Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Today...a beautiful 73 and sunny!!

Things that make me happy: this beautiful weather! My favorite is when the sun is shining and I can go out with jeans, a t-shirt, and no coat...perfect!

Book I'm reading:
still the same 'ol. And does Family Fun magazine count?! :)

What I'm enjoying on TV:
American Idol

On the menu for dinner:
Crockpot Ham and Potato Soup (made with leftover ham from yesterday) :) and rolls

On my To Do List:
Tons to do today...but mostly enjoying the beautiful weather while we can.
laundry
sweep and wash floors
get dinner in the crockpot
missions meeting

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Potato and Sausage Casserole (so yummy!)Slow cooker ham (seriously SO easy and SO good!)

In the craft basket:

are you kidding? Any crafting time has been spent outside...it's been too beautiful! Maybe this week on one of the rainy days they are predicting...

Looking forward to this week:
some time with my family!!

Tips and Tricks:
my friend Amber (who's a personal trainer) and I have been talking about ways to fit a little bit of exercise into a busy mom's day. Here are some easy ways that we came up with?
-park a distance from the store
-do some squats while you brush your teeth
-don't be afraid to make a few trips up and down the stairs
-take the elevator
-go for walks with the stroller (my personal favorite)
What are some ways that you fit exercise into your day?

My favorite blog post this week:
God's Sovereignty

No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):
How to choose...I got so many great pics of my baby on Easter morning

Lesson learned the past few days:
reminded of how beneficial/important it is to spend time in prayer and the Word to prepare my heart for worship on Sunday morning.


On my mind:
praying for the family of the boy that was hit by a car last week here in our town...I don't even know them...but boy my heart aches for them.


Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
1 Peter 1:3 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

More Easter Fun!

We enjoyed another beautiful morning and family day together today. We headed out to Kensington for a day on the farm and an egg hunt...what fun!

We played around in the barn

sorry hun...I just had to post it...

Walked around the petting farm

....went for a walk on the walking trail

....enjoyed an animal show from Farmer John


and of course...found Easter Eggs!

this wasn't even 1/2 the people

It was fun to see Joshua there too...here they are checkin out their goodies

Dying Easter Eggs

Decorating the eggs with an invisible crayon

watching Daddy dip them in the dye

happily eating her mistake (she cracked one)

yum!

The finished product

A Beautiful Day at the Zoo!

We took advantage of the beautiful weather and it being family day and headed to the zoo. We had such a great time watching all the animals, having a picnic lunch, and just spending the day together!

Hannah woke up ta 1:30am talking about all the animals that she was going to see at the zoo and talking all about the tigers. We were excited to see this tiger up and walking around enjoying the beautiful morning!

they were both fascinated

watching the giraffes

my favorite part of the day was watching this polar bear jump in and out of the water. She sat like this for a long time...we waiting patiently to see if she would jump in...it was worth the wait to watch her swim in the water and jump back up on her iceberg.

...coming up for some sun

and back in for more fun in the water

what a fun day at the zoo!

A beautiful spring day!

I love the fall so much, but really must say that spring is my favorite season! There is something very special about everything coming back to life and the refreshing warm air after a long, cold winter...I love it! I love watching the flowers pop up in my garden and being able to go outside with a light coat or no coat at all.

Hannah and I sure enjoyed the day today! We started the morning out with a shopping trip to use a coupon that expired today. I got tons of great deals and Hannah was such a good girl! When we got home, we walked to the park and she played and played. It's neat to see how much more independent she has gotten at the playground..what a lovely day! We came home for lunch and she again picked lunch meat and cheese...one of her favorite lunches. We ate lunch together on the porch and enjoyed watching this squirrel jump back and forth from the fence post to the tree. It's the little things in life that bring so much joy. Thank you Lord for springtime!

My First Bible Verse

One of my favorite parts of parenting is watching Hannah learn about God and his Word. It's neat to see her develop a love for his people, his creation, and His Word. She loves reading Bible stories, singing songs about the Lord, going to church and Bible study....we hope and pray that this continues through her whole life!

After listening to Hannah recite lines from her favorite tv shows and sing songs perfectly, I knew that it was time to help her start memorizing God's Word. We started working on a verse a month back in February....but Hannah's first verse ended up taking two months. I think that she knew it a lot sooner than she actually said it...but it sure was a joy to hear her recite God's word for the first time!

We started with 1 John 4:19. Here's a cute video of her trying to get it right for the camera...it's sure to make you giggle..and I do apologize for her that she's talking with food in her mouth...we haven't quite mastered that yet.

I was glad to catch her reciting her verse perfectly on camera today. :)

Lovin' some tomato soup

Hannah loves soup! I think one of the reasons that she loves it so much is that she can drink it from the bowl. On Sunday Seth made grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner. Hannah hadn't been eating the greatest the week before...so it was so good to see her gobble this meal up. Here she is enjoying every last drop of tomato soup!