Strawberry Jam and Motorcycles in the Livingroom

Good Monday morning to you all!

There have been a few activities around here that I would like to share with you :)  This past week I took our Vita-mix on its maiden voyage.  The Vita-mix is a high-powered blender that can pulverize about anything.  It was given to us as a wedding gift, and I've really enjoyed using it so far.  It is a great machine to make healthy meals out of whole foods, and it can make some pretty tasty snacks too that maybe aren't as healthy :)  A few things that I've made are applesauce, strawberry jam, potato soup, fruit smoothies, bread dough and almond butter.  Most of these have tasted pretty good, and even if they don't I have a wonderful husband that will eat it anyway! 

Making strawberry jam! Thanks to Mom Hanenburg for the recipe :)

Another recent event is that we had our nephews, Dylan and Landan, overnight this weekend.  They were very fun and very high-energy.  They set up our tent and had a little camp out in our apartment, and in the morning we went to Dordt's Rec Center to play soccer and basketball.  They also enjoyed playing ball with Dan, playing Apples to Apples and riding our couch cushions as motorcycles in the livingroom... don't worry, they wore our bike helmets for safety!  Here are a few cute things they said while they were with us:

1.  On our way to Sheldon to bring the boys back home, Landan started whimpering in the back seat.  Dan asked him what was wrong.  Landan replied, "You're gonna tell my mom that we were naughty when we were at your house."  Dan said, "Well, were you?"  Landan said, "Yes".  Dan replied, "Now, whose fault is it that we have to tell your mom that you were naughty?"  Landan paused a second said sadly, "...ours...". 

2.  Although Dan and I enjoy our selection of books, Dylan was not impressed....not many of them have pictures.

3.  After their night of sleeping in the tent, we could hear a little rustling around, so we knew they were awake.  We heard them doing a little talking too, so we listened in.  Landan was telling Dylan that he was thirsty and wanted to get up, but Dylan told him to stay laying for just a couple more minutes :)

 4. Dan and I were explaining to the boys that we are going to move to Pella (4 hours away!). They were not in favor of this. Landan said, "I don't think you should move to Pella... and God doesn't want you to either".

Dylan is looking at the only interesting thing on our bookshelf: Lord of the Rings.
Landan is checking out the hide-a-bed... at this point he thinks he might be sleeping there because we haven't told
them about the tent yet :)

Pillow fight!

Yesterday at church we heard a sermon about living our days with purpose because our time on this earth is limited.  Our days are numbered, and we don't know when the Lord will call us home.  May we live each day full of joy and ready service for the glory of our Heavenly King!

With love,
Leah