Friday!

This weekend I am looking forward to...

....getting the house ship shape (as in tonight!).

....pizza movie "night" in with my girl.

....having Ericka (sis-in-law) and Katie (niece) over tomorrow.  They are driving here from Spokane (3 hours away) to make Valentines Day crafts and bake Valentines Day cookies with Grace and I.  And, we just found out they are spending the night.  Hooray!

....church.  We found a new church. It's funny because we weren't looking for one.  Nothing bad happened at our old church.  Loren just wanted to try it out for fun since he knew the pastor.   It's perfect for us.  It's a small congregation, laid back, unique and eclectic.  Not stuffy or boring.   Personal.  Spirit led but not showy in anyway. Humble.   Biblically based. Inspiring. And, after only four weeks I've been moved to change and grow more than I have in a long time.  We are excited to see what God has in store for us through this church.

....celebrating Loren's 37 (cough, cough....I mean 25th) birthday.  Grace and I have a few little surprises up our sleeves and then we are off to a friends Super Bowl Party to round off the weekend.

Anytime you have family in town and a birthday to celebrate life is good.

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Random....

1.  I really love the first five minutes when my daughter wakes up.  It's the only time she's actually still and snugly until the next morning.  She's always been a mover and shaker.  But, this time-this precious morning time- is quiet and soft.  I breathe in her morning scent and just squeeze in next to her before our busy day of going going going starts.  

As of late when she wakes up she likes to pretend she is a baby and I have to change her pretend diaper and watch as she learns to talk and walk.  Oh my creative girl.  She's always surprising me with new and unique ways to play.

Nothing is more precious than a sleeping babe.
It never gets old.  Every single night I am amazed while watching her sleep.

This is how the rest of the day looks.
And, thus the reason I am exhausted by 7pm.

2. Tuesday morning Women's Bible Study.
One of the things I look most forward to every week.
We are doing Beth Moore's bible study: Daniel.
My most favorite bible study thus far. And, the girls in my small group are precious gems.  I look forward to their smiles, knowledge and support every week.
If you have a church near by doing the study-GO!  It will change your life and teach you incredible amounts of historical knowledge that will amaze you. God is so Good!

Join Beth Moore in a faith-building study of prophecy, and learn how to shine for Christ in our modern culture. Just as the prophet Daniel faced unbelievable pressures— to compromise his faith, to live in a hostile culture, and confront temptations and threats—today's believers face many of the same trials. Schedule one 12-week study or two six-week studies with your small group or Sunday school and examine the life of Daniel in an extremely contemporary way. Then explore the fascinating prophecies from the time of Daniel through the second coming of Christ. Five daily studies and 1 video worksheet per week show you how individuals can live with integrity in today's self-absorbed society.



3.  Resolution Update:
1 month ago we started on a healthier weekly plan.  No sugar except on Sundays.  More exercising.  More veggies and fruit. Loren has lost 2 inches around his belly already!  Way to go babe.  Plus we feel better and have more energy.  This is definitely something we are going to stick to for quite awhile.

We started doing P90X a week ago.  It's kicking our butts and is fantastic.

How we hope to look after 90 days (wink, wink).
It would be nice, but we don't have 1-2 hours free
every day for 90 days straight so we modify the time frame
and just do what we can.  BUT, if we did it for 90 days straight I
can see how people end up looking like this!  It's no joke.  EXTREME.

4. New favorite lunch.
1 serving of pasta (measured out....I have to or I'll eat the entire box) + 2-3 servings of veggies sauteed and placed on top of the pasta (broccoli, onions, peppers, carrots, bamboo, etc.).  So yummy and a whole lot of veggie goodness.  I could eat it every day (and sometimes do).

5.  Star Student
Grace was chosen as Kindergarten Star Student for the month of January.
We are so proud of her.  She works hard. Shines her light.  And, really goes above and beyond.
She's our Star Student every month.

We celebrated with balloons when we got home

6. Summer Work
Looks like I might be teaching dance again this summer.  Hooray! The great news is I already have 10 lessons planned out.  However I am going to make some changes.  Shorten the time from 1 hour to 45 minutes.  Go from 10 weeks to 8.  And, narrow my age range to 4.  Please pray as I figure out what my summer job situation will look like (I'll be out of work for 2 months due to L-man's mama having baby #2 so she'll be out on maternity leave and I'll need to look for more work for the time being) and that it pays enough to compensate my loss during those months. I will need to do more than dance so please pray that God provides and that whatever it is He blesses me with I find great joy in.

Grace loves this little guy and will surely miss him over the summer while he's home with his mama.

7.  Snow
We got it.  Lots of it.
And, we need it for the farmers.  Come spring and summer we do not get much rain so they rely on the winter snow fall to water the crops during the dry seasons.
It was beautiful watching it fall and playing with it the first few days but now it's icy, hard and yucky so I'm ready for it to go.

 8. After 5 years and 9 months the cats have finally found the beauty of Gracie's bed.  However, Gracie is not too fond of them laying in her bed and getting cat hair all over it.  One day, Grace will remember to close her door before we leave.  One day.

9.  Girlfriend likes to create. She threw together a two day wedding in our living room.  Such imagination. 

10.  Marrying her prince charming.
She married her daddy when he got home late from work.
Her real prince.  
I pray she finds someone just like her daddy.  He's the best hubby in the world.

the wedding dance

11.  Stacking.
Ever since she could play she's loved to stack.
And, she's still got it.  Although now it's much more advanced and thought out.  I sat here for over thirty minutes while she placed things in very specific spots.

Grace was asked to be in a friends short film.
Her final project before she graduates.
Grace did so well.
We can't wait to see the film in a few months.

taking direction from the director

being filmed

and her close up

So that is my random post to catch us up.

Happy Ground Hog Day!

Grace and I are praying he does not see his shadow.

Spring*Spring*Spring