Loving the Journey

Living across the road from the feedlot means there are always things happening. And yes, it means an occasional cow will show up in your front yard. This always gets the kids excited.

The last few months, we have watched this one calf (Scott says it's the same one) get out of his pen and wander around on a regular basis. Sometimes he brings a friend with him . . .

But must of the time it's just him. Maybe he gets tired of the crowd. Maybe he gets tired of getting pushed around and fighting for his food. Maybe he just likes being alone. Maybe . . .

He usually stays close but he doesn't realize that the pen provides safety. While he is out enjoying his apparent "freedom" he is in danger. Sometimes the very thing we think is holding us back is actually the thing we need to keep us safe.

Part of the "test" we are here to take is learning to get along with others. That can be a challenge, even when it's friends and family members. It takes a lot of patience, a lot of forgiveness, and a lot of love! We may need some alone time occasionally but it's those friends and family members who will provide safety. Go home little calf!

"Life is perfect for none of us. Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life."--Thomas S. Monson

A Few Snowflakes Fell

This has been a crazy winter. It's either sunny and warm with no snow or a light dusting of snow but too cold to be outside. We finally had some snow and some wind which made some fun snow drifts around the house. The kids were anxious to play before those flakes melted away.

The snow didn't stick together very well so the snowball fight didn't last long.

Even Tucker was loving the snow. He rolled around in it with the kids. Zane thought Tucker was making snow angels. Maybe.

No Zane! Don't eat that snow!

The drift in the garden was big enough to dig in. It wouldn't stick together for a snowman though.

Then it was time to come in and warm up by the fire and drink peppermint hot cocoa. Scott recently found some cedar wood. It was almost too pretty to burn. (When Scott told Morgan that cedar keeps moths away, she quickly found a sliver to put in her room. She is still afraid of moths. Hopefully we won't have the infestation that we had last year.) We do enJOY the wood heat!

"Joy is a sustained sense of well-being and internal peace - a connection to what matters."
Oprah

Valentines Day

We kept our celebrations simple this year and enJOYed sharing a little LOVE.

My husband surprised me with some beautiful roses!

I was informed that spaghetti is NOT a festive dinner. But when it's served with heart-shaped rolls how can it not be?! I even baked them with a piece of cheese in the center. It was like a party inside of every roll! Maybe next year I'll try heart-shaped meatballs.



We started the day off with heart-shaped pancakes.

Pink and very festive!

Morgan took her teacher a bottle of honey. I thought she would like something besides candy. Cute and oh so simple!

I saw TONS of super cute Valentine card ideas but when it came down to putting them together, we kept it ultra simple.

Zane was excited to write his name on each card. He got confused since I printed the message on one side of the card, folded it to fit over the top of the candy, and had him write his name on the other side. Seeing the printed part upside down made him want to write his name upside down.

Morgan had no problem and wrote each of her friends names too.

This year Morgan had to design her own card collection box for school. All right, I admit I kinda took over the project. I ran all ideas by her first though. We ended up with an adorable diva-style-purse box. The front says "PAWS and show love" to coordinate with the paw print ribbon. I think Morgan and I stared at it for 3 days before we sent it to school. It was SO cute!

Zane has been asking for a party for a LONG time. Having preschool at our house was the perfect opportunity for a PARTY. We made silly party hats and played BINGO. The kids loved sharing Valentines with each other.

Love is in the air!

Going Some Where!

Sometimes, after a few years of marriage, it's easy to take love for granted. It's like we start to think, "He is committed to love me no matter what!" Do you remember what it was like when you were dating? You always dressed to impress and would never let him see you with your hair not combed. If you were going on a date, you always shaved your legs.

A few years ago, as we were getting ready for church, my husband noticed my freshly shaved legs and commented, "Sure, you shave for everyone at church but not for me." Hummm...

I started thinking about this today. When I am going somewhere "important" and will be seen in public, I get dressed and comb my hair and put on at least a little makeup. When I am staying home I often stay in my pajamas, skip the comb, and just wipe the smeared eyeliner from under my eyes so I don't look too scary. My husband says, "Another pajama day?"

Why isn't my home important enough to get dressed up for? Why doesn't my husband deserve to see me with combed hair and at least a little makeup? Why do I think he will love me no matter what so I don't have to try to impress him? (Not that he's gonna leave me 'cause I'm ugly.) Why don't I shave my legs just for him?

I'm going to try to at least get dressed every day. I'm going to do things to impress the one I love the most. (People in public really don't even care and probably don't even notice.) My home is an "important" place too. I'm going to live every day like I am going some where!

finding {JOY} in the journey

(So, my new calling keeps me busy. I think of things to post on my blog but never seem to have the time to sit down and write.)

Here are some things that brought me JOY last month:

A snow day. Finally! We had a blizzard warning Thursday night so they cancelled school for Friday. We woke up Friday morning to a light dusting of snow and barely a breeze. But we were glad Morgan got to stay home with us. Later in the day it snowed a little more and the wind did really blow. It's just good to have a day off once in a while.




A card for a friend so far away. Wish I could have gone for a visit.

A new checkbook cover to remind me to look for the JOY everyday.

A week of preschool at our house. Zane loves his preschool friends and I enjoy hosting the group every 6 weeks. Can we just do this for kindergarten too?!

Mini Apple Pie! Pure JOY!

A beautiful sunset... peaceful JOY.

Riding bikes. In January. What more can I say.