Loving Jesus, Loving Life
Here’s the finished product…
All hung up in our entryway…
I hung it a little high, because we’re planning a board and batten treatment in the entryway soon. I will definitely show before-and-after pictures when that project is complete! (*squeal*)
“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
It’s a Hallmark holiday, yes. It can be very cheesy, yes.
But we’re all about the silly holidays this year, folks. The kids are loving them.
After the kiddos went to bed on Valentine’s Eve, I decorated. This is what they awoke to the next morning…
Pom-poms hanging from the ceiling. A helium balloon tied to each chair. Valentine’s Day plates, decorations, personalized cards, gifts…
For breakfast, we had heart-shaped scones. Yum.
Lunch? Heart-shaped pb&j. (SO easy – just cut the corners off the bottom of the bread. I actually bought a loaf of store-bought bread for the first time in maybe 2 years to do this!)
Dinner…You’ll never guess…Kidding. It was heart-shaped meatloaf.
Can I just pause to say that Valentine’s Day has endless possibilities of decorations and food compared to Groundhog Day?
Okay, back to the dinner picture. Heart-shaped meatloaf, hasselback potatoes, and broccoli. (I love broccoli.)
And please, can I beg of you? In the name of all that is right, PLEASE don’t just use ketchup on the top of your meatloaf. It is SO, SO, SO much more flavorful to use a combination of ingredients (ketchup, a little mustard, brown sugar, and honey…YUMMO). If you want the exact recipe, let me know.
Dessert was the typical and tasty chocolate-covered strawberries. YUM again.
And I was happy to replace the centerpiece with these beautiful flowers from my sweetheart.
We read some library books about love. We talked about how the GREATEST love is that of God, who sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for OUR sins. “God is love,” right?
So, even though we are called to love one another EVERY day, we’re also thankful for a day that we can focus on God’s love for us and our love for one another. And we love to celebrate!
Today I decided to keep the laptop put away while the kids were up.
I lasted until 2:45, when all the kids were down for naps/quiet time except Grace, who likes to take her sweet bippy time doing her math worksheets.
So, what happens when the Internet’s away all day?
PRODUCTIVITY! That’s what!
We’re hoping to put our house on the market soon, so all of our junk has to be cleaned up before we can show it.
Let the organizing and cleaning commence…
"Junk" drawers in the kitchen - phone books, batteries, screwdriver, etc on the left; Mommy binder, missionary cards, bird book on the right
Cupboard in kitchen - candles on top, correspondence stuff in the middle, AWANA books and paper/pens on the bottom
Lower cupboard in kitchen - couponing "stuff," trays for paper filing, shredder
Cupboard above fridge - serving dishes, canning jars, vases, water bottles
This post would have been SO much cooler if I had remembered to take “before” pictures…Let me just tell you, the “after” pictures are MUCH better. 
But don’t you worry your little head. There is much more organizing and cleaning to be done here. Maybe I”ll have a little before-and-after post for you later this month.
Oh, and the couponing supplies? That’s a whole ‘nother post in and of itself.
Caleb is officially reading.
WOO-HOO!!!
Another score for Rumley homeschooling!
We started his spelling lists this week, and he’s super excited. In fact, he’s pretty much begging me for extra spelling words.
Yep. Crazy. And sweet.
So, now our board looks like this: (Pardon the messiness of it. Gotta wash it soon!)
(If you do Spell to Write and Read, you’ll notice that Grace’s first word is marked incorrectly. Whoopsies.)
Our newest reader:
Love this kindergartener’s cursive!
I love, love, love teaching our kids to read…And I also love, love, love when they start reading on their own! It makes homeschooling so much easier when they can read directions on their math pages, etc.
Woo-hoo!
Two down, two to go!
We had cheese puffs with our dinner.
Luke distributed them while I dished out the meatball subs.
He asked Grace, “How many do you want?”
She said, “As many as I’m allowed.”
Uh-huh.
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