Romans Project 1:1-17

When I became aware of the Romans Project, I knew it was time to start memorizing Scripture again. Over the course of this year, I will memorize Romans 1, 8 and 12. It breaks down to two verses a week. I read them several times before I go to bed. Today I had some time alone so I decided to quote what I've learned so far--Romans 1:1-17.

I use a small book for each week's verses. I've grown accustomed to the page turns as my prompts for the next verses. I kept my book with me this time because I was a little nervous. So when you hear page turns it's my prompts. I looked down for words just a couple times.


Here it is...with a view of our yard through a screened window. =)

While Preparing Supper

I started writing this blog in my mind while preparing supper tonight. You see, I could actually think while I was working. This was because of two things, 1) school was finished before supper (hallelujah) and 2) Aliza and Josiah were watching the Mary Poppins DVD they checked out at the library. So it was me and Anna preparing low cab Sloppy Jo Stuffed Peppers.

Here's what I was thinking. TV/screen time/DVDs can be a godsend. I spend a lot of energy working to maintain balance in the area of screen time and I have seen some outspoken blog posts recently on the horrors that occur in your children's minds and bodies from too much screen time, but, on the flip side, can't I just cook dinner in peace once in a while? Not every night. Maybe not once a week. But once in a while? A treat for myself...and the children. Without guilt.

My other strain of thought was how far I've come in my low carb cooking. Jeremy has lost 10 pounds and is signed on to this lifestyle of eating low carb/low sugar. As I said, tonight was Sloppy Jo Stuffed Peppers. They were good! It's the first time I followed a recipe for sloppy jo's. I always made them like my Mom did growing up--just ketchup and mustard. Not tonight! Tonight it was onion, garlic, Worcestershire Sauce etc. I made Egg Muffins the other day for Jeremy to heat up for breakfasts. (I'm not sure those were a huge hit.) Another big hit was Zucchini Lasagna--zucchini in place of noodles.

The other part of supper preparation is making salads for Jeremy and I. I'm getting more efficient as time goes on. Some nights Josiah and Anna help make salads and it is such a big mess and it seems I drag a thousand ingredients out of the fridge only to have to put them away again. Tonight I had one of those moments where I thought I was a genius. I chopped a whole head of lettuce and put it in a gallon ziploc bag. Tomorrow all I have to do is grab a handful from the bag and throw it in a bowl!

Then I served supper and the conversation in my mind was over!

Post Birthday Mayhem

 There is still birthday debris laying on the floor. There is still a lingering sense of entitlement that comes along with a birthday week. We are working on it one day at a time. I'm running full speed to stay one step ahead of whatever emotions the children are throwing at me! It seems that at least once a day they pass me and I have to sprint to catch up. Please tell me that I'm normal!

Anna was sick yesterday. Fever and lethargic. In the morning she barely lifted her head off my shoulder. I think I saw her walk once before supper and then after supper she perked up and today was a lot better. The doctor did say she has a mild ear infection. It could be viral so we aren't treating it yet. Hopefully it is viral and she will be better yet tomorrow. Aliza took a turn sitting and reading to Anna so I could get dressed yesterday. It's been a LONG time since I had a day that my sole purpose was to hold a child and cook meals. Oh yes, we had school and I did laundry. My arms were sore this morning from carrying 33 pounds of child with me all day!

This afternoon, during that extremely trying hour before supper, Josiah and Anna emptied the bookshelf so they could have beds. Josiah spent the evening fussing about having to pick them up. I told Josiah that "I'm on his case." That was not something that I wanted to hear MY Mom say growing up. He's got some lessons that need to be learned...and fast.

 We had books to return to the library today. Which means we also check out books. I put some tougher (for us) limits on the number of books to check out. Like last time when there were hard decisions I took a picture of the books we left at the library so that Aliza can choose those next time. Somehow that makes the decision process easier.

I'm sure tomorrow will be a fun day of holding boundaries, disciplining and reading books!

Birthday Party Times Three

Jeremy's birthday fell on a Saturday this year. It only made sense to have a triple birthday party so that his family would be here to celebrate with him. It took me forever to figure out how I was going to pull off a birthday party for a 7 year old girl, a 5 year old boy and a 30 something Daddy that made each of them feel special. I did my best and I think it was a success. Aliza certainly had lots of ideas! 

Aunt Brandi gave Aliza an American Girl Doll Party Book about a year ago. Aliza poured over that book and determined which party she wanted. She settled on Samantha's Tea Party. Aliza and I negotiated and compromised (mostly I compromised) and at the end of the day Aliza was happy with her party. 

The first necessary component was crafts. While Aliza and I were out for her birthday we picked out supplies for the craft projects. There were wooden picture frames to color with markers and glass jars to decorate with washable window markers. (The project in the book was painting vases with special paint and baking them.) I was quite proud that I have avoided paint and paintbrushes. Everyone seemed to enjoy the projects and it was boys that stuck with it the longest! 

 Then it was on to gifts. Since Josiah and Aliza are a bit older I insisted that they take turns opening presents--one and one.  Josiah got lots of green tractors and legos.

 Aliza still loves Lalaloopsy! She also got a mini American Girl Doll which comes with a mini book published in mini print. She got lots of other cool things too. =)

A model by model encyclopedia of John Deere tractors. He'll spend time reading that with his Great Grandad.

We did not forget the real birthday boy!

 Time for lunch! This is where I had a hard time getting organized in my planning! Jeremy is eating low carb/low sugar so I had a grilled chicken salad bar for him. There was pizza on Josiah's table. And Aliza requested cucumber sandwiches, thumbprint cookies and hot tea for her table. With hot tea flavors of mint magic and apple cinnamon spice which she requested her Grandma to provide.

 Aliza sat at her table and served everyone.

Finally, dessert. I put a lot into preparing birthday desserts. It's fun. And I love seeing their faces when I show them what I've made--just for them.

Josiah wanted farming tractors--with toys on the cake. His table cloth and plates were Johnny Tractor.

 5 years old?! I still can't believe it.

 I had ordered personalized AG doll cupcake transfers on etsy, which I was told shipped on March 1, but still haven't received. On Friday I had to come up with a Plan B for Aliza's cupcakes. Thankfully I had ordered AG doll stickers for decorations. I thought I ordered 1 pack and it came in a pack of 3. So I taped those stickers on toothpicks and they became cupcake toppers. Aliza was thrilled and I breathed a sigh of relief.

 Ice cream molds with fruit around them. These were in the party book and Aliza HAD to have them. This is raspberry sherbet with raspberries around it. There was also a vanilla one with strawberries around it.

 And Jeremy....Mint chocolate chip ice cream cake. I showed him the recipe picture and he said it would be worth splurging carbs for so I knew this was the one to make for him!

 After blowing candles Josiah got his Gator out. He gave his cousins rides. Oh my! I had no idea how crazy boys make each other. Josiah has been a stellar driver...until he had major distractions. (I learned an important lesson for later years) Josiah was looking back at Caleb while driving forward and ran straight into a tree at full speed. Caleb was jumping off the Gator while Josiah was driving which Josiah thought was awesome. Then Josiah was in charge of the gas pedal while Caleb was steering and Caleb decided to jump off....the Gator was still moving...toward the ditch. Then no one wanted to drive so Gideon (age 3) gave it a go and headed straight down the ditch toward the road. My brother (his Daddy) caught them. Josiah then gave Gideon driving lessons which was pretty entertaining to watch.

After everyone left I was pretty much exhausted. I laid in bed thinking Anna would wake me up, but I woke up first at 4:54 and jumped up. We needed to leave for church at 5:20. 

More Rain Than a Hurricane

 It rained hard last night and all day today and it is still raining and blowing tonight. We have bigger puddles than we had during hurricanes. Josiah woke up at 6:00 this morning. He heard the rain and said, "Mommy, we can still go to Caleb's house even if it's raining, right?" I assured him that we would still go to Caleb's house and tucked him back in bed. The rain hasn't kept us home, but it sure has made me want to curl up on the couch with a book and a blanket. It is a freezing cold rain.

I had a couple of silly children who wanted to explore the puddles. Their mistake was that they went running into the above puddle which was well over their knees. Their boots filled with water and they were immediately freezing cold. This made Josiah incredibly mad.

Aliza is 7!

Aliza was one excited young lady today. From the moment she woke up until she went to bed tonight she could hardly contain herself. Here is my 7 year old daughter!

This is her very excited smile. Which I see a lot of.

This expression...I wish I saw more of it. It looks so calm, so thoughtful, so...mature...
 I do love her excitement. Her enthusiasm. Her ceaseless chatter. Her thoughts and questions.

It might as well have been Christmas morning. There was no peace until Aliza got her presents from Mommy and Daddy. (We tried to ignore the 2 year old that got woken up too early and who cried (loudly) the whole time Aliza was opening her presents.) Aliza's face says it all.

And then I told her where she, Mommy, Grandma Karen and Aunt Brandi are going in a couple weeks. I'd say she is excited!

Daddy assembled Marie's bed. It is gorgeous! (Purchased at Christmas in an amazing sale...)

And both of her dolls got tucked in.

Aliza wanted to spend time with Mommy on her birthday. She wanted to eat at her favorite restaurant, Panera Bread. We had a lovely lunch with animated conversation. Marie and Kirsten joined us and Aliza faithfully fed them while she ate.

We stopped at a couple stores and then had dessert at Aliza's favorite dessert place, Tutti Frutti. "The girls" as Aliza calls her dolls joined us as well as Aunt Laura. Of course Aliza insisted on taking yogurt home for Josiah too.

Tonight's dessert was Lalaloopsy themed. Strawberry cake with strawberry icing so it would be pink!

As you can see she still has the excited smile! And when I tucked her in and asked her about her day, she said "it was a fabulous day."

Joy Dare:: February

90. Giggles
91. Fire Never Sleeps by Jesus Culture
92. Feeling safe, alone, in my house at night
93. The IRS sent a letter saying we overpaid business taxes?!
94. Time alone with my boy
95. Found a thank you note from Aliza to Grandad taped on his desk.

96. Two peas in a pod

97. Aunts that paint fingernails and toenails

98. Calls from 2 high school friends
99. Gramma had successful hip replacement surgery
100. A hard working boy

101. Found the gift that will make Josiah's birthday perfect.
102. Evergreen trees
103. Brisk cold air
104. Sunshine to play outside at Grandma's house
105. 11:30 Made a meaningful connection with a lady from Bible study
106. 2:30 Sat on the couch and visited with Laura while holding a still-waking-up Anna
107. 6:30 Supper around the table with my family
108. Candle burning on the stove
109. After hours medical care
110. Late supper with my husband while the children watched a DVD.
111. The gift I bought Josiah has more function than we were originally told!
112. Witnessed Mom and Dad taking communion together.
113. Laughter: Josiah as he sloppily kissed/licked me.
114. When picking up pizza the cashier noticed my hands were full children and insisted on carrying the pizza to the car for me.
115. Valentines made

116. A sink to wash dishes in
117. A washing machine that holds big loads
118. Chrissy helping me try some new healthy eating recipes
119. Mud pies and tea parties on the porch

120. My sister swaps babysitting time. Just enough for a coffee break.
121. The presence of mind to sit an extra moment and pray. To thank the Lord that he is here with me. In my tiredness. In my mess.
122. Anna insisted that I pick her up. Then insisted that I rock and sing Jesus Loves Me. It almost undid me. I chose to live in the moment.
123. A long hug and tears.
124. Dear friends who will pray at the drop of a text
125. I feel the love of God when I show my children love.
126. Aliza told me that she prayed to tell God happy valentine's day, that she loves Him and that she knows that He loves her.
127. Afternoon at Mom's to make doughnuts
128. Found: bedroom floors and the floor of the car
129. The energy for a productive day
130. A check in the mail--that has been long in coming
131. Great big snowflakes
132. Little girls excited about new hair clips
133. Tucking Anna in her crib for the last time.
134. Working with Jeremy to rearrange bedrooms
135. Normal TSH
136. A plan on paper
137. The girls fell asleep on their own tonight
138. Hanging snowflakes

139. Grace to show hospitality
140. Forgiveness
141. Lots and lots of new library books
142. The bigs are playing and the little is sleeping. I took advantage of the moment and scrapbooked. Revives my soul!
143.  Our Moms who pray
144. Thankful tears
145. Know we are right where we belong--not overcommitted
146. Cheesecake!

147. Road trip with Mom and Janell
148. Conversation with a cousin
149. A day to scrapbook with extended family
150. A husband who lets me get away
151. Falling asleep--alone--when I wanted to and sleeping without interruption
152. A hot shower
153. A bagel for breakfast
154. Listening to my uncle's sermon
155. Anna coming to me asking to sing
156. Children big enough to help
157. Forgiving myself
158. Lego project with Josiah
159. Another late school day due to grocery shopping and lots of play time
160. Sunshine after rain
161. A big puddle to splash in on a kinda semi-warm day
162 Renee squeezes her eyes shut when she lays in my bed to take a nap
163. Lip syncing singer in the backseat of the car
164. The birthday boy falling asleep in my arms
165. A sister sharing her brother's joy