10 on 10

Mother's Day edition of 10 on 10. 

Early morning coffee and time with Jesus. 

Delicious breakfast cooked by my sweet husband. I only ate one piece of bacon and sausage - the kids begged for the other pieces :)

I despise being late for church, but we were.

Ava and Grammie - Ava turned 18 months today!

Naptime!

Yummy fruit (local strawberries from the farmer's market - so yum!) for supper with my family.

Family supper.

We hugely surprised my mom with an iPad for mother's day!

Sisters reading.

I'm thankful for these crazy little ones who have made me a mama!

Motherhood Unexpected - book review

I have been working really hard to read more (pleasure reading for myself) this year. When my friend, Deanna, announced that she was writing a book, I knew it would be on my list even though I don't typically read a lot of fiction.

Deanna has been a friend of mine since we lived on the same hall one semester in college. She is a very gifted writer and I have enjoyed following her life over the years through her blog, Everything and Nothing from Essex. Deanna has a precious daughter named Addison who is beautiful, hilarious, spunky, loves fashion and chocolate, and has Down Syndrome. I love reading Deanna's witty, real-life posts about her adventures with Addison and her two little guys. 

Motherhood Unexpected is an outstanding book! It is a novel about three women who each face difficult, life-changing circumstances and struggle to see God's hand through them. I could hardly put the book down! I laughed and cried as I felt the vivid emotions of the characters. 

Here is the book description: "All Claire wants is to be a mother, but her perfectly planned birth ends with a surprise. Forced to question everything that she has ever believed, she struggles through new motherhood. How can God still be good when nothing about this is even remotely good? 

Meanwhile, Claire's teenage sister Felicity goes too far with the wrong kind of guy. Faced with a life-altering decision, she can't help but wonder, "why me?" 

Julie counsels her daughters as they deal with the complications of sex, disability, broken expectations, and jealousy. However, a deeply buried secret won't leave her alone, causing her to have her own doubts. 

Three women face circumstances that leave them broken and desperate. Will they find peace with the unexpected before it's too late?"

I am thankful to Deanna for challenging my own heart on mothering, God's goodness, and His sovereign plan for our lives. Motherhood Unexpected is not just about motherhood, but about life, and life's biggest decisions - something everyone can relate to.

This week Amazon has a really great Mother's Day sale on Motherhood Unexpected! You can get the Kindle edition for $0.99 and the paperback for $7.99! This is a perfect gift to give your mother, friend, wife, sister, daughter, pretty much any lady in your life! :) 

10 on 10

Today did not start out according to plan at all. A huge thunderstorm woke me up at 3am and then Ava was awake off and on from 3:30 to 4:45 (she must be going through a growth spurt because after I was finally coherent enough to give her a snack, she went right back to sleep). My alarm was set for 5:13 so I could go workout, but I texted my dad and told him I had to get a little more sleep. I got up at 6:15 but have totally felt like my whole day has been off. blah!

{{Time with Jesus and coffee are a necessity for me every morning}}

{{On our way to the doctor to get stitches out of Levi's chin - will post that story soon}}

{{Stitches are out!! Levi again wowed the doctor and nurses with his unwincing courage! Our pediatrician was very pleased with how well the inside and outside of his mouth has healed even though the anti-bac cream the ER doc prescribed was backordered in all local pharmacies and we used colloidal silver and essential oils for healing!}}

{{Lunch on the porch since the grass was soaked from the storm}}

{{Bike washing}}

{{Mud-puddle jumping}}

{{There are some days that a good cry followed by baby snuggles are in order}}

{{My favorite part of supper}}

{{Bedtime stories}}

{{There must always be a silly face picture}}

It's SPRING!!!! (and other randomness)

We have really been enjoying the beautiful weather the last week or so! It seems like my kids do so much better when they can get outside - so much less whining, fighting, crying, etc. The three big kids are really into riding their bikes this year. We don't have much space at our house to ride, but we are enjoying rides around the neighborhood. 

Ava is loving toddling around this year. She doesn't like walking barefoot in the grass - she walks on her tip toes. So funny! She is a little stinker and likes to take off for the road whenever she gets the chance. I can't take my eyes off her at all!

Snack time.

We are happy to be back at the park too! 

Lily found these daffodils in our yard. She picked them and put them in a glass of water on the table.

Ava loves this little outfit and would wear it everyday if I let her. 

Spiffed up and headed to church. Jacob was out of town for a weekend conference, so I snapped this picture to send to him. 

Snacks, stories and outside time = joy to this mama's heart! 

Happy Birthday, Asher!

On March 11 our sweet second son turned 3! I can't believe he is already three - craziness! He is goofy and stubborn. He loves to snuggle, play outside, read books, ride his bike, eat and snack all day long, be silly with his siblings.

We celebrated with Jacob's side of the family for Sunday dinner (a few days before his actual birthday). Asher requested baked beans, mac & cheese, corn, and Grammie's bbq chicken along with peach cobbler for dinner. :)

There is always plenty of help when it comes to opening gifts!

On Sunday night at my parent's house we celebrated my sister's birthday along with Asher's. 

Opening more gifts!

We celebrated with cinnamon rolls on his birthday. He was the first person to get to use our new "You are special today" plate - which he was excited about! We learned that if you put candles in a too-hot cinnamon roll, they will melt all inside the roll. Oops! :) 

A couple of days after he turned 3, Asher lost his last paci. I finally did find it later and put it away because he was definitely ready to be done with it. He cried (and I cried with him) at rest time that day, but then didn't have any trouble going to sleep that night. It was bittersweet - I wish he didn't have to grow up so quickly, but I'm glad to see him growing through the challenges. 

10 on 10

Snapshots from our day {March 10, 2015}

Early morning workout - I do 25 minutes on the elliptical and about 20 minutes of weights. I have never taken a picture at the end of my workout - it was a challenge. If I stopped moving the machine paused and when I took the picture while still moving it was blurry. Ahh! Trust me though, my speed was much faster during the workout than what is pictured! LOL

Jacob was really busy today but was able to come home for a few minutes between schools. All the kids piled on him to snuggle a little bit. Levi didn't want his picture taken and Jacob's coffee cup is hiding Asher's face. :) 

Mama's tea blend brewing.

Reading time.

Me and my little bread baking helper.

I think I need a larger bowl to let the dough rise in. HA

3 loaves and 2 pans of cinnamon rolls - plenty for us and some to share.

New homemade play dough is a great rainy day activity!

Sweet 16 month old Ava.

This entire pregnancy I have been craving a grilled cheese sandwich (with pickles and onions) but since I rarely eat bread (I can only eat spelt flour) I haven't had one. Well, since I made bread today, I caved and had a sandwich. It was SOOO good!!!