This is what it looks like in our house

Valentine's in our house this year was very low key. Jeremy worked so most of the day was spent with my little guys. That being the case, I mostly focused on spoiling them. We started the morning with gifts. I thought it would be difficult finding stuff for boys but we actually ended up putting together some fun stuff. They got monster truck chocolate boxes, Cars and Toy Story tops, magnifying glasses that double as bug holders and monsters that I made them out of old T-shirts. Don't they look excited?

We followed this with a lunch of pink pancakes and that was about the extent of the days celebrations. I did however want to have a nice dinner for Jeremy when he got home. I started out with a simple chicken, red pepper and broccoli that I was going to put on top of some brown rice:

 I knew that I wanted something special to go with it so decided on stuffed mushrooms because let's face it, anything stuffed is pretty much fabulous. I had bought a huge thing of mushrooms at Costco this weekend and knew I wanted to add some sausage but that was as far as I had gotten. Luckily The Pioneer Woman came to the rescue with her amazing recipe. I have loved her blog for sometime and know that her recipes always get rave reviews so I was excited to dig into these yummy morsels. It was hard to stare at these and wait for my husband to get home to share them!:

I pretty much stuck to her recipe but thought I would share some of the changes I made out of necessity and personal taste. I didn't have any cream cheese on hand so instead I used the Mozzarella Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Laughing Cow that I had in the fridge. I also sprinkled some red pepper flakes in with the garlic and onion to give it a slight kick. Lastly, I had no wine on hand so I just omitted that all together. They turned out amazing and Jeremy raved! Seriously, there were only 4 left at the end of dinner and that was because he wanted to take them to work for lunch.

It may not be fancy but at this stage in our life, but this is how we celebrate. Looks like most other days but that's okay because we like to think we make everyday about love!

I love

On this Valentine's Day I thought I would reflect on some of the things that I love, big and small. I hope you are all finding yourself loving and being loved today!

I love:
  * That first cup of coffee in the morning. Taking a moment to sit and relax while that warm piece of heaven starts to work it's magic.
  * Hearing the words "I love you" out of the mouths of my children. Especially in those random moments when you aren't expecting it and it is just the thing you needed to hear.
  * Baby laughs. Heart melting!
  * The man I am lucky enough to wake up next to every day. My best friend, amazing father to my children, hard-working provider and faithful man of God.
  * Craft stores. My idea of heaven includes endless aisles of things to create with. Oh...and a coffee stand in every aisle:)
  * Mom and Dad. How lucky am I to have parents who love each other, the Lord and their children with all their hearts?
  * True friends. The ones who know the real me and love me anyway.
  * My sweet niece...she is so uniquely her and I love being her aunt. Can't wait to meet my new niece next month!
   * Jesus through who I am saved!

My list could go on and on but these are the biggies. On this day of love I know that I am feeling extra blessed.

Live and love with purpose

While I was sitting in the quiet of my house making invitations for my sons second birthday party, God impressed on me a thought that I felt compelled to share with you all. I want to begin by asking if you love what you do? The job you have, whether it be fireman, grocery checker, school principal, or stay at home mom…do you love it? I knew from very young that I wanted to be a wife and a mom. No matter what other things I aspired to be when I grew up, those were two that never changed. In fact, before I left for college I informed my mom that I was only going there until I met my rich husband and then I wouldn’t need to finish school because I would be a full time wife and mom. Well, I did meet my husband and still finished school. And while by no standards rich, he worked hard at what he does to get us to a place where I can stay home to be the wife and mom I want to be. Is it everything I thought it would be? No way!! Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking but it also brings me joy in ways I never could have imagined. Do I love it? Not always but I can’t fathom anything that I would love more. So my next question is whatever it is you do and whether you love it or not, do you make the most of it? Do you wake up each day thinking I am going to do my best at what I do today and I am going to find joy in it where I can? I can guess that many would say no. I would have to say no myself. I am ashamed by how much I take what I have for granted. So many moms would kill to be in my shoes and I often don’t appreciate it for what it’s worth. I don’t make the most of my time with my kids. My house is by no means spick and span most of the time. My husband doesn’t have his every need met. All things I thought I would be doing if I was staying home. Of course life gets in the way and nothing is ever going to be perfect but if I continue to be honest I can say that most of it is lack of effort on my part. Laziness. An ungratefulness for what I have been given in my life and why I have been given it. Do you realize that you are who you are and where you are for a purpose? God created you to be the age you are right now for a reason. You live where you do, have the family and friends you do, attend the church you do and yes, have the job you do for a purpose. Now some of you might be thinking, “Well, thanks a lot God. What did I ever do to you!” But if you really stop and think about it, it’s amazing. You are that special that everything you are was predestined in a way that would serve God. When I think of it in that way, I truly feel ashamed by the way I waste my blessings. How can I not get up each day and try to be the best wife and mother I can? How can I not find joy in all I do when it has been given to me by God? What a humbling thought. As I pray on this for myself tonight, I just ask all of you reading this to look at where you are in your life and ask yourself if you are living like it’s a gift from God. Does everything you do at work and home display your gratefulness for all you have been given? Do you live like you have a purpose?

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:1).

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully (Romans 12:4-8).