The Season of Lent

Lent is the Christian observance of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer, penance, repentance, etc. It's institutional purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week. During Lent, many Christians commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxury as a form of penitence. (source: wikipedia)

Last Sunday (the Sunday before Ash Wednesday), I taught our Children's Sermon at church, "Springtime and Lent."

Here was the sermon:

Theme:	The season of Lent; Planting seeds of love in the hearts of others.
Object:	A window screen, an old shoe box, a broom, and a flower pot with small hand shovel.
Scripture:	Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  Ephesians 1:3
This week was the beginning of a very important season in our church year- the season of Lent. Do you remember how long Lent lasts? That’s right, Lent is the 40 days before Palm Sunday which leads right in to Holy Week and Easter Sunday. The word “Lent” comes from another word “Lente” which means springtime. That makes sense…since Lent and Easter always happen during springtime. As I was thinking about Lent and springtime, I realized that many of the things I like to do in the springtime are similar to the kinds of things you and I can and should do during Lent as we prepare for Easter. Let me explain. In the springtime, I like to OPEN UP. I put these screens in my windows so I can open up my windows and let fresh spring air fill my home. For Lent, a great thing to do is OPEN UP our Bibles and read them more. When we read our Bibles, God speaks a fresh word to us and fills our hearts with His presence. In the springtime, I like to CLEAR OUT- especially the clutter in my closets. I go through my closets and take out the things I don’t really need: heavy coats, old shoes- things that will just be in the way. For Lent, it is good to CLEAR OUT the things in our lives that we don’t really need—things that get in the way of following Jesus. For example, maybe you watch TV or play video games a lot. Why not put them away for a while and use that extra time to pray. In the springtime, I always need to SWEEP UP. I try to find and clean up all the dirt in my home that has been hiding all winter- like under my rugs, dirt that no one else sees, but dirt that I know is there. For Lent, it is good to ask ourselves, “Have I made any mistakes or messes that I need to clean up? Do I need to apologize to someone for something I said or did? Do I need to ask God to forgive me? In the springtime, I love to PLANT. I plant seeds in my garden pots and water them as I wait and watch them grow into something beautiful. For Lent, it is good for us to PLANT- different kind of seeds. We can plant seeds of love in the hearts of others when we are kind, or helpful, or when we tell someone about Jesus. For Lent, think of something you can do that will become something beautiful for someone else, and do it in the name of Jesus, the one who did something really beautiful for you. Dear Jesus, We love you. Help us to Open up our Bibles, Clear Out our clutter, Sweep up our messes, and Plant seeds of Love. Amen

A printable of this lesson can be found here. As a gift to the children I gave them each a terracotta pot. The children got different kinds of seeds with their pot, so they could remember to plant seeds of love in the hearts of others.

This year I decided I was going to clear out something that I don't really need even though it was something that I loved, and had at least 4 times a day. I was pretty much addicted!



Diet Coke! As of today, it's been a week since one of these have entered in my mouth. I also figured if I could give up Diet Cokes that I could give up soda all together since Diet Coke was my drink of choice. So, no soda has made it's way in my tummy since Ash Wednesday. Can I tell you that I'm craving one, bad! I think I find myself eating since. Every time I go to get something to drink I don't see anything I want, so I resort to food and normally its not a very healthy food. 33 days to go.

What did you give up for Lent? Or did you decide to observe lent with more prayer time, serving others, or some other way?

Wine & Design

Need a fun night out? Girls night or date night? Check out  Wine and Design! If you click the link, there is a video on the home page of their website that's really cool to watch and gives you an idea of what Wine and Design is all about. There are quite a few Wine and Design locations, so if you're in the NC area, I'd highly recommend taking a trip to check one of these out!

My friend Julia arranged a private party with her friends and friends of her friends. When you have a private party you can choose which painting your group prefers to paint rather than having to paint whichever piece of artwork is on the calendar for that night. Julia arranged a date that worked for the majority of girls as well as tallied up votes on which painting everyone preferred to paint. The hydrangea painting won.

Not quite complete:


Julia & I:


Me, Laura, & Julia:


Haley came with me:


Hard at work:


My final product:


I'm always amazed at how different everyone's paintings look:


Such a fun night! This is the second Wine and Design I've done. This one was at their Raleigh location. The first one I did was at their Wake Forest location and we painted a red lilly.



Seriously, I have no painting ability in my body. I can't even paint a wall one solid color, but this is SO much fun! When I brought my red lilly painting home Scott didn't believe that I'd actually painted it myself. :)

Valentines Day

On Valentine's Day Grace finally made it to a school party. We missed her Thanksgiving and Christmas one but we made it for Valentines!

Grace and her best friend Camden had so much fun rolling each other up in this Winnie the Pooh chair.

After her party it was time to head to ballet. This week at ballet was red and pink week so we had to change from her normal black leotard and pink tights to make her a little more festive! :)

Opening her Valentines from Mommy & Daddy! (Daddy was in Orlando for a conference)

Here's a photo of Grace's Valentines that she gave to her friends...

Going through her Valentine box from school to see her goodies from her friends!

Grace's friend Kennedy gave everyone three heart crayons. Too cute! 

That night Grace and I baked Mickey heart cookies! 

I sure do love my sweet Valentine!

Family Photo Session, Part II

After a quick change of clothes we continued our session with my friend Laurie. Here's more photos from our photo session back in November. If you missed the first set of images you can view them here.
 

A New Adventure!

 

I met, Andrea, last March at a photography workshop on the OBX. Then she was living in Williamston with her husband who was a preacher and her three stinkin' cute boys. Being a pastors wife, mother, and a photographer were just part of her duties because she also home schools the two oldest boys and is the co-founder of one of my favorite blogs: She {hearts} it. I was AMAZED, and still am of how she does it all.

A month or so ago, Andrea, and the blogs other co-founder, Sheena, were looking for some new writers to add to their site. I sent in an inquiry because I thought it would be fun, but really didn't think I'd be chosen. However, I was! Now I am a contributing writer to this amazing site compiled of some amazing women!

She {hearts} it is a site where you can find mainly product reviews, but every once in a while you'll find recipes and lots of other fun things. Best of all there is always a giveaway going on. Right now there are giveaways for:
NeatReceipts Mobile Scanner
an item from Thumbprint Designs
A travel set from My True Nature
Quart of Coconut Oil

I encourage you to follow "She {hearts} it" on Facebook too! And be sure to frequent the blog and enter the contests. You'll never know when it will be my turn to post there!

xoxo

Fruit Cups

I signed up to bring fresh fruit for Grace's class Valentine's Day party! Instead of doing one big bowl of fresh fruit I decided that I would make individual fruit cups for everyone. It was so quick and easy. I just took small plastic cups, inserted a valentine's cupcake wrapper and filled with grapes and strawberries!

Married? In a Relationship? It's a good read!

Although Scott and I aren't married I found something in the following article that I really liked. I think people married or not, as long as you're in a relationship should read this. This was shared on one of my Facebook friend's pages, I thought I would share it with all of you.

“When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I’ve got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.


Suddenly I didn’t know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly. She didn’t seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?


I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn’t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn’t love her anymore. I just pitied her!


With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.


The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn’t have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.


In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn’t want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she didn’t want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.


This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that every day for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.


I told Jane about my wife’s divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.


My wife and I hadn’t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don’t tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.


On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.


On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn’t tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.


She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason I could carry her more easily.


Suddenly it hit me… she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.


Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it’s time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last-minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.


But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn’t noticed that our life lacked intimacy. I drove to office…. jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind…I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.


She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won’t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn’t value the details of our lives, not because we didn’t love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart. Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away. At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The sales girl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I’ll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.


That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed – dead. My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push through with the divorce.— At least, in the eyes of our son—- I’m a loving husband….


The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves.


So find time to be your spouse’s friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

At the end of this particular blogs post it stated that:

If you don't share this, nothing will happen to you. If you do, you just might save a marriage. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Ever think of throwing in the towel? In too much of a routine? Remember why you fell in love in the first place.

link I got it from: http://zidditamana.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/married-or-not-you-should-read-this/

Crockpot Mashed Potatoes

I think I've found a new favorite recipe. It was so easy.

What You Need

5 Pounds of Russet Potatoes

1 garlic clove minced

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup butter, cut into small cubes chunks

1 1/4 cup light sour cream

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup milk, warmed

2 ounces of cream cheese

What To Do

*Set crock pot out to high.

*Peel and chop potatoes. Add to crock pot with Chicken Stock and Butter.

*Cook for 4.5 hours

*Roughly Mash Potatoes

*Add garlic, sour cream, salt, pepper, milk, and cream cheese and finish mashing.

So easy and so good. I think I added way too much garlic though. Even thought I'm a big garlic fan, I think this recipe would be fine without the garlic too.

I'm also usually a big fan of mashed potatoes left over, but these weren't as good the second time around. And remember if you have a family of 2 or 3 or even 4, this recipe is WAY TOO much! ;) We had mashed potatoes coming out of our ears!

Ipad Apps

Two of Grace's new favorite Ipad App's are:

*ABC Tracing - is pretty much just tracing the capital and lower case of each letter.

Screenshot of ABC Tracing:


*Letter Quiz - Includes 4 different games: flashcards, identification, matching, & handwriting. Her favorite ones are matching and handwriting.

Screenshot of Letter Quiz:


Below are photos of Grace playing "Letter Quiz".







After she finished all the upper case letters...



LOVE this feature that shows all the letters just as she traced them. (Just wished I could save it, guess snapping a photo of it real quick works too?!?!)

These photos were taken on a Sunday night. Grace just started playing with this app the Friday night before. On Friday night she had no concept of picking up her finger after making one stroke of the letter to make another. There was lots of scribbling and just moving her finger around. Lots of circle motions on the screen. By Sunday night she'd done these letters all by herself.

Valentine's Day

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day!

Scott's in Florida but Grace and I had a fun day full of Valentine stuff. I have lots of photos to share but I just wanted to post this one real quick.

This was once we got home from Ballet. It was red and pink week at ballet so I had to go outside the norm of her usual ballet attire! She got lots of compliments while at ballet. :)

Girls Night Out

To celebrate Grace being paci free, she and I had a girls night out! Our first stop was to the mall for dinner and chick-fil-a and a visit to Build-A-Bear. Because she was such a paci girl I couldn't see myself just throwing them away or them just sitting in a box. On this day, Grace had been paci free for 17 days. I figured since we had gone this long without one that she wouldn't be too distraught when she saw them again. She was such a big girl!

Step One: Picking out the animal she wanted. Grace chose a rabbit. There are probably 20 different animals to choose from that range from $15-$30 from all kinds of bears to smurfs to rabbits to penguins.

Step Two: There are lots of different sounds that you can stuff into your animal. Basically its a button that you can put in their foot or hand and once you press it it makes a noise. There are noises such as hearbeats, laughter, smooches, songs, etc. Grace chose not to put a noise maker in her bunny but she did have fun listening to the different sounds.

Step 3: Time to stuff!

We put ALL EIGHT pacis in first...

Then you put a small heart in your animal...

And then its time to step on the pedal and fill our bunny with stuffing.

Step 4: Bunny needs a bath!

Step 5 consisted of picking out clothes for her bunny. Grace chose a ballerina tutu.

Step 6: Making bunny's gift certificate!

...and giving her a name. Grace calls her bunny, Sadie!

All Done!

After our fun at Build-A-Bear we went to see Beauty & the Beast in 3D!

And because I love photo strips we had to take advantage of the one at the theater to show off our silly 3D glasses!

At home and snuggled up tight!