The Saturday 7

1. I had a fabulous 31st birthday. Thank you to everyone who sent facebook greetings and memes. I spent the day doing my favorite thing: eating with my loved ones. I went to Qdoba for lunch with my sisters, mom, two of my kids, and one nephew. Then Justin, the kids and I went to Olive Garden for dinner. Justin gave me a bunch of cute clothes and a book that I wanted. I got a couple Olive Garden gift cards, tons of chocolate, and a plethora of cards and homemade gifts from the girls. Perfection.

2. I forgot to tell you last week that Levi has started sleeping in his pack n' play! I finally bit the bullet and set it up in our bedroom early last week. I took the cover off the rock n' play and laid it down in the pack n' play for him to sleep on. The first time I laid him down, he went right to sleep without a peep. He fussed a little more the second and third time, but eventually got to the point that I could take the rock n' play cover out, and he just laid down and went to sleep in his bed like a normal kid! Haha. He did great for about a week, but it was short lived. Sleep this week has been a disaster. To be fair, he does have a yucky cold, but c'mon - he should sleep more when he's sick, not less! Naps are few and far between and punctuated by a lot of screaming. And he's up every two hours all night. We're both exhausted.

3. Exciting news! Lucy finally learned how to tie her shoes! She's so proud. And since I'm bad at updating the baby book, I'm recording it here.

4. In response to my post on Tuesday about how kids grow up and love you less, my little sister and I had this text conversation:

(Not a dig on her husband. Just me being facetious.) 

This was her response to my well-reasoned argument:

Lol. Sounds legit. Who needs kids?

5. This is the book Justin bought me for my birthday:

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I read it this week, but I'm not sure what I think of it. It was a little too flowery for my tastes. The author is a big fan of long sentences. I had a hard time following her train of thought sometimes. I think what she's saying is right and true, but I don't understand how to apply it practically. Her main point is that the gospel is all we need. But even after reading the whole book, I still don't really understand. When Levi won't sleep and Lena won't potty train and I don't know what to do about Lucy's attitude and I'm so exhausted I can hardly bear it, I'm supposed to stop and think, "But Jesus died on the cross for my sins." Yes. Absolutely. But how does that help me now with this situation? I kind of think that was her point - my salvation has to apply during my daily life on earth. I can't just compartmentalize it. But I still don't get it. I probably just need to read the book a few more times to really wrap my head around it. It's such a new idea. If anyone else reads it and can give me some insight, please do so!

6. Not going to make it to 7 today, so here are some pictures from this week:

I hate that I'm up early enough during the week to see this, but there have been some beautiful sunrises lately!

Oh this kid. She wasn't throwing a fit in Meijer. She just kept saying her legs didn't work and she had to drag herself across the floor like this. Lol. 

Reading time

He thought it was so funny laying next to her like this.