What a Great Week!

Well, even though Hubby had to go to Texas for training this week, the Little Lady and I had a great week! We played and relaxed at home.... It was Perfect!

"Daddy, I can come too, right?"

Here's some of the fun we got into! =)

 Ariah has really been into coloring this week and so we've had to work on what's appropriate surfaces and what aren't. Face, hands, legs... All fair game :) Even Mommy's!

Hehehe

I just love this face! Ariah decided that she and her doll (a doll my Great Grandma made for my sister one Christmas) needed to brush their teeth. So of course the doll had to join us! I have several pictures of her "brushing" her teeth, but, again, I love this face!

So, after sending this picture to the hubby, we decided it was well past time to buy a Kitchen Helper! :) I am really excited to see how it works and I'll post information and pictures on it when it arrives. We were making a chickpea salad that I found on ohsheglows.com. While I'm not a vegan, I am intrigued by how creative she gets and how yummy her recipes are. Anyway, Ariah was not a fan of the salad, but she likes humus...so into the food processor went the salad and here's my happy helper :) She ate nearly as much as I did!

Now, my newest project! I have been DROOLING over Queen B's work (on Facebook: Queen B's Boutique). She makes dresses and ruffled jeans (Super Cute....and I have my first dress in the mail right now! Eeek!) Anyway, I missed out on Valentine's day jeans mainly because I already had a shirt for Ariah and didn't see the need to buy another new outfit..... Until I went thrifting with my mom. I found this cute dress, but it is WAY too short for Ariah. Soooo.... I cut the ruffles off the bottom and sewed it on to jeans!

Before

After!

 I am REALLY happy with how they turned out :) I'm thinking of using the remaining fabric to do a decal on a shirt to complete the outfit.... but we'll see.

So, this week I got back to that 10 Minute Time Out for Moms that I mentioned in one of my first blog posts (check the Bible Study label). I forgot how much I loved her writing :) This week, on top of uplifting me spiritually, she renewed my enthusiasm for finding out WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT WOMEN! lol
I have started my study....in Genesis :) I know, that may be a strange place to start. I thought it was at least. However, there are several women who are not only mentioned in the Bible but directly spoke to God or His angels. In my opinion, that's worth a study ;)
I started with Eve.
"This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh." Genesis 2:24
Now this verse talks about becoming "one." This can mean the obvious physical oneness during intimacy, but I started thinking about truly becoming "one." If you are one with someone, then what hurts that person hurts you; what they rejoice in, you do as well. I will be looking for more verses to support this train of thought, but it strikes me that this verse also talks about the support and care one should show for another in a marriage. I'm not going to post any more thoughts on this right now because they're still milling and I don't have the verses to fully support my thoughts. Mill on this for now though and we'll come back to it in a later post :)

I found something really interesting in Genesis 6, but again I'm not quite ready to post on it yet. Instead we'll keep going to the next woman (and last for now), Noah's wife. Did you know that we aren't even given her name here? and yet....
We should all know the story of Noah. The world was so full of wicked men that the Lord sent a flood to destroy everyone...except Noah, his wife, and their three sons and their wives. In Genesis 6 and 7 we can read the conversation that ocurred between God and Noah, but Noah's wife was not, as far as we know, privy to this direct knowledge. All she knew was that her husband began building an ark because God told him to. Now, since she was saved from the flood, I think it's safe to assume that she was godly and had a certain amount of faith in God. Having faith that her husband actually talked to God and was given directions to build a giant ark is a different kind of faith though. I have faith that I am God's child and that He has saved me, but I don't always have faith that my husband is right. God is God and my husband is, well, human. Noah's wife had faith not only in her God but also in her husband and his faith. As Christian wives of Christian men, we need to show our husbands that support that comes with being "one" and have faith in THEIR faith. Reminding them to pray about decisions and praying ourselves FOR them is the first step, but after that we need to have faith.
(Quick cavaet, this next part is my own conviction. It is one of my own thoughts that I am hoping to find biblical advice on as I study. I will come back to edit if I find biblical evidence that I am wrong, but for now you can take it as a personal opinion and glimpse on how I work as a wife.)
By the way, I'm NOT saying that husbands and wives won't disagree nor that if, as a wife, you are feeling God's pull in a different dirrection you shouldn't talk to your husband. You should. In fact, I believe that if a husband and wife are being "pulled by God" in two different directions on a specific decision, it is a good sign that there should be more prayer before a decision is made.

I'm kind of surprised that a woman whose name is not even recorded could set such an example for Christian wives. There's definitely a reason all the stories are recorded in the Bible. They still have so much to teach us.

Alright! So, there's a thorough update ;) Have a great weekend!

So many Projects, so Little Time

Yay! I made it back here....two days in a row!

Alright, so my garage and spare room have become catch-alls for projects and items that will be used in the future. The later are specifically things like sauce jars and yogurt cups that I'm using with Ariah. She pours and scoops, having a ball and working on fine motor skills.

Here, she's pouring potato flakes

The problem is, it looks like garbage when it's piled everywhere. So, I have projects in the works to help :) I'll post a picture of one tomorrow (hopefully I can get it done after I finish this post....well, except for the paint). I have the typical sorting, getting rid of true junk, and setting up store-bought shelves in the garage, but I'm really proud because I am turning a 50ish year old dresser into a set of shelves I can use! I'm so excited!

I'm also very excited because I'm making Ariah a light table :) In the stores they run for $300 or more. Well, as much as I love my little girl, that's not happening. Instead, I'm using some oak from a project that never got finished (Hubby thought he'd make four baby gates and only got one completed lol), a piece of plywood, a piece of plexi glass, some frosted spray paint, and rope lights. Ariah loves playing with flashlights so I can't wait to see her face when this is all done!

Well, I better go get it done if I'm going to show you pictures :)

Oh! one other project I'm finishing up: flashcards with Bible verses. I know, Ariah is a little young to read... ok, a LOT too young to read, but I came upon a site where a mom chose verses that started with a letter of the alphabet. So, the child recognizes the letters and learns verses! Brilliant :) While I liked her concept, I wanted to use my own verses and translations. I wrote them by hand on plain index cards (making sure the first letter was big and in color) and now all I have to do is a mock lamination using contact paper. I thought I'd share the verses I found:

A- “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness;” 2 Timothy 3:16 NIV

B- “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Hebrews 11:3 NIV

C- “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalms 51:10 KJV

D- “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31 NIV

E- “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” James 1:19 NIV

F- “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 NIV

G- “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” Genesis 1:31 NIV

H- “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:8 NKJV

I- “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 NIV

J- “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 NKJV

K- “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.” Psalms 34:13 NIV

L- “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.” Proverbs 12:22 NKJV

M- “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice. And sing praise.” Psalm 98:4 KJV

N- “Nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Luke 22:42 NKJV

O- “O my God, I trust in Thee; Let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.” Psalm 25:2 KJV

P- “Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 106:1 NKJV

Q- “A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a man of wicked intentions is hated.” Proverbs 14:17 NKJV

R- “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 NKJV

S- “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 NKJV

T- “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 NKJV

U- “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 NKJV

V- “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.” John 6:47 KJV

W- “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 NIV

X- “”Examine me O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart.” Psalm 26:2 NKJV

Y- “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105 NKJV

Z- “Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice because of Your judgments, O Lord.” Psalm 97:8 NKJV

I'm so thrilled with this list! Ok.....now I'm going. Those shelves won't build themselves! :)