Attitude!

Because sometimes the stars align and I get my good camera out and then I get this!

Look out Hollywood!

And because they are twins they posed the same way without even trying!

Love them!

Awana Awards Night!

We ended our Awana club early this year due to spring sports and some of the leaders coaching and being in the local play.

The girls were so proud of their ribbons for finishing their first Cubbies books.  They love teacher Krista there in front of them too.

Noah finished his entire first Sparks book and reviewed it and was getting started on the "extra credit" book.

Cory didn't finish his book for T&T, but according to the director the books were really hard so no kids finished them and they are actually revamping the curriculum next year.  He also got a late start due to soccer season and missing the first 6 weeks or so in the fall.

My Awana crew! 

Daddy is a leader so Mommy got a free evening once week about half the time this year.  They all love it!

New Book Release Party with Becky Wade

 

A female bodyguard plus her star NFL client plus danger equals a great recipe for romance! Her One and Only, book four in Becky Wade's Porter Family novels, releases May 3. To celebrate, Becky is hosting an author chat party on her Facebook page on May 5 at 5 PM PDT/8 PM EDT. Join Becky for an evening of book chat with other bookworms and prizes.

Plus a portion of all pre-sales and sales the release week of Her One and Only will be donated to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. For more details on how to purchase a copy, click here.

About the Book

After ten years in the NFL, super star Gray Fowler is accustomed to obsessive fans. But when Gray starts receiving death threats from a stalker, his team hires an executive protection agency to guard him until the culprit is caught. Dealing with bodyguards 24/7 is a headache, especially when one of them is a young, beautiful woman. How can a female half his size possibly protect him better than he can protect himself?

Dru Porter is a former Marine, an expert markswoman, and a black belt–none of which saved her from disaster on her last assignment. In order to rebuild her tarnished reputation, she’s determined to find Gray’s stalker and, since relationships between agents and clients are forbidden, avoid a romantic attachment between herself and the rugged football player with the mysterious past.

Yet every secret that leads Dru closer to the stalker also draws her closer to Gray. As the danger escalates, they’ll survive only if they can learn to trust their lives — and their hearts — to one another.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

Wordless Wednesday: Nesting

We have a little spot by our driveway bordered by rocks that used to have flowers. Hope filled it with a dozen or so round river rocks from our yard and laid on top of them. When I asked what she was doing she said "laying on my eggs". 

Four

Four is...

full of energy,

and spunk,

and sass!

It's knowing all your letters and pointing them out.  It's writing your name on things and wanting to know what specific things say in books.

Four is very independent... when you want to be!

Four is conversations about all the things in the world and observing all the little details.  It's wanting to help do everything Mommy is doing and yet not when you are asked! 

Both girls are still almost identical in height and weight although they go back and forth by who is bigger by quarters of an inch and a pound or two.  They come in slightly smaller than average for their age, but considering they are twins and were fairly small to start with that's normal!  About 41 inches tall and 38-39 pounds.  They wear size 4 and a few 5's. 

They live in their own twin world, so different than the boys at this age that I remember.  They are so keyed into each other that they will go and do what the other one is doing and I think simply not even hear anyone else, especially if they are moving.

These girls are so engaging and active.  They are the same yet different in a million different ways.  Many days it's exhausting trying to keep up with them and yet twin snuggles make everything right in the world.  I love my girls!

Birthday Number Four

Now that it's officially April I probably should chronicle my kid's birthdays!  Stupid plague that got me down just after the girl's birthday...

We did things a little differently for them this year because their party was away from our house, but their gift was too big to transport...

A doll house!

I was pretty excited for them to see it.  They didn't ask to watch cartoons for days, just got up in the morning to play with it!

The novelty has somewhat worn off now, but it's still pretty cool.  Except for the teeny tiny forks and knives that half of them immediately went missing.

We held their official party at McDonald's this year.  Since it was their turn for a party and every time we drove by they would sigh wistfully I figured it would be a hit, and it was!

13 little kids running around plus regular dinner people and it was kind of wild and crazy, perfect for turning 4!

I had to make gluten free cupcakes for Cory so these supplemented the cake they provided.  And they had ice cream.  Oy, so much sugar!  (and also treat bags with more junk in them)

Hope and Nana

Four!  I can't believe how old she looks in this photo.

Much fun was had by all and they were having so much fun playing on the toys that we just brought the presents home and opened them here.  Lots of fun play dough, art supplies, and dress up accessories.

Too cool for school in her new shades, Joy was playing with the doll house here the next morning.

I bought the Hape brand doll house because it looked pretty solid and also was simple and unbranded (Disney) so I figured it would stand the test of time.  It wasn't too hard to put together and there are lots of fun features!  Unfortunately the storage system I bought to set it on isn't deep enough so we're going to have to get a bit creative, but I think we'll figure it out.  For now it's living in the living room and that works okay.

Four year old portraits coming soon!

No More Plastic Junk!

Tomorrow is April 1st. No, this isn't some kind of April Fools joke, what it means is we've survived "birthday month" and Easter, as well as the plague that visited our house and left me down for the count for 10 days right in the middle of it all!

So today with the sun shining and the windows open I'm doing a good spring cleaning and there are so.many.little.plastic.toys in my house!  We had the girl's birthday party at McDonald's (because they love it and you're only 4 once) and every kid came home with a little plastic bag full of McDonald's branded junk.  I have four kids, which means I had 4 bags full of junk.

And after church last Sunday they all got some more plastic junk.  Bracelets in plastic Easter eggs and giant cheap plastic sunglasses.  I feel like every time I turn around there is more plastic junk in my house and when I throw it away I feel bad because I'm just filling up the landfill.  Also, my kids apparently are mini hoarders.  Oy!

I've seen a lot of my friends posting about spring break for the past month, but ours actually isn't until next week and I'm super excited that it's supposed to hit 70 degrees this weekend and we will be OUTSIDE!  Those of you who had spring break while it was still snowing, I'm so sorry!

I love sending my kids outside (and being outside with them), but sometimes you need a bit of down time inside too.  And while my kids love video games, I don't love letting them play for hours on end.

The alternative?  Quality toys that will stand the test of time. 

Most of you know what we have a giant pile of Lego's that provides hours of entertainment.  The kids can all play nicely together (for the most part) and these are the antithesis of cheap plastic junk.  Now they do manage to get spread around the house, but at least when I pick them up they aren't going into the trash!

Each of my boys got a new Lego kit for his birthday, but honestly, they don't need many more.  Just a few specialized pieces here and there (the new Minecraft sets are pretty awesome!).  But they absolutely love getting new kits to put together.

So, when you don't need more Lego's and you don't want to contribute to the landfills, consider a subscription to Pley*.  They have all the latest Lego sets plus tons more options including robotic toys and quality preschool toys.

For about the price of one small Lego set a month you can rent as many toys as you want.  You're only limited by shipping times.  Consider it an investment in your sanity, especially if you have Spring Break still coming up!

"The Fine Print"
You are not charged if a few pieces get lost out of a Lego set. Each set is sanitized between subscribers. There are toy options for all ages, boys and girls, including babies.  New toys are constantly being added so check back often!


*This is a sponsored post and there are affiliate links where I will make a small percentage if you sign up.  All opinions are my own.

Book: The Hearts We Mend

Planning and Post-It notes are the epitome of Evie's life. But when she meets Jack, her life gets more than a little complicated.

Thirteen years ago, Evie's firefighter husband was killed in the line of duty, leaving her to raise their young son, Cody, alone. Now, Cody is marrying the love of his life, and as he packs up his belongings, the house feels as empty as Evie's heart. But for all her planning and mad organizational skills, Evie could never have anticipated the dramatic shift her life is about to make.

Tattooed, rough-around-the-edges Jack raises quite a few eyebrows in the tight-knit community of Banister Falls. Where Evie's life is stream-lined, Jack's approach to living is moment-by-moment. But as Evie gets drawn into Jack's world---a world that isn't as safe or predictable as the one she's worked so hard to create---he challenges her to open her eyes to the problems outside the walls of the church.

Jack doesn't make Evie feel comfortable, but he definitely makes her feel something. Something she hasn't felt since Max passed away---or, maybe ever. Because even though Jack isn't anything like her late husband, he just might be everything she needs.

***

This book is the second in a series, you can read my review of the first one from last year.  Some books can be stand alones even in a series, but I really don't recommend that with this one, you would be jumping in without a lot of the back story about Evie and most of the other main characters.

That being said... I thoroughly enjoy Kathryn's books.  Do you get first impressions of people that are hard to change, only to find out later, sometimes much later, that maybe you were way off?  I've had that happen to me a few times in my life and it makes me realize that I need to be more careful.  Everyone deserves a second chance, especially if maybe they were having an off day when you met them!

Evie is a character that seems prone to up front judgements, but her long tidy world is about to be changed with the arrival of Jack.  Added to the fact that her only son has just gotten married and moved out and Evie isn't quite sure what to do with herself, or God.

Seeing characters change so dramatically through the course of a story with this short timeline sometimes gives me pause, but maybe that's because I don't change quickly.  At any rate, it's a fun story that isn't all happy endings and butterflies, which I also appreciate.

And as a side note, the characters are much older than the cover models allow.

***

Read other reviews, purchase your own copy, or win one below!

Kathryn Springer is a USA Today bestselling author. She grew up in northern Wisconsin, where her parents published a weekly newspaper. As a child she spent many hours sitting at her mother's typewriter, plunking out stories, and credits her parents for instilling in her a love of books --- which eventually turned into a desire to tell stories of her own. Kathryn has written nineteen books with close to two million copies sold. She lives with her husband and three children in Marinette, Wisconsin.

I received this book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for my fair and honest review.

My Favorite Skincare: Moody Sisters!

I have known the lovely ladies (and their husbands) behind Moody Sisters Skincare since high school.  That's what happens when you're from a small town/valley!  In the last few years they got fed up with all the chemical laden skin care products available on the open market and started creating their own, right in their kitchen.

Once I found out I could get these awesome non-toxic, high quality products locally I quit buying anything else.  They've had a few quirks along the way, but they've been in business long enough now that you will not get an inferior product in any way when you buy from them!

Check out the haul I picked up last night!

Now that I'm on the downward slide to 40 (eek!) I've realized that my skin looks and feels better when I take care of it.  I know the wrinkles and other issues are not going away no matter how many fancy creams I use so I'm not putting something toxic on my face just in the hopes of looking younger than I am.  But taking care of my skin means that my makeup goes on better too!  Have you ever put makeup on dry skin? It's not pretty.

Speaking of makeup, Moody Sisters contracts with a Midwest company (because makeup is still complicated, yo!) for high quality makeup that also does not have any toxins in it.  ALL the ingredients are listed right on the label.

I'm kind of late to the makeup game and I'm horrible at guessing at colors, so lucky for me Whitney loaned me all her samples for the weekend so I can find the right products for me.  But I've already been using their mascara for years and some eye shadows in fun shades.

I hope you'll check out my friends' shop and see what interests you!   It's not drugstore prices, but these are not drugstore products and they are still totally affordable and last a long time.  Plus, you'll feel better about putting safe products on your skin.

For new customers you can use my special code MARRIEDLIFE for 10% off your first order of any size.  And, if you join their newsletter they are always having sales and specials.  Or follow them on Facebook as well.

Come this Monday actually, the first 300 newsletter subscribers to order will get a free sugar scrub just for the price of shipping ($15 value and they are the best sugar scrubs I've ever tried, not so oily that they leave a slick sheen in the bottom of your tub and actually lather a bit). You can see the new one I picked up in my photo up top, it's the short squatty bottle.

There are so many other great products the Moody Sisters make and sell, some seasonal items, and some great bundles.  Your skin will thank you for trying them!

*I was not compensated in any way for this post, these are my friends and I truly love their stuff!

Sweden: Walking History

Exploring Skara.  But first, a proper Swedish bakery breakfast! We ate here two mornings. I would be in so much trouble if this was in my town.

Om nom nom.

I had the little cornered pastries on the top row of the photo below one morning.  Sooo good.  But I really don't think you could go wrong with any of it!

Now I know why my mom likes bakeries so much and I don't care for them... these are truly a world apart!

 

The cathedral by morning light.  It truly was spectacular and amazing to be in such a relatively small town.

Look, we were here! (and my phone takes really distorted pictures with it's rear facing camera)

Actually the photo of us was taken from the ruins of this other church that's even older than the cathedral.









Then we walked over to the Vastergotlands Museum.

 

Clara found a helmet in the gift shop!

This is in the basement of the building above, a little history of the area during medieval times.

You can see the cathedral in the middle obviously, the ruins of the church we were standing in are in front of it, the red building across the water to the left is the museum building this is in.  And off to the right is a hill with a moat around it, Clara's mom's house is now just to the right of that!  The amazing part is that Skara really isn't that much bigger than this map.  Fill in the green areas and maybe make it slightly bigger than the whole board and that's it.

The hotel I was staying at was roughly on that main road in the center and towards the bottom of the picture.  This view is looking east at the town.

After wandering through the few rooms we went out back to the area called Fornbyn which was like a recreation of the area.  Or possibly some of the buildings were original.  I don't know, most of the signs here were only in Swedish and Clara had a cold so I didn't need her to translate everything!

They had some short people back then! Or else they just had small doorways to keep things out!

Just a pretty picture of the windmill.  Not sure what the building actually was.

 

We wandered back through town and stopped at a cafe for lunch.  Clara got the smorgastorte so I could try some, but she said it wasn't very good.  And soooo much mayonaise.  Gross.  I think if I'd had a better one I might have liked it okay.  It's interesting, but very common.

The cake above is traditional for birthdays.  It looked yummy!

Then we walked to Clara's mom's house (so you can see the town really isn't that big when we walked across the whole thing just casually!) and borrowed her car to drive out into the country looking for this church...

Where my great grandparents got married!  It wasn't open, but we peeked in one window we could reach.  VERY thick walls and once again, very short doorways!  This place is still in use on Sundays and some of the tombstones in the churchyard have recent dates on them.

Really cool to think about my great grandparents (who I never met) having walked in the same place.

 

This was the name of the area, Lindarva, just a very small area with a few houses, mostly farming area.  Back across from this sign was Hilltorp where my great grandfather was born, but we couldn't figure out which house it might have been.

 

We were dodging rain clouds all day, but mostly stayed dry and saw this lovely rainbow.  You can't tell very well, but this was the countryside there.  Mostly just flat and ALL the houses have red roofs!

Next we skirted back around Skara and went east to visit this old church called Varnhem which has the ruins of the abbey that used to be connected to it.

Unfortunately the church was closed as well so we couldn't go inside, but we did wander around in the ruins and there were little signs telling what each room was used for and they had English translations!

This church really was huge, I had a hard time backing up far enough to get it all in one frame!  There is a cow pasture behind it and I didn't really want to see if the cows were friendly or not!

While we were there it turned 6 o'clock and the doors at the top of the steeple opened and beautiful bells chimed for about 2 minutes.

Still fighting the rain, but at least you can see the grounds better when it's not completely sunny for pictures!

Walking the pathways where monks once walked (in what was also once a fully covered building) is almost surreal.  It's like you can feel the history!

Then back to Skara and a takeout pizza place for dinner.  I know I didn't have pizza, but it's been too long, can't remember what!  Anyway, nothing is very far from the cathedral so I had to get one more picture by twilight.

And then across from my hotel was the grocery store.  Their big chain is called IKA (pronounced ick-a) and this one is IKA Munken and has these monks on the outside that are practically life size!  As a reference to the monks from the abbey we had just visited.  Such cool history!

And that was all in one day... tired yet?