Earlier this month I posted this decorating dilemma. I was pleasantly surprised when my sister and my mom’s friend, Melisa both had the same great idea!

A tray! (Littlest Pet Shop characters, optional.)

Why didn’t I think of that??? I even had that wooden tray sitting around, not being used for anything. I love it right there on the ottoman with my books and coffee cup. (Although, usually it’s not hanging off the edge like in this picture!) The only thing that was missing was a blanket.

I asked my mom to help me make a quilt and in the mean time, she said I could borrow that soft blue throw from her bedroom. We planned a “working Saturday” for the new quilt-to-be, but that turned out to be the weekend it snowed and our favorite quilt shop was closed.

So one day last week, when Jeremy took the kids to his dad’s, I met my mom at Sweet Home Quilt Co. and we browsed until we found these:

Pretty, huh? I love picking out fabrics and trying to imagine what the finished project will look like. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks mom and I will plan another work day to make the quilt top. I can’t wait to see it lying in my favorite comfy spot!!!

Emery was quiet and I could tell his wheels were spinning.

Finally he says, “I don’t want to be a mummy.”

“Why?”

“Because”, he says. “I want to be the Daddy!”
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Last night we were coming home from church and I was lost in a song on the radio. Suddenly I became very aware of the conversation taking place in the back seat.

Savannah: “…my best friend has a pecker.”

Emery: “Well, then I am your best friend. I have a pecker too.”

I was trying to wrap my head around what they were talking about when Savannah tells Emery, “Hey, let’s switch birds. I want the one with the pretty feathers now.”

This past weekend though, we got a taste of spring. And after church on Sunday, I called my mom to see if she’d like to go with me and the kids to our favorite local State Park.

There are plenty of hiking trails at Hard Labor Creek.

But their favorite place to play is on this ennormous rock.

Even Nanny climbed up there for a quick snap shot!

Finally, we headed to the playground where they wore a hole in this slide.

And now today, as I’m writing this, there are snow flurries outside my kitchen window. I feel like sitting down and crying a tear into my old coffee cup. But first, I guess I need to go wash that worn out sweater.

Sorry my Sunday Stirrings post is coming to you on Monday, but yesterday was such a beautiful day, I couldn’t resist spending the whole afternoon outside. It was wonderful!

And speaking of being late (or not at all, as I’m about to explain), I have decided not to plan on posting anything the next 2 Sunday’s. Jeremy is fishing at Table Rock Lake in Missouri next week and my parents and I will be taking the kids out there on Saturday. We will stay for about 9 days. I won’t know if I have internet access until we get there. And plus, I may just take a true vacation and not worry about writing at all.

But if anything comes to me, I’ll let you know!

As for you guys, if any of you want to write something for Sunday Stirrings, feel free to link back to this post for the next 2 weeks. I promise to check it. Reading your posts is like getting an extra devotional for that day!
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Over the past week I have become acutely aware of how hard it is to be tuned in to the Holy Spirit while having children at home. I mean, obviously this is something I first figured out 7 years ago when Savannah was born. Gone were the mornings I spent perusing my bible for an hour.

I made adjustments to my morning study time and felt a bit of relief knowing this was only a season of my life. In a few short years my kids would be in school and I would have quiet time again to spend in thought and prayer.

But then homeschool came into my life and the naps disappeared. My days do start with a quick devotion followed most mornings by a plea prayer of “Help me Jesus!” to get me through the day. I find that the rest of the day is consumed with constant chatter, refereeing disagreements, and noise.

OH THE NOISE!

Granted, I do require a daily “room time”, more for me than them, but that’s when I tend to do things that need my full attention, like paying bills. And besides, what I’m lacking these days isn’t another 20 minutes with God. It’s being able to hear His gentle whisper among the chaos of the day.

So how do I get it? Where does it come from? Sorry I don’t have any conclusion to this post today, it’s just the thoughts that have been with me all week. I refuse to continue on saying “this is just a season” and feeling as if I’m living without the power that can help me be the mom and wife I am supposed to be.

I know it’s attainable. He wouldn’t have called me to homeschool and then used that to keep me FROM himself. His purposes are always to draw us closer. I just haven’t figured it out yet.

But I will!

To say that my kids love to play games, would be like saying Facebook is sorta popular. They absolutely, without a doubt would rather play a game than do anything else. (Except maybe baseball for him and the razor scooter for her. But other than that…)

It doesn’t matter what kind of game either. Card games, board games, or video games. They’ve even been known to try and join in a game of Rummikub from time to time.

I’m not sure how many times a day I get asked to play a particular game. I feel bad putting them off, but usually the best time for all of us to sit down and play is not until after dinner. That’s why Hullabaloo, by Cranium gets my vote for today’s Friday Favorite.

It’s a game they can play alone or with others. And, here’s a bonus…it’s a listening game. See Emery in the video? He’s listening to a voice directing him where to go next. He may say a color, shape, or object. He might ask you to crawl to get there, or jump or spin. As the games goes on, the commands get more challenging. Right before taping that video, Emery and I were playing it together and we had to “fly to a square, put your nose on a green, and high five someone next to you”.

It’s silly and fun, and isn’t that what all kids, young and old, love in a game? And while I’m at it, I’m gonna plug another Cranium game that my kids love to play. It’s called Bingo Bunch.

For Bingo Bunch you draw 9 or 12 cards and lay them out like a bingo card, face up. The cards have pictures on them of mix ‘n match people. There are 2 dice. One has upper torso, one has lower torso. So every time you roll them you make different body combinations. If the combo matches one of your cards, you turn it over. The first one to get 3 or 4 (depending on how many you started with) in a row, gets BINGO!

The body combinations crack my kids up. And I love Bingo Bunch because it fits in my purse or overnight bag. It’s a great travel game.

So what about all of you? Any cool kids games your family likes to play around the dinner table at night?

First, a couple of weeks ago, Emery had to give a presentation at school about what he wanted to be when he grew up. He stood confidently in front of the class and told them all about how he was going to be a super hero someday. How his super power would be speed and his wife would have the ability to become invisible.

Second, last week while Jeremy was stranded in Louisana with his truck broken down, he met a young guy from Japan. He came to America to fish the FLW Series and even though he speaks very little English, he and Jeremy hit if off. When it was time for Jeremy to come home on Monday, he called to let me know Naohiro would be coming with him to stay for 2 weeks until the Table Rock tournament.

I thought it would be best to prepare the kids for this and tried to explain to them that he didn’t speak our language. I also wanted to make sure they could say his name correctly by the time he got here. Naohiro is pronounced “Ni-Hero”.

Emery: “My hero?”
Me: “No. Ni, Ni, Ni-Hero.”
Emery: “Whose hero?”
Me: “Nobody’s hero. That’s his name. Naohiro.”
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Okay, with that in mind, fast forward to dinner that night. Both kids were totally fascinated with the poor guy, but he took it all in stride. They were asking him how to say everything from “hello” to “sing”. They wanted to show him all their favorite toys and teach him how to say the names. He was playing along until Emery brought in his Buzz Lightyear. Naohiro’s face lit up and he exclaims, “Oh Yes!!! Buzz a-Lightyear!!!”

Well, Emery was beside himself!

At that point Jeremy calmed everyone down so we could actually finish our dinner. It was quiet for a moment, then Emery began saying the colors of everyone’s hair. Jeremy and I made eye contact across the table because we knew what was coming. You see, Naohiro has black and orange hair. Like maybe he tried to bleach it, but it never got blonde? Anyways, one half of his head is orange.

So Emery gets to him and says “Naohiro’s hair is black AND orange! I’ve never seen black and orange hair before. Why IS your hair black and orange?”

Naohiro gets very serious, leans down, and looks Emery dead in the eye. In a soft voice he says, “Becuss, in uh Japan. I Japanese Sup-a-hero. I good friend with Buzz a-Lightyear.”

Oh how I wish I had a camera to capture the look on my son’s face. It was really too much!

You are a very sweet kitty, and I realize that in the land of all things cat, bringing gifts is your way of showing gratitude.

I should consider it an honor that you bring your dead mice, lizards, and birds to my doorstep. Why last week, you even went the extra mile and disemboweled the tiny offering.

But please, I’m begging you, for the love of critters everywhere…stop it, stop it, STOP IT!!!!!!

I’m sorry. I hope you know that it’s me, not you. Your sacrifices are obviously the finest vermin this property has to offer. I should see them for the compliment that they are.

It’s just that I have such a hard time accepting gifts that I feel I don’t deserve. I guess what I’m saying is, your appreciation is going well above and beyond what is necessary.

In the future, a simple purring sound when I pet your head and rub behind your ears is all that’s needed.

Thank you for your understanding on this sensitive subject.

Your friend,
Jodi

At the risk of making this post sound like a Nike advertisement, the Lord has taught me this week to “Just Do It”!

There is a particular thing that has been on my mind and heart for the past, I don’t know, 30 days or so. It’s something that I’ve done in the past but wasn’t sure if this time it was Spirit-led or Jodi-led.

And I wanted it to be Spirit led.

So I waited.

And prayed.

And waited.

And prayed.

It’s not that I didn’t want to do “the thing”, it’s just that I wanted it to be done correctly. I wanted to be sure it was God’s will for me to be doing it. When do I start? When do I stop? What is the purpose??? I questioned whether or not I should do it because I couldn’t get the answers I was looking for.

This week I read Luke 9:1-6 and it talks about Jesus giving power and authority to his disciples. He gave them a brief lesson on how to go out among the people and preach the gospel. Then they went.

As I read those verses it dawned on me what my reaction would have been as a disciple back in Jesus’ day. “Okay, I’ll go out and tell the people about you, but where specifically to you want me to go?”, “And what exactly do you want me to say?”, and “I’m not sure I have all the information down just yet”.

I don’t believe my hesitation is all bad, my desire is to do everything right. But in my quest to make the situation perfect…(a.k.a. “making sense of it all in my teeny tiny brain”), I’m ignoring a command.

This morning our Pastor gave a formula for success in life. He said, “God’s Purpose + My Obedience = Our Success”. He didn’t say anything about having all the answers up front.

Just do it!

What has the Lord been asking you to do? Have you done it? Or are you waiting for the “right” time? Today is a gift. And there is no time like the present. (Pun intended!)
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I can’t believe how these Sunday Stirrings posts are keeping me accountable to my quiet times and really helping me tune in to the word of God. If you’ve got something stirring inside this week, take a moment and write it down. Then link it up over here! :)

The 2010 Winter Olympics began today in Vancouver, Canada. I hear they didn’t have nearly the snowfall they had anticipated. Maybe they should have moved it to Georgia. We could have held a few events on the blanket of snow that fell last night.

Here is the American Trash Bag Sledding team earning their gold medal.

And here is the 3 man luge team. (Four if you count the guy who is pushing them off at the top of the hill.)

We had a ton of fun during a RARE snowfall in the Atlanta area. From helping Nanny build a snowman lounging next to the pool during yesterdays blizzard, to heading out this morning after breakfast and using garbage bags to slide down the hill in their front yard. We really enjoyed ourselves!!!

And in Georgia, you have to enjoy it quickly. This picture was taken at 5:00 Friday night as I headed to my parent’s house.

And this one was taken at noon on Saturday.

So I am taking the kids to their first ever Valentine’s party on Friday through our homeschool group. I hadn’t put much thought into the cards I’d be getting until I saw an awesome idea on my friend Jodi’s site.

It seemed simple enough (at least until I found 66 kids were attending).

First, take a picture of your child with an outstretched fist. Feel free to mess with said picture in photo editing software if you forget to wipe the dried ravioli off his face before shooting, and then add some text. Print the pictures. Now make 2 little slivers, one above and one below the fist. Slide a lollipop in and secure it on the back with a piece of tape. Then VOILA ~

Cutest valentine’s day cards EVER!