an extra 24 hours

we had one extra day this weekend.

and it was phenomenal.

what do you do when you've got an extra 24-hours?

we don't take it for granted around here...savor every last drop.

it started with blueberry banana bran muffins.

yep.  they were every bit as good as the name suggests.

then, dress up....

followed by having a pal over for tea

 home made bread made the cut for 3-day-weekend activities

something about kneading the bread...letting it rise...

made me think a lot about patience.

talk about a virtue that is hard to come by.

If life is a school and God is the teacher, He's definitely got me in a course on patience right now.

I don't like it....not one bit.

But I know He's right.

So here I am...kneading bread, watching it rise and trying to be okay with the waiting.

when I stop feeling sorry for myself and look around, I see that there is an abundance of awesome-ness around me.

like this little chick.

even though I'm in an uncomfortable spot right now, it's all good.

made honey apple cake with butter almond frosting while the dough was rising

and home made chicken noodle soup

Finally.

Our prize for waiting.

The house smelled like heaven.

The butter melted into each nook and cranny.

mmmmmmm....

Yes, Lord...you're right.  The waiting is always worth it.

The extra in our weekend inspired me to stay up late one night making this:

"God loves His children with a never-ending,

never giving up,

unbreaking,

always and forever

love."

From Peach's Story Book Bible

I love the verse and came across this idea for hanging it in the girls' room.

God's Word...mobile style

I love how it twirls above their beds, reminding me to speak it over them.

And with the extra hours we were blessed with this weekend, we began an adventure in learning capital/lowercase letters.

Big A, little a...what begins with A?

Aunt Annie's Alligator, A, a, a - Dr. Seuss

thank you, Pinterest

We also found time to satisfy Peach's pleas for a swimming pool...family date.

Went to church, where Peach danced like her hair was on fire and Tulip eventually napped in my arms.

And Peach and I squeezed in our own special time at the library.

Just me and her.

Oooh, how I cherish that time.

It was as yummy as it always is.

Her picking out books left and right.

Me putting a few back when she's not looking.

And the smile of satisfaction that she flashes me when she gets to "do the beeper" (scan the barcodes) at the end.

The weekend didn't feel like it flew by.

It was just the right amount of all the things we love.

Playing

Growing

Reflecting

Baking

Eating

Reading

Laughing

And some of the stuff we don't so much love...like catching up on laundry and vacuuming the kitchen floor after each meal and snack, but hey - you take the good with the bad, right?

It's amazing what an extra day will do for you.

Or maybe it's not the extra day.

Maybe its the little extra that you choose to put in the day...no matter what day it is.

Either way, I could get used to this. :)