A week full of crazy days!

Last week it was just the kids and I as Nathan was in Indiana for a counseling conference. So I planned some craziness into our week to keep the kids having fun, and keep us doing stuff in the evenings to get us out of the house a bit.

The kids were excited when the doorbell rang one day with an unexpected package from our realtor...

Ashlyn couldn't wait to find out what was in the box!

Yummy chocolate covered strawberries!

A wonderful treat!

The package came in the midst of playing dress up

Micah absolutely loved the comment on the side of the box so he had to take a picture of it. It turned out to be true... the contents disappeared pretty quickly!

We have a little friend who sits out on the deck every day. Not sure what he's doing as we sure don't put any food out there. Maybe it's just a good place to soak up some sun. The kids have enjoyed his presence though.

The highlight of the week was Valentines Day!

The kids were so eager to check their mailboxes to find out what was inside.

We started off the day with heart-shaped pancakes and berries! Mmmm!

Later that day they got a special treat that Daddy made for them before he left

During the afternoon the we went over to Legoland Discovery Center and felt like we had the place almost to ourselves. Much better than when we visited over Christmas break! The kids had fun building legos, playing in the play area, and going on a few rides. 

Heart-shaped pizza for dinner

And of course, you can't have Valentines Day without decorated heart-shaped cookies!

Their favorite part of the day was a treasure hunt to find some little presents that Nana sent for them. I hid them around the room and then gave then a treasure map to find the location of their gifts.

  I was sad to have Nathan gone on Valentines Day, but he was so sweet to plan a little something special before he left. After the kids were in bed the night before he left, he surprised me with candlelight and cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory! My favorite! Thanks for making it special honey, even though we had to be apart. You're the best! I love you Nathan!

As I was uploading pictures I realized that most of my picture taking happened on Valentines Day and I never thought to get anything else. But here's a little recap...

This week as Awana was backwards night so I decided to make the whole day a backwards day. It took the kids a little time to process what that meant when I walked out with my shirt on backward, but they quickly got into the spirit of it. So we began our day with family devotions (which we usually do right before bed) and then they enjoyed some dessert before getting dressed for the day. That was a big hit! The craziest part of the day was having Tacos for breakfast and then eggs for dinner! It sure made it a fun day though. We're just sad Daddy couldn't join us in our craziness!

This crazy boy even put his jean on backward and it made me laugh all day. It looked so uncomfortable!

The next day was Pajama day. The kids are always asking if they can wear their pajamas all day long so this was finally the day for me to say yes. But Ashlyn quickly tired of it and went to change a few hours into the day. And we were excited for another surprise package at the door - a care package from the cousins! My sister is so awesome to think of special things like that for us! Here the kids are enjoying their Valentines from their cousins.

By the time Friday came we were quite eager to have Daddy home again. And he ended up coming home earlier than we had anticipated so Ashlyn skipped her nap that day. But right before dinner we realized how tired she was when we went to get her and found her like this...

Thanks for those of you who were praying for us while Nathan was away! We are grateful for your prayers! And we are so thankful to have him back home with us again!