four friday faves.

Since parenting is the toughest job, I have read many books on the subject over the last several years. I wouldn't call any of them perfect, but they are all based on scripture, so there are many valuable things I've learned from each one. Here are three of my favorites, and one that will arrive in the mail tomorrow. :)

[1] Give Them Grace ... This one teaches that raising "good" kids completely misses the mark; teaching our kids the gospel and grace of God is what matters the most.
[2] The Heart of Anger ... I don't love this cover, and I'm not even half-way through it yet, but this is such a great book. Whether or not you think anger is a real issue in your home, this has been very eye-opening. It dissects the Bible verse - "Fathers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." [Ephesians 4:6] There are so many ways I never knew I have provoked our children to anger. Highly recommend.
[3] Shepherding a Child's Heart ... It has been a long time since I've read this one, but it's really good. It gives Biblical approaches to training up our children. I want/need to re-read it!
[4] The Ministry of Motherhood ... A good friend just recommended this one, and after reading this synopsis, I ordered it immediately. "A mother’s day is packed with a multitude of tasks that require energy and time: preparing meals, washing clothes, straightening and cleaning the house, and caring for children. These jobs all are necessary and crucially important. But in the dailyness of providing for a child’s physical, emotional, and social needs, vital opportunities for spiritual nurture and training can be overlooked. This doesn’t have to be the case. You can focus your energy on what matters most."

four friday faves.

So Hudson turned 7 on Wednesday, which is just crazy. Although his personality hasn't changed much [hooray!] since this video was filmed, he seems so grown up compared to his four year-old self!

Here are just a few of the ways God made him that I just adore ...
[1] He is the cutest rough & tough ball of energy, yet just as equally tender-hearted.
[2] His expressions, made-up phrases, and motions can be absolutely hysterical.
[3] He thinks to pray for people and situations more than I do.
[4] His smile ... lights up the world.

four friday faves.

With upcoming trips to Mexico Beach and Boca, here are some things I recently snagged on sale with our summer vacas in mind ...

[1] Shea Moisture "coconut & hibiscus" wash from Target, which smells the best.
[2] Sperry flip-flops from Dillards.
[3] Gap "palm print board shorts" for Gus. :)
[4] Carters swimsuit for Hollis that I cannot wait to dress her in next weekend!

four friday faves.

I'm back! Great, fun things have been happening in our life. April was pretty jam-packed for us, which is why I've barely blogged lately. But life is now getting back to a more normal pace for me ... So, here is a sneak peek of four important events I'll dedicate individual posts to this month. Can't wait. :)

four friday faves.

In honor of our baby girl turning 3 yesterday, here are some of my favorite shots of our Hollis-bug. :)

four friday faves.

Being that it is Good Friday, here are some things we will be incorporating in some way this weekend. Every year, my goal is to be more intentional than ever before ... with myself and with our children. It's easy to get wrapped up in egg hunts and candy [and we definitely love for our kids to enjoy them too], but we want the emphasis to be on Christ.

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [Romans 5:8]

[1] The Jesus Storybook Bible ... Nothing can replace the Bible, but this is good for in addition to. The illustrations are beautiful + captivating.
[2] Resurrection Eggs ... The kids love when we get these out each year. Such a great tangible way to teach the events of Easter.
[3] "He Has Risen!" Donuts ... So excited to try this for the first time on Sunday! We've made the resurrection rolls before, but I was looking for something with little to no prep time. :)
[4] One of my favorite worship songs ... "In Christ Alone".

four friday faves.

Gus keeps a running list on his phone of the things the kids have said/say that we never want to forget. I keep thinking there has to be a cool way to display some of their "isms" in art-form ... on a canvas or decorative plate. Maybe one day! For now, here are just a few of our favorites.

[1] Matthew - "hold you" ... all of the kids have said this, but Matthew started it. Hollis still says it, and it remains one of the cutest requests after all these years.
[2] Hudson - "two kisses and two hugs" ... we have no idea where he got this, but he started saying it when he was probably 3 years old. At bedtime and goodbyes, this became his universal request. It should be embroidered on a pillow :)
[3] Eli - "backy-back ride" for piggy back ride & "regally milk" for regular milk.
[4] Hollis - "two ones" ... whenever asking for a pretzel or chip, etc. One is not enough!

four friday faves.

In honor of Valentine's Day, here are some old pics of our little loves [who are growing up way too fast] ...

back to reality.

So we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday break ... lots of Wii playing + TV watching; endless Lego playing; later breakfasts & bedtimes; countless pajama-wearing days ... it was pretty wonderful. But as much as I fight having a schedule & a routine, I REALLY crave it at the same time. It's back to the grind, but it's been pretty great :) We started school at home the week after New Years and CC this past Wednesday.

Our first day was frrreeeezzing outside ... which meant our house couldn't really warm up, so pajama day was a cozy way to start back to school. We kicked off the day with read-aloud time in the boys room, and then moved to the family room to work on sticker books while listening to Math skip counting music.

Presentation time - sharing a favorite Christmas gift with the class...

Our first day back at CC was also Science Fair day, and the boys loved seeing all the hands-on experiments!

Matthew's afternoon writing class [aka: Pre-Essentials] ... Mrs. Hellmann held her "Hellmann's Book Bonanza," so every kid picked a book to take home. 

four friday faves.

Since we are traveling, here are my favorite things about a road trip ...
[1] really good conversation with Gus while the kids are zoned in on movies. 
[2] being able to catch up on email & text responses. 
[3] the joy of just sitting and riding after being non-stop all day preparing to leave. 
[4] planning our route around a pit stop @ Starbucks :)

twenty-fifteen.

I love it when the calendar rolls to a new year ... I love a fresh start; a new day; a chance to make some changes ... So I love coming up with some goals to strive for.

#1 Read more. I read some great books in 2014, but I also have books that are waiting to be picked up off our bookshelf ... Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, and Gifted Hands by Ben Carson are just a few on my reading list this year. I also want to read more to the kids. We go in and out of phases where I read aloud to them. We all love it, and I want to make that more of a habit around here.
#2 Serve more. I want to have eyes that are open and a heart this is willing to serve others this year in ways I never have before - whether in big or small ways ... and I want to teach our children to do the same, leading by example.
#3 Prioritize more. I am guilty of letting whatever I mark off my chalkboard wall to-do list determine how I measure my daily success. Working hard, managing a home, and providing clean clothes for my family are certainly very important, but I don't want to ever communicate to my family that my to-do list is more important than them. Instead, I want to go to bed each night knowing that in some way I showed Gus and the kids that they are such a treasure to me.
#4 Run more. I really love to exercise, and going for a run has been my very favorite. But after falling twice last year, I cut back for fear of falling again. I want to get over that fear, and run some races as well this year ... including a 10K.
#5 Listen more. This one is really hard for me when it comes to Gus and the kids. I'm not good at turning off my brain or putting my phone down when they want to tell me something. And I like to think I'm pretty good at pretending I'm listening when I'm actually thinking about something else. Truth is, I need to be listening to them ... I need to hear  Gus and the kids need to know I care about what they have to say, no matter if I'm really interested or not.

So these aren't necessarily my "new years resolutions" that tend to be broken by mid-January. It's about baby steps to changing some things about myself or making time for the most important in life. Thank goodness "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." [Matthew 19:26]

happy new year!

end of the year re-cap.

I never got around to posting about our November, and now it's the last day of 2014! So here's the end of our year, mainly in photos.

Last soccer game of the season ... and it was freezing!

We had such a great time at the Centennial Homecoming celebration at Gus' parents' church, First Presbyterian Church in Havana. The last picture of Gus was in one of the photo albums on display ... looks a lot like one of our boys :)

The dreaded stomach bug invaded our home in November [very thankful Gus was spared], and this sweet guy would not leave my side. I think I had him worried :(

Baking cookies with Nana & enjoying an art afternoon with Mama Anne ...

Studying Anatomy @ CC ... learning about pig organs from Dr. Franz + tracing bodies and pasting organs!

End of the semester field trip to Mission San Luis with all of the Tallahassee CC locations ...

 

Annual tradition ... Getting our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving @ Lowes.

We headed to Disney for a week the Sunday after Thanksgiving [i posted about it here and here] ... we were packed down!

We participated in Havana's annual lawnmower parade ... and won first place! Gus' parents & neighbors always come up with a great theme and float each year. This year's Frozen theme was a huge hit with everyone. We had the perfect Elsas, Annas, Sven, Olaf & Kristoff to participate.

We had our Sunday School class over for an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" party, which included a wrapping game ... it was hilarious!

Making ornaments + cookies :)

Ice cream party with Matthew & Hudson's CC classes @ Winthrop Park ...

Christmas Eve @ Aunt Susie & Uncle Dave's!

 

Christmas day :)

Random photos the past two months ...