friday favorites: valentine's edition

Hooray for Friday!

I love Valentine's Day more and more every year.  While it's been a special day for Bobby and I for awhile, we now get to have fun and make it a special holiday for the kiddos as well.  We are finding ways to celebrate all kinds of love around here!

Watching these two love on their baby sister is for sure a favorite moment this week!

Every year I place these love chains on the kid's bedroom doors, and each night they get a heart added telling them one of the many things that I love about them.  It has become a favorite tradition of ours, and this year, we got to add Ashlynn to the mix!

Well, the kids decided they wanted to do hearts for their daddy, so they have been having fun coming up with some things they love about him.  Some of my favorites are "how you always fall asleep when you read", "dad's bald head", and "dad's snoring" (obviously, they don't sleep in the same room as him! ha!).

I'm not sure how, but this baby girl is just getting cuter and cuter every day!  We were playing around while we waited for Makayla at her ballet class, and she started giving me the biggest, sweetest smiles.  LOVE her!!!

Makayla has been making Valentine's pictures to send to some friends.  She came up with what she thought would be the perfect thing to write on them:

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love God more than you!

Love,

Makayla

Hahaha!  I am still cracking up over this!  Sweet girl just wants to let everyone know how much she loves God - she was in no way trying to be funny or insulting or anything.

Think Hallmark is hiring?!!

And yesterday, we got to go to a fun Valentine's party with our homeschool group.  I love these precious kiddos of mine!

Happy weekend, friends!

Link-ups:

Friday Favorites with Erika, Andrea, and Narci

Oh, Hey Friday! with Karli

5 on Friday with April, Christina, and Natasha

High Five for Friday with Katie, Tif, and Della

according to instagram: december and january favorites

Well, we are way overdue for an instagram round-up!  Here are a few of my favorites from the last two months.



santa visit | family movie night | gingerbread house

christmas morning | six months | saturday mornings

love this view | christmas eve eve | fun with art

building with dad | let them be little | new year's eve

tea time | 100 days of school | smiles

To see all of our instagram adventures, follow along here.

Happy Friday, friends!

Link-ups:

Friday Favorites with Erika, Andrea, and Narci

Oh, Hey Friday! with Karli

5 on Friday with April, Christina, and Natasha

High Five for Friday with Katie, Tif, and Della

friday favorites: parenting quotes

I love being a momma.  I believe that it is such an incredible privilege and is the most meaningful job I will ever have this side of heaven.  Since being a momma is how I spend the majority of my days (and nights), quotes on parenting are always standing out to me.  I love the power that words have and how they can speak directly to us.  Today, I thought I would do a round-up of some of my favorites - the ones that inspire me on this wild ride I'm on called motherhood!

"God designed motherhood to be a deeply meaningful role.  We mothers have the opportunity to influence eternity by building a spiritual legacy in the lives of our children."

- Sally Clarkson - 

"There is no way to be a perfect mother, but a million ways to be a good one."

- Jill Churchill -

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."

- Robert Brault -

"Children are not a distraction from more important work.  They are the most important work."

- C.S. Lewis -

"Our goal in parenting is not ultmately for our kids to get a great education or to be great athletes or to find a great husband or get a great career.  Our goal is for them to love a great God."

- David Platt -

"Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation."

- C. Everett Koop -

"Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn't know you had, and dealing with fears you didn't know existed."

- Linda Wooten -

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for."

- Pablo Picasso -

"There is nothing more important than parents passing on a generational legacy of faith and values to their children."

- Dr. James Dobson - 

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."

- Frederick Douglass -

"Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children."

- Charles R. Swindoll -

"We have a higher calling than to just live out this life.  We are not raising our children to just get through the day or the week, but rather with thoughts and prayers about who they will be in twenty years, how the Lord will use them, and ultimately where they will be for eternity."

- Betsy Corning -

"Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you do but someone you raise."

- Andy Stanley -

"You will never have this day with your children again.  Tomorrow, they will be a little older than they were today.  This day is a gift, breathe and notice, smell and touch them; study their face and little feet and pay attention.  Relish the charms of the present.  Enjoy today Momma, it will be over before you know it!"

- Jen Hatmaker -

according to instagram: august favorites

Well, since it's already mid-September, I guess it's about time for August's Instagram round-up!

he left us for college | last day of swimming lessons | he got right to work

first day of school | sunday afternoon | that hair

something in the water | a girl and her shades | a sweet moment

love this boy | miracles | catching up on her reading

You can see all of our Instagram moments here.

I'm linking up with Erika, Andrea, and Narci for Friday Favorites!

Happy weekend, friends!

friday favorites: food for college

| Christian at my college graduation when he was only seven |

My baby brother graduated from high school this year, and he is off to college in a couple of weeks.  I am so excited for him and this next stage of his life, but I sure am going to miss him!  And I know my kids will too!  They absolutely adore their Uncle Christian, and it is going to be a huge adjustment for our entire family to not have him around as much.

Since I love my brother, and I love to cook, I asked him what some of his favorite foods were that I could make for him to take when he leaves.  So he gave me his top five requests, and I plan to make them all this week and freeze everything so it will be ready to go!

1. Ham and Cheese Pockets

| image via jo cooks |

These are similar to hot pockets and make a great snack or lunch.  I've made them before and frozen them individually and they reheat really well.  I think this time I may try making some with eggs for a breakfast version.

2. Everything Bagels

These are requested by both of my brothers all the time!  They are made in the bread machine and are fairly easy to make.  We like the everything version - I mix up grated parmesan cheese, dried minced onion, sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds, and a little bit of garlic salt.  On days when you're not counting calories and need an extra yummy snack, slather on some cream cheese and have a tall glass of sweetened iced tea!

3. Cinnamon Rolls

| Makayla takes her cinnamon rolls very seriously |

I normally make this version because it uses the bread machine and is so easy to make, but this version is incredibly good and is definitely worth the extra work when I have time!  Either way, you can't go wrong with cinnamon rolls as far as I'm concerned!

4. Country-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

| Caleb, back when he had crazy hair and he still ate cookies |

My mom has made these for as long as I can remember and they are seriously the best!  I have looked around online to find a similar recipe but I came up empty, so I will just have to share her's sometime soon!

5. Chicken Noodle Soup

I was surprised by this request, but I guess there isn't a better comfort food than soup!  I love to make big batches of this and then portion it out and freeze it to have on hand.  It's so nice to be able to quickly heat some up when someone is sick or just craving soup!

So that's what I'll be cooking up this week for my kid brother's college days!

Linking up with Erika, Andrea, and Narci for Friday Favorites!

according to instagram: july favorites

It's time for another Instagram round-up!  I've been a bit of a slacker lately with the picture taking.  Hopefully I can do a little better next month!

watching cooking shows with daddy | first haircut | sibling rivalry

my little cooker | a picture for the bathroom door | movies in the park with cousins

fireworks with their uncle | my childhood favorites | selling lemonade

he's not so little anymore | eleven years | morning snuggles

To see more of our daily happenings, you can find us on Instagram here.

I'm linking up with Erika, Andrea, and Narci for Friday Favorites!

Bring on August!!!

friday favorites: eleven years

 

 

   

 

 

 

  

   

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Today we are celebrating our wedding anniversary, so I am sharing a boatload of favorite pictures from some of my favorite moments with my very favorite guy!

Eleven years ago today, we said "I do."  It's been beautiful and messy and lovely and difficult, because marriage is hard.  Marriage is hard because life is hard - there's just no getting around it.  But through all of the trials and heartaches, the joys and the triumphs, this man is by my side.  We choose to love each other day after day.  I am walking though life with my best friend, and I am so very thankful.

I love you, Robert Lee, and I will choose to love you for all of my days.

 

Linking up with Erika, Andrea, and Narci today for Friday Favorites.