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The past few weeks have had us learning the letters "S" and "T" in our preschool time. Since I'm all about finding ways to justify my own cravings, and even more so if I can figure out a way to call it "school", Ben and I decided to make some chocolate dipped pretzels today as "Sweets for my Sister and for Sam", and "Treats for Travis". He wanted it to be a big surprise for after dinner, so we had to act quickly while they were playing outside this afternoon. He loved not only making such a fun surprise for his brothers and sister, but also licking all of the chocolate off of his hands when he was finished. He was definitely a hero tonight when the big surprise was revealed!

Sweets and Treats joy...


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Sunshine. Cool, breezy days. Sometimes we even have open windows. But our daffodils blooming really sealed the deal - spring is right around the corner! I happen to have a few boys in my life who love giving flowers to mommy and who, apparently, believe that our daffodils look better in a vase by the kitchen sink than they do in the flower beds. That's pretty hard to argue with. : )

Springtime flowers from my boys joy...


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day 28 | Joy of Love: The future

Over the past few days Sam has spent a lot of time making up a new game. He finished it today and I got to play one of the first rounds with him. I was so impressed with how much thought and detail he put into designing the board and the rules and I realized that I was seeing a glimpse into our future with these awesome kids that we have. They are beginning to leave their "little kid" days behind and it's really such a privilege to watch their creativity shine through in their individual personalities.

It can be easy for moms to fall into sentimentality and nostalgia when it comes to their kids growing up, but growing up is a really, really good thing. And it's so much fun to watch. And I'm really excited to see what the future holds for our family as these great kids turn into amazing adults.

And I expect that we'll play a lot of games along the way.

Homemade game joy...

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day 27 | Joy of Love: What they say

Jack thinks it's completely hilarious to "hide" himself and is convinced that if he can't see us then we certainly must not be able to see him. He stands behind the curtain and chuckles while we wonder where he could possibly be. Then he cracks himself (and everyone else) up when he throws the curtain back and shouts, "Pee Boo!".

Playing Pee Boo joy...


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day 26 | Joy of Love: Their best friends

Ben has been riding his balance bike whenever the weather will cooperate since he got it for Christmas. Today, Travis was out riding with him and noticed how well he was balancing so he decided to ask Jimmy to get the little bike all ready for Ben to try out. With the training wheels off, Travis got Ben on the bike, helped him get started, ran along side of him and that was it! He was officially riding a bike with no training wheels at not-quite-four years old, thanks to the balance bike and his big brother.

The assignment for today had me photographing them with their best friends. We are so blessed to have great neighbors all around us. There is no shortage of kids around here and we've been very grateful for the relationships our kids have been able to develop with these friends. So, my plan was to follow them outside as they built their forts and towns and waged their battles, capturing them with these friends. But as I was photographing Travis helping Ben on his bike this afternoon, T asked me what my photography assignment was for today. When I told him it was to capture them with their best friends he smiled and said, "Oh, well these will be perfect then!"

Yes, thankfully these are perfect.

They're best friends joy...



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day 25 | Joy of Love: When you love them the most

One of the times I love my people the most is when any combination of them are loving and enjoying each other. Caroline needed a little love tank boost tonight and really wanted to do some math with Daddy (seriously, that was the activity she chose! Funny girl.). They had a great time and she went to bed satisfied after some alone time with her Daddy.

Having fun just being together joy...

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day 23 | Joy of Love: facebook

The assignment today is to browse through the photos that you have on facebook and choose one of your favorites. I chose one of Jimmy and me from our 10th anniversary trip to Maine in 2008. That was one of the best weekends that I can ever remember and seeing that picture instantly made me want to plan another get-away for the two of us. I'm not one who enjoys leaving my kids. It's quite hard for me to do so, actually. But the benefit of time alone together to just enjoy each other and have FUN is so, so worth it. It's good for our marriage and anything that is good for our marriage is ultimately good for our kids as well.

"putting the kids first" joy.... : )

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day 21 | Joy of Love: Hands

The first picture is the hand of my girl. I found these hands up before anyone else this morning, down in the family room all by her sweet little self, lights on, kids hymns playing, folding a huge basket of laundry. I desperately tried to figure out a way to not have to tell her that those clothes hadn't yet been washed, but even when I did she just cheerfully put them back in the basket and promised to help me fold them once they had been. So this afternoon, when it was time to make some cinnamon rolls to take to a friend, I took full advantage of those helpful hands.

The second picture shows the hands of Jack and Sam. Little Jack is always the first to remind everyone to hold hands when we pray.

Chubby baby hand, scratched-up tomboy hand and nubby-nailed boy hand joy...

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day 20 | Joy of Love: When they are home

Today's assignment has me documenting what I might find when my special someone is at home. I found my inspiration in the freezer, of all places. You see, Jimmy is a lover of beverages. His favorites include sweet tea, orange juice, the occasional soda and a variety of hot drinks, but right up at the very top is Happy Cow chocolate milk in a frozen glass. And not only does the glass need to be frozen, but then he likes for the milk to sit in the freezer for a few minutes to form a little icy layer on top. Finding this little treat in the freezer is a common occurrence whenever he's home.

One of his favorite treats joy...