hard day

Today was a hard day for me.
My baby had his last day of preschool.
I couldn't even get a picture of him with his teachers because I could not hold myself together enough to take one.
I had no idea I was going to feel this way.

Next year he will be going to all-day kindergarten.

How will I make it through the day without seeing this smile?

Reusing Pretty Bottles - a kids craft idea

My Sweet Caroline likes to be "green". She doesn't like to throw anything away that could be used for something else.
Lately, she has been noticing how pretty bottles are.
They all have such unique shapes.

She decided to get out her acrylics and make them even prettier.

She used her Gesso first to prime the bottles.

Then she and Luke just painted away . .. so fun.

They turned out pretty cute, right??

Spring is in the Air

What a wonderful day it was!

It has been such a long winter, hasn't it??

Today's warm weather was so very needed.

We've been cooped up way too long.

I'm so excited that Spring is actually on its way.

I was beginning to wonder if it would ever come.

My outlook on life seems to be so much brighter when the weather is nice . . . is that how you are, too?

We are dogsitting for our neighbor's sweet dog, Josie.  Luke says he doesn't like dogs . . . do you think he means it?

"Soul" Food

I have been feeling very "full" lately because of all the "soul food" I have been feasting on.

One thing that has been "filling" me up is listening to this CD.

I just love it. 
Amy Grant singing my favorite hymns . . .
Definitely a nourishment to my soul.
(The kids like it, too, and I am glad they are learning the words to hymns because of it.)

Another thing that has been "filling" me up is this Bible Study.

It is a study on contentment by Laurie Cole and it is titled There is a Season.

In this study, we are learning all about the different seasons of our lives and how we can learn to be content in all of them.  Right now, we are studying David's life and all of his different seasons and how God was using each season to prepare him for the next one. 

I have been getting so much out of this study.  It is well-written and I look forward to my time that I spend doing my "homework".

God has been really speaking to my heart about how true contentment/satisfaction can only come from Him.

I encourage you to get involved in a Bible Study.  What a great accountability system!  I had such a hard time making time to read my Bible before, but now that I am in a group study, I am so much more motivated. 

Accountability is key.

Another thing that has been "filling" me up is my time with Luke.

He goes to Pre-K in the mornings and I have the afternoons with him.

I savor my afternoons with him.

He's my little buddy.

My time with him definitely nourishes my soul. :)

What has been nourishing your soul??

My Sweet Valentine

This little sweetie just gave me a very sweet Valentine.

I love what it said on the inside . . .

*sniff*

(yes, I realize that Luke's name is written in mirror-image . . . all of my children wrote their names like that at first, so I'm not worried about it . . . weird, though, right?)

Oh, and look what the temperature was when I rolled out of bed.

Notice the NEGATIVE sign in front of the number. 

Brrrrr. . . .

It's not that bad . . . there's plenty of sunshine.

Have a great day!!!

I Spy with My Little Eye . . .

Yesterday at lunch, I was playing "I Spy With My Little Eye" with the kids. 

It was Luke's turn.

He looked straight at me and said, "I spy with my little eye something that I love."

I (hopefully) said, "Me???"

"Yup. You guessed it."

Swoon.

Chicago Sports Day

My Chicago sports fans are happy campers today.
One of John's students gave him tickets to the rematch of the Stanley Cup today. . . and he loaned them some jerseys for the day . . . how nice!! 
(If I had money, I would love to do things like that . . . give things to people. Wouldn't that be fun??)

Go Hawks!!

And, of course, the Bears will be playing the Packers this afternoon.

My boys are Bears fans even though I grew up in the Green Bay area.  People ask me why we don't root for the Packers.  I guess it is because I was never a big football fan.  (I can't even remember ever watching a Packers game)  When Jake came along, he was invited to a few Bears games (thanks Diane!!) and he naturally became a Bears fan . . . I guess I will be happy with either team winning.  :)  They are both great teams.

Fall Means Football

Caroline and I left for a few moments and look what we found our boys doing when we returned.

I love Fall.

Don't you??



The football season is well under way, but I am trying my best to hold off until October 1st to buy our first pumpkin of the year.  I never make it that long . . . we'll see. 

Time Well Spent

Well . . . I think I have finally figured out my new blog margins and picture sizes.  Whew!!  I am so happy to be able to post larger pictures.

Luke and I have been having a lot of fun together in the afternoons.  I try to get as much accomplished as I can during the 2.5 hours he is in school so I can feel free to really play with him when he gets home.  We have loved playing board games and LEGOs together. 

I will cherish our "Mommy-Luke" time forever.



(and, yes . . . it did take FOREVER to pick up all those LEGOs . . . it's just way easier to build something cool when you can see all the pieces!)

That Which We Cannot Have

OK, so I have this cup.

It's an insulated cup from Starbucks that I fill with water and take with me wherever I go . . . I love it.

It doesn't sweat.

It looks cool.

I actually have two.
It's MY cup . . . I have declared that I actually have something that they cannot use.

The kids have tried to use it and they have ruined the plastic green straw on one of them. They love my cups because I don't let them use them.

Well, today my little Luke and Caroline stayed home from school because they had a low grade fever last night and I could just tell in their eyes that they needed to stay home and rest.

I kept trying to get them to drink water to stay hydrated. They just did not want to . . .

They wanted juice or chocolate milk or something else a little bit more fun than water.

soooo . . . I pulled out my cups and guess what??

They were lovin' their ice cold water in their cool-lookin'-for-Mommy-only Starbucks cups.

Isn't it funny how human nature just makes us want what we cannot have?

What is it that you want just because you cannot have it?

By the way . . . they are both doing fine and are looking forward to going back to school tomorrow. :)

My little man had his first day of Pre - K today.I was so proud of him, because he was a little reluctant at first.

But he was brave and he had a great time.

I had big plans for my first two and a half hours to myself.

What did I end up doing?

Taking a shower and doing the dishes.

Tomorrow, I have a phone date set up with one of my good college friends.

I missed my little Luke, but he had fun and I got something done.

All is well.

:)

Luke is FIVE

Look who is FIVE!!

I must have blinked or something, because last time I looked, he was just a baby.

We threw Luke a simple, little party.

(remember . . . simple is good)

The kids did the decorations.

The theme was Star Wars.

I think they did a great job!!

We made little pizzas with cutie Caleb.

yummmmm . . . We made Luke a LEGO cake . . . I just love this picture of Caroline singing to Luke.
The next day, on Luke's real birthday, Jake and Caroline celebrated with him at Monkey Joe's. (a place with a lot of inflatables)

Happy Birthday, dear Luke!!

You make me smile!!

We love you sooo much!!

(and you'll ALWAYS be my baby . . . no matter how old you are!!)