thankful for snow and much more...

It has definately been a "winter wonderland" around here, (that's what Lance keeps calling it).  I love snowy days.  They force us to slow down and enjoy what is close to us.  Today we did a whole lot of  just that.  We ate a big breakfast this morning, played the wii and hiho-cherry-o with Luke, sat and watched the snow, laughed at Jacob's funny sayings, smiled at Ella's new top teeth, and sat and watched the snow some more.  It was a good day.  Days like these make me thankful to be here and appreciate all the good things that God has done in my life. 
I always think, what was I doing this time last year, because the days, months, and years go by so fast.  This time last year I was awaiting our sweet baby Ella, who now happens to be one of the greatest joys of my life.  I had had a long, rough pregnancy, and I was ready for it to be over.  Early on in my pregnancy with Ella, I had a placental abruption that caused a severe hemorage, and ended with a  bloodclot that lasted for about 17 weeks.  During that time of weekly ultrasounds, and a lot of uncertainty, I was certain in one thing, that God would bring me through it.  And, He chose to not only bring me through it, but her too.  She is here, she is well, and she is so beautiful.  Now, don't get me wrong, I think my boys are handsome as ever, but she is the most beautiful thing to me.  Her eyes are sparkly blue and her cheeks are so cute!  God says that He'll bring us beauty out of ashes.  And He did.  I was in such a rough place last year, only able to look to God for peace, not knowing if Ella would survive.  And, now this year, seeing a sweet 8 month old happy baby girl, who laughs and plays with her big brothers, and watching the snow, is such a sweet dream.

(Ella's first experience of the snow this morning)...Apparently, princesses do not like the cold.  I don't know if you can tell, but she's really pouting in this picture.  I was really trying for a smile, but it wasn't happening. 

So we came in for a warm bath...

More snow pics...

Give, Save, and Spend...

Our family is on a big journey...learning to manage the money that God has given us.  And, not only just manage it, but do it well.  We've had our ups and downs, but we're not giving up!  We know that God wants us to be debt free and that is our goal for 2011.  But, we're not stopping there.  We feel deeply that it is our priority to teach our children to manage money as well.  And we don't want to wait until they're 18.  We want to begin now. 

These are our oldest son, Luke's, money jars.  The first one is the giving jar, second saving, and third, the spending jar.  We want Luke to know how important we feel it is to give first, save second, then spend out of what is left.  And, let me tell you, he is so excited about this!  He loves helping me around the house. And there are a few things that I pay him for helping me, such as making his own bed, picking up his toys, and mopping, (with the swiffer jet). 

Tonight, as we were talking about the importance of what we do with our money that God gives us, Luke said, "Momma, can we talk about God?"  (Well, of course!)  He said, "There's some good news and some bad news about Him.  (I wondered where this was going).  First, the bad news...you can't see God.  But, the good news is, you can feel Him, and you can talk to Him."  How profound is that! How could I have known that a simple lesson about money would lead up to a "talk" about God.  We spent awhile talking about those three things, as we were lying in his bunk bed.  It was a good talk;   I'm glad we had it.  You just can't separate God and money, they're so connected.  Because, "where your treasure is, there your heart is also".