Happy Hearts Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day!! L is showing off his dollar from Grandmom and Pop Pop B~
Sweet Siblings..Odesco and Mercy looking "shiny, shiny" after a good "greasing".
Snow Day!!!
Big Bro C with his heart sandwich :)
Our little cowboy...still trying to get a picture of Odesco in his attire.
Dress up time during a wonderful evening at the K's...Officer Jenkins and who knows who Odesco is supposed to be?! The Queen Bee orchestrating the Valentine's making venture~
Tuesday, while the big boys and Daddy were skiing, I kept busy with the littles. While the dynamics can be exhausting at times without the 2 big boys, some days it is nice to not have to be on top of all the homeschooling and take a day just to play and get stuff done around the house. After a somewhat lazy morning, we headed out to the library(before the weather turned for the worse) to return our bounty from 3 weeks ago and to restock! We went over all the do's and don'ts (this time I remembered to talk about the self checkout computer !) and actually did quite well. There was excited anticipation(no fear!!) for a ride on the elevator (as Mercy calls it"the thing where the floor goes up") and L and Odesco were quite the sight as they sauntered in wearing matching hand-me-down cowboy boots and cowboy/revolutionary war hats to complete the look.
When we returned home, G suddenly realized Wednesday was Valentine's Day. We don't usually make a big deal of this but she rallied the troops and before I knew what was happening, the kitchen table was filled with crayons, pink, red, and white paper, glue sticks and kiddy scissors, tape and staplers. While I was busy cooking another batch of potato green soup and a heart shaped meatloaf for today, these 4 were busy creating. They all wanted to know how to spell various relatives and friends' names. Then they all ran to the basement for gift bags where they hid their treasures until today. Guess we'll have to mail off the long distance sentiments!
As I noted earlier, I don't typically make this holiday a big deal...usually a card and maybe a special treat for the kids and a card for my hubby. I recently read something about making family memories so I decided to put a little more effort into making it special for everyone. As M said,"You are raising expectations for the future" which is true but I trust the effort will be worth it if we can create new memories together as a family.

Last night after they were all tucked in, I spruced up the table with a red tablecloth and heart paper napkins (don't you just love the $ store?!). My plan was to wake up early and make a hot breakfast for my hubby before he left for work...earlier in the day while the kids were creating, I had already prepared a double batch of whole wheat pancakes with chocolate chips for the 4 older kiddos....I feel less guilty since I added a load of flaxseed and used whole wheat- :)
I also made 2 dozen plain pancakes for our newest family members who despise chocolate!! As it turns out, they requested more potato green soup and rice for breakfast and since it was already prepared, that's what they enjoyed.
Well,this morning I overslept and due to the snowstorm Daddy spent the day working at home (in between 'interupptions' or opportunities depending on how you view it!), so in spite of my later wake time, he did get his hot breakfast...a rarity around here ! Lunch was embellished with heart shaped sandwiches...tacky but the kids seemed to really enjoy it!
In the morning, while I was getting ready for the day I could hear the 4 littles outside our bedroom door giddily waiting for me to come out so they could lavish me with their valentines...most were oddly shaped scraps of paper with scribbles but their excitement and desire to please were priceless.
They spent time outside in the snow collecting pieces of ice to "make a house". We tried to make a snowman to no avail...too icy. Oh well, maybe next storm. Mercy and Odesco's tolerance of this cold weather amazes me...only occasionally do they complain about the frigid temperatures we have been experiencing lately. Considering they probably never experienced a day under 75 degress, I find this pretty amazing :)!
Dinner was a hit...the kids enjoyed the heart shaped meatloaf and M and I enjoyed a date
to Panera bread!! What a blessing to get out together for a "real date" -our first one since the kids came home (where our primary objective was to spend time together and not run errands.) We still made a supermarket run but after we enjoyed our meal together. Our babysitter report was not without some major incidents...and she stuck around long enough for the offending parties to be spoken to by Daddy and to ask forgiveness of our longsuffering babysitter!I was just commenting to M on Sunday how things seemed to be levelling out just a bit. In the past few days however, we have had many"opportunities" ...and not just with our newest additions. It just reminds me that our hope is in the One who we trust will ultimately transform the hearts of all 6 of our blessings...we need to be faithful in "training them up in the ways of the Lord"and trust Him to bring about the harvest...
A friend emailed me this week also. She is a seasoned mom of 8 and right now has 3 older kids all walking with the Lord and 3 teens also doing well. She reminded me that though our labors at times may seem to be in vain, God is faithful...what a timely reminder as it can seem like we are taking backward steps when behaviors regress or old sin issues resurface. In reality, these are not steps backwards but rather steps propelling us/our children into the arms of our Savior as we remind them and ourselves of our desperate need for Him. There is truly no better place to be!... What good news it is that He has already paid our debt and does not repay us as our sin deserves.
What a kind and gracious Father He is and what a privilege it is to introduce these precious gifts to Him!!

Now onto some funny happenings around here:
*The other day the kids were watching the video "the Birth of Jesus"...G declared rather authoritatively that she is glad Jesus was born in a stable and that there was not room for Him in the inn because it is so much easier for her to draw a stable!
* Yesterday as I was helping Odesco get dressed, I asked where the lotion was for "greasing time". Well, we couldn't locate the lotion but Mercy knew just where the coconut oil(yes, used for cooking also) was which we use on occasion. This is solid and in a tub but when you rub your hands on it it turns to its liquid form. So there we were on the kitchen floor smearing chunks of coconut oil on Odesco(he was partially dressed!) ...Mercy then proceeded to strip down to do the same...(the children were bathed out in the open in Liberia so there is no sense of modesty-we are working on this!!)...she then reminded Odesco of the oil they did this with at AOH and how they would lick their hands as they were smearing themselves shiny...Odesco did stick a chunk in his mouth and declared,"I like it!!"
* Odesco gets in total hysterics watching "Boo-Boo" aka Curious George....I love hearing him laugh like this...for some reason, he really 'connects' with this little monkey from Africa! Part of the Valentine's surprise was the acqusition of the Curious George movie :)

Well, that's all for now...thanks for checking in again :)
Grateful that steps "backward" thrust me forward to the Savior and the cross~!
MamaB.