 months!)

We love the park

I'm reading books about farming. I'm so not a farmer, but I like the idea of farming.


I'm totally proud that I have little sproutings of green peppers, jalapenos, and yesterday we started tomatoes, basil, and cilantro.


I'm sad I kills some tulips before I could get them in the ground.


I'm excited I actually got my magazine pile down to 5 (it was about three feet tall all together)


I'm loving having the windows open, time to play outside and when family comes to visit.

It's very quiet in the house while the kids nap and I'm listening to jazz music.


I'm excited for MOPS tomorrow. I love MOPS.


I'm still thinking about all the fun I had last weekend at the Hearts @ Home conference.


I love these rainbow cupcakes I made for Max's preschool class today in honor of St. Patrick's Day (these were the last of the batter that Adam and I got to "taste test"

Loving all the babies that have been born this week.

Love that I have a girl who's as interested in yarn as her Mama

Here's my photo of the kids from the 13th

Some thoughts on Lent

I was at the library this morning and there was a group of moms with their kids and they had the charcoal crosses on their foreheads. At first I just saw one of the children and I thought she just had a dirty face. Then it clicked that today is Ash Wednesday. I thought about the Ash Wednesdays when I was a kid. The beginning of Lent. The beginning of Filet O Fishes every Friday (I know some people who don't like them, but I do!). The beginning of giving something up.

Even in college I still celebrated Lent even after I had "left" the Catholic faith in exchange for Protestant. I still gave something up, still sacrificed something.

But I've had occasion to think about what Lent means this year. You see I'm crafting along to the Lenten schedule. I'm doing a knit a-long (KAL) ending with a scarf representing major themes in Lent. Each piece is a mystery until that week. This first week is knitted in green with a grass pattern in the knit symbolizing creation.

I've decided I like the idea of adding something to Lent instead of giving something up. Christ gave so much for us, sure He sacrificed (the ULTIMATE sacrifice) but in doing so gave us everything we could ever need.

On a related (I promise) note. I love the Food Network Star and have watched both seasons. I was especially thrilled when my favorite Aarti from last season won. It turns out she's a believer and has her own personal blog. Her thoughts today on Lent echoed mine.

I'm a winner!

I don't often enter contests and giveaways. I always feel like it's kinda embarrassing. I also have a hard time believing things are really really free. But some things are. Like the grace of God, or the love that your child has for you, or most blog giveaways. The internet has it's own ways of scamming people- but there's little circles of blogs that I read and most are mommies, most are crafters, and most are funny. Lots of them do giveaways and I sign up for a lot of them.

I finally won one a while back and last week my little prize came in the mail and I'm in love with them. I keep placing them different places around the house and have yet to use one because they are just too pretty. You know, that sort of thing. Like Grandma's china, or beautiful new shoes that don't have any scuffs.
Here they are:

Yep, they're notebooks! (not the trucks, those already belonged to me, see there's one boy's firetruck and one girl's ice cream truck)

Beth from I Should Be Folding Laundry sent me this lovely little bundle. Beth, well she's pretty awesome. I've read her blog for a while (actually it was while she was pregnant with her cute little son, Eli and I was pregnant with Penny- I'm obsessed with pregnant people all the time, but especially when I'm pregnant myself) and she does quite a few fun giveaways and I try to always enter because she gets the most wonderful people to donate. She's awesome like that. She lives near Chicago and I always secretly tell myself if I lived a bit closer we would be real life friends (but sometimes that just sounds a little creepy). Anyway, she's also a wonderful photographer. Thanks, Beth, I never win, and it was fun!
These are the close ups of the two larger notebooks. So inspirational and lovely.