T-I-M-E with the kiddos

Kids mostly just want our time

That's really it.

"Be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time."

-Ephesians 5:15-16

I've been doing "The Love Dare for Parents" and there's a day devoted to time with your kids.

And I'll admit that, sometimes, I look at my phone too fast. Like when I hear that I have received a text message. But lately, I've been putting my phone on silent and putting it away. So, that I can't hear it or see it. Especially after Austin gets home after school. 

So, when Austin asked me to read his comic book to him the other day...I said "Yes" 

(Yes, I will read it even though it gives me bit of a headache because the print is so teeny tiny and I have no idea what kind of language they are talking in nor do I know how to read some of the words.)

I didn't say that additional stuff to him, of course, just the yes.

Welcome to the land of "Ninjago." 

You're welcome ;).

And he loved that I read it to him! Time spent cuddling together and reading. Because, to be honest, he asks me a lot for me to read his comic books. And I'd usually say "No", "Not now", "later." I was glad to make him happy which made me happy.

And here was a day that I was pre-occupied with cleaning up at home in preparation for company when my sweet 3 year old wanted me to stop and play "Magformers" with him.

We had such a fun time! First he wanted the "map"=directions. 

Then he looked so serious while he was "reading" them. He wanted to build a tower like his big bro had the days before.

"Mom, I want to make that!"

He was all "WOW" and amazed that he did that!

Great job, Troy boy! :)

But I also want to spend my time wisely by teaching him about God's love for him. 

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and will all your strength. 

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on our children. 

Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

-Deuteronomy 6:5-7

I love those verses! We can talk about God any time of the day. We don't need to set the perfect tone and time for it. Anytime is a good time. When we're in the car I'll talk about God and his goodness. Or when we see an ambulance I'll tell the kids that we should pray for whomever is hurt. When we are sick I will pray out loud that the Lord would heal us and I will not forget to give thanks to Him when we are healthy, too. While we are lying in bed I will tell the kids that we are so blessed to have a warm home, comfortable bed and food to eat.

Have a super awesome weekend! It's going to warm up here in MN! Woot Woot! :)

Jamie :)

Top 3 from the past weekend

Tuesday's Top 3

1.) Friday was the "Bye Bye Blanket" party! 

Last week while I was looking at my son's sweet & beloved "Blanks" (blanket), I thought to myself that I need to pack it away so it doesn't get any more worn down. I mean, that blanket has been with him since birth! It makes me kinda teary thinking about it. I want to save it so he can have it when he's older....or I can cuddle with it when he goes off to college. More tears. He brought that blanket everywhere! Everywhere. To Church because he would have a total breakdown when we'd bring him to Sunday School because he just wanted to be with Mommy & Daddy. The Sunday School teachers were so kind and compassionate when we'd have to leave him and let him cry a little...with his blanket. Blanket went to the Adventure Park and he actually layed down with it on one of the mats to take a pretend nap. That thing went on a Carribean cruise to see the ocean and to South Dakota. Grocery stores, Walmart, Target, friend's houses, Grandparent's houses, everywhere. You name it, that blanket was there :). 

He especially loved the monkey corner, which is why now that corner is almost non-existent.

He let Troy have a corner of it when he visited his new baby brother in the hospital.

Hiding in the drawer with the blanket.

So onto the par-tay!

I went simple. He wanted gifts but I said no. Haha! I put some decorations up, we made some, I made white cupcakes with sprinkles & cocoa powder, the boys blew out candles, we ordered pizza from our favorite pizza restaurant and spent time as a fam. Perfect!

"B" was the theme :)

This monkey has gotten a LOT of love. And probably 2 years ago my precious Mom brought his blanket to her very talented seamstress to get it fixed up. You can tell by the stitching on the monkey's left arm. A loves his Nanny! 

You've mighta already noticed this but...T boy likes to be "Hulk" and wear no shirt and usually no pants, too. We are working on potty training (it's going well) so the no pants is actually kinda easy ;)

I choose my battles wisely. No clothes at home--fine, but clothes outside of home--yessss!

These cupcakes were very scrumptious with homemade cream cheese frosting! 

One last cuddle with the blanket. 

But to be totally honest...if he wants to have it for a night or just to see it, I will say "yes." 

And we played Skylanders with the figurines. I was the girl dragon :). Fun!

Celebrate the "Little things" which in the future were actually the BIG things ;)!

2.) Saturday was the Women's Connect Rally at Church. It was absolutely fantastic!! I went with one of my amazing friends, Abriel. We had the best time...Worshipping God, praying,  listening to a wonderful woman give her testimony and eatting at the "candy bar" (think gummy bears, skittles, tootsie rolls, Mike n' Ike's, kit kat bars--Yummy). We also attended a Connect session on "Who Do You See in the Mirror?" By: Marytina Lawrence and after had dessert. And this dessert was Strawberry cheesecake, it was one of the best I've ever had...I may have had 2 :). 

Abriel & I

I felt so grateful after I left. Grateful that God has trusted my husband and I to raise these wonderful children. Inspired to continue to teach them every single day of God's great love! Because in the end that is all that really matters. And I left feeling beautiful in and out because God created us beautiful. When He looks at us, He sees perfection. God is so good.

3.) Spending time with family on Sunday. My Mom & Dad are amazing!! I just adore them. We got the chance to visit some loved ones. And in the evening A & T went to a movie at the theatre with them. They had a blast! Family time rocks my world!

God Bless you,

Jamie :)

It's Friday!

The winner of "The Love Dare for Parents" is...

*Crystal B*

Congrats friend! I will send you a copy of the book asap. You're going to love it! xoxo!

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Tonight we are having a "Bye Bye Blanket" party for my 5 year old! 

He's excited and so am I ;).

Here are some photos when he was a little cute toddler with his blanket! Awww!!

 It is so worn out now, which is why I want to put it away before the poor blanket is completely worn out. 

Little A is fast asleep holding onto the monkey. That monkey corner is his very favorite. Always has been. 

Visiting Great Uncle Lynn and lying in his bed with his blanket.

Picnic on his blanket!

I will definitely post more details about it next week. It is going to be one awesome party :). 

Celebrate little things that are actually the BIG things in life!

Tomorrow morning we are going to relax together as a fam. Maybe go to the Library. We are going on a vacay next month. So, I'd like to get some books about airplanes for the kids. That way we can talk about them, see pictures of planes and read about them. The last time we were on an airplane Austin was 2 years old and I was 20 weeks pregnant (I think). Anyways, Austin had a little bit of a hard time at first. The pilot was super sweet and let him come in the front of the plane to check it out. Pretty cool! We went on a cruise and it was a blast! Absolutely beautiful!

I have a Women's Connect Rally at Church tomorrow evening. I am beyond excited! There will be desserts, prizes,worship, prayer and small sessions. The topic is "Who I am in Christ." My dear friend & Mom are also coming. Woot Woot! I will also share a little about that next week. 

I hope you have some fun stuff planned for the weekend! I'd love to hear about it!!

Jamie :)

Shine!

Let your light shine

"Let your light shine before others so they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven"

-Matthew 5:16

One of my favorite verses right there.

Everywhere we go we can be a light to someone else in their lives. I try to. But I know that I fail too much. I've missed opportunities when I'm rushed. 

Just like last week. I picked up Austin from school, we rushed to Walmart to get some shopping done and then I dropped him off at a friend's house for a birthday party. Rush. Rush. Rush. And I missed things that I needed at the store. But as I was checking out, I used the self check out. And I don't know about you, but when I use it I always need someone to help me and they punch in their code. Because "an unexpected item is in the baggage claim area, please remove...." (you've heard it I'm sure ;) ) and I didn't put anything unexpected there. I'm told it's because my kids lean on it and the weight sensor is touchy. I was getting so frustrated. The reason I went there in the first place is because there were only 1 or 2 lanes open but they were full with people waiting in line. And I, of course, wanted to speed up the process. And I think I  could've been a lot nicer to the sweet cashier who helped me get back to checking out. Instead I just said "Thanks" and went back to my checking out. 

To my point....I missed opportunities. 

Opportunities to smile at someone or ask how they are doing. 

We don't know what others are going through. And just think...YOU may be the person who can make a difference in their life. Maybe it's a smile or a kind comment. Anything. Something. Have you heard that quote...

“To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world.

― Bill Wilson

 I heart that quote. It is the total truth. 

Jamie :)

Birthday recap/Tuesday's Top 3 Best 3 year old toys

Reminder that "The Love Dare for Parents" 

giveaway will end at 12:00 pm on Friday. 

I will announce the winner later on.

This book is a life changer!

 I am loving the book and the difference it is making with my parenting & relationship with my kiddos.

Which is why I want to share this book with you!! 

If you want to enter the giveaway, click here and add a comment on why you want to take on this challenge. 

Let's take this challenge together! :) 

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Troy just turned the big THREE last Friday! 

I can hardly believe it. I blogged here about his birth story and included a bunch of photos from his past 3 years (in total random order :) ). 

We had a pretty low key birthday for him at home on Friday. I decorated for him the night before, we ate cupcakes and opened gifts. The day after we went to the water park!

This guy had a blast. He went on a double tube with me down the slide. It was "EPIC!" as Austin put it :).

My beautiful Mama!

B ball dunks with Daddy. Troy wanted to do this over & over! Adorable. Possible b ball player?? I'd say football or soccer for sure! He loves throwing/kicking balls around the house. 

 It was so much fun! We invited the family who also had a great time. Troy ate 2 pieces of pizza & a large piece of cake. He had a Tom & Jerry cake. He just loves that show!! And he wanted the Tom piece. So what did Daddy do? He took a hole right from the middle of the cake in order to give the birthday boy just what he wanted.

 Good Daddy he is! Troy enjoyed it so much. Troy had a blast in the beginning of his party but ended up getting the stomach flu later on :( Poor little guy. So Daddy took him home to take a nap and I stayed with Austin & the rest of the family for awhile longer. I'm so grateful that the next morning he was back to his old self. 

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For the top 3 best 3 year old toys.... 

1.) This Chicco red bullet balance bike. We bought it here.

He's been having a lot of fun riding it around the house. He carries it upstairs and downstairs. It is adorable how much he likes it. I can't wait for the snow to melt so he can use it outside :). 

2.) These Magformers. We bought them here. 

He and Austin have had a great time creating different shapes and towers. Such a cool cool toy. I never have really seen them before. But I really recommend them. Hours of fun in a box!! #endlesscreations

3.) This cute book. If you have a 3 year old going to preschool, THIS is the book to get them. My sweet sister and her fam got Troy this. He AND Austin loved it! And when I dropped off Troy today...there was no crying or sadness. He kissed and hugged me good bye. He also met a friend right away. Praise God! :)

Jamie :)