Easter preparations

Today was Palm Sunday and Tyler was in the play during church and also in our "Jerusalem Adventure" as a High Priest. He did such a good job! This afternoon the kids and I canvassed homes in our neighborhood. I can't believe they did so well!! They made it 2.5 hrs walking to over 100 doors!! I had to make the stop but promised we could go again tomorrow evening. So excited for a week of celebration. On Friday, Tatum is getting baptized. She is so excited!!

Easter Recipe

I have finally found a new recipe that is fun to do with the kids and also represent the price that Jesus paid for us. The first recipe was really neat because the when you bit into the cookies, they were hollow representing the empty tomb. However, They WERE HORRIBLE!!! Can you imagine a cookie that even the kids would not eat?

Anyway, this one is much better! Here is the link:

http://www.womenlivingwell-courtney.blogspot.com/

I may not have this exactly right. If you don't see it when it first comes up, scroll down a bit and you will find it. Have fun sharing Jesus' story. Praise God the tomb is empty!!!!

Lately

We have been so busy! We had a blast a spring break visiting family. We went camping on our way home with my brother and his family. My parents are visiting Israel right now!! I am so excited for them to get to have this experience!! I think they will forever be changed! Can you imagine what it would be like to walk the same steps as Jesus?!!! Unbelieveable!! I can't wait to get a turn!

We are doing a campaign at church called "Generations". We are definitely in need of more classroom space. At the beginning of the month, the kids were given a "seed" bag with $5 in it. They were taught about the "parable of the Talents" in Matthew 27. If you have had the chance to read it, you should. Anyway, we took our seed money and bought water bottles and ice to sell at the local ballpark. I took the kids out the the ball field to sell their water. I am soooo proud of them!! They worked hard for 2 hours and made nearly $50!! We put that money back in their seed bag and they had the opportunity to lay their bag on the alter during church! I was amazing to watch as a parent! Great lesson to learn.

God is doing amazing things in our home and we are so excited! I will be a preschool teacher next school year at our church!! I am so excited!

Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's day and we have had a great day so far. Michael left me a rose and a box of chocolate and card before he left for work. He came home for lunch too! Tonight, we are having dinner with the kids. We don't really have a sitter so we will just celebrate with the kids. This is our 14th Valentine together and I am so thankful for that!

Awww..another snow day!

We had four snow days last week and now we have another one today! LOVE IT! Michael let us sleep in and we are having a great day! Due to last weeks snow, we didn't get our trash picked up, but Praise the Lord, they are out today. We could barely walk in the garage! Yuck! That is what is happening at our house!

winter

I know several of you are going to disagree, but, I LOVE winter! I love that it keeps us home more than any other time of the year. I love that we can have a fire going and snuggle up with a great book or movie together. I love the kind of food we make in the winter time. I love that we bake more and it makes the house smell soooo good. LOVE it! I love snow and skiing. I love that it reminds me so much of my childhood days growing up. We spent so much time outdoors with my dad doing firewood and he would do crazy driving stunts on the ice and snow because people would wait until there was a foot of snow on the ground before they would realize they needed to order it. It reminds me of the smell of our house growing up with the wood burning fireplace going. So for a little longer, I am thankful for the snow coming and the joy it brings to my heart. Hoping for a snow day tomorrow!

What we have been up to

I love lazy mornings. The boys got to have sleep overs last night...we each of two boys the same age so we switch off brothers on a regular basis. Tatum is not a fan of this because she is "always left out!" It is so tough being the little sister. I can't really imagine that she misses out on too much!!

We have played skipbo, farkle, wii, and uno and it is not 1pm yet. We had a "pick your own lunch" kind of day....love those days. And, the kids think they are pulling a fast one on me. We will go to church and Sunday School tomorrow...my favorite day of the week! And also my favorite activity! We started a new Bible study on Wednesday nights and it is on Marriage and Parenting. Our first class was fantastic. It is being taught by a couple who have been married for 44 years this week! They should have some great information for us to use along with the Bible. They are passionate about each other and about sharing what they have learned with us.

We don't have plans for our long weekend..just resting. I have a couple of books that I have started and would love to finish just one! Beans with ham are cooking on the stove, smelling great I will add! I have had my daily phone conversation with my mom, 5 of my usual 20 texts with allison, and waiting on my sister for her daily call...live is good and we are excited to see where God takes us next!