Saturday, June 21, 2014

Lost

I am severely directionally challenged.
I'm always getting lost.
Thankfully me and the maps app on my iPhone are BFFs so I seem like I know what I'm doing 
most of the time.
But the other day I got really, really lost.
While. I. was. out. on. my. morning. run.
Like 2 miles in the wrong direction lost.
It takes a very special person to do that.
By the time I realized that I was really lost and sought help from my BFF to get home it said I was 10 minutes away by car and 36 minutes away by walking. 
So I called Aaron and asked him/told him to come pick me up (because I had already been running for over 30 minutes).
After he laughed at me he told me there was no way he could come get me because the kids were still sleeping and he had to get ready to leave for work.
So I ran home. Fast.
Because I had to.
And I did it.
People, I ran 5 miles!
On week 8 of the couch to 5k program when I was supposed to run for 28 minutes (which is around 3 miles).
And I was so proud of myself.
So I write this post to lighten the mood (feel free to laugh at me because it's funny and pathetic. Seriously who gets that lost that close to their home) and to encourage you that you might be able to do things that you would never imagined possible if you just try. Or get lost and are forced to. Whatever works.
*I should also add that I was trying out a new route that Aaron had described to me before. Hopefully I've got it down now :)


Monday, June 16, 2014

June Lake

Camping is our thing. 
We just can't get enough of it. 
Over Memorial Day we went to June Lake.
It was it beautiful!

The best part of road trips are eating at the yummiest places along the way. 
Thank you yelp. 

Letting the kids run around after a delicious lunch at Schat's bakery  

June lake, 
you purty. 

 I could stare at that view all day long. 

We tried and we tried to catch some fish but they just didn't like us. 

Our campground was pretty cool. 
It was super private which was nice and quiet but it was also super far from the bathrooms (which we quickly learned is not so convenient when you have 3 little kids who use the bathroom every 5 minutes...lesson learned) 

 We were too close to our favorite place in the world not to go so we headed over to Yosemite to see Tuolumne meadows. 
It was beautiful and we even saw a coyote.

This picture captures it all. 
The kids doing their thing, Aaron fishing and that beautiful landscape in the background! 

Another day we explored Bode, a local ghost town. 
We even got a ghost to take our picture. 

 One of my favorite parts of camping is hanging out around the campfire. 
This trip the kids were super into Old Maid. 
It was so fun to be able to actually play it all together.
I love that they are getting to the ages where we can do stuff like this. 

And you guys already know how I feel about campfire treats.
This trip I switched out the graham crackers for Speculoos cookies (from Trader Joes) and was blown away. 
So goooooooood.
Try it. You will thank me. 

I also have a strong love for Banana boats (bananas stuffed with chocolate chips, PB (or Nutella!), marshmallows, then wrapped in foil and cooked on the fire until hot and gooey).
I think I might even love them more than smores (did I just say that?!).

It was such an amazing trip filled with adventure and lots of family time. 

And such constant reminders about God's glory as it's revealed through creation.
It was good. 
Real good.  

And now we are counting down the days till our next adventure...which is only 2 weeks away! 

Thursday, June 5, 2014

A peek at our week

Happy Friday everyone! 
Here's a peek at our week through the lens of my trusty iPhone. 
Enjoy! 

This guy.
He makes me so happy. 
And check out that cute set up behind us that my friend did for some family pics. 
I can't wait to see how they turned out and share them with you. 

Green Eggs and Ham on repeat. 
Again and again and again.

I never realized how amazing freshly picked corn is! 
Just pick, peel and eat.
Who knew uncooked corn could be so yummy. Mmmmm!! 

I got paid to taste test cereal bars.
Easiest job ever. 

I'm still a little overwhelmed with all of Aaron's recently discovered allergies (especially when it comes to meal planning) but we are slowly figuring things out. 

No garage sale adventure is complete without a stop at the donut shop. 
And look at this yummy thing I discovered.  

 Peonies are pretty. 

Maddie made a new BFF.
Seriously it was hilarious. 

I love camping but I don't love all of the post camping laundry/clean up. 

I kind of obsessed with our garden.
And the fact that every year I'm slowly becoming more of a gardener (by that I mean more things are living and thriving instead of dying). 

And speaking of gardening. 
I don't think there is anything better than freshly picked tomatoes. 

A litte Sunday crafting. 
Sewing paper is my favorite. 

Pumpkin cookies are way too good to only eat one time a year.

Aaron's allergies are definitely making us a whole lot healthier. 
So that's a positive. 

 And I still have all my June pics to post. 
I just need a slice of time to do it. 

Hope you guys had a great week!! 
It's almost summer!
Yay! 

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Our favorite Bibles and devotionals for kids

A couple months ago some of you asked what Bible we were using when we made our resurrection rolls so I thought I'd share some of our favorite kids Bibles and devotionals. 

These 4 of our favorites. 
Long Story Short by Marty Machowski
The Gospel Story Bible by Marty Machowski
Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing by Sally Lloyd-Jones
The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones
*We also like The Beginners Bible by Kelly Pulley for younger kids (under 6)

The Jesus Storybook Bible and their devotional "Thoughts to Make your Heart Sing" are my personal favorites.
At least for our kids ages right now (6, 4, 3, 15 months)

Let's take a look at The Jesus Storybook Bible first.  
The pictures (by artist Jago) and the creativity in the layout of the pages is fabulous. 
I love how some of them are vertical and the perspective is unique. 

And it is really engaging and easy to read (or listen to). 
It is simple yet profound, funny and most importantly it always brings everything back to Jesus.
The publisher says that it is for kids 4 and up but our 2 year old loves reading it too. 
 We keep ours in the kids bedroom and read it to them before bed at night.

Here's a little shpeel I grabbed from their website. 
The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the Story beneath all the stories in the Bible. At the center of the Story is a baby, the child upon whom everything will depend. Every story whispers his name. A Bible like no other, The Jesus Storybook Bible invites children to join in the greatest of all adventures, to discover for themselves that Jesus is at the center of God’s great story of salvation—and at the center of their Story too.

Next up is the devotional "Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing".
I love that each devotion is relatively short (most are one page) but that they are still really good.
And thought provolking. 

We read it during breakfast and then spend some time discussing it. 
It has great info and prompts good discussion. 

The Gospel Story Bible and The Long Story Short are also a great Bible and devotional pair.    

The pages of The Gospel Story Bible are bright and the content is more in depth, detailed and lengthy. 
I love the Let's Talk about it section at the end of each story.
It helps gets you and your kids thinking about what they read and it allows you as the parent to help make sure they really "got it". 

Here's a peek at what the publisher says about the book,
"It is easy to forget Jesus in the midst of frantic schedules, family squabbles, and conflicting priorities. But the truth is that he is the hero of every story, including these ordinary ones. This is why Marty Machowski puts God's plan of salvation in Christ on continuous display in The Gospel Story Bible. The easy-to-read storybook introduces your family to many captivating people, places, and events from the Bible's Old and New Testaments, showing how each one ultimately points to Jesus. As you share these Bible Stories together, you and your family will meet Jesus and learn a new, life-changing way of recognizing Christ as the hero of every story."

Long Story Short is a great devotional. 
It shows how every story in the Old Testament points forward to God's story of salvation through Jesus Christ. 
And it has a little something to talk about with the kids five days of the week.
The publisher recommends it for ages preschool through high school.  
Oh and I should mention that it goes best with the Gospel Story Bible. 
*They also have a devotional called Old Story New that is about the New Testament 

Hopefully you guys found that helpful.
I know there are some great kids Bibles out there.
What are some of your favorites?