Jesus invade

We've been walking through some tough times as a family in the past few months. I just came across a song that spoke directly to my heart, and put to words my prayers over the past months.

Invade
by Watermark

Come, come in
Invade all You see of us
Any man, who'd walk Your road is welcomed here
And You're the only one

Chorus:
Jesus, come and walk the halls of this house
Tread this place and turn it inside out
With Your mercy...
Jesus, teach us the prayers that open these doors
Until Your light floods in and illuminates these floors
And let Your truth be on our steps and in these rooms
Jesus invade...

Reach, reach in
With the hand that heals all our suffering
Conquer all that is not of You
Bring Your spirit through
As we fill these walls with Your praise

Chorus

Bridge:
I call for angels
I call for mercy
I call for freedom
In the name of Jesus
In the name of Jesus

thursday thirteen

thirteen random thoughts/things i love:

1. taco salad. it could possibly be the perfect lunch. i always say, the best part of taco night is lunch the next day!

2. my three boys: ben, luke, gabe. possibly the most wonderful little boys in the world!

3. my two girls: madyson and sydnee. beautiful, delightful, warm, wonderful.

4. my hubby: hardworking, happy, kind and gentle, wonderful father, best friend.

5. trail mix. (how's that for random?) could possibly be the perfect snack! especially the bag i picked up at sam's club the other day. perfectly salty, crunchy, chewy, chocolatey...need i go on? (see pic above)

6. facebook. serious addiction. serious fun finding old friends online!

7. spring, please oh please come soon!

8. vacation...i spent way too much time online this morning looking for a rental in michigan for this summer. with no luck, yet.

9. a new baby nephew i get to meet on sunday! can't wait...

10. reading. i need a book to read. any suggestions? leave me a comment, please!

11. david is graduating in just over a month. there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

12. hot coffee that i had this morning. the whole cup while it was still hot. amazing.

13. tomorrow is friday! yay!

Mystery Reader

March is reading month, and at Maddy's school they have a "Mystery Reader" come in each day to read a book to the class. Grampy came last year to read, and I signed him up to come again this year. Today was the day and the look on Maddy's face when he walked in was so sweet! I actually shed a tear and missed the moment with my camera, but was able to snap some other cute shots...




Have you read the book "Skippyjon Jones"? It is adorable, and really funny! My dad read it to my kids a week or two ago on one of our evenings together and they all LOVED it. He read it to the first graders this morning and they enjoyed it just as much.
Thanks Grampy!

chocolate sauce...so good!

1 c. butter
3 c. sugar
1/3 c. cocoa powder (i used special dark powder)
1 12oz. can EVAPORATED milk
dash salt
1 tsp. vanilla

mix together all but the vanilla in a large saucepan. bring to boil over medium heat and boil for 7 minutes, whisking constantly. remove from heat and add vanilla. blend in a blender or with handheld blender if needed (i didn't need to)

good luck keeping your spoon (and fingers!) out of this yummy sauce! makes a very large amount...but is SO.DARN.GOOD.

wordless wednesday: indoor waterpark weekend

Valentine rewind...

Whew...what a busy week! I thought I'd share a few picts from Valentine's Day and maybe this weekend I can get back up to speed with my blogging. I had good intentions for February, really.

Here is Maddy at her school party, looking all Valentiney and all...


Here's Mads loving on her little brother.


Ben, checking out his goods from his party. (He has a bit of a red pop mustache...so cute)


The cups I decorated for my 5 little valentines:


David's valentine: me! (and the shirt)

Wordless Wednesday: Extreme Makeover 4 year old self-haircut edition

(I guess that wasn't really "wordless" was it?)

Quotes of the day...

Luke: Daddy, if you want to get rid of your sickness, all you need to do is lay in front of the t.v. and drink sprite.

Ben: Dad, isn't that what you do every day?


While David was snuggling Maddy before bed tonight:

Maddy: Daddy, if I could give you a Valentine heart candy, it would say "My man rocks!", or it would say "mom-slash-dad rules!"

10 and 11 : these days are flying by!

I can't believe tomorrow is Thursday. Tuesday and today went so fast, I feel I have hardly had time to think. I guess this is a good thing, it means February will soon be behind us! Tuesday was a gorgeous day, 60 degrees, like a spring preview. A little reminder of the warmth of spring and what we have to look forward to. The yard is a mucky mess, so I took the littles out to play, instructing them to stay out of the grass and mud. They were so good, and had so much fun playing and soaking up the sun and fresh air. Gabe was especially cute. He "mowed" the sidewalk with his toy lawn mower for at least 20 minutes. Another 20 was spent going down his little slide over and over. Maddy and Luke played on their scooters and with chalk. Ben played basketball with his neighbor friend and I tried to take in all the fresh smells, bird songs and sunshine that I could! Oh Spring, please come soon!

8 and 9: a new floor for...

a really fun game of Ring Around the Rosies.

7: glorious fresh air

fresh air that is somewhat warm!!

Look mom, we're outside!


the girl and her dog (yes, she's in her pj's)


Luke dusted off his bike (oops, we forgot his helmet)


Mud. Yuck.

6: five on friday

Five things on my 'to-do' list:

5. vacuum the house (halfway done already...yay me!)

4. figure out a place for these cute lamps I got on sale at Target:

3. mountains of laundry, *sigh*, when will it end?

2. play with my little boys, of course.

1. enjoy the sunshine streaming through the windows, oh please come soon spring!


Happy Weekend!

5: this is Luke, he is funny...

...and I literally got up and wrote this conversation down last night, just so I wouldn't forget it. The funniest thing about Luke, in my opinion, is that sometimes he doesn't mean to be funny. Like this, that happened in those magical, snuggly moments at bedtime last night...

L: Mom, one time Daddy sat on my face in my bed.

me: he did?

L: yes.

me: did it hurt?

L: kinda, and it was dark too.

me: (cracking up with laughter)


**just to elaborate on why Daddy would so such a thing, Luke loves to hide under the covers so we "find" him when we come to kiss him goodnight. Daddy must have misinterpreted which end was up, if you know what I mean!**

4: Wordless Wednesday

3: relax

How did I get so lucky today? My dear hubby got me a gift certificate for a housecleaning service to come, so I am taking some time to put my feet up, with Luke's, and relax.

2: cat naps

There's nothing better than a good nap and a good snuggle.

Day one, on day two...

February 1st just happened to be my baby's 18 month birthday! How can it be that he's already a year and a half old? It's just not fair how fast time goes by. This little guy keeps us hopping, laughing, and snuggling. He is so much fun, such a little love. My favorite thing Gabe does right now? The new words he is learning. "Brush" and "Guys" are my favorites, though brush is pronounced without the "R" and guys sounds much like "dies".

brain freeze...

I'm back to blogging after a month off. Not that I meant to take such a long break, but every time I thought to update here I would get distracted, or simply not know what to talk about! Thus my title, brain freeze. That's how winter is now, sapping my energy and leaving me craving spring and sunshine and warm breezes. So, how about a project? How about a picture of each day this month? The mundane, the fun and exciting, the cuddly and warm, cold and snowy moments in February? OK. Let's go. And if you have your own blog, why don't you join me?