February Photo Challenge: Day 26

Flowers:

These beauties are still alive from Valentine's Day

I love fresh flowers and can't wait to explore the flowers that are in our new yard!



February Photo Challenge: Day 25

Serene:

This picture looks pretty serene....but guess what was actually happening at the moment :) LOTS of noise in our house...good noise like laughs and craziness but noise all the same! Yet, I looked outside and got caught up in a serene moment as I watched another round of snow falling to the ground. This is outside our dining room and the kids and I actually have quite a few calm moments looking out this window....they've taken an interest in watching birds as they eat their breakfast and Aaron and I have become coffee drinkers because it feels so right to drink a cup of coffee while watching the wildlife

.

I could look at this snow and be ungrateful for it....or I could see the beauty in it and use it as a moment to stop and enjoy the calmness of it.

I'm choosing to stop and savor it :)



Connor-7 Months

Connor is 7 months old today. I feel like he grew up in the last week.... He plays with toys, gurgles "words", sits, rolls, and just started scooting his way to things. Sleep is still hit and miss but eating solids is helping!

 

Some pictures to document him at this stage:

Happy 7 Months, Connor!



February Photo Challenge: Day 24

Truth:

Have you ever heard of this website??

http://shereadstruth.com/

I discovered it around Thanksgiving and it has been SO good. The current study is about Lent and it's been refreshing and challenging.....this mom of 3 needs to read the truth of the Bible...I'm pretty lost without it :)



February Photo Challenge: Day 23

Appreciative:

Life has slowed down in the last 2 months. My husband's schedule has been A-MAZING and he's home so much more...I've appreciated his help around the house and with the kids. Even though he has long days when he works (like today when the kids won't see him until tomorrow morning), the days off are so worth it....I appreciate his hard work!



February Photo Challenge: Day 22

Chocolate:

I know, I know, it is cruel to post pictures of chocolate!! And, I'm going to be craving these everytime I see this picture now :)

 

Around these parts, we buy candy/chocolate after holidays....maybe ONE bag of something seasonal before and then we wait until after when things are 75-90% off. My frugal self loves a good deal....so it's Valentine's candy around here still....until the second week of April when we finally buy Easter candy on sale :)



February Photo Challenge: Day 21

Delighted:

We went to a Baby and Kid Expo on Saturday and the kids had a blast (and we collected SO many free things....from books to formula to t-shirts....it's so great!)

 

They even had Elsa and Olaf! The kids were so delighted to see them but scared to actually take a pic with them :) We all know that Aaron secretly wanted his picture with Olaf though so it worked out ;)



February Photo Challenge: Day 20

Bravery:

Captain America keeping Sleeping Beauty safe :)

Bravery right there, folks :)

 

Honestly, I put bravery on the list because since becoming a parent, I've noticed how many times I've had to be brave and just pray my way through things. Especially when it comes to taking care of children when the husband is away for work.....my love for my children enables me to try to be brave and protect them....and by the picture above, it looks like I'll have help in just a few years :) 



February Photo Challenge: Day 19

A Gift:

We've tried to teach our children the importance of waiting for things. Delayed gratification....it needs to be taught in our world of instant gratification.

So when last summer, Tristen asked and asked for this specific zoo book because his cousin had it, we gently told him "no" and that was that.

We decided to get each child a book for Valentine's Day. We surprised Tristen with the Zoo book and the look on his face was priceless :)

 

"It's just like the one Iylah has!!! It's the Zoo book!!"

 

He's looked at the book every day since....I think the waiting was worth it. :)



February Photo Challenge: Day 18

Playful:

A week before we moved into this house, we got a text from our Realtor that went something like this:

"What do you think about taking in some kittens? The owner wants to leave them and has a deal if you'll keep them"

The deal was leaving something else on the property that helped us if we would keep their kittens. We wanted kittens but had NO idea that we were inheriting 10 cats!!! (8 of them being kittens that needed special formula for a month! Ahhh!)

I have to admit that I was completely overwhelmed our first month here because we had to do multiple feedings to keep them alive and it was just TOO much.

BUT, they have wiggled themselves into my heart and they are SOOO cute and have warmed up to us as well.

I can't believe they made it through our winter and this picture was taken on a day that it was -30 windchill....(Ahhh!! WHY do I live in Minnseota again!!?!? I know I say that every year around this time!! So ready for spring!)

They are pretty playful with each other and are pretty fun to have around.

We've started naming them. This one is Lily and we have Milly, Billy, Nelly....do you see a theme going here? :)

 

 



February Photo Challenge: Day 17

Hey all! I didn't forget about the photo challenge! I borrowed my laptop to our youth group and then we forgot to pick it up until church yesterday! But, I tried to keep taking pictures.....sooooo, I might be posting quite a bit to catch up. I FINALLY finished my painting (I painted our woodwork white and it took 3 coats! Ahhh!) and now I'm trying to put away more boxes. I think a better goal in my organizing endeavor is to shoot to be organized by the end of the year. We have 8 years worth of boxes (some we literally haven't gone through since we moved from our first apartment!) and 3 little kids to take care of so the only time I can do anything is from 8-10 at night....and lately all I've wanted to do is read and sleep :) It will get done....and we will eventually be settled.

To catch up, here is the day 17 challenge:

A handwritten note:

I LOVE handwritten notes! I need to write more! There's something so fun about a note in someone's handwriting! It's personal and meaningful. We received some fun handwritten cards that my mom made for Valentine's Day and we have them displayed still!

I think I just might write a handwritten letter today...it sounds so old fashioned and fun :)



February Photo Challenge: Day 16

Sweet:

After bathtime (in a real bathtub!!!!)....with cute pajamas on.....I think that's all I need to say about the word sweet :)

February Photo Challenge: Day 15

Color Red:

...and now, the rest of the story....about our Valentine's Day :) I made it sound perfect in the last post, right?? Ha! Well, this picture was taken before we decided to attempt to go out to eat with our kids. I think we'll be staying in next year :)

This picture foreshadows what our meal ended up being like. Aubrey was happy and excited to be eating out. She seriously loves any and all food we give her (we got chicken artichoke pizza and she couldn't get enough of it!)

Tristen was crazy from the moment we got in the car. He was pretending to be Hulk so it made for interesting moments.

And then there was Connor. He took the cake for making us not want to go out next year. He's supposed to be the easy one still but he's a grabbing, bouncing, altogether active little baby that was reaching for everything in sight :)

It was quite hilarious and we came out of the restaurant probably looking exhausted :) But, hey, we wore red and got good food....so here's documenting the color red :)



February Photo Challenge: Day 14

Beauty:

The word that started this photo challenge in the beginning. Beauty can be pretty distorted. The perfectly skinny, flawless skin, airbrushed model is what we think beauty is. But, oh goodness, it is not.

 

A book study with friends has been challenging me to document the "gifts" that God has given to us. It has been making me slow down in life....take it all in and document it. Through it, I've been documenting things that I find beautiful. The worn hands of the elderly who has cooked endless meals for those they love. The freshness of a new baby. Seeing a couple go through their first year of marriage and hearing of the newfound wisdom they have. The smile on a child's face when they experience a holiday for the first time. The unique characteristics that make up each person. Seeing a marriage be restored when it was thought to be broken.  

 

So, how did I document beauty on Valentine's Day?

I could have had many ways:

Hearing my kids wake up to monkey bread in the oven and saying, "Look what mommy made for breakfast!!!!" (it's usually cereal around these parts, ya'll!)

My kids experiencing their first Surprise birthday party (and reenacting it! Ha! Sarah, they loved being part of it and keep hiding and saying surprise!)

Writing out Valentine's cards for each other

but,

I took a picture of Aubrey getting flowers for Valentine's Day. We've been seeing Aubrey's tender heart so much lately. It was such a sweet moment to see her opening up flowers that Tristen wanted to get for her. Her tenderness and thankfulness were so beautiful and so is her heart.

February Photo Challenge: Day 13

Gentleness:

One of the best parts about our Valentine's banquet at church was that the youth group did all the babysitting to work toward their mission trip this summer! There were 55 kids signed up for the youth group to watch!! Woah!!

 The youth did amazing and I saw such gentleness as they cared for the kids so we parents could have a break. One girl commented, "How do you parents do this!?! I'm exhausted!!!"

HA!

What a great community....I'm so blessed by our church and loved our fun date night :)



February Photo Challenge: Day 12

Devotion:

Yesterday I had zero inspiration for capturing the word devotion. But, thankfully tonight, I do!

We had a Valentine's banquet at church and honestly the whole night was about devotion-devotion to God and devotion to a spouse. It was both inspiring and encouraging....and a common phrase that kept running through my head while listening to the music was devotion to someone involves perseverance and a whole lot of unconditional love. So, there you have it: my photo of devotion.



February Photo Challenge: Day 11

Happiness:

"What story do you want me to read now?"

"Okay, Once Upon a Time ago...."

This was the highlight of Tristen's day. The "stories" that he tells us though are ones he makes up...even though we have many books in the house, he has been pretend taking books off a shelf and pretend reads out of his imaginary books :) It's quite entertaining and today he had such a look of happiness upon his face as he was telling us stories.



February Photo Challenge: Day 10

Admiration:

Have you ever observed a baby with his/her mother? Isn't it pretty amazing to see the admiration that the little guy/girl has for the mother? I know it's been both pretty amazing to see it first hand as a mother and see it with my friends/family. What an honor it is to raise this little one....and to feel pretty loved by him in the process :)

 

February Photo Challenge: Day 9

Loveliness

We are Valentine's Day crazy around here.

My kids are LOVING the idea of making Valentine cards for people so we took out the paint and had quite the time making some great Valentines.

 

It was both a lovely memory and they seriously made some LOVELY cards!!! :)



February Photo Challenge: Day 8

Nobleness

Sorry I'm a few days late posting these! I've been painting and collapsing in bed at night from being so tired!! But, catching up tonight!

 

I had no idea where I was going to find nobleness. I mean, how can you photograph that? After church on Sunday, I sat down to reread this book. It is one of my favorite parenting books and as I read, a phrase about not being a noble parent popped up.

 

Then I thought more about that. There are plenty of parents in the world but how many noble parents?  Do we do the right thing even though it's not always popular (with our kids or others)? Do we shepherd our children even though it takes TONS of time and patience instead of doing our own thing?

 

I know I have a long ways to go in the whole noble parent department but I'm striving toward that and pray that with God's help, I can be a parent who is making the hard decisions and doing what's right instead of being lazy because it's more convenient and easy. This photo challenge day was both challenging and motivating!

February Photo Challenge: Day 7

The color pink

I'm cheating today! It's supposed to be to find the color red BUT, we woke up this morning and remembered that it was Laura Ingalls Wilder's birthday (thus, a chance to introduce my kids to her books and the Little House TV series!!) As a result, my sons are wearing plaid (taking advantage of this since I know it won't last many years! Ha!) and I put Aubrey in a Laura Ingalls Wilder looking dress....and as you've guessed from the pics, it has pink.....sooooo, I just switched the color pink for the color red because I wanted to document her Laura Ingalls Wilder dress and braids :)

 

A picture with the boys in their flannel :)

We live near Walnut Grove so I think a trip along the Laura Ingalls Wilder scenic highway needs to happen sometime with these 3. Happy Little House day!

New Carpet=Refreshing

2 days ago we had our carpet laid and are finally getting things hung up and making this place a home....it feels so good! This is a work in progress but wanted to give you a little idea of the place we call home now...I'm in full force DIY mode now! Let the projects begin!!

 

Before:

 

After:

This is a family room that we hope to make a library/music/kids area. I can't wait to go garage sale hunting this summer and get some treasures for this room. But, until then, this is what we have! All we did was carpet in here but it's making a huge difference!!

 Before:

 

After:

Our living room

We painted and recarpeted and I have 3 DIY décor projects in mind. This weekend's projects include painting shutters, putting a picture on canvas, and finishing up a collage wall....it feels SO good to have energy and excitement for projects yet again after being so sick and exhausted for many months!

February Photo Challenge: Day 6

Kindness:

This morning my 2 younger children were playing on the floor when Aubrey decided that Connor needed some hugs. It was such a kind gesture and one that she does most days! She then grabbed some toys for him and started showing him books...I definitely saw kindness through her actions!

February Photo Challenge: Day 5

A Heart

Ahhh, Valentine's Day decor. I'm a red color lover. Red clothes, red decor, red flowers, etc....so for Valentine's Day I bring out all the red I have on hand. Today we put our house back in order after painting and carpeting and it finally felt like OUR home....and I think most of that was from decorating and seeing our things up.

 

I just love making a house a home....and love seeing red Valentine's décor filling my house with love and beauty.

February Photo Challenge: Day 4

Patience:

Wednesday nights are always quite busy in our household. When I saw that today's word to look for was patience, I laughed since it's a hard thing to keep when there are so many schedules happening all at once.

 

My husband is a co-interim youth pastor at our church while we search for a new youth pastor. Because of this, he goes to the church early and the rest of our family meets him there.

I have a 10 minute window to get the kids out of the car, get Tristen to Awana, take the younger two children up to the Nursery, and then head to the youth group to be a small group leader.

 

Tonight as I was leading small group, I was amazed at my youth group girls' maturity and the patience they have with each other. It was a moment that I realized, "Wow, they are showing love to one another by being patient". After a hectic Wednesday night where many times I lost my patience, it was really cool to stop and see patience in action.

 

I told the girls about my February photo challenge and we came up with an idea of showing impatience :) Ha! What a fun group of girls that I have the privilege of hanging out with every week :)

February Photo Challenge: Day 3

A caring act:

"I can share MY books with you, Mom!"

Today we went to the library and the story I'm about to tell is the reason why I decided to go through with the photo challenge. I had been thinking of it and then Tristen's caring act spurred me to make up a list of things I want to document in the month of February. The story goes like this:

 

While at the library, I let my kids pick out some books and then proceeded to go pick out a book to read for myself. It was around lunchtime and one of my children decided to have a meltdown in the library. As a consequence, we didn't stay longer at the library to play but instead had to go home. With wide eyes, Tristen looked at me and said, "But, Mom, you didn't get to pick out YOUR book!!"

 

He was so worried that they had picked out their books but I hadn't gotten a chance to look. Honestly at that moment, teaching that we couldn't have meltdowns in the library was more important than getting a good book to read but Tristen wouldn't let the issue rest. All the way out to the car, he mentioned the fact and finally a lightbulb went off in his head. With a big smirk, he looked at me and said,

"I can share MY books with you, Mom!"

He went through the books that he had picked out and asked which one I wanted to read.

It was such a caring act and it showed his heart of love for me.

 

*We have since decided that Mom gets to pick out a book first from now on :)

February Photo Challenge: Day 2

Selflessness

We had carpet in this room yesterday and if you've ever pulled up carpet, you know it's a long and somewhat tedious job. I think it was the first time I had helped with it. I call this my selfless act because this whole project was my idea but guess who did most of the work? Yep, my husband. He could have done other things during his day off but instead he chose to help me with my project idea.  Anytime that others help with projects is a place where I see selfless love.



February Photo Challenge: Day 1

A verse about Love:

I Corinthians 13

How can I pick just one verse about love?? There are so many but 1 Corinthians 13 is one of the chapters that inspired this photo challenge in the first place so I'll leave you with 1 Corinthians 13:13,

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."



February Photo Challenge

A few years back, I did a photo challenge while waiting for Tristen to be born. I have loved looking back on that and thought, "Why don't I do another one?"

February is sometimes loved and/or hated by people because of the expectations that Valentine's Day brings with it. Sometimes we get caught up with what the world tells us love and beauty is and miss out on the little ways that God's love is in the world. This photo challenge is my way of capturing what love and beauty truly is.

Here's my list of what I'm looking for everyday....some days are easy ones that have to do with Valentine's Day (color red, heart, a handwritten note) and other days are looking for emotions or acts of love (Admiration, Devotion, Nobleness, etc.):

1)      A verse about love

2)      Selflessness

3)      Caring Act

4)      Patience

5)      Heart

6)      Kindness

7)      Color Red

8)      Nobleness

9)      Loveliness

10)   Admiration

11)   Happy

12)   Devotion

13)   Gentleness

14)   Beautiful

15)   Color pink

16)   Sweet

17)   A handwritten note

18)   Playful

19)   A gift

20)   Bravery

21)   Delighted

22)   Chocolate/candy

23)   Appreciative

24)   True

25)   Serene

26)   Flowers

27)  A Loving Memory

28)   Family

We'll see how this goes!!! :)

So About That Organizing.....

....Definitely going to take longer than the month of January!! But, for very good reason! We started a project...a pretty big project that has been occupying my time and energy for the last week.

Our dining room went from this:

Brown and Tan. (sorry! This is the only before pic I have!)

 

To this:

Gray and white!!

It is such a breath of fresh air in that room!!

 

It all started with deciding to get new carpet. We painted our living room to go with the new carpet (pictures to come in a few days when our carpet is installed). When we painted, it clashed with the brown and tan in our dining room so we started brainstorming and opened up a huge project. The organizing has been put on hold as we try to get this big project done! I have one more coat of everything to go and then it will be done!

Yay for painting....I LOVE it! :)