Carpe Diem

Carpe diem is a Latin phrase, usually translated "seize the day”. This painting, along with its series, was inspired by a recent loss in our family. We so often forget to slow down and live the today that we are given. To enjoy our loved ones. To sit and savor. To linger a little longer around the table after a meal. To love.

Some of the verses that echoed around my heart in the weeks surrounding our loved one’s death are these, all speaking of the brevity of life. Our life is but a vapor, and we do not know if we will have tomorrow. Let’s enjoy each other while we can. We are only given the gift of right now.

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 1Pe 1:24

Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. Psa 39:5

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. Jas 4:14

The rest of this series employs coffee ring art, because most of the time we linger together, it involves a hot cup of coffee which encourages us to sit and sip, instead of gulp and go. 

See this series in my Etsy shop

This particular painting is unique, and dedicated to the memory of my father in law. It features tea rings, because his hot drink of choice was tea. Winter days would often find him with a cup of this or that variation of tea in a mug. His open Bible would likely not be far away.
He will be greatly missed, and we long for Heaven when we will see him again. For we will, with certainty, see him there.

If you would like to learn how you can be forgiven, and have the same certainty of life after death in heaven, please message me and it would be my pleasure to introduce you to Jesus.

Faith Spoken Of: Stay

Faith Spoken Of: Stay: It’s hard to fully express what I felt God working in my heart last night when my husband was reading the Jesus Calling Bible Storybook to our kids.

Visit the link to read the full story.
I will likely be adding new devotional-type posts over at Faith Spoken Of, and keeping this blog to more personal/family posts, and of course DIY and recipe posts.

Have a blessed week!
Nicole

What I’m collecting this year

For the last few years I’ve tried to pick a word for the New Year in lieu of making any resolutions. The idea is to be able to focus on forming new habits or traits and not being overwhelmed with a list of hard-to-achieve goals. I’m all for goals, don’t get me wrong, but finding a single word to work toward makes it a lot easier to focus.

Here’s the way myoneword.org puts it:

“The challenge is simple: lose the long list of changes you want to make this year and instead pick ONE WORD.
 This process provides clarity by taking all your big plans for life change and narrowing them down into a single focus. Just one word that centers on your character and creates a vision for your future.”

In the fall, through some excellent studies I’d been participating in, one theme kept sticking out to me in the verses I would read.

Wait on the Lord.

But my soul kept asking me, ‘what does that really even mean?’

So my word this year is wait.

WAIT.

And it will become a matter of deeper study and reflection for me as I discover what God meant when He tells us, yes, urges us, to wait on Him.

From time to time you’ll see a post here delving into some of those reflections and discoveries- like today! What better way to start the new year than to be in God’s word?

Today, as often happens, I went on a daisy-chain search through the Bible, finding what I wasn’t really looking for. I was looking up the cross-reference listed in my Bible to one of the Jesus Calling daily devotional verses for today. (I highly recommend Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, by the way! You'll probably see me reference it a lot in times to come.) When I arrived at the cross-reference verse, I started looking at all the verses on that two-page-spread that I’d marked or underlined. And that’s when I landed on this verse:

Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord! 

Psalm 27:14 NKJV

 And I cried. God does know His children.

He knows me.

I decided to look up the word wait in Strong's and was very blessed. I think you will be too.

Wait

To wait, look for, expect

Waiting (participle)

To linger for

To collect

What if I linger a little longer, and my collections were God – could I gain more enjoyment from collecting God than any other thing collected?

I linger at the window when my husband goes to work.

I linger a little longer in the coffee aisle at the grocery store than the other aisles.

I linger at the doorway when I lay my sleeping sons in their beds.

I linger to witness the sunset, sunrise, clear stars or breathtaking sky.

Would I linger at God’s word and allow Him to offer me strength in return? Will I linger in prayer a little longer instead of becoming distracted with my to do list for the day? Would I linger in an attitude of worship before moving on to the next thing?

And what if God was my favorite collection?

And why do we collect things in the first place?

Because we really like them.

Because we can’t get enough.

Because looking at them makes us happy.

Because we like finding them at all the places we visit.

Because there are so many varieties and we just love all the different kinds.

And aren’t these all great reasons to collect God?

Let’s develop insatiable appetites for Him! Let’s take joy at looking at our collection. Let’s look for Him everywhere we visit. Let’s be in awe at all the different marvelous facets of Him.

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My Prince

Continuing our writing challenge for October, and I'd like to share a little bit about my prince.

I have always been his princess, and so he is my prince. He works so hard for our family.
I just love his chocolate brown eyes, and wavy brown hair. And though I tease him about them, I love his short fingers. His hands are perfect.

He is the oldest of 7, and their family is comprised of mostly boys. He has all the firstborn tendencies about protecting and providing and being true to his word.

When I first started falling for him, it wasn't because I was attracted to his looks. I was attracted to him. The  funny things he would say, the deep way he would feel, and his honesty and trustworthiness.

We met over a door. Well, kindof. We were on a mission trip with our church and he and I got assigned to the same team (yay!) so we were at the same location all week. One of the project days he and I were working on sanding down the same door for a house we were working on, and we had a nice chance to just talk. Visit, laugh, learn about each other, all while doing hard work in ministry.

I love that our relationship started with ministry. And while doing hard work.

The hard work has not stopped.

This has been a banner year for home-repair for us! My poor husband has not only had to deal with something constantly being wrong with the house/car/computers, but usually more than one thing at once. (Currently it's the car doing weird things and the garage door being broken.) These have at times displaced us from our home and caused us major inconvenience and stress. But he has kept truckin' through it all, and I love him dearly for it.

I love seeing him father our children. He backs me up when I ask him, and when he doesn't, he explains to me why not. And I typically see his wisdom and agree.

He prays for our family and for our children. And every night, even if he's so tired he's falling asleep between sentences, he reads from the Jesus Storybook Bible and sometimes also the actual Bible verses to our boys. Even when we were in the NICU with our firstborn, he read.

I just really could go on bragging on him all day but I promised to keep things short.
He is my prince.

Writing Challenge

So... I missed the beginning of the month for the 31 day writing challenge, but I'd still like to do it, and the Adrian Monk in me is going to backdate posts til I get caught up.
Sometimes I write deep, sometimes I write candidly, as thoughts enter my mind. There will likely be a mixture of both.

We're supposed to pick a theme to write about for 31 days, starting Oct. 1. I am choosing a rather generic theme "My Life at Home".

I am married, and the mom of two boys, and work from home. I love coffee, Bible study, music, art and working with my hands. You'll get to delve into some of those topics a little deeper with me as we go, but for today we'll stick to a short overview.

I grew up the second oldest in a house with 10 children. My youngest sister was born a couple months before my high-school graduation, and my oldest sister is just 15 months older than I.

I'm no stranger to hard work, though there are days (not unlike this one) where all motivation is squelched by lack of energy. I should have gone to bed earlier last night instead of working on the canning. More on that later. Coffee is in the microwave. It'll probably get warmed up -again- at least three times before I finish the cup. It's not even that big of a cup today.

I love to learn. I think I have a longer bucket list of things I'd like to learn than things I'd like to do. Anything from learning more languages to learning instruments to learning how to make that cool leaf in your coffee.

Oh yeah. My coffee....

I don't have all that great of style. I think I used to, and then I don't rightly know when it happened that I lost it. I just have me-style, and that's gotta be good enough. I do love that free-spirited boho look that's light loose and comfy. My mom says I was born in the wrong decade and should've been a 70s child. She's probably right, except that then I wouldn't have my Ian, and my mom would've probably been my big sister instead of my mom... and a whole lot of other 'excepts'. But back to style. Sometimes what I love and what I actually wear are two very different things- yoga pants just easier some days, you know?

I love about any kind of food. Usually I really really love the sortof ethnic fusion or mashup kinds of meals. Or the pseudo-ethnic versions that Pinterest is full of (and pseudo is completely okay!) but I do love some comfort food now and again, like pot roast, or white bean soup, and yes (of course!) mac-n-cheese.

I will close before this gets too terribly long, but there you go. A little about me that you maybe didn't know before. Let's do this thing! I love the idea of writing for 31 days. I do wish I remembered the two or three more creative topics that I thought of on October 1st (the real one) when I first saw the challenge, but maybe I'll do another one later on?

Now, coffee.

Put your stuff down so I can change you

Put your stuff down so I can change you.

This is what I told to my toddler. He’s always got something he’s carrying around. This week it’s either his cars or a couple of flashlights. Or both. From the moment he wakes up, pretty much until we put him to bed at night, he’s got something in his hands.

This morning was no different. Before breakfast, when I was changing his diaper and preparing to get him dressed, he’d found some treasures to hold.

When it came time for me to change his shirt, however, the items were too big to fit through the arm-holes, and this is what I said,

“Put your stuff down so I can change you.”

And it stopped me cold.

Yesterday at our church, we started the Bible study Breaking Free by Beth Moore. I haven’t even tapped into the homework yet, but I know it’s going to be a life-changer. I have also been going through So Long, Insecurity, also by Beth Moore, and it is already changing my life, and changing how I look at things.

Put your stuff down…

Don’t we all have our ‘stuff’? Our treasures, yes. Our hurts too? Most certainly. And we’ve been called to lay it down. Just let go of it.

Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” NKJV emphasis mine

Repeat after me:

“It’s not worth it!”

If it’s going to keep us from being changed, it’s not worth it. If it’s going to keep us from growing in Christ, it’s not worth it. If it’s going to keep us from living abundant life, the life that He gave His very life to ensure that we could live, it’s not worth it!

Put your stuff down so I can change you.

Ephesians 4:22-24 “22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

The parallel deepened for me, as I pulled his little chubby arms through the sleeves, and gave him a clean shirt to wear. Clean. New. And it was even the one with the firecrackers on it; the one I bought for him because it was representative of his surprise (quite early!) July birth. “Little Firecracker” it says on the front. And he wears it today.

What are we wearing today? No, I don’t mean which cute shirt are you wearing, or whether you’re in slacks or sweatpants. I mean what is the image – whose image – are we representing?

Are we wearing our hurts?
I am abused.

I am neglected.

I am forgotten.

I am not good enough.

I am ______________?

Or are we wearing Christ?
We are not only called to put off our old self, but also to put on our new nature. Live as one created in righteousness and truth.

Friends, let’s be changed. And let’s let God do the changing.

Put your stuff down so I can change you.

Thankful

I'm not gonna lie. Life is hard. SO hard. But I'm remembering to be thankful. I'm remembering to savor. Because even if life is hard, it is my life. My only life. These day-to-days even when I accomplish nothing other than keeping my little boys alive and fed, these are my life. We're in the thick of it. We're smack in the middle (and at the beginning, depending on perspective) of doing the thing, and we get one shot at it.

I'm extraordinarily hard on myself. I am realizing more and more how many people are hard on themselves and I am no exception. I didn't really think of myself as a perfectionist, but perhaps there is a bit of that in me. It could just be plain ol' insecurity. It could be a lot of things. (By the way, I'm going through Beth Moore's So Long Insecurity with four precious daughters of God, and it is like a fresh glass of iced tea in July. Every person on the planet could benefit from that book and I strongly recommend you get a copy!)

But I'm easing up a bit.

I am a week behind on my scripture memory. Or a year plus a week, depending how you look at it. I started the Romans Project last year and drifted away from the habit around the end of July or August. Life happens, and I allowed it to get in the way. So I started back with it this year in the middle of July, and am behind.
I was beating myself up about this. This and a host of other 'started but unfinished' projects... like the laundry for example.

But there is grace. God offers grace abundant, and we've only but to receive it.

And I am behind on my scripture memory, but, God graciously reminded me, at least I'm doing it. God's precious words, while maybe not in the quantity or at the pace I would have liked, are still being trained into my heart. Little is better than none at all; praise Jesus.

We took a walk yesterday. The dinner dishes weren't washed. My son may have still had a bit of pizza sauce on his face.
But we laughed together.

My hair is graying and I'm not even 30.
But I have hair.

My best girlfriend is states away.
But I have a precious friend.

The sink is full of dishes and the diapers need washed.
But I have a family to clean up after.

My back aches and my arms and neck are sore.
But these are all likely from caring for and carrying my kids.

These are hard eucharisteo and gifts only from God.
Every good and perfect gift comes from God. Our father.
I have a Father.
I have gifts from that Good Father.
I am thankful.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Toddler Sorting Games

Hello!

And another 'Hello' for good measure. I have been absent from blogging for what seems forever. I do have a good excuse, however. A very cute excuse. One that likes to snuggle. One that wears baby clothes and will one day call me Mom.

He's sleeping, so here I am with just a short post about something easy you can do with your toddler with stuff you have around the house.

Best kind of post, yes? One that requires no shopping. Just a touch of creativity and you can be on your way to doing it too!

The first part is actually from a few months ago.

I had been trying to think of more activities to stimulate my little guy's mind. He is so busy, and so very smart. (I know. All moms must say that about their children. But it's so true.)

So after a bit of Googling and a bit of Pinterest I came up with some ideas I wanted to try, but most of them from Pinterest required a trip to the store. We have no construction paper, for example.

So I looked around at what we had. I found these two baskets I'd purchased for a party game at some of my Arbonne parties, and gathered up the ever-present Megabloks. I took away all the other colors except what I had baskets for (until I make it over to the Dollar Tree to see if they have more), and gathered up my one-year-old. It did not take a lot of explaining- I just showed him the colors, and put them in the right basket. Toddlers are great mimickers. He picked it up right away, and sorted them all, and dumped them out to start again. 

This kept him busy for a half-hour. No lie. Anything that keeps a 21 month old busy for that long and is not only a safe (for my house!) activity but also helps build his brain, I'm all for it!

Try it with other things too! Today we played this same game, but instead of just blocks, I grabbed all the red and blue toys I could find in his toy basket and added them to the game. Ironically it did take a minute for him to catch on, but he got it.

We also played another version of sorting today. This time it involved number recognition and matching. This is a skill I wanted him to learn for pre-piano skills- recognizing groups by number.

I took some scrap paper and a fat marker, and doodled some blocks on them- a side view, showing 1, 2, and 4 bumps on the blocks. (If there were any of the 3-blocks handy I'd have done 3 too.) and I went ahead and wrote the numerals on the papers too. He's been announcing numbers when he sees them. Today he surprised me with "Mom! Mom! Nine!" and showed me a 9. He'll tell us what speed limit signs say too... "Three. O." I told you he was smart. 

He picked up the concept right away on this one too. (Win!)

 Do excuse his toy-mess.

Make it as simple as possible! Toddlers do not care.

I'd love to hear what variations of these you have tried with your kids!

Choosing Pearls

Today, I’m drawing strength from my Jesus. The journey I’m on right now is learning to trust Him, and love Him, no matter what is going on right now. 

No matter if He’s waiting to answer my prayer.

No matter if I’m hurting.

No matter if I, secretly, deep down, blame Him for my pain.

Gasp. Yes. You read that right. No, you may not be as surprised as I was to realize it. But I did. He helped me realize it. In an ever-so-loving way, He helped me realize that a seeming unanswered prayer that has seemed to go from bad to worse has been standing in the way of my faith. Standing in the way of my love for Him.

I was guarded against my Jesus. I still am, I think, a little. It’s going to be a whole healing process, and we’re just beginning. But Jesus is up for the challenge, and so I will be too. I’m learning a few things along the way.

He does ache for the situation to be better. Not just better – resolved. Healed. Perfect. He aches for it more than I do. More than I can even comprehend.

He aches to reach in and fix it. He has to really restrain Himself from doing just that.

He can fix it. He holds the power to fix it all.

Why is He restraining Himself, then? Why, when He has the power, and wants to fix it, does He not? This was exactly my struggle.

Because He knows better. He knows that the pain is an unfortunate part of the process; of His better plan.

“Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” Mark 14:36

Not my will but Thine, Father. Abba. Daddy. You know best.

Because He knows that to take it away now, to fix it all without due process, in this situation, is not the best way. It would not foster greater faith in me. There are numerous other effects this might have on the outcome that I could never even realize, none of them best.

Because my Daddy wants the best for me. My Jesus wants nothing less for His Princess. The daughter of the King.

So I wear my pearls today. The pearl is for me a reminder – because God knows I need visuals – that the suffering is worth the wait. That pearls come from discomfort, time, patience, more discomfort, that itch you can’t scratch, pressure, more discomfort and more waiting. The longer you wait, the more valuable your pearl will become. Bigger, more visible and more precious.

I used to not like pearls. And today I realized why. And also why I like them now.

When I didn’t like pearls, I was a little girl, and the only pearls I was acquainted with were on my costume jewelry. I didn’t like them, because the shiny coating would chip off, and I’d be left with a string of ugly off-white plastic beads – and not always even the same color as each other.

Those were false pearls.
Those were not made with the same discomfort as my grown-up pearls.

Real ones.

Real pearls made from real pressure and patience. From pain.

And so many times we look at false pearls and think they’re the real thing, and then wonder why our faith isn’t stronger. Wonder why it seems as if satan worked a little better in a situation than our Jesus did. Wonder why we’re left hurting.

Satan makes false pearls.

But those false pearls may be the very ones that leave us guarding our hearts from the very One who wants to heal it. Protecting our hearts from our Abba. Our Daddy. Our Healer and Protector and Provider.

And then one day the shiny paint chips away and the pearls are ugly and the beads don’t match. And it makes us despair.

But our Abba makes real pearls. They’re irregular and each one is unique, but the paint doesn’t chip away, and they’re worth a whole lot more. They’re stronger than plastic.

Dear Jesus, help me wait for the real pearls. Thank you for making real pearls with my life.

Not my will, but Yours. The pain will one day be worth it.

God's Perfectly Planned Will and New Picture for 2014

I have a word for this year. Not necessarily my 'one word' for 2014, but a reminder I wish to carry with me always.

Boulé
The Greek word used to describe counsel, decision, motives, plan, or purpose is used 12 times in the New Testament.
(Luke 7:30; Luke 23:51; Acts 2:23; Acts 4:28; Acts 5:38; Acts 13:36; Acts 20:27; Acts 27:12; Acts 27:42; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Ephesians 1:11 and Hebrews 6:17)

This word was emphasized in a recent session of Bible study I participated in and I was so blessed.
(It was Beth Moore’s A Woman’s Heart, session 7. Download the video here) 

Here’s an excerpt from the workbook on that day.

“Purpose” — Greek transliteration, boule, “will, project, intention, as the result of reflection; counsel, decree, aim, or estimation, as it denotes deliberation and reflection.” “Boule as the first stage of inward ‘deliberation’ … thought …. Secondly, boule denotes the final result of inward deliberation.”

It carries meaning both of our purpose, God’s will for us; and of deep thought and planning regarding our lives.

I loved the emphasis on God’s purpose always being for our good. He may allow us to go through suffering, but only if it will result in our ultimate good. Better character, lessons learned, empathy gained, or something else Divinely appointed.

Even Christ submitted to God’s purpose, will, and planning for His own life in Luke 22:42:

Luke 22:42 "Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine." NLT

Acts 2:23 “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” NASB

God gave me a picture that day, and here it is for each of you to be blessed by as well. May it serve as a reminder that God’s boulé will, His deliberately planned purpose for you is based on His great love for you and He will cause it to result in our ultimate good. Be encouraged that today is only temporary, and one day, we will experience that good that comes of the plan He has for us.

print is available here

Ephesians 1:11 “Also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” NASB

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”” NLT

His plan is good, amen.

Order the 8x8 print from my shop Nouvelle Mere on Etsy

Counting 1000 Blessings - December 2013

1          1006 Boy rapt at seeing lights

            1007 So thankful to have found these! These have been missing since Wednesday. My boy has gotten into the habit of throwing things away and I didn't realize this until this week. Thankfully we figured it out before taking the trash out. I began to have a suspicion that's where his shoes dissapeared to, and there they were in the trash.

            1008 Looking forward to helping with the Apparent Project

2          1009 Joy to me :)

            1010 Monday will be Monday

            1011 Catching up

3          1012 Painting with a purpose

            1013 And so it begins. He took this of himself. By himself.

            1014 Hanging his first ornament. ♥

4          1015 Ivan loves Bing Crosby

            1016 Sharing soup

            1017 praying together

5          1018 First snow

            1019 Haiti gifts

            1020 Chasing this little munchkin around.

6          1021 Dark side of the moon

            1022 Writing menus and totally drawing a blank.... why did my hubby want me to start doing 2 weeks at a time? Having a hard enough time doing one.

            1023 I don't know how long he has been able to reach. Stop growing up too fast baby!

7          1024 Five degrees

            1025 Holding hands

            1026 We were excited to show Ivan the Christmas lights... gonna have to start earlier next time.

8          1027 laughter of our boy

            1028 holding said laughing boy

            1029 hung up laundry

9          1030 Silver strands

            1031 Ivan singing as he plays

            1032 Generations and canning

10        1033 Coupon found on the last day I can use it

            1034 Family

            1035 Appointment on time

11        1036 Soft sleeping sounds of my family

            1037 rainbows on my wall from God's sun. A promise for un-rainy days. Thank you Jesus.

            1038 feeling the warm sun on my face on such a collld day.

12        1039 Illuminations with my little family

            1040 chiminea

            1041 Coffee

13        1042 Ten pounds of apples peeled and sliced. Apple butter coming soon!

            1043 Ultrasound! We got to “meet” our new baby!

            1044 Chick-fil-a

14        1045 Christmas party at the church my father-in-law pastors

            1046 Candy canes

            1047 sams friends and family day

15        1048 Yard full of canadian geese

            1049 Church with my boy

            1050 Reading the Christmas story with Daddy. ♥

16        1051 Ivan loves his little penguin

            1052 Little boy singing Christmas carols

            1053 Breakthrough

17        1054 Perfect rainbow sky

            1055 Walk with friends

            1056 First molar

18        1057 Almost there!

            1058 Little blurry but i could only get one pic. This sweetie almost ready for naptime.

            1059 water

19        1060 Apple butter on homemade eggrolls. #brilliant

            1061 Rising homemade crescent rolls

            1062 Gingerbread train

20        1063 friends helping out

            1064 shopping done

            1065 Christmas lunch at work

21        1066 Sixteen weeks

            1067 Saving 27% on maternity clothes, and now having some that fit right

            1068 Staying home on Saturday

22        1069 Getting a look at the snow!

            1070 Very proud of myself. I built and (more importantly) have kept this fire going all.day.long. All by myself. :D usually when I do it they die in an hour or so, or never get very warm.

            1071 Bible Study craving and Italian Wedding Soup craving satisfied

23        1072 Tickles and giggles with daddy ♥

            1073 Sharing

            1074 My little niece!

24        1075 disappointment

            1076 comfort

            1077 answered prayer

25 It’s hard to keep it to just three gifts today. So blessed.

            1078 Twinkle in my son’s eyes

            1079 Blessing others

            1080 Breaking bread and discussing Christ as a family

26        1081 My husband is the best. Milk frother for Christmas. Enjoying my morning so far

            1082 160 triangles cut out and ironed. Chevron Christmas quilt will be a bit late but my goal is to have it done by new years.

            1083 Deals after Christmas

27        1084 This is happening. New JJ Heller from my sweet hubby for Christmas!

            1085 Boy who loves music

            1086 Friday routine

28        1087 Home together

            1088 Should be finished with the quilt tomorrow!

            1089 We have a new buddy for storytime.

29        1090 It's a wonderful afternoon. Quilting, coffee, fire & it's a wonderful life.

            1091 So thankful today for my beautiful red cloak my sister and mother in law made for me for Christmas! It's the warmest ever and even has room for Tiny Rethmeier.

            1092 Church and a better experience with nursery

30        1093 Rocky Balboa impressions in the car

            1094 Little boy giggles

            1095 reliving memories

31        1096 The happy candy that is my best friend right now. #tums

            1097 A game of Catan

            1098 Promise of new