When the girls have to get dressed in the morning (most days are spent in pajamas), if we’re going somewhere, True’s usually the fastest in deciding what to wear and it typically includes layering. Brave takes forever to figure out her clothes and when she finally does have something on, it usually isn’t seasonally appropriate and I tell her to find something else (wearing shorts in the rain or a coat in the heat just wouldn’t work). Then she gets all frustrated again and ends up crying because she can’t find anything. Is this telling me something about those teenage years? And then we have Soulie, who you all know likes to wear her baby sister’s clothes and tuck in her dresses. It will be interesting how these fashion preferences and choices play out later.

on true: shirt, misha lulu. skirt, aa. leggings, misha lulu. shoes, toms. on brave: dress, c/o winter water factory (worn here by true). leggings, misha lulu. shoes, gap kids.

These girls love being outside playing in the dirt. They have spent a lot of time outside these past few days (when it’s not raining), just running around and building a forest. Ben’s been working on his mini orchard (another post to come soon) and so they take the branches he prunes off and they stick them in the ground to make their own forest. They make “chocolate milk” with mud and water and pick lots of flowers, which they proceed to “plant” them back in the ground. They chatter up a storm with Ben while he works, and even with it being so cold (and them having a little cold), they would rather be outside than inside. I’m so glad they love being outdoors. I don’t think we get out nearly as much as we should, so I’m thankful to have a backyard so they can run around and make lots of good, fun earth messes in.

Oh and besides tucking her dresses in her pants, Soul also loves to wear Glow’s clothes. That girl is an absolute riot!

Happy Monday friends. Ben goes back to work today and we will be missing him. I love having him home all day, everyday, but we’re very thankful he has a job, so as much as I complain about him leaving us each morning, I’m grateful.

Say hello to Alexa Sonken. Alexa Sonken is freelance graphic designer living in beautiful San Diego. She went to Westmont College in Santa Barbara and studied fine arts and graphic design. Her friends from college started getting married and she began to notice a common theme: the need for rad, creative and fun invitation, so she had the idea to create a wedding invitation shop filled with fun designs that can be customized to a bride’s wedding colors and style.  Her design shop is geared towards the unconventional, artistic, funky, quirky and creative bride.  She also creates custom rubber address stamps that are a really sweet addition to a wedding invitation suite or anything you can send in the mail!

Alexa’s favorite thing about having an online shop is getting to see her designs come to life when working with a client. Her designs are customizable that brides are really able to take her designs and make them their own. I really love how sweet and simple this one is.

One of you lucky ones can win your own custom return address stamp! I hate addressing envelopes, so I know I for sure could use one of these cute stamps. If you’re in the same boat as me, then this is all you have to do to win…

1. Visit Alexa Sonken’s shop and tell me your favorite design.
2. Blog, tweet, or facebook about this giveaway and leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

Now, if you do all of the things mentioned above, you might even be able to up your chances by getting your name in 4 times (just remember to leave separate comments for each)! Fantastic, right? The giveaway will end at 8am PST on Friday, February 15th and the winner will be announced via twitter (follow me on twitter here) on that day. Good luck!

alexa sonken website…
alexa sonken shop…

And just like that, it’s back to being cold again. Well, California cold, which is probably unlike the snowstorms some of you are experiencing right now. We did get to spend some time in the yard this week. We pulled weeds, harvested our first radish, and enjoyed salad from our own giant bag of greens. Ben’s also been off since Wednesday, so everyday sort of feels like Saturday, but we’ve been working on a few projects and trying to get rid of a cold that there really hasn’t left us with a lot of relaxing time.

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

True and Brave actually were pretty on point with math lessons this week.

Glow is becoming a little shrieker sometimes.

Soul likes to cry in the middle of the night, which then leads her to sleep in our room.

Love these V-day ideas rounded up on Adored Vintage.

How cute is this cake for love day?

Say hello to this new sponsor and her simply designed blog.

I’d love a tattoo. A big one on my shoulder and down my arm, but Ben isn’t into it. Also, I can’t think of something that I would love enough to have permanently fixed on my body and they can be quite costly. I may have to just try one of these out just for fun when I get that ink itch. This one is sweet and pretty much encapsulates what I’ve been feeling of late.

I’ve been working on something that has kept me on the computer these past few days, so I’ve been watching Nikita on Netflix. At first I thought it was totally cheesy, just based on the commercials, but after giving it a chance, I really like it! There’s a whole lot of action, a little bit of romance, and I love how the cast of characters all relate to one another. I would recommend giving it a shot if you like spy, action stories. I hope it comes back for a fourth season.

Thankful for this reminder of parenting advice shared with us by PJ (our pastor).

Thankful for my husband who I like to kiss all day long. Seriously. I’m addicted and can’t stop!

Now, it’s really Saturday and my to-do list is still so long. Do those ever really go away though? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Even if your to-do list is long, or you are going through some really unimaginably difficult times right now, just leave it all up to God. We can’t really change our situations, but we can change how we react to the circumstances we’re in. Let’s find the beauty in it and celebrate it. Some seasons are harder than others, but there is still joy to be had in every season. Let’s find the joy friends!

Obviously, Ben has a soft spot for his girls. He has 4 little princesses after all. He isn’t one of those dads that tend to spoil his girls like crazy, but he does like to indulge in giving them a special treat once in awhile, and usually those little treats involve My Little Pony. He worked late one night, then made a stop at Target to get a few necessities, and I notice this big bag with a box that was obviously not a necessity. I gave him this look, but then he told me it was for Valentine’s Day, which I thought was cool and saved me from having to figure something out.

Next thing you know, two days later, he’s telling them once they get all their responsibilities done, they have a surprise. He tells them it’s an “Early Hearts and Hooves Day,” which is what they call Valentine’s Day on the show. I just kind of did an internal giggle. My dude could not wait to give them their present, especially when it involves the ponies. He wrapped it up just like how the girls wrap up presents for us, in a blanket, and all four (well, more like three) girls were anxiously waiting in their room. When their surprise was revealed, their faces showed absolute elation. They got the My Little Pony castle and they pretty much have been playing with it everyday since. They can spend hours playing with their ponies. It’s pretty amazing how long they can play with them. Naturally, there has been fighting here and there because kids still need to learn how to share, but for the most part, they play together. I totally loved seeing the girls get excited, but I especially loved seeing how giddy Ben got to give them their present. He totally loves all his girls!

Are your kids My Little Pony fans? They love all the cartoons and Ben loves watching it with them. It’s a pretty clever show from what I hear.

The Oh, Hello Friend opening was pretty grand on Friday night. My best friend and I had dinner beforehand and then headed on over. The place was already pretty hopping and we felt so proud at Danni and Nick’s accomplishment. This has been a dream of hers forever and I’m so happy she finally made it come true. There were so many goodies everywhere and I love all the displays Danni had. It was good to see some friends I haven’t seen awhile, meet some new ones, all the while listening to Me & Mr. Cassidy singing live, oh and I can’t forget about the yummy cupcakes.

We had way too much fun that night. It was especially relaxing to actually get dressed and get out of the house, which I hadn’t really done for two weeks up until that point (the grocery store doesn’t count). I actually came home around 11pm and seriously, I was so tired. This mama ain’t used to being out so late! If you’re local (or visiting), be sure to stop by downtown Fullerton to see her shop. I bet you’ll probably be leave with a bag full of goodies.