Grace-filled

Covered in children, snot, and germs. 

Surrounded by coughs and cries and my precious ones.

Thankfully, I'm still well!

Hope your weekend is as grace-filled as mine is!

Dinner... and winners!

 

No day is a combination of what didn't happen... 

nor is it about what didn't go right.

Instead it's the memories of all that did happen...

... and the love our families will remember because of it!

Little Man's fever is still high (though he had some time off thanks to Ibuprofen) and now My Beloved sleeps, sick, in the recliner to my right.  But the hours I spent on straightening and dinner were well worth the effort! :)

And now... to make two of you very happy, I have not one, but two copies of Potty Time (and the cute watch) to giveaway.  Drum roll please...

And, thanks to Random.org, our winners are:

 

Kristin, who said...

I love potty trained kids, too!! I only have one in diapers right now and it is too easy. :-) Benjamin potty-trained over the summer and like we did with our other kids, we day and night trained at the same time. I'd love to hear how you potty-trained. Even though I've done it a few times now, I'm always open to new ideas. 

and...

 Meghan said...

She's two and goes in the potty when she's in a good mood. I've never prayed so much for "potty" days in my life. Hoping a song is the key :)

Congratulations ladies!!!  Send me an email (to babychaser (at) gmail (dot) com [please adjust the address to standard format before clicking send]) with your address and I'll get your "Potty Time, You can do it" kit out as soon as I can!


Don't you just love giveaways???  I may have to find a way to do more.  I'm just feeling so happy!

A little love... or "what I would have done if..."

I wanted to make these in chocolate chip!

I've been dreaming up Valentine's Day plans for weeks now... and I've been using my new Pinterest account to help me!  I knew I wouldn't get to everything, but I thought that maybe if I could do just one or two, it would make the day special for my littles. 

Step one was going to be spending time talking about love... God's love, how we are to love one another, etc.  Now, we did do some "heart" activities early in the month and we've been memorizing Matthew 22:37-40, so I'm not a total failure, but as for the things below to make today special... not so much. 

But, I comfort myself with the reminder that it's been a bit hectic around here lately and I'm feeling pretty good to have gotten dinner on the table most nights.  :)

You see, all three of my children have been working through high fevers at their own paces over the last week and a half.  :(  Poor kids!  My 18 month old has it now.  Couple that with seemingly constant contractions and reduced (even more than normal) sleep for me... and an OB appointment this morning early, and it's no wonder things didn't happen!

So here are some of my favs from my V-Day board on Pinterest.  Click over to see the rest and link through to the originals!

Love the recycling happening here... if only I hadn't eaten all the candy canes!

Was totally going to make these with the kids for grandparents and single ladies at church!

Maybe someday...

I want to make this long one for another season too... maybe with changeable covers!

I ground the flour for these yesterday... do I get partial credit???

Love these!!  Maybe for Sweet Pea's birthday instead... in pink!

So there you have it... Woulda coulda shoulda... maybe next time! :)  Instead of beating myself up though, I'm moving on to what I may be able to accomplish before tonight gets here... dinner maybe???  And a candle?

In the mean time, we're working to keep that fever lower than 103.8... yep.  Poor baby! :(

Potty Time Giveaway ends tomorrow!

All three kids are sick with fevers, etc... so, I'm not really here today.  Or I should say, I'm all here (at home) today. 

Just stopping by to remind you all that tomorrow is the last day to enter the Potty Time Giveaway!  Click over and leave a comment.  I'll announce a winner tomorrow evening sometime...

And happy early Valentine's Day! :)

Being on the receiving end for a while

 

I was so excited to stumble on Our Simple Country Life a few weeks ago... and more excited to learn that she would be doing a series on Intentional Homemaking.  Ahhh...

Let me tell you... with baby number 4 coming, normal busy-ness, and a desire to be intentional myself... I'm going to let Our Simple Country Life feed this Suzy Homemaker meets Proverbs 31 for a while.  I'll probably insert a Suzy meets P31 post of my own here and there as I'm led, but in the mean time, join us over at Our Simple Country Life on Wednesdays for inspiration and challenges in being an Intentional Homemaker!

I'll be there!

Productivity

Tornado's getting more freedom outside.  Here he is right at the edge of the {shallow} creek.

I took a personal challenge to be "as productive as possible" today, and while I wouldn't say I was "as productive as possible", I did make some choices that made me more productive than some days.

I took a nap.  (Oh, and I burned bread.  Not at the same time.) 

It's way more productive than reading blogs or wandering the house aimlessly!


Now if only the kids had actually taken their nap while I slept!

This weeks plans

When the weather is nice, we try to spend as much time outside as possible!

Time is moving right along here, (Is it there too???) with just over 5 weeks to go.

Just today I've implemented a new schedule.  A much looser and hopefully more forgiving one than those I've attempted over the last couple months.  It's my hope that I'll get to the house, the homeschooling and the projects without the stress and failure.  Hmmm... we'll see. :)  And I've deliberately made it so that baby's feedings should fit right in once she's here and we've normalized a bit. 

Most of today has been behind.  It all came from not starting the week fresh.  Nope... instead the day started with a mound of laundry on the couch and dishes in the sink.  But I'm not letting it get me down.  I trudge forward.  (You?)

My girl's treasures!

We missed much of our inside play time and abridged our outside play significantly (but we did go outside!!!)  This is the hour I've scheduled for our "discovery" play time (one of these days I'll post our updated and more realistic schooling goals for this year.)  We did get to our Disciplined Learning at the table and did most of what I'd hoped, but this was running behind too.

Lunch... late.  But don't worry, nap time was right on schedule.  At least close enough for me.  And now it's quiet in the house (mostly).  Though I did get the beans on, they're running a bit late.  And the bread didn't get made... again.  Oh well.  Maybe tomorrow!

On the plus side?  I have 5 meals in the freezer for after baby comes (most of them made last week!)  My sewing machine is all better, so I've been making progress on the sewing front. 

Baby Shower gift this weekend!

I love how it turned out!

This fun quilt (made last year) was a raging success at a baby shower this weekend!  Yey!

So this week (the point of my post???) I have a meal plan (exciting for my husband) that will allow me to get another 5-6 meals in the freezer while feeding my family at the same time (exciting for me!!)  After that the baby can come any old time she wants to.  I'll still work to get things made ahead (breakfasts, treats, additional meals), but I won't worry so much.

Here's what we're eating this week (Lord willing!):

• Monday:  Ranch Beans (x2 for the freezer!)
• Tuesday:  Easy Lasagna  (divided to put half in the freezer!), garlic bread, and salad
• Wednesday:  Saucy Broccoli Chicken Bake (x2 for the freezer!) with Cheese Bread (divided to put half in the freezer!) and salad
• Thursday:  Tacos (1.5 pounds meat divided into thirds... 2 portions for freezer), refried beans (+ some for the freezer!)
• Friday:  Chicken Pot Pie (x2 for freezer)
• Saturday:  Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli, salad, texas toast

This is a very assuming menu, I know.  Should I fail to make something on a given night, it's bump to next week.  And hopefully by then, it'll all be in the freezer!!!


Other plans this week include working on Sweet Pea's quilt (the piecing of the top is completed, I just have the boarder [with some applique] left to do before sandwiching and quilting!), My Beloved's quilt (I'll pick at this one in between others), and starting to look at Sweet Pea's spring/summer wardrobe needs.


Do you have any special plans this week???

Linking up at Menu Plan Monday!