Missing my Valentine

Twenty-four feet,

One hundred and twenty toes,

Two hearts in love so long ago,

And that love just grows and grows.

We've all missed Daddy the past week.  A church up north is giving us a bus to use in the ministry here, so Daniel went to go pick it up, get it imported, and bring it back here.  Lord willing, he should be home soon.  We're ready!  I was telling Daniel on the phone today that there are about 2 benefits to him being gone:

1. I get to bed earlier (because after the children go to bed, there's nobody to talk to...unless, of course, I stay up to tend to our poor neglected blog).

2.  We tend to keep more on schedule (because there's no certain someone to visit with or help during the day or do some spontaneous fun thing with)

But there's a whole lot more disadvantages!  Don't worry; I won't list them all! :)

We pray often for Daddy throughout the day that the Lord will bless him in all he has to do and bring him home safely to us soon.

Every time Daniel has to leave somewhere, he normally comes home to a rearranged house :)  Keeping busy helps me not miss him as much. :) 

So we started with the girls room which Daddy finished painting just before he left.  Our big project in there...

We took down the crib.

Samuel was very happy.  I was happy for him yet sad too.  It was a bitter-sweet moment.

He still tends to roll off the bed sometimes, so he's just on his crib mattress on the floor for now.  

I do love how he now gets up in the morning or from his nap holding his rabbit and dragging his blankie and comes to find me. 

I remember years ago when Daniel had to leave, one blessing would be our grocery bill would go way down for the week as he ate about as much as the rest of us combined.

Well, now that he's a bit older (yet just as handsome) and eating less,

and our children are more in number and older too and eating wwaaayyy more,

it doesn't affect our grocery bill in the least.

Actually, it made it go up a bit because I bought a few treats and fun meals that I normally wouldn't buy just to  do something special for the children.

This is Nehemiah's "getting caught making himself another sandwich" face while the rest of the family was busy watching a Duggar Family episode. :) 

And this is how Samuel eats a sandwich.  Food is like art to him.

Saturday morning breakfast with the little ones who all got up early. 

 Every morning, no matter what's for breakfast, I always make Daniel an egg with toast to go along with it. 

I actually have a little frying pan just for that purpose. 

Every pot and pan I have is big, except for Daddy's egg pan. 

 Timothy humbly offered to take Daddy's place in that regard while he's away. 

Yes, we have done more than just eat the past week...although that does seem to take up a good portion of every day.  :)

 We played a lot.  LOVE the trampoline hair! :)

 The children have been reading through the New Testament this year. 

Each of the oldest 6 have a younger sibling to which they read  out loud each day.

 Beka did some mending for me.  Now that's a blessing!! :)

This morning, I surprised the children with their own new mug for Valentines day.  

Each morning, it's always a bit of work to get them all up and going because they are so cold.  We love to sip on hot tea with breakfast to warm up.

But then, by the afternoon, sometimes it hits 90!  

Like today.

And since it was a special day, and they were sooooo hot (I was told that about 100 times), I let them "swim". :)

Nehemiah helped me make a cake.

 And the girls helped me set the table for a special Valentine's day supper...pizza, soda, and cake.  Definitely a special treat!

A dear family sent us a special Valentine's Day package in the mail last week.  The heart straws were a huge hit!

And according to the boys, it was the perfect end to the evening when they checked the mouse trap they'd set   *under my bed* (ewwww) and found this...

When Daniel's not here, I'll let a child or two sleep in my room...not a mouse.

So thankful that the Lord is watching over Daniel, watching over us, and cares so much for each and every one of you too.

Happy Valentine's Day.