Marta

happy friday friends! we’re ending the week with some gingerbread house play •• can we talk about how cute this little house tray is?! it’s from one of my all time favorite small shops @jackandlinktoys and y’all already know how much I love them. I was so excited to receive this tray and now that it’s here, I’m already dreaming up alllllll the seasonal activities 🤣

in a season where festivities take over, let’s pause to reflect on the real beauty of this season. it’s a time to remember — there is a God in heaven who sent His only Son to us as an infant in a manger, so that through Him, we should get to receive His infinite grace. ⁣ ⁣ so, ⁣ 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀,⁣ 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘪𝘮. ⁣ ⁣ 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀, ⁣ 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.⁣ ⁣ 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲, ⁣ 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘏𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵⁣ ⁣ 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, ⁣ 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴. after all, it’s Him we’re living for isn’t it?

I just love how much they love each other 🥰 even if on some days, we only see it for a few minutes at a time. 😂 literally .000056723 seconds after this photo was taken, Marcus scratched Felix which led to a wrestling session where mama had to intervene before someone really got hurt. 🙈 if your children are arguing all day long — you are not alone. trust me when I say that you’re stilling doing a great job no matter how many tears + tantrums fill up your day. on some days I feel like that all I do is break up fights and yell at them to stop pestering each other. inserting a friendly reminder that instagram is a highlight reel and a lot of real life + normal moments are omitted on here. don’t judge your whole picture with a slew of edited squares. there’s always so much more to the story. ❤️

sometimes when talking about our homeschool journey, I’m met with opposition. ⁣ ⁣ “𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮”⁣ “𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥”⁣ “𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺”⁣ “𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘹 𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦” ⁣ “𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵”⁣ “𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥”⁣ “𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘦”⁣ “𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵” ⁣ ⁣ … are just some of the many comments that have been made about our homeschooling journey. ⁣ ⁣ for us messes don’t mean anything but the result of hours of fun. we’re still extremely organized and the boys are very well behaved — for toddlers. ⁣ ⁣ it makes me sad that we live in a time where parents rely on the school day to get a break from their little people; it seems so strange to me because experiencing school with them isn’t and doesn’t have to be a chore. it’s a privilege and a calling. ⁣ ⁣ at the same time, I totally understand that homeschooling is not for everyone and for some, it’s not even an option, but for those of us who have chosen this path, it’s an honor to get to see eyes light up, minds at work and little hands creating. ⁣ ⁣ when we’re met with commentary about our learning styles, our children and our qualification, it’s just noise towards a home that embraces all the things you bask at. ⁣ ⁣ when you casually insinuate that our children are at a loss because they get to spend their days outside learning about things a textbook only glides over, it’s not an insult. when you judge us for sheltering our babies or when you claim they’ll end up socially awkward, you’re not actually hurting us. you’re just reminding us that shaping attitudes and cultivating understanding is something the world so desperately needs. you’re encouraging us to keep going.⁣ ⁣ now swipe for some messy play. ☺️

𝗼𝗵 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗺 ✨ 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘰𝘩 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘩, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗵 𝟱:𝟮⁣ one of my favorite elements of the nativity story is how God used things and people that were deemed of little significance in their time. just another reminder that even if the world doesn’t see you, HE does and in the end, that’s all that really matters. choosing to focus on the nativity story during the holidays and looking closely at all of the elements that come into play in the story of the savior’s birth is my favorite. it will become something I will do each season with the boys and my hope is that as they get older, they’ll look back on the memories we’re making with joy. 🅡 🅔 🅢 🅞 🅤 🅡 🅒 🅔 🅢 𝘉 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 @tinytheologians 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 @coleykuyperart | 𝗖𝗢𝗗𝗘 • 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗔𝟭𝟱 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵 @target 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 @happyplacenature | 𝗖𝗢𝗗𝗘 • 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗔𝟭𝟬 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝟭𝟮/𝟯𝟭 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺 + 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 @wooden.peach.co 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘵𝘴𝘺

miss toting around a chunky baby bear in the winter. the cozy bear jackets for littles ones were (and still are) my weakness. 🥰 can’t believe this was taken two winters ago — time is a strange thing. the days seem long, but the years, they’re gone in a blink of an eye! this cuddly babe is mister independent now // swipe to see his sweet little grown up face

a little round up of favorite my oily blends that help cozy up the home when we have gloomy winter days. the northern lights collection will always be my favorite since I have artificial trees. diffusing any one of these oils with a hint of vanilla makes it feel like dreamy winter forest.

our flocked tree from @kingofchristmas finally got some ornaments! the boys are old enough to where they don’t go grabbing + throwing them around the house which means we can decorate again. for this one, we went with hints of gold and cream with frosted pinecones. I’m just loving how it turned out. thinking I should have added some bolder wooden elements, but I love the subtly simplicity too. this is tree one of six • three of which are table top and small, so don’t freak out. 🙊 I just love this time of year and am all about hints of christmas in every corner. what about you? are you one and done or are you allllll about the decor?!

to truly know Him.⁣ to understand the sacrifice He made. ⁣ to know how you are seen in His eyes. ⁣ to experience the goodness of Grace. ⁣ to be secure in His promise. ⁣ 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗛𝗶𝗺 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. ⁣ ⁣ when no one shows up for you, He will.⁣ when everyone decides to run, He won’t. ⁣ when you think that you can’t get up, He will pick you up. ⁣ when you’re ready to fall, He will sustain you. ⁣ when you’re afraid and see no way out, He will deliver. ⁣ when you’re lost, He will show you the way.⁣ when you’re tired of carrying the heaviness of worldly burdens, He take it all and give you rest. ⁣ 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗶𝗺.⁣ 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥. ⁣ 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻.

happy december first friends! we’re celebrating with a little winter sensory featuring mister cardinal, foam snowballs and holly. we love using @morningstogether matching cards alongside our sensory bins. the boys love matching physical items to the pictures rather than just to other cards, so that’s what we’ve been doing as of late. ⁣ ⁣ annnnd, 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 (𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 ) 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 — 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 | 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦.

the countdown to Christmas begins tomorrow, so I’m setting up last minute details in the classroom! this is our first year doing an advent calendar and the boys are so excited; I am too if we’re being honest. it’s been so fun collecting little trinkets for each day leading up to christmas •• we’re still waiting on the mail to bring us some sweet finishing details for our calendar, but I couldn’t resist this little nativity scene — it’s my favorite part •• do you do an advent calendar?

hey friends, I know it’s late, but I wanted to share that we’re using these @coleykuyperart advent cards to explain and talk about the nativity story with the boys this year. they’re a little older now + showing a lot of interest in the biblical side of things, so I’m really excited to place more emphasis on the story of His birth with actual scripture! ————————————————————————————————————— annnnd I have a 🅒 🅞 🅓 🅔 for you guys too [ 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗔𝟭𝟱 ] because I’m all about the discounts and savings. check out her shop from some beautiful hand scripted prints. she is such a beautiful creator! ————————————————————————————————————— #ckartadvent

happy thanksgiving from my little turkeys. we hope you have a happiest + safe holiday with your family and friends. we are thankful for each and everyone of you.

this has been wracking my brain all week. in September, I sought out to read the Bible cover to cover and upon doing so, a recurrent theme seems to be oh so prevalent. ⁣ ⁣ whilst humanity prospers, they place Him in the back seat. when troubled times come, they often remember the Lord, but still, they do not turn to Him. then, in the last moment, when all else seems to fail, they call on the Lord — who so graciously saves the people of Israel, time and time again. ⁣ ⁣ upon being saved, they thank Him. for a total of a seems like a few chapters, and then they’re back to being who they are, sinful in nature and forgetting about the God who has always been there for them. ⁣ ⁣ as I read this happening time and time again, I’m annoyed because it’s plain to see, He is gracious. He has done great things for them, so how can they just forget that the God, who is able, is there with them every step of the way? it’s seems foolish to just ignore Him after every deliverance and act of faithfulness especially when there are so many examples! ⁣ it’s easy to judge the Israelites, but upon my frustration with them as I continue my reading, it seems that the Bible also mirrors me and my journey. ⁣ how often do I put Him in the backseat⁣ or forget that He is able? ⁣ ⁣ how many times have I neglected my devotional time or thought that I could do it all on my own? ⁣ ⁣ how foolish have I been to seek man’s approval⁣ rather than the favor of my God? ⁣ ⁣ how reckless have I been with my words and thoughts towards His people? ⁣ ⁣ how disobedient have I been to some of His most simplest commands to love my neighbor? ⁣ ⁣ and still.. He is faithful.⁣ He has delivered.⁣ He has loved.⁣ He has been there watching, knocking, and seeking out my heart. ⁣ ⁣ and here I am.. thankful for it all as I remember that His never ending grace saved a wretch like me. ⁣ ⁣ so as we approach thanksgiving, may our thankfulness echo beyond the holiday. ⁣may we remember all the good He has done. ⁣may we fulfill our purpose to honor Him because friends, He has done so much more for us.

AD | the little drummer boy has been on repeat this past week since it’s become the boy’s favorite carol. so naturally when we saw this activity in @thegoodandthebeautiful’s preschool booklet, it became a highly frequented page in our lesson plans. instead of a spoon like the activity suggests, we used one of @happyplacenature’s rhythm sticks and it’s been so fun. I just love it when lessons align with things that we love already. 🅛 🅘 🅝 🅚 https://www.goodandbeautiful.com/products/language-arts-course-set-preschool/ #thegoodandthebeautiful #goodandbeautifulpreschool