Happy Valentine's Day!

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1John 4:9-11

So thankful on this day to have a Savior who loved me enough to pay the ultimate sacrifice for me. I am so blessed to have been given this great Salvation and the ability to live an abundant life by nothing I have done. By this we can then love others. What a great opportunity on this "day of love" to especially shower our loved ones with a little extra special attention. I of course believe every day should be full of showing others Christ's love, but Valentine's Day is the perfect excuse to really pamper those we love most or reach out to those who need the love of God.

Some quotes from our evening "family worship" time (Valentine Edition):
"What is the thing you love most about our God?"
~Anna: "The pretty sky God gave us."
~Jake: "God created the world and He made us."
~Aly: "He makes us beautiful sunsets."
~Caleb: "He gives us second chances, His holiness and His forgiveness."

One of my favorite hymns seems so fitting to reflect on today:

The Love of God
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Our Favorite Snow Ice Cream

I'm so thrilled to finally have a SNOWY day that amounts to significant snowfall! I've been longingly looking at the beautiful pictures taken of the blizzard in Illinois last week, wishing for some snow of our own.We did have snow last week, but only a couple of inches and it was so bitterly cold, we didn't enjoy it too much. One of our favorite things to do with the freshly fallen snow is make snow ice cream. I've tried several different recipes and they have been ok, but quite a bit of work and the kids weren't that impressed. Well, I finally found a recipe that is easy and delicious. I think I got it from International Delight Facebook page?

Anyway, it is simply:
A lot of fresh white snow. :)
Some coffee creamer (I happened to have this flavor on hand that I got free). :)
Mix it all together.
Viola!

Staying Warm

Last week we had a bit of snow and very cold temperatures. School even got called off due to the sub-zero wind chills. So, we did our best to make the most of being inside.
We went swimming at the college. The kids thought this was the best treat ever!
Our kids love to play out in the snow (so do I). This year they even made their first snow man without my help. But since it was so dangerously cold Tuesday and Wednesday, we had to play in in the snow. :)



Bringing the snow inside was definitely a warmer way to have fun in the snow!
For supper that evening, we had taco soup and snowflake quesadillas. Yummy!

The kids enjoyed making their snowflake shapes out of the tortillas. They thought they were the tastiest quesadillas they had ever eaten. :)

Crafting

Well, we finally did get some Winter weather. And it wasn't the kind I joked about here. This was the snowing, freezing, school-called-off kind. So, what is one to do when we *have* to spend a lot of time inside (besides start a fire, read books, play boardgames, bake)? Create. The past few days we have broken out the craft supplies and gotten busy.
The first thing I made was this necklace.
I'm SO excited to give these to the girls for Valentine's Day. They are made out of gumballs! I got the idea here. So fun.


We also made some flowers for the girls' hair. Aly and I have been making hair clips out of silk flowers, but I saw this idea for making your own flowers out of silk and thought I'd give it a whirl.

They were easy and turned out pretty. They were so easy, in fact, that Aly made some all by herself (except for the part that involves fire. Ha.).

The next things I made I got from this money-saving blog. You can read her post here. When my girls got invited to a "princess tea party" I knew I had to try them out!We made the wands and crowns and are working on the tutu. (the tutu takes a while).

These girls keep me on my "creative toes." They both really enjoy crafts and art projects of all kinds. In fact, Anna saw a picture in my cupcake book that both of them emphatically announced we just HAVE to make for Valentine's Day. We'll see if I can pull it off.

Horses and Hayrides

In honor of Grandpa Lambert's birthday last week, here are some pictures of his newest hobby:
Prince and Barney.
It has been his dream for years to own a team of horses like these.
Even though we were freezing,
we all bundled up, drank hot chocolate and went for a good old-fashioned hay ride.
Great times!
Thanks Grandpa Lambert for the fun rides.

Winter Weather?

Yesterday and today we have been taking advantage of the uncharacteristically warm January weather. Last week we had an ice storm and early next week they call for highs in the teens. So, outside we go while the weather is in the SEVENTIES!

What?!?

I'm sure everyone has given up on me ever updating this poor, neglected blog, but finally I feel like I can take a moment and record some of the goings on in the Lambert home.

I will break the bloggin' silence with a couple Anna quotes.

She had gotten a present from her Awana leaders that included a party hat and had it on her head as we piled in the car to take Jake to preschool. I never know what in the world that sweet girl is going to be wearing (at least she was fully clothed), so I let it go. I asked her to do something and she replied:

"Sure I can, Mommy! I have a party on my head!"

Another quote from a car ride, out of the clear blue:

"Oh, I wish I were a hot dog.....

or a witch."

I have to explain just a bit. :) This was during her "Wizard of Oz" phase. She really likes Glenda, the good witch. After I gasped and said *why* do you want to be a witch (as if wanting to be a hot dog makes sense)?? She explained she wanted to do nice things for all of our family and wear a really pretty poofy dress. Phew! I felt a little better about her wanting to be a good witch. :)
Oh, our little Anna! You sure keep us entertained.