recipe for a good sunday

what are sundays good for?

new leggings for church...be still my heart

nesting....

washing up diapers for baby...

learning now to be a big helper...

glasses and pretend...

 and rest.

it just doesn't get much better than this.

2 scoops for Tulip

we had a party today...sort of

let me set the record straight by saying that Tulip is not actually 2....yet

she's still 1

for two and a half more weeks

and i'm totally not into rushing the growing up that seems to happen so quickly with these littles that i love

but, with her birthday falling on april 25th and my due date being may 4th

and the fact that both girls were born early...i knew i'd be taking my chances to plan a party for her during her birthday week

so, we decided to celebrate early

not ever imagining that april 14th would be TOO early

too early to count on spring

and good roads

and sunshine :(

after staying up way late getting everything ready, we woke up to phone calls and texts from the family this morning, saying that they wouldn't be making the drive due to freezing rain, wind and terrible roads

bummer.

life in minne-snow-ta

i'm all for winter, but this is getting a little crazy, even for me

 so, what's a girl to do with decorations, food, lemonade, ice cream toppings, presents and no guests?

celebrate, i guess.

open presents in jammies.

eat suckers for breakfast.

and invite over some friends that are just like family.

as with any good party, there was kissing...

and hugs for the birthday girl...

 candles and singing

the guys even got to watch the Masters

she was pleased as punch

at first, i was bummed that all my work was for nothing

but then i decided that we never really know how God is using our efforts.

and it wasn't about the guests...it was about her

the little one who has been my baby for the past 2 years
the one that is so very different from what i expected and infinitely more than i deserve

the wild, snuggly child who is worth every last minute i put into her special day

for whatever reason, i thought about an apple tree today.

i guess i've got autumn on the brain - weird

maybe we're going to bypass summer altogether and head right to fall???

anyway, there's a huge apple tree right over by the school where i work

and every fall as i go back to work, that tree sags heavy with apples that no one eats.

and i'm always struck by that - 

how i wish that someone would use them!

make applesauce

make apple juice

eat one for goodness sakes!

but today i was thinking that the apple tree isn't responsible for what happens to the fruit.

it's job is just to be fruitful

to make lots and lots of delicious fruit and not worry about how it is used.

God can use it to feed people, fertilize the ground, feed birds and other animals or just to make that block smell sticky sweet all fall long.

today was kind of like that

a day when i got to love a little person

and waste all my time and energy on her

and have no concern about who knows or appreciates it

even though it is dreary and cold and awful outside

even though the guests couldn't come

even though she's probably too young to really understand the decorations or the time or the effort

because i'll never know how God uses that fruit

my job is just to love

in big heaps

and let it be used in ways that i can see and ways that i'll never know

just because i can

so, spring tulip....

i wish the sun had been shining today

and that the beautiful tulips in the front yard that make me think of you were peeking through

but, amidst the snow and rain and cold, cold, cold

i'm so happy that you're mine

happy day to you

in big, huge wasteful heaps

i pour my adoration out

and pray that God will let it settle into your heart

and root you in His goodness forever

30 days to 30

In just 30 short days, I will be turning 30....yikes!  How did that happen?  Sometimes I can't quite wrap my head around the fact that I'm soon to be a mother of three...wasn't I just graduating high school?  Wasn't I just living in the dorms?  Wasn't I just planning my wedding?  Student teaching?  Moving into our first home?

 I guess time flies when you're having fun.  Regardless of how unbelievable it seems to me, I can't ignore the fact that 30 is right around the corner.

My husband, bless him, decided that with another big event just right around the corner, he'd plan something low key to celebrate.  So, today I opened the first of 30 gifts that he and Peach have been collecting and covertly wrapping. 

With 6-10 inches of snow on the radar, it seems crazy to be talking about planting our garden, but it sure was a sweet way to start out my day.

29 more gifts to open...29 more days of my 20's.

A sweet reminder to think of every day as a little gift to open.  I wont' lie...these past few weeks of getting out...rolling out...groaning out of bed in the mornings have been rough, rough, rough.   And I actually fell asleep standing just the other day.  But even when it requires more than the usual effort, greeting each day is a gift, isn't it?  Seeing, breathing, feeling, thinking....all presents.   May we unwrap them anew each morning.....

making daddy's day

 this morning, peach sent daddy directly into melt-my-heart mode with just 7 little words:

"do you want to golf with me?"

i had found this little golf set at a thrift store over the winter

today was the day peach decided to give it a whirl

and as you can imagine, my husband was over the moon...

i've never shown that much interest in golfing, so getting the kids into the game is something that would be a bit of a dream come true for J

i don't know that we've got any golf prodigies on our hands, but it was fun to see them putting around

and as i played with the manual settings on my camera, it made my heart full of happy to see someone i love so much passing on his passion

april foolishness

Peach has been over the moon about the book APRIL FOOLISHNESS for about a month now. I dug it out with the Easter decor and she's been reading it like there's no tomorrow.

Explaining the idea of April Fools Day pranks happening only on April Fools Day was more difficult than I expected.  However, we jumped on Pinterest I let her pick out a few pranks to pull on Daddy.

I quickly learned that with this girl....the cornier, the better. :)

The few supplies you see pictured here are all that were required to make her hilariously happy yesterday.

we made brown-e's for dessert

dressed up daddy's shaving cream, hair gel and deodorant

hid a spider in his water glass, frog in his napkin, mouse on the doorknob and lizard in the i.pad

just look at that face...what a crazy cat!

i can't believe she kept things a secret as long as she did

he was a good sport and she was proud as punch

a good combination for a goofy day :)

march extras

here's what march looked like at our house...

2 snow days gave us the opportunity to enjoy some family naps...my favorite :)

plenty of pet shops - they seem to be the go-to toy right now

we spent lots of time this month creating pet towns

pet salons

pet soccer fields

pet malls

pet grocery stores

gas stations...what ever you can think of

easter baskets full of fun stuff that momma has been collecting since last summer...no candy (grandmas and grandpas made sure they had plenty of that)

and quite possibly my favorite part of march:

sisters playing together just a smidge more than they are fighting....phew

lovin' that they are starting to find things they enjoy and can do WITH each other

there's still some crusty snow clinging to the ditches, but i'm declaring spring on this household

we're finally in Tulip's birthday month and just about 5 weeks away from baby

the to-do list is posted on the fridge, which includes packing our hospital bags - buckle up...here we go!