Day 10- Love is Unconditional

God Demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
-Romans 5;8

Today's Dare:
Do something out of the ordinary today for your spouse-something that proves (to you and to them) that your love is based on your choice and nothing else. Wash her car. Clean the kitchen. Buy his favorite dessert. Fold the laundry. Demonstrate Love to them for the sheer joy of being their partner in marriage.

My Thoughts:
This dare is designed to be done without the spouse knowing. Which I think would be the best way to do and so much fun. For me, Mark knows, he reads my blog. Yet it has been so fun for him, the kids and me.
Ironically, it seems that this dare came just at the right time! This week has been a tough one for me...I have been a little down...nothing serious...just normal getting older...and running is just not fitting nicely into my life...you know...can't seem to loose that extra 5 pounds (okay 20)! But every morning I get to come down and post today's dare and it lifts my spirits and puts the focus outside of "poor me!" And then today's dare of unconditional love....Rocks!
How exciting to get to show Mark unconditional love....he is my greatest example of this...everyday!

We are a quarter done Ladies..Hang in there!

Too Cute!

I found these adorable pillowcases on Amazon...and could not resist showing you!

Catch my heart

For the traveling husband or wife!

This is my all time favorite!
I would love to serve HOT Coco to him in these
"YOUR IRRESISTIBLE!" Mugs!

Random Notes of Love!

I told the kids they needed to wait to use the mailboxes...until we started the 14 days of Love!
I wanted them to be excited!
Well, they have been leaving notes all over the house for each other.
Each time it makes me smile.
Here are a couple that Chelsea left!
The one above she left for Brooke to find when she got ready for school one morning...
it was in the brush drawer!

Dear, Brooke
I love you so much
gratiste sister ever
nobutty like you.
I never met iny butty like you.
No butty is niser than you and sweeter then you.
You are the gratise person ever knew
I hope you like this letter
Pleas Love Chelsea
Your little sister the end.

She wrote this on Luke and Annkia's preschool white board.
She never said a word...we found it one day while she was at school and we were doing school!

Love makes good impressions- Day 9!

Greet one another with a kiss of love.
-Peter 5:14

Today's Dare:
Think of a specific way you'd like to greet your spouse today. Do it with a smile and with enthusiasm. Then determine to change your greeting to reflect your love for them.

My Thoughts:
I would love to hear how you greeted your husband today!
I hope everyone is doing a good job!
Don't hesitate to tell me if I post the wrong dare! (wink)

Day 8 Love is not Jealous!

Love is as strong as death, it's jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire.
-Song of Solomon 8:6

Today's Dare
Determine to Become your spouse's biggest fan and to reject any thoughts of jealousy. To help you set your heart on your spouse and focus on their achievements, take yesterday's list of negative attributes and discreetly burn it. Then Share with your spouse how glad you are about a success he or she recently enjoyed!

My Thoughts:
This is yesterday's Dare...I will be posting today's as well. I am kicking myself...I couldn't find my book yesterday, (it was put in the cars and trucks container- I must have been reading it while the kids were playing) Oops! I knew I needed to post my dare and so I went to Erica's blog...who is the one who got me motivated to do the dare and decided to find Day 8 and get my post done...then look for the book! Well, I did go to her blog...but I posted the wrong day. I am so sorry...So here is the real DAY 8!

Valentines for Grandparents

I saw these adorable letter...
And decided it would be a great craft for the kids and a special way to send love to your Grandparents!
I had each child (minus tiny) make a handprint heart...
They each wrote a message around the outer perimeter of the heart...
and decorated the letter to their own liking!

We punched a hole in the corner
Tied them with a ribbon!

I took pictures the kids drew, traced them on Valentine paper...
cut them out and used it as an address lable...

It's almost time!

I am so in love right now....heart shaped york mints and recess peanut butter cups!
I know they are going to have these in heaven!

I found these when I went to the store to get some of my back up supplies for the...
14 days of LOVE!

My Cousin does the 14 days of love to her husband each year...this year we are extending it to the entire family!
I hope every family will jump aboard and have their house full of LOVE for 14 FULL days!
My kids all made mailboxes...so that I could leave something special and they could leave sweet "love" notes to each other!
They are so excited for the Feb. 1st to arrive!

If you want to join in...
I'll give you my tips...since I did 24 days of Advent for Christmas!
(which was a Blast...)
The big ideas are fun...heart shaped pancakes, mini heart cakes with sweet messages, chocolate bowl to serve Ice Cream in....the list is endless!
But every mom needs the easy ones for back up...trust me there are the days when you had a great idea planned, but instead caos broke out!
On those days...you want the LOVE to flow continual...so you pull the easy ones out of your secret stash...no one in the house knows that plans were altered.

My easy ones!
1. Gum- "I chews you"
2. Mints- "you freshen up the day"
3. Favorite candy bar - "Everything is sweeter with you "
4. wax lips-

All the classics...that never get old!

It all starts on Monday!
Let's get ready!

Love Encourages!

Guard my soul and deliver me; do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in YOU.
-Psalms 25:20

Today's Dare
Eliminate the poison of unrealistic expectations in your home. Think of one area where your spouse has told you you're expecting too much, and tell them your sorry for being so hard on them about it. Promise them you will seek to understand, ensure them of your unconditional love.

My Thoughts:
I love the wording, "poison", that is exactly what negative actions words are to our families.
Negative does not always mean wrong or bad...sometimes the things that way heavy on our loved ones we are doing because it will "help them", or "for their own good"! But if it is creating a wedge in the family...then it is not for anyone's good!
If we have the opportunity to eliminate "poison" in our homes...LET'S DO IT!
This is another one that would be great to extend to children.
Let's replace "poison" with LOVE and NEVER let it enter back in.

Sky Watch

This time of year our sky doesn't change much!
Check out other sky watch pictures here!

Finding Balance!

Is Balance not what we are all trying to find?

Today I found balance....in the moment of caos!
I needed frozen fruit for my protein shakes!
So I went to the grocery store...
and came out with....

4 bags of fruit and 4 bags of ice cream.
The perfect healthy blend!

Brooke looked in the bags and said, "Oh yea, it's a party"
Then I could see her thinking...
my mom doesn't keep ice cream in the house!
She only buys it for Ice cream Friday!
And NEVER 4 containers!

She says, "What day is it?"
I said, "Thurdsay"
She pauses....
"Are you okay mom?"
"We are going to party- right?"

So Ice cream "party" we did!

Luke decided he did not like the brown things..but he wanted to eat his ice cream!
He wanted me to take out all the brown things!

LONG PAUSE.........

NO ANSWER!

From Confessions of a Shopaholic!

This is my girls favorite new saying...they also now know the meaning!
So when they ask questions like... can I stay up late (on a school night)?
and there is a
LONG PAUSE..
and
NO ANSWER!
They now look at each other and say....Long Pause, No Answer...it's a NO!
I love it!
There may not be a need for "NO" in my house now!
I just don't have to answer!

GGGGGGGrover!

G is for Grover!

Luke wanted to represent his fuzziness..but he did not want to use balls like cookie monster and Oscar!
So he folded pipe cleaners and glued them on!
I love how creative he is while trying to get his letters to look like his characters!

I found this great number wheel
printed it from here... on card stock and then laminated it!

Luke lined the clothes pins in order first before pinching them onto the number wheel!

genetic trait...mommy does this!

After each number he would do a cheer ....
Yay for #4......and so on!

Noticed he wrote his name in block letters...first and middle!

Love Believes The BEST!

Love believes all things, hopes all things.
-1 Corinthians 13:7

Today's Dare
For Today's dare, get two sheets of paper. On the first one, spend a few minutes writing out positive things about your spouse. Then do the same with negative things on the second sheet. Place both sheets in a secret place for another day. There is a different purpose and plan for each. At some point during the remainder of the day, pick a positive attribute from the first list and thank your spouse for having this characteristic.

My Thoughts
I have been humbled!
I thought I may have been a good part of the reason that my marriage is WONDERFUL!
Today I know that it is my husband!
No wonder I am doing the LOVE dare...
To dare me to LOVE like he LOVES me!

I hope everyone is doing great!

Wordless Wednesday!

Come see other wordless Wednesday moments!

My Own Personal Designers!

One of my girls favorite activities is to design clothes...
and then they take turns picking their favorites from the other sisters designs!

These are Brooke's designs

Here are Chelsea's

I figure Practice Makes Perfect...
Maybe someday they will be designing me some fancy clothes...

Luke is in the picture drawing...but not clothes!
He doesn't understand the thrill!

Window Wednesday

I love Routine Blogs!
I love to look at other routine blogs!
It helps me to step out of my normal routine and see beauty EVERYWHERE!
Being a mother of 5...
There were many days when all I saw was my 5 kids!
Which I love and is fine.
But then My Uncle and Cousin were doing a color challenge photo posting!
They of course are both talented photographers...
But I decided to jump aboard!
Wow!
I saw colors everywhere...and then took the time to take a picture.
Everyone has 15 seconds to snap a picture of their surroundings!
Ever since I am enjoying the routine blogs!

This one for example...
I went to pick Chelsea up from Piano...and how sweet it was when I saw her peering out...looking for me!
Normally I think it would have seemed normal...but this time I was on the look out for a special door or window!

Love is NOT Irritable!

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.
-Proverbs 16:32

Today's Dare
Choose today to react to tough circumstances in your marriage in loving ways instead of with irritation. Begin by making a list below of areas where you need to add margin to your schedule. Then list any wrong motivations that you need to release from your life.

My Thoughts
I love that they relate our marriages to a marathon..."Life is a marathon, not a sprint"
There is nothing that makes me more frustrated than when my kids give me an irritated attitude! Therefore, I am sure it is the worst for husbands as well! I am excited to respond to everyone in my household with love! I like how it suggest prioritizing our lives. I know for me that it is only when life becomes overwhelming that I can start to get irritated...and with the more kids I get and the more involved in activities they get...the less time I have...and then I get overwhelmed. Let's take a step back and make sure our families are always FIRST!

Leave a comment to let us know how your doing and to encourage everyone to keep doing it! I have had some great feedback from many of you, and it has been great! One thing I notice...the results are 100% dependent on how well you accomplish your dares.
Have Fun!

Felt Heart

I rarely do a craft that is not designed to do with one of my kids.
If I am going to take the time to craft...then I am going to make it a special time!
That WAS my intention on this heart....
but I had so much fun making it...
That I did it all myself!
NOW
The girls are making their own...and doing a great job!
and I am thinking....crafting by myself once in a while is beneficial!

Here are the steps!
(or click on the above "heart" and it will take you to the original blog and instructions)
Buy 3/4 -1 yd of red felt!
I used 1 yd...but if I had to do it again I would not put them quite as close together!
cut our circles...3in. diameter!
(use a cup)

fold in half

fold in half again!

Stick a push pin in the tip

and push it into the foam heart

Repeat about 300 times!
(I seriously used 300 circles..plus or minus...but I think you could use more like 200)
A great mindless craft for busy moms!

Ruby Tuesday...

If you have a picture of red and would like to join in the fun...just go to this blog!
It is fun to see everyone's splash of red!

Love is not Rude!

He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning it will be reckoned a curse to him.
-Proverbs 27:14

Marriage Etiquette
1. Guard the Golden Rule. Treat your mate the same way you want to be treated.
2. NO double standards. Be as considerate to your spouse as you are to strangers and coworkers.
3. Honor requests. Consider what your husband or wife already asked you to do or not do. If in doubt, then ask.

Today's Dare
Ask your spouse to tell you three things that cause him or her to be uncomfortable or irritated with you. You must do so without attacking them or justifying you behavior. This is from their perspective only.

My Thoughts
Once again a great quality...rudeness is ugly!
We should treat our family better than anyone else!
I had to laugh at today's dare...about three years ago, I asked Mark if there was anything that I could change to be a better wife. He answered, "No honey, your perfect!" I should have left it at that...instead I said, "well if you think of anything, let me know" For the next week, Mark would call and add a little something to my list! I finally said, "Okay, that will be good...let me get to work!" Since than I have not asked in fear of the answer. Instead I try to make my own list...which of course is bias! =)
I am excited to get my list today....and become a better wife!

The comments have been great and so inspiring...it is fun to know we are all doing this together!
If anyone would like to join in we would love to have you!
Just comment on how your day is going!

Giveaway!

I can't believe this!
6 la la's is giving away one of these fantastic letters.
I really don't want to spread the news...
because I WANT one SUPER DUPER bad...
but I can't hold it in....
Hurry over to her blog...
comment and then pray hard!

I hope I get to blog a picture of me in front of a "J"!
Good Luck!!!!

TO ME! (wink)

Mommy Daughter time!

Brooke got this book from a friend for her birthday!
I remember her going into her room to decide what friend she wanted to do it with.
Then she came out and said, "Mom your my best friend and I want this book to be our special book"
So every once in a while she will come to me with a sweet grin and hold this book up....
this is her way of telling me she needs some mommy time!
We find a quiet corner and then we do a couple of pages from the book....
we always laugh and we always have a good time!

The biggest challenge to lots of little kids, is the individual time!
Surprisingly they don't need much...
But they do NEED it!
And guess what?
I NEED it too!

Learning Sequences!

I started to work with Luke on sequences...patterns!
I printed this free snowman pattern activity...and started with that!

Then we started with simple block patterns!

worked up the difficulty!

three colors

4 colors!

Luke caught on right away and really enjoyed doing it...
plus Annika watched the whole time...and I could tell she was learning right along with him!

Love is Thoughtful!

How precious also are Your thoughts to me...How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
-Psalm 139: 17-18

Today's Dare
Contact your spouse sometime during the business of the day. Have NO agenda other than asking how he or she is doing and if there is anything you could do for THEM.

My Thoughts
I love to call Mark and to see how his day is going! I really love it when he calls me and asks me how my day is going. So initially this seemed like an easy challenge! Of course I ask "what do you need me to do for you today?" Then I really started to think about it...I don't really think I do that anymore. Okay, I know I don't do that anymore! I know why too! What if you responded was a long list of things he needed me to do? What if I was unable to complete his list and my list would just be sitting waiting to be added to for the next day? What good would it really do? I AM TOO BUSY AS IT IS!
Then I thought how much I love when on his way home from work he will genuinely ask if I need him to pick anything up for me? It lightens my load and gives me the feeling that I am not alone in raising and caring for OUR children.
Have I left him alone?
Is he out there slaying the dragons for himself?
Or is it for OUR family as well?
I am so excited to ASK, "what can I do for YOU today?" And I will comment back at how it goes!

Good Luck!

Daddy is Special!

Brooke has been very persistent about making a candle light dinner for Dad when he came home from work!
Why?
Just because she and we LOVE him dearly!
So last week a dear friend of mine,
and mother of Brooke's best friend brought us dinner!
Brooke knowing that this meal was a guaranteed winner...
set the table...with candles....and all the dressing!

This was a Home Run!
After a long day at work, to come home and know that your kids have been thinking of you and planning in your behalf....
Doesn't get any better!