Snow Day

It's snowing again! Looks pretty, and I'm so glad we planned to be home all day. :) It's Monday, so we're just hanging out doing laundry. I was going to take the girls over to the Y, but I remembered the school kids are off for MLK day and will probably ALL be over at the Y. I don't feel like all the noise or chaos, so we'll just stay in.

Friday's get together went well. Three ladies came over for coffee and coffee cake. It made the morning go by fast. I found it very relaxing; we just sat at the table and talked and caught up. I hadn't really been able to do that with anyone since before Christmas, so it was really nice. The girls were bummed because there weren't any other kids to play with. My neighbor had her little boy with her, but he's only 7 months....not quite old enough to play with the girls. Although, they did try to rock his carrier and give him his pacifier (and take it away!). 

We went to my parents' house on Friday night. My cousins from Carbondale, IL were in town this weekend, so we went to hang out with everyone on Saturday. There were 12 kids there (not quite all of the kids on that side; 2 were not there) and many adults. We had dinner at my Grandparents' house. It was fun; the girls really got some energy out and were wiped out by the time we came home Saturday night. 

Yesterday, Arthur played Bass Guitar in church with the worship band for the first time. He did a great job! He says he didn't, and of course he and I knew when he made a mistake but I don't think anyone would've known. I was glad to see him up there. He even sang along while he played; I like that he's getting involved with a talent of his. I think he's a great bass player, so it's good he can help out at church. 

We watched the Bears game while the girls napped. I fell asleep and actually took a nap! That's the first time I've done that in a loooong time. Felt good.

This week is kind of quiet. Wednesday I have a play date for Addy and Lily here. Ok, it's not really a play date for them. My friend and I like to get together to chat...and the kids just happen to be there. :) Iris and her oldest boys will be at school, so we'll just have the 3 younger ones.

My mom gave me a bread machine, that she had gotten from a lady at her church. I am going to try it out tomorrow, so we'll have some bread to test out on Wednesday's play date. I've never used a bread machine, so I'm excited. Sounds like less work than my usual by-hand method, so I'm happy to not use up a bunch of energy. 

Other than that, there's not much planned for this week. Arthur's off Thursday and Friday, so we'll probably go play at the Y both of those days. 

Pastor's message was really good yesterday.  He preached from Proverbs 16:1-3 and spoke about our plans and committing them to God. It was a good reminder for me. I tend to pray about making a right decision, but I often to go back to God in prayer once I've made what I think is the right decision to commit the next steps to Him. I was thinking about homeschooling as an example. I've prayed about whether or not to do it, then I felt that it was the best decision for next year but I've failed to continue praying about choosing the curriculum and my attitude toward it all. I know I need patience but I haven't been faithful in praying and ASKING for it. It's not going to come in a day, so preparing now for the challenges would be best. So, it was a great reminder at church to really not stop praying about decisions and continue to pray about each step I need to take, not just the first big one. 

Almost time to switch the laundry loads out. I better get moving. Grocery list is made, just need to find the corresponding coupons. Since Arthur's been exercising more and doing his swimming and spin class, he's been needing more calories. I plan to really stock up on fruits and veggies (hopefully, introducing more of the ones he dislikes into his food!); he can be picky, so I have to really get a lot when it's on sale. And thankfully, there's some great sales on bananas and oranges this week!