The Saturday 7

Usually when I write these, I get about 4 things, then I stare at my computer screen for an hour trying to think of the last 3. Today I have 8 things jotted down! Woot!

1. Justin taught Lucy how to play Simon Says. Something he's good at is teaching her new things that I would write off as too hard. Turns out he was right - she's a pro! I'm so impressed by her ability to listen and react appropriately. (Now if only we could apply that to obedience in her day to day life! Haha.)

2. Thursday was my 28th birthday. It was such a great day. Niki brought me donuts for breakfast. Lucy woke up with a big smile, saying, "Happy birthday, Mommy!" We had siblings + mom lunch (-poor Lib who has to work all the time) at B.C. Pizza. (Their lunch buffet is ahhmaaaazing!) I discovered new episodes of Bones on Netflix while the girls were napping. Justin got home early and took the girls outside for an hour and a half while I took a glorious nap. We went to Olive Garden for dinner, and capped the night with a marathon of The Office season 9! My family spoiled me with candy, Justin got me flowers and 2 cute sweatshirts, and my parents gave me an Olive Garden gift card. I was feeling the love!

3. Lena learned how to wave this week. Or at least she's working on it. Haha. I think we confused her, because every time she waves, we clap for her. So now she's trying to combine the two. 

4. I finally made a successful pinterest meal: Tortellini Soup. It was one I pinned a long time ago, but kept putting off because I thought the ingredients would be too expensive. Well spinach went on sale this week and I found a can of tomatoes in the cupboard, so I went for it. I used chicken instead of sausage, just because it's what I had on hand. It was delicious!!

Photo Credit

5. Lucy, Lena, and I had a playdate with our friends Kelly, Presley, and Harper yesterday. We haven't seen them in months, so it was great to catch up! They just moved in with Kelly's parents, too. It's what all the cool people are doing these days. ;-) It was so fun to watch Lucy and Presley play together. We've been having these playdates with them for years, but they're finally to the age that they're really starting to interact and play together instead of next to each other. Haha.

6. We didn't do a Bible lesson this week. I asked for advice on facebook about teaching Lucy the story of Abraham nearly sacrificing Isaac. I decided to go for it, read her the story, explained it as best I could, then told her we were going to make a ram craft. She said, "I don't want to. Let's play house." And that was that. I never came up with any other crafts, didn't pick a verse to learn, didn't even reiterate the story throughout the week. Lazy. 

7. Every Halloween we get together with our small group. The past few years, we've done a fundraising project for needy kids. This year we're doing Read to Feed. (Sidenote: that link will lead you to heifer.org. When we were watching the Office on Thursday, they were searching for a charity to donate to and Kevin thought heifer.org was hilarious. It is a funny name. Lol.) Anyway, we're looking for people to pledge money for every book Lucy reads between now and then. (October 26) The money goes to provide a farm animal for families in third world countries. As a general idea, we read probably 10 books a day. If anyone is interested in pledging, or just giving a certain amount of money, comment below or send me a facebook message. Thanks!

8. Bonus point to show off these cute pictures: It's cider making day!