Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
1 Corinthians 3:17

Friday, March 30, 2018

Good Friday and Easter

I'll be spending the day reflecting on these truths... and finishing up Isabelle's Easter dress. :) I had planned to find a small service project for us all to participate in, and I totally spaced it and forgot, so I'm going to pray about what God might lead us to later in the day. I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful Easter weekend! See you Monday!








Wednesday, March 28, 2018

What's Up Wednesday :: March 2018 and Easter!

How can March be almost over!?!? Linking up with Mel, Sheaffer and Shay today...you should too!



What we're eating...
I was super excited that we grilled chicken dinner one night...then it snowed again. Argh! We still have snow on the ground, but I think I see spring on the horizon. So we're still eating more wintry stuff around here:




 Homemade pizza :)


But last night we celebrated with Taco Tuesday- didn't mean to, it just happened. :) And this weekend, we'll have All.The.Carbs because we make a big Easter brunch - I posted some of our favorites HERE.

What I'm reminiscing about...
This boy's birth...and then his first birthday. I am in COMPLETE denial that he is turning two in eight days!!


I also can't stop thinking about our special little photo project for his first year- I shared it in this post.


What I'm loving...
I'm loving that we've been able to be outside more this week, but I reeeaalllly love that our favorite hang out room- our sun room- is no longer arctic. :)  Afternoons out there are the BEST!

This was decorated for Isabelle's Half Birthday Pool Party, but you get the idea. :)

What we've been up to...

We've been busy getting ready for a BIG trip next month. At Christmas time, we told the kids we were going on a cruise to the Bahamas! Well, I handed them note cards with hints and then we let Levi share the big news on his note card. Such a fun night! I have quite a lot of thoughts about this, so I'll share more later.

What I'm dreading...
 Baring my ghostly legs in shorts and skirts...better get going with the sunless tanner!!

 What I'm working on...
Currently picking up after the cutest little tornado in the history of ever! You should see my InstaStories to see what I mean, ha ha!! I finished up all the Easter eyelet bonnets and dresses for Rose & Ruffle customers, so now I'm all about making Isabelle's Easter dress... and if I can manage, mine too! Hers is currently cut out at least, and the fabric is so pretty! I do have some Ready to Ship Items available in various sizes, so you can visit my shop by clicking on the widget on the right. :)





What I'm excited about...
 I'm so excited about our family cruise next month for obvious reasons, BUT the one thing that makes me giddy happy is that I don't have to cook a thing. I don't even have THINK about cooking. And I don't have to limit the boys in any way. You want three main courses? Sure! Go for it. This girl is going to be a "Yes!" Mom the whole week!! (When we travel, we rent houses so we can shop and cook "at home" to help save money, so while vacations are fabulous, that part never truly seems like a vacation to me. You know?)

 I'm also excited about Levi's upcoming birthday and party, but let's be real, a part of me is dying inside too. I LOVED his Wild One party, and I'm loving this year's theme, too....I'll share more after his party next week!






What I'm reading...
I like to start my day off with a devotional and some Scripture reading, but let me be honest, I am STRUGGLING with this lately. I don't even know why. I'm sure it doesn't help that a certain someone has been having miserable nights for a whole week now, but I find myself almost apathetic about this, and honestly that just breaks my heart. I want it to be the first thing I do and think about, and I want to look forward to it and ENJOY it! Just being honest here. I've been rereading the Five Love Languages for Children because I feel like I'm missing the mark as a Mom in certain ways, and I know all too well how quickly this is all going by. I do not want to waste the time I have been given with them!

Isabelle and I have been reading together before bed, and last night we finished Wonder. She wanted to see the movie sooo bad, but I cannot watch before I read. And now the book details are fresh in my mind, so I need another week or more before I can watch it, ha. Sorry, Isabelle. :)

What I'm listening to...
Hubby and I went out to the movies for Date Night last week and saw I Can Only Imagine, which was so fantastic by the way!, and I've been listening to MercyMe since then. Such a wonderful story of grave and redemption!!! Plus I just LOVED the actor in the movie- he did an amazing job and has an incredible voice, too!

What I'm wearing...
Wearing layers on repeat...and ALL the scarves!





What I'm doing this weekend...

This weekend is all about Easter of course. We'll be making resurrection rolls and dying eggs- haven't decided on the regular way or the shaving cream method we did a couple years ago- and attending lots of Easter-related events at church this weekend, even though I know my husband will put up a big ol' fuss about it because it means we won't be "sticking to THE schedule" like normal, ha!


What I'm looking forward to next month...
This cutie's Second Birthday Party and yup, the CRUISE!!!

What else is new...
Maybe I live under a rock, but I just tried the cauliflower rice. It was okay. We added some veggies to it and then I liked it much better. I know, living on the edge right here.

Our favorite Easter tradition...
That my Mom made my Easter dress growing up, and now I get to make my daughter's.

You can hardly tell that the dresses match, but they did. I'm so sad I don't have any other pictures of this! It was our first Easter as a family of six and there was a lot going on!





You can find me on IG @bethanylivs_life
My shop page is @roseandrufflewww.instagram/roseandruffle

 I hope you have a great rest of the weekend and the best weekend! Thanks for visiting. :)

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Favorite Easter Breakfast and Brunch Recipes

Even though the ground is still covered with snow where we live, Easter still represents all things Spring and sunny and brand new. I think that is the point, after all. Jesus made all things new. What a beautiful gift!

Since we are at a different church this year, with a much different schedule, I'm not entirely sure how our breakfast is going to go down, ha. And then the pastor mentioned that there will be All.The.Carbs offered at the service we attend, so I don't really have a plan yet. And I LOVE breakfast and brunch foods, so I don't think I can quit them. Maybe we will just be eating all day long. There could be worse things. ;)

These are the recipes I make over and over again- they've become such a part of our family traditions that I cannot think of one without the other. First up is this Crumble Coffee Cake- it doubles and freezes superbly, too.



Perfect Crumb Coffee Cake Recipe HERE

Another staple is Make-Ahead blueberry French Toast Bake: my very favorite! 
hmmm, I can't find a picture of it finished- this is right before it goes into the oven the next morning...
 Recipe HERE

Easy and delicious quiche:
 Recipe HERE



I often make a special treat or a decorative cake for the day as well. I've got to be honest and say that the last couple of times I've made these have been a complete disaster....I don't know what's going on!! I can't find the picture now, but I remember taking one as proof- they still tasted fabulous but they looked terrible!
 Copy Cat Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs Recipe HERE

This year I may make some healthier fudge instead, since I make it with peanut butter. It is SO rich and yummy!

 Semi Paleo Fudge Recipe HERE

The sun is shining and word on the streets is that our temps may reach 50 today!!!! Hooray!!!!











Monday, March 26, 2018

Family Moments I Want to Remember

Levi is currently tossing clementines into empty shoe boxes in the kitchen as I type this, but he's happy, so I'm figuring that will buy juuuust enough time to maybe finish this post, ha ha! Not sure we'll be eating said clementines after this, but happy is happy, so I'm going with it!

We had another really nice weekend. There was nothing big on the agenda, but it was filled with lots of fun little moments with the people I love most, so win win!! I think everything is all out of order so bear with me. :)

This pretty thing right here is a tough cookie. There. I said it.  I made sure we spent some fun girl time together this weekend, and I noticed a dramatic difference in her behavior and attitude in general afterwards. She's still smiling today. I will TAKE it!!!

Striking a pose :)

Sometimes I forget that she is growing up. She isn't my little baby girl anymore, that's for sure. Doesn't she look precious in that cold shoulder top?!? I think it makes her feel like big stuff, let me tell you, and that's a good thing, right? Maybe in moderation. :)  In addition to some tops, we also found some shoes, wedges, and a few other fun girly things. And we had such a nice time together. I need to remember to make that happen a lot more often.

I am the absolute WORST about trying things on at the store, but I decided last year that I since I don't buy things very often for myself, I should at least make sure I love them and that they fit well before purchasing. Otherwise I end up wasting money on things that don't feel great and then I forget to return them, so I'm stuck with them. That is not fun!

Old Navy had everything on sale and I'm LOVING the embroidery details this year! So these goodies, plus denim shorts, came home with me. I should mention here that the boys were trying to rush me, but I held my ground and tried everything on. Everything, ha ha ha. They were so annoyed with me. I probably put back ten or more things, but I love love love these ones. It's funny that some things I thought would not look good, did, and vice versa. Biggest problem by far: everything is so dang short! No bueno if you're over 5'9"!!

***Now Levi has moved on to the junk drawer and is running to me yelling, "Mama, Mama!" and handing me my old licenses, ha ha ha!! Does everyone save their old ones? Does anyone or is it just me? I guess I'm not typing fast enough after all. *** Anyhoo. I had such a nice time with these two handsome guys of ours after church. Hmm, I'm noticing a trend here: having fun = spending money and buying stuff. If my husband happens to read this, Hi dear, I love you!

SOMEBODY has made it through nursery at church two weeks in a row!! This is a BIG DEAL.

Saturday mornings, even after a rough night, ugh, are my idea of heaven. At least when we have nowhere to be. These early morning snuggles are my life lately.


Too bad he doesn't seem to have any personality, right??

Just a Friday night movie, feeding each other sour gummy worms. Typical. Ethan will NOT be happy that I posted this, but he will never know, so we're good, ha!  (I should mention that he was streaming a different movie because he had already seen Wonder Woman, but I didn't care- I just liked that he was hanging out with us. WW was pretty good, by the way, though I don't think Isabelle understood lots of it, which I think is totally understandable.)

I just realized that I never shared pictures of watching Cars with Levi last week- we have a primary reader book about Mater and McQueen that he has fallen in LOVE with, we must read this book at least three times a day!, so we thought he might like to see some of the movie. He lasted for about five minutes. He really isn't into watching TV, which is both good and not so good, if you know what I mean. ha ha I'll post a pic soon, it was SO cute!

Okay, now he's bringing me Bill's licenses...gotta go! Have a super Monday! We're off to the bank and then getting some Easter basket things...exciting stuff! :)
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