Dear Ed,

I don't know you but I'm impressed by you.
I'm impressed that you spent 30 minutes leaving me blog comments overnight.
Many of them were on posts dated in 2007!

Unfortunately, because everything was written in Chinese and I was afraid to click any of the links, I did have to remove each one of them.

It took me a good 45 minutes, but it gave me something to do while I had my morning coffee.

I do hope since you spent so much time here that you at least checked out the sponsors, did some shopping with them, read some scriptures that have been posted, and got inspired by some of the other lovely people around here.

Thanks for choosing me, but next time feel free to choose someone else.

And now I'm off to make some jewelry orders and take care of The Baby.
(Recently he fell asleep standing up in the breakfast nook.)


Oh, and one more thing. The winner of the necklace from the Ultimate Blog Party is Deborah from Comfort Joy Designs. Congratulations!

Thank you so much to my real readers and commenters every day. You guys rock and make me smile daily. I do try to visit as many blogs as I can, in return.

LOVE!!
~Beki

One more, one more thing - Hop over and tell my friend Erin at The Vintage Pearl Happy Birthday today!

Shame on me.

I complained about the snow.
I'll admit that I really dislike cold.
I've mentioned a time or two that I crave color. Lots of color.
This Spring-time Family Fun magazine came in the mail the day the sleet started. I wasn't happy to be teased.

So I was not at all thrilled with getting hit by a blizzard this past weekend!

The Man decided to snap me out of my grumpy funk and take us all sledding.





Someone had built a snowman for everyone to enjoy.


The Baby looked so tiny walking up that hill by himself!




BUMP!



The Boy wanted to be sure I put this picture on my blog where he's sure he looks like a ninja. Yes, he's 7.


Needless to say, we all had a great time. Shame on me for being grumpy about the weather. This week is supposed to be beautiful and sunny, and maybe a bit slushy.

I'm hooked on sunshine and kids so I'm adding this to the Hooked On series. Come join the fun!

Spring.

This picture was actually taken a few years ago.
But we are under about 7 inches of snow and ice right now.
Lots of playing.
Lots of sledding.
Lots of snowball fights.



Welcome to Spring.

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
Youre a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god
So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in.

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints. Be sure to link back here so others can find the entire list of participants!
2. After you've posted your blog, sign the Mr. Linky below. Have fun exploring the other links as well! Please only sign in if you're participating. Hopefully this will make us look at things through fresh eyes throughout the week!
---------------
This week the topic of approval from others keeps coming into my mind.
Why do we do this? It shouldn't matter what others think of our car or house.
Others opinions about our clothing or how cute our kids are mean nothing.
The amount of blog comments you get doesn't define you.
The number of friends/followers on myspace or twitter doesn't tell a thing about who you are.
You don't need approval from others.

You know who you are? You are a friend of God! He created you! He molded you to be exactly as He wanted. He smiles when you are righteous. He hurts when you hurt. He's there when you're lonely. His fingerprints are all over you and He couldn't love you any more than he does. And He calls you a friend!

(I don't really have a photo that applies to this, so I'm picking a random one.)

James 2:23
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.

The Chicken Coop.

One thing I didn't realize when I married The Man was how strange crazy interesting his family is.

We got a call last week for an impromptu family reunion at a chicken coop.
Yes, for real.
Apparently one couple in the family owns an old chicken coop that they've re-vamped and now they host parties there. Their entire town shows up several times a week for parties!

Welcome to Kansas, folks.
When you first walk in, your eyes don't even know where to land.


They had ping pong, scooters, pool, darts...




...and wiggle racers. Have you seen these? They are awesome.


There were so many people, so many conversations - it was great.









Everyone signs the pillars.


Bowling and fooseball and a tractor to play on.




This is a handmade smoker/grill made to look like a train.


The guest of honor. She was here visiting from Seattle and the reason we all decided to get together.


There was so. much. food. Ridiculous amounts of delicious food.


See the netting here? It's great because in the summer they drop it down and it keeps the flies and bugs away from the food. These Kansans are smart!


There was also a sandbox and a fountain in the chicken coop.



The bathroom -


The owner is also a pilot and a while back he was in a plane crash. He was in serious condition for a while but survived. So he took the plane wreckage and put it on top of the building! Seriously, you can't make this stuff up.



So, anyone want to come visit? We throw a heck of a party!


I'm hooked on living in the Midwest so I'm adding this post to the Hooked On series. Fun Fun!

Unplug It Challenge!

I've had this idea rolling around in my head for a while and now I'm presenting it to you.

Last summer I started what we called "no media day" with our family.

This meant one day a week we would turn off the computer and tv and leave them off all day. NO computer or tv at all! Thursday was the day that worked best for us.

What I found was that it was much harder than I expected it to be and I failed many times. But I also found that we spent more time as a family and enjoyed each other more. We went to more parks together, went for walks and bike rides, had more conversations. It was extremely eye opening.

So now I'm offering the challenge to you as well.
Pick one day of the week and make it your "Unplug It" day.
Figure out what is sucking your precious time and get rid of it for just one day a week. Is it your computer? Your cell phone? Texting? Tweeting?
Your kids may hate you for it at first, but I really think it will change your life like it did mine.

During the school year it's too crazy for us to attempt it, but we'll be starting again as soon as school lets out for summer. However, we're rolling into Spring, and some of you homeschool so I thought some of you may want to start earlier.

We start the week school lets out and will end when school starts again.

Sign in if you're up for the challenge. Feel free to grab the button the ultra talented Nikki made for this challenge. Share it on your blog, facebook, myspace, etc. Tweet about it. Whatever you're comfortable with.


<a href="http://pamperingbeki.blogspot.com/2009/03/unplug-it-challenge.html"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/beki_and_babies/unplug1.jpg"></a>

Don't sneeze.

I think every girl needs flowers of some sort.

These are flowers I bought for myself the other day. (I have to do that sometimes, you know.)


This little sweetie is one of the recipients of a Cora Flower. Her sweet mom was kind enough to let me use her photo.


These are some flower brooches I've just listed.
Carrie brooch

Sedona brooch

Juicy brooch

And even Lilo has been seen wearing a hair flower (ear flower?) lately.


Let's hear it for the girly girls!