Deck the Halls with a Valentine!

The month of February seems to bring out my inner teacher... we've been tracing, cutting and crafting around here to get ready for a month filled with X's, O's & chocolate!

Our heart garland made out of old, bent up gift bags (we seem to have an abundance of recycled gift bags around here)... the lacing string is made out of the gift bag handles... just tied together.  :)

Heart streamers hung from the chandelier...

And our hutch on Valentine steroids... there's a little bit of everything hanging out here!  :)

Bringing the valentine spirit around here!  :)

Menu Plan - Back in the groove

Last week was a weird week... we deviated from the Meal Plan quite a bit.  We ended up using a gift card and free kid's meal coupons to Chili's one night AND THEN we had a 24 hour period where the city was working on our water lines, which colored our water yellow.  I just wasn't that into drinking and cooking with yellow water, so we ate out a couple more meals.  My kids probably think this was the most exciting week of their lives.  :)  I'm not a big eater outer (is that a term?), but everyone else in my family thinks it's the bee's knees.  This week, we've gotta get back into the routine. 

MONDAY
Potato & Ham Soup, Crescent Rolls, Fruit

TUESDAY
Not sure yet... have some scheduling issues...

WEDNESDAY
Mexicali Meatloaf, Corn, Salad, Fruit

THURSDAY
Salmon, Sweet Potato Fries, Salad, Fruit

FRIDAY
Orange Chicken & Rice, Snap Peas, Fruit

SATURDAY
Popcorn, Cheese & Apples

SUNDAY
Angel Crock Pot Chicken, Green Beans, Fruit

My future fashion consultant...

I love Sadie's style... and honestly I wish I could look as cute as she does even in a mismatched concoction, such as this.

This girl's got soul when it comes to clothes and that makes me smile.

PS... Don't you love the boots on the wrong feet???  How do children tolerate that?!

Soul Candy

The past couple weeks I've been participating in our churches B90X reading plan... it's a read through the New Testament in 90 days.  As I was reading along last week, something stood out to me that I had never noticed before (Eric had never noticed it either... and I love teaching him a thing or two about Scripture!  ;)  Usually it's the other way around.)

Anyway, I was reading through Matthew 27:15-26... these verses lead up to Jesus' crucifixion -

15 Now it was the governor's custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd.16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was  Barabbas.17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?"18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21 "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor.
"Barabbas," they answered.
22 "What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?" Pilate asked.
They all answered, "Crucify him!"
23 "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"
25 All the people answered, "His blood is on us and on our children!"
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

Intense.  I can't begin to imagine being in that moment.  Because of the crowds uproar, Jesus took the place of Barabbas who was guilty of the crime which Jesus was accused. 

Here's the part that got me all excited... in my commentary it explained that the name "Barabbas" means "son of the father," which was exactly who Jesus was to God... the "son of the Father."  I don't think it was by accident that Barabbas' mother chose that name for him... it was divine... God knew where Barabbas would be all those years later.  He knew that the true "son of the Father" would take Barabbas' place on the cross... along with yours and mine. 

So thankful for the "son of the Father," Jesus, and His deep love for each of us... His willingness to go to the cross so that we might know of His redeeming love.

Socks

Cole: (holding up a sock) Whose sock this, Daddy?

Eric: That's Sadie's sock.

Cole:  Where my socks?

Eric:  I don't know, what color are they?

Cole:  White, white, daddy.

Eric: White?

Cole: They have witing (writing) on them.

Eric:  Really, what do they say?

Cole:  They don't talk.

Winter Book List

Oh, how I love a  stack of books!  I've officially borrowed and collected everything I'm planning to read over the next few weeks until the groundhog decides that spring is here (Oh, Lord, may it come quickly!).  :)

Here's the run down:
Yesterday's Embers by Deborah Raney
So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore
Prodigal God by Timothy Keller
Do You Know Who I am? by Angela Thomas
Each New Day by Corrie Ten Boom

How do you like your chocolate???

Those that know me well, know that I love me some chocolate... with a Dr. Pepper on the side, of course.  It is truly my guilty pleasure. Chocolate may even be my love language.  Maybe Gary Chapman needs to add an extra chapter to his book for me.  :)  Anyway... I used to be a lover of all things milk chocolate... I especially loved Milk Chocolate Bliss Squares.  Heaven in a wrapper.

Something weird has been happening to me lately, though... maybe it has to do with me becoming more grown up... I mean, I am just a few months shy of 30... maybe my taste buds are just maturing a few weeks before the big day.... for-whatever-reason I recently made the switch from milk chocolate to dark chocolate (something I never thought I would do).  My chocolate change of heart happened overnight (imagine that, a girl changing her mind overnight... we'll leave that for another post).    Come to find out, Dark Chocolate Bliss Squares are my new heaven in a wrapper.  Who knew???

So, what do you prefer, milk or dark???