March Hot Happenings

Another month has come and gone, and it is time to reflect on the month of March!

We continued to have mild weather, and then were super blessed with a week of summer-like weather! We all enjoyed being outdoors all day, every day that week! Then we were shocked back to the reality that it IS only March...and we got some "fertilizer" snow. Ah well, it was nice while it lasted!

Judah is 4 months old now, and developing more and more of a personality all the time. He enjoyed being able to go for walks in his pram during our bout of warm weather.

Is he cute, or what? He is starting to prefer his thumb to his soother...uh oh! :)

The other kids are busily working on school work and starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. They are starting to count down how many more days they have to go!

Carrie wearing dad's glasses...when she wears glasses she looks so much like me! Yikes!

We've also been watching two stars each night, which from our facebook poll we found out are Venus and Jupiter. So neat! Sometimes they are really big and bright!

We also had another chimney fire the other night. I say "another" because we had one in January, too! (So apparently we aren't burning down the neighborhood this year, just our house. Greeeaaaaaat.) We've never, ever had chimney fires before, and aren't sure what is causing them. Thankfully they are not dangerous, and just burn themselves out in just a few moments. Here is a picture we captured the other night:

What I've been reading:


I am continuing to meet my goal of 2 books per month, and loving every minute of it! This month I read Heidi Grows Up.  My sister Rachel really wanted me to read this one, and I’m glad I did! It was written by Johanna Spyri’s translator, which I thought was kind of neat. It is always nice to know the “rest of the story!” ;)

I also read “Hinds Feet in High Places” and ohmyfriends, if you have never read this, I would challenge you to do so! It is an allegory, a “Pilgrim’s Progress” only written from a female perspective. It was such a challenge and encouragement to my own life and walk with the Lord. It is easy to get bogged down with the weights and cares of this world, and forget the great things the Lord wants to do with us on “high places.” Here is my favorite section of the book:

“He (the Shepherd) looked at her and answered very gently, ‘That is the path, Much-Afraid, and you are to go down there.’

‘Oh, no,’ she cried. ‘You can’t mean it. You said that if I would trust you, you would bring me to the High Places, and that path leads right away from them. It contradicts all that you promised.’


‘No,’ said the Shepherd, ‘it is not contradiction, only postponement for the best to become possible.’


Much-Afraid felt as though he had stabbed her to the heart. ‘You mean,’ she said incredulously, ‘you really mean that I am to follow that path down and down into that wilderness and then over that desert, away from the mountains indefinitely? Why, it may be months, even years, before that path leads back to the the mountains again. O Shepherd, do you mean it is indefinite postponement?’


He bowed his head silently, and Much-Afraid sank on her knees at his feet, almost overwhelmed. He was leading her away from her heart’s desire altogether and gave no promise at all as to when he would bring her back.


Then he answered very quietly, ‘Much-Afraid, do you love me enough to accept the postponement and the apparent contradiction of the promise, and to go down there with me into the desert?’


She looked up through her tears, caught his hand in hers, and said, trembling, ‘I do love you, you know that I love you. Oh, forgive me because I can’t help my tears. I will go down with you into the wilderness, right away from the promise, if you really wish it. Even if you cannot tell me why it has to be, I will go with you, for you know I do love you, and you have the right to choose for me anything that you please.’”

That passage there, my friends, it worth the price of the whole book!

We have also continued to enjoy our practice of reading aloud at the lunch table each day. This month we finished "Farmer Boy" by Laura Ingalls Wilder and started "On the Banks of Plum Creek."














We love these books as they give such insight into what life was like "back then" and make us wish for that simpler lifestyle!

In case you missed some of the other activities that went on during the month, here is a recap:


I shared my big DIY project that I started this month (to be finished in July)
We burned our field (and didn't start a forest fire)
I shared my personal thoughts about Pinterest guidelines
We chatted about saving money
My March Pinterest Project had us at fruity!
I created and shared a *free* printable
We made peanut butter cookies with just *3* ingredients! (Yup, you read that right)
I gave you a peek inside my 2012 planning binder
I got my pretty on and revamped my bookshelves
A Living Sacrifice got its very own Facebook page! Wowzers!

Whew! That makes March look like a busy month! What have you been doing during the month of March? Any big plans for April? April happens to be my birthday month, so I'm kind of partial to this time of the year. :)

Thanks for being a part of our lives through this little 'ol blog! I couldn't do it without you, my lovely readers!

Don't forget about the challenge going on here at A Living Sacrifice! We'd love for you to participate! Go here to read all about it and be filled in on the details!