joy in the mundane

22. early morning snuggles with my little lady
23. makin' bacon in the oven
24. smart little boy who is getting better and better at putting his lego space shuttle back together
25. silly songs with daddy
26. new nephew
27. ice cold berry smoothies
28. birth certificate arriving years late (oops mommy)
29. written resume and application returned to place of business (yeeeee I'm gonna go to work again!)
30. a corner store...with a bar and stools to walk to and enjoy lunch with two littles.

just arrived

Valentine Baked Doughnuts

Well, this isn't a craft, but a recipe of sorts. I bought a tube of biscuits, and this RECIPE was included...They were really fun to make with the kids, and they were fun to eat too. I think cinnamon would have been nice in the sugar mix as well.

We used heart shaped cookie cutters for the center of the doughnuts.

And they made sweet little doughnuts for the ones we love. :) I think these would make an awesome treat for Valentine's day.

Grace In Dire Circumstances

Mark 4:39

New King James Version (NKJV)

³⁹ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

he lay stretched on the floor, arms over his head when i arrived in the room. and i knew. serious face. bearing down. i begin a fervent prayer. i'd seen this before, and it meant a long night in the emergency room and follow ups with heart doctors.

"Lord please slow down his heart."

it was happening again. his random SVT .

i silently, briskly walked into the bathroom and wet a cloth with icy water. placed it on his back. a shock. but the rhythm steady. too fast.

he jumped into an icy shower. taking his breath away, but not the rapid beating of a wild heart.

my mind was desperate. i was praying for the Creator to calm His creation.

he lay on the bed, stretched with breath with held.

placing my hand on his unruly heart i spoke the words only an heir should, one with authority over created things. "Peace, Be STILL. Heart, beat at your proper speed. IN THE NAME OF JESUS." as those words left my lips i felt it. underneath my hand. obedience.

humbled. amazed. relieved.

http://www.lpch.org/DiseaseHealthInfo/HealthLibrary/cardiac/0243-pop.html

this post is part of a wonderful link up to Gracelaced.com

thankful

15. glasses to see clearly
16. ideas for creating new crochet creations
17. silly songs sung by sweet voices
18. anticipating visiting with friends
19. freshly mopped kitchen floors dried
20. crock pot bubbling away slaving over dinner
21. clean clothes put in drawers

*clink*

The $3 Valentine Wreath

Well, hubby was off work on Monday due to the holiday, and I was not going to let the opportunity pass for me to have some alone time, so I hopped in the truck and hit up three Goodwill Stores in my search for hidden treasures (pyrex). I didn't find anything, however, the last Goodwill was right next door to a Dollar Tree. And the rest becomes this super easy tutorial.

First, you need to pick up a willow wreath from the "floral" section of the Dollar Tree. (I was surprised at the variety of sizes available!) And I picked up two bags of 300 ct rose petals from the valentine section. You will also need your glue gun and plenty of glue sticks.

Find a comfortable spot to lay it all out. I dumped both colors out so I could just be random when selecting.

I took each petal and put one finger in the middle and gathered the sides around that finger...

then slipped the finger out and glued right there in the middle.

And just started placing them close together into the willow wreath. (and totally find something for your children to do while you are doing this...mine were coloring)

I attached a ribbon onto the back of the wreath and have it hanging on my front door!

draw near

to the degree that i understand grace. i give grace.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.


not when i stick to my diet, not when i get my house entirely clean, not when i finally had a great day with no yelling at my kids, not when i finally get organized with my budget, not when i get dinner ready and the table set for dinner before my husband gets home from work....and on and on.

Hebrews 4:16
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.


it's when we need Him most.

when i'm ready to scream my head off at my children for pulling every last thing out of their closets and laying it all out on the floor...that's when i need His grace...so i can give grace and mercy.

i don't love them just when they are good, when they have behaved well in public and when they have their hair all in place. and He doesn't love me for what i appear to be.

He's approachable. and the more i draw near to him. he'll draw near to me.

Gracelaced Mondays is a blog link up where bloggers can share stories of grace in our lives...check here for more, and don't be afraid to link up as well. 

Make it fun

Like I was telling you last Friday, we've started back on Paleo. (except we allow for dairy every now and then)
Well, the other night I wanted something easy and fun for our family, so I chose this taco recipe . My husband got home from work and saw that I was flustered from all the cleaning and decluttering I had been doing in my son's room that day and asked if I would let him cook. (I ain't no dummy...Mr Toddlerwhisperer is a GREAT cook!)
He is so creative too, and I think that is what made our dinner really fun. He took down some of my vintage glassware and used it to display our food in a way that even our pickiest eater was eagerly anticipating dinner. I literally had to tell them each to MOVE from the table so I could snap this picture, because they were so interested in dinner. And let me tell you, that is not something that happens on a regular basis.

Presenting.......

....build your own taco night... minus the meat, we hadn't added it to the table yet.

I really really loved how he stuck all the lettuce leaves in the vintage anchor hocking humidor for height and variety...The tacos were so good too...we didn't even miss processed taco shells...the lettuce was fantastic!

thanks

 8. the thrill of the hunt and the excitement of the catch (thrifting for pyrex)
 9. the scale moving in the right direction
10. sunshine piercing cold blue skies
11. late night table top chats with my best friend
12. new ideas
13. freshly baked grain free granola ;)
14. soft, freshly washed hair on my sweet little girl