Boy oh boy: Brothers!

 

Romans 12:10, “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”eating free bakery cookies while grocery shopping! Getting to drive through the grocery store is a super duper special treat!

Hebrews 13:1, “Let brotherly love continue.”

Riding bikes for the first time this year! These boys are marvelous.

1 Peter 3:8, “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”

After church one day. Handsome wee little men in the making.

1 Corinthians 4:9, “Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.”

Smiling so big because it's springy out!! Brotherly love while bike riding.

1 Peter 1:22, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.”

My Valentine Sweets

The most delicious sweets that I’ve ever had. 🙂

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…

Christmas!! Okay, well, that’s at least what Gabriel said when we woke up to a few inches of snow the other day. I think he was a wee bit disappointed when he realized that snow does not automatically equal Christmas. 😉 But he was still rather excited that it meant pulling out snowclothes and going out to enjoy the sparkly white world! It lasted all weekend, and now it has doubled & is still snowing. What fun! It makes me even happier that my Christmas gift crafting is just about tied up, and my holiday baking plans are now being schemed & family Advent evenings are being planned.

We love this world God created, and where He has planted us. 🙂

Mandatory Jammy Day!

This morning when we awoke to a thickly white, crunchy world (frost, not snow! not yet anyway…) and a chilly house, I decided it would be Mandatory Jammy Day. Incidentally, we have never had a day spent in our pajamas here before. Gabriel didn’t quite know how to handle it! It took a wee bit of convincing, hehe. But every time he asked if he could put clothes on ~ or rather, when he asked if he could “at least put on pants and a shirt; not clothes, just pants and a shirt!” ~ I would offer something else fun and distracting to do. Let’s build a blanket fort! Let’s read books in there with a flashlight! Let’s eat boxed mac and cheese for lunch! Let’s bake a cake and you can use the mixer by yourself! Let’s watch a video and eat the M&Ms out of trail mix!

What a day. 🙂 I did actually get some other things done, but for the most part, it was a day spent just having fun with the boys and loving on them in a creative way we had not done before. Here’s some [humbling] picture proof of our Jammy Day for your pure and utter enjoyment.

Summer Sweetness

And while I’m not ready to divulge details or pictures or anything much pertaining to Tiny Ten… please know that YES, our Tiny Ten is growing and strong! The mercy of God in this is incredibly kind and beyond humbling!

Gabriel David turns 4!

When you ask Gabriel, “who are you?” he will reply, “Gabriel David ~ beloved of God who is my strength.”
To which I say, amen & amen!

This little boy is SO beloved! Of God as well as of us. And it is so obvious that God IS his strength, in so many ways. Physically and spiritually. The way Gabriel’s faith is growing and flourishing and sending out shoots to strengthen others is just beautiful.

After a day full of fun food and playtime and being with people Gabriel loves, that evening we had family over for a Birthday Express party which was a hit ~ Gabriel loved it, right down to the pinata and wearable cardboard trains I made. The train theme was fun to run with (chuff with?), and we enjoyed sharing a light meal, playtime, and an ice cream sundae buffet together.

At four years old, Gabriel loves to ride bikes, swing on his swingset, go for hikes in the woods, examine dead bugs under a magnifying glass, sing at the top of his lungs, listen to music and dance or play along, read books, do schoolwork, and is so good at his memory verses & catechism. He still loves to cook and clean alongside of his mommy, and loves to learn handyman skills with his daddy & grandpapa. To see him growing & flourishing in faith under God’s kind hand is marvelous, and he is excited that Asher will have his first communion this week on Pentecost.
Gabriel is beginning to read and write, which he excels in and enjoys. His imagination is probably his best friend and most constant playmate: it amazes me.

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The Lord’s kind and tender mercies astonish us every day, and we are bowled-over by Him. Our little boys are both a constant source of joy and reminder of our Father’s good pleasure. It was fun to celebrate Gabriel’s life this week; he is an amazing little boy. We are so thankful that God placed this covenant child in our family!!

Mother’s Day

I can’t hold all of my children today, but I am dreaming of them. Here I am with all of their names on my necklace and on their arrows in our quiver. I never thought I’d be mommy of nine!

How I love my precious littles! Gabriel (without prompting) told me this morning in the car that he can’t wait to get to heaven so he can meet God and his sisters. That boy melts my heart in so many ways.
He wrote me a Mother’s Day card for the first time. And he picked me wildflowers! (In addition to helping his daddy make me breakfast in bed!)

Here I am with my two redheaded miracles. My heart overflows with gladness. They rise up and make me blessed!!

Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her.
Proverbs 31:28