{ Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real } ::: 4.28.2011

 { pretty } All four looking (generally) in the same direction after church on Easter. 

{ happy }

A munchkin helping to load her clothes in the washing machine. Truly makes a mama happy. : )

{ funny }

Sometimes, when we play (act out) Toy Story 3, we need a tortilla to go with our Mr. Potato Head so that he can really get into character. Cracks. me. up. every. single. time. (And, if you haven't seen the movie, that will be totally lost on you - sorry!)

{ real }

Fifteen minutes spent in the downstairs bathroom yesterday while tornado sirens were going off. Thankful for our protection as it wasn't near as bad as predicted yet overwhelmed for those in states just South of us. A true display of God's mighty hand in nature.

Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter's { pretty, happy, funny, real } photo challenge.

The Nightstand ::: April's Version

When I remember, I do love to participate in 5 Minute for Books What's on Your Nightstand Carnival. It's always a good monthly prompt for me to see what I said I was going to read, and what side-tracked me. : ) Like last month, my reading has been spotty as I've been fitting it around a regular life that has been more full than usual of late.

In March, I said that I wanted to read:
:: The Strong Willed Child by Dobson (A-hem.) Haven't started it.
:: One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp Ended up loaning this out to someone before I finished it. Must get back to it.
:: The Moffats by Eleanor Estes Read a couple chapters and handed it to N1. : )
:: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan Read and enjoyed.
:: The Mysterious Benedict Society Purchased for the Kindle while it was on a steal of a deal and am waiting until summer to read with N1.
So, 1 out of 5. Not great, but a book did get finished which at this point I'll take.

For April, these are on my list but I have not hopes or plans to get through all of them in one month!
:: One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
:: Currently reading in The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson in the mornings. Inspired, convicted and greatly encouraged by this book right now where I am in life with little ones. I'm planning on starting The Ministry of Motherhood when I finish it.
:: Thanks to a great review from Amy and a recommendation from my BFF, I purchased the book and study guide to Homeschooling with a Meek a Quiet Spirit from Teri Maxwell. I don't know that I'll get that done over the next month. I may wait to savor it over the summer when we aren't schooling, but I am looking forward to it!
:: Made to Crave by Lisa TerKeurst. I was sent a review copy of this and can't wait to start it either, although I'm guessing it may rock my world a bit. : )

For once I don't have any fiction in hand to read right now, and I'm okay with that. I am craving non-fiction which takes me much longer to read, but I'm going with it for now. There will be plenty of time for fluffy, fun summer reading down the road, ie., the next Penderwicks book is coming out (The Penderwicks at Point Mouette) and I've preordered it for my Kindle. Can't wait to dive into that one! : )

Happy reading!

Linked to Five Minutes for Books monthly Nightstand carnival!

Bloggy Review ::: Nick of Time by Tim Downs

I was recently sent a complementary copy of Tim Downs' Nick of Time from the BookSneeze book review program of Thomas Nelson Publishers. I reviewed one of these books before, and this one is very similar in style.

Nick Polchak is a professor and crime scene consultant - he is a bug guy, meaning a forensic entomologist. The book starts off with a suspected murder of one of Nick's colleagues and he is determined to get to the bottom of this, even if this takes him on a wild goose chase just days before he is supposed to be married.

If you are a fan of CSI type programs, you will enjoy this book! I am a fan of a good mystery, but I find CSI shows can been too gory and/or graphic for me and do not enjoy them. This book, while there is some discussion about crime scenes, is handled well. With Father's Day coming up, if you know a Dad that like to read a good clean mystery, this is one that I can recommend looking for.

Morning Routine

One of my new favorites from the new house. We have always made a big deal out of Daddy leaving for work in the morning. Now that we have sidewalks, we have stepped it up a notch.

Pulling out. (Yes, B has on pink cowboy boots and princess jammies).



Get ready...



Get set...



Go!



Can we beat him to the corner?



It's a tie!



One last wave from Daddy and girls before he makes the turn.



It's the little things like this that make our days start off on a good note. Happy Monday!

Love Crucified Arose

He is risen, indeed!

Foodie Friday ::: Broccoli Salad

I know I have blogged this recipe before. (Twice, in fact, both here and here.) It is a huge summer favorite of mine and will start showing up in our menu rotation very, very soon. Definitely warranted its own fancy recipe card. : )

Sisterly Help

Supervising the boy's practice of sitting up. He's not there yet, but he has a patient instructor.



Project Life ::: Catching Up

Thank you to those of you that answered my little one question survey on this post! I appreciate it! I'll share the results soon, but if you haven't answered it yet, do you mind hopping over? It's one question - very quick. Much thanks. : )

Also, be warned .... loooooooong picture-heavy post ahead. If you want to see any of the pictures up close you can click them to view through Flickr. : )

I'm still going strong on my Project Life project ... it's just been a while since I have time to get some pictures of it to post. I'm about a week and a half behind on my journaling cards which I don't consider too bad. I would love to be better about filling out those cards at the end of the day and that's what I'm working towards, but I'm not there yet.

One thing I am enjoying is adding a bit more "extras" into the album. This takes me a little longer, but I like the additions to the pages. Below I've scanned in a drawing that B dictated to me of something her Cubbie teacher taught her a few weeks ago in class. I used one of my Crystal Wilkerson digital labels sized to fit a sheet of labels and printed it off and attached it.



You can see a couple more labels on this page - one is on the picture I trimmed to fit in a journal card slot showing the price to fill up my van. Ouch! I'm scared to think what gas prices will be when my girls are old enough to drive.



There's also one on this picture just to embellish it a bit.





You can see an empty journaling slot in the photo below. I missed a photo when I printed for this week so while I have gone back and added the photo (me taking a picture of B taking a picture of E), I haven't written a little card for it yet.



Got a little fancy with one of the pictures below in Photoshop. We had great light in the kitchen during lunchtime so I just snapped pictures of little people while they ate. Definitely see some of their personalities in this shot and since I couldn't pick just one to highlight they were all folded in to the same picture.



A few more little bits of memorabilia included below - we had friends over for dinner one night and went all out and made placecards for the table; there's also a nametag for me and the boy from a women's (one-day) retreat that was I was able to attend.



I am really enjoying sizing pictures to fit in the journaling slots instead of using one of the pre-printed filler cards. Just another easy way to fit a picture in that is worth remembering - like B playing our ukelele. By the way, did you know that ukeleles can be really, really loud?





For this week, I also included an 8 1/2 x 11 page protector between the full week layout.



One side is a list of N1's current favorite songs. I was making Easter rehearsal CDs for the kids at church and N1 asked if she could make a favorites CD. Do you remember making mix tapes? I thought it would be fun to have a record of her favorite songs from when she was seven. She wrote all the songs she wanted on her CD and we burned it for her. Granted, she doesn't have anywhere to play it other than in the car because we don't even own a CD player other than the ones on our computers. : ) However, she does have her "N1 favorites" playlist in our iTunes so I guess that's the 21st century version of a mix tape!



On the back I slipped in my grocery list from that week - it was my first-of-the-month restocking trip and I find it interesting to see what necessities come and go as our family changes. High on the list right now is yogurt, goldfish, tortillas and lots of veggies.



Another full page with a couple photos used in the journaling spots. There is a picture that one of the girls took of my iPhone - we are all about Phineas and Ferb right now when we have time to watch a short video via Netflix instant viewing. T downloaded them some of the songs from the show and it's been in heavy rotation when we are in the car. On the far right, you can see a little square pic from my iPhone that I took of my new bag. It had been a while since a new purse and it needed to be documented!



Up close...





If you have made it this far in my post, I'm impressed. : ) I truly do love this Project Life system of scrapbooking - I have actually found that instead of replacing what I would call "normal" scrapbooking layouts, it is increasing my desire to capture those bigger stories where I want to use more pictures and words to expound on an event or feeling. This project has just been an all-round boost to my creativity and I can see me continuing with this for many more years to come.

I'm Just Curious

As I am coming off a very full and fun weekend, I've been thinking some about the blog that I have been neglecting. I put together a one question survey that I was wondering if you would take a minute to answer, pretty please? I'm just curious why you (or anyone) comes by my little spot here and what kind of posts are of interest. In the end, this will probably still be a little-bit-of-everything kind-of a blog, but I'm curious. : )

It will take five seconds to answer. Unless you want to leave me a comment and expound. But you don't have to. : )

Much thanks. And have a great Monday! (Just click the link above to go to the survey).

Life is very full right now.

We are down to about 35 days of school left.

April weekends have been and will continue to be very full with Easter celebrations, music rehearsals, and the beginning of our family's crazy birthday season.

Not to mention a husband that has worked some long Saturdays at our old house. Last weekend, he completely replaced the countertop and sink in the kitchen. Before that was painting, new carpet, and lots and lots of yardwork. The old place is looking good thanks to him.

That said, I have lots of things to update in my head but time keeps getting away from me. :) Soon, I hope!