Mark's Room

I am OK knowing that I am not interior design blog material. But I do like to try to pretty up our home & I love to do it cheaply! Mark needed a new bed recently & I found this old twin at Good Will. It had a shiny pine finish (not my favorite!) that I sanded & painted the same color as his dresser. Ta da! A "matched set"! Then I cut out bunting & his name in scrap booking paper & it's looking better. I still want to do more with his walls...any ideas?

Our Nathan

This little guy has a BIG personality!

Little Boys

...forget & wear muddy rubber boots all over the house...imagine they are the Three Musketeers & "sword fight" in the back yard...drop towels on the floor after they dry their hands (if they wash them at all)...have very earthy humor...make forts out of freshly washed blankets, making them laundry-ready once again...talk way too loud...spill hair lotion on the floor (accident) & then slide all around in it (inspiration)...make their Mom crazy &... 



... are 100% precious & dearly loved anyway! 


I remind myself often that they won't be little for long. Gotta go now though - lots of messes to clean up! :) 

Happy Easter!

We're taking a semi non-traditional approach to Easter this year, with the five of us going out for Chinese food after church. Yum!  

We sang some awesome songs at church though & I've got to share some of the lyrics, so simple & so true. This is from Casting Crowns' song, "Glorious Day".

"Living, He loved me

Dying, He saved me

Buried, He carried my sins far away

Rising He justified freely forever...."

From Matt Maher: 

"Let no one caught in sin remain

Inside the lie of inward shame

But fix our eyes upon the cross

And run to Him who showed great love..."

I love the "run" part of that last song. That's what I need to be doing every day, running to my Creator, the one who loves me most. 

Here's the link to that second song. So beautiful! I can't get it to load on here the way I want it to, but if you paste it into your browser it'll take you right there. Easter hugs from all of us! :)

     
    http://youtu.be/E2KNvuscKRA

 

Just life....

...but it's ours & I'm thankful for all of it, messes, pet hair, clutter  & all.

Puppet Shows

The boys got creative & decided to build theaters & put on their own puppet shows. It was very messy & fun. Mark & Luke put on the shows & Nathan provided the spotlight with a flashlight.

Home School Fun

The boys & I recently took the day to explore the kids' science museum/park. They all love science, especially the hands-on kind.

Our Backyard Drama

We have a long history of bossy, cranky roosters. Our current one, a Cochin named "Chicken Nugget",  is actually not too bad but he occasionally likes to sneak up on the kids for a quick attack (does little harm but it is startling.) So, our sweet Rotti girl, Juneau, has decided to come to the rescue by "guarding" us from the feathered threat. I was able to capture a few pictures....

 Juneau is a sweet heart but she struggles with fear, especially of men. It's been so great to see something she is wonderful at. No fear there - just care & concern for "her kids"!

Soccer Season...

is over... until August! 

The boys had a very rough season but they sure

looked cute the whole time! :) 

In Between Laundry: Guest Tutorial: DIY Wire Baskets with Attempting A...

In Between Laundry: Guest Tutorial: DIY Wire Baskets with Attempting A...:
Check out this VERY cool tutorial on how to make your own wire baskets cheaply!

Ahem....

I am posting this in our van where the kids can all see it. "Nuff said!

Nathan's Tender Heart

Nathan is my fellow animal lover in the family. He is also a bit of a sleep walker. That combination created this funny scene that John discovered in the hallway recently when he got up very early in the morning. 

Did you notice Nathan's feet sticking out from under his blanket? He had gotten Jake all bundled up & even gave him his pillow & then joined him on the floor!

Photographer Mark

Mark loves photography & even though the light is weird in this shot I thought it was cute. I like Luke's funny face!

Luke & Jackie Chan

There is something so special about Luke. He'd tell me I was just biased because I'm his Mom, but still...

Anyway...he recently has become very impressed with the stunt work of Jackie Chan & asked me if he could write him a letter.

As dictated to me...

"Dear Mr. Jackie Chan,

I wish I could be in your movies because I like your movies and I'd like to help you make some more. I was hoping I could help because I like being in movies & I can do flips.

My name is Luke and I am seven years old. I am from Ghana but now I am adopted and I live in America. I am very nice and I help people. I like to read the Bible and I love Jesus. I have two brothers and a Mom & a Dad that love me.  I love acting and playing soccer. I love to play like I am you in your movies, so I am just wishing I could be in one of your movies. 


From Luke"


Is that not precious!? I don't know if Jackie will ever actually see Luke's letter but we will send it off anyway.