My New "Go To" Quick Recipe

Don't be fooled by the assortment of ingredients. 

Taste if first!  So yummy!

Gotta Be . . .

:: energetic

:: so cuddly

:: basketball bouncing

:: admirer of big brother

:: outy belly button

:: contagious giggle

:: lover of "soft as you can" back rubs to get to sleep

:: always needing a snack

:: laid back

:: lover of togetherness

OUR BEN!

Must Be . . .

:: a goofy crooked tooth smile from ear to ear

:: reading machine

:: tender heart for God & worship

:: Lego Lover

:: hot natured

:: social

:: confident leader

:: contagious laugh

:: super sense of humor

:: olympic bmx rider hopeful

OUR JACOB! 

Today I Love

~ my traditional bachelor/bachelorette company

~ stay home jammer days

~ crazy "beauty" tips from former youth group gals

~ dried cranberries on my salad

~ the smell of rain

~ reading reading reading ~ i can't get enough

~ Subway Art  it would be so cool to do a "family" one

~ the Quimby's house

~ reading to an adorable little girl, cuddling a precious baby boy, & eating a sliver of my favorite pound cake all in 1 stop

~ the body splash ~ thanks liz & steph!

On the Beach

catching crabs

reading

sand in between my toes

seagulls

playing tag

chatting

sparklers

taking naps

no jellyfish

glow sticks

snacking

laughing

exchanging favorite Bible verses

dolphins

wild horses

salty air

storm clouds

taking pictures

jumpging waves

running boys

Duck Doughnuts

no sunburns

shells

The sea is His; He made it.
His hands formed the dry land.
Psalm 95:5

Today I Love

ChikFilA lunch with a favorite high school friend

how spoiled i am with amazing friends

wonderful news of college friends' adoption and knowing their baby boy will sleep in our boys' crib

Karen Kingsbury ~ yep! I've finally jumped on that wagon

random fun with kids & mamas

Ben's energy

Jacob's "home-body-ness"

Junkfood ~ the only time we eat this kind of yummy nastiness in this quantity is at the beach.  Bring on the chips & ice cream.  (we truly almost never buy either)

how God is using Ephesians to speak to & encourage me . . . and Jacob

Gospel Powered Parenting













encouraging notes from dear friends

Stability & Security in God's word

my Rock, my Redeemer, my Deliverer, my GOD

Biggest Highlight

I said NO BLOGGING while we were away at the beach this week but . . .

this morning i was disappointed when the boys decided they didn't want to go on a little excursion with Poppy

i was also disappointed when they interrupted my time with God. 

until . . .

Jacob returns to the room I was in, Bible in hand and asks "Can we be Bible buddies?!"  I was still reluctant to give in but so thankful I did!  God totally orchestrated our conversation from there.

I was reading in Ephesians about the Full Armor of God.  This really interested & excited Jacob.  Ben listened as well interjecting with comments like "do you want this green silly band Mommy?" , "what is your favorite silly band?"

Jacob was excited to see that my Bible breaks it down piece by piece so he took notes for him to look at later.

The boys & I have been talking so much about God's Word being TRUTH.  So it was especially timely that we discussed the Belt representing Truth.  We talked about how Satan sometimes disguises lies to seem true and how deceiving he is.  Only we as believers know TRUTH as God intended.

We moved on to the Breastplate of Righteousness and how God protects our hearts ~ our self worth, emotions, & trust.

The Gear for our Feet represents our Readiness to Share Good News of God's Love. 

We need the Shield of Faith to face Satan's attacks in insults & temptations. 

The Helmet of Salvation protects us from doubting God.  It helps us to trust Jesus & the Salvation we have in Him.

The Sword was also especially interesting for us to discuss.  Jacob learned Hebrews 4:12 in the winter so it was fun to bring the two together.  The Sword represents the Word of God and is the only weapon referred to in this list of armor.  Again this all goes back to God's word being TRUTH which like I mentioned has been a theme in our conversations lately.  We need to rely on the Truth of God & trust Him when we are tempted.

This was all so fun for us.  Of course now I am searching for some creative way to pull all of this together and make something concrete with him when we get home from the beach.  If you have any ideas or suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Of course we didn't spend all this time in Ephesians without reading the first part in chapter 6.

Tonight before he went to sleep he mentioned that he really enjoys Psalms.  He said some of those would really help him if he would just read them instead of getting mad at Ben.  (I am learning so much from this boy!)  I told him tomorrow we could share our favorites with each other.  I can't wait!

Project 365

7-1

My Beach Read Stack ready to be Packed!

How many do you think I'll actually get read?

I can't wait, I never make time for reading

but I will with my toes in the sand.

7-2

Roxy found Bambi on the other side of our fence this morning.

6:33 am to be exact.

It was really comical.

She was going crazy barking at the deer

like she was "protecting" us.

But then would run scared back up on the porch to me.

I finally got her back inside

before she woke up too many neighbors.