Finding Joy - Week 11

The joys:

* little girl pigtails and big girl pj's. oh i could eat her up!

* big JOY my niece hannah visiting for a week... eek! so much fun. as i catch up this week i will be sharing some of our fun adventures!

* landon's bed ready to be the guest bed for my niece hannah

* my boy creating a work space to do his school work on top of his desk.  

* finding one of mauryn's "kids" in the baby bed with a flashlight on... her "kid" was afraid of the dark :o)

* snuggled up together watching a movie on the ipod on a saturday morning letting us sleep a little longer. they were up super early excited for hannah's visit and landon's birthday.

* the birthday boy opening his birthday gifts

* blowing out candles on his birthday breakfast

* mini golf with my big kids on landon's birthday

* mauryn rocking the bonnet. she has found a love for little house on the prairie.

* playing just dance 2 with hannah

* a lego birthday party {post coming}

* one of our college kids gave landon his old football pads.  landon put them on with his jersey and was ready to play some football!

* new snack... popcorn, white chocolate, fritos, and m & m's.  the fritos add just the right amount of salty to the sweet. go make it. trust me, you won't be able to stop eating it. so good.

* finding self portraits on my camera

* my baby ready to take on the ski hill

* my boy ready to race.  yes, he is wearing purple gloves. he lost one of his and had to use his sisters old gloves.  a few years ago this would have bothered me that he was totally mismatched but now he didn't care and he was warm. joy in letting the little things go!

SEVEN!

seven.

really?  already?  

you are growing up far too fast my boy.

 your big brown eyes... they melt me.

your heart is so sensitive.  

you are inquisitive, active, competitive, and sometimes a little bit crazy but your soft side balances you.

you are most definitely an otter. life is one big party.  you are all about having fun.

you enjoy doing anything sports related or being outside.  riding your bike, shooting hoops, and playing catch are some of your favorite outdoor activities.

you also enjoy playing the wii, doing legos, playing card/board games, and watching tv.

you like to go to the rec center to play basketball or swim.

you like to ski in the winter and swim in the summer.

you love to be read to before bed. we are working our way through the chronicles of narnia... you are loving the stories.

you enjoy awanas, being with your friends, and learning your bible verses.

you will no longer let me give you a kiss in front of people and rarely can i hug you in public.  sometimes you will grab my hand as we walk through a parking lot but those moments are fleeting as well. {sigh}

when we are at home you still love to snuggle and sit on my lap. you will come up beside me to give me a squeeze or rub on my arm.

Happy Birthday Landon!  I love you sweet boy.  

Finding Joy - Week 10

this has been sitting in my drafts since tuesday. behind much..aah its been a busy week but here we go:

The joys:

* a weekend with nothing on our calendar... big JOY

* with nothing on the agenda we took the kids to see Yogi Bear at the dollar theater. they have been waiting since Christmas to see this movie.  

* pajama night at awanas

* our college kids were on spring break so we had a free sunday night.  as much as we love having them in our house each sunday night it was a nice treat to have a quiet sunday night.

* mauryn giving her dad a back rub. "breafe in, breafe out"

* mauryn's shoes of choice

* landon's wake up call... harley dog

* my boy finishing school diligently to earn a sticker on his work chart... almost to dinner at mcdonalds - his fav

* sunday brunch. we were given a gift card last year that was about to expire so we finally used it this past weekend.  what a treat.

* my boy helping to make dinner

* sunshine, warm weather, and bike ride

* my niece is coming to visit this weekend.  so excited to see her and glad she is choosing to spend her college spring break with us.

* i am going to attend my first blogging conference next fall. ticket is purchased.  so looking forward to spending a weekend with her, getting to meet her, and hanging out with her and her {and getting to hear them speak :o) }

Ten on the 10th

Ten on Ten: Take a photo every hour for ten consecutive hours on the tenth of each month. Document a day of your life and find beauty among the ordinary moments.

7:00 am - nebulizer treatment for her cough

8:00 am - unloading the dishwasher

9:00 am - cup of hot tea and lenten devotional

10:00 am - spelling test

11:00 am - phone call with denise working out a plan for annual trip to bass lake

12:00 {noon} - grammar lesson with landon

1:00 pm - taking morgan to gymnastics

2:00 pm - working on blog post

3:00 pm - vacuuming 

4:00 pm - pediatricians office waiting for mauryn to get checked out

5:00 pm - prepping dinner... broccoli cheese soup

Egg Salad and Lent

I ate an egg salad sandwich for lunch today. 

{i know you were all dying to know what i had for lunch today}

For many years I was guaranteed an egg salad sandwich every Wednesday night during the Lenten season. Up until five years ago when we moved to Idaho, every church we had ever attended offered a Wednesday night service during Lent {with a soup/sandwich dinner before hand hence my guaranteed egg salad sandwich}.  It was a time to gather mid week and reflect on the season. It was a time to focus on the sacrifice Jesus made for us. 

I have really missed having those services each week during Lent.  

Last year was the first year I ever gave something up for Lent.  Although it was a challenge at times I have felt prompted this year for the Lenten season to be something more than just giving something up.

I didn't really have a clear picture of what this Lenten season would look like for me.  The kids were going to do a daily bible reading and activity through Significant Sacrifice.  They loved it last year and were excited to do it again.  Yesterday they put together their paper chain for the next 40+ days and worked through their first activity.

We also started a book called Amon's Adventure.  As I was reading through the introduction of the book, something struck me.

The introduction started with the phrase "rend your heart". 
 I could not get that phrase off of my mind.  

What does it mean to rend?  I didn't know so I looked it up in the dictionary.  It means to tear apart, split, or divide.  

"Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord you God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love."  Joel 2:13

I need to rend my heart.  

I have not given God my whole heart. I have rarely felt worthy of what He has to offer.  Even though I KNOW this is a lie, I haven't felt the truth of it in a long time.   There is a difference between believing something in your head and feeling it in your heart.  I have given lies and negative thoughts a grip on my life. They have become an idol to worship. The lies have become my truth.  

I have been on a journey to eat healthy and get back in shape. It has been a struggle. I think the struggle comes from not being fully heart healthy.  I am still allowing the negative thoughts to rule my life.  They are a joy stealer.  As determined as I am in focusing on finding joy, I want to feel the joy in the depth of my soul.

I am rendering my heart by replacing lies with truth from His word.  

In a sense I am giving up something for Lent. I am giving up the lies.  They will die and the new truth will live in my heart.

** i am giving up fountain soda for lent and i am going on an spending fast, buying only necessities with a few exceptions that have been budgeted for such as landon's birthday/party and activities surrounding my nieces visit in a week and a half {yeah!}

Finding Joy - Week 9

The joys:

* mauryn snuggling with morgan while she does her school work

* landon in his favorite work spot... on the floor usually laying on his pillow pet

* learning about egypt and making landon into a mummy.  their laughter and delight was contagious

* this sassy little girl brings our family so much joy

* a chocolate covered face

 

* i mentioned in my joys a few weeks ago how mauryn's four year old speak brings me so much joy.  i completely forgot to include my favorite of her words.  she has a notebook she "writes" in and carries everywhere. it is her diary but she calls it her diarrhea. ha!

* mauryn came down with a cough which for her means regular neb treatments.  her cough allowed us a sunday morning full of snuggles and punky brewster episodes. loved this quiet morning with my little spitfire.

* waking up to snow on monday morning.  

* due to the snow and some families being sick our homeschool co op was cancelled.  we got a SNOW DAY!  playing in the snow, movies, games, and reading. a much needed day of doing nothing.

* on monday night we celebrated landon and our neighbor Amiah's birthday with their "family" birthday dinner.  we tried out a new to us restaurant in Boise {more on this fun place later}.

* introducing morgan, who loves ALL things mint, to mcdonalds shamrock shake.  

* finding these cute ottoman's on sale at target for the girls' room.  i love the color and that they have storage.  even though i love their bright colors and how they match to polka dots on the walls, i am not sure if i am going to keep them hence the tags still attached to them.

* mauryn's kids sure love the new ottoman's

* mauryn the little mother is sure to take care of all her kids.  she spends her days rocking, feeding, nurturing, snuggling, and loving her dolls and stuffed animals

* two of my favorite blog friends shared their cardboard testimonies this week. so proud of their courage and love their hearts.  janelle is sharing her story this week on her blog.  grab your kleenex. i know it has been tugging on my heart strings.

* warm spring like days for biking, playing, reconnecting with neighbors, playing with chalk, and enjoying fresh air