Forgiveness Sunday

Photo Credit

I am a jumble of thoughts tonight.  It has been a very busy, stressful, and filling day.  My heart is overflowing, but I know I am going to collapse! 

Just a typical Sunday morning Liturgy can wear me out. 

I'm pretty sure Sydney ate her weight in M&M's today as her treat for going potty 100 million times (not including all the failed attempts.)

Julianna continues to suffer from "pewitis."  A complete and utter frustration to be in or anywhere near a pew.

Praise God that Abby is so cute that people are begging to hold her, I'm not sure what I would have done without so many people coming to my rescue!

After fueling up on carbs and coffee after church, Josh and I dropped the 5 little monkeys off with their Godmother and went to join several of the folks that we will be running with in next weekend's race.  Our team leader organized a nice and challenging workout for us throughout UNC campus.  Running I have down, arm strength....lacking.  At least I wasn't at the back of the pack.  T minus one week until the race.

Then off to celebrate with our friends the Chrismation and birthday of our newest convert...And wash off all of our sweat in preparation of Forgiveness Vespers. 

This is the point of the day that I started getting nervous.  Josh and I have not yet experienced a full Liturgical year in the Orthodox Church.  So much of the time, we have NO idea what's coming.  I've read about Forgiveness Vespers.  I know there will be lots of hugging and people. Not ideal for an introvert, but I know it's something I need to experience. 

Church does not start off how I had planned.  My two middle babies are protesting service.  Julianna, because she always does, Sydney because she hasn't napped all afternoon.  I think I had to leave service 5 times right away.  Don't my babies know I am trying to prepare my mind for what's to come?  Can't they let me just stand and listen?  I am already in tears before any forgiving has started...and also thinking about how I'm going to need to start by asking forgiveness of my 2 yr.old with all the thoughts about her rolling around in my head.  Thankfully, my two oldest are diligently working on the notebooks I put together for them to work on during the many services during Lent.

I notice right away a change in the service.  The curtain of the iconostasis has been changed from it's typical white to a dark crimson color.

The Priest and the Deacon are in dark purple vestments.  There are no bells on the censer.  Once the evening Prokeimenon is read, all of the tones turn to a mournful minor key. 

*Sigh*

I am finally able to listen and focus.  I am reminded of all that has lead up to this point.

Humility.

Repentance.

Love.

Forgiveness.

This journey has already been a roller coaster of emotions.  Just looking back through the last few weeks I see the beauty of how our preparations have been laid out.  One could not have approached tonight's Forgiveness Vespers without having an attitude of humility, repentance and love. 

We close the formal service by reciting the Prayer of St. Ephrem while doing a series of prostrations:

O Lord and Master of my Life, take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk. (prostration)

 

But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to they servant. (prostration)

 

Yea, O Lord and Kind, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother; for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.  (prostration)

 

Julianna holding her service book, prostrating herself

 

After the Vespers had ended, Father offered a brief explanation of what was coming next.  Starting with himself, we were all to say to one another "Please forgive me, a sinner."  I love how he takes the time to not just explain, but demonstrate for us (especially us first timers, although I still had to ask my Godmother what to say before it was my turn!).  Then he explains the proper response.  I must admit that I would have said,"I forgive you!"  But, Father reminds us that only God can forgive, our proper response is to say the same, "Please forgive me, a sinner."  Father, standing in front of us all, starts the process and asks forgiveness of us all and then bows before us.  Truly humbling.

 



We all begin with Father and add ourselves to the chain once we have asked forgiveness of everyone in line before us, then we stand like a receiving line, all circled around the Nave, asking forgiveness of those passing in front of us. 

I had no idea how I was going to react.  I began with Father, barely able to speak above a whisper.  It's not easy admitting you are sinful.  I watched my daughters moving bravely down the line ahead of me.  "I can do this!"  I think weakly.  Every so often I would reach a dear friend and my eyes would flood with tears.  It was a completely moving experience to go around and individually ask forgiveness of each and every member of our church family. Not just that, but also watching my sweet daughters do the same. Even little Abby was acknowledged and asked for forgiveness.  I was flooded with emotions. It is completely humbling to confess to everyone that you are a sinner and need forgiveness. It equals the playing field. All of us are completely sinful, there is not one who is better than the other, and we all are in need of forgiveness.  Our Deacon summarized the point of tonight's service so completely on Facebook tonight,

 "Forgive me, a sinner. Forgive me *because* I’m a sinner. Because I’m connected to creation and, thus, my sins contribute to the fracturing of it. Because the evil I introduce into the world affects you. Because there is no such thing as private sins. Because my sins – even the ones not aimed at you and that you will never know about – are, therefore, sins against you. So, yeah, for all that: forgive me, a sinner."

As we closed out the service my heart was completely full (and my arms were extremely tired, I do not recommend doing pull-ups and then holding a baby for an hour afterwards!).  I feel so refreshed, yet exhausted at the same time.  I have no idea what I am in for these next few weeks, but I cannot think of a better way to start!

Forbid them not

Wednesday night Vespers is always interesting on the nights when my husband, Josh, is working.  It would probably be easier to stay home, but I have been programed since birth to go to church on Wednesday nights.  I just can't help myself! 
Tonight was no different.  Typical madness trying to get my kids to stuff down some dinner before we head out the door.  Making sure everyone is dressed, changed and mostly clean.  Cramming all 5 in their appropriate car seats so we can "make it to the church on time" (you must sing that in your head to the tune from the song in My Fair Lady) 
Phew...
We make it to church, each kid assigned to a bag to carry in and where to put it.  Running in as fast as I can to set down a baby or two before Sydney reaches the candle stand to light her candle.  Venerating and trying to get in a mindset of prayer before Vespers.
It was all going so well...
Then Sydney looks up at me, legs spread wide apart with a look of desperation in her eyes "Go potty, Mommy!"
I sigh in frustration.  Whose idea was it to potty train a kid?  It's really just more work on me!  I guess that since she's walking funny she must have already wet herself a little bit.  As we are walking down the isle to leave the Nave, she starts pulling down her pants.  Lo and behold, there is NO diaper on that child!  She has peed straight down her legs!
We go to the bathroom to let her finish her business, I distract her from the candy room where she typically gets her treats, and head to the changing room to get her a diaper.  I then proceed to find and ask if her best friend, who is also two, happens to have a change of pants in her bag.  Alas..no.
So for the entire service, Sydney is worshipping with no pants.
As I am doing my best trying to keep my kids from distracting other during Vespers, Father takes his seat in the choir rows as he sits to listen to the evening's readings.
I love Father Nicholas, he looks just like Santa.  He has such a sweet spirit and is always so nice to my kids.  In his role as Priest, he is putting on the role of Jesus for us. 
Tonight was the perfect symbolism.
As soon as he sits down, Sydney looks up at me and ask, "Sit with Father?" 
I look down at her bare legs and diaper tushy and at first respond with a mental "no."  I have never witnessed anyone sitting with the Priest before during Vespers, he always sits by himself.  But not wanting to cause a scene, I let her run over, I figured at worst he would tell her "no" and send her back.  But what does he do?  He places her on his lap and uses his Epitrachelion to cover her bare legs.  He has a huge smile on his face and listens to her jabber for a moment and reminds her to be quiet.  They sit together for a few minutes in, what looks like on Sydney's face, bliss.
I really wish I had had a camera.  It was absolutely precious. 
And then I thought of this verse "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven"  Matthew 19:14
I could totally see Jesus doing the exact same thing.
I really love how in the Orthodox church children are not seen as a hindrance.  As my Godmother said their noise is "Holy noise." 
We are all working together in our church body to grow closer to Christ. 
Thank you Father for giving me just a glimpse of what it might have been like to be in the presence of Jesus.

Meatfare: The Sunday of the Last Judgment

Photo Credit

 

 

When I think of the Last Judgment, the first thing that comes to my mind is lots of fire and torment.  I imagine an angry God casting people to hell.  Imagine my confusion as the focus of today's Sunday school class and sermon is Love. How can those two concepts, judgment and love, possibly coincide?  Can you really say them in the same sentence?  Apparently you can. 

 

Our Gospel reading today comes from the book of Matthew chapter 25 verses 31-46.  In this passage Jesus explains the final judgement.  He will separate the sheep and the goats.  He talks of how the "sheep" fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, took in strangers, clothed, and visited the sick and those in prison.  Confused, the righteous ask how they could have possibly done all of these things to Christ Himself.  To which He further explains that "inasmuch as you did it to the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." (verse 40).  He also goes on to tell the "goats" that because they did not do these things they will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. 

 

So when we are considering the Last Judgment and what criteria are used, Alexander Schmemann, in his book Great Lent, says the criterion is this,

 "The parable answers: love- not a mere humanitarian concern for abstract justice and the anonymous "poor,"  but concrete and personal love for the human person, any human person, that God makes me encounter in my life.  This distinction is important because today more and more Christians tend to identify Christian love with political, economic, and social concerns; in other words, they shift from the unique personal destiny, to anonymous entities such as "class," "race," etc."

 

At this point in our pre-Lenten journey we have been guiding our hearts to be more humble and repentant.  It is now at this point, laying the selfishness aside that we can turn our hearts towards Love.  Once we get "ourselves" out of the way, then we can truly look to the needs of others and act lovingly.    It is no accident that our journey is placed in this order.  Today, Meatfare Sunday,  also marks the last day we eat meat until Pascha.  Vassilios Papavassilou points out in his book Meditations for Great Lent, "We abstain from food not simply as an exercise in ascesis, sobriety and self-control, but out of love for others."  He goes on to give an example of how we have budgeted a certain amount of food for ourselves, but by fasting we have extra money leftover.  Instead of spending that money on ourselves, we give that excess in alms, to those who have no food. 

 

This is not merely a time of solitude in a spiritual journey, but a time where all of our efforts should not be just for ourselves, but for the love of others.  Fasting has no point at all if we are not learning to love others in the process.  Schmemann also states that,

"Christian love is the 'possible impossibility' to see Christ in another man, whoever he is, and whom God, in His eternal and mysterious plan, has decided to introduce into my life, be it only for a few moments, not as an occasion for a 'good deed' or an exercise in philanthropy, but as the beginning of an eternal companionship in God Himself." 

Am I really thinking eternally when I serve others?  Or is it just a momentary mindset where I segment my acts of service from my family life, my work life and even my free time.  This is not just a Lenten idea here.  This not something that I can make a priority in my life for the meager period of 40 days and hope to have pleased God.  This is an eternal commitment and an "about face" change of attitude than can only spawn from an intentional beginning.  Do I really Love  others, the way that God wants me to love them?  It's not our choice who we are going to love and how much.  Christ lays His directions out for us.   Papavassilou  explains, "We will be judged above all by our love--real, practical love--a love that is manifest in deeds and in sacrifice, not a timid, cowardly love that never dares to take a step beyond feelings and sentimentality."

 

There is only one more week until the official beginning of the Lent season.  With as thought provoking as the past three weeks have been, I can only imagine what is headed my way.  I have finally gotten over the mental stress of "what are we going to eat if we can't have meat," to a better understanding that it's not about the food.  I'm actually looking forward to having a simple meal plan for a while and being able to dedicate my time on things that matter more, like prayer and service.  I am really looking forward to seeing what God has in store for me during this time. 

 

I will leave you with one final thought from Alexandar Schmemann,

"And, finally, we know that however narrow and limited the framework of our personal existence, each one of us has been made responsible for a tiny part of the Kingdom of God, made responsible by that very gift of Christ's love.  Thus on whether or not we have accepted this responsibility, on whether we have loved or refused to love, shall we be judged.  For 'inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, you have done it unto Me...'"

Saturday of Souls

The Orthodox view of the dead is somewhat different than that of the Protestant.  I think we would all agree with Hebrews and it's mention of the "great cloud of witnesses."  I would say Orthodoxy takes that verse very literally.  When a faithful Christian dies, they do not cease to be part of the Kingdom or active in His Church.   They are just serving in a different role.

We have memorial services as a church for our dead family members quite often.  It is typical to have a service on the 3rd, 9th, 40th and annual anniversaries.  Typically this service is performed at the end of a Sunday Divine Liturgy.   We pray to God for their souls and for their family left behind. 

Alexandar Schmemann puts it well in his book Great Lent,

"Praying for them we meet them in Christ who is Love and who, because He is Love, overcomes death which is the ultimate victory of separation and lovelessness.  In Christ there is no difference between the living and dead because all are alive in Him." 

During the Triodion period (those times preparing and including Lent) there are several services called "Saturday of Souls." Instead of honoring someone who has passed recently or on an anniversary, we take time before and during Lent to remember all of those who have passed.  This Saturday was the first.  We had a Liturgy service in which our chanting and songs included lots of thoughts on those who had passed on.  At the end of the Liturgy we had the memorial service.

 



This is our Priest, Deacon and Subdeacon standing around the Kollyva, saying prayers.

 



Here the Priest is praying specifically for the reposed.  In his booklet he has list after list of names that have been submitted to be prayed for.  You can see the Kollyva better in this picture.  The picture looks blurry because of all the incense :)

 



 

 

After the service we all went to the Parish Hall to eat our Kollyva, which is a type of cake made out of boiled wheat berries. 

 

 

It was so sweet in the car after services.  I was taking some time to explain to the girls exactly what our service was about.  Luckily they have picked up on the meaning with all of the memorial services that we have had in our time as Orthodox Christians.  Makayla shared how John (our godfather) had talked with her about how to pray for the dead. Then she also mentioned that when Father was praying for each person, that she prayed for her great-grandpa too!  She's never even met him!  But she knew he was family and wanted him to be prayed for.  It still amazes me how much my kiddos pick up without me knowing it!  

God's Hidden Treasures: Prepping our garden for spring planting

The weather was just right today to do a little work in the yard.  I am getting so excited about starting our garden this year (Lord willing, not having to garden with a baby belly!).  We have been gardening the past two years; this year will be our first year starting with all seeds.  While I'm nervous about the greenness of my thumb, I do really enjoy working in the soil and watching God's handiwork.

I started some seedlings this week, so I felt the need to at least re clear the space used for our garden. Since Josh was working this morning, the 4 oldest and I set out for a morning outdoors.  Thank goodness Julianna can finally walk!

While I was blowing the pine straw out of the way, I stumbled upon something that looked familiar.  It was a sweet potato!  I thought I had dug all of them up!  So while I was blowing the land clear, the girls set out on their "treasure hunt" to find the little treasures that God had stored away for us until spring. 

 

 

Of course if digging is involved, Joe is there to help.  He actually did find a few sweet potatoes.

Some of our treasures in a pile.

The girls were very anxious to get them cleaned off and ready to eat.  Thankfully, before there was too much of a mess I steered them to the kitchen sink instead of the bathroom.

 



 

We found a few sweet potatoes, one golden potato and a few carrots.  And various bug treasures that were left outside :)
Also speaking of prepping the garden.  Josh and I were discussing at dinner the pro's and con's of tilling your garden before planting. What do you do to prep your garden?  Do you till or just plant?

Fire Department Field Trip

We had our second homeschool group field trip a week ago.  This time we got to go see the Fire Department.  Maybe it was because it was in a small town, but it was not as professionally set up as the Police Department was.  It's a good thing that I don't have to rely on good grammar if my kids are in a fire!  All in all, the kids enjoyed themselves and it served as a good reminder to prepare are kids in case there is a fire in our house.

 

This would be the only picture I took during the tour.  Caroline has deemed herself the field trip photographer, so my camera rights were quickly revoked.  Here the girls are enjoying a sneak peak at the monitors used for tracking calls, weather and such.  I am thankful I have only one computer screen to deal with on my desk!

The inside actually looked very much like the inside of a house.  There was a full kitchen and living room and a few bedrooms too.  I guess since they work 24 hour shifts it's nice to have a bed around if there are no calls.



I just love being reminded of what things look like from a 5 year old perspective.  This is Caroline's shot of the fireman speaking in the conference room. 

 



Sticker badges are a must at any public safety event!

 



 

 

Here is the fire man all geared up.  He showed us how he gets dressed.  There are so many different layers!  I forget exactly, but I think his gear adds about 50lbs. And then they have to go fight a fire! 

 



I thought this was truly smart thinking!  It never crossed my mind about kids being scared of a fireman, but it totally makes sense!  Especially when they talk to you, they sound like an astronaut!  So, after getting all dressed for a fire, the fireman went around and shook (or at least attempted) all the kids hands.  This way they could realize that he is a friendly person and here to help. 

 

We also learned all sorts of handy fire safety tips that we reviewed once we got home.

 



 

 An old time fire truck.

 



 

Both my big girls took turns climbing through the fire truck.

 

Of course, Sydney was being her 2 yr. old self and didn't want to be in the picture, so here are 3 of my girls :)

Lent is a Family Affair

Obviously, as the mother of 5 daughters, pretty much everything in my life for a while is going to be a "family affair."  It is pretty much the accepted norm at our house that you never get to leave the house alone. 
Going to store?  GREAT!  Take two kids with you. 
Going to pick up a movie?  Who's riding? 
Visiting a friend?  Make sure you pack toys for the kiddos.
It's just a fact of life. 
I accept it.
And they are my kids, I did CHOOSE to have them, so I do kinda like to have them around.

But that's not what I am talking about right now.

This morning was our monthly Akathist for our children at our Parish.  Since most of us have children tag-a-longs, we often stay after and let the kiddos play while we moms chat.  Today was one of those days. 
It was good for my soul.
It is stressful to me as a mother sometimes trying to figure out all of this Orthodoxy stuff.  While a Protestant, I felt like I "knew" everything, or at least what to expect.  Orthodoxy is not so simple.  I have no idea what's going on!  I am constantly watching others to make sure I am understanding what's going on.  It is a daily learning process and it doesn't leave much room for getting ahead.  I feel like the blind leading the blind.  Which can be quite an uncomfortable place when parenting.
But today I had a good heart check.
"Relax!"
"Enjoy Lent"
"Don't make it so complicated"
Honest and helpful words of advice from my friends.  It was so nice to get to sit down and just share some mental anguish and then have loving advice from people who have been there and done that many times!  I love how there are so many people that are looking after me and guiding me through this foreign process with loving arms. 
One of my favorite reminders was that Lent is a family affair.  We are a church body, we are all experiencing this together, as a family.  If life is too stressful and I can't make it to a service, don't worry, your friend is there and is praying for you.  The church gives us beautiful guidelines to follow, together.  This is not an independent race, we cannot receive the full benefit alone.  It is always more fun to train with friends! 
I have no idea what kind of spiritual endurance I am in for this Lent, but I am very much so looking forward to sharing it with my family.

Shepherds Pie



I love an easy filling meal.  Especially when it's all one dish and you can hide all sorts of veggies that the kids won't notice!  This recipe is taken from one of my all time favorite blogs Passionate Homemaking.  Although the author is taking an extended sabbatical, her blog still contains so much great knowledge!  She has really helped guide me as I have journeyed to natural food and living.  

 

This step has to be my favorite.  Who woulda thought to cook your potatoes and carrots together?  Then they can be all mashed together and this kiddos can't pick them out!  Make sure to start the carrots a good 10 minutes before you add your potatoes, otherwise you'll never get them to mix.

I am STILL loving my Pampered Chef ceramic pan.  Because it is so deep, I can fit all sorts of foods at one time!    Here I'm starting the beef and onions.  And yes, the girls did help me brown the meat.

 



Next I added my tomato sauce and spices.  This simmers for about 20 minutes.  

Then I add whatever veggies I can find! This time I did black beans, corn, peas and green beans (that actually came from our garden!  I love canning!)  Mix them all together and let them cook for 5 minutes.

 



Then layer the two mixtures, the beef/veggies on the bottom and the mashed potatoes/carrots on top.  I chose to make two 8X8's of this dish. I baked one and froze the other.  If you are feeding a crowd, throw it all in a 9X13.

 

Top with cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  It is my winter comfort food! 

 

Thanks Passionate Homemaking for such a yummy recipe!  

Sunday of the Prodigal Son

I have been one Momma on a Mission this week!

For some reason I just feel this intense inner pressure to make Lent meaningful for my girls.  Along with that I am getting anxious about the long and plentiful services during the Lent season.  I have wonderful daughters, but you can only test their patience so much!  We love having our kids with us in worship, despite the hard work it takes.  We usually do not allow "entertainment" for our older girls, other than a kids version of the Liturgy to follow.  They are expected to stand and participate with us, or sit quietly.  Knowing that this will be not only a test of my endurance, but very much so theirs, I am compiling an activity book for them to work on during Lent.  It has coloring pages and activities for the themes presented during Lent.  (I have included some helpful links at the end of this post, so keep reading!)  Luckily, most of the hard work has been done for me, but I still feel this pressure to have things laid out and planned in advance in order to make this season as stress-free as possible.  All the while, trying not to be like the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son.....



Did you like that segue???

Last week we were guided to focus on humility, this week the theme is Repentance.

The parable of the Prodigal Son can be found in Luke 15:11-32.  There are two sons with their father.  The younger son, even though his dad was still living, asked for his inheritance and went off to spend it, while the older son stayed and worked for his father.  The younger son had a blast and quickly spent all of his money.  He ended up working for a farm caring for pigs.  He was so hungry he was going to eat pig slop... Then he realized that his father's servants lived better, so he decided to go back to his father, beg for forgiveness and ask for work.  While he was still a ways off, his father ran to him, rejoiced, cleaned him up and threw him a party.  That did not go well for his older brother.  He had done everything right and he never got a party!  His father corrected his thinking, reminding him to rejoice because his son was lost and had now been found.

What a love story!  God is standing there, looking out for us, waiting for us to Repent.  And then when we do...He runs to us! 

While that is so comforting, I admit I can probably relate more to the older brother.  I like following the rules.  They are in place for a reason.  Don't give me a rule and expect me not to follow it.  And then if we all have the same rules...we must all be following them, the same way or it doesn't count!  Then I get prideful because I can follow the rules better than others can.....

Oh dear!  Double fail!  No humility and definitely a need for repentance!

The theme for this week is placed here for a reason.  If we make it all about following the rules, we are completely missing the mark.  Like the Prodigal, it would be better to blow it during Lent and then repent than it would be to be like the older brother and follow all the rules, but completely miss the point!  Vassilios Papavassiliou says in his book Meditations for Great Lent, "The purpose of Lent is to return to God, not simply to change our diet."  It's not about the rules, it's a return to God.

I love the beauty of the connection between humility and repentance.  Our Priest pointed out in class this morning that you can't have one without the other.  "The way to be humble is to continually repent," he said. You cannot repent unless you are humble enough to admit your mistakes. 

I can already tell I am going to be doing a lot of repenting in the weeks to come! 

I am thankful for a loving God who is looking out so that He can run to me when I finally make my way back home!




Here are some of the helpful links that I found as I have been compiling workbooks and activities for my girls this Lenten season.

• This is a complete document of activities that relate to all this Lent, written by an Orthodox member.  http://www.scribd.com/doc/49025598/Lent-Workbook-English-2 
• This site has a great step-by-step tutorial on how to make an interactive board for your kids to help experience the Lent season.  I love a well put together poster board!  http://www.antiochian.org/content/family-activities-lenten-journey
•  I thought this was a cute and easy idea for a Lent countdown calendar.  http://thesefortydays.blogspot.com/2008/02/project-lenten-calendar.html
• This website had a lot of helpful explanations to use to teach your children about the meaning of Lent.  http://www.theologic.com/oflweb/lentpask/share.htm
• This site had a lot of helpful links and it sells books about the Major Feasts that are great for young readers.  Conciliar Press also carries these books, but not all of them.  http://paideaclassics.org/index.php?sid=&cart_id=&admin=1&category_id=470
• I thought this was a cute and simple craft to do with the kiddos, a wreath showing the timeline of Holy Week.  http://www.weelittlemiracles.com/2012/04/make-easter-story-wreath-free.html

Our February

I realize that lately I have been posting more about my life than the lives of our children. 

Never fear! 

I have decided that unless there is a super fun special event, that I will do a monthly rap-up at the end of each month. 

As I was trying to think of what happened in this short month, I didn't think there was much, but now that I've looked back through the pictures, we had a pretty good month!

 

So enjoy this photo journey through our February!

 

 

Sydney's new favorite book is Pete the Cat.  She LOVES it!  We have yet to have a child fixate on something, but now we do.  She would sit and read the book all day if she could.  And when she's not reading the book, she singing the song in the book.  This is a picture snapped of Sydney "reading" to her baby sister (whom she loves!). 

 

 

Abigail is all dressed and ready for a fun day of play at Marbles.  We had an awesome field trip for all the homeschool and preschool families from our church.  It's great when you have families of lots of kids, it's easy to get the group rate!  Marbles treated us right and we were even able to reserve a room for lunch.  Because of this, I have now been selected as the Social Director for the kids at church :)

 

It amazes me how spiritually minded my Makayla is.  This is a cross that she made out of sticks and rubber bands.  She is constantly making crosses, singing church songs, drawing pictures about the Bible.  My favorite this month was a prayer that she wrote out.  We framed it and put it in our Icon Corner.

 





Sydney is patting the "baby" that is in her tummy.  I have no idea where she got this from, but she has become such the little mommy at home.  When she's not reading Pete the Cat, she is taking care of her "fragile doll."  She feeds her, puts her to bed, changes her diaper, you name it!  I am always being told what baby is doing.  It is so sweet watching her little imagination!

 

Josh and I were very desperate for some time alone this month.  Babysitters are not easy to find 1) because we have so many kids 2) Because we just don't have the money to pay!  So, we improvised and had an in-home date night.  We hurriedly got the kids to bed right at 7pm and then we had a nice candlelight dinner, ALL BY OURSELVES!!  It is so nice to be able to sit and eat dinner without the interruptions of little ones!

I thought this was so sweet, little Abby just snuggling with her sisters!  They aren't resting, we just don't have TV in our living room, so if the girls are ever treated with TV, they have to sit in our bed.  TV is just not a priority in our house, I'd much rather have them play outside or doing something creative inside, so it just hasn't been part of our day.  Although, there are times when  TV is appropriate.  This time we had just finished reading Peter Pan, so the girls were doing an "educational" review of the movie and shared with me similarities and differences afterwards.  

I really don't like all the junk candy that Valentine's Day can bring.  It is soooo nasty and we never eat it all, so there is nasty candy laying around my house forever.  Seriously, we still have most of our Easter candy left from last year.  So, when Josh went out to get Valentine's for his girls, I asked him to avoid candy.  So this is what he came up with and the girls LOVED it!  He got them supplies to make their own Valentine's cards and some fun snacks.  The girls spent hours at the table making Valentines for everyone they know, I even made a Valentine for my special someone :)

 

 

While all the girls were all artsy craftsy, Josh was outside being manly and building a fire pit.  So for a romantic Valentine's dinner we had fire roasted Hot Dogs and Smores for dessert.  The girls love a good camp fire! 

Believe it or not, it has actually snowed twice this winter!  Our second snow was definitely the biggest.  The girls were chomping at the bit to go outside and play in the snow.  I am a snow scrooge, so I stayed inside.  Luckily, their daddy enjoys the snow, so he took them out early Sunday morning and gave them one last romp in the snow before it all melted while we were at church.

 

You can't tell in this picture, but my Julianna is finally walking!  A week before she turned 19 months!  She had been playing around with the idea for a few weeks and then randomly she made up here mind that is was time to walk and she hasn't stopped since!  She has quickly learned all the fun stuff she can get into now that she is upright and moving fast!

Josh and I actually got to go on a REAL date!  Our sweet neighbors had given us a gift certificate to a restaurant and a coupon for free babysitting.  Our schedules finally coordinated and we actually got to go out and enjoy an evening as just adults.  The girls enjoyed watching mommy get all pretty for daddy.  We had a great time in peace and quiet with each other.  What could be more fun than dinner, Lowes, Starbucks and Walmart :) 

 

 

Like I said, Sydney loves her baby sister.  She is always asking to hold her.  Of course she doesn't realize that Abby weighs just a little less than she does, so this time it ended up that Abby layed on top of Sydney.  I love the sweet sister moments!



 

My mom got the girls some new dress up clothes.  All the girls dressed up and danced around the living room. Even Julianna, walking to dancing in just a few weeks!  It warms my heart!

 

 

Even Abby joined in on the dress up fun :)