To Love Their Husbands

There is a wonderfully encouraging meme going around now, encouraging wives to write about one way they have showed their husbands love. My husband does a really good job doing little things for me to show how much he loves me like giving the kids baths(Lily included), so I can clean up the kitchen in peace. Or by coming home with a bag of Starbucks coffee(that's one of my favorites!), or watching "The Blindside" with me, even though he didn't want to see it. I know I need to get better about doing little things for Erik to show him how much I love him. I tend to get so focused on what needs done around the house, or what the children need, that I struggle with getting my priorities in their right place.

This past week was a little easier for me to show Erik how much I love him, because it was his birthday last Wednesday. I had Jack and Anna color cards for Daddy, and then we decorated a little bit for his birthday. I made sure his favorite drinks were in the house, and made his favorite dinner- Coq Au Vin(which sounds a lot fancier than it really is), Potatoes, mushrooms, and broccoli.

This next week, my goal is to strive to be more intentional about doing little things for Erik. Head over to Live by Faith for more encouraging ideas on how to demonstrate love for our husbands.

Letter to Jack

To my sweet boy,

You are just a few months away from turning three already! I can't believe you are getting so big. It doesn't seem so long ago that I found out I was pregnant with you, but I guess that's what every mother thinks about her children, isn't it? You are still a laid back little man(for the most part) and very cheerful. You still can't go anywhere without your "froggie", though every day I grow a little more concerned that Froggie's days are numbered. Daddy and I have searched high and low for another stuffed frog like him, but it's all been to no avail. You take such good care of him, though. Froggie has a hole in him and his stuffing falls out and you always pick up the stuffing and put it back inside him. If only you had a mommy who knew how to sew...

  

  Speaking of taking such good care of things, you take very good care of your little sister's. Anna is your best friend, and you like to give her random hugs throughout the day. You also enjoy playing with Lily(or as you call her, "Wiwi" you haven't quite got your L's down yet), and she adores you. You love to play peek-a-boo in our curtains with Anna, coloring and playing with play doh, anything that has to do with music, and being outside. 

You're also going through a cute phase where you like to give "air hugs". When we are sitting at the table eating dinner you say, "Mommy, I give you hug!" and then you pretend to hug me from across the table. You are learning how to sit through Church with mommy and daddy(and Lily), and you really like the music. Though, you were scared of the loud music the first couple of times we took you into big church with us. You are fascinated by the cross and you love listening to the piano.

You are learning to obey Mommy and Daddy the first time we ask you to do something with a cheerful heart, but I'm guessing we'll always be working with you on that one! We love you so much, my sweet boy! I pray everyday that you will one day know who Jesus is and grow into a godly young man who's desire is to serve the Lord. 

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your Word. With my whole heart I seek You, let me not wander from your commandments!" Psalm 119:9-10

When you were a week old exactly I came across this verse, and I have prayed this for you periodically throughout your little life. 

 

Meditations for your Sunday

"As for His failing you, never dream of it- hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted until the end."
 -Charles Spurgeon, quote taken from Girl Talk by Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Whitacre

" And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, [1] for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 taken from ESV Bible  

"Have we been slandering God by daring to worry when He has said,"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Oswald Chambers

Today

Today I..

-woke up at 3:25 this morning wondering why Lily hadn't woke up for her feeding yet. I quickly checked her and fell back to sleep, thinking maybe I'd get a full nights rest.

-at 3:35 this morning I woke up to Lily's cry requesting food.(ha!)

-at 6:00 I woke up to a certain two year old wanting his blanket.
- And then around 6:30 got up to feed Lily again.

-After feeding Lily I got up to start my day. Coffee, Bible Study, and Whole Wheat Waffle with some fresh strawberries all got me going for the morning.

- Jack and Anna were up by the time I got out of the shower, we got dressed, I got them fed, and we cuddled and read Brown Bear Brown Bear for about the millionth time.

-I started some laundry, and then we spent most of the morning playing outside with bubbles. And since I have a boy we also enjoyed playing with sticks(lol). Jack also wanted to "bring mommy helicopters"-the little seeds that fall from trees- so I got a lot of "helicopters".

-Chaos ensued as we came inside, since the only person who wanted to come inside was mommy. Lily was hungry, a certain 20 month old was stubbornly refusing to eat her lunch, and a 2 year old was whining for milk. Reminders on how we ask for things were given(for what seemed like the fiftieth time that morning!), corrections were given, and hopefully hearts were pointed back to Jesus(mine included).

-After lunch, while I'm feeding Lily, Anna came and sat beside me on the couch. She got a serious case of the giggles, and buried her head in my shoulder trying to play peek a boo. She seriously giggled for the next 20 minutes. When I noticed things were quiet again I found her underneath our dining room table curled up with a blanket trying to go to sleep.

-Nap time! Sweet relief for me. It was my cleaning day, but I still managed to put my feet up for awhile and read some blogs and take a catnap. Furniture was dusted, floors were vacuumed and mopped, and counters were washed down. And yes by the time we went to bed, you'd barely notice I'd had a deep clean day.

-Around 5 everyone is awake again(yes I know I'm blessed that my kids take long naps), I put in a video for Jack and Anna, and Lily goes down for an evening nap so I can finish dinner. It's my husbands long day today so I'll have to leave dinner out for awhile . We are trying to eat healthier right now, much to my two year old's disappointment. When I set his plate in front of him, he makes a face at his wild rice and says,"Mommy where's potatoes at?"(haha!) After Jack and Anna finish their dinner they go play with their giant box that we have left over from where we had to buy a lawn mower. I realize that Lily's still asleep and they are entertained so I have a rare moment of "quiet".  I decide to call my mom and check in with her. While I'm talking to her I discover that Anna has given up playing in the box and got into our diaper genie(eww). When she sees me she walks up to me and happily hands me an old dirty diaper, and I am once again reminded why I like to always keep this child in eye shot.

-Shortly after dinner is over and I'm cleaning up the kitchen, Erik comes home. He plays with the kids for awhile before sitting down to eat his dinner. I give Jack and Anna baths, and when Lily starts to get mad Erik takes her to the living room to rock for awhile.

-Bedtime for the three little ones, and then exercise time for Erik and I. Jack is having some trouble going to sleep, so we alternate going upstairs to settle him down.

- Finally around 10:30 Erik and I head up to bed, I feed Lily. We stay up and read awhile and then go to sleep.

Today was just another ordinary day at my house. Nothing exciting. But I know I'm always encouraged by other bloggers when they talk about their days, so I thought I would do the same thing today. Now I have to go and start another day! :-)

Our first Picnic

Hey, everybody! Sorry it's been awhile since I last blogged. I thought my blog was broke, so I spent  a few frustrating hours trying to fix it to no avail. I told my husband it wasn't working, and he looked at it, clicked a button, and bam, my blog works again! It's all right I never claimed to be all that tech savvy. So hopefully I'll be around more since I know my blog is in fact working again!

I thought I'd share a couple pictures of our first picnic we had of the spring. Who would have thought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches eaten on the ground would be so exciting?

Sorry these pictures aren't awesome. I am definitely not a photgrapher, and my camera isn't the best. But these are still memories I want to have:-).

Jack was so excited to eat dinner on the ground. He's getting so good about saying "cheese" when he sees the camera, unfortunately it's usually before I've turned it on.

  This picture cracks me up. As you can see Anna was much too busy to stay on the blanket for very long. Jack looks so disappointed, it's as if he's saying, "But we were having so much fun, sissy."

Some Random Tidbits(Because that's what I do...)

The last few days I've been trying to think of something good to write, but my brain has been mush. Mommy brain epitomized. However tonight as I was getting ready to go to bed I thought I'd share a few random things going on in my life.

1. Jack and Lily are becoming quite the cute pair. Jack and Anna are already adorable together, but until the last couple of weeks he hasn't paid much attention to her. Now he talks to her and brings her toys, and she coos and smiles at him.

2. Anna still thinks Lily is a doll. For the most part she doesn't pay whole lot of attention to her, but when she does she quickly pats her on the belly and calls Lily her baby and impishly walks off. Cracks. me. up.

3. This past week we have virtually lived outside. I love Spring! And as an added bonus the kids sleep longer during nap time because all that fresh air wears them out. Makes me love spring time all the more.

4. I was brave today and took all three kids out to the grocery store. During lunch time. I am that crazy. And you know what? Shopping carts were not exactly invented for three kids who still need to ride in a cart. To the kids credit they were all wonderful. Jack and Anna thought it was great fun getting to ride together in the basket of the cart. Other people at the store were pretty funny observing me with all my children. Makes me want to wear a T shirt that says, "Children are a Blessing. Yes we know how they are made." But I suppose that might be a little blunt.

5. I am loving having the go ahead to exercise again! Most mornings before everyone gets up I am on the treadmill and it has been wonderful. It's a much better energy booster than coffee. Not that I've given up coffee, but the combination has given me so much more energy.

6. Finally,(although now I'm thinking of a million other things to share!) I found a new sugar cookie recipe that has been a huge hit with my little family. Especially my husband. The almond extract gives them a tasty twist. Here is the recipe if you are interested.

Oh yeah and one more thing. My wonderful mom bought Anna a Dora the Explorer DVD, and we love it! I think Dora might be the least obnoxious cartoon the kids have. If you have kids definitely check it out. Although it is a little hilarious to hear your two year old saying, "Buenos Dias!"

All right that's everything for now! Thanks to the lovely Gina for the inspiration!