Valentine's Day Preparations and a Photo Contest

Thanks for all your kind comments on Alia's California Retreat wrap-up.  I'll be writing more about the Retreat soon, but I can't even express what a huge help Alia is to me.  My hands are often full of dishes, laundry, and piles of paperwork, so it's very fortunate that I have an extra set of hands (Grace and Ethan want to start helping too!). 

For today, I have a post at The Power of Moms called, "A Valentine's Tradition Your Family Will Never Forget."

It' about our annual "We Love to Be a Family" Day that we're holding again this Saturday.  Alia's helping to plan this year's event, but I can't say any more about it because my other children read this blog.  (More on that later . . .)

Also, we announced our Photo Contest for the cover of our Power of Moms book today, and we've already received some wonderful entries.  I'm seriously giddy about this.  Every time I check my email, I see new, beautiful photos depicting deliberate motherhood.

If you're thinking about entering, please do!  If your photo isn't picked, there's a great chance we'll still use it on the website.  Click here for details on the contest, okay?

One of my favorite parts of the day was when Alia and Grace created their own entries.  Here's Alia's:

 

That melts my heart.

It's time for me to go tuck my children in bed, but I just wanted to record three other favorite moments from the day:

(1) Eating carrots, hummus, and a sweet potato in front of our fireplace with Spencer (those are his favorite foods . . . kind of unique, I know), and having him tell me all about the things on his mind (that's a LOT of information).  We read stories, and he gave me a lot of kisses, and I felt so grateful for those sweet moments because usually I'm chasing him up and down the stairs or trying to convince him not to use the backyard as his own private bathroom. 

(2) Helping Ethan get ready for school.  He broke his arm a couple of weeks ago, so he's been in a cast, and he can't really wash his hand very well, tie his own shoes, or make his lunch.  Even though it will be great when his arm is healed, I enjoy having a little extra special time with him.

(3) Sitting around the kitchen table with the X-acto knife, helping my girls to make their cards for Valentine's Day.  (They have been super excited about these, and we've been talking about them all week.)

 

Much love,

April