The {CAKE} ...

for the preschool {Cake Auction} on Tuesday.

as seen on FamilyFun.com

** I don't think I'll go into professional cake decorating any time soon - but it was fun **

{little miss} molly.

freezing cold temps didn't keep this {little miss} from lighting up the foggy day :)

** thanks for playing with us today Molly **

6 hours {and a few minutes}

1 HUGE sliver pulled.
5 bags of popcorn.
5 gummy worms.
1 bottle of rootbeer.
3 bottles of water.
2 varsity basketball games.
5 raffle tickets.
1 cake won by Mason.
1 princess crowned.
2 queens crowned.
3 minute standing ovation.
2 boxes of ice cream bars.
1 hot gym.
1 dinner with friends.
1 birthday dessert with 8 spoons.
1 CD purchased.
1 calf pulled.

good times.

good friends.

just an all-around {good} 6+ hours. {yesterday}

To Do.

♥ grocery shop

♥ visit with a woman I don't know in the produce section at WalMart about how much she loves my hair

♥ give that same woman the name & number of my stylist {for the past 11 years}

♥ visit with mom on the phone {at least 4 times}

♥ make Mason's valentines for preschool

♥ attach cards to treats

♥ dip pretzel sticks for MOPS on Monday night

♥ make artichoke dip for MOPS on Monday night

♥ attempt to make a cake for the preschool {Cake Auction}

♥ go to Kylie's basketball game & cheer her on

♥ go to U.S. Cellular and pray they will replace Ian's phone that somehow got {smashed} this morning ... still have the smashed one for a few days

♥ put diffuser smelly things all over the house to get rid of the burned popcorn stench that was created by a certain 4 year old yesterday

♥ buy a new microwave

♥ take a few pictures

♥ keep memorizing Psalm 139 {I'm amazed at how well I'm doing}

♥ buy fresh tulips

♥ finish up a photo book I've created at Shutterfly

♥ call MOPS gals to remind them of the meeting this Monday night

♥ paint Mason's hand & Mack's foot for our Valentine card

♥ work at school to get ready for another {full} week

♥ check blogs

♥ pay bills


♥ read a book or two to my boys

♥ finish last 2 loads of laundry


♥ share a little {love} ♥

Optimism.

I grabbed the book of the top of Mack's dresser this afternoon. I hadn't looked at it for a while, and while I was quickly grabbing his shoes and socks, it caught my eye.

Lord Bless My Child continues to influence, inspire and mold me. {probably more than my children} I know this sounds a bit goofy, but every time I open it, the page I open to is just what I need to read.

I don't see it as chance.

It's God speaking to me.

I know it.

And when He's speaking to me, you get the opportunity to {listen} to Him too.

Lucky {us}.

..................................................................

Some key points from Bill and Nancie Carmichael's book:

♥ It's always refreshing to be around people who are positive.
Colossians 3:1-2 says, {If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.}

♥ We must remember that optimism is the first cousin to faith, and pessimism is the first cousin to doubt.

♥ {It's not so much who you believe in, as who believes in you!} ~ Henrietta Meyers

♥ A person with optimism, with faith in the God of the impossible, is a person who can influence his or her world.

........................................................................

This world we live in is negative enough.

Don't add to it.

Just don't.

I catch myself on bad days, tiring days, overwhelming days, exhausting days on the verge of seeing the glass half empty and then I remember 1 Corinthians 13:7. {LOVE bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things}

I know that I need to {I must} have an "unshakable confidence in Christ and believe that all things work out for the good."

Who am I, a teacher, wife, mother, friend, freckled, blessed woman, to influence and inspire others?

Truth is ... I am nothing without Him.

He gives me the words.

He speaks to my heart.

He shines brightly through my spirit.

And I write it down.

All of it.

Whether it makes total sense or not because I know that He's calling me to.

............................................................

Today & many, many days to come I will pray with my whole entire being that my children {my two beautiful boys} will see the positive side of life.
~May they have that rare ability to look for the best, even in the dark times.
~May they be men who see opportunities in problems.
~May they bring sunshine where there is rain, courage where there is fear, and hope when there is despair.

If I'm doing my job as their {optimistic} mother, they will.

I know it.

.......................................................................

One of our best cows had a beautiful calf today. 2 hours later, after {licking her baby off} and giving the colostrum her little heifer needed, she died.

We don't know why.

We can't begin to understand why this year of calving has been so very, very difficult & trying.

We're frustrated.

We're tired.

We're flat worn out.

But, we continue {all of us} to be optimistic.

If you're any kind of farmer or rancher, you have to be optimistic.

And if you're lucky enough to be the wife of that farmer or rancher with a run of {not so good luck}, you have to be willing to see the best in everything.

Optimism.

Let it define you.

A little bit of this ...

and a little bit of that.

♥ the sun is shining here today ... and it's actually not freezing cold.

♥ my classroom door is open, my class is at PE, and the sound of children playing on the playground is music to my ears.

♥ the {love} tree on my kitchen table is from IKEA. I picked it up on one of the best weekends ever last January.

♥ there is something I truly {love} about blogging. truly, truly {love}. probably because I'm a journaling fool at heart.

♥ these cool hearts are made with some html codes I came across recently. The code for hearts is {&#9829}. You type it in while using the edit Html tab above. Try it. You'll love it.

♥ my camera {Canon Rebel xti} is used every day. Lately it's been taking pictures of {science} because we have a guest {scientist} from the University of Oregon in our room for 2 weeks. Super fun & inspiring.

♥ life without chocolate would be horrible. Today I'm really enjoying Hershey Kisses & Junior Mints.

♥ our babysitter has been under the weather. My mother-in-law {♥} took care of the boys yesterday & fixed the most delicious stew for dinner last night with every ingredient she could find. {I think I need to do some grocery shopping}.

♥ Fernando & Lelis are watching Mack today ... I hope he can speak Spanish fluently when I get home ... or at least {hola}.

♥ I am memorizing Psalm 139 this month. Love it. Have the first 4 verses done. I've printed them in sets of two and have them in Ziploc bags on a hook in the shower. Some people sing songs ... I sing Psalms.

♥ tomorrow is my friend Amy's birthday. She is a wonderful woman I met through my blog & I treasure her so very much! Go on over {tomorrow} and wish her another great trip around the sun!!

♥ Ronda got me the greatest book last year called Eat Your Peas {for birthdays}. There is a whole collection of them. Check them out here.

♥ thank you to those who read and answered the questions in the post Stand Tall. I'm inspired and encouraged by your thoughts & am thankful you took the time to read and reflect. God does GREAT things when we desire His best and strive for it.

♥ I've decided after beginning my study of Esther & watching {The Bachelor} last night that today's world/society isn't too far off from the rule of King Ahasuerus & Queen Vashti.

♥ did I mention that the sun is shining here today?

♥ follow my blog if you want ... add your picture over there on the side & you'll be one of the first to know when I post something new.

{♥} share some love with those around you.

You never know who you may influence today.

Sharing a little {love}.

Our kitchen table is a catch all.

Papers.
Bills.
The Capital Press.
The East Oregonian.
The Agri-Times.
Family Fun magazine.
Guideposts.
Napkins.
Pens.
Pencils.
Crayons.
Batteries.
Books.
Bibles.
Pictures.
Cards.

{just to name a few}

The good news is - there is one time during the day when it seems a little less {cluttered} and little more {loved}.

Dinner time.

The time when we get to see each other. {really SEE each other}... especially this time of year when only 1/2 of us really live here.

Our time to eat together.

Our time to laugh together.

Our time to {be} together.

This little tree that sits in the middle of our kitchen table has served many purposes, but right now - during the hustle and bustle of welcoming another busy month of 2009 - it's sharing a little {love}.

................................................................

and even though we didn't watch the Superbowl

{I know what you're thinking ... we're pathetic with a capital P}

we did enjoy a little football action of our own

May your month ahead be full of opportunities to share a little {love}.