Seek First His Kingdom & His Righteousness

This week has been crazy! First off it seems that mid summer blahs have hit the kiddos here, so it has been an extra challenge to keep them entertained. Secondly it seems that sorrow has been swirling around us everywhere. We have had our community here in Aurora struck by the tragic shootings, and almost all of our closest friends have lost a loved one these past weeks. We are thankful that our own family has been minimally affected yet it's hard not to think of how fragile life is. There is not a day that's gone by this week that I haven't thought how strange it feels to know that life can be here one second and gone the next.

I spend so much of my time worrying about trivial things like whether Joshua will ever get the "F" sound correct, or if Jonas will be ready to give up his pacifier soon. Then you see something like a 6 year old killed at a movie theater, or a man in his 30's dying from cancer and leaving behind a wife and 2 kids the same age as my 2. Suddenly whether or not Joshua is ready for preschool seems like a blur in the background of what is really important. God gave us life so that we could do something with it. He commands us to love one another, to make disciples, and the one thing he reminds us again and again is not to worry "Therefore do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink: or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes....Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life." Matthew 6:25-27

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself, Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34


"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:6-7


I've looked at my family differently this week and hope this is a perspective that I can keep. Every moment I spend with them is a gift, but only a glimmer of the Joy I will feel when I reach my heavenly home.

On a lighter note I've been working on several different projects with and for my kiddos . Joshua has officially passed the no naps marker so I've been scrambling to come up with "quiet" activities to keep him busy while Joe rests. The best idea I've had so far was an alphabet scavenger hunt.

Letter Scavenger Hunt- I wrote each letter of the alphabet on a different colorful piece of construction paper and then hid them throughout the backyard. I taped a few in the playhouse, one under the slide, a few by the picnic table, fence, swing, and so on. Joshua enjoyed hunting for them and when he found each one I had him bring it to the sidewalk and find its place in the alphabet. Let me just say this took about a half an hour and anything that can occupy Joshua for that amount of time is a winner in my book :)

Dino masks- I also bought some felt and constructed 2 triceratops masks for the boys. They play pretend dinos almost everyday so these were a hit for sure, and required minimal work to make and only cost $2.00 for the felt.

Letter board- I found an activity similar to this one on pinterest and made a few changes to it so that Joshua would be a little more challenged. This is one of his new naptime quiet activities. It did cost me $10.00 for the magnetic white board but I did see one at the thrift store for $3 but passed on it because I wanted one that was really nice so I could use it for Joe when he's older too. For this Joshua sounds out the words and chooses which letter each word begins with.

Road Trip Box- More on this one later but I scoured the Internet looking for some new ideas of what my kids can do in the car to occupy themselves on our upcoming vacation and to be honest: I didn't find anything that I was too crazy about so I have a few of my own ideas and when the entertainment box is complete I will post it and for those who wonder how it's possible to keep my VERY energetic boys quietly seated for our long trips.