The Saturday 7

1. I got this book for Christmas and have been loving it. I've been faithfully recording our days and know it will come in handy when I want to go back and see when Lena got her first tooth or Lucy fell down the stairs for the first time. Haha. (Both events of this week.) The fact that it's "for moms" is irrelevant. It's no different than any 5 year journal except that it's pink and has a rocking horse on the cover.

2. Lucy and I did a couple fun crafts this week. We did salt painting on Monday. I think I actually enjoyed it more than she did. Haha. 

A Little Red Riding Hood costume not required for this craft. :-)

On Tuesday, we read Mama, Do You Love Me? and did a corresponding Eskimo craft via this blog.

3. Our Bible lesson for the week was on Joshua and the Wall of Jericho. I didn't get too creative. Just built a city with a wall, marched around it 7 times, blew our imaginary trumpets, then kicked the walls down. Our verse for the week is Luke 1:36, "Nothing is impossible with God."

Lucy marching. (We don't believe in getting dressed 'til about 5:00 around here. We pretty much live in our jammies.)

4. Justin and I are planning a weekend away at the end of January. It's a combination of celebrating his birthday and "hurray! I'm done nursing and can leave Lena for the first time in a year!" Haha. We're just going to the east side of the state for one night. And our only plans are hitting Bass Pro Shops for Justin and Ikea for me. Oh and lots of restaurant food and lots and lots of Dr Pepper!! I'm ridiculously excited about Ikea. I don't have much money to spend, but I have been on an organization kick lately, so I can't wait to stock up on boxes and bins and neat little organizational tools! I really should've taken before and after pics of the kitchen cabinets this week. I spent hours re-organizing them and they look amazing! I am an organization nerd.

5. Lena has another cold. Her nose is raw and cut up from all the wiping. And she has a gross, phlegmy cough. She has been such a sickly child despite exclusively breastfeeding for 6 months and continuing to breastfeed for 6 months after starting solids. She loves fruits and vegetables, drinks lots of water, and gets sufficient sleep. I don't know what else to do for her. And I never catch her colds, which makes me think I have immunity toward them. Shouldn't those antibodies be passing on to her? Frustrating.

6. I read an article this week (that I can't find now) about how mothers today tend to feel isolated and overwhelmed because they don't have "villages" to help raise their children like in the old days. And then I was thinking that I actually kind of do. We moved in with my parents when Lena was one month old, which can only be described as God-ordained. Lena was colicky for 10 straight weeks, so it was amazing to have so many people willing to pace the floor with her. We used to take turns doing the "colic hold" and jiggling and shushing her. And now we've fallen into a nice rhythm where I usually make dinner before Justin gets home, but either my mom or dad entertain the girls so I can do so in peace. I love that my girls are growing up with their grandparents (and Uncle Luke). Lena adores my mom. She's cried that past few days when my mom left for work! I'm thankful for my village.

7. Lena's birthday is in 5 days (*sob*). When Lucy turned one, I did all kinds of blog posts leading up to her birthday. One of them was My Stomach: Before, During, and After. I decided to do it again with Lena. It's scary. Check it out here at your own risk . . . Let's just say I will never be wearing a bikini again. But look at these faces and tell me they weren't worth it. ;-)