A Life of Gratitude

This is a peek at my life at 7am in the morning. We have a huge sectional couch yet 3 of my 4 kids are piled on top of me. All 4 are arguing over what they will be dressing up as for Halloween (its only April). These are odd times. I've barely had 5 minutes alone in 49 days. (Seriously, my daughter even insisted on taking a shower with me yesterday). I've been dreaming of binge watching Netflix like so many of my Facebook friends but instead, I have watched every episode of Mickey Mouse 42 times. My attempts to keep the house clean and organized have been exceptional, but my skills are no match against my quarantined husband, 4 kids, and 2 dogs. I helped host a virtual baby shower last week and I'm currently planning a zoom birthday party for my son. Out of boredom (and the need for my grays to be covered) I dyed my hair and the outcome is much bolder than I anticipated. I've stayed up past midnight multiple times just for the chance to select a Wal-mart delivery

The kids and I have been having so much fun with our "Quarantine Boredom Busters!" Every day Tyson asks me what activity we'll be doing. It makes my heart happy to know they look forward to doing these things with their Momma.  This particular boredom buster is one of my favorites and I think the kids would agree.  If your children have never owned a "Wreck This Journal," quickly go to Amazon and purchase one! It's the best journal ever! The Wreck This Journal is their favorite journal ever! Every page has instructions with fun, non-traditional ways to completely wreck the book. Here's one of the many odd instructions....MUD Handprints! They loved digging their hands in mud! On this page, they threw a paint covered ball at the bullseye! They also had to chew on the pages of their books. And pick up the journals without using their hands. And tie strings around their journals! Allison enjoyed drawing

This has definitely been the oddest Easter I ever recall but I have to say, I think today was one of my favorite Resurrection Sundays! We didn't get all dressed up, attend church, or visit family for Easter dinner. We did, however, have a wonderful day as a family.  We started the morning off with Easter Baskets Allison loved all her goodies! For Breakfast we made Resurrection Rolls   When they are finished cooking, and we cut them open,  the burial cloths are empty! The marshmallow (which represents Jesus) is gone!  Tyson found this especially interesting!   All the kids loved them! Later in the day, we did communion as family! We only had cheerwine and goldfish, but it definitely worked! It was really good to remember Jesus' sacrifice as a family   After enjoying a walk outside, some fishing, a yummy dinner, and a family movie, we ended the day with Bubble Guns!  Today I am grateful for a wonderful Resurrection Day

Today the kids and I made prayer jars. I decided today would the perfect day to make these because its Good Friday, which means we intentionally remember all that Jesus went through when He willingly gave up His life.  Mark 15:37-39 says, " With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.     And when the centurion,  who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” The  relevance of the curtain (or veil) is worth noting. In the Old Testament, the veil separated the Holy of Holies in the temple. This was the location of the Spirit of God which rested on the Ark of the Covenant. Only the high priest was a llowed to enter, and speak with God.  When Jesus died on the cross, and the veil was torn, it signified that there was no longer any separation between all human beings and God. Because the curtain was torn, we each have full access to the Spirit of God. We can all com