S I X T Y

today this handsome fellow turns sixty years old!
(happy birthday dad! i wish we could be there to celebrate with you.)
these are a few of my favorite shots from his trip to visit us last june.
(see you in two months, pops! until then, lots of facetime hugs and kisses.)

2014 class valentines

these valentines were the easiest.  and free!  and the kiddos did most of the work themselves!
(picking out the rocks was super fun, i was told.)

30 minutes to whip up about 30 homemade goodies is a-okay with me.  they were passed out to their classical conversations classmates today.  oh the sweetness of hearing enzo show me treasured "vawentimes" from his little friends.

i haven't decided how we will celebrate at home this week.  i love lovin' on my crew with a little something special. (2013 and 2012)  my best ideas usually come at the last minute, so i still have 3 days, right?

valentine inspiration from deliajude

saying goodbye to clover

just last week, luca was asked what made him happiest in the whole wide world.  

"clover, my hamster," he answered without delay.

this sweet black bear hamster has been luca's favorite of favorites for the past two years. clover was his happy place and a source of constant comfort.  it was recommended that a pet might be therapeutic for autism and anxiety. boy, was that right. clover was an important part of our daily life and our family functioning. and yesterday we had to say goodbye.

 

i would never have guessed it would be so sad! and that drawing above just brings tears to my eyes. this little rodent will always hold such a special place in our memory. he was truly a gift of peace in a tumultuous time.

how good is the provision of opportunities to help our children walk through healthy grief in the small stuff! because the big is inevitable. i am grateful for a safe home. and knowing love that is worth sadness.

we are oh so thankful for clover.

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fyi: when i student taught in college, one of the lesson plans i wrote for my 4yo class was on dealing with the death of a pet.  i used the book i'll always love you by hans wilhelm and it was such a touching story to revisit this week with my own kiddos.   
xoxo, annalea

why we love

"We love because He first loved us."     -1 John 4:19

:: february 2014 chalkboard art ::

the month of love, according to the world (at least in our country)
a reminder of why, directly from the truth (for all people and nations)

1 john 4 is legit and convicts me. read the whole chapter, folks. and then come back and share your thoughts. 

xoxo,
annalea

hey there, 2014

i do not plan these blogging breaks so much as fall into them and wonder how the heck 6 weeks passed since my last post. and when the new year happens to land in the middle of it, i find myself saying hello to 2014 in february. well then, let's get on with it.

"Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake."     -Jonathan Edwards

i don't really make "resolutions" as they are typically defined in this day and age. we make plans. i have goals. but some days - and months - just have a mind of their own and i get to the end of them and declare that pursuing first things is what i am really resolving to do.

"Put first things first and we get second things thrown in: put second things first and we lose both first and second things."     -C.S. Lewis

so for all of you fellow resolvers needing His grace and pursuers of first things, i remind you to choose joy and find beauty in your everyday.  also?

"But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."     Phillipians 3:13-14

xoxo,

annalea