Dragon Art Festival.....

There was an art fair and car show last weekend. It was a fun time for the kids. They got to do a little dancing, make some funny looking glasses, bounce in the big bounce house and just enjoying being outside. We also found some friends who ended up coming over for lunch and stayed to play for a while. It was a great way to spend a hot summer day.

Dressing up a bit......It's so funny to see my boys getting all dolled up. I'm sure they are not going to like these photos when they get older, but many laughs will happen too.

Garden Planted.......
I had been holding off on planting a garden because I just didn't know if we would be here at the end of the summer. After waiting a while I got $5 of free money from Ace Hardware and decided to use it on buying a few plants. I got 12 tomato plants, 4 brussel sprouts, 4 summer squashes, 4 peppers and 4 cucumbers. The kids and I then planted some seeds that I had like carrots, onions, lettuce, zucchini and broccoli. For just under $10 I planted all of this and the yield will be great.

Gabriel & Noah loved to help dig the holds for the plants and finding the worms was even more exciting. The other thing I love about planting a garden is letting the kids water it and picking the vegetables when they are ready. Anna has been a good helper with watering the plants during the heat. What a love about having a garden is giving the kids something to do and at the end of the season we get so much wonderful produce to eat.

Let God Choose.....

As for God, His way is perfect! Psalm 18:30

Let God choose for you, it will be the right decision.
Let God guide you, it will be the right direction.
Let God plan for you, it will be in the right timing.
Let God measure for you, it will be the right portion.
Let God help you, it will be the right care.
Let God instruct you, it will be the right teaching.
Let God prepare you, it will be the right training.
Let God counsel you, it will be the right perspective.
Let God fight for you, it will be the right outcome.
Let God work in you, it will be the right result.

-Roy Lessin, DaySpring co-founder and writer

Quality Time......
This past week the kids spend time with grandpa and grandma. Grandpa worked on a few small projects that needed to be done. One project was fixing the drivers door of the truck, so we didn't have to climb in through the passenger door. It's awesome to have the truck fixed and now the kids can enjoy going for ride again.

Anna also enjoyed spending time with her Grandma Kara all by herself a couple of times. Grandpa and Grandma took us out to our favorite place to eat Noodle's & Company, which was a treat. What a great few days we had, but I should of taken more pictures.

Music.....

I was reading Homeschool Creation and they had a post about Seeds Family Worship. I listened to a few songs like "Cast Your Cares" and "Young". They have some really great songs and thought I would pass the links a long for the music lovers out there. You can find many videos on You Tube. Enjoy!

Anna Dancing......
She asked me to make a video for Grandpa & Grandma Kostman. So enjoy:)

This is the Day.....

This is the day...
that you get to begin a new week.
This is the day...
that you're loved just as you are.
{1 John 4:18}
This is the day...
you have everything you need.
{2 Peter 1:3}
This is the day...
that victory is yours.
{Romans 8:37}
This is the day...
that God has made.
{Psalm 118:24}
There's never been one like it before and there will never be again. You're in this moment, time, place for a purpose and you've got what it takes to fulfill it.
So to say it like we do in the South...
Go get 'em, friend!

by Holley Gerth, DaySpring Writer

I had to post this for for my hubby who has been looking for a nursing job since last year. Just yesterday he had a job interview and so now we are waiting to hear back. They said we would know by Friday, so we are just praying and waiting.

New Set of Wheels...
We were in Iowa this past weekend and the kids had a blast. Grandpa Lanny decided to get a new 4-wheel because he knew how much the kids would love it. It's just the right size for the kids and adults to drive. Grandpa & Grandma gave the kids a lot rides, but by the end of the day Anna & Gabe were giving each other rides and Noah. Thanks Grandpa for the cool set of wheels! We are looking forward to many visit this summer. Now the kids just wish they could have one at there house.

Happy 5th Birthday!!!!
Gabe had a great birthday. He asked me to make him rice pudding and I was happy to do that. He also got to go to a park down in Janesville and get a free birthday scoop at Culver's. He got a bike, fishing pole & electric toothbrush for his birthday, which made him a very happy boy.

Spring Fun.....

The kids have been having so much fun outside. One day they pushed the picnic table over by the tree and was having a "lab" as they told me.

They have been playing so hard that many times they are falling asleep during storytime at night. Noah especially has been ready for bedtime very early and has fallen asleep as early as 5:30 one night. The key is getting them to stay still for a few minutes.

Happy Mother's Day........

The last few days the kids have been digging holes in the garden area looking for worms. Well today they decided to add a little water to the fun and ended up with a mud hole. Daddy ended up getting the water hose out to clean them up a bit, but it was not a big hit. The water was freezing, so we stripped them of there clothes and marched them up to the shower. How can a mother be made with a smile like that. It took all that I had to not laugh at what they had done.

Gabe is pointing at his brother and laughing. Noah was actually small enough to climb in the hole they had dug. Anna just stood by watching and I'm sure helping a bit. Later on Gabe tried to tell me that it was all Anna's idea. How do you ever get the truth from kids?

Cyclops Eyes.......
We checked out this cookbook from the library called, "A Monster Cookbook" The kids and I decided we wanted to make the Cyclops Eyes.

Ingredients we used:

1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. powdered milk
1 1/2. crispy rice cereal

Mix all the ingredients together and use a scooper to form balls. Then you take M&M's and put one right on top. Refrigerate for about an hour to firm up and store in the refrigerator. This recipe makes about a 1 dozen. If you want to make more just double the recipe.

The 21 Rules Of This House
by Gregg Harris

1. We obey God.
2. We love, honor and pray for one another.
3. We tell the truth.
4. We consider one another's interests ahead of our own.
5. We speak quietly and respectfully with one another.
6. We do not hurt one another with unkind words or deeds.
7. When someone needs correction, we correct him in love.
8. When someone is sorry, we forgive him.
9. When someone is sad, we comfort him.
10. When someone is happy, we rejoice with him.
11. When we have something nice to share, we share it.
12. When we have work to do, we do it without complaining.
13. We take good care of everything that God has given us.
14. We do not create unnecessary work for others.
15. When we open something, we close it.
16. When we take something out, we put it away.
17. When we turn something on, we turn it off.
18. When we make a mess, we clean it up.
19. When we do not know what to do, we ask.
20. When we go out, we act just as if we were in this house.
21. When we disobey or forget any of the 21 Rules of This House, we accept
the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Fortifying
The
Family

I Believe God Will Guide Me

Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people [which] thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided [them] in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. Exodus 15:13 KJV

I believe my life is in God's hands and keeping. I believe He has a plan and purpose for my life and that He is leading me in a path that will fulfill that plan and purpose. I believe it is a good plan, a right plan, and the best plan. I believe there is not a better, higher, or wiser way for me to live or way for me to follow. I believe God knows exactly what He is doing and that He will bring things into my life at the exact time they are needed. I believe He wants me to follow Him with praise on my lips for who He is, with thanks in my heart for what He does, and with obedience in my steps for what He asks me to do.
-Roy Lessin, DaySpring co-founder and writer

We need to be reminded that God is in control as we wait for the job that He has for us.

New Recipe.....

This past week I printed off a recipe from Taste of Homes called, "Vegetable Beef Bow Tie The Skillet.". It looked easy and so I gave it a try. It was a huge hit with my husband and so it is now going into our favorites recipe book.

Now like most recipes I didn't follow it exactly because I didn't have all the items. I used ground turkey instead of hamburger. I also used my canned tomatoes that have peppers in them and added broccoli instead of zucchini. This is a great one pot Hamburger Helper kind of recipe. At the end I used some corn starch to thicken up the sauce a bit.

Happy Resurrection

The love of God at Easter
is there for all to see-
He died for us and rose again
and won the victory!

God bless you with His peace & joy at Easter

From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:16

His Name is Jesus

HIS BIRTH
Jesus...
He could hold the universe in His palm
but gave it up to float
in the womb of a maiden.
Christ became one of us.
and He did so to redeem all of us.

HIS MISSION
Jesus...
The man...
who spoke with such thunderous authority
and loved with such childlike humility.
The life of Jesus Christ
is a message of hope,
a message of mercy,
a message of life in a dark world.

HIS DEATH
Jesus...
The palm that held the universe
took the nail of a soldier.
On the eve of the cross,
Jesus made His decision.
He would rather
go to hell for you
than go to heaven without you.

HIS RESURRECTION
Jesus...
the moment He removed the stone,
He removed all reason for doubt.
Christ's resurrection
is an exploding flare
announcing to all sincere seekers
that it is safe to believe.

-Max Lucado

We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. I John 2:1

Happy Birthday Mom.....
My moms birthday was this past week, so the kids and I made her a cake. I think it turned out lovely and it tasted even more lovely. I just love to make homemade butter cream frosting.

Teeth Gone....
One day Anna told me that she had a couple of loose teeth. It only took a couple of weeks, from the time she told me, for them both to come out. I have to say I was really surprised how quickly it happened. It's a good thing, since we could see the two new teeth coming in already.

Also wanted to let those who may not know yet that Brandon did not get either of the jobs that he interviewed for. He will be continuing to look and apply for nursing jobs.

Job Interviews......

Brandon had two interview this past Monday. The first interview was for a nursing job in Sioux Falls, SD. It was a phone interview and Brandon found out the positions hours were working two days during the day shift and two days working the night shift. We will have to wait to see if we hear back from them, but Brandon already knows he would have to say no.

The second interview was for a nursing job in Madison. He feels the interview went very well and has a good chance at the job. This facility is actually hiring 4 people to start in the beginning of May and 4 more people to start at the beginning of June. They are actually looking to hire people who are brand new nurses. This is encouraging and now we just have to wait and hope to hear back some good news. It may take till the end of next week to find out.

We would appreciate your prays!

The Measure

Let the grace of the Lord be the measure of your sufficiency;
let the peace of the Lord be the measure of your quietness;
let the power of the Lord be the measure of your strength;
let the goodness of the Lord be the measure of your contentment;
let the love of the Lord be the measure of your service;
let the faithfulness of the Lord be the measure of your trust;
let the beauty of the Lord be the measure of your worship;
let the fullness of the Lord be the measure of your joy;
let the sovereignty of the Lord be the measure of your confidence;
let the promises of the Lord be the measure of your expectations;
let the coming of the Lord be the measure of hope.

Thou art my portion, O LORD: I have said that I would keep thy words. Psalm 119:57 KJV

Read more encouraging messages by Roy Lessin

My Boys......

I was just looking through my pictures this morning and thought I would share some. A few weeks back the kids and I made pirate hats. They had fun making them and have been using them for play.

Here the boys are snuggling in there blankets. Last week my parents were able to stay for a couple of days and the kids get to camp out on the living room floor. They have fun and especially enjoy the time of with Grandpa and Grandma.

Madison Children's Museum....
Last week we went to the Children's Museum and the kids spent a few hours playing. There is so much there for the kids to do. There a good art area....

building area....

a pretend food area.

and so much more. I am planning on taking the kids about once a month.

Anna's Spark Verse....

John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

It is so awesome to listen you your little girl recite her Bible verse. She put great reflections into the verse. It's also been great for me because I get to review verses that I have memorized. I'm not sure what I am going to do next year with 3 kids in Awana's.

I saw this written on Facebook and I had to post it. Have a blessed Tuesday:)

Happy Moments PRAISE GOD

Difficult moments SEEK GOD

Quiet moments WORSHIP GOD

Painful moments TRUST GOD

Every moment THANK GOD

Boys' Room......
Today I went to Ace Hardware and found a gallon of paint in their clearance section. It was only $5. I thought it would look good in the boys room. I painted this room yellow before Anna was born because I didn't know if we were going to have a boy or a girl. It's been needing a change. When I saw a deal on this paint I couldn't pass it up. It only took me about two hours to paint the room this afternoon. What do you think??? About the paint color not the ugly green carpet. We really need to get new carpet in this room.

Before:

After:

You Shall Not Want

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. Psalm 23:1

To the lost sheep, He is the seeking Shepherd;
To the needy sheep, He is the providing Shepherd;
To the hurting sheep, He is the comforting Shepherd;
To the bruised sheep, He is the healing Shepherd;
To the anxious sheep, He is the peaceful Shepherd;
To the wandering sheep, He is the guiding Shepherd;
To the fearful sheep, He is the protecting Shepherd;
To all His sheep, He is the Good Shepherd.

-Roy Lessin

Menu Planning Sheets.....

I've been wanting to find something, so I could keep track of our meals. I found one that I really like and wanted to share it with you. Hope this is helpful for someone. To find it go here. Happy menu planning:)

Flying Wings.....
Don't ask me how we ended up making wings out of cereal boxes and pipe cleaners, but we did. Each of the kids got a set and it was Gabriel's idea to make wings in the first place. Anna then thought of the idea of using pipe cleaners, so they could put them on there arms and have something to hold on too. There are so many great uses for cereal boxes and we also made a race track, which the kids have colored and decorated.

I have to say cardboard is wonderful and such a inexpensive way for kids to craft. We went to a friends house this past weekend and they had made a doll house out of cardboard. It was awesome and I guess the little girls loves to play with it. Kids tend to play more with things they make themselves:)

Snow Fun....
Yesterday we got a good amount of snow, so I sent the kids out to play. Well to our great surprise the snow was the nice sticky stuff. The kids had a blast making this snow man and they made a fort. It's to bad the snow isn't always sticky because the kids have so much fun with it.

Kids Websites....

I new website that a friend told me about is called Starfall. It teaches kids letters, the sounds and goes as far as teaching the child to sounds out words and read. It's wonderful and am so glad a friends of mine told me about it. I am finding it is a fun way for the kids to have fun and be learning at the same time. Does anyone else have some learning websites that they love to have there kids play at. I know the other websites that my kids love to go too is Nick Jr, PBS Kids and Playhouse Disney.

Coloring pages.....

One thing I love about the internet is finding coloring pages. Today Gabe was asking me to draw a black knight well my drawing skills are very limited. I found this great link to Castle & Knight coloring pages. He was very happy to have some of these pages printed out.

Does anyone else have some favorite links to coloring pages????

There a few blogs that I love to read and "I Have To Say" is one of them. She has a lot of sewing inspiration and recipes that are great. She has started to host this Recipe Box Swap again and I posted my Cinnamon Scone recipe. If you would like to find some other great recipes you can click on the link above. Also join in on the fun too and let me know about it. I'll be checking often to see the new recipes.

Kid Fun & Other News.....

Today the kids and I went to the Kids Expo at the Alliant Energy Center in spite of the weather condition. The Lord was good and gave us safety there and back. We spent a good 4 hours there and didn't have a problem staying busy. The kids had fun collecting candy, playing games, bouncing for a bit and getting there hair sprayed fun colors.

The kids also got to enjoy an animal show were they saw animals like a tortoise, chinchilla, and one animal that sent Anna running far away..... a huge snake. I even kept my distance, since they are not my favorite animal. The boys on the other hand were up front and center. There was no fear in either of my boys with any of the animals and if Noah could of he would of climbed right up on stage.

Another fun place the kids and I went about a week ago was the Madison Children's Museum. It is an awesome place and the kids loved it. We were there for a good 3 hours and the kids came home exhausted. I love places were the kids can run and play hard because then they come home and sleep really well at night.

Lastly we will be traveling to Cedar Rapids Iowa on Tuesday because my husband has two interviews. The kids and I will be checking out the town and hopefully find some fun places to visit. We will also be praying for daddy that the interviews go well and that hopefully a nursing job will be the end result.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. I should of had my camera with me, but with trying to carry as little as possible I left it home.

Cook Yourself Thin......

I have been watching some episodes called, "Cook Yourself Thin." They have been awesome and I have been learning so much. Some of the things I've learned I have already known and some things have been new. One thing I learned today was to use parchment paper when baking cookies because it's not only makes clean up easy, but saves you some calories with not using the spray stuff, which really is not good for us anyway. Another problem I have is the amount of butter I use in foods and baking. I have seen some really great recipes that don't use any butter or oil. I am going to have to try out this Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe, which sounds awesome. Lastly Olive oil is also the best oil to us when you want to use an oil.

To find some of their other recipes you can go here. I will be checking them out here over the next few months and when I find one I love I'll let you know.

I have been challenged by my husband to workout at least 30 minutes every day, no coffee in the morning, since I like to put to much cream and sugar in it and lastly no sweets or I am hoping to make some healthy cookies and deserts to curve my craving, which I know I will have. The kids make cooking a challenge because we know how much kids like sweets and treats. I do have one thing going for me is that I am not a snack person.

So this is my challenge and now I need a lot of accountability. I not only want to do this for myself, but for my kids. I want them to see the importance of exercise and eating foods that are good for the body. Another reason I need to do this is because in I Corinthians 6:19 the Lord tells us our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and also our body is not our own. We need to keep ourselves healthy because that is what the Lord would want us to do. I hope I have encouraged another and set up some accountability also for myself.

Valentines Package.......
The kids had yummy heart pancakes yesterday for breakfast and then they all dressed in red. Mommy was even wearing red, which the kids loved. The kids then started asking if I had anything special for them. I had been keeping the package from Grandpa & Grandma a secret. They were really excited when they saw it and there were so many goodies in it. They especially love the marshmallow suckers, but one package of the Twizzlers is gone with a few of the Air Heads. Thanks grandma & Grandpa for all the goodies:)

Your Divine Valentine.....

A Valentine may play a love song for you, but God sings you the sweetest love song in the universe.
The Lord your God... will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

A Valentine may give you flowers, but God sent you the most beautiful rose of all. Jesus.
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
Song of Solomon 2:1

A Valentine may bring you chocolate, but God provides you with something even sweeter, His Word.
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103

A Valentine may love you for a lifetime, but God loved you before you were born and will love you for all eternity.
Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love...with loving kindness I have drawn you. Jeremiah 31:3

Praying you're blessed by the wonderful love of God this Valentine's Day and always!

Adoption......

Some good friends of ours are planning to adopt a little boy when the Lord provides. They are such a loving family and I'm excited for them. To learn more about this family you can visit, "Sharing our Joy". I know I enjoyed reading about there family and I know you will too.

Onion Rings.....

There is nothing I like better then yummy onion rings and this is a great recipe. If you want to watch it you can go here. I just use regular milk, since I don't keep buttermilk on hand. Also use any spices you want and make it your own. Onion rings are so easy to make, so I hope you will try it out if you love them as much as I do.

Old, but New Cabinet.......
A few weeks ago my parents brought me an old cabinet that was just sitting out in there garage. I love it and it has given me some great storage for the kids school stuff and craft supplies. I love having things organized and easy to find.

The top few shelves holds some binders, paint supplies, card game, and markers.

The bottom two shelves holds Anna and Gabe's school books. One shelf for Anna and one shelf for Gabriel. It works great and easy for them to get too.

Blizzard Results.....
The kids have been having a blast playing in all the new snow, but not so much fun for daddy. It was drifted as high as our fence in the back yard that the dogs could play in the neighbors yard, which is luckily fenced.

It was packed up around the trucks back end and only took a good hour or more to get everything all shoveled.

Eventful......
Or maybe not to much. The major happening this week was my washing machine stopped working on Monday. They always have to do this when they are full of water & clothes. Also this is the second washer that has broken down on us in the last few months. It must have some electric issue because it was tripping the breaker and the sparks were flying when I tried to plug it in. My dad gave us some help over the phone, but after we got the back off of it we could not see any blacked wires or anything else really wrong with it. We will keep it around for a while and maybe my dad can look at it and find the problem next time he is here to visit.

We decided it would cost just as much if not more to have someone come look at it, so I started looking on Craigslist by Wednesday. I ended up having to wash some of Brandon's work clothes in the sink this week and am really glad I don't have to do that all the time. By Friday I found a washer that had not been taken and Brandon went and picked it up. It's a Maytag, which is in very god conition and we payed $100 for it. What a great deal.

Lets see other happening around here was we had friends who came down with stripe throat and so we stayed home most of the week in anticipation of the kids getting it. So far the kids never did complain of a sore throat.

The kids have been doing a lot of indoor playing and have not been wanting to go out and play in the snow at all. Anna is ready for summer and I think the boys are too. I don't think I can really count the number of hours that I played Uno this week, but the kids are getting good. Yesterday I introduce them to some new games, which they loved. It's fun as the kids get older and they can play fun games with me and themselves. I even showed them the game Yahtzee. It will be a while before they can play it, but they had fun rolling the dice.

The projects that I got done around the house this week was repainting the wood work bench in the basement. It look much better and I hope it stays that way till we hopefully sell our duplex. I went thought my hubbies gun stuff and organized it all. He now doesn't have boxes of gun stuff with everything under the sun in them. I put his reloading supplies in one container, his gun slings & leather pouches in another, gun cleaning supplies in another and there are a few containers of bullets and gun parts. I need to do just a little more work, but it's much better then it was. I also went through my clothes closet and took out all the clothes that are to small to fit me this winter and put them away in a container in hopes that they will fit next winter. Now I can find what I need much easier.

Well that is my week. Hope you all had a wonderful week and have a great weekend.

Happy 3rd Birthday!!!

It's hard to believe that my baby is now 3 years old this year. We took the family bowling in the afternoon with some friends and then had Haystacks for supper and yummy chocolate birthday cake. It was a fun day:)