A little hello.

Hi friends, near and far! Are you starting your Monday looking like this?  A little crazy-eyed?! 

This photo captures a lot, doesn't it !  It's exactly how I feel somedays...crazed and staring down the temptation of chocolate.  

Happy Monday to you! How was your weekend?  

We were blessed by working in our church nursery in the one-year old class again on Sunday.  We had 12 babies!  Brett and I work in there together and it is always a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun!  We enjoy tackling this task together.  It was the first time in a long time we've both made it to church with both girls, because of so much sickness this winter.  

We started off our weekend by celebrating Valentine's Day with a date at home.  We lit candles and ate fancy cheese and chocolate (but not together).  It was wonderful!  

Brett brought chocolate and roses home for me.  Totally unnecessary, but so appreciated. 

These little gems are from our play group!  We attend playgroup every week, with several other moms. When we first started going Anna Ruth was a baby...now most of the kiddos have another sibling added to their family.  I sure do appreciate the friendship I have with the playgroup moms.  We always love having everyone out to our house!

We had a mini Valentine's Day party with our playgroup friends last week.  I quickly made all these pretzels one afternoon for us to share.  Everybody in our family really enjoyed these bite-sized treats.  So easy and so fancy looking.  

I adore Betsy Grace's expressions in these pictures!  

I have probably said it a million times lately but I can't get over how quickly she is growing.  She looks big, acts big, talks big....

no more little baby Betsy.  Let the games begin!

Sweet friends...

The deer are a beautiful nuisance.  We love looking at them, but don't love when they eat our garden!  Still, their jumps are just so utterly effortless and graceful.

One Saturday morning recently Betsy Grace was sick and stayed home with me while Brett took Anna Ruth to do some "big girl fun".  She got to ride around and around in the little car while I pushed her!  She loved it!  

We recently had the World Choir come to our church and Anna Ruth got to sit in with the big people and listen.  She was fascinated!  I talked to her afterwards about the children and how different their lives are than ours.  I want the girls to be aware of the great needs our world (both near and far) have. 

A few other things going on around here...

I put my Etsy shop on vacation for now.  Too long to explain.  And I suppose I'm learning lately to go with my gut and not share too much of the reasoning why all the time.  Because then people can disagree with me (and probably will) and make me doubt what I heard God say in the first place.  So, it's closed for now.  If you ever have any questions about photos on the blog just email me instead! 

And I changed the blog banner again.  Only about 20 times over the weekend. I *think* I'll leave it alone for now. :)  It goes against all the blog "advice" you read that says to keep it simple and only focus on your blog name.. All that stuff I don't care a bit about. Obviously. By the hundred pictures I crammed all in one header. :) 

What are you up to this week?  I'm hoping to work on my journal some,

and start our spring list!  Plans for dining alfresco, a mini vacation or two,

helping others out, stretching our wings.

Hello Summer Fun (DIY Sensory Board)

 Hello Summer,

you've officially arrived! 

Hello playhouse,

you've provided endless hours of imagination and fun already! 

(Hello plans to design a "real" playhouse with doors and windows this fall!)

 Hello Betsy Bright-Eyes,

and hello weight gain.

Hello chubby rolls,

on a still small body.

Hello healthy. :)

 hello fun! 

Hello Granna and Poppa delivering a big treat for Anna's birthday.

 Hello helper,

(Anna takes her job of helping very seriously).

 Hello new pink slide! 

Hello to going FAST and landing on a quilt at the bottom. 

Hello to "I need the hand" and Anna learning to be brave.

 Hello homemade sensory board,

made from paint samples, fabric scraps, coffee cup sleeve, and an old Cheerios box.

Hello joint play,

and Anna Ruth teaching Betsy what each thing on the sensory board is. 

Hello creativity,

Hello trying to keep up with the speed of my girls' learning and imaginations,

Hello hot days, and cool mornings.

Hello to reading books (Currently: My Life in France), and magazines galore (Artful Blogging, Mary Janes Farm).

Hello to seeing a dear friend this weekend (I can't wait to hug your neck!),.

Hello to homemade iced latte's. 

Hello to morning bible time and a list of thankful things.

{What are you saying hello to this week?}

Hello Monday {Reaching new heights}

Hello Monday,

Hello beautiful spring weather so far,

and a big helper in the garden and flower pots.

Hello beautiful bird's nest, 

hello quaint, delicate reminder of hope. 

Hello Anna Ruth wanting to "crack the eggs" like we do in the kitchen. :)

Hello brave girl, 

reaching new heights.

Hello two-year birthday, 

in seven days. 

Hello thump, thump, thump

of my heart at the thought.

Hello color,

my eye is drawn to you everywhere! 

Hello playground and cousins,

we can't wait to spend time with you both soon.

Hello Betsy....

you're a whole new gal now that your tummy is full.

You're kicks and laughs,

and puffs going straight in the mouth.

Hello thumb-sucker. 

Mommy's heart melts every time.

Hello projects and parties to plan,

and inspiration running out my ears.

{What are you saying hello to this week?}

{Moo} Hello Monday.

 Hello Monday,

and fields that glow.

 Hello reflecting on the goodness and peace of God,

hello answered prayers.

 Hello cows,

 hello country entertainment.

hello watching and listening to the cows.

They have a sound all their own.

 Hello friendly farm animals,

Hello happy mama, all my models all lined up in a row behind me.

 Hello finding new reasons each day to fall more in love with my country life,

Hello wanting to share a piece of this relaxation/simplicity with others.

 Hello learning to focus more on one thing, with pure, undistracted sight,

instead of darting my eyes around to many things (and missing the big picture completely)

Hello to no more t.v. (it's been almost two weeks! Minus Curious George a few times and weather updates), and instead enjoying this kind of view in the evenings. 

Hello real life beauty,

Hello June,

parks and playgrounds,

hay season,

garage-sale-ing with a friend soon,

and trusting God for mini miracles in so many ways in our lives right now.

{What are you saying hello to this week?}

Hello Monday: the calm after the storm.

 Hello Monday,

 hello beauty filling the sky,

colors breath-taking.

 Hello puffy clouds,

looking like a soft blanket.

 Hello tiny peek of sunshine,

 a welcome sight after days of dark.

Hello calm after the storm,

prayers for fellow mamas who've lost babies in last week's tornadoes.

Hello rest,

knowing that God is good, no matter what.

Hello relief that the storms blew past,

and we had a neighbor's cellar to wait it out in.

Hello putting my hope in eternal things,

the earthly things can be gone so quickly. 

Hello THANKFUL,

and holding my babies closer these days. 

Hello serious Monday post,

and reflecting on what really matters in life.

Hello looking forward to Jesus coming for His people.

Hello no more scary storms, and heartbreak.

{What are you saying hello to this week?}