Granddaughter Tea Time!

My girls are so blessed to have an incredible, feminine, godly grandmother!  Today she is having her traditional grandmother tea with all her granddaughters and her mother, their great-grandmother.  

Here is a link to her recent blog article looking forward to today's event.  

And here, she tells about this favorite tradition of hers.  Thank you, Mom, for being so dedicated to making beautiful memories!

I feel loved...

You have been committed to me through it all... more than 22 years of highs and lows.  Just this last year, you held my hand and encouraged me through debilitating sickness for so many months.  Even when you have had your own responsibilities pulling at you, you have remained steady and faithful, paying careful attention to my needs.  You love me by caring for my feelings and needs!

You asked me just days ago if I would like to pack some bags and take the kids to Disney World on the spur of the moment, checking out the week ahead on your weather app.  You wanted me to feel that warm Florida sunshine.  You wanted our children to experience the magic that comes with a vacation like that.  You love me by spoiling me with extravagance!

You know what each of our six children's favorite things are.  You come home from work with gum for Sydney, Doritos for the boys, and M&M's for the little girls.  You know which one needs to be told how big she is getting, which one needs to tag along with you to the office for a change of pace, which one needs kisses even though she acts like she doesn't like them, and which one needs to be encouraged to try doing something without any assistance from Mom & Dad.  You love me by being an amazing father to our children!

I could go on and on, but since you interrupted my writing of this blog post with chocolate covered strawberries, and told me to get dressed for dinner out tonight, I've got to go get ready.  Thank you for loving me so much more than I deserve!  You are good for me, husband!

Happy Valentine's Day, my love!

Lent

Going on a spontaneous vacation last week took me right out of real life and into a fantasy.  And jumping back into real life this morning brought the surprise of Lent sneaking right up on me!  I love Lent and the Easter season.  And before the exciting and fun distraction of a vacation, I knew I wanted to make the most of my Lenten experience this year.

Instead of a well thought out plan for the season that begins...TOMORROW...

I ended up scouring the shelves and pulling off books we already have, grabbing some candles off the shelf, and whispering a prayer for divine inspiration.

I found Piper's book, The Passion of Jesus Christ, which has 50 devotionals.  So, we will double up on a few of the nights.  I am going to go through this with the bigger kids after the little ones get tucked in.




The little girls and I are working through The Jesus Storybook Bible, which I am LOVING!  They waited so anxiously for baby Jesus to show up, as we read through the Old Testament half, each story foreshadowing His arrival and our desperate need for Him.  We are now to the beginning of Jesus' ministry, and will land on His death and resurrection in a couple weeks.

After missing our nightly readings from it on vacation, the little sweethearts are so happy to be back to their storybook Bible!  They beg for me to read "one more" each time, which I don't do, of course.  The anticipation of not wanting to miss a word of each short story makes them savor each one.  The simple yet profound truths in this gem of a book are so good, I think I'm going to have my 12 year old son make it his daily devotional reading when the girls and I are finished with it.  I highly recommend this one as one of my "must have" books.



I pulled these others down to read over the next few weeks.  As you may be able to tell from the picture, some of them are pretty worn, since we read these over and over in anticipation of Easter.