I’m linking up with Jen for today’s 7 Quick Takes. 🙂

AND I’m linking up with Cari for Theme Thursday: Dishes. (Scroll down to #5 for that one. ) 😉

~ 1 ~

Mama Time – Aw, it is that magic time of the evening – 7:30 PM. We finally have our bedtime routine down pat so by 7:30 all the boys are tucked in bed with the lights out and Bella is reading quietly in her room. Andrew and John-Paul sleep in the same room and Matthew, like all the little guys did, sleeps in our room until he turns three. (Then he graduates with the big boys.) I turn off the lights and stay in the room with Matthew until he falls asleep, which takes anywhere from 5-15 minutes. In the dark, stillness of the room I either read or turn on my laptop and start typing (or browsing) for the next hour while Brian showers and prepares for the next day. Then we meet back in the family room at 8:30 to spend time together, chat and watch a show or movie. As much as I love my life as a mom, I relish this quiet time to relax after a hard day and unwind.

~ 2 ~

Tender-hearted Wrestlers – It’s funny how the boys can drive me up the wall with their antics and constant NOISE but this evening as I passed their room, I saw Andrew helping John-Paul button up his pajama top. It was so sweet to watch them working together. It reminded me of earlier in the day when Matthew’s toy broke and John-Paul said, “Don’t worry, Matty. You can play with my toy instead,” and he gave it to him. It melted my heart. So although most of the time they are jumping around and wrestling each other (and with his shirt off, Matthew has the physique of Nachooooooo) it’s nice to get those tender moments that reveal their sweet nature and loving hearts.

~ 3~

Brian Update – A big thanks for your continued prayers for Brian. He is recovering well from his surgery and will be able to go back to work in another week. Although on Tuesday he will have outpatient surgery to put a port into his chest for his upcoming chemo. I googled it to see what it looked like and it was not pretty. Let’s hope it’s better than I am imagining. The whole situation is weird because he seems back to normal (besides all the weight he’s lost) and at times I forget about this whole mess but then I remember that the cancer is still inside him. I worry that it is growing while he is recovering from his surgery. But I do my best to put those thoughts aside and ask God to grant us a miracle and banish the cancer from his body. Until then, we keep fighting.

Speaking of my sweet man, he is ready to relax and watch a movie with me so I’ll finish this in the morning. Have a good night! 🙂

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Good morning. I only have a few minutes to finish this so I’ll try to get it done quickly. 🙂

~ 4 ~

Jen Throws Down A Challenge – My fingers will be busy next week since Jen is hosting another blogging challenge of 7 Posts in 7 Days. It was a lot of fun the last time and I’ll see if I’ll be able to make it through next week. I have enough favorite link ups to inspire me each day of the week! 😉

~ 5 ~

One of those favorite link-ups is Cari’s Theme Thursday, even though I am a day late for this week’s challenge of DISHES. I thought I could snap an easy pic of the dirty dishes sitting on the sink but I have a sneaky feeling some of you have a load of your own dirty dishes waiting for you. 🙂 Instead I am submitting this photo I took of the banana oatmeal honey cookies (no sugar) that I got from my sister. I’ll most likely post the recipe on Tuesday’s Pinterest Party, unless my sis asks me not to because she wants to post the recipe. What say you, sis?

When Brian and I moved into our first real home (not longer renting an apartment) we decorated in a sort of Spanish Mission style. I found these red dishes at Costco and fell in love with them. (I’m not a dainty dish girl. I am a sturdy stock girl.) 🙂

~ 6 ~

Mamarazzi – Spaking of photos, I’ve been having fun participating in the  SlowMama Photography Challenge on Instagram. Instead of having a topic each day, we only have to take one photo a day for the month of February. So far I haven’t missed a day. For those of you that don’t follow me on Instagram (bobbi_rol), like you, Mom, 😉 here are some shots I took with my iphone in the past week.

 Taken at the Carmel Mission. This reminds me of a page out of yesteryear.

After we drop off John-Paul at preschool, Matthew always asks if we can “go see Dedus” (go see Jesus). I’m happy to make a visit to the Adoration chapel with him. I love to see him “praying.” He reminds me of his Daddy. 🙂

Time for whole grain blueberry pancakes.

Taken the other day during one of our morning walks along the beach.

Matthew is enjoying the scenery.

During this time of year you can catch a lot of harbor seals along the beach.

It is fascinating to watch them waddle along the sand or jump into the water.

 If you are one of my snow bound friends, I pray that the sun shines on your face and spring reaches you very soon!

~ 7 ~

Have you ever been on instagram and wanted to pin a photo to Pinterest or repost a photo that you loved? There are a few online sites that can do that but my favorite is Statigr.am. They also have a lot of cool stats about your photos. For example, these are my top five liked photos.

Okay, my time is up but I’ll be back soon for 7 Post in 7 Days. Have a blessed Friday! 🙂

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads or Instagram. 😉