Surprised by Hope-a book blog

A few girls and I are reading N T Wright's book, Surprised by Hope.

Two quotes:

"what you think about death, and life beyond it, is the key to thinking seriously about everything else-and, indeed that it provides one of the main reasons for thinking seriously about anything at all." pg 6

and

"just how empty was the tomb on Easter morning?" pg 33

It has encouraged my soul to think. To think well. To think rightly. To seek Hope. To know power of the resurrection.

It's causing my head to spin, but my hearts been good-very good.

Recommended read?....Yes!

Awww.....

It's for realz. Owen is growing up. I can't believe he is big enough to reach the door handles. Sniff.

Ps notice the pink and white blooming trees outside? Yes, it is beautiful around here and spring has sprung!

Polo shirt and linen pants

I love linen pants. Here is our cutie in his Sunday Best-being cute as always!

I don't understand why O puts his hands on his head to say, 'cheese'. But it's the way he does things.

hummmm....I think one of my favorite!

Love you Owen!

Flying feathers

Katie loves doing art, crafts, coloring...I recently bought a bag of wiggle eyes, feathers and felt and let her create her own picture. We worked together and then I headed into the kitchen to finish some dishes. Things were quiet and I was lost in my own thoughts. As I came around the corner I caught this...Her art on paper had turned into art in the air. :) She was memorized by throwing feathers up in the air and watching them float down around her. I was awed by the mess it was creating. They. Were. Everywhere. But alas she was having a grand time and that was another reason to let her play and then get out my trusty vacuum. I am still finding tiny feathers floating around. :)
Love you Pippers-you are beautiful!

step one of our garden

We are doing another garden this year and opted to try to start a few things from seed. Mostly because we want Katie (and Owen) to be a part of the process from seed to table. Normally we like to go to the State Farmers Market and buy some plants since they are easier to maintain and we love buying from the farmers. But we are trying our hand at our own this year. (we tried from seed two years ago and it pretty much failed so there is always the chance we will go to the Farmer's Market anyway, later on down the road. :)

And as you see, Katie also had some input into getting some other seeds...'princess' flowers! (the above photo) Katie and Daddy's date was to grow some flowers-so they are maintaining the mini flower greenhouse as well as the veggies.

Saturday morning we planted our seeds in a mock greenhouse. When I say we, if truth be told it was mostly daddy planting. :)

A few of the veggies that came in the starter kit. We are excited for everything to begin to germinate.
*Katie and I just checked and we already have flowers, lettuce and a bean coming up!
More updates soon.

Mornings.

Mornings around here are rough. I don't understand how we all can get pretty good sleep at night, wake up to a sunny day, but with such poor attitudes. It confounds me. I know that Justin and I have seriously prayed about our attitudes in the morning, but how do you help your kids? We have prayed and prayed, but what else?

One thing I have found is that I NEED to prepare for breakfast, as much as I can, the night before. This helps me a lot when the kids are hungry and desiring something right way. (thanks Brandy for the reminder to cut up fruit or soak oatmeal. :)

Another thing is that I need to be awake before I go into get them, so that my attitude is one of joy and seeking to help them adjust their expectations of the day. They don't need a momma bear, stumbling in to get them up!

Thirdly, I have found that I need to give them space and time to adjust to being awake, just like me. I don't need to demand that they be joyful right away, but have asked them to be quiet until they are ready to be compassionate and kind. It helps that we have again asked Katie to play in her room until we are ready and let Owen stay in his crib too until we are ready. They are learning how to be wake up slowly and with patience.

And lastly I have found that the more creative I can be with food in the mornings, the better.

I think this morning was done well! As I finished some eggs/toast the kids sat on the floor eating Cheerios out of the mini muffin pan with great excitement. They ate out of their own sides and loved doing it themselves.
*It is a bummer that I still can't get Owen's nose to stop running...what other allergy could it be?? It is much better though then last week. And he is still his energetic self!

Katie loved it too!
And look at that rolled tongue. I can't do anything special with my tongue (I can't blow bubbles, whistle, twist my tongue, nothing!). Glad you got your Daddy's genes on that one little girl. :)

Note to self....do this more often! :) I have also done this with cut up fruit and it is amazing how easily they eat all kinds of stuff in this pan.

Anyone else have other ideas for morning routines??

Question for Katie

question from Daddy to Katie.... "Katie, why did you think it was a good idea to stick the paint brush up the vacuum wand hose?"

Yes, it was stuck for a good 15 minutes in there while Daddy tried to shake it out.

You never know what sentences you will utter when a parent! :)

roll. run. jump. flip. Katie's classes.

Justin and I have been thinking through how or what do we do with Katie's energy, her desire to meet new kids as well as learn to follow instructions from adults. We had thought about gymnastic classes. The gym classes around here were a bit pricey. Another gym had some options, but what to do???

Then Living Social came out with a deal for a local gym not to far from us. Perfect. :) I had prayed about what to do and in all honestly, the next day the deal popped up! So we are doing a handful of classes at Superior Gymnastics. They have some excellent teachers and they do a lot of real gymnastic (not just running and jumping).

Katie has LOVED it. I don't know if we will continue doing it monthly, but we are super glad that she tried it out and has enjoyed it fully.

being silly

Every gymnastics girl needs a french braid.

ready to go!

jumping on the long trampoline. She must jump 100 times before she reaches the end. I think it is her favorite activity! She is in the light pink leotard with stretch pants.

Getting ready to roll down the ramp for somersaults.

running over to another activity

balance beam - Katie thinks she is a pro at this because Jessie the cowgirl can do it. I did not know that Jessie did gymnastics. :)

(And there is her teacher, Ms. Vicky in the background, who is terrific!)

Jumping over the animals-isn't that a great way to have the class be creative and fun! *Sorry for the reflection off the glass out in the lobby. We stay out and watch while they are in the gym for 60 minutes. It keeps things safe for both parents and kids. :)

Favorite part of the balance beam-jumping off at the end!

Wow, walking backwards is much harder....but she concentrated very hard. :)

ahhhh, love this age where you loves to smile and wave to me! Good Job Katie Grace!

finishing up and getting stamps for a job well done!

Owen missed Katie-he gives the biggest hugs when she comes out from her class. :)

the stamps of the day...always on the feet or legs or arms...she LOVEs it!

Wonderful job little girl-so glad we got to bless you with gymnastic classes!

It was hilarious!

Happy belated birthday Justin and Hunter. :) It was so so so much fun going on a date with you all! I can't believe we had this planned since December. Worth the wait for sure.

The food was delicious. The company fantastic! Babysitters were wonderful. Brian Regan...hilarious.

I wish I could relate some of his act to you all, but alas you will just have to youtube him if you've never heard of his comedy or go to one of his shows. Really. He. Is. Good.

Hunter and Robin,

We deeply appreciate your friendship. We love laughing with you all and talking over dinner. We will do it again....soon! Wow, can you believe that we have been friends for years now? Love it. Thanks for living life with us.

Hugs, Justin and Gi

journaling-special dinners and a few meal ideas...

Have any of you, just for the fun of it made your dinner time special lately? Go ahead and try it! Set it with the china-or nice colorful paper stuff, light a few candles, eat dessert for the main course and make a memory. (and if you are a worn out mom right now thinking, yeah right, no way....then plan and prepare for this for next week or next month-but do it!) And if you are single, then invite a few friends over and make it a girls night-don't use the excuse you can't. :)

Don't let the everyday take over. We are all girls of the KING!

Here are a few more things we have had at our house lately...maybe they will spur some of you on to try something new or that you haven't had in a while. Happy cooking!

1. fish tacos, guac, rice
2. lentil stew, fresh bread
3. breakfast-pancakes or waffles, fruit salad, bacon
4. loaded baked potatoes, grilled chicken, bacon, peas, butter (coconut oil), s/p, sour cream, cheese, salsa
5. corn chowder, fresh bread
6. thai chicken, rice, grilled veggies, peanut sauce
7. homemade ice cream and popcorn

Over and out good friends!

Katie's work and play

We have been working on chores for Katie and one of those is to put the kids dishes away. A few days ago Katie came and asked me if I could blog about her organization skills. I said, sure! So here is her cabinet. It took her about 10 minutes to get everything lined up. Way to go Pippers, it looks great!

And then on to her creativity. Katie hooked Owen up in the stroller to her train. Then she pulled him around while she rode the train. Job well done big girl! Way to work hard, serve O and play all at the same time!

Got to have this snack

Nutella (a chocolate hazelnut spread), Peanut Butter, homemade graham crackers...you can't go wrong with this delicious snack. I think I will post the recipe for the crackers soon. It is SUPER easy and wonderfully healthy. If your kids are like mine, they will think you should be nominated for 'Mom of the year' eating this snack combination. :)

Hehehe...And those are Katie's fingers trying to sneak it before I can grab and eat it! :)

Yep, they love it!