What I have learned Thursdays…. {Love}

Our son attends a Bible-based preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I love this preschool.   Stella went there for two years, and now it is Isaac’s turn.  Each morning, before they begin class the all gather and sing in the hallway.  This is a common area for all classrooms.  They sing very cute, uplifting songs.  I always stay and listen to them sing.  Singing times lasts about five minutes, and then they offer a word of prayer. 

Every morning, they sing one song that seems to be stuck in my head the rest of the day.

The song goes something like this:

Yes, Jesus loves me.

Yes, Jesus loves me.

Yes, Jesus loves me.

The Bible tells me so.

What a wonderful phrase to say over and over again to myself. 

What a peaceful feeling to know that Jesus loves us.

I know I could show more love and understanding to others, just as he has given me.

This week, I have been reminded of his love.

I am thankful for February.  The month of love.  What a wonderful opportunity to show more love to others.

In honor of Valentines, love and the peaceful feeling of recognizing love in my own life; I made a few freebies.

…well I revamped a few printables I had already made.  I thought these might be fun to have in some Valentines colors.

You will remember seeing a few of these in My Bathroom Printables.

Here they are Valentine style:

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Keep scrolling to find the link to download.

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You may remember this one from a while back.  I changed the colors on this one too. I saved these files as JPEGs.  That way you can print them from your printer at home, or send them to a professional lab to be printed. I have stated their intended size under each printable, but you could always have it printed in another size at a lab. 

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This is a set that I made last year, that I thought you might enjoy this year.  If you don’t like the pink, you can have the Love is Spoken Here in the red.  It also comes with an Owl printable.  You know how I love Owls.  These are each 5x7. The Love is Spoken Here is turned the wrong way to save space on a white sheet of cardstock for your printer.

I made these last year to wrap around water bottles.  This is what my kids gave for Valentines last year.  They turned out adorable.  There are six to a page.   Just cut them in long strips, and hot glue them around the label on a water bottle.  I attached a fun red drink mix to it.  The kids loved them.

…and last but not least, I made a new one.  This one is in honor of baby Ruby.  I can’t help but think of her when I read this quote.  I am sure this is how Kristin feels about her.  I thought it was very fitting for Valentines, and to honor Ruby. Remember that Ruby is a great symbol of Love for me.  Her name means read, and Ruby helped to remind me of the Savior’s love for me.  Ruby, I love you and miss you.

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I also made it in pink if you like that better. I think these would look adorable in a child’s room.

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Click on the image below to take you to the download.

Have a wonderful Thursday. 

Take the time to share more love.

Remember, Jesus loves you.

Top Ten in January

Periodically, I like to list my top ten. 

My Top Ten are things that I might be working on right now, things that I love at the moment, or times with my family that I have cherished.

Top Ten in January:

1. I love the new challenges that come along with January.  I love setting goals and working towards them.

2. I am having a love/hate relationship with our workout program for the next 60 days or so.  Jonathan and I are doing Insanity.  Let me tell you, I feel a little insane when I can barely walk because this program tears you up.

3. I am in love winter clothes; specifically boots and skinny jeans.  My husband thinks I have too many boots. (six or seven pair is not too many right?) I love pairing brown boots with black clothes.  I know that was a no-no when “we"(us thirty-something’s) were in high school.  Oh well, girls of the eighties and nineties; I am doing it now. And I love it.

I feel so funny posting a picture of myself.  Headshots taken by Krysta Moes Photography.

4. I enjoy having long hair. My hair has never been this long.  I have so many options with it.  Jonathan loves it, however he hates finding hair all over the house.

5. My favorite phrase right now is, “nuggle mom?”  That means: snuggle mom?  It is the sweetest thing a two year old can say.  She says it a lot.  I am grateful for that because she is the baby, and I am not ready to give up the snuggling.

6.  I enjoyed talking pictures of this sweet little newborn; Ellie Harper.  I did re-think having another child, but only for a split second.  OK.  Let’s be honest; I thought about it for a day.  Four is a good number, and I am happy with that.(because my baby still “nuggles” with me.)

7.  I am enjoying reading The Boxcar Children to the kids at night.  I have also enjoyed a little reading on my own.  Books are such a nice vacation from life.

8.  One of my favorite things is how helpful my husband is.  Our new saying for the year is, “if we are busy, let’s be busy together.”  With a family of six you are bound to be busy. When I am busy in the kitchen, he has been right there with me.  I like being busy with him; I like staring at him while we work.

9.  I have enjoyed looking for new recipes on pinterest and then making them healthy; between 350-400 calories. Stay tuned for a couple of those.

{via}

10.  I love our family tradition of “two thumbs up.” We have been doing it for about a year now.  At bedtime, we give two thumbs up to a child who has done something extraordinary that day.  It is a way to reinforce good behavior.  Our kids love it, and won’t let us forget.  Prayer time is the perfect time for this.  I love the smiles on their face as they give or receive the two thumbs up.

 

….and that’s my top ten.

What I have learned Thursdays…

This week, I plan on keeping my thoughts pretty simple. 

As a mother, I try to live and learn from this balancing act I call life; and I learn many lessons.

I am working on saying no to things that I don’t have time for. 

I fill my life with good things, sometimes I fill my life with too many good things.

Last week, I talked about how I am trying not to feel guilty about what I can’t do.

In thinking about this, I came across this quote:

If you would like this printable click on the image to take you to the download.

When I read this quote, I had an ah-ha moment. I thought about it this way. 

I am the only one who knows what I can and can’t do.  I am the only one who can decide when to say no.  When I say no, it is on behalf of me, my children and my husband.  This year, my family comes first.

I can’t predict how people react to me saying no. I can’t worry about their reactions. I can’t feel guilty about it.  I have to do what is best for me and my family.

I am working on living in the moment.

Here are a few captured moments at our house.

House Tour {Office}

 I think it is time to finally resume this house tour.  How about a peak at our office?  

When we first moved in to this house, we used this room as our breakfast nook. This is what it looked like then.

 This room has had a many changes.  Soon after we moved in, we put up the wainscoting.  Shortly after that, we painted it red.  Several years after we moved in, we switched rooms and we made this our office.

  This summer, I took all the pictures of the house for this house tour.  These are the pictures that I took of our office.

I had to take new pictures for the house tour, because this is what it looks like now.

This fall, I painted the room a lighter color.  I was ready for the change.  The red seemed to be putting off to much energy for me.

The color I picked is a light gray. It is a cool gray, so it puts off a hint of blue.  I think that is my favorite part.

 

We spend a lot of time in this room.

This little corner is where I read to the kids before their naps.

This little table  is where the kids eat snacks, do homework, and work on art projects.

We keep all their art supplies in these two boxes.

This is Jonathan’s computer so he does his work here, and checks his email.  This kids also play games on this computer.

My favorite part of this room is the picture wall.

 

I enjoy looking at all these pictures.  Each one of these pictures is significant. They remind me of something important.

 

When I put this wall together, I was lucky and stumbled upon the shelves at a yard sale. I paid $8 total for all 4 shelves.  The frames were also ones that I already had.  This was such a cheap project. It is probably one of my favorite walls in our home.

 

I recently found this lamp shade, and just new I had to have it for this room.  It is the piece that brings this whole room together. 

…and this fun rug.

This room is such a bright space.   It has this large window…

and also a door that leads out to our back yard.

  I feel very happy when I am in this space.  I also love working in my kitchen and seeing my family in this room.  That is when I…

count my blessings.

 

From Stella’s point of view.

Stella got a new camera for Christmas.  This post is her pictures and her own words.  She captured everything we did yesterday.

From Stella’s point of view/ January 14, 2012

This is my mom and Tessa just waking up.

This is what I had for breakfast this morning.  My dad made us a tropical smoothie and cinnamon toast.

Tessa was having a fit because she was ready to get dressed.

I got new Tom’s for Christmas.  I had to take them back because they didn’t fit.

Daddy helped us put together the floor puzzle that I gave Isaac for Christmas.

I went with my Mom and Tess to return the Tom’s and pick out a new pair.

Then we went to this store called The Toggery to see what Tom’s they had.

The lady helped me try on several different kinds of Tom’s.

These are the new Tom’s that I got.

After that, we met the boys for lunch at Applebee’s.

When we got home, we watched the movie Flicka.

We made food for the Baileys, because they just had a new baby.

This is baby Ellie. 

This is Tessa and I after we got out of the shower.  I take care of helping Tessa shower.  Sometimes, I even put her diaper and pajama’s on.

This is the doll I got for Christmas.  I am putting her pajamas on.  Her name is Avie.

We got to stay up late and watch a movie, with popcorn and treats.  

Then we went to bed.  I share a room with Tess.  This night, she climbed in to my bed and fell asleep in my arms.

Goodnight.

What I have learned Thursdays.

Remember when I used to write about things I have learned.  Well, it’s back.  It is a good opportunity for me to reflect on the things that Heavenly Father teaches me.  It is also a way to remember them when I go back and read my blog.  I also hope it helps you.

What I have learned….

I knew that I wanted to start this new year off with a bang.  I wanted to be better, and start with new goals.  2011 was hard on me.  It was a year of learning many lessons.  I spent the last week of 2011 reflecting on what I wanted to change.  I couldn’t exactly pin point what had been bothering me over the last few months. 

After talking it out with my bestie and my husband, I was able to put in to words what I was really feeling.

I have always been someone who takes on too much.  I have a hard time saying no.  On the flip side of the coin, I love doing all the things I say yes too.  I have a hard time choosing what to give up.  Much of the time I find my mind full of thoughts and lists.  It is always way to full.  Part of what I want help with is knowing what to do, and what not to do.  In doing so, it would be a way to stop my mind from running all the time. 

I compare it to a computer that has too many programs open.  My computer is never been given the opportunity to shut down.  I need to be able to run one program at a time, or at least minimize the program I am running so I can focus on another program; specifically my family.   In the last year, I noticed my mind in one place when it should really be on my family.  I want to be there listening or really understanding the words of the book I am reading instead of being off in never never land with my thoughts.

With the help of a good friend and her advice, I realized that I should take my problem to the Lord.  Don’t get me wrong,  I have prayed about my situation.  However, my friend  suggested that I take a different approach.  I decided to give it a try. 

I have ended each morning prayer with this response, “Heavenly Father please help me know what it is that you would have me do today.”  Over the last year, I got so wrapped up in what it was I needed to accomplish for me, the kids, or anyone else.  I forgot that I am supposed to be doing things that our pleasing unto the Lord.

In doing so, I have watched my days become easier. I have felt the promptings to say no to things that I just can’t do.  I have felt subtle reminders to do things that I should be doing.  I have been reminded to read my scriptures.  I have found extra time in my day.  I have been less forgetful, and more aware of what is going on around me.  I have been more aware of the thoughts that pop in to my head, and which thoughts are important to respond to.  I have acted upon phone calls that I feel are important.  I see my mind becoming more like a computer that can minimize and shut down.

Along with my mind being clear, I enjoy the subtle reminders throughout that day that Heavenly Father knows me and loves me.

I am thankful to learn, grow, and become better.

….and because it’s always better with a picture.

Isn’t she pretty.  I love being a mother. I love trying to be better for them.