Life lately has included studying the book of Nehemiah, baking 11 dozen wedding cookies, getting acupuncture, reading, puddle jumping, church, the trampoline park, ice cream… and letting my three-year-old do my makeup. 😂 It was one of those weeks that felt wonderfully full of both ordinary and memorable moments.
I love sharing these little snapshots because they’re the kinds of moments that might otherwise be forgotten. They’re the ordinary moments that make up our days, and I know I’ll be glad I captured them someday. So here’s a little peek into life around our house in the past week!
Bible Study 📖
I’ve been having some great Bible study time lately! I was working on a study on contentment and really loved this quote:
If we were to boil down to the heart of contentment, we would see that at its core, contentment is trust. It is trust that God is who He says He is, a steadfast certainty that God’s plan is for our best, and an ever-increasing awe of the salvation He has granted us in Christ.
When I taught Sadie’s Sunday School class at church recently, the lesson was on Nehemiah and I was surprised to learn he was the cupbearer to the king (I thought he was a prophet for some reason?!). That sparked a desire in me to learn all I can about the book of Nehemiah!
One afternoon I completely ignored the laundry, grabbed my Bible, and headed outside to study. Mordecai and Dakota were playing with our garden hose and got completely soaked and dirty but it was worth it to get some studying in. 🤣
I’m not super far into the book yet, but I am learning that Nehemiah was a man of prayer. His first action was always to pray. I could definitely be better about that in my own life!
Like my fancy map of the Persian empire?! 🤣
In the Kitchen 🍪
I got all 11 dozen cookies done for a wedding over the weekend and it felt so great to pass them off to the customer and get freezer and counter space back again!
I finished up the Oreos and lady locks as the last two cookie varieties and they turned out great!
I also made what I called a beef braid. I rolled out pastry dough and topped it with ground beef I sautéed with rosemary. I cut it and then braided it over the top and baked it for about 30 minutes. Voilà, beef braid!
Letting My Toddler Do My Makeup 💄
Sadie was out and about with her friends, Dakota was napping, and Mordecai and I had a few moments to ourselves one afternoon! I was about to leave for acupuncture (more on that later in the post!) and was starting to get ready to go.
I decided to have Mordecai do my makeup! I laid out my very extensive (LOL) makeup collection and let him have at it! We videoed the whole thing and it was honestly so sweet and fun. I love my little guy!
He was a little heavy handed with the concealer. 😜
I promise I washed it off before I left the house, haha. We showed Sadie the video and she said she wants to do my makeup next, so I’m sure you’ll be seeing that soon!
Out and About ☀️
Ever since Jimmy and I had a couples acupuncture date for our anniversary, I had been wanting to go back. Call me crazy, but having someone stick small needles in random parts of my hands and feet makes me feel pretty good! 🤣
I actually fell asleep during the session. It was so wild! I can’t remember the last time I took a nap. The moment each needle goes in always makes me jump (I guess she hits the right spot?), but after that it’s downright relaxing.
We also went out for ice cream at Millie’s. Jimmy and Sadie took a cute picture together.
Mordecai, Dakota, and I took… an interesting picture together, haha. This was the best we could do!
Jimmy and I brought the kids to the trampoline park on Saturday. It was a rainy day and they really, really love the trampoline park. Meanwhile, it’s kind of a parent’s worst nightmare? Every time we go, I wonder what sickness we will bring home or if anyone will break a bone. 😆
It’s just one hour of jumping and playing and it makes the kids so happy, though! It gets their energy out, too.
Dakota kept walking past this sign for ice cream and tried to pick pieces of ice cream off it like it was real. She is too funny with her love of eating!
We had church on Sunday and started a few days of Vacation Bible School.
And we’ve had a few pool days! We have a hot week going on here in Pittsburgh with high temperatures in the 90s.
Around The House 🏡
We have butterflies! The caterpillars we bought with our butterfly kit formed their chrysalises and a few days later they started to emerge as beautiful orange, brown and black butterflies! Nobody has been more excited for this than Sadie… and also our cat. He desperately wants those butterflies. You can see them near the end of a vlog we recently filmed below.
We’ve been squeezing in homeschooling when we can! Lots of lessons outside. 😍
Sadie is learning to play the piano with a really cool bluetooth keyboard! The keys light up and an app teaches her how to play. Thank goodness, because I know nothing about music.
When it was rainy over the weekend, I took the kids puddle jumping. I always let them have at it and boy did they! Sadie and Mordecai both dumped a full rain boot of water out of their shoes multiple times and Sadie was even sitting in puddles. 😂
We had an early morning on the porch swing with Sadie and my Bible. The best!
Other Notes and Thoughts 📝
- Scripture I’m loving: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 🙏🏻
- Every day (sometimes multiple times a day), I have this moment where I’m totally overwhelmed with our kids and I think to myself I‘m totally overwhelmed with these three and I would still choose to have three more in a heartbeat. Make it make sense. 😂
- Recipes to make: Banana zucchini bread and fudgy toffee espresso blondies.
- I bought trout from the store twice recently and Jimmy and I have been loving it. He could care less about salmon (my favorite!), but he loves rainbow trout. I’ll eat literally any seafood or fish. 🍤
- We get mosquitos so bad in our yard each summer. Jimmy bought mosquito traps that release CO₂. Since mosquitoes are naturally attracted to the carbon dioxide we breathe out, the traps mimic a person. The mosquitoes fly toward the trap instead of us and get trapped inside. They actually seem to be working! 🙌🏼
- One of my favorite things lately is the way Dakota nods her head yes. Do you want a snack? *head nod* Do you want to go swimming? *head nod.* One of these days I’ll get it on camera and share here!
- I took Sadie to Book Bingo at the library (bingo is so fun!) and had to bring Dakota along. I really wanted to play and be present with Sadie so we just made it work with Dakota in my lap. Did she chew on a bingo dabber and get dye all over her face? Yes. But we still had a great time!
Living My Full Life 