7 Quick Takes: Too! Much! Fun!

Joining Kelly this week...

I have been having way too much fun lately.

WAY too much fun.

But, it can't be all bad because I've found lots of good things to share with you!

1) Gratiae Cosmetics.  Don't pull "a Mary Kate" and get suckered into a package "deal" at a mall kiosk, but do order some of these products on Amazon. My favorites are the exfoliating salt scrub, the body butter, and the facial peel.

2) Trader Joe's dark chocolate peanut butter cups. 

Nuff said.

3) Will turned 3 this past weekend and three of his gifts were a themed set. 

We gave him this book:

Along with this costume:

And this costume:

So far, it's been a hit with all family members.

4) Kyle also had a birthday on last Friday. We got him a new waffle iron. 

I promise there wasn't a selfish motivation behind that purchase. ;)

5) We have some of the greatest friends. For Kyle's birthday, we took him to a Fish Fry at a local Irish Pub. And quite a few of our friends and their families joined us. We had the best 3 hours eating, drinking, and laughing hysterically. It was a great way to celebrate Kyle's birthday AND beat the winter doldrums.

6) We have the greatest kids, too. Some seasons it's easier to take a step back and see the bigger picture. Lately, Kyle and I have both been graced with that kind of season. We have spent more than a few evenings marveling over the beautiful qualities that are unique to each of our 7 kids. And, it's clear that these qualities are God-given gifts, not anything that we can credit to awesome parenting.

We have seen older kids cement their relationships with each other, with the promise of lifelong friendships. We have seen them model grace and generosity for their younger siblings -- some days, they are doing a better job of that than we are. We have seen younger kids show a genuine concern for and tenderness towards family members who were feeling upset or ill.

God has been so good to us in allowing us to be their parents. 

7) In the near future, Kyle and I have the rare opportunity to sneak away alone for a couple of days, and we couldn't do it without the help and cooperation of my parents and siblings. They are so good to see the value in a couple spending a little time renewing their relationship and being generous enough to take on the care and crazy schedule of so many kids. I hope that, one day, Kyle and I can be generous enough to return the favor, as well as pay it forward to our own kids.

Well, we have one month left of Lent, and I hope you're all being more penitential than I! ;)