Valentine Crafts

Have I told you that Valentine's Day is my FAVORITE holiday?! My love started as a little girl. I would wake up Valentine's morning to a trail of footprints. Following the footprints throughout the house, I would find lovely surprises along the way - balloons, chocolates and confetti. At the end of the trail I would find Valentine cards, my mom's delicious heart cookies and even presents! I declared to my parents that the  footprints were from the Valentine Bear and he has visited our house ever since!

It is fitting that my mother-in-law found this book for the girls :)

Here are some crafts that Ellie and I have been working on for Valentine's day:

I found these ideas at Meet the Dubiens and Crafty Nature.

I used a free printable from My Sister's Suitcase, to make the hubby's gift. Shh! Don't tell him ;)

You can find the instructions for these cute heart doily shirts at The Artful Parent.

 What projects are you working on?

Sharing this with...

A little inspiration * bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations 

French Country Cottage *Home Stories A to Z * House of Hepworths 

I can teach my child *I {heart} naptime *It's Overflowing * Oopsey Daisy  

Positively Splendid *Ruby Jean  *Six Sisters Stuff * Tatertots and Jello  

The Delectable Home * The Girl Creative *The Grant Life 

The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

The Birthday Blessing

Last year, I shared how I used the principles of Gary Smalley's book The Blessing to honor my husband on our anniversary {click here for a recap}. Smalley also stresses the value and importance of blessing our children. This basic idea is that the child experiences elements of a blessing from the parents. It may happen any number of times a year. With my girls still being young, I haven't implemented this concept as much as I hope to in the future. 

At Ellie's recent Whimsical Fairy Party, I invited individuals that have played an important role in her life. Most of these fall into the step-in grandparent role since our family is so far away. These are the people near and dear to our hearts who have made room in their own hearts for our sweet girl. Therefore, my favorite party of Ellie's birthday is the personal blessings we video record from each of our honored guests. Some of our guests recorded their third video birthday blessing for Ellie this year! We enjoy watching these after the party with Ellie and hope she will appreciate them for years to come.

Here is an example program including some of the ways I have shared with my daughter Ellie the love and value I have for her and others I plan to use:

• Praying together for her future
• Count down the days to the party - half the fun for a child is in the anticipation
• Ask her what food she would like for her special day
• Make her a homemade gift
• Bless her with a spoken message using various elements
• Putting together a slideshow including pictures for each year of her life
• List several specific things that each parent appreciated about her over the past year
• Explain how certain character traits will help her become a godly or loving person in the future. {Basically, give her the blessing of hope for the future. For example: "You are such a good helper with baby sister. Someday you are going to be a great mommy.")
• Write out her birth story starting with the nine months before birth, trip to the hospital and the joy experienced when holding her for the first time.

I hope this gives you some ideas for blessing your children. Would you share your ideas too?

Sharing this with...
A little inspiration * bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations 
French Country Cottage * House of Hepworths * I can teach my child
I {heart} naptime *It's Overflowing * Oopsey Daisy * Positively Splendid 
Ruby Jean  *Six Sisters Stuff * Tatertots and Jello  *The Delectable Home
 The Girl Creative *The Grant Life *The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

Fall Leaves

Today I took the girls for a walk through our new neighborhood. Ellie was quick to notice the fall and halloween decor so we took our time spotting and pointing out pumpkins and such along the way. Counting pumpkins was a fun way to practice our numbers too. As we walked, I explained to Ellie that it is fall and that the leaves are changing colors. We would watch for trees with changing leaves and stop and pick up different colored fallen leaves. When we got home, we read "Corduroy's Halloween" by B.G. Henessy and created a leaf collage with the collection from our walk.

To make gluing easier, I squirted some in a Crystal Light plastic container and gave Ellie a q-tip as an applicator. Thanks Kim for the great idea to use all those little containers I've collected :-)

And we always display the masterpiece artwork on the fridge :) 

And the winner is...

Congrats to Stephannie Berry, the Digging Deep giveaway winner. Thank you all for participating in my first giveaway :) I know we will be blessed through this study.

I have more exciting news...we are all settled in to the new house! I will share pictures later but it has been pretty hectic around here unpacking boxes. Amongst all the craziness, Ellie is still having her "school" time. I found pipe cleaners and colorful beads for a dollar at the Dollar Tree so we have been putting those to use practicing fine motor skills. Ellie has gotten pretty good at stringing the beads on the pipe cleaners so now we are working on identifying color patterns. Did you notice I found another use for parmesan cheese containers? The little holes are perfect for Ellie to pour out a few beads at a time and Mommy likes that :)

Digging Deep in God's Word Giveaway

In lieu of the Cindy Colley "Digging Deep" study I mentioned here, I thought it would be fun to give away the corresponding 3 book series to one lucky reader ;-) These books are great for both individual and group study for women with great real-life application.

Here is a description of each of the three books:

Women of the Genesis by Cindy Colley 

"There is nothing new under the sun! Timely lessons about your marriage, your morality, and your mission taken from ancient women in the Old Testament book of Genesis. You will be surprised at how often you see yourself in the lives of women like Sarah, Rachel, and maybe even Potiphar’s wife. This book gets practical and to the point for Christian women today."

Women of Deliverance by Cindy Colley

"The popular sequel to Women of the Genesis. Women of Deliverance finds the thread of redemption even in the lives of Old Testament women. See life changing experiences in the lives of Rahab and Zipporah and learn to avoid the mistakes of Miriam and Potiphar’s wife when godly men got in the way of their ambitions. Find encouragement, inspiration, and motivation to be the woman God wants you to be. "

Women of Troubled Times by Cindy Colley

"Women of Troubled Times makes even the most obscure women of the Judges come alive at a time when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” How does this relate to our times? How can these lessons be powerful motivators throughout the week when the devil is doing his best to get us off track?" 

Here are the rules:

• Up to 3 entries per person.
• Leave one comment below committing to the year-long Digging Deep challenge that you can find here
• Share this giveaway with your friends on Facebook. Then, come back and leave me a comment letting me know you did!
• *Like* this page on Facebook. If you already do, just leave another comment letting me know. 
• The giveaway will run through the end of this month and the winner will be announced October 1st!

Click here to order a set of the 3 book series.

How to Dig Deep for the Meat of the Word

I've been meaning to get this posted for weeks but the whole house building process has preoccupied a lot of time. Speaking of the house, it is really starting to get exciting. The walls are painted and the floors are done. Ellie has already selected which room she wants and then pointed to another room and said Mommy, Daddy and Hannah Rose could have it ;-) We have been so blessed through this whole process and continue to pray that it goes smoothly. It certainly has had its stressful moments and it has tested Chase and I in our relationship with one another and the girls because patience is running a little low. But in the end I just have to keep it in perspective. It is just a house. In the end, it won't matter if I lived in a cardboard box or a perfect house. It is just a house!

Here are some quick pics to update you on the progress. (Sorry for all the shadows but I took them with my phone and the trees seem to shade the house most of the day...which is a good thing except for picture taking!)

Now that I have that out of the way, let me get back to what I have been meaning to share. I've mentioned Cindy Colley in past posts because she is an inspiration to me and the Titus 2:3-5 example that I want to be. Recently, she shared a year long guide for digging deep into the meat of the word of God. Click here and check it out! Really. I'll wait for you.

Assuming you did go check out her site and aren't being naughty and reading ahead, you know that there are assignments for each month that are meant to help us grow spiritually and really dig deep into the Word. I am committing to this year long program and I encourage you to do the same. There are three study books that are included in the program. You can purchase them at a discounted price here. I've read all three in the past and they would be great books for a ladies' Bible study too. I'm looking forward to re-reading them in the coming months. Comment below or message me on Facebook if you have any questions and please let me know if you are committing to this so that we can hold each other accountable. There is a Facebook group for the challenge and it is a great place to ask questions and discuss what we learn along the way. Please join me!

The Blessing

Last year I read The Blessing by Gary Smalley. This book has helped me to recognize the importance of blessing my husband and my children. Smalley provides tips for doing this daily but also suggests having a celebration each year to bless the individual. Since Chase and I just celebrated our five year anniversary, I decided to use it as an opportunity to bless him. The basic idea is to plan an evening for your spouse that will be memorable as he experiences the love and value you have for him. Here are some ideas that Smalley gives:

• If money is available, consider hiring a sitter and getting away even if "away" is just across town at a hotel
• Plan a special meal based on what your spouse requests
• Communicate your love by expressing your commitment to your marriage and by pointing out several of your spouse's endearing qualities
• Write a story of your marriage recapturing some of the drama and excitement of courtship and each season of marriage
• Include photographs of special times together that bring back memories
• Select everyday objects to communicate things about your spouse through word pictures
• Picture a special future for your spouse by repeating your marriage vows or write new vows to express your love and commitment
• List 10 reasons why you would choose your spouse again as your life partner
• Take extended time to pray together, thanking God for each other and asking Him to keep your love fresh

Considering we are in the whirlwind process of building a house, I wasn't sure how much of this would be feasible - for one day! Chase had to work, oversee construction at the lot, and we had to go shopping at Lowe's (taking advantage of the tax-free weekend!). However, I was able to plan a sitter for the girls so that we could go out for a special dinner date. At dinner, I gave Chase an album of some of our wedding pictures that I edited and had bound into a book.

When we returned home, I presented him with a basket of ordinary household objects that represented Chase. For example, a flashlight because he always guides are family in the right direction, coffee creamer because he makes the ordinary extraordinary, a book because being married to him is like re-reading a favorite book and continuing to learn new things, and....I think you get the idea :)

I then shared my top 10 list of reasons I would marry him again (five years and two children later means the reasons have evolved a little). I also re-read the personal wedding vows that I had shared with Chase on our wedding day and how I see our future together. It was such a fun day and I enjoyed planning every bit of it! 

God sightings

"...we as mothers cannot fathom the mighty works God may accomplish through the tiny babies in our wombs, then in our laps and always in our prayers." -Women of Deliverance by Cindy Colley

In a previous post, I mentioned our family Bible Time. Something else we are working on is "God sightings." When Chase goes to Honduras through Torch Missions, all the volunteers get together in the evenings for a devotional and singing. They also share with each other how they saw Jesus that day. We want Ellie (and ourselves!) to always be mindful of God in the little details of life - from a flower in the yard to the food on our table.

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. - Deuteronomy 6:6-9

If Colors Could Talk...

I am by no means a talented artist or writer but last year I decided to challenge myself to write a children's book for Ellie. I like to make homemade gifts for my family that can be kept as keepsakes. Ellie is young enough that she appreciates my mediocre illustrations and basic rhymes ;-) I thought I would share my book with you all and maybe inspire you to write for your children. I had mine printed and bound in a hardback book from Walmart and Ellie enjoys reading it together. Here is an online version to view (I also embedded it at the bottom of the page). Have any of you done similar projects for your kids?