Celebrate

There's not much snow hanging around us to play in, but we've been quite busy anyway.  These three hulligans keep us hopping.  Keeping up with school papers, snack calendars, AWANA studies, and the general up-bringing of three kids wears this momma out some days.  The photo below was one of those moments where they were so precious but wouldn't calm down and stand still long enough for a picture.

Showing off their new Latham beanies from Nick.

If you know me in real life, you know that this fun little time we call the Sweetheart Supper, is to celebrate some of the ladies in my community keeps me busy for about a month straight.  Our local paper published an article on the event this year which brought more interest to the event:

Lovin' on the Ladies is quite fun though it does take a lot of work to organize.  Yesterday I did a quick count of volunteers who help with the meticulous details.  I counted 22 people who helped make this event a success.  The end result on Valentine's Night is always worth every minute of prep time:

Bethany serves Ms. Wenger.

After a week of Sweetheart Supper details, I was thankful to eat out on Friday night.  Thanks to our local fire department for not only providing emergency services but also for frying up some great fish at the start of the Lenten season.  A worthy cause to be donating too.

This week, the stone gathers no moss at our house.  I wasn't home most of the week nights.  You can imagine how my house looked.  Sure, my husband is helpful and does, but he leaves the fine-tuned details to me.  After a morning of cleaning, we spent the evening celebrating the culture of a Pakistani exchange student from our nearby college.  Saista loved every minute of being in the kitchen again after two months on a college campus.  She was also very patient with her kitchen helpers.  We shared a traditional Pakistani meal, learned about Saista's family, and had a great time getting to know this sweet girl.

Saista and Bethany making the dough for the garmen.

Tuesday through Thursday Sweetheart Supper + Friday night fish fry + Saturday Pakistani night = I was tired.

Sunday would have been a great napping day.  Except that it was almost two weeks after a certain little boy's birthday and we had yet to celebrate with our family.  So Sunday afternoon we were joined by two of Judah's friends, two sets of grandparents, and some good friends who love our children and we had a birthday party.  Complete with cake (for the 3rd time), pizza, soda, and lots of noise.  Happy birthday Judah!

After all the celebrating this past week, I'm thankful for a day off for Presidents Day.  I slept in a bit, lounged around the house, and am now heading out to buy some more beading materials with a girl friend!