Easter Moments

Yeah, I'm a little late in posting these but better late than never, right?  This year the kids came downstairs to their Easter baskets from Grandma and Grandpa Cox.  Very fun and personal goodies for each of the kids!

Galina especially loved her Fancy Nancy book.

Treyton enjoyed a little wind up bug that flipped over.

They both got one!

Brielle got a little lamb; it's fleece was white as snow.

She liked the box too.

Galina had to come over and check it all out, of course.

Brielle doesn't always know what to do with Galina.  Neither do I for that matter.

Then it was time to get ready for church.  Easter service is my most favorite church service of the whole year.

The joy, the hope found in our Savior's resurrection is palpable on Easter at church.

Galina didn't want to take her dress off for three days.  She even slept with it at nap time. 

Treyton was pretty proud of his tie too. Boy did he feel grown up! He kept showing us his muscles.

It was a happy Easter indeed!

Book Review - If I Could Ask God Anything

If I Could Ask God Anything, by Kathryn Slattery is a book geared towards elementary aged kids attempting to answer questions of faith, religion, and life. It is divided into sections organized by questions based on a topic: God, The Bible, Prayer, Being a Christian to name a few. Each answer includes relevant Bible verses which is helpful.

To me, this book was okay but definitely not my favorite. I think that several questions were not really answered. Of course it’s hard to agree on everything relating to some big theological issues, but I felt that several fell short of my expectations. The Bible itself answers many of these questions better. Oversimplification was a problem as well as some answers I may not totally have agreed on. But all in all, it was a good book, just not one that I would solely use without some active parenting.

Brielle's First Feeding

Some people say, "Back when I was waiting on tables." Well, for me that time is NOW. 

But it's certainly not a problem when you have something as sweet as this to wait on.

She barely fit in the high chair as I got ready to feed her the first bite of "real food".

We started with rice cereal.

She was excited about what was going on....at first.

But then, not so much.

We tried it again.

But her lips were locked.

Since then, she continues to keep them shut tight.  My "Sweet Pickle" doesn't like baby food!  I have been trying everything but she still locks her lips.  Then only thing I can get her to open her mouth for, without prying them with a spoon, is carrots and sweet potatoes.  I've tried Cheerios, baby puffs, and Kix.  She just cries and chokes.  This is going to be a long road, I think. 

Okay, Brielle, I tget it.  My milk is soooo good that you don't want anything else.  Thanks for the compliment, Little One.  But really, my Sweet Suckling, we need to move on....

Galina on Display

Well, she got it.  Her first time in front of an audience. 

At CBS (Community Bible Study) this past week Galina's class got to show off by singing for all the women. 

Unfortunately I didn't get a very good seat.  Plus our camera is not great so my pics didn't turn out the best.  On the other hand, the entertainment was top notch!

Galina didn't disappoint.

Even when she was the only one sitting, distracting the others around her.  For a while it was up, down, up down.  Between waves and SHOUT OUTS to mommy of course.  (For those of you who don't know Galina, she can be very, very loud.)

Here she is praying.  Nothing melts my heart like seeing her pray.

There was a song about being a friend.

Galina made sure everyone knew that, "This is my friend, Mommy!"

A fun morning for both Galina and her proud mommy....who everyone knew by the end of the concert, by the way.

Book Review- Choosing Gratitude

Honestly, I wasn’t very excited to read Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, but I agreed to review it for Moody Publishers. Wow! Was I surprised! This book held so much more than I was expecting. Author DeMoss states that gratitude is not merely a second-tier virtue in the Christian life--it is vital. At first I was doubtful, but by the end of the book, I agreed. This “Christian gratitude” recognizes what we’ve received first and foremost from God including the blessings we receive from others. Although sometimes these blessings come disguised as problems and difficulties. This gratitude also acknowledges God as the Giver of every good gift. And finally, this gratitude expresses appreciation to Him and others for those gifts.

Several new thoughts ideas spoke to me. For example, how choosing gratitude rescues from me from runaway emotions. That gratitude has a transforming power to it. And how a grateful child of God can’t help but be a joyful, peaceful, radiant person. That’s the person I want to be.

The book concludes with a thirty day challenge. It’s a devotional guide attempting to move from theory into practice.

I highly recommend this book. It put a whole new perspective on life for me and has made me more intentional on how I live my life.

Parenting "Rules"

I came across this and thought it was humorous and sprinkled with a bit of truth....
1. The later you stay up, the earlier your child will wake up the next morning.
2. For a child to become clean, something else must become dirty.
3. Toys multiply to fill any space available.
4. The longer it takes you to make a meal, the less your child will like it.
5. Yours is always the only child who doesn't behave.
6. If the shoe fits...it's expensive.
7. The surest way to get something done is to tell a child not to do it.
8. The gooier the food, the more likely it is to end up on the carpet.
9. Backing the car out of the driveway causes your child to have to go to the bathroom.
10. The more challenging the child, the more rewarding it is to be a parent...but you usually have to work overtime to get that reward.

Spinach Lasagna's Guts Casserole

If you like the inside stuff of lasagna, you'll love this super easy, super healthy recipe.  I can scoop this stuff up like no one's business!  It's so good!

Spinach Lasagna's Guts Casserole

1 (10 oz) bag fresh spinach, rinsed, dried and cut into bite sized pieces

1 (24 oz) carton ricotta cheese

1/2 C Parmesan cheese

4 eggs, beaten

2 tsp dried parsley

dashes of salt and pepper

Preheat to 350.  Mix all ingredients and dump into a greased 9x13 dish.  Bake for 45-60 min until eggs are set.  Enjoy!

Book Review - The Voice

The Voice is a unique version of the New Testament. This Bible’s format is similar to a screenplay‘s. This is to enhance the beauty and story of scripture. It’s a narrative intended to provoke emotion and understanding in the reader that often gets lost in the translation process.


Thomas Nelson Publishers and the Ecclesia Bible Society joined together to create this Bible. A team of writers, scholars, poets, and storytellers have embraced the way a new generation processes ideas and information and used it to create The Voice. They argue that people today are more apt to interact with events and characters through observations involving emotions, tangible experiences, cognition, and spiritual sensitivity. They used that knowledge to create “a fresh expression of a timeless narrative.”

A few things that I especially liked about The Voice (besides it’s screenplay format and easy readability) included outline boxes which were scattered throughout to expand on the text, similar to Bible notes in a study Bible. This gives the reader background knowledge and cultural significance of what was happening in the text. They also used italic type to indicate words not directly tied the original language in order to remain faithful and as objective as possible.

This was a very creative and interesting Bible. I would strongly recommend it for casual reading or as a companion to a more traditional translation. I agree that The Voice brings about more emotion, understanding, and thinking than a tradition text. It reminded me of The Message in some ways. However, I would consider it an accompaniment and not be used solely for intense Bible study. I plan to use it as a nightstand reading tool to greater increase my love of scripture and ultimately, my love of the Lord.

This post was possible because I received this book from Thomas Nelson Publishing.  The opinions are my own.  I was not paid for reviewing this book for them.

Fun Trash

If you have two minutes, you can make this trash bunny. 

It's something fun to do with the Sunday paper and a couple of grocery bags.

Hippidy-hoppidy, Easter's on its way!

Spring Break Zoo Trip

It's Treyton's spring break this week and we began by taking advantage of the beautiful weather by going to the zoo.  Treyton's friend, Michael, joined us. 

Galina made sure to scope out the scene by studying the map.

It was a fun morning for us all.

Here's Galina roaring at the lion.

And Treyton studying it.

Typical of their personalities, I'd say.

When we circled over to the giraffes, we encountered a zoo guy with a giraffe pelt.  The kids were able to touch it and become obsessed with what happened to the "dead giraffe".  Oh brother.

My two (big) babies and I at our first zoo trip of the season.  (Not pictured is Brielle hanging out in the stroller.)  What a major blessing to be a stay-at-home mom!  I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Footprint Bunnies

With Easter being just around the corner, I decided to have the kids do a fun little craft.  We started off by making footprints on paper.

The kids loved their feet being tickled with the paintbrush.  Loads of laughs!

Then we used paper plates for the face and glued on some googley eyes and string wiskers.

Next came the nose.

Then I had the kids (minus Galina) cut out their footprints and tape them to the back of the plate to form the ears.

Here are Treyton and his friend, Seiban, with their finished products.

Ta-dah!