Random

Let's play "catch up" shall we?

Kera working out with me.

• School is nearing it's end, I think there's something like 6 weeks left, and almost every single of those 6 weeks is already jam packed with school activities, volunteering, field trips, etc. I think it's almost busier than Christmas time! I'm really loving the opportunity to be involved in both girls' classes, but I'm also looking forward to the freedom of schedule that summer vacation will surely bring!
• Remember a couple weeks ago I posted a music video of an Aaron Shust's song? And I talked about the beautiful piano music? Well I'm super excited, and Kera is probably even MORE excited, that we're going to his concert here on Friday night. I'm eager to see what the girls think of a true blue music concert. 
• I'm still lifting heavy stuff, although I had to take about 1.5 weeks off of all working out because I caught a really nasty cold that just hung on and on. I'm finally feeling better and am starting to get back into the "gym" this week. 
• We are in the process of sorta looking at summer and what we'd like to do for fun, and I'm pretty sure I've got Erik convinced that this is the summer to take the girls to hike and camp in Glacier, and I'm beyond excited about that! :)
• I'm still LOVING my oil cleanse method of skin care. I realized today that I haven't had to use any tea tree oil on any blemishes for a couple weeks, even through my monthly time. I just love how my skin looks and feels right now.
• Treated myself to some new duds recently and ordered these puppies. So comfy and fit perfectly, I love them and can't wait for warmer weather to actually wear them.
• A couple weeks ago our church had a couple from California up to do a parenting/evangelism workshop for our marrieds ministry. They stayed a couple nights with us, which allowed us an opportunity to talk with them and it was so encouraging to share our lives with each other. I learned a ton from their classes, but one thing they talked about was about how when our children started to become pre/teens, it's an age of opportunity for us to really impact their lives. They recommended this book: Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens, Second Edition (Resources for Changing Lives). I ordered it and have read a couple chapters so far. It's really convicting in that it talks about how instead of dreading the teenage years and treating it like a time we just have to survive, we should be embracing the opportunity it holds for us to help our kids. I'm hoping that it'll have some great practical advice as I get into it more.

Well, that's all for now. I gotta go do book club w/ some fourth graders now! :) We're reading a great book: 

It's about a boy born with cerebral palsy in the 40's and lives most of his young years at the Montana State Hospital. It's really interesting and sweet and heart breaking what Petey goes through in his life before people realize what is truly wrong with him. It's a kids book, so it's a fast and easy read, but it has some beautiful language in it that I truly enjoyed reading it. It's also been interesting to talk with the kids about how people get treated differently based on how they look or how we perceive them.