Saying goodbye....

and hello!

My new blog: http://faithfullydancingintherain.blogspot.com/

Please follow my family's on-goings on our new blog!! Thanks!!

Bentley Wisdom

Bentley: Bees sting you. pause. And that's a secret.
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Patrica: What time is it?
Me (from another room): Breakfast time!!!!
Bentley: It's Breakfast time!!
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Bentley: Sometimes I like it, and sometimes I like.
Me: Well, then you like it all the time.
Bentley: Yeeaaahh.
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Photo Friday!! - My birthday weekend!

My huge ice cream birthday cake!!

Sky Top

Yummy apples

My sweeties!

So naughty!

Fun Fridays

Both Bentley and Marseille are into books right now! I love going in their room and seeing them sitting on the window sill reading to each other!

Yesterday, while I was cooking dinner Marseille was reading away. Apparently, her book said that she was: Tutti, Ming Ming the duck and Pablo, and that she was pink. When I walked over to her and she said, "I'm reading okayyyyyyy?" So I tried to grab the camera and this is what I got:

In other news!!

The kids and I watched a movie called How Do They Make That? Cement Mixers. Bentley, of course, loved it and he got out his Magna-Doodle and drew a drum to the cement mixer. Then he ran into his room and I noticed that he got into his tool box.

Me: Whatcha making Bentley?

Bentley: Not a mess! (with a guilty smile!)

Goofy boy!! Here is a picture of the drum to his cement mixer.

Last night we said farewell to summer, we celebrated by having hamburgers and grilled summer squash and zucchini for dinner. Tonight we will have the first stew of fall with fresh bread! Yum! Enjoy your first day of fall!!

Wild Talk Wednesday

Constant chatter from a car obsessed boy:

Act 1
Bentley: I'm an officer and I'm going to pull you over!
Me: What?!
Bentley: I'm gonna give you a ticket because you were going faster and faster!
Me: Oh no!
Bentley: Oh yes!

end scene.

Act 2
Buckle up for a Cars adventure! The "Reg-u-were Cars," Mommy!!!

Act 3
 Running around in circles. Watch out, I'm racing!! Because I'm Francesco!

Act 4
Looking at a car advertisement on fb! Go back... I need to see that car.... I like that car!

Quotable Thursday

Ignorance of Providence is the greatest of all miseries, and the knowledge of it the highest happiness. ~John Calvin

A couple Sundays ago we heard a great message on the providence of God. Later that week, in the book that I am currently reading, I came across this quote by John Calvin. I LOVE it when the Sunday morning message aligns with what I am reading.

Carl Sandburg Home and Farm

On Saturday we took a trip to the mountains. We are so grateful to live close the the mountains! The kids had fun feeding the goats and playing in the river. Bentley loved rummaging in the water and climbing all over the rocks. Marseille and I sat back and dipped out feet in the water. The weather was perfect.

MIA

You probably think that I have abandoned this blog... well, I will admit that I have been avoiding it! We have had so much going on that I don't think my hands would have been able to keep up!

So, I just fill you in on the here and now... Marseille is turning 2 on Saturday. Can you believe it?! I cannot!

She has quite the personality! I love her and all her craziness.

O What A Glorious Day!

If you enter our house on a given day, you will hear music at some point in your stay. It is usually on in every room, sometimes at the same time! We love it! Here is a little snippet of how much Bentley and Marseille enjoy it... and food!

Marseille enjoys singing and dancing... just not obeying ;)

Bentley update

Thanks to all who were praying and thinking about us yesterday. We did have to go to the ER with Bentley because he was throwing up green bile. I talked with two on-call doctors (the GI and Peds) and that is what they had suggested.

Since the middle of April Bentley has thrown up one morning every 6-9 days. He wakes up around 6am with sharp pain and then vomits 2-3 times and is normal, literally back to normal by 10AM.

This particular episode, he woke up at 6am, vomiting and continued to vomit 5 more times. Every time he took small sips of water, he would throw it back up. He had gotten to the point where he was throwing up green bile, and that is when we got concerned. But by the time all phone calls were returned and we were at the ER and then finally seen by the ER Dr. It was 9am and he had turned the corner, the Dr. saw nothing wrong with Bentley and sent us home. Always my concern with bring them to the ER! I think that Dr. thought we were over-reactors by some of the comments he made. Oh well, my hope is to never see him again :)

I explained to him that I had been charting these episodes and that we were going to the GI soon. Which in return said that they would be able to pin point better what tests to do, because he wasn't going to do random tests to try and find something, which I can appreciate.

Marseille has a GI appointment on Tuesday, which the Nephrologist told us to bring up Bentley in that appointment. All the Nephrologist's testing came back stable, so he is thinking the GI can help us. So we shall see :) Praying that we can have some clue as to what's going on with little to no testing.

Many of you have asked how you can help and how we are doing. We are really doing fine. God's grace truly is sufficient in our time of need. I have not felt overwhelmed or discouraged by any of this. It's definitely not fun, but it's a part of my life! We don't have any needs at the moment. Because these episodes are so far apart, we are still able to get around and do things, even the day that he has them (though we usually don't do anything those days!)

One thing that I do ask is if you are interested in watching Marseille while we have testing and the like done, please email me. This maybe spontaneousness as well as planned. Thank you!!

Nephrology Appointment

Well, we had a good appointment today. Bentley and Marseille are both stable. Their organs looked good-- as good as they can-- with little to no change. What a blessing.

We were ready for this appointment because Bentley has been throwing up randomly and has been complaining of being tired a lot. He had 3 throwing up episodes in past four weeks with no real sickness attached to them, and no new unusual foods. I thought that his blood pressure medication might be too high for him now, but his blood pressure was good when they checked it so his medicine is going to stay the same. At first it was high and they had to recheck it.

I was really proud of Marseille, it was the first appointment in her entire life so far that she didn't cry the whole time. The Dr. actually got to feel her stomach :) YAY! Though she did cry the two of the three times that she had to get her blood pressure taken... we're working on that! Marseille's blood pressure was still high after her not crying reading, so we have to up her dosage.

Anyway. Another good thing that came out of the appointment, in a round about way, was their blood pressure prescription. We no longer have to get it compounded, this will save us a lot of money and time! Because compounding is expensive for pharmacies they don't take insurance, but now since Marseille's dosage changed we can just get the pill form. And because we live in America and a lot of people have high blood pressure, it is on the $4 list at most pharmacies!! What a huge blessing!! I just have to crush it for them :)

Now on to the issues! Both Bentley and Marseille came back with high CO2 counts. The Dr. is thinking that they might have Respiratory Acidosis. Basically Respiratory Acidosis is an acid imbalance in the body caused by breathing problems. There is an excess of CO2 and if forms an acid in the blood. The "remedy" for them is sodium bicabonate or an antacid.

The Dr. was also concerned with how small Marseille is. She has not grown much in the last year and Bentley has capped off too. PKD does make children smaller, but not as small as Marseille. Danny's and my heights were factored into his thinking, but the high CO2 can definitely be contributing to her size. He was okay with their weight, just not with their growth. They ordered more blood work for their blood gases and to get a more accurate CO2 count. The Dr. said that they would call with the results and they scheduled our next appointment for August.

So, we drove over to the hospital to have the kids get their fingers pricked. As soon as we stepped into the room to get their fingers pricked, Bentley put his head down and said very quickly, "I don't like these people!" and then began to wail. The respiratory lab workers were definitely not used to drawing blood from kids, but the kids left on good terms :)

So, overall it wasn't a bad visit! We will let everyone know the results!

Thank you again to all who prayed for us this morning and continually lift us up in our prayers! We are grateful :)

Wow, friends, it's been too long!

Hi there, stranger(s)!

Here is a little update. it's been far too long with way too much excitement. As you know, we did have our first craft fair. The day began very windy and ended sunny with a ton of wind! But what you might not know was... that we made a "emergency" trip to the doctor and the ER. In one day!!!

Wednesday, April 6th both Bentley and Marseille had accidents. Marseille bit through the skin under her lip and Bentley hit his head on the coffee table. Marseille's skin was glued back together and Bentley ended up with three stitches in his forehead. What a day!

It started off like every other Wednesday, which is cleaning day. Just as I was preparing lunch, I heard a scream and walked into the room to see Marseille's mouth covered it blood and all swollen. Poor girl. I cleaned her up and she kept sucking on the swollen part in her mouth which kept making it bleed in the front. After a couple of phone calls, I took her to the doctor. He glued it and said that it would scar. It's tiny so eventually you won't be able to see it.

So, we get back home and finish cleaning. I got a phone call that the host home for cg has a sick child. As easily as my kids get sick, I opted not to go, but said that I could host it here since the house was clean. I found a dessert mix in my pantry and put it together. By the time the dessert was done and we were done with dinner, the ladies began to arrive. As, I was still cleaning up Bentley was talking to some of the ladies and he bent down to get a toy and slipped (I'm going by his story) and hit the coffee table leg. He must have hit it just right, the force of the hit popped his forehead open. Upon scooping him up, I knew we were going to have to get stitches. He was so brave and did so well. The Dr. was amazed that they didn't have to have a nurse hold him down as she put the stitches in. They gave him a race car that he is mighty proud of.

Thursday was Danny's birthday. I made him Shrimp and Chroizo. Then for dessert, we had rice crispy treats and ice cream. Bentley thought that was a lot of fun! One more year for Danny and he will be 30! After all the excitement of the day before it was very laid back.

On Friday, Bentley had a three year old check up and everything is looking good for him :)

Saturday, was a crazy. My friend's George and Danielle got married :) Early that morning, I got a call saying that the bride's dress was too big. She ended up bringing it over and I fixed it. I was a mess until she got here, trying to figure out ideas on how to fix it without having to sew it. I ended up having to sew it! After they left, I followed them because I was helping with the bridesmaids dresses. Whew! It was a lot of work, but it was worth it because the couple is happily married :)

Sunday, we had mini-cg and that was relaxing!

Monday, I prepared for the craft fair.

Tuesday, the kids had their ultrasounds. They did extremely well for having to fast. We won't have results until the beginning of May.

Wednesday, Bentley ended up throwing up in the car after our first errand, which lead to another unusual Wednesday. Right before Danny left for cg the kids got into Vaseline. I couldn't help but laugh! Thankfully we got everything cleaned up, I just couldn't believe all the strange things that kept happening! Wednesday is the day that I want to get things done and God keeps showing me that there is more at stake than my to-do list.

Thursday, Bentley ended up sick so we took it easy.

Friday, I ran errands like a mad woman trying to get everything ready. Thankfully, my mother in law was here to help me with the kids and getting last minute details done! She ended up taking them to her house so they could get rest while we had our busy Saturday! Thanks Mom!!

Saturday, we didn't have a great turn out to our craft fair, but I did sell some stuff and got some orders. I was pleased. This is the first time I've ever done something like this so it was good for me :) I have plenty of alterations to keep me busy, plus these orders on top of that!

While I was at the craft fair, Danny had band practice. I love having the band over at our house. I love hearing them practice and prepare to serve our church :)

After that, we got to go on a date night. It's been a long, long time!! We went to Trio a great dinner and Luna Rosa for gelato! Along with the great food, we had great conversation. It was a very refreshing time!

Sunday, we had an amazing, I mean AMAZING message, given to us. More on that later... that's just how important it was to me. Then we headed to pick up the kiddos from their grandparents house!

It's been a fun, crazy, busy month, but isn't that life?! I cannot believe that this month is more that half over!

You'll probably be burnt out soon....

but here is another plug for my business!

FYI: The English translation for the business name is Marseille and Me. What can I say I love French, hence, the French name and furthermore.... it's pronounced (mar-say-A-m-wah)!

Marseille et Moi Blog

Marseille et Moi Etsy

Marseille et Moi Facebook Fan Page

Thanks everyone for putting up with my shameless plugs!!

Indielicious Boutique Bazaar

Check out my first of many sneak peeks as I'm gearing up for my upcoming boutique bazaar at Marseille Et Moi !!

Here is the info for the boutique bazaar that I'm participating in:

Indielicious Boutique Bazaar

Please join us for a morning of crafty goodness and boutique yumminess!

Saturday, April 16 · 10:00am - 2:00pm

Bent Creek Club House

104 Marcie Rush Lane

Greer, SC 29651

The boutique bazaar will be featuring goodness from:

Banana Village - super fun and unique customization for your entire family

Ella Marie Clothing- Unique, Hipp, Modest clothing for girls sizes 7-16

klb designs - Classic, Elegant, and Chic One of Kind Jewelry

Magpie Boutique - homemade and crochet boutique

Marseille & Moi - unique accessories and home decor

Please pass this information on and invite your friends!!

To be posted...

some of my own recipe creations! These are some of the new recipes I made up and Danny loved. So that means they go straight to the Tried and True notebook!!

Zucchini Boats- I didn't come up with the actual idea, but made the technique and filling up!

Spinach Pizza Pot Pie

Bumps and bruises

I asked him to make a silly face and this is what I got!

Both Bentley and Marseille had some bumps and bruises last week. Thankfully, we were sick and couldn't leave the house because I'm sure that we might have gotten a call.

Both falls happened in their room involving the little table and chairs set. During play time, Marseille started screaming and there wasn't any bump at the time, but she woke up with a black eye. So, I don't know what she did.

Bentley, on the other hand, was supposed to be napping when I heard his scream. I walked in the room to find blood on his face, hands, and shirt. He told me that he was reaching across the table and a chair for his Monster Truck Mater while standing on his bed. I'm not sure how he slipped, but he sure did slip!! He bit his lip (it ended up all swollen), busted the existing scar on his forehead, and scraped up one side of his nose. He looked pretty banged up!

Thankfully, both of them were okay, and they are pretty much all healed!

Au Naturale

Who needs hair gel, when this do comes naturally??

Poor girl has three cowlicks on the top of her head!!

Bird in a Pie

Bird in a Pie
Gui Fieri
This is so good. I love the homemade herbed crust, who doesn't love a little extra flavor!

Ingredients
For the Crust:
5 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for board
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons dried thyme (I use 2 tsp dried thyme)
4 teaspoons dried sage (I use 2 tsp dried sage)
4 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 tablespoon pieces
12 to 16 tablespoons cold water
For the Filling:
3 tablespoons butter
1 sweet onion, diced
1 medium shallot, diced
5 celery stalks, diced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups hot chicken stock
1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed and chopped
2 cups frozen diced carrots and peas
2 teaspoons dried sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, whisked, for egg wash
Special equipment: 4 (5-inch) aluminum pot pie pans ** I don't use these**
To prepare the crust:

Directions
Combine 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons thyme and sage in a food processor, pulsing until combined. Add in 2 sticks butter, 4 tablespoons at a time, pulsing after each addition until mixture forms coarse texture. Slowly add in 6 to 8 tablespoons cold water while machine is running, 2 tablespoons at a time until dough balls up in processor to one side. Remove dough onto a lightly floured board, cut in half and form into 2 (8-inch) rounds. Wrap each tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Chill for 30 minutes prior to rolling out. Repeat to make second batch of dough.

To prepare the filling:
In large saute pan, melt butter over medium heat; add onions, shallot and celery. Saute until just starting to brown. Stir in flour and saute for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in hot stock, stirring well. When bubbly and thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes, stir in chopped chicken, carrots and peas, and sage. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Let cool while rolling out dough.

To assemble pies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On lightly floured board, cut the rounds of dough in half. Roll pieces into 6-inch rounds, about 1/4-inch thickness. Place a round in the bottom of 4 aluminum pie pans and lightly press the sides and bottom to fit the shape of the pans. Generously top with filling until full and slightly mounded. Top with second piece of crust and pinch seams together. Cut 2 small slits in top. Brush with egg wash. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown and filling is bubbling.

**I pour the filling into a 8x8 baking dish or a pie dish and put the dough on the top. So, I usually only make half the amount of dough.**

Sausage, Peppers and Onions

Sausage, Peppers and Onions
Giada De Laurentiis
The marsala wine makes this-- don't skip it!

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage
2 red bell peppers, sliced
2 yellow onions, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup Marsala wine
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
4 to 6 fresh Italian sandwich rolls, optional

Directions
Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown on both sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain.

Keeping the pan over medium heat, add the peppers, onions, salt, and pepper and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the oregano, basil, and garlic and cook 2 more minutes.

Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the Marsala wine, tomatoes, and chili flakes, if using. Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the browned bits. Bring to a simmer.

Cut the sausages into 4 to 6 pieces each, about 1-inch cubes. Add the sausage back to the pan and stir to combine. Cook until the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.

Serve in bowls. Or, if serving as a sandwich, split the rolls in half lengthwise. Hollow out the bread from the bottom side of each roll, being careful not to puncture the crust. Fill the bottom half of the roll with sausage mixture. Top and serve sandwiches immediately.

Tango Joes

Tango Joes
Rachael Ray
A family favorite! Great for garlic lovers. Danny actually enjoys the chimichurri :)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 pounds lean ground beef sirloin (I use only 1 lb of lean ground beef)
2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
Salt and pepper
1/2 small onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves (3 generous handfuls)
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (eyeball it)
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves **I omit**
1 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (eyeball it)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
4 Portuguese or kaiser rolls

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300°. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until browned, about 7 minutes. Season the meat with the paprika and salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm over low heat.

Meanwhile, make the chimichurri: Using a food processor, pulse together the onion, garlic, parsley, vinegar, oregano, thyme and rosemary until finely chopped. With the machine on, pour in the remaining 1/3 cup EVOO.

In a small bowl, combine the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Stir into the meat and bring to a simmer. Stir in half of the chimichurri and cook for 5 minutes.

Warm the rolls in the oven. Split them and slather the cut sides of the tops with the remaining chimichurri. Pile the meat onto the bun bottoms, cover with the tops and serve.

Balsamic Chicken Drumettes

Balsamic Chicken Drumettes
Giada De Laurentiis
This is a great entertaining recipe! Everyone loves it! It's quick, easy and best of all YUMMY! Danny said that this is one of his favorite dinners.

Ingredients
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce OR Tamari (wheat free)
5 sprigs of rosemary
5 garlic cloves, halved
10 to 12 chicken drumsticks
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
Combine the balsamic, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary sprigs, and garlic cloves, in a large, re-sealable plastic bag. Shake and squeeze the contents of the bag to dissolve the honey and the brown sugar. Add the chicken drumsticks to the bag and seal with as little air as possible in the bag. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Place the chicken drumsticks on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until the skin is caramelized and very dark in spots, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the marinade in a small saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil (in order to kill bacteria). Reduce the heat to simmer and cook over low heat until thick, about 15 minutes. Reserve.

Use a pastry brush to brush some of the cooked marinade on the cooked chicken. Place the chicken on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and the chopped parsley. (I have omitted this depending on who is eating it!)

Cook's note: I like the rosemary and garlic flavors in the background. Brushing the cooked drumettes with the reduced marinade helps the flavors along. Also, re-moistening helps the parsley and the seeds to adhere.

ABC Potato Salad

ABC Potato Salad
Rachel Manning
Rachel cooked this for me for my birthday one year and now it is one of my all-time favorites!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 lb red potatoes
1 lb Yukon gold (or other "buttery") potatoes
1 bundle (approx. 1 lb) asparagus spears
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar (regular or white)
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
to taste salt
to taste pepper
1 Tbsp dried dill (opt)
1 Tbsp dried basil (opt)

Directions
Cook the chicken and cut into bite-sized pieces. To do this, put the chicken into large pot and cover with water, bring it to a boil, and boil for 30 minutes. Then remove the chicken and cut it up. Cool slightly. *** I actually roast bone-in chicken breasts in the oven instead of boiling***

While the chicken is cooking, wash the potatoes and cut into bite-sized pieces. Steam them for about 8 minutes - they will not be tender yet.

While the potatoes are steaming, prepare the asparagus. Wash and trim the asparagus. Cut into 2 inch pieces. After the 8 minutes is up on the potatoes, add the asparagus to the potatoes and continue to steam for another 7 minutes until the asparagus is tender (15 minutes total for the potatoes). Cool slightly.

While the asparagus is cooking, prepare the dressing. Whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and either the dill or basil.

In a large bow, combine the chicken, potatoes, asparagus, and dressing. toss to coat. You can add additional dill or bisil if you would like more flavor, but i don't recommend more thatn an additional teaspoon.

Serve warm.

The leftovers (if there are any) are good eaten cold as well.

Renovations!

Well, the title is a little deceiving! I am going to be "renovating" my little blog. So, please bear with me as I re-post old entries and the like to try and re-organize this blog to make it more useful to others.

You may have noticed that I have a recipe tab with, like, 4 recipes in it. I'm hoping to change that :)

You may have also noticed the new tab named Be > Jewels. It was originally the name of my sewing business, but I changed that to Marseille et Moi. Be >(more than) Jewels is also (like the fruit of her hands) based off of Proverbs 31. This name however is specific to Proverbs 31:10 - An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. So, I'm actually glad that I saved the name. Anyway, this is a tab that will house all my homemaking tips, schedules, calendars, lists, articles, etc. They will first be posted on the blog and then stored under the appropriate category within the tab!

I guess I'd better get busy!

Busy hands + lots of fruit!!

I can easily say that the days have been busy, but I don't know what we've doing! Busy in a good way, not stressful busy, but everyday has enough in it.

The kids are growing up. It's so fun to see them interact and pretend together. Their favorite things to do are have tea parties together and watch the Backyardigans. (thanks Mom -- I can now sing the theme song and do the dance!) I am grateful that they enjoy being with one another.

It's fun to hear Bentley talk about his memories-- he remembers A LOT!! and Marseille sing her songs. They both love, love, love music and to dance to it.

Here is a little video of Bentley, he thinks he's Italian!

I can't believe how much Marseille is growing up. She doesn't have much to say yet. I can't wait to hear all that goes on in her mind, because I know that it's a lot!

I have been given many opportunities to sew and do work for others and I'm sure that takes up a lot of the day too! I'm extremely excited and nervous about the upcoming craft fair. More information to come about that :) But here are some of the things that I have been working on for that!!

My headbands, I've been working on my logo and came up with a different variation to the one seen in the picture :)

Handwritten signs. This one if filled with poetry about love.

Here are a close up of the words.

Oh, I also have been having fun in the kitchen. On Monday, I practiced making sushi so I could show Kelli how to make it. I actually made it with the rice on the outside, which I was extremely proud of :) That's the way I prefer to eat it. It's just avocado, carrot and cucumber because that is what I had on hand. I plan to experiment some more with making different types of sushi... I'll leave it at that! Mwah haa haa!

And I made a pizza pot pie -- from no recipe that we all really enjoyed. It stemmed from not really wanting to make what was planned. It doesn't have cheese because of Marseille, but none of us seemed to miss it!

But even more exciting than all of the things that my hands are accomplishing, are the things that are going on in my heart. I am full of joy and peace as I am learning to love God and his word!

If you are interested in reading about what it going on please read on! Otherwise, thanks for stopping by!

I am currently reading the book of Leviticus, Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris -- excellent read and Practicing Hospitality by Pat Ennis and Lisa Tatlock -- sadly, I'm on the last chapter!! God has show himself in every book!!

This is a entry in my journal from last week:

God has been a work in me so greatly that I feel like I’m bursting at the seams. About three weeks ago, it dawned on me that the God of Abraham, Issac, Jacob, and Moses speaks to me. Directly to me. I was completely overwhelmed. What an amazing truth!! But over the past two months, God has been showing me that he cares for me personally. He is not the mysterious orb I made him out to be. He cares for me, loves me and wants a relationship with me. To many, that might seem like a duh, but it has just recently been awakened in my heart and I AM SO GRATEFUL!!

At the beginning of the year, God told me — because he speaks to me personally!!– that he was going to teach me about his love. While reading Jesus Speaking to Your Sorrows, I realized that I didn’t understand God’s love at all. I felt grace and mercy but never love. I never related to God as my father. In fact, I was always weired out when people called him Daddy. I was not on a personal level with God. God has continually and consistently EVERYDAY been showing me his love. Again three weeks ago, the same day that God revealed himself to me, during worship, completely overwhelmed by His presence, in the midst of tears I said, “I love you God”. I was taken aback by the words realizing that I had never really said them like that before. Sure, I love you God because of what you did for me, but never because I was truly in love with God because he was God.

The Jesus Storybook Bible, the children's bible we read to the kids, has been a very effective tool for my sanctification. This year, I felt lead to only study the Old Testament — just seeing how faithful and loving God is to his wandering people. Well, I just started Leviticus the first day of March and I was really crying out to God to help me understand the connection between Jesus and these on going sacrifices. And He has. Through his revelation, he has brought about scripture from the NT to connect with what I’m reading!!

Yesterday’s readings and scripture references:
And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. – Leviticus 1.9

For we are the aroma of Christ (our sacrifice) to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing –2Corinthians 2.15

You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt. – Leviticus 2:13

You are the salt for the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? – Matthew 5:13

And today, I read Leviticus 3 and 4 and while praying for a connection, I wrote down words from the OT sacrifices that describe Jesus – Sin offering, peace offering, blood poured out, without blemish, atonement for him for his sins and he shall be forgiven. Then looked to find a connection in the NT and I did a perfect connection in Hebrews 9:14, 26 and 10:1-18. Hebrews is the very book that we will be studying after Genesis!! EEK!! It’s so exciting to see God revealing himself to me in soo, soooo, soooooo many ways!!

God has been faithfully revealing himself to me day after day in Leviticus! I really am bursting at the seams.

If you made it this far, I am thankful and amazed that you would take the time to read about my journey into godliness. Thank you!

A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

is what I have been up to. The weather has been unseasonable warm and so the kids and I are taking advantage of the sunshine!

Last weekend was a big weekend for us. We had band practice and dinner club. It is quickly becoming my favorite week in the month! I love having the band in our home, and I love hanging out with friends. It's busy, but I love it.

Other than that, I have been cleaning the house consistently, spending time reading and praying consistently, working out... almost consistently. Growth... imagine that! This season has been pretty low key. Woo hoo!

I just finished some wedding invitations for a dear family friend and I'm doing all the alterations for the wedding party. FuN! And with all the babies being born I've been/will be working on baby stuff.

What's even more exciting is I going to be apart of a craft fair!! I can't believe it, so I will be busy making stuff for that too :) I'll seriously keep you posted, because I want you to come if you can!

Anyway... I'll be posting a more "serious" post sometime this weekend. God has been stirring a lot in my heart and I want to document it legibly!

Here are some pictures of my new do and the kiddles :)

Sunshine + no pants = boo boo

I asked her to put the mustache on, she ate it!

He likes the mustache because he is "Master of Disguise, Bentley"
My new do - I love it, it is very me :) When I look it the mirror I see me again!

Creepy... i'm sending it away as fast as I can!

I asked to take her picture and she said no and ran away...

We went on a backyard adventure to the moon and picked up "moon rocks."

We'll, that's all folks!