Happy Easter!

I feel like I start every blog post with how busy I am but seriously I am!  My business is keeping me so busy & just life is keeping me busy!  I am looking forward to summer!

I thought I would share a couple pictures from Gabe's kindergarten performance last week.  

Maybe I can get a little video clip up later of them singing.  It was super cute!

Here's a little glimpse into our Easter filled weeks!  We always kick off our season with some Jello eggs. I think it might be one of the highlights of Easter for Gabe!  I think he just likes making things!

We thought it would be a fun treat to bring them to his classmates at school.  They were a hit!

Although I don't have any pictures of it we love doing the resurrection eggs with our kids each year.  I think I might do them as long as they will allow me to.  I think they are a great way to tell your kids about the REAL meaning of Easter in a fun, exciting way!  We always hide the eggs, 2 each night, and they can find them.  We read them the story & scripture for each egg.  The night before Easter we review what each of the items are in the eggs & talk about it.  Super fun!

Also, have I mentioned that Gabe is on the fence of salvation?  I think if we would let him he would "pray the prayer."  I know what some of you are thinking....let him....but to us it is WAY bigger than just praying the prayer.  It does him no good to pray it if he doesn't really understand it.  We really don't want to sway his decision.  He has been talking about it A LOT lately.  My prayer is that God will show Gabe when it is the right time & us!  Pray that we have wisdom!

On a lighter note, check out these pictures from his school egg hunt & party!

On Good Friday we had friends over to color eggs!

Saturday my fabulous, amazing, kind hearted, hard working husband finished our patio so we could use it this weekend.  Check out his amazingness.

He added the wall with a double door gate.  I planted all the flowers for it-we got a lemon tree!

He also finished this little project for my kitchen!

We have an addition on our house so we have this window in our kitchen that looks into our sunroom (a.k.a Sarah's craft room) and we normally have a curtain up but I was ready to get rid of it.  Check out that super fabulous chalkboard!  I CANNOT wait to fill it up with scripture!

Saturday night I made resurrection cookies with my kids.  I love doing this because you can read right from God's word and teach them about Easter.  It is so hands on!  Lily obviously didn't get it...she participated in it but Gabe did.

Before bed we finished up our resurrection eggs and read from the bible about Christ dying on the corss & rising from the grave!  Hallelujah!

 Today we got to celebrate that Jesus is alive!

It's so funny to see how the enemy works.  We all got up early but took our time getting ready.  The kids were all ready to go so I quickly showered but then realized how late it was.  I had no time left to dry my hair or anything.  I threw on some clothes (nothing I wanted to wear of course) and got in the van & went to church.  Somewhat upset that I didn't look the way I had planned but my kids did.  :-)

Once I got there I received a call from my brother telling me that my grandma, Nana, wasn't going to make it.  She has been in a nursing home for several years now and we knew the end was coming near but I just wasn't thinking today.  They told the family it would probably be within the next 2 days.  I just lost it on the phone.  I was sobbing as I dropped Lily off.  At that moment I didn't care what I looked like.  I was actually glad I had no makeup on.  I wouldn't have raccoon eyes.  :-)  It brought great sadness to my heart, a heaviness.  I have the, "I wishes...."   I wish I was able to go home to see her last week with my mom.  I wish my kids knew who she was.  I wish she (and Jopa) could see how God has blessed my life.  I wish she could see how successful I am.  Maybe not to the worlds standards but to Christ's.  My life is full & rich.  

I am glad soon her pain will go away.  She will be looking into the face of the almighty God!  She will be dancing with the angels!  Her life will be full of joy.  Full of happiness.  With Jopa by her side!  Needless to say, the rest of our day was kind of heavy.  The unspoken words.  Waiting.  Praying.  Loving on each other.  Cherishing the moments together with family.

This is how we spent the rest of our day....

We had brunch & dinner at my house!  I love that I am able to cook for my family and serve them.  It brings me great joy!  I love that we have family here to spend the day with.  I am glad we have a savior who has risen from the grave and has given us freedom and overflowing joy in Him!  

Weekend Wrap-up

We kicked off our fabulous weekend celebrating all of Gabe's hard work and accomplishment when he received his yellow belt at Tae Kwon Do!

Then Friday night we had a date night planned.  Yes a date night!  They don't happen very often but we are quite intentional about doing them as much as possible.  A good way to keep us accountable is our split membership with Jake & Jess to the local community theater!  We went to their beautiful home for dinner, amazing ribs & chicken!  (craved them all weekend)  Then off to to the theater!

Saturday morning we had the farmer's market and once again I didn't get any pictures.  Not because I forgot my camera but because it was so windy I was trying to keep my paper goods from blowing away.  But my fabulous husband watched my booth so I could bring the kids down to the YMCA for their kids day & sign us up!

I spent my entire Saturday cleaning & organizing my house...more pictures to come later with all that!  But I couldn't wait to show y'all my new stools.  Well, they are not new new I just redid them & they are super fabulous now!  I love them!

aren't they so cute??

Amidst all of our cleaning, purging, and organizing, Lily thought it would be a good weekend to start tee teeing on the potty, what?  seriously?  now?  Let me tell you this...it has been amazing!  She's just doing it.  She's so independent.  I'm so proud of her!  We always fret over the whole potty training thing (I did more with Gabe than Lily) but when they are ready to do it they will and it is stress free!

We figured since she was using the potty it was time to convert the crib.  Yes, I said it, convert the crib into a bed.  It has been a little emotional.  We are done with the crib...for good.  Kind of bittersweet!

But she absolutely LOVES her "big girl" bed.  She has to get in and out all by herself.  I love it!

All day Saturday our poor community battled fires.  One huge fire claiming 40 structures and more than 16,000 acres.  The smoke seemed like it was so close.  This was out our front door over our neighbor's house.

So scary.  To think of the few things we would grab if evacuated.  The rest is quite meaningless.

We wrapped up our weekend with a trip to the Y for the family swim!  We will put our new membership to good work!

Hope y'all had a great weekend too!  Blessings!

I'm On a Roll

I told you I was on a mission and apparently today I am quite driven to clean & organize.  (less work for tomorrow)  I decided to tackle our kids' craft closet.  This space is just for them!  It's for their crafts, games, playdoh, moon sand, aqua sand...all that stuff you really don't want in there bedrooms!  Ours has slowly been coming apart since Christmas.  And well tis the season for spring cleaning!

I'm sad to say that I purged a whole trash bag of stuff along with a box of stuff.  Old coloring books, paper, mostly used up stickers, already twisted pipe cleaners.  :-)  STUFF!

I love when the closet looks this good!  Gabe can easily access his craft box freely and Lily can dig into those coloring books & stickers whenever she wants!  I love to watch my kids have the freedom to create!  Do you have a craft box for your kids??  If so what do you have in it??  This is what's in ours!

Gabe's Craft Box

paper

glue

felt

pipe cleaners

googly eyes

tp rolls

markers

crayons

stamps & stamp pads

buttons

beads

sequins

wood scraps

string

tape

glitter glue

I also love to have bags of activities that are self led that they can do whenever they want to.  Stencils, blow-pens, dotza markers, pixo's, sun-catchers...etc.  I also like to have paint shirts easily accessible so that they don't ruin their clothes when doing art projects!

Now that all of our games are back in order I think we might just have to have a family game night soon!

I'm a mom on a mission...one room...or closet....at a time!  :-)  Hope y'all have a blessed Friday!

Caution Enter At Your Own Risk

I love my blog and I don't get to write as often as I would like to because I have other things in my life that need my attention that are more of a priority.  Let's be honest I don't always have very many exciting things going on in my life.  However one amazing thing is that Lily is starting to tee tee on the potty, what what!  I'm super stoked!  Let's keep our fingers crossed that she is finally getting it because I am tired of buying diapers!

It is finally spring...well it feels more like summer here in Texas but seasonally it is still spring which calls for a little spring cleaning.  I kicked it off a few weeks ago with my kitchen-organizing my drawers, cabinets & things like that.  I said I started it doesn't mean I have finished them all yet!  :-)  My kids rooms are out of control-did you hear me?  OUT OF CONTROL!  Both of them!  Check out these crazy and somewhat embarrassing pictures of Gabe's room!

I am all about being honest so let's be honest...this was his current room as of this morning!  Seriously?  Am I really going to post this?  It was out of control a little messy.  :-/  Normally when Gabe "cleans" his room it gets shoved on the bookshelf, in the closet & under the bed.  I don't typically care if there room is a little messy because it's THERE room!  It's a place where they can relax, be free from all the structure & not have to fit into anyone's mold.  It's there space.  If he wants to have it a little messy whatever, I don't care!  Well this has been a project I have been putting off for some time because I mean just look at it!  So I went in with trash bags & tackled it before my collecting, pack-rat, of a son got home from school.  Boy am I glad that I did!  I tossed out 1 trash bag & a half full of junk!  

So check it out now....

Pretty impressive I know!  I still have some organizational skills (not as much as my ocd sister-in-law) but I got'em!   I hope to make some cute little chalkboard signs this weekend for his baskets.  I even took the time to hang up a few things.  Like the Cowboy's pennant that was Bill's when he was little. 

Along with his new posters from the book fair, his chalkboard wall decals (that he has had since Christmas, shhhh) and his Imagination Movers poster he got from the show.  I finally took down the hanging snowflakes from the ceiling, and put up his Christmas tree-don't judge me!  Better late than never!  I dusted & vacuumed every square inch that was possible in his room today!  Made up his bed with fresh linens, & put away his clothes!  

I am a mom on a mission...one room at a time!