In my life this week…
The kids and I held our 3rd annual Family Valentine’s Ball. Another fun and unforgettable evening. Hearing my little guy’s laughter as we spun in circles…seeing my kiddos rise to the occasion and become such sweet little hostesses…little voices singing along to “our song“. Such precious memories.
We’re cooking…
Our traditional Valentine Ball menu:
Garlic-Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
Garlic-Rosemary Roasted Baby Potatoes
World’s Best Dinner Rolls
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Molten Lava Cakes
Chocolate Covered Cinnamon Bears
Love this menu because so much of it can be done ahead of time and then just put in the oven in time to serve. For the past three years, the kiddos have helped prepare it every step of the way. But this year, I was completely amazed by how much they have grown and matured and were able to take charge of so many of the preparations themselves. Working beside them and watching them experience the joy of creating something so special and meaningful to share with their daddy was such a beautiful thing!
We’re learning…
About skunks! It just so happens that we saw one trot across our front step and into our bushes last week…probably right into the little den he’s built underneath it! So, I thought we should learn about another one of God’s amazing creatures, and hopefully ease the kiddos’ fears!
I’m working on…
Finding some fun crafts to do with the kids for another craft week this spring. To organize it all a little better, I finally joined Pinterest! Looking forward to cleaning out all the favorites saved on my computer…it’s gotten a little out of control!
I’ve been reading…
Fully Alive: A Journey that Will Change Your Life - a motivational book by Ken Davis. Through it, Ken shares his life goal of glorifying God by living fully alive: physically, mentally, socially and spiritually. And he starts by asking a really great question, “When did we stop living life and start letting life happen to us?”
The first part of the book focuses on the physical challenges of exercising and eating healthy, because in truth, it’s hard to concentrate on other areas of your life if your health is not up to par. But the book is so much more than that. Through some wonderful stories, Ken also inspires us to seek excellence in all areas of life; to not settle for the comfortable, but to take risks and find joy.
For me, one of his most helpful tips was this: “Living fully alive is only as complicated as the next step I take.” I so often feel paralyzed by everything that lies before me. I get overwhelmed thinking of all I need to do or all it will take to get where I want to be, and then, instead of just taking the next step forward, I give up before I even get started. So starting today, I’ll continue mapping out what I need to do, but I’m going to focus my concentration on that next step.
Related posts:
I just recently joined pinterest too. So happy to finally have a place to store all of those links and the ideas I was keeping in my head! If you do a search on ‘Crayon Wishes and Popsicle Dreams’ you will find that a lot of people have pinned ideas from your blog:)
Find me on there – I go under the name at the beginning of my email address
Yay! Thanks for telling me! I’d love to see what you have pinned…we always think so much alike