A Day of Little Valentines!

Being 37 and half weeks pregnant does not make for much great planning ahead these days, but we managed to all sneak in some fun Valentine's Day surprises for each other this year! Even though Matt and I always say we are not going to do anything more than cards, I always know he's going to get me something, so I make sure to get him/make him a little something too. I also got to pick out some little surprises for Kenna this year, which is so fun now that she can interact with fun holidays a little more!

When I woke up Monday morning, this was waiting for me in the kitchen:
pink roses (that smelled amazing!), a heart made of my favorite dove chocolates, and a card that unfolded accordion-style and even sang to me! Matt has always been a really talented card-picker-outer!

So to go with the card I had gotten him and the one I helped Kenna make for him, we decided to make him cookies too. When he got home from work, this was waiting for him:
My neighbor friend had just mentioned that she and her husband both had Valentine's week birthdays, so I packaged up some of the cookies and chocolates for them too and even made a fun little Valentine for their dog with some doggie biscuits (from our dog, of course!) using these really cute printables:
I had the most fun picking a few fun things out for Kenna. When she went down for her nap, I set it all out so it would be waiting for her when she woke up. The little mailbox was from the $1/$2.50 section from Target, the sticker book was from the $1 section at Michael's, and I painted the pink "K" on a clearance sketchbook from Walmart (to put her stickers in).
Granddaddy and Nana B. had given her a balloon that I tied to the back of her chair:
But of course, she was most interested in the candy:
I let her stay in her hearts jammies all day:
Then, after letting hear eat two "pops" (little dum dum lollypops) and a mini box of nerds, I made her an all-pink and somewhat healthier dinner. Since Matt works late into the evenings, there aren't any men in the house at dinner time to object to our pink dinners:
juice in a pink cup, strawberry yogurt, ham roll ups, craisin cranberries, and pink/red fruit snacks... all on a pink heart plate, of course!

Hope you all had a wonderful "Love Day!" and a Happy Valentine's!

Easter Weekend: Sunday

Sunday
On Sunday morning we headed off to the early service expecting to work nursery, but instead we were able to go to service to hear Pastor Marty's great sermon out of the Luke account of the resurrection, and then had a great lesson in Sunday school as well. Both lessons taught one of my favorite verses: "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " (Luke 24:6-7). Our Sunday school teachers brought photos they had taken of the empty tomb in Israel, and it was so amazing to see it, exactly as described in God's word.

After church we headed to Sandy and Leanne's for lunch, delicious homemade cheesecake, and an egg hunt in their backyard. I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids or the grandparents!
There were lots of eggs to go around and lots of fun hiding places to find them in!
There was even almost some impromptu gardening when Nana B brought out a fun shovel toy set!
I thought I had forgotten my camera at home, only to find it in the bottom of the diaper bag the next day... luckily Granddaddy took lots of good ones and we got a family picture (this was just minutes before Kenna ate an orange jelly bean and covered herself in bright orange drool!):
After that, a few of us ended up out of the dress-up clothes and into some play clothes...
...which was way more fun anyway!
We had such a fun and busy day (and crashed out so hard when we got home!) that Kenna didn't get to open her Easter basket here at the house. So, today I put her dress back on and re-created the moment so that we'd have pictures of it! As my Mom would say, a hundred years from now, no one will ever know the difference!

Her favorite thing was the thing I was most excited to give her... bubbles in little peep-shaped containers, found at the dollar tree! The bunny was found among Nana Dean's things last winter (it doesn't look like it, but it does have ears!)
Our little book-loving girl:
Our sweet precious girl. What a gift to get to teach her about God as she grows, and to hopefully get to be instrumental in her coming to believe in Christ as her Savior. Happy Easter!

Easter Weekend: Saturday

On Saturday morning we headed out to the farm for Bayleaf's Easter Egg Hunt. What a big, fun production! It was so nice to just enjoy attending the event rather than being in charge of planning one like we did last year. We were so thankful to all of the volunteers, and it was fun to see our friends hiding eggs for the kids between each age group.
Kenna was a little more interested in watching what the other kids were doing... I love this age where it is not about getting the most or the best eggs, but just their pure little amazement at the pretty colors and loving the power of putting things in and dumping things out.
It was so nice to be together as a family!

Easter Weekend: Friday

We had a really great weekend together as a family for Easter! (So busy and fun, in fact, that I have to split it up into 3 separate posts so that I can upload all the pictures!) Since Kenna was only about 4 months old on her first Easter, we excitedly looked forward to this year when she would be a stumbly little toddler, reaching over to pick up one little egg at a time, all while trying to not let all the eggs fall out of her basket. Little did we know that Kenna would get to participate in three Easter egg hunts this year!

The weather has been an absolutely gorgeous reminder of celebrating the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. Something about the flowers blooming at this time of year just reiterates in my mind the way God renews our hearts and the birth of the new creations we are in Him! "See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come." (Song of Solomon 2:11-12). Season of singing, that's exactly what spring is to me!

Friday
The first on Friday was technically our monthly ladies' lunch for our Sunday school class, hosted by our friends the Bryants. Let me tell you, Scott and Sarah know how to throw a party! We had a picnic lunch, a craft, went through the Resurrection eggs for the kids, hunted for Easter eggs, and even visited with the Easter bunny!

Seeing all the big kids when we first arrived at the Bryant's house... if there is a dog anywhere to be found, Kenna always wants to say hello.
She did a really good job of keeping her balance long enough to pick up the eggs and put them in her bucket. She was so excited to carry her own little bucket on her arm like a purse.
I was really impressed that Kenna didn't cry around the Easter bunny and awesome giant carrot. Most of the kids did really well, I remember seeing only one or two cry.
Letting it all hang out and eating a peep. It was so sunny and hot!
Inspecting her candy loot! I let her eat the melted chocolate right out of the wrapper. Yes, she had marshmallow peeps and melted mini kit-kats instead of lunch!
Friday afternoon we walked around our neighborhood and gave out small gift bags we made with Easter eggs full of candy, a note inviting them to church with us, and some really great tracts Matt had ordered earlier in the week. We wanted it to be an encouragement to those that already are believers, and an open door to get to know everybody in our neighborhood a little better!
(PS- didn't Target have the most beautiful colored eggs this year? I kept going back for more because I wanted to have a few left over! Love them!)
After Kenna went to bed, Matt and I watched the movie the Passion of the Christ together and decided it will be a new family tradition to watch it each year on Good Friday. It was such a special and awesome time for both of us to remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross, and I actually love how graphic the movie is because it makes it just that much more real that we don't celebrate the "Easter story" we celebrate a risen and living God!

Missed Chances

Yesterday Matt stopped to help the car parked beside us in the Wal-mart parking lot jump their dead battery. It was cold and rainy, and Kenna not only needed a nap, but we had just come from her doctor’s appointment where she had gotten four shots. As I watched Matt help the guy, I sat and thought of the small handful of gospel tracts in my bag that I had told Matt I would give away weeks ago and hadn’t yet. As I thought to roll down the window and hand it to Matt to give the man, Kenna fussed and I instead turned around to soothe her, mentally rationalizing that as a mom, she was my first priority and ministry- a child who will grow up with access to the gospel not only in the words on the page of a Bible story, but hopefully lived out before her daily by her parents. Will she call me hypocrite when she becomes old enough to see me speak of the importance of one thing and not do it? The example I set before her is not a responsibility I take lightly.

And how many others have there been? The acquaintance who is heartbroken after an adulterous relationship ended when her lover went back to his wife. The mom at work who mourns the deep loss of a stillborn child. The co-workers when I was at Target in front of whom I cared more about what they thought of me than how Jesus could change their lives. And how many perfect opportunities that I let slip away, such as the lady on the plane next to me who told me she and her husband always fly separately so that if one of them were to die, their kids would still have one living parent to take care of them? It would have been so easy to have asked her where she thought she would go if she were to die, but I didn’t.

It is well with my soul. I have the eternal assurance of being rescued from my own sinfulness, of a future in heaven with the God who loves me unconditionally and knows and created the tiniest, most hidden parts of my heart. But is it well with the soul of the woman who will not smile back at me in passing in the store as I Christmas shop? Is it well with the person who has obviously not showered recently and is unpleasant to stand near? Is it well with the people who pass me every day? So many hurting people. We have the answer, but do we have the time?

What are we doing, Christians? Do we care about people? Do we care enough to speak to them personally, telling them what God has done for us, rather than just invite them to church so the pastor can “do his job?” Think about the words we will sing this Christmas:

“Long lay the world in sin and error pining

Until He appeared and the soul felt it’s worth

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices

… sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we

Let all within us praise His holy name!

Christ is the Lord!”

This Christmas season, and every day, take the chance to give others the most important gift we possibly could. Don't miss it. Tell someone. Not just "have a blessed day." Not just "I'm praying for you." Tell someone that we celebrate Christmas because Jesus the Savior came to live a perfect life and die that we could have salvation from the sinful nature that we all have that separates us from God. You don't have to have a seminary degree (I sure don't!) or be a super outgoing person or know how to have some theological debate. I want to care enough to speak up, enough to be a little uncomfortable talking to a stranger, enough to bring up a subject that is personal and oh so important.

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..." -Romans 1:16

"If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" -David Otis Fuller

Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer

For Kenna's first Halloween, I was planning on keeping it simple and just making a little costume for her... like a collar of "icing" made out of felt for a cupcake costume, or a red onesie with black dots to be a strawberry (she has a strawberry hat too). But at the last minute Matt said he wanted her to have a real costume, and of course, I was ok with that!

So one quick trip to Target later we had a skirted leotard, plus some hand-me-down pink tights and her polka dot leggings:
A tiny dancer. I was so excited about getting her all dressed in her costume and taking pictures, you would have thought I was sending her out to the prom!
We took her last night to Bayleaf's Fall Festival, which I had been excited about for weeks! We had volunteered to run one of the games and were assigned the David & Goliath bean bag toss. We had so much fun! Matt chased after bean bags for all the little kids, and Kenna and I admired all the costumes and handed out candy. She sat on my lap for 45 minutes straight, completely enthralled by all the action around her!
There were tons of people and lots of great food, and games for the bigger kids! We all had a blast hanging out and watching the kids stuff themselves with all the good stuff... hot dogs, cotton candy, cookies, soda, and candy!

Bayleaf's family life center was completely packed with people!

Nana B, Kenna, Granddaddy and Beckley... busy getting spoiled, of course!

Little cousin friends, Beckley the alligator, Ansley the pumpkin, and Kenna the ballerina!

Group picture- me, Matt, Kenna, Leanne, Beckley, Sandy, and Ansley

Kenna was not so thrilled about sitting on the hay with the scarecrow. She sat and pouted and then started melting down shortly after! We didn't even make it home before she completely crashed out:

What a good time we had! Happy halloween!