Richmond Metro Zoo

We are trying to do some fun things over spring break, not just regular weekly routine stuff. Yesterday we went to the Richmond Metro Zoo. I love seeing all of the unique animals. We also saw a few wild black snakes and got to touch one. I'm reminded of God's incredible design and His sense of humor too. Seriously, the giraffe is a funny looking creature, and so is the vulture!

There are tons of blogs that have documented this cake. You can google rainbow layer cake and find it. I saw it months ago and wanted to make it as part of our April Fool's Day dinner, but I couldn't keep this one hidden from Peyton and Liam. They saw all of the batter sitting on the counter after it was colored and watched the layers cooking in the oven. It was fun to cut the cake and see all of the layers. The only negative thing about this cake was all the frosting. We are a family that really doesn't like frosting. I kept the frosting between the layers really thin, but it was still really sweet. I need to find a homemade frosting that isn't terribly sweet.

Cupfakes - April Fool's Day

Last year we made fakin' and eggs for April Fool's Day. This year I made cupfakes, which looked exactly like cupcakes, but they were meatloaf with mashed potato "frosting." Mark had to work, so I invited my mom for dinner. I was really hoping Peyton and Liam would be faked out, but as we sat down to dinner, Liam took a lick of the frosting and said, "This is mashed potatoes!" They were delicious and it was fun, even though the kids weren't all that surprised!

We are enjoying some gorgeous spring weather. This past weekend was weird. We went to the park Saturday and had to dodge rain and hail, but Sunday was awesome. A girl at church was talking about planting that day, prepping her garden, etc. and I got the bug to plant. The kids and I went to the Great Big Greenhouse and Meadows Farm and picked up a van full of stuff, coneflowers, black eyed susans, forsythia, mint, and some basil. Liam and Peyton also picked a few other perennials that I can't remember. We spent all of Sunday afternoon outside planting and digging in the dirt. The front yard looks pretty good, but our backyard needs WORK! It's tough to get it done when Mark is working so many weekends, but we are slowly making progress.

I won something

Several weeks ago I entered a giveaway on the Take Heart blog for a soap spitter. These soap dispensers are so fun and whimsical and they're made by Close 2 My Art. I actually won! I was so excited, probably more excited than the rest of my family, but hey, a sock monkey soap dispenser....what's not to be excited about! I love it. We have it in the downstairs bathroom and I think it is incredibly fun. I wanted to thank Danielle for this giveaway too and for making me aware of another place to buy unique, handmade gifts.

I took this picture of my precious kids last week. Aren't they so sweet................... (just look below for their favorite pose!)


















They love to make faces for their mama's camera, followed immediately by, "Can we see the picture!"

Green!

Lots of green in our house, inside and out! I am so excited to see the signs of spring.

How deep the Father's love for us

I love this song so much. We sang it at First Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg and it is really one of my favorites. It's also a beautiful reminder of His sacrifice for us, especially as we move toward Easter.


How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

From the MSG, Eph. 2:8-9:

"Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving."

I read this verse today on a blog called A Holy Experience as the writer spoke about her reasons for doing Lent. Her post made me think about Lent more than usual. We attend a Presbyterian church and Presbyterians don't really do Lent. I decided, however, to do Lent this year. I'm not using it to give up something like sugar or caffeine, to struggle for 40 days and then take it back up at the end. I am using Lent this year to pray for believers around the world who are being persecuted for their faith. I doing Lent to think about being more intentional about how I spend our money, to be a better steward of what God has given our family. And I am working to weed out some junk from my life. I love to read blogs. I have many that I read every day, but so many of them are not filling me with things that are glorifying to God. So, I have been on a search for blogs about faith and about loving Jesus. I found a site this week called Faith Blogs, that features writers doing just that, writing about faith, family, about crafts, photography, and home too. Thing I love to read about and things that inspire me and a focus on their relationships with God and their struggles. I found A Holy Experience by way of Faith Blogs today.

So back to Lent. I want to really use this time to grow deeper in my relationship with Jesus. There are believers all over the world who are willing to die for their faith, who are willing to struggle and be persecuted because they believe their Jesus is worth it. Do I? Do I have what it takes to be in the world, but not to be overcome by it? That's what I'm thinking about this Lenten season.