365Project.2 | Week 7

Valentine's Day. Check.

Nearly triple the under-18 crowd for a day. Check.

Valentine's party. Check.

Snow. Check.

 

It was a full week. :) And as a result, my 365 Project is a bit fuller as well ... thanks for indulging me. :)

 

Day 43. This young man loves Legos. Sometimes he builds the kits. Most of the time he just creates. Today he created a firetruck with rockets so that they could get to the fire faster. Since everything needs to be faster when you're five. :)

 

Day 44. No. Mommy did not pose this one. If you haven't read The Library by Sarah Stewart, check it out from, well, the library. And then you'll know why this seemed to be an appropriate position. ;)

Day 45. Daddy proved himself to be pretty amazing on Valentine's Day. ♥ Somehow, for me, the planning it took for him to be able to have this ready before he walked out the door in the wee hours of the morning was even more of a gift than the gifts themselves ... as special as they were. We love you, Honey! Thanks for making the day so special for all of us. On a side note, I realized while preparing for this post, that I missed the best picture for this day ... a picture of the munchkins with their Daddy!  

Mommy's special Valentine's treats were of the food variety ... the pancakes were a lesson in how not to make heart shaped pancakes ... thankfully the state of my kitchen did not impact the flavor or final appearance! :)

And heart-shaped tortilla pizzas ... much more successful! :) It was such a blessing to be able to be HOME with my munchkins for this special day and enjoy it with them, rather than sending them off to school.

Day 45. On Friday we enjoyed the blessing of nearly tripling our crew for a day. :) Along with cookies and plenty of outdoor fun, we introduced our friends to Qwirkle. You know it's a good game when it can span K5 to 12th grade!

And then it was time to get ready for a party! :)

Day 46. A valentine's party and snow sufficient for sledding ... all in one day! Who would have guessed!?! And rather than trying to make separate "party" and "snow" posts, I'm simply including a whole pile of bonus pictures in this post. :) Cause if I try to make separate posts, it probably won't happen. :)

Hannah had been looking forward to this party ever since she received her girlfriend cupcake kit ... I don't think it could have been possible for a young lady to be more excited! :) I am so thankful that she had as much fun as she been hoping for. ♥ And if our Blessing Family is reading this, thank you again. Your gifts have blessed us in more ways than you can imagine.

 

What a sweet group of girls! Our first activity was decorating the bags that would be used to carry things home ...

 

And then they made heart-shaped keychains ...

And then on to the reason for our party ... decorating cupcakes!

 

And apparently this Mommy needs to adjust her expectations for "parties." Because the girls' excitement when I announced it was time to go outside and play indicates that "party" activities aren't nearly as important as getting together with friends and having fun ... in the form of hide-and-go-seek, tag, etc. Of course, the first few flakes of snow made that even more exciting. :)

And those first few flakes stuck. Along with more than a few others.

And this young man who has been praying for snow since Christmas was very. excited. :)

 

Could life be any better for a 5-yr-old than to have permission to throw things at his big sister?!? :)

 

Matthew on the other hand was of the opinion that a lawn mower is the appropriate tool of choice when snow is on the ground. Unfortunately, more than a little frustration ensued when the wheels stopped rolling ... ;)

And he was not excited when Daddy surprised him with a sled ride. ;)

 

We all thought it was pretty funny though. :)

It only lasted for a couple hours, but we thoroughly enjoyed it while it was here! :)

 

Day 48. And then life began returning to "normal" again ... with blankets and snuggles and books ...

Day 49. And cooperative mosaic efforts while Mommy reads aloud for school ...

 

 My heart is full.

So thankful for the privilege of being Mommy
to these amazing kiddos and

thankful for the privilege of being wife
to their amazing Daddy and
thankful for my God
who gives me the grace
for each of those roles
moment by moment.

♥