5:30/5:45 – Vanessa gets up, shower and get ready

6:15 – read bible, pack lunches

6:30 – Cole gets up

6:30/6:45 – gather items for the day, hug and kiss Cole, and leave for work

7:00/7:15 – get to work, prepare materials for the day of teaching, collaborate with teachers

8:00 – work day starts (there is no “typical” for a work day in Kindergarten)

3:00 – kiddos head to their own homes

3:30/3:45 – leave from work (usually quite exhausted)

4:00/4:15 – get home, get mail, start dinner, wash dishes, change clothes

5:00/5:15 – Cole gets home, eat dinner, and talk about the day

5:30/5:45 – dinner done, kitchen cleaned, and time to start the evening

(our evening has no real plan – some nights we have bible study, some nights fun with friends, some nights I have class, some nights we have worship team practice, some nights we just relax at home or work on tasks here, etc.)

10:00-11:00 – head towards bed

That’s it – nothing fancy or even very organized, but that is how our days generally go.

- cleaned the whole kitchen and went grocery shopping

- ground/browned 12 pounds of beef
- separated nine pounds of cheese into two cup bags (Cole helped with this!)
- made 2 quarts of yogurt
- made 2 quarts of carrot juice
- made granola
- made smoothies for the early part of the week
- made a pint of spreadable butter

So, not a whole lot, but those tasks being done will be so helpful over the month of March!

This post is posted at Money Saving Mom.

Spray a little bit of shaving cream on a table and spread it into a thin layer. Use your fingers and write in the cream. We practice making pre-writing strokes, writing our names, drawing shapes, writing letters and words, etc.

If you are following our year in groceries:
January

It’s easy to get discouraged. One thing that I do to keep myself from getting discouraged in a world that feels so negative and stressful is to remember the goals that Cole and I believe are part of God’s will and plan for our family. We have spent a great deal of time thinking, praying, and talking about our goals for our life as a family. They are big goals and in order to accomplish them, we are sacrificing some things for the time being. I love the goals and would love to see us accomplish them!

When I begin to grow discouraged because it seems like we are working so hard and sacrificing quite a bit right now in order to achieve those goals, I remember this quote:

Great things are not done by impulse but by a series of small things brought together.
– Vincent Van Gogh

Diligence and perseverance in the small things lead to great things. I see this principle at work all over scripture.

Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. Proverbs 10:4

14″Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents[a] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19″After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ 21″His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 22″The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’ 23″His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 24″Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26″His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28″ ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Matthew 25:14-30

It is also important for me to remember that others do not live by the same principles as those we have chosen. The choices they make are the choices that they have chosen based on the goals they have set for their lives (or they may be bad decisions based on their lack of goals). I cannot compare the dreams and principles that God has shown us for our lives to the lives of others. I can only focus on what we believe to be God’s will for our family.

We will see a reward from our hard work and our small diligence to working towards our goals at this time!

“Our shame was deeper than the sea, your grace is deeper still.”

“When our hearts were far away, your love goes further still.”

“To you alone belongs the highest praise!”

“We lift up our eyes, lift up our eyes, you’re the giver of life!”

Mr. C works on an assessment – his task was to put the numbers zero-nine in order.

Some things we do:
– spell words (I have multiple sets)
– build numbers (eg. “Build 34.” and the child makes the number. This also requires two sets of numbers.)
– order the letters of the alphabet or the numbers
– match identical numbers/letters (using two sets)
– students point to a number that I say

When my little sister and her husband got married last December he was just starting his career in the military, she was getting ready to start nursing school, and they moved from home in Kansas to a new home in Florida. They are babies!

My parents were also babies when they were married – apparently it’s a family trend!

I understand why people worry about such babies getting married. They have very little/no experience living away from home. They do not have experience with managing their money. They are not experts in keeping a home. They have not “found themselves.” And they still possess their “childish dreams.”

That is why I love that I was married young!

Because we married so young, Cole and I have been developing our sense of ourselves as individuals together. We have developed together into a wonderful team! Together we compliment each other. We were married while we still had childish dreams, and together we are working to see them lived out. We were married while full of excitement and passionate about living. Sharing that passion, we are having a wonderful time!

We just celebrated our third Valentine’s day as husband and wife. My sister and her husband just celebrated their first. I am so thankful for the “craziness” of our young marriages and look forward to the day when we will celebrate our 53rd, 63rd, or 73rd Valentine’s day as husband and wife!

On my wedding day, I was head over heels in love with my husband.

And yet, not a day has gone by since that day when I have loved him that little. I am truly blessed to be a part of this marriage with such a wonderful man. My love for him continues to grow in leaps and bounds everyday!

I honestly find myself without the words to express the myriad of ways in which and reasons why I love my Cole (which if you know me well, being speechless is a rare thing!). Luckily, he’s not a words kind of guy, so I’m off to cuddle and spend quality time with my love this weekend!

Happy Valentines Day!