day twenty...

Today, my dad would have turned 54. I still celebrate his birthday in my heart every year.

My dad loved to laugh.

He was always trying to crack a joke to lighten the mood or make someone smile. He was the life of the party.

My dad loved to cook.

He would try new things in the kitchen. He loved to make big breakfasts. I still miss his homemade salsa.

My dad loved to try new things.

He was never satisfied with a single hobby. His interests were varied and he wasn't afraid to test a new adventure.

My dad loved his family.

He loved his granddaughter. And would have loved each one that he has been blessed with since. He was surrounded by family that he loved and that loved him.

And I love my dad. I miss him every day...

day nineteen...

Love is a momma painting her daughter's nails. Not because I want to, but because she wants me to.

There are always requests from the children

and stipulations from the mother.

I want 5 colors - one color for each nail. ~ No, all your nails have to be one color.

Can I do just these two? ~ Nope, just one.

Ok, I pick green. ~ Umm, how about picking a red or pink.

I think this one. ~ Good choice.

Well, can you at least do polka dots? ~ No, I'm not doing designs today.

Just one heart on my nail. ~ Sure. We'll do a heart on each hand.

*Two hours of playing and one bath time later - four nails are already half painted, but the green heart remains in tact*

day eighteen...

Family night.

All together.

Re-heats for dinner.

Free ice cream tokens at DQ.

A movie.

A family is love.

a reminder...

I listened to the radio during my morning commute, and tears ran down my face. A song that brought me comfort during a trying time was blaring through the speakers.

I was reminded...

God is faithful.

Then the announcer came on to give an analogy. "...One blood donor can save up to three lives with a single pint of blood...but a single drop of the blood of Christ can save a world..."

I was reminded...

God is love.

day seventeen...

* and now my blog and it's days of love are

just as jumbled up as my brain*

My Calla-girl made me a bracelet today.

I love that girl and her love of all things craft.

She was so proud when she watched me

wrap it around my wrist...

day fifteen...

*oops! I skipped a day*

So, day fifteen is about something I love. It does not express any love toward me or anyone else. But I love it all the same. Twisted Peppermint from Bath&Body is addictive. I love the lotions. And the antibacterial. And the shower gel. (yes, I bought them all!) But most of all, I love the candle. It is amazing! So amazing that I am almost saddened now that I have to throw my last jar away. There's always next year to stock up...

day sixteen...

Spring is coming! I love spring. We had a teaser of a day in the middle of February. One of those days when you want to purge all of the winter clothes out of the kids' drawers. So we went for a walk to the grocery store. Amelia and Nora splashed in the puddles. Spring is coming. It will just take a month or so of cold weather before it truly gets here...

day fourteen...

A special breakfast...

An unprompted Valentine from my girlie...

My new locket from my favorite Valentine. Love all around...

But what seems to be an easy picture of love for today was the act I hadn't even planned on. As I drove Calla-girl to school this morning, my van died in the parking lot. My ever-faithful father-in-law came to my rescue. This was the first time he had driven since his chemo treatments started. All to bail me out. The love shown to me by this man was overwhelming. My in-laws are the most selfless people. They are always willing to give of their time and their efforts.

True love...

day thirteen...

*what? no picture? that's right, I have officially failed...*

We had a Chinese feast prepared by the men in the church. I am not a fan of Chinese food. I have eaten Chinese food twice in my life. We, as a family, were fearful of the fare we would be given. It was...well, not so bad. I had the plainest of the plain. Fried rice and chicken without the sauce. Here's to sucking it up and just eating something out of my comfort zone. Culver's was a very tempting option.

The love for today was in the after church visit to my brother-in-law's house. Our family is among our closest friends. We can sit comfortably and chat and relax while our kids run rampant through the halls. Now, that's love...

day twelve...

For a contest at my hubby's work, we had to write 10 positive things about our teammates. I received this list on Friday. I am assuming numbers 2 and 3 are not about me. Probably not number 9 either. This list will be a treasure to me. I may have him write it down in his own hand, so I can keep it...

revealed...

The outfit I was making for the girls was the Jessie doll outfit from Toy Story. I think it turned out adorable! And Amelia loves it! Success...

day eleven...

I love that our kids are able to grow up around cousins. I love that Grandma and Grandpa are our favorite babysitters. Lots of love was shown for our five year olds at their Winter Wonderland birthday party. We're excited to see what year number five will bring for these three...

day ten...

I LOVE my Amelia Dawn.

My crazy girl is five years old.

We watched old video of her when she was itty bitty. It hardly seems possible that so much time has passed.

Mind you, there have been bumps in the path of life with our Amelia Bedelia. God knew what a truth would come from naming her Amelia.

She is always keeping me on my toes, and forever rewarding me with her incredible personality.

She's an original.

Like no other.

She's my Amelia...

thankfully...

Praise the Lord for this little truth!

sneaky sheik...

*confession: I had to google "sheik" to make sure of the spelling*

Amelia has been playing hide-and-seek. A fun game. But she's playing it with fairly important items and she's playing herself against the adults.

Scenario #1...The phone.

Cory needs to make a phone call. He picks up the phone and it tells him the line is in use. How is this possible when the kids and the wife are already heading outside to the van? All the usual places are checked -the couch, the counter top, the floor- to no avail. Super-sleuths that we are, we decide one of the kids must have used it last and forgot to turn it off. Amelia fesses up. She was playing. It's in her room - ON - for over 2 hours and 12 minutes.

Scenario #2...The sock.

We need to pack up to leave Grandpa and Grandma's house. As I go to put Nora's socks and shoes on, it is discovered that we are only in the possession of one sock. A mad high and low search commences. Grandma's house is immaculate, well, save the mess my girls have created during their visit. It shouldn't be too hard to find the missing orange sock. That is, unless someone has hidden it. So Nora went home with a bare foot in her shoe and Amelia sat on her secret for 24 hours. We did not find out until the next day that Amelia had taken the sock and hidden it - twice. She moved it from it's first hiding place halfway through our scavenger hunt, because she feared it would be discovered.

Hide and seek is a fun game...when everyone knows they are playing it...

day niner...

A sneak peek

at the preparations for the upcoming birthday festivities

for my favorite soon-to-be 5 year olds...

This is part of the gifts I am making for the girlies.

Can you guess what it might be?

...and the cake beginnings. The cake is always a labor of love...

day 8...

Amelia received her first birthday card in the mail. It was from Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Barb. They are so faithful with their cards. Always the first to arrive for the big day!

day seven...

Amelia came to tell me a story she had written. Something about a school of fish being chased by a shark with 12 teeth. She kept glancing at the back of her pictures. I realized she was mimicking her Sunday School teacher telling the Bible story off of ABeka flash-a-cards. My suspicions were solidified when i turned the papers over and saw her "writing" on the back.

She loves her Sunday School class and her teacher, Aunt Amie. She can often reiterate the story they learned that day, which is a small feat for a 4 year old. Apparently, flash-a-cards is the ultimate way to tell a story, even when it comes to fish and sharks...

day six...

Our contribution to the family Super Bowl gathering...

I am not a football fan. Actually, I am not a sports fan in general. My brother inherited ALL of the sports fan genes from Dad. I love the atmosphere at an actual sporting event. I'll cheer for whomever you want me to. Well, I probably won't cheer, but I'll clap and get involved in all the local chants and cheers...

But when you marry a cheesehead, and you move to dairyland, and you have little cheesehead offspring, you are required to have some sort of anticipation about the Green Bay Packers playing in the Superbowl. So I made green and gold cupcakes with the girls. Voila!

Calla scrounged up some green and gold shirts and layered them. Nora wore the only Packer paraphernalia we own. (because there are loyal fans and then there are loyal fans willing to pay $60 for a jersey...we are the former.)

Gather the entire family at the in-laws. Pause for an hour-long church service, thankfully over halftime. *"I think you are the only church in the nation that isn't having an afternoon service..."* Reconvene. Eat cupcakes. Pop some popcorn. Cheer the Pack on to victory. Day six...

day five...

Wet, rosy cheeks are a sign of a fabulous time outside

making snow forts and shoveling and digging snow tunnels...

day four on day five...

Our teen group was over last night for an activity.

We call them "Finally Friday."

They have been quite sporadic, but we always enjoy ourselves.

Pizza and video games.

As for the love in this photo...

I love our teens.

I love having our teens over to our house.

I love that my girls love being with the teens.

I love that we have teens that enjoy being around my kids.

I love having a "Finally Friday" to end a week. It puts the weekend off to such a great start...

day three...

For the last week, Amelia has wanted to sleep on the top bunk with Calla. After the day is done. After all the bickering. After all of the get-out-of-my space. They want to lay side by side at night.

It reminds me of sleeping in the same bed as my sister. We shared a room and a queen bed until the day I left to get married. I loved sharing a room with my sister. We were two very different people, just like my girls are. But at the end of the day, we wanted to be together. We would giggle and chatter and sing into the night. And now, unbeknown to them, I get to watch my girls reenact my own memories...

always fulfilled...

Ever notice that the times when you think, just for a moment, I would really rather not go to church, are the times when you need to go to church the most. That was me tonight. After a very, oh, let's called it a burden-filled day, I wanted to send my brood off to church so I could revel in the quiet-ness of my house for an hour. But as soon as I think about staying home, thankfully, the Holy Spirit prods me to do the opposite. That still small voice tells me to go and be blessed. And I did.

Psalm 55:22

"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

All those little things that I had allowed to rattle me today...

Constant sibling bickering.

Nora's newest version of a tantrum - throwing herself to the ground and letting out one loud wail.

Amelia's insistence on screaming her woes at the top of her lungs. "NORA, NOOOOOO. LET GO OF IT. NORA. NORA. NOOO"

Nora's fascination with all things tiny or messy or dangerous.

They are all my mini-burdens. Burdens I was trying to carry myself. And failing miserably at it, might I add. By the time my hubby came home from work, I was ready to run away screaming, or take Nora's lead and throw myself to the ground...

But God was just waiting. Waiting for me to ask for help. Waiting for me to see that there was more to my day than just those burdens. Waiting to show me His love and His blessings instead of my mini-burdens.

So, tonight I am thankful for my pastor. I am thankful for a heart that is still prompted by the Holy Spirit. I am thankful for a new day to cast at His feet...

day two...

This picture envelops so much thankfulness.

I love a warm house on a super snowy day.

I love a neighbor willing to snow blow our walks for us

so I don't have to take Nora out in the wind and cold.

I love a snow day from school when the call comes the night before! The thought of sleeping in is so wonderful.

I love staying in our pajamas until lunch. Crafts. Sewing projects.

Overall relaxing events throughout the day.

I love living in a town that didn't get the crazy blizzard snow that was forecasted. Our streets are plowed and we are ready to venture out for church later this evening.

day one...

It makes me feel loved.

A string of hand-painted hearts from my girls.

Each one is unique, just like my Calla and Amelia.

Just like each day I have with my girls...

the love month...

A friend's blog has challenged me to find an image of love every day this month. So, for the month of February, I will post a picture every day. I will attempt to find a love of mine, or something that makes me feel loved, in every day. Just 28 days...28 pictures of love in my life...it should be easy, but will it?