Andrew, Ashley, Cyrenthia, Madeline, Simeon, & Anna

daddy's girl

2012-02-19T11:00:00.002-08:00

Andrew & I love getting one-on-one time with the kids. We all refer to these times as daddy/mama dates. They aren't always regular or extravagant but occasionally something will pop up that is worth a little extra. Our church has an annual Father Daughter Dance & last week Andrew took Madeline. It was so unbelievably precious & I will say I may have cried a tiny bit. The dinner and dance was held at Mermaids and Madeline was so sweetly excited to go. She got a new dress and wanted me to curl her hair. She looked so beautiful. Andrew dressed up as well and Madeline picked out his Star Wars tie. Not sure when that was last worn but whatever made her happy! She smiled so big the entire time they were getting ready to leave. I wish I could've been a fly on the wall to watch their night but at the same time I am so glad they have that memory to share just the two of them. She held his hand walking in, sat close by his side, and talked and danced to her little hearts content. Andrew is such an incredible daddy and I am so so thankful to watch him with his little girl-pray for her, teach her, cherish her, and be such an amazing example to her of love.

why I am who I am...our little love story

2012-02-14T11:35:00.000-08:00

Before I begin, let me just say, this is my story of how God changed my life. I know that it is only by the grace of God that I have been redeemed and I am so so thankful that I get to spend my life with the person who was the means through which God changed me. So here it is...

Dear Andrew,

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

When we first meet I was fourteen. I was young, insecure, searching for approval, and I at least called myself a Christian. We shared first & second period together and your locker was right above mine. We had this funny, back & forth practical joke, ask each other what time it was kind of start. I liked you immediately. Although we remained "just friends" for about two years. And I am so so thankful for those two years because I had no idea what I was doing. I'm not sure you really did either, but you knew the manual. You walked your life in line with Jesus and measured everything up with Scripture. I had no idea what I was getting into but I sure was following. Because the truth is, at that point in my life, I would have followed anyone. It scares me to think about how easily easily easily I was influenced. And humbles me beyond measure with gratitude that God put you in my path. You showed me how Truth and Grace beautifully combine in my Savior. You showed me that my identity is in Christ alone. You showed me that there is a Friend for me that is closer than any brother. And all this while we were "just friends"!

Then one night you popped the question. Or in your case, made a statement in which you did not box yourself in at all but still put the ball in my court. :) It went something like this..."I don't really want to go to prom, but I'll take you if you want. Or we can just go out." How could I resist such charm? And so we went out. Rio Bravo and Life is Beautiful. You put your arm around me and I remember thinking, don't sob on your first date. Which was hard because that movie was supremely sad! And off we went.

For the next three years we dated. Really it was a sweet progression of our friendship building and growing and deepening. It definitely wasn't always easy. We had lots of rough patches and bumps in our road but it was surely all worth it. Through those years I went from following Jesus because I saw Him in you to following Him because I learned He was with me. God showed me His love through you. Those years of dating were so defining for us but maybe even more defining for me. I am who I am because of you. Because you pointed me to Christ, prayed for me, guarded my heart, led me, loved me with patience and a love that wasn't self-serving.

Fast forward five years and I am 19. You pop the BIG question in much more eloquent fashion and I say yes. Yes to my best friend. Yes to a life I couldn't even dream about. Yes to a future certain of only one thing. We will abide in the Love of our Savior, die to ourselves, and continue on the journey together. You will never know to the fullest how thankful I am for you. Because you were (and still are) the means through which God changed my life. I've said it before, and I will say it many more times I'm sure. I am who I am because of you. You love me as Christ commands, as He loves the Church, as Scripture teaches through 1 Corinthians 13. This journey we are on is always surprising me in the best of ways and I love walking it with you.

I love you, and thank you.

my idiot driving move

2012-02-12T09:29:00.000-08:00

I am generally a pretty good driver. Never been in a wreck or gotten a ticket. Only been pulled over once and that was in a church vehicle for expired tags. So doesn't really even count. Between Andrew & I, he is definitely more prone to pulling up to far in a parking space and hitting the parking block, rounding a corner to tight and going over a curb, missing an exit until the last second and speeding off, etc. I just don't usually make many driving booboos.

Apparently, that has ended.

My smallish booboo: A few weeks ago Andrew bought a new mower (our first ever) and put it in our very small, barely enough room for my van, one car garage. So, with kids in tow, I am trying to back out ever so carefully so I don't run over this new toy of his and instead I whack the other side of the car into the edge of the garage. Basically tore up the side view mirror and felt like a big dummy. Plus, Andrew enjoyed mocking me about it ever so (un)lovingly.

That was enough for me but no. Here is my biggish booboo that I can barely even write about but here I go: Last week I was heading to my friend's house to pick up one of her daughters to come play. She had a sick son and just came home with their second daughter from Ukraine so they were up for a little outing for their little gal. When I got to her house her driveway was full and I was trying to figure out where to park to run in and get Hazel. Looking ahead to my right I saw a flat opening opposite of their house and whipped right over. And I mean whipped. Unfortunately for me, the flat opening didn't actually begin where I thought it did. It came several feet after a giant ditch. Which yes, I whipped my van into. I get out of the van to see the back left side of my van 100% in the air. Oh my, not fun. All my kiddos are in the car, I of course have no idea what do, and sweet Ginny comes running out asking if I am okay. Thankfully, we were all fine. But instead of being a big help to her afternoon I got all my kids out, added them into her house, and proceeded to spend the next hour and a half feeling slightly numb and acting as if I've never entertained children before by zoning in and out while she graciously and amazingly put crafts together, handed out snacks, and managed to take some pics to text her husband. It was insane. Praise the Lord for my husband having a flexible job that he could come figure it all out. Which basically meant calling triple AAA and having a tow truck man come (who took pictures as well because he said he'd never seen anything like it) and pull it out.

So there you have it. Let's hope that was the end of my idiot driving moves. And no, I don't have pictures. You know I don't want that documented! And anyway I know Andrew won't let me forget it...

me and them

2012-02-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

Just realized I hadn't posted pics in a while...I have lots of envy of iphone picture posting abilities but every time I begin the attitude about not having one I remember, I get to go to HAWAII this year. Much much better than an iphone.

happy february!

2012-02-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

It's Febraury 1...

big yea's going on around my house because Andrew is returning home tonight!

YEA!!

child of God

2012-01-29T20:44:00.000-08:00

With our Potter's House girls today we talked about being a child of God. Knowing & believing it in our deepest places. When the enemy attacks with doubts, lies, confusion. One of the questions asked was how do you see God as your Father? And how does my perception of myself as a child of God effect my behavior, faith, life. These are challenging question to me.

Everyday I watch my kiddos light up when they see a certain blue car pulling in our driveway. Happy squeals and the repetitive question, Mama can we go outside?, fill our house.

Their daddy is home.

And they are so excited. Barefoot babies run and waddle out the front door and into his arms. It is precious. One of my favorite parts of the day. Their daddy is full of life to them. He is safety and fun. He is good and kind. He is strong and in control. He meets their needs and they can't resist his love.

"Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God." Galatians 4:1-7

What a difference our Redeemer makes! How do I see my Heavenly Father? Like a slavemaster? Or my Abba, Father? Like I am living in bondage? Or adopted and filled with the Spirit of God? I want to eagerly await Him, run to Him, get excited over Him. I long to believe more daily and turn more and more to my Heavenly Father as my daddy. There is so much life, comfort, joy, hope, and goodness wrapped up in belonging to Him. And praise the Lord that by His grace I do.

I am accepted and I am a child of God. I belong to Him. As we've been studying who we are in Christ I keep coming back to that word. Belong. I love it. This song has been playing in my house for a few months now and every time I hear it I am reminded that I no longer belong to the world, but to Christ. Because I have seen the Lord and by His love my heart has been fixed with Him.

Song: I have seen the Lord by Matthew Smith, Watch the Rising Day

Let worldly minds the world pursue, what are its charms to me?
Once I admired its trifles too, but grace has set me free
Its pleasures now no longer please, no more content afford
Far from my heart be joys like these now I have seen the Lord

As by the light of opening day the stars are all concealed
So earthly pleasures fade away when Jesus is revealed
Creatures no more divide my choice, I bid you all depart
His name and love and gracious Word have fixed my roving heart

I could bold and highlight all the words of this song because I love love it. It plays often in our car and Madeline decided it was her favorite song because she knows I like it! That makes me love it even more. :)

too good not to share

2012-01-28T08:24:00.000-08:00

Just talked to Andrew this morning and was blown away by how incredible God is! There is so much beautiful Christ-honoring work going on in Ethiopia and we are so blessed and humbled to watch and pray and get a small part to play. They visited with a wonderful organization that is equipping and mobilizing the Ethiopian church understand God's adoption of us all and toward adoption of their own who are orphaned all around them. Yesterday, Andrew, Seth, Bryan, & Bret got to sit and eat, pray and fellowship, and rejoice with one of the 3 first ever families to legally finalize domestic adoptions in Ethiopia. Praise the Lord!

happies

2012-01-27T18:13:00.000-08:00

While Andrew is away things can sometimes (i.e. often) get a little rut-ish. I am trying hard to stay afloat and get us all from one thing to the next. Unfortunately that can mean I forget to enjoy my moments. And I really do want to enjoy them. I love my kiddos like crazy and pray for forgiveness when I forget what treasures they are and treat them like my to-do list. I am trying (hold me accountable if you can) to cherish our happies and create as many as I can each day. Day 8 of Andrew away and here is what we have thus far:

1. Swinging all three kids on the swing set during 60 degree January weather! And following that with a game of basketball in which Simeon dribbles around like a champ, Anna chases balls, and Madeline sings & cheers.

2. Locking us all in the kids bedroom and playing zoo-every animal had a home, needed to be fed, we got to hold them all. Even Anna enjoyed it!

3. Watching Mr. Popper's Penguin's while eating homemade pizzas.

4. Tossing all three in the tub and watching them play so cheerily. Anna l.o.v.e.s to play with Simeon's hair and he loves letting her!

5. Taking a road trip to see my sister and her family for 3 days. The kids were great travelers, sang Joy to the World with their aunt & uncle, and played well.

6. Saying our "thankfuls" each night. We started this a few months back & it has been great for us all. We sit down before bedtime and each say 3 things we are thankful for from our day. We love seeing what they are thankful for and it is super encouraging.

7. Praying for Daddy...they love him so much!

8. Having dance parties in the living room to Ethiopian music and taking all the cushions off the couch so we can jump on the couches.

Love my happies with my sweeties.

the blahs

2012-01-23T20:21:00.000-08:00

Why is it that when Andrew leaves the attacks start flying strong and ugly? My sweet generally well behaved babes are having some seriously terrible moments. Words are spewing from their mouths and attitudes from their hearts that make me want to quit and cry. Disobedience is seemingly the way we role around here. Except for the tiny fact that we actually don't. And it's me, too. I'm tired, feeling the strain of lots more days until he returns. I am quick to frustration with my kids and super sensitive to my own personal struggles with insecurity and anxiety.

Slowly but surely these all pile up and I am quick to just feel the weight and whine. But I am trying to see things differently and recognize truth and give the great deceiver no foothold in my heart. I think so often I don't ever acknowledge that Satan is at work against me and my family. Instead I complain, whine, get frustrated, wallow in self defeating pity, and so forth. My sweet Potter's House group of senior girls is doing a study on who we are in Christ and this past week our truth was this: I am accepted in Christ. So praise the Lord this has been running through my head and heart this week. We talked about how powerful it is to fight lies with truths. Call the lies out for what they are and where they originate. And speak truth, pray Scripture, and believe.

So I'm chugging along. Refuting what I know in my head is a lie and praying like crazy I will believe in my heart what I know is true. Seeing my kiddos struggles and praying against sin and evil that seeks to destroy. Guarding my heart against sins that tear up myself and my relationship with my kids. It's definitely a battle. But one I'd much rather fight than not.

Loving these Scripture these days,

"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14

"Greater is He who is in you that he who is in the world." 1 John 4:4

I am accepted in Christ, redeemed, forgiven, and walking in the kingdom of Light.

a letter to Andrew

2012-01-23T11:05:00.001-08:00

Andrew,

I am now sitting on the couch, on your fancy computer, eating my sandwich and wheat thins and drinking a big sonic coke that I'm not supposed to be drinking :)-and it is so good. I think you will enjoy knowing that Madeline is having her play time while listening to the Irish Rovers. She thought it would be fun and make you happy.

You have been gone several days now, with several more to go, and we certainly miss you. I had to do the trash and recycling yesterday and I don't care for it too much I have to say. But you do so much more than just that of course. In fact, you do a lot lot lot. This morning we listened to Slugs & Bugs and missed your silly dancing and singing to the cheese dip song.

We've slacked on our devo's lately which we really miss. You always keep us steady with those. And things are always easier with four hands working and playing.

I love you. Happy Day 4!

Ash

happy housekeeping

2012-01-20T11:31:00.000-08:00

I have been told that I keep a fairly clean house. I totally don't say that in pride. Truthfully, it's all about me. My personality just can't handle having undone things or messes left around. Having kiddos has definitely placed more challenge on my neatness abilities but in a good way. I've definitely had to let go of some things but in general, I still keep things fairly tidy. I'm a big organizer, list maker, task-y kinda gal. And I like it. :) Recently a few friends have asked me how I do it or what tips I can give so here's a start:

1. Did you know that you can place about a cup of water in a glass measuring cup in your microwave, kick it on for about 4 minutes, and it will steam and clean all the gunk off? I just learned this and am loving it. The messier it is the longer it may take but after a few minutes the gunk just wipes off with a paper towel. So nice.

2. We run our dishwasher basically every single night. Usually it is totally full but as long as it's 70% full I say run it. Then leave it open if you are still up so they dry well overnight. That way you start your day with clean dishes. And if you need, you can just use straight from the dishwasher. :)

3. I don't have school age kiddos so I know this looks differently for everyone but I try to wash, dry, fold, and put away every load of clothes as they fill the dirty basket. We have two dirty clothes baskets in our house. One in my closet and one right by the washer for the kiddos stuff. I get a load going basically every 1-2 days sometime after breakfast, toss in dryer right away, and fold/put away when kids are napping, having play time by themselves, snacking at the table, or in bed that night. It seriously helps to not let several loads build up-either dirty or clean just not folded.

4. Lastly for now, give every toy a place. If it doesn't have a place, you probably have too many and need to purge! We purge toys after every toy receiving life event (birthday, Christmas...). I have about 15 $6 canvas bins from Target and basically all toys belong in a bin in one room or another. A good purging tip: have two rounds. One with your kids so you can let them choose and talk about not needing so much stuff or giving away to a good cause, etc. Second, without them so you can toss all those lovely drive-thru toys and pieces of scrap paper your 4 year old doodles on and desires to cherish. :)

And trust me, my house is not always run like these tips. Last night I folded 5 loads of laundry from the last several days. But I did it while watching a little tv with Andrew so that made it better. Please please share any good tips you have to keep things running smoothly & happy housekeeping!

my good man

2012-01-18T11:29:00.000-08:00

A little shout out to my sweet husband who leaves in a few days:

Thank you for working like a crazy man to get a bunch of house stuff done before you leave. Thank you for taking me out tonight. Thank you for reading Scripture and praying with me. Thank you for giving me moments to myself. Thank you for letting me "sleep in". Thank you for taking us all out to breakfast. Thank you for playing games and reading books with Madeline, Simeon, and Anna. Thank you for washing the dishes and switching the laundry. Thank you for the notes I know you will leave all around our house ;). Thank you for loving, leading, and taking care of our family. We will miss you immensely. Madeline will miss her morning breakfast with her daddy. Simeon will miss wrestling with his daddy. Anna will miss running to her daddy when he pulls in the drive. And I, I will miss it all. Love you love you love you.

1 thessalonians 5:14

2012-01-16T12:55:00.000-08:00

a verse God has placed heavily upon my heart

"take tender care of those who are weak"

not exactly sure where He leads

just praying to wait patiently and follow well

and the glory of the Lord will be revealed

2012-01-13T11:54:00.000-08:00

In a few days Andrew will leave. He and 3 others will pack their bags, get on a plan, and head overseas. Although he does this several times a year, each time requires some good prep work. For both of us. Lots of phone calls, emails, and planning for him. Lots of communication, planning, and prayers for us. Each time he leaves and returns we both know the spiritual battle that is going on. We can feel and experience the struggles with selfishness, temptations towards bitterness, frustrations with exhaustion. It's hard stuff. Last night we sat and prayed with the guys and their spouses. We encouraged one another with Scripture from Isaiah and agreed together to read the same passages for the trip. It seems as soon as I pray the enemy is quick to try to make me stumble. I was encouraged this morning by our first group passage, Isaiah 4o, as I struggled with selfishness, weariness, complaining attitudes, and insecurities. He does not grow weary, His word endures forever, He comes to carry me close to His heart. And the Glory of the Lord will be revealed.

Isaiah 40:27-31

Why do you complain, Jacob?
Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God”?
²⁸ Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

the anna show

2012-01-11T11:59:00.000-08:00

look how cute I am Mama! Please let me out of this stroller!

What? Isn't this what this is for?

Anna l.o.v.e.s jumping on the couch cushions!

swinging and being so cute...hard work on a little one!

happy happy girl

smiling and laughing

because this gal is so stinkin' cute!

sore throat side effects

2012-01-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

Andrew took his Potter's House boys on a senior trip this past week for about 5 days. So it was me and kiddos holding down the fort. And sadly, all the girls weren't feeling 100%. Anna is cutting teeth and super snotty, I have a general head cold, and Madeline has a decently bad sore throat, cough, and runny nose. So there has been a lot of orange juice drinking going on around here.

Day 5 of Andrew being gone and my mama brain is a bit mushy and slow. Standing in the kitchen, all my sweet kiddos waiting ever so patiently at the table for their juice and breakfast, I grab the full 1 gallon jug of oj and give it a little shake. After I had taken the lid off. Big fat oops. I soaked myself in oj-clothes, socks, and half my hair. Which I might add I had gotten up early to wash. My floor became (and still is) a sticky citrus-y mess and my kids just stared at me asking questions like, Mama, why did you do that? Thankfully, it made me laugh not cry. And it could have easily gone either way.

Needless to say we got it all decently cleaned up, I re-washed the tips of my hair, and have given multiple people a good laugh at my expense a couple of times.

And my hubby still loves me when he returns, even if I smell like an orange!

to write or to sing

2012-01-07T11:21:00.000-08:00

If I could add one, possibly two, skills to me it would be a difficult toss up between being able to write well what I am thinking or to have a beautiful singing voice. I'm not sure why, but these are my two things. I think I could use either of them for great God-glorifying things but probably I would use them for my own personal vanity and glory. So I have to assume it's a good thing I don't have those skills. Maybe, hopefully, in heaven. Random thoughts stemming from two things: 1. I really want to blog more and not feel self-inflicted pressure to write something grand. Just want to record my family, thoughts, funnies, whatevers. And 2. I seem to learn so much from song lyrics, mostly loving hymns currently, and whenever I feel like I can't express myself in writing so often I think the song says exactly what I mean. Okay, last sentence is a point in favor of my poor ability to express myself...long & wordy! Anyway. Happy Saturday, folks!

H.A.W.A.I.I

2012-01-06T19:59:00.000-08:00

That's right people, the hubs is taking me to Hawaii! I don't just say he is the best because he is taking me to Hawaii, but the greater reason, because he cares for and loves me so well. He knows my needs and desires and wants to meet them. How great is he?! We are coming up on our 9th anniversary in June and have been talking about taking a 10th anniversary trip sometime in our 10th year of marriage. So June 2012 to June 2013. The trip will be in November 2012. We've joked about Hawaii but talked seriously about a trip along the California coast. I never never never imagined we would actually go to Hawaii! So major shocking wonderful surprise for me & I can.not.wait! Thanks, hubs! I love ya.

my hubs rocks

2012-01-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

I have the B.E.S.T. hubs EVER! Last night he gave me a surprise late Christmas present and it is so so so good! And now, I leave the suspense hanging...more to come very soon! But just know, he is the best! Let's just say this pic is a clue:

thoughts for 2012

2012-01-02T13:31:00.000-08:00

I'm not a deep and thorough writer like my hubby is but I do enjoy getting my thoughts outs through a little writing. I'm also not one to make grand New Year goals and meditate on the past and plan for the future. Again, my hubby owns that skill. But I do enjoy some time to open myself up to new things and reminding myself through prayer, writing, and reading that my life is not my own. So what will I do this year to seek more of Him and less of me? I don't have a list, but I have a prayer-that I would write these words of Philippians 2:1-18 on my heart and live them out in every high, low, joy, sorrow, hurt, or laughter. That Christ would be my all, be my fixation, and His glory would be my aim. That I would walk in humility whatever road He leads me down. And that my faith would deepen in my Savior with remains Faithfully the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

"Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me."

time with family

2011-12-30T11:15:00.000-08:00

Lots of sweet family time these last weeks. So thankful for them.

Gram and Papa got the kiddos a sand table for Christmas and they love it!

Anna loves the piano and Andrew is so sweet to play with her!

Aunt Lauren spent Christmas with us and Madeline had a blast playing with her-lots of Little Women and Anne of Green Gables!

Gram & Papa are heading out for a cruise and will be up close and personal with penguins! So Papa spent some time reading up on penguins and sharing the info with Madeline & Simeon. They were very interested!

Aunt Lizzie has been in town for a wonderful long visit! We love seeing her and the kids love getting to go on one-on-one adventures with her. She also plays lots of Little Women & Anne!

Cousin fun...although pics are pretty difficult to pull off. It is comical to attempt though!

Best one we could manage!

Kelsey & Lauren-love these gals!

Matt, Becca, & Hudson came up for a quick Christmas visit. Hudson just turned 1 and it was so fun watching all the kiddos run around and play. Love love love my family!

a post for my friend

2011-12-29T11:45:00.000-08:00

Ginny-

We had a blast with your sweet kiddos yesterday. Everyday is one day closer! Soon ya'll will be playing and singing and reading and laughing and all the other wonderful things you guys love. God's Sovereign plan covers each of you-big yeas for that! Love and miss you and can't wait to see your three wonderful faces.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:1-3

merriment

2011-12-17T21:19:00.000-08:00

We are enjoying lots of Christmas merriment around here. Tree decorating, A Potter's House Christmas party, lights on the square, cookie making, Christmas music singing and dancing, sweet friends homecoming with their little boy, Hudson's birthday party, family advent, and more merriment is still to come! Big yea for quality family time, yummy foods, and celebrating in remembrance the birth of Christ. Joy and thankfulness abounding.

thanks abounding and a fun tradition

2011-11-30T18:48:00.000-08:00

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!" Psalm 126:3

November is drawing to a close, and I'd hope to have had more thankfulness-ing going on in my bloggyland but...anywho. We have this fun little tradition over Thanksgiving and I am very very thankful for it!

Nine years ago (pre-marriage), we began what has become one of my favorite traditions. We celebrate Thanksgiving with our besties on the Wednesday before. We absolutely l.o.v.e this time together, look forward to it for weeks, plan our menu very specifically and deliciously, and enjoy every moment. Each year we write down things we are thankful for, things we hope for in the next year, and favorite memories from the year. Then we seal them up and save them to read and enjoy the next year. We also write letters to each other and get the joy of reading those each year, too. It is truly truly one of my favorite times of the year! Since adding little babes to our lives we have turned our little one day party into quite the event. One of our crews packs up and we all pile into the others house for as long as we can all make possible. This year we stayed at our house and the Schwo's came over on Tuesday and we stayed all together until Saturday. We eat a lot, play games, talk, laugh, take long walks, and anything else wonderful we can squish in. Our kiddos love each other and play great together. It is so fun to watch them interact and we spent one night going around with them sharing things they are thankful for. It was a sweet time to share together.

I am so very thankful for our great friends...our history together, our fun and funny memories, the ability to cry, pray, and rejoice together...the blessing they are to our family is immeasurable.

I wish I could share a lovely pic of the four of us, or 9 of us, but that would require using our camera with the timer and having all people awake and cheery at the same time. :)

snuggle bugs

2011-11-19T20:38:00.000-08:00

Look at my 3 precious babies! They make me so happy & I am so thankful for them!

staycation

2011-11-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Andrew took the ENTIRE week off and spent the whole time staying home and vacationing. It was such a blast! This is our second year to "staycation" and we plan to keep this tradition going. With three kids 4 and under there aren't a lot of places you could convince me would be a fun and relaxing vaca. Except the beach of course :) but that wasn't in the plan this year. This year we had great weather, ate lots of yummy food, watched movies at night, went to Terra Studios, Devil's Den, Boingo Bounce, and more. The kids love it and it is so nice to just enjoy calm time together. Here are some highlight pics.

love

2011-11-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

There are moments and happenings in our lives when we know we need something more. Something we can't explain. Something our hearts break in longing for. I know it is the grace of God I seek. I know it is the unfathomable love of Jesus that alone lifts me from where I fall in all my broken nothingness to the glorious riches of abundant life in Him. I really really want to know Jesus as my Loving Gracious Savior.

Lord, teach me the meaning of your Word.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

rocky start but I HEART november

2011-11-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

I think November just may be my favorite month of the year. I love fall. I love the color of the leaves. I love the cool crispy air. It all makes me so happy. And Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. I love an entire month of focusing on thankfulness. Let me just say one thing I don't love so far about this November...it started with a stomach bug. Hit me hard for 24 hours. Big yucks. But, on a thankful note, I am so incredibly thankful for my wonderful hubby, mama-in-law, and friends who came to my aid, kept my kids, prayed for me, checked on me, and so on and so on.

Anyway, here are a few things I am looking forward to this month:

1. Watching colorful leaves fly around my yard and then raking them only to jump in them with the kids.

2. Wearing jeans, boots, sweaters, and scarves.

3. Yummy yummy soups and breads.

4. Talking to my kiddos about what we have to be thankful for and Who we have to thank.

5. Eating turkey dinner leftovers over and over again.

6. Spending quality time with good friends and fam.

7. Chocolate Chip Pie. Yum.

8. Snuggling up on the couch with my hubby, me wearing his oversized sweatshirts, and enjoying evenings talking, watching movies, reading Scripture, and dreaming of what God has for our family.

9. Houseshoes.

10. Lastly, and this one is for my sis in law, I look forward to lots and lots of general merriment!

my madeline is 4

2011-10-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

Four years ago I had no idea. No idea how much love and goodness was about to enter my life. Four years ago I became a Mama. And now, tomorrow, my firstborn turns 4. Sweet Madeline, you are a true joy and light in our lives. You are passionate, tender hearted, faithful. You love quality time and to snuggle up with Daddy & Mama. You ask the best questions. You care for the hurts of others. You play the best pretend. You sing and dance and giggle. You remember everything with impressive accuracy. You are genuine. You take care of your brother and sister. You are so full of creative energy. Being your Mama is a privilege and blessing beyond description. I love you like crazy cakes my sweet little girl. Happy 4th birthday Madeline Grace Brill!

picture lovin'

2011-10-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

If I could add a skill to my life skill list it would be photography. I have a nice camera and I love taking pictures but I only know about 3 things about how to use it. But I have dreams of one day being very camera smart and taking lovely fun photos. Until then I must rely on my precious baby faces to make the pictures look so great. And that isn't too hard.

and now he is 3

2011-10-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

Our little boy turned three a few weeks ago. He was so excited about his birthday. Whenever asked about it, he would say, 'do you want some cake at my birthday party?' What a sweetie. This little fella makes me melt over and over again. He makes crazy faces, laughs like there's no tomorrow, cries big fat crocodile tears when things are hard, shares his toys with Madeline, tickles Anna, tackles Andrew, and has the most determined heart. So determined in fact that when he decided he needed his training wheels off his bike he learned to ride by himself within 3 days. Did I say he's only 3? He has a very stick to it attitude, gives big hugs, and we are so incredibly thankful for him. Happy 3rd birthday to our sweet Simeon Andrew Tekalegn Brill!

behind but still here

2011-10-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

Well over the last week or so my computer kept telling me I had 'malware'. Whatever that means. Apparently it was coming from a link I had to my friend Amelia's blog so I removed it. Sad. Sorry Amelia. Hopefully we can get you back as soon as someone explains to me what might need to be done. Anyway, we are in the middle of a W.O.N.D.E.R.F.U.L family stay-cation. Meaning, a vacation in which we stay home. 5 whole work days with no work. Much happiness going on in our home. More on staycation later but for now, here are some pics of my funny funny kiddos.

what are you guys doing?

being silly?

I will get you!

birthdays, laughter, tears, prayer, and bravery

2011-09-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

I sat Sunday night surrounded by so much goodness. Eight lovely ladies squished together in on cozy couches, ate yummy food, and shared life with each other. We all really needed that night. Good, Christ-focused conversations were free flowing. It always is an encouragement but I was especially blessed and in awe of God's goodness to me through this group of women I get to call my friends. We got together to celebrate birthdays but did so much more. And I cherish cherish the quality of time, the easy depth of discussion over Christ, marriage, parenting, failures, struggles, and joys. These women are brave and honest and vulnerable and willing. And that is hard. And it means so much. What a blessing to cry together over pain and hardship, to get down on our knees before our Jesus and seek His will, His grace, and His mercy, to pass babies around and laugh at their sweet faces and loud noises, to know that we know that we know that we each love each other, pray for each other, and desire to be more like Christ with and for each other. I am so very thankful for my community. Thank you Heather, Jenny Beth, Jayme, Ginny, Amelia, Sarah, Bek, Brooke, and Sarah. You are much loved and appreciated.

thank you Jesus

2011-09-19T07:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we had tickets to the Razorback game. We had made a plan for me and Madeline to have a special date and go together. If you were around here then you know it r.a.i.n.e.d all day long. Actually, poured. Like crazy. So sadly I was assuming we would not be trekking out to the game. Right before Madeline went down for her nap she asked me, when is God going to stop the rain so we can go to the football game? I told her I wasn't sure. She told me excitedly, I know what we need to do! We need to pray and ask Jesus to make it stop so we can go. So we did. And He did. And we went. It was such a sweet sweet prayer from my little girl. Full of hope, joy, and total belief that once she prayed, it would for sure happen. Because she believes fully in her God who answers prayers. I love moments with my children where I see more of Jesus because of who they are. He is very good to keep showing me more of Him through them. On the way home we stopped at Bliss for some delicious strawberry cupcakes and gave thanks to Jesus for answering our prayers and letting us go to the game.

happies, Barack & Abe

2011-09-08T19:03:00.000-07:00

In May, my sweet mama-in-law & I braved a long road trip to OH to visit fam. My academically minded father-in-law gave the kiddos some educational treats for along the way. For each state we drove through he printed a state map and pictures of any presidents who came from that state. So, as I'm sure you all know, driving through IL we had pictures of 2 presidents. Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama. Well somehow in the process Simeon got a bit confused and kept calling the picture of Barack Obama by the name Lincoln Abraham and the picture of Abraham Lincoln by the name Barack Obama. It was funny. And he was very adamant. A few days ago my academically minded husbanded was sharing world news with the family from the paper. On the cover was a picture of Barack Obama. When Simeon saw it he shouted, "Look! It's Lincoln Abraham!" We laughed and attempted to correct him. He said to me, "No mama. It's actually Lincoln Abraham not Barack Obama." I figure, who cares? He's cute and can get away with things like that. About 15 minutes later he was following me to my closet and right next to it is a trashcan with pictures of the presidents on it. And who does he immediately spot? A black and white photo of Abe Lincoln. He grabs the trash can and shouts excitedly, "HERE is Barack Obama mama!" Then he ran off with the trash can to tell Andrew. Yeah, we know...he's incredibly cute.

Also, amidst this whole conversation Andrew asked Madeline if she knew who was in the picture and she said, yes, it's Broccoli Obama. Feeling pretty good about our parenting right now.

blemish is beauty

2011-09-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

Some good friends of ours are doing great work with their foundation, 99 Balloons. Right now they are launching an 8 week blog series entitled, Blemish is Beauty, focused on the plight of special needs children internationally. Check it out.

blog: www.theatypicallife.com

info: http://www.99balloons.org/blemishisbeauty.php

life in pictures

2011-09-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

Our life in pictures over the last few weeks...trying to get a little me in the memories. :)

One day I fixed my hair up a bit and Madeline wanted her hair curled as well. She had about 8 tiny ringlets in her very fine hair. It was super precious. She wanted to take a pic and this is what she came up with for us. Love this girl.

Every week we go to the library and scurry ourselves around there and toss several books into a bag and scurry ourselves out. It must be quite the sight for those around me. But I can't help but brag that my kiddos are generally very good. I'm sure the don't mind Anna pulling every book off of a few of the low shelves in the kids area. Or Madeline shoving our library card into every card reader looking thing at the self check out desks. Oh well. Anyway. We usually pack ourselves onto a couch during Anna's second nap enjoy some good reading. This is us right after what we call, library time.

And lastly, Andrew's parents gave us tickets to the first Hog game and Simeon got to go! He was very excited. Called the Hogs. Played tackle. Sang the fight song. Like I said, very excited. Until that is the first firework went off after the first (of many) touchdowns. Let's just say he's not a big fan of loud noises and they left a bit early. :)

anna and daddy

2011-08-30T09:22:00.001-07:00

He is such a good daddy. I just love these sweet pictures. Had to include the last one though to show what happens when she sees mama. :) Love this girl.

mind explosion

2011-08-26T11:30:00.001-07:00

My mind feels like its exploding with thoughts. Serious ones, silly ones, spiritual ones, heavy ones, whats for dinner? ones, and so forth. Which should prompt me to some funny, clever, spiritual, deep, or something or other blog. But, clearly no. So here is a random event in our lives from this summer.

I got motivated somehow to make my own laundry soap-feeling very pioneer-y apparently. Found a website, diynatural.com, and went for it. Plus, I had two very cute and eager assistants. And, I should confess, this is actually round two...didn't want to document round 1 in case of utter failure and humiliation. Here goes.

First, ingredients: borax, super washing soda, and fels naptha

Second, grating: this takes a bit of time...I did one bar in about 10 minutes. I used the finest side of my cheese grater (which gets no other use b/c I buy pre-grated :).

Third, combining: 1 cup borax, 1 cup washing soda, 1 bar of grated soap. Mix it up. This is where my handy helpers came in. I am about 95% sure Madeline never licked any off her fingers.

I made 2 batches of this and began using it August 1st. I have about 1/3rd of it left still. I use about 2 tbsp per load unless its very big or very small. Also, I get tired of grating when the soap gets small and I begin grating my fingers along with soap so I just baggie up the leftover and use it as a stain stick with a little water directly on stains right before the wash. Man, I sound very DIY and earthy and what not, don't I? Just kidding.

Give it a try. It's easy, fun, kids like it, you feel cool. An all around victory I'd say.

sweetness

2011-08-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Madeline & I went to Sams to pick up a few things. When we do things with the kids one-on-one they like to call our time "dates" because Andrew & I go on dates just the two of us. It's pretty cute. Anyway. We were walking through Sams and Madeline said, "Mama, I want to get you a special treat of flowers because I love you." Melt my heart, make me cry. And, yes, we did get me a lovely special treat of flowers.

Then today Andrew & the kids were looking at the scrapbook of our trip to get Simeon in Ethiopia. Well, at one point while we were at the Gladney home he lived in one of the mamas there wanted to show us how Simeon liked his crib. Liked was putting it WAY to strongly. He actually hated it. At least at that moment. So we have these pictures of him sitting in his crib screaming crying. So sad. Andrew was telling him this story and then later, on the way to church, Simeon was telling this all to me. In his sweet little voice he said, "And I was crying and crying but then my mama came and got me." Again, melt my heart, make me cry. My kiddos make me so happy. What a joy to be their mama.

potty talk

2011-08-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

be forewarned by the title folks...just saying

While going to the bathroom:

Madeline: Mom, what's inside my poop?

Madeline: Mom, what does pee smell like?

Simeon: It's comin'!

Simeon: That's a really long one!

I'll let you (or not) think up your own responses for these lovely sayings. I especially like the difference it shows between girls and boys!

mercy, freedom, gladness, and light

2011-07-31T06:47:00.000-07:00

What if my greatest disappointments

Or the aching of this life

Is the revealing of a greater thirst

This world can’t satisfy?

This verse is from a song I randomly heard on the radio in Chickfila and don't know much more about it but I really liked these words.

In light of the truth that our home is in Heaven, it makes sense that our world is difficult, disappointing, and brings heartbreak. This world can't satisfy my longings, my achings, my desires.

But in brokenness there is revealed the beauty of Christ.

His mercy sets me free. He turns my sorrow to gladness. He transfers me from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of Light. How beautiful is the person, the promise, the hope, and the glory of Christ? He changes everything and makes all things new. Praise the Lord, o my soul. I can almost hear my heart heave a relieving sigh as I turn and rest in the One who saves me and holds my life in His loving, completely fulling, and more than satisfactory arms.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23

faith and brokenness

2011-07-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

As I've been processing through some heart changing thoughts and lessons on faith God has brought the picture of brokenness into my mind. Faith is something that I seem to treat as a roller coaster...sometimes my faith is up, sometimes it is down. What God has been showing me lately is that when I look at faith like that I am placing my faith in the outcomes of my desires. And by doing that, I am allowing my circumstances to dictate my views of God. So instead of keeping my eyes, heart, and life fixed and focused on Christ and His glory I put Him in a box and believe so little. I really desire to get to a point where I don't let me circumstances control my faith but instead allow God to strengthen my faith as I walk through life being led by Him. Because of some circumstances in my life recently I've been forced to be broken. To realize I can't control, dictate, organize, and "work" my way through things. And in my mind I don't want to...I truly want to let God be in control. Why the struggle then? My human sin clearly keeps tripping me up. A verse that came to mind yesterday was Psalm 51:16-17:

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;

you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

God does not want or need me to organize and control and structure the faith I bring to Him. He desires my faith to placed in Him alone. He is the object of my faith. My faith is in my Faithful God, not my circumstances. A broken spirit and a contrite heart is what He desires. So what is brokenness? As I've thought on this I've come to two thoughts. One, brokenness is exactly what it sounds like at first. It is me being humble, vulnerable, honest, and my hurting self before God. Confessing my sin, acknowledging my inability, praising His faithfulness and His unchanging character, seeking His glory and not my own. But I think often I move from this type of brokenness right back to where I didn't want to be in the first place. Organizing and controlling and boxing God in to my ideas, desires, and ways. So what is the answer? I'm coming to learn that brokenness should be leading me from a place of repentance to a place of dependence. A broken spirit is one that walks in faith fully dependent on God and not self. And that is where I am. Trying to walk in faith, remain broken before God so I can be dependent on Him alone. Because His ways are higher than mine, His word is truth, His love endures, and He is always and forever Faithful. The words of this song speak very powerful truths to my heart.

My soul finds rest in God alone, My Rock and my salvation,
A fortress strong against my foes, And I will not be shaken.
Though lips may bless and hearts may curse, And lies like arrows pierce me,
I’ll fix my heart on righteousness, I’ll look to Him who hears me.

O praise Him, hallelujah, My Delight and my Reward;
Everlasting, never failing, My Redeemer, my God.

Find rest, my soul, in God alone
Amid the world’s temptations;
When evil seeks to take a hold
I’ll cling to my salvation.
Though riches come and riches go,
Don’t set your heart upon them;
The fields of hope in which I sow
Are harvested in heaven.

I’ll set my gaze on God alone,
And trust in Him completely;
With every day pour out my soul,
And He will prove His mercy.
Though life is but a fleeting breath,
A sigh too brief to measure,
My King has crushed the curse of death
And I am His forever.

O praise Him, O praise Him, hallelujah, hallelujah,
O praise Him, O praise Him, hallelujah, hallelujah,
O praise Him, O praise Him, hallelujah! hallelujah!

a reasonable prayer request

2011-07-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

What results from fear over faith?

I deny God's promises and blessings.

I bring hardship upon me and my family.

The Lord is not with me.

One of our pastors at church spoke these words many months ago and God has been pruning my heart with them since then. And then the other day I got an email from a sweet friend who is in the waiting period of bringing their precious little boy home from Ethiopia and God reminded me again of how He prunes my faith.

Through the course of some circumstances and events in our life recently I've come to realize that my faith has been faltering. I've been allowing my circumstances to dictate my faith instead of placing my faith in God, the Faithful One. And as I've done this, so much in my heart and spirit have seemed to crumble. There are certain life events for which there are no good words to explain what happens to your heart, your mind, your spirit, and your faith. And because I've allowed myself to place faith in outcomes, desires, and circumstances, my walk with Jesus has and my view of the glory and holiness of God has been severely hurt.

I've lost the ability to believe in God doing the impossible. My hopes are limited to what is likely in this world. My faith has been brought down to what is reasonable and likely to happen anyway. I walk in fear over faith. And I crumble.

I am at a loss for words. My heart cries out for forgiveness from my gracious God, saying, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24

In my reading through the Bible I am in 2 Chronicles. This week I read the story of Asa & Jehoshaphat, two kings of Judah, and was keenly made aware of what truly trusting in God to see me through the impossible. These men saw before them the impossible, and in response they fasted, they prayed, they gave glory to God and worshiped Him, they believed in the One who created them and whose power is far greater than the prince of the world (1 John 4:4).

And God said to Jehoshaphat,

"Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you."

I don't want to pray a reasonable prayer request. I don't want to follow a god I have in a box. I don't want to live in the chains He has freed me from. So in my broken, weak, crumbling faith I ask God that I will not let fear triumph and that He will continually and recognizably abide with me.

Abide With Me

Abide with me; falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers, fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, abide with me.

Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence, every passing hour.
What but Thy grace, can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless
Ills have no weight, tears lose their bitterness
Where is thy sting death? Where grave thy victory?
I triumph still, abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross, before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, Lord, abide with me.

cutie cousins and aunts

2011-07-19T18:13:00.000-07:00

love my man

2011-07-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

Ever since Anna was born Andrew has been seriously adamant about date night every Friday night. I really think we've probably only missed it a handful of times this past year. It has been a huge blessing for me to see him lead in this and be loved by him like this and a huge benefit to our marriage, parenting, and basically every area of our lives. Clearly, I highly recommend date night! Last night our incredible Gram & Papa came over (the day after returning from Russia I might add) and kept the kids so we could go out for dinner and see Hello Dolly at the Art Center of the Ozarks. I showered :), we dressed up, and enjoyed a lovely evening out. Thanks to my sweet trendy friend who dolled me up and didn't laugh out loud when she asked to see my biggest pair of earrings and I showed her my studs. Instead, she just took hers out on the spot and said here, wear these! Love it.

So thankful for my sweet sweet man who prioritizes us in our world filled with crazy lovely distractions.

a guilty yummy pleasure

2011-07-15T07:20:00.000-07:00

For a baby shower this past week I was in charge of sweets. Not too hard of an assignment since I heart them big time. So I decided to try a new yummy-cake balls. I had them at my sister's showers over the last years but never in Fayetteville and never thought to make them. After a quick little google search I found that they are actually fairly easy to make. Just a little process is all. So I dove right in. And for your mouth-watering eye pleasure here is the process and end result that will make you run out to get the stuff to start your own. I highly recommend!

Ingredients:

Step 1: Bake cakes as directed. While warm, crumble with a fork and mix in frosting.

Step 2: Roll into balls (it's messy and sticky) and place on wax paper. Freeze for several hours. I did this overnight.

Step 3: Melt chocolate almond bark (or vanilla) in small amounts and use a toothpick to dip cake balls into chocolate until covered. Then using a second toothpick slide the cake balls onto wax paper. This is the most difficult step and my sister helped me. If the chocolate gets to thick just melt it again. And, depending on how pretty and smooth and ball looking you want your cake balls it gets either easier or harder. I decided they looked just fine slightly bumpy and taste so good it doesn't matter. :)

Step 4: Sprinkle and refreeze or just refridgerate depending on when you are serving them. If frozen, take out and put in fridge in time for cake to thaw.

Step 5: ENJOY!

words on wisdom, living for His glory

2011-07-14T08:40:00.001-07:00

"Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable,full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." James 3:13-18

happy birthday to my Anna

2011-07-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

Anna's 1st birthday was such a good day. My sis Becca and nephew Hudson came up for the weekend which was super great because we just don't get enough time together! And my lil' sis Lauren also hung out with us most of the weekend. Love my sisters so much.

Andrew made birthday pancakes for Anna and she loved them! Then we let her open her birthday cards and we got a musical walking toy that she (and MGB/SATB) loved.

Had a fun lunch treat at Chickfila and enjoyed free food for dressing like cows. Anna didn't really care but Madeline & Sim had fun. Although the large cow is really scary to little kiddos. If you went, I'm sure you know. Screaming and running occurred. Good fun.

That night we had a pool party. My friend Rachel made cute invites and I found a fun cupcake cake design from Family Fun. Our family and friends came and we had a great time. Anna really loves the water and splashes around a ton.

What a joy to celebrate her!

little known facts about Noah

2011-07-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

Andrew was reading the story of Noah for family devos the other night and this is what followed...

Madeline: Do you know Noah?
Andrew: No, I haven't met him.

Simeon: I know Noah.

Andrew: You do? What is he like?
Simeon: Umm, he likes scrambled eggs.

Mama, will you?

2011-07-11T08:29:00.001-07:00

Mama, will you play with me?
Mama, will you help me?
Mama, will you come with me?
Mama, will you sit by me?
Mama, will you hold me?

Practicing these days saying yes when I can say yes and enjoy the moments that are already going way too fast.

my Anna in a year

2011-07-07T18:58:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a year since last July 7th! Last year at this time I was feeling large, hot, and ready to meet my sweet little surprise baby! Her birth was not as we'd expected but she was far more than we could have hoped for or imagined. Going in that morning for some reason we were pretty sure we were having a boy. We had a boy name picked out and hadn't bothered to narrow down a girl name. Oops. Obviously, we were wrong. We had happened to go through our favorite girl names and discussed their meanings. And that turned out to be a very good thing.

I went in to be induced around 5am on July 8th and by 10am was still feeling great and not feeling too many contractions. Around 1030am a R.U.S.H. of nurses swarmed into our calm room and began tossing me around, hooking up new wires, and generally freaking me out. The baby's heart rate had dropped into the 60's and that is clearly not good. Quickly it went back up and the nurses explained what happened and suggested an epidural sooner than later in case of c-section. So we did. A funny side note...the nurse came in a few minutes later asking if I wouldn't mind letting a gal down the hall go first even though I was next...based on the screaming filling the hallways and the fact that I still wasn't really feeling pain, I agreed. By 12pm I had my epidural and was closely monitoring the heart rate myself. I watched it drop into the 40's around 1pm and this time the nurses came in on a mission. I was crying and trying not to massively freak out. Thinking my hysterics could only make things worse. Andrew was trying to be near me but with 15 nurses doing their jobs all around me that wasn't really happening.

Through the craziness, praise the Lord, within 20 minutes our wonderful doctor and team had safely delivered our precious baby girl. We looked at her, cried, and knew her name would be Anna. God is indeed gracious.

And He has shown Himself gracious over and over this year. Anna Elise is such an unbelievable undeserved gift in our lives and I am so thankful for her. She is sweet, gentle, easily comforted, laughs at her brother, sister, and silly daddy, and is a full blown Mama's girl. I couldn't be happier.

Our verse for Anna is Isaiah 26:3

"He will keep in perfect peace him whose heart is steadfast, because he trusts in You."

bedtime crazies

2011-07-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

Clearly, my life is bedtime focused. :)
A little update.

Our strategy has been this: put Madeline to bed and sit outside her door. Every time she gets up we (as in Andrew) puts her back in bed and says a very short version of "it's bedtime, we love you." The end.

Night One: Up 27 times.

Night Two: Up 16 times.

Night Three: Up 4 times.

Love. Progress. Please stay.

bedtime conversations

2011-07-05T08:25:00.001-07:00

if it's gonna be hard, at least it can also be funny...

In bed, approximately 15 minutes....

Simeon: I'm a frog.

Madeline: I'm going to be a butterfly.

Simeon: No, you're a square.

Madeline: A square? (hear: that's ridiculous!)

Madeline: Simeon, come lean over the edge.

Simeon: I don't want to lean over the edge. I might get stuck and die.

Madeline: You won't die.

Madeline: STOP! (hear: unkind tone)
Simeon: GO! (hear: cheerful tone)

bedtime woes

2011-07-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

This is a....I could use some encouragement/venting/prayers from the world out there....kind of post. Our sweet Madeline has had trouble with bedtime for a very.long.time. And we've tried LOTS to make things better. Some ideas have worked, others not so much. We seem to cycle and unfortunately for us, we are in the down side of the cycle. Boo. Fuss. Boo. She just can't seem to stay in bed. No matter what. Sometimes I think it's because she is such a quality time gal that she can't handle thinking we are up without her. Maybe that's just what I tell myself so I don't feel like the worst mom of the year each night as my child continually gets up and whines and cries at bedtime. :) Anyway. Any advice out there? Or plain old pat you on the back I've been there's? I'll take it.

weddings, friends, discipling, & Texas

2011-07-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

For the past few years I've had the privilege of discipling several college gals. We've read through many books of the Bible, several books, and done lots of talking and praying. I have truly loved it! Two gals graduated last May, one got married, both moved away. And now this past May the final two graduated and both had June Texas weddings! Andrew & I had a great time traveling down to Texas (twice) with our sweet friends Shawn & Anita. The quality talk time was amazing! With five kiddos and multiple house guests between our two families time together is precious! And then to add to that it was such a joy watching these gals & their now husbands get married. They all four amazed me at how Christ-centered their lives were and how deeply and honestly they desired that be true in their dating and now their marriages. I was proud of them and it was so fun to watch. So I didn't actually take pictures of them (kind of annoying carrying a big camera in the Texas heat in heels and a strapless dress) but we did get a few shots of the Brills/Schwartzmans which was fun and doesn't happen often!

my husband is such a goof

strawberry nutrigrain bar = YUM!

2011-06-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

seriously. i know i am biased but come on! she is so stinkin' cute!

Simeon & his crazy curly hair

2011-06-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

Simeon's hair grows like crazy...I cut it often & probably should more than I do. I love his curls. Here he is before...

and after...

cutie pie

2011-06-27T08:16:00.001-07:00

this one is for Gram...all the way around the world...we miss you!

8 years and the stomach bug

2011-06-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

Our anniversary is June 21. Planned to have a little 8 year anniversary post but instead got hit by the stomach bug on our anniversary. Not great fun. So instead of living the day up with my sweetie I spent most of it sickly and in bed. Despite it all he reminded through his selfless acts of service and love why I am so unbelievably thankful to have married him 8 years ago. He is sacrificial in love and deed, he is caring beyond measure, he holds my hair back when I am...well, you know, and he always brings me lilies.

A friend asked me if this is what I thought our life would look like 8 years ago. Easily I could say no but wouldn't want it any other way. We watched our wedding video with our kiddos for the first time and it was so fun to tell them all about that day. I am so blessed to have Andrew to walk through this life with. He makes everything better. He strives to know and follow Jesus more daily, to lead our home in marriage, parenting, and everything else, and to be humbly led by God wherever He may have us go. Love love love my wonderful husband and deeply thankful to our God who faithfully guides us and deepens us in our walk with Him and each other. We would utterly fail without Him.

A little 8 year recap:
Year One-I finished up school while Andrew worked for a friend's law firm. We had the incredible blessing of living next to our best friends and sharing food, playing late night games of basketball and Settlers of Catan, softball, and living life together. It changed our lives. Still love living life with the Schwartzmans!

Year Two-We moved to Africa for 6 months and God rocked our world on our perspective on missions. Then we loaded up a van and moved to Boston with no job, no place to live, and no money. It was a blast!
Year Three-First year in Boston and I had a crazy job with kiddos with special needs while Andrew went to grad school. God gave us an incredible church and group of friends who taught us what community looked like. Love the Sherrills, P Scotts, Greens, Kottmanns, & Boykins!

Year Four-This was a big year of transition...moved back to Fayetteville to start Andrew's job at Lightbearers and saw our first ultrasound of our little girl! I started working again with Potter's House and we began going to New Heights Church. We also moved into what would be our first of 5 houses over the next 2 years. Did not love moving so much.

Year Five-Busy year with the addition of Madeline Grace Brill to our lives! She was a very sweet, easy, wonderful blessing and I can't fathom life without her! Andrew also went on his first of many overseas trips with Lightbearers.
Year Six-Moved in with the Schwartzmans for 4 crazy fun months and began the adoption process. Loved living with our friends but a little too crazy with babies sharing rooms.

Year Seven-Another big year of transition...moved again, and then again. Cyrenthia moved in late fall, we found out we were pregnant about 2 weeks after getting our referral and then brought home our sweet Simeon in December. Also bought a house and a mini van. Phew. Can't say enough about our fantastic community of friends who surrounded us and served us this year...thanks to the Davidsons, Heimers, Mooneys, Baxters, Walkers, Phelans, Walkers, & Robinsons!

Year Eight-Looking back this has been a fairly calm year for us. No big transitions, moves, purchases. We had sweet Anna in July and have pretty much enjoyed hunkering down at home and managing our little clan. We took a little staycation in the fall, loved it, and plan to do it again!

Wow. That's a lot...and it covers so little. I know I can say without a doubt or hesitation that this Scripture has been true for us these last eights years... through the joys and pains of life,

"The Lord has done great things for us & we are filled with joy!"

Tom Addington married us and he shared this Scripture as a prayer for our marriage,

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." Romans 12:2

We got it carved into woodwork by a man in Africa and keep it up in our house always. I know I will keep praying this Scripture for our marriage, friendship, parenting, home, and future.

if you don't like words like breastfeeding...don't read

2011-06-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

This morning Madeline walked into Anna's room with me to get her up. We were talking with her and what not when Madeline climbed up in the rocker and, while lifting her shirt, said,

"Mom, give her to me. I have nickles, I can feed her."

So. much. fun.

Also, another random funny...Simeon has picked up from somewhere this phrase (say it with a little Simeon growl in your voice if you know what I mean).

"I'm gonna eat you for breakfast!"

distinguishing marks

2011-06-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

"Moses said to the Lord...if you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you...The Lord replied, 'My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.' Then Moses said to him, 'If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?

What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?'

And the Lord said to Moses, 'I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.'" Exodus 33:12-17

Love this conversation. Absolutely love it. What else can be said? Lord, may you be the great distinguishing mark in my life.

my next 90 days

2011-06-07T07:52:00.000-07:00

My mama in law gave me a read-the-Bible-in-90-days Bible. 12 pages a day. About 30-45 minutes. If you know me you know I hate starting something I can't complete and correctly at that. So posting this is allowing for a little more jump in my step as I attempt to read through the Bible in 90 days and to actually learn from it as well. :) Ask me when you see me. Thanks!

Day One: CHECK!

Interesting question coming from reading Genesis-who were the sons of God marrying with the daughters of Adam? Seriously asking.

community living

2011-05-31T08:19:00.000-07:00

We are beyond thankful for the wonderful community God has given us. These people love the Lord and love others in a beautifully Christ-centered manner. We love living life with them. For Memorial Day we BBQed at the Walkers, swam, chatted, and Matt & Jenny Beth led us in God Bless America. What a crazy crew! All together we have 18 adults and 27 kiddos I think. Not sure we will ever manage a picture of us all but we sure do have a good time!

catching up...road trips and daddy's home!

2011-05-29T19:01:00.001-07:00

When I re-began blogging I promised myself to blog every week. So, oops. I lapsed. But not too badly and here are all my wonderfully justified excuses. 1. Andrew went overseas for two weeks-enough said. 2. My fabulous mama-in-law and I took a crazy road trip with my 3 kiddos to Ohio to visit Christian, Seuli, and Asha. And Aunt Lizzie flew in as well. 3. Andrew came home and we've been enjoying every family minute over this long weekend. Okay, no more rambling. Here are some cuties from our last couple weeks. Also, I am not the smartest blogger on the block and I haven't yet figured out how to get my pictures in the order I want them. Therefore, they are random and out of order. Smart bloggers, what do I do? The first 5 pics are from our day trip to Devil's Den after Andrew got home. We had a blast & all 3 kiddos did great. Even made it through a 1.5 mile hike! And, yes, my kids are lapping at the creek water. The last ones are from our visit to Ohio. Kiddos dancing and playing at the park. Loads of fun.

lessons learning

2011-05-17T09:01:00.001-07:00

Lately we've been having some melt downs. Crying. Yelling. Whining. You name it. It's not been pretty. Disobedience. Defiance. Stubborn sinful pride.

You may think I am talking about my kiddos here but the truth is the person I just described is just as often me as it is them.

When Madeline rebels I ache for her. I lament my own shortcomings and weep over my feelings of failures as a mama. I cry out to help her, teach her, make it all better. If only I think. If only she would hear my words and listen. Know that I am doing what's best for her. Trust that I will take care of her. If only. How can I love her enough to make her see? Can I?

She's a sinner. And so am I. When I read my Father's word I often walk away. I ignore His calling. I trip and fall over my stubborn sinful pride. I say yes Lord and turn and do nothing. I say send me Lord and walk back to my self and my ways.

And He loves me. And He knows that if only. If only I would listen, let Him lavish His love upon me. If only I would desire Him above all else. He would and will always answer. He will never change. He will be there.

Instead I live a life that gives me all the glory and acts as if I've given it to Him. I ache over all this. I want to live differently. How do I turn my eyes from me to Him?

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art

Thou my best thought, by day or by night

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light

I so wish this to be true of my heart. Desire beyond anything I can imagine. I am praying this for myself daily-to long for my Savior.

Riches I heed naught, nor man's empty praise

Thou mine inheritance, now and always

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart

High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art

I definitely heed my riches and even more so man's empty praise. I am praying this for myself daily-to treasure my Savior as my perfect inheritance.

High King of heaven, my victory won

May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heavens sun

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall

Still be my vision, O Ruler of all

Whatever befall. I am praying this for myself daily-to know my Jesus is victorious over sin and to live for heaven's joys.

Baby Chub

2011-05-13T11:50:00.001-07:00

I can't get enough of her sweet little baby chub. She oozes. And I love it!

And, because I haven't written a single milestone down anywhere regarding Anna....

1. 2 months: sleep through night in general

2. 4 months: big smiles frequently

3. 6 months: rolled over

4. 7 months: first tooth

5. 8 months: sitting all by herself

6. 9 months: lots of laughing & smiling

7. 10 months: giving kisses & reaching for Mama

If you are wondering where scooting, crawling, pulling up, cruising, and all those other baby terms that refer to babies in motion are I will tell you. She could not care any less about being mobile. Seriously. I have seen her roll over fewer than 10 times. She won't push up on all fours. She is content to watch the racing world around her and never move. Except of course to Mama's arms. And truthfully, I am totally great with it! She is so much fun and makes our lives so much better. Thankful to God for His wonderful surprise gifts!

Oh and yes, she is a little mini me!

Prom Beauty

2011-05-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

Many many weeks before the big event this sweet gal began talking and talking and talking about all the prom oriented details. Her date, dinner plans, what group to go with, what time, pictures, what to do after, the perfect shoes, and of course, the perfect dress. She was g.i.d.d.y with excitement. Her cheeryness related to a high school dance made me smile and laugh and be thankful. Smile because I love seeing her happy. Laugh because she practiced dancing in her shoes for the 48hours prior to the dance. And be thankful because this beautiful young woman has a heart that far surpasses all her outward loveliness. She exudes the joy of the Lord. She desires to be nearer to Him. She longs for Heaven to be her home. She speaks of it, wonders about it, looks forward to it, and her Jesus makes her smile, laugh, and be thankful. Can't wait to watch the Lord's plans unfold in her life.

Beautiful Girl. Love love love her.

projects and parties

2011-05-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

April was a big project-y month for us. Amidst and through all the crazy rain we've had we got several fun things done, both inside and out. First, our kiddos Christmas present from Andrew's parents was a swing set. We finally picked it out, ordered it, and invited Howard & Katherine over to help assemble it. If you've ever been so fortunate to do this, you know it is quite the undertaking! Howard & Andrew did a GREAT job and after about 14 hours we went from this

to this

It has been so much fun around here. Notice the giant tractor behind the swing set. We also took on the minor project of clearing a huge rock filled area out of our backyard. We borrowed a tractor and truck and began what turned into 11 truck fulls being hauled off. It was far more massive than we imagined. And we still need to now cover the area over with dirt. And plant grass. And water it. And wait. But overall, what could be more fun to a 3 1/2 & a 2 1/2 year old than a huge tractor in your backyard? Let's just not talk about the baby bunny family we (and I mean ME) dug up. I am still believing their mama came for them and they are thriving in a new home.

Soon after the swing set we had this sweet wonderful little fella come visit! Hudson & his mama & daddy came up for a few days and it was a blast! Becca & Matt live a few hours away but with little babes none of us travel much. This was their first trip here since Hudson was born. I was so glad for some qt with my sis. And he is so presh!

We also had a hail storm that the kiddos loved watching & eating and then some good movie snuggling with Uncle Matt & Aunt Becca. My kiddos really do love them like crazy!

Our next project was making popsicles one afternoon. We just made some lemonade, poured it into popsicle molds from good old Walmart, added food coloring and sweet tarts for a bonus kick, and froze them. After naps they were a delicious treat!

Our big inside project was turning the big empty wall in our kitchen into a white board. I got this idea from Andrew's office and we decided it would be perfect to do. We ordered the paint from Sherwin Williams, cleaned & sanded the wall, then primed and painted it, and waited 7 long days to use it. We absolutely love love love it. We write memory verses up, notes to each other, birthday wishes, and lots and lots of drawings and doodles. And it has inspired me to work on more learning-y activities with the kids. We are taking a letter a week and doing sounds, words, songs, pictures, and anything else I can come up with to go along with the letter to help them learn it. They have also been practicing writing their letters & are much better than I thought they'd be. Like I said, we love love love it!

Lots of fun going on at our house that I didn't photograph well, like Easter projects, a visit from North Carolina family, and a fun crazy Saturday with some friends and their kiddos. And coming soon...Ren's prom pics. She's a beauty for sure!

Parenting out of the side of my mouth

2011-05-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

Let me confess...and ramble a good bit....

Been doing a lot of thinking these days about parenting. This stuff is hard. Nothing major going on. Nothing too out of the ordinary. But all the dailies of life and mama-ing. I can't decide when to let things go, when to discipline. When I'm being inconsistent and when I'm showing grace. When to be stern and when to hug. When to give them space to figure things out and when to intervene to prevent meltdowns. Hmm...any answers anyone? I have several thoughts on disciplining them, praying for them, and teaching them and will continue these thoughts soon. The one thing I have noticed about myself is that sometimes when I loose my patience the quickest and when my kiddos seem to fall apart the most I can pinpoint it to what I am calling, parenting out of the side of my mouth. Half looking, half listening, half trying to focus on myself or something else. Anyway. I really want to be intentional, attentive, and genuine with them. Would love thoughts from anyone on any of this stuff. And also, aren't my kiddos so cute? Good thing. :)

Baby Hands

2011-04-26T11:52:00.001-07:00

"The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17

"In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

Last night I woke to the cries of my baby. Soft, sad, cries. We've been trying out new foods lately and several have not agreed with her little body. Needless to say, I have mama worry over every cry she makes, not wanting it to mean she's aching. I went to get her and she grabbed tightly to me. With a diaper check and a quick re-swaddling I scooped her up and went to rock. I was willing to nurse her but she just wanted to be close. Her head was on my shoulder, my arms held her tightly. She rested her inner hand flat on my check, sucked her other thumb, and placed those fingers on my chin. My kiss was constantly on her forehead. I held her tightly. I gently rocked her and couldn't keep from crying. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, like the emotion of being a mama. Her sweet baby hands stayed on my face and I prayed and sang softly over her. I knew I loved her. And I knew she loved me. I would do anything for her. And she would let me. I would hold her like that for hours. And that is exactly where she wanted to be. I was overwhelmed with being a mama. In the best, most intimate, deepest way I can imagine.

Andrew & I were talking with his parents on Sunday and were talking about underground seminaries. Andrew mentioned a pastor who went to teach at one of these and how the people there were so hungry for the Word. They couldn't understand why anyone would teach for just an hour or so. They longed for me. So he taught them for five straight days, 8 hours a day. He finished the Old Testament and they asked, what about the New Testament? As we were talking I wondered out loud, what would it be like to long for Jesus and His Words like that?

As I rocked, cherished, held, and tried to memorize my moment last night with Anna I could hear Jesus speaking to me. Come sit with me. Crawl up into My lap. Place your head on My shoulder. Put your hands on My face and hold on. Close your eyes and rest. Let Me love you. Let Me sing over you. Let Me meet your every need. Let Me be all you ever want. I promise, I will. I am Faithful. I am Love. Long for Me. I will delight in you.

In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise

Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

When I am alone,
When I am alone,
When I am alone,
Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

When I come to die,
When I come to die,
When I come to die,
Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

Ren makes me happy

2011-04-25T17:44:00.000-07:00

I love Cyrenthia. She has so many incredible qualities about her. She is energetic, joyful, a learner, loves the Lord, plays with my kiddos, laughs loud, and smiles big. If you've ever been around her you know exactly what I mean. She is irresistibly lovable.

Another reason I love her is because she says some of the silliest things...

She was standing over me looking at a picture of hers on my computer...

She had titled this picture, "Drumlign".

This is in fact a picture of her with the cast of "Drumlign" which she got to see at the Walton Arts Center in March.

As she was looking she began laughing at herself and said, "Oops I spelled it with a "g". Yes, you did, I said. And laughed.

The next comment is what caused me to laugh harder and love her all the more.

"And I forgot the "b".

What?

"I forgot the "b". In drum"b"

I couldn't stop laughing as I proceeded to tell her, drum actually doesn't have a "b" in it. She laughed. I laughed. And she went on to explain she thought it was like tomb or comb. Good logic, I guess.

Just another reason she makes me happy.

Power and Light

2011-04-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

"See, my servant will prosper, he will be highly exalted. Many were amazed when they saw him--beaten and bloodied, so disfigured on would scarcely know he was a person. And he will again startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not previously been told about; they will understand what they had not heard about."

Isaiah 52:13-15

"Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song, for the Lord has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord will demonstrate his holy power before the eyes of all the nations. The ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God."

Isaiah 52:9-10

He comes in Power.

"O storm-battered city, troubled and desolate! I will rebuild you on a foundation of sapphires and make the walls of your houses from precious jewels. I will make your towers of sparkling rubies and your gates and walls of shining gems. I will teach all your citizens, and their prosperity will be great."

Isaiah 54:11-13

"No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light and your days of sorrow will end."

Isaiah 60:18-20

He is our Light.

Light from the Son

2011-04-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

He took up my pain

Bore my suffering

Was pierced for my transgressions

Crushed for my iniquities

Punished to bring me peace

Wounded to bring me healing

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6

"By this time it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three 0'clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the thick veil hanging in the Temple was torn apart. Then Jesus shouted, "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!" And with those words he breathed his last." Luke 23:44-46

Spending today in remembrance, humility, and gratitude.

Feeling the weight of my sin.

Seeing the high payment that was made for me.

Waiting for the Light from the Son to return.

Looking forward to the healing and peace that comes with Sunday.

Listening Ears

2011-04-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

These past few weeks we've been reading Bible stories to our kids surrounding the death & resurrection of Jesus. It has had many good, many silly, and many sweet moments. Tonight we read bits from Mark 14 & John 13-14 combining Jesus washing His disciples feet, the Last Supper, and the betrayal by Judas. As always, Madeline & Simeon love asking questions. So tonight, after finishing the page about Jesus washing the disciples stinky feet, I quickly jumped in to tell Madeline I had a question. Who washed the stinky feet? She was quick to respond, Jesus. Probing a little deeper and not expecting an answer I asked, what else does Jesus wash? But I was wrong. She answered. Quickly she said, our sins. In our weeks of repeating the same five stories they have been listening. They fidget, sing, push their little fingers into my pockets, and more. But they are listening. So thankful for their sweet listening ears tonight. And so thankful that He washes the dirt that stains my soul so that my heart can be healed.

9 months old

2011-04-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

I have been terrible about chronicling Anna's little life month by month like I did with Madeline. I have managed to get a few pics of her on the 8th of each month--or at least by the 10th. Andrew & I were looking at her 9 month pictures & decided to compare her to Madeline & we soon found this...

Madeline Grace

Anna Elise

I took their 9 month pics in the same outfit! Clearly I like this one. Thanks to Anita for gifting it to Madeline several years ago. And, they are SO different. I think at this time Madeline was about 75% in her height and 5% in her weight. Anna is an even 25% in both. Madeline never had much baby chub...Anna clearly is doing well in that category. Madeline had at least 2 teeth and Anna just got her first. Madeline was crawling. Anna couldn't care less about mobility...including rolling over. She is content to just sit, watch, and be entertained. And shockingly I must say Madeline had more hair at this time. Which is crazy because she was a baldy like Anna. Anna is a sweet sweet baby girl. She eats well, hardly fusses, sleeps well, and loves her sister & brother. Madeline loves kissing her and talking to her like Mama does & Simeon can make her laugh by "roaring" at her. I love watching my kiddos cheery interactions. They definitely make me smile.

Satisfaction for the Soul

2011-04-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

Sounds dreamy, huh? Sounds lovely. Sounds like everything I want. Where do I find this everything? I know where. I've met, experienced, enjoyed, and been lavished with it. Why then do I find myself wandering? Wandering in big things, little things, daily things. If only a had a little more money, time, energy, personality. If only. That is the road I hate. The one that sucks me in and leads me away from my Satisfaction, my Security, my Jesus, and toward lies, sin, my flesh, and the (in)securities of the world. And when I walk this road, I lose so much and gain so little. I sacrifice my intimacy with my God and it prevents me from receiving His abundant LOVE which He desires to lavish on me. And I complain. Complain because I am weary. Because I am longing, Because I am not finding the satisfaction for my soul. I am weary because I don't turn to my Savior.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:28

Been trying to wrap my heart around this great quote from my BSF teacher a few weeks ago,

"When you are looking for satisfaction outside of Christ you have nothing to look forward to except weariness, anxiety, more stress, and endless, unrewarded striving."

Endless, unrewarded striving. How undreamy. Unlovely. Unlike anything I want.

"Show me the wonders of your great love" Psalm 17:7

Where do I find my satisfaction? I find it exactly where I seek it. When I seek it from the world, I find all the world has to offer me-disappointment, failure, endless, unrewarded striving. When I seek the only true God, creator and sustainer, I find my satisfaction in the never-ending wonders of His great love. So dreamy. So lovely. So everything I want. Only in Christ. Everything in Christ.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

look full in His wonderful face,

and the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

in the light of His glory and grace.

a few pics

2011-04-13T18:20:00.000-07:00

For those of you who like a little looksie in on the fam, here are some photos we had done in November. A little late, but hey, what can I say?

this is my favorite...so perfect

my little surprise sweetheart

matchy matchy

just want to kiss those cheeks

he makes me so happy

funny boy

that face melts my heart!

future Razorback

gorgeous and so grown up!

beautiful baby girl

my kiddos sure do love Cyrenthia...she is a great big sis

love love love my family

encouragement

2011-04-07T08:54:00.000-07:00

Sat with a sweet friend last night and talked life. I'm so thankful God has given us community to teach, challenge, encourage, grow, and live alongside of. We drank yummy berry drinks at Mama Carmen's Espresso Cafe and lost track of time. Encouraged to seek more of Jesus in Scripture, through prayer, confession, and challenged to understand what it looks like to fully receive His unconditional love & forgiveness, and find my security & satisfaction in Him alone. Whew. Will be thinking on these things for a while I'm sure.

"Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink--even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk--it's all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen, and I will tell you where to get food that is good for the soul! Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, for the life of your soul is at stake. I am ready to make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the mercies and unfailing love that I promised to David. " Isaiah 55:1-3

Mount Magazine

2011-04-04T19:10:00.001-07:00

Andrew & I had a great time at Mount Magazine. The weather could not have been more perfect-sunny and high 70's. We loved it...we packed our own breakfast & lunch which was fab because we got to eat our lunch on our balcony which overlooked a huge bluff & while we ate we watched people hang gliding! We hiked about 7 miles, ate steaks for dinner, talked, and relaxed. It was such a blessing. I highly recommend it. Time away with your hubby that is. And Mount Magazine for that matter. Big thanks to our mama's for caring for our kiddos.

after 7 miles of hiking & overlooking a big bluff

pretty things

the most random night club with security guards in the middle of cute, old, Paris, AR

more pretty things...we had just watched Walk the Line so I kept thinking of Johnny Cash on our drive. plus, this tree had these really cool looking wrinkly branches.

friday happies

2011-04-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

Me. Andrew. Mount Magazine. Yea!

Hope to see this...

But not so much this...

But mostly just want to see this...

Washed with Tears

2011-03-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

"But he said to me,“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" Isaiah 1:18

A Sinful Woman Anoints Jesus, taken from Mark 14, Luke 7, John 12

from the Jesus Storybook Bible

"The woman knelt down before Jesus like he was a king. She held Jesus' feet in her hands and started to cry. Her tears fell onto Jesus' feet, washing them. She kissed his feet and dried them with her long, dark hair. And then she did something strange. She broke the jar and poured the perfume all over his feet. Jesus looked at the woman, and he smiled. This woman had anointed Jesus--not with oil, but with her tears. The Important People were cross. They thought Jesus should not be kind to this woman. "That woman is a sinner!" they grumbled. "This woman knows she's a sinner," Jesus told them. "She knows she"ll never be good enough. She knows she needs me to rescue her. That's why she loves me so much. "You look down on this woman because you don't look up to God. She is sinful on the outside--but you are sinful on the inside." Jesus turned to the woman and smiled. "Your sins are forgiven," he said. "You trusted me. And God has rescued you!"

Twice in this story Jesus looked at the woman and smiled. What a beautiful picture. I read this story and immediately think of myself like the woman. But the reality is I am one of the Important People. If asked in any context outside of the "christian bubble," I would never say I want to be identified as weak, poor, sinful, broken. It's too humiliating, too ugly. Too true. Weakness is a word to be feared in our world. Not to be desired. Yet over & over we see it esteemed in Scripture. Not weakness as the world sees, but weakness as defined by Christ. Weakness that brings me humbly to my knees in tears as I worship the One who has rescued & redeemed me from the sin that consumes my insides. Weakness that calls me to boast because through it Christ's power rests in me and causes me to be strong. Weakness that draws me to giving up my greatest treasure because of the One I am loved by. As my husband reminds me, Jesus cannot ignore a humble heart. In light of Easter, in light of the sacrifice of Jesus, I pray for weakness, I pray for humility, I pray for a deep yearning to have Him increase and me decrease.

Again, I am included a favorite hymn...because the words speak to the desires of my heart. To be found in Him alone.

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure;
Save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eyes shall close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee

Remembrance & Springtime

2011-03-22T17:57:00.001-07:00

Every 3 months Andrew always gets a good laugh at me because I absolutely LOVE the changing of seasons. He likes to say my favorite season is the next season. They just always come so perfectly. With winter turning to spring I am again LOVING it and blissfully happy as we play in the 60 something degree weather, watch the trees and flowers begin to blossom, hear the birds sing their little diddies, and so forth.

This spring has been especially fun because we decided to focus on Lent with our kiddos and it has been amazing to me how beautifully Lent coincides with spring. You all probably already knew this stuff but it's been new to me. I did some pre-Lent research and planning to decide the best way to teach the kiddos and learned lots of great things. For starters, Lent actually means springtime. We decided to use our favorite Bible (Jesus Storybook Bible) to repeat 5 stories surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus over the course of Lent. We've picked a couple Bible verses to memorize and new hymns to learn. Andrew & I tend a little "old school" and teach our kids songs from a hymnal. We love it and the words are so good. We also picked several words that we want our kids to begin understanding such as holy, crucifixion, resurrection, and a few more. Each week we talk about what they mean and how they relate to Lent and Easter. Madeline & Simeon have been doing great with it all. They remember some, forget a lot, but pay attention and seem genuinely interested in what we are talking about.

Personally, I am learning a lot, too. I was trying to explain Lent to Cyrenthia & ended up teaching myself in the process. I've always turned my nose up a bit toward Lent as a legalistic Catholic holiday (hello snobby, arrogant, uneducated self). I thought, I should be remembering His sacrifice always, not just on a holiday. Thankfully, Jesus has been humbling me, teaching me, and changing me through His Word. Yes, it is true I should be living in light of the sacrifice Jesus paid for me, but it is so good for me to intentionally push myself to experience in a small way His sacrifice which in turn pushes me to humility before Him as I recognize my weakness, my inability, my constant failure. I want to remember, so I can see Him more clearly. So I can love Him more. So I can receive His grace and love and walk with Him.

Just as spring gives way to new life from death, the season of Lent is causing me to remember with humility and gratitude Jesus, my Rescuer, who gives me a way to new life from death. So incredibly thankful.

Our new hymn is "There is a Fountain Filled with Blood." If you don't know it you should learn it. It is a great one.

There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Emmanuel's veins;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains,
lose all their guilty stains;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day;
and there may I, though vile as he,
wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away,
wash all my sins away;
and there may I, though vile as he,
wash all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
shall never lose its power
till all the ransomed church of God
be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more,
be saved, to sin no more;
till all the ransomed church of God
be saved, to sin no more.

E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream
thy flowing wounds supply,
redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die,
and shall be till I die;
redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
lies silent in the grave.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song,

I'll sing thy power to save.

I'll sing thy power to save,

I'll sing thy power to save.

Then in a nobler sweeter song,

I'll sing thy power to save.

a post for my sweetie

2011-03-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated Andrew's 29th birthday. And yes, his birthday is on St. Patrick's Day. And yes, we go a bit extreme with the green. But it's fun. And he is worth celebrating in any way we want! I am so thankful for Andrew. I thought I should do something creative to the tune of a funny Irish jig but what was I thinking? I am not that talented. Here are the top 29 reasons (I am a good organizer & list maker :) we love & are so thankful for Andrew.

1. He rubs my feet.
2. He makes up crazy songs for every activity.
3. He wrestles.
4. He patiently edits papers.
5. He walks with Jesus as his best friend.
6. He gives great belly shots.
7. He plays Madeline & Pepito.
8. He makes coffee cake every weekend.
9. He lets Simeon sit on every lawnmower at Lowes.
10. He makes Anna giggle.
11. He makes devotions a family priority.
12. He feeds Anna & doesn't make her suffer the wiping of her face.
13. He takes me on a date every week.
14. He reads Scripture outloud and prays with me.
15. He loves competition.
16. He is learning to be handy.
17. He lets me sleep in while he feeds the kids breakfast.
18. He encourages my strengths.
19. He lets the kids climb all over him.
20. He guards her heart.
21. He is well disciplined.
22. He teaches me Jesus through his example.
23. He loves his job and works well.
24. He pours into the lives of others.
25. He loves to read.
26. He loves to play games.
27. He is wise with money.
28. He washes the dishes.
29. He loves us all so well.

Sorry it's a day late but we sure do love you like crazy! Feel free to add your own reasons & I will pass them along.

Faith in the Little

2011-03-13T18:39:00.001-07:00

"His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'" Matthew 25:21

When I decided to begin re-blogging & my wonderful friend Rachel offered to beautify it she told me I needed a title. So I began thinking. Of course I wanted something that was catchy & read "she's so effortlessly impressive". Hello sinful self. I have this ugly desire that continually creeps into and seeps out of my life. It is the desire to be known. To get a pat on the back. Be acknowledged. Thought highly of. Made a big deal out of. Be complimented (publicly of course). And so on. So ugly. And even though I see it & hate it about myself, even though I seem to be repenting of this OFTEN, I still want all those things.

So in the midst of coming up with a title for my blog God was again pruning my heart of my selfishness. And, as often He does, it came through my hubsy. We weren't even talking about my blog...we were just talking about life. Mine & his. Our kids. What we were "doing" with our lives. How were we honoring God? Glorifying His Name? Serving Him, loving Him, obeying Him, giving ourselves up for Him? I shamefully admit to Andrew, God, and now you, that I am willing to do anything He calls us to but I really want it to be BIG and NOTICABLE and IMPRESSIVE and so on. And through these emotions, my sweet patient Andrew, and my sweet patient Jesus, I am pruned. I hear Him asking me, are you faithful now? With your family? With your parenting? With loving your husband? With your sacrificial giving? With your church? With your friends? With Me? And the bigger question, are you satisfied in Me? Am I enough? He loves me, gives me life, surrounds me, upholds me...why do I look for more in the dark nothingness?

So my prayers become Lord, give me faith in the little so I can be faithful over a little. Not little in the sense of unimportant. But little in the eyes of the world. Unnoticed. Unacknowledged. Unappreciated. But great in the eyes of the one who created me. The One who called me from darkness to Light. The One whose approval is all that matters. In the eyes of the One I desperately want to love and live for. What a beautiful promise the master gives the servant in Matthew 25, enter into the joy of your master. Wow-that is where I want to be.

I love the hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness, and especially the last verse, what joy to be guided & cheered by the Presence of God. So glad He is Faithful always.

Great is Thy faithfulness," O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

"Great is Thy faithfulness!" "Great is Thy faithfulness!"
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
"Great is Thy faithfulness," Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

musings

2011-03-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

I wish my mind would somehow record my thoughts onto paper. It would be super helpful when I forget why I walked from one room to another, forget the four items I need to add to my grocery list, and, my current frustration, forget all the mind-blowingly fabulous blogs I could be writing. So I settle for whatever flows from my end of the day fried & tired mind & have to be happy with it.

This weekend was WONDERFUL! Here a a few happies & random thoughts from our fam.

I love that Madeline & Simeon get so excited over a small black bug they find as we do yard work. Even more, I love how giggly they get when it crawls on their hands.

My hubby took me on a lovely bike ride & Panera date-it was perfect.

I love that Anna sleeps well-who wouldn't? As the sleep dr. says, a well rested baby rests well. Which usually means they wake & play well too. She is so fun.

We have some obnoxious animal(s) digging up our yard. I mean, seriously. Possibly 200-300 holes. So. Annoying. Hopefully the stinky granules we purchased and sprinkled will do their job & repel.

Simeon has this cute/annoyingish habit of refusing to quit saying whatever is on his mind until someone acknowledges him. For example, as Andrew & I are in the middle of a conversation, and from across the room, "Daddy, wanna wrestle? Daddy, wanna wrestle? Daddy, wanna wrestle?" Multiply that times 100 & all. day. long. Someone please acknowledge the boy!

Lastly, Madeline's love language is QUALITY TIME (she is so my daughter) & she also loves to sing. So today we took her to "big" church with us to sit through worship. I had Anna in my lap, Andrew was standing, & Madeline was standing in the chair next to him. She was swaying to the music & just reached over and held Andrew's hand. Melt a mama's heart! So sweet.

which baby is which?

2011-03-09T09:28:00.001-08:00

love these pics...can you guess which is Madeline & which is Anna?

Happy Birthday Ren!

2011-03-07T18:42:00.000-08:00

Sweet Ren,
Happy birthday to you my friend! I cannot put into words how much I love you. Our entire family is blessed to know you and so glad to get to watch you grow into a beautiful young woman of God. In case you ever forget, here are a few reasons you mean so stinkin' much to us!

Andrew
1. You challenge our family to be more like Jesus.
2. You laugh at all his jokes and generally believe all his made up stories.
3. You have an incredible zest for life.

Ashley
1. You love my cooking. :) And love cooking with me.
2. You worship Jesus with your whole heart, mind, body, and soul.
3. You talk to yourself all the time (and sing, too)...it's so cute.

Madeline
1. You play never ending amounts of Madeline & Ramona & Beezus with her.
2. You let her DR. you.
3. You give her bonus treats.

Simeon
1. You set up his train table so wonderfully.
2. You play ball with him.
3. You give him bonus treats.

Anna
1. You wear dangly earrings that she can grab.
2. Your smile makes her smile.
3. You hold her and tell her she is so cute.

We love you, Ren!!!

a humble mama brag that makes me smile

2011-03-04T16:40:00.001-08:00

Not sure if you can have a humble brag but anyway. We've been attempting a weekly Bible study since last September and shockingly it hasn't ended in total disaster each week as I gear up all three kiddos to get out the door, from a parking lot inside a church, and back again. I love the Bible study for myself but even more I have loved it for Madeline & Simeon. Madeline especially loves it! We come home & play Bible study for hours...singing songs, learning about Isaiah, playing games, and talking with our friends. Super cute. We usually always do the same things when playing Bible study but today they busted out a new song & together sang,

Good morning, God.
This is your day.
I am your child.
Show me your way.

It was a melt your heart mama moment & I think I need to be singing that tune everyday!

adopted

2011-03-02T12:15:00.000-08:00

Andrew & I spent the past weekend at a conference on orphan care. We weren't sure what to expect but really had a great time hearing from so many people who are working both locally and globally to love as Christ calls us to love and to care for the fatherless. More thoughts on all this later but I will share a bit from one of the sessions I went to. The topic was "honor your father & mother" and was a conversation centered on how to incorporate & honor Simeon's birth family, culture, and country. Much of the talk was on talking to your children about their adoption story. The woman who led the discussion was adopted from Vietnam and continued to press the importance of letting the child lead, creating a safe and positive environment in which he can ask questions, and showing him we will always be there to listen and love. Over the last two years since we began the process of bringing Simeon home I have thought A LOT about his birth mother and how we would share his story with him. What questions will he ask? When will he ask them? How can we ever convey to him the depth of our love for him? Over and over I am brought to Scripture that brings me back to the same truth...I too am adopted. I was chosen, sought after, redeemed. I am an heir to the kingdom of God my Savior and no one can snatch me from His hands. I belong to His family. I am written in the palms of His hand. When I was pregnant with Anna, Madeline asked me often why Anna was in my tummy and if she had been in my tummy. This didn't exactly prompt Simeon to ask (he didn't really care) but it made me think of how I would respond to him. Later, when Madeline asked if Simeon was in mama's tummy I knew what I wanted Simeon to know in the depths of his heart for all his life. No, he was never in my tummy. But God placed him in my heart. He is our family. He is an heir. He carries our name and no one can snatch him out of the love we have for him. His name is written in my heart. My prayer for him, and all my children, is that they would experience the joy of redemption and adoption by our Heavenly Father when they believe and call upon His name for salvation.

"Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands" Isaiah 49:16

"Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to be children of God" John 1:12

"Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir."
Galatians 4:6-8

Tuesdays & Turkey Burgers

2011-02-22T12:53:00.000-08:00

Every Tuesday my mama-in-law takes Madeline & Simeon for the day. It is perfect. She loves it. They love it. And I love it. Sometimes I run errands or visit friends but generally I just enjoy a day at home with my sweet Anna. She is so precious & our time is going SO fast. So much faster than it did with only Madeline at home. She is almost 8mo. old & is seriously the BEST baby ever. She never fusses or cries, sleeps wonderfully, handles her siblings jumping & shouting all around her, and has the most precious giggle. I love her to pieces.

And her daddy is pretty wonderful too!

On another note, I made these really yummy turkey burgers recently. I've never used ground turkey & I have to say I was impressed. Cheaper, healthier, and still yum. Give it a try.

3 lb Lean Ground Turkey
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs
1/4 cup diced onions
1 large Egg White
1/4 cup Parsley
1 tbsp Minced Garlic
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper

Mix, patty, grill, & enjoy! Mine were a little "wet" so I added more bread crumbs as needed. I served them on wheat buns with lettuce, tomato, & avocado. Very delish. To be totally honest we ate them with chips & cheese dip so it took away a little of the healthy factor but it was good!

what do...

2011-02-19T17:37:00.001-08:00

Here's a fun question. What do grapes, steel wool, and the pitter patter of little feet have in common? The sad & disgusting answer is....MICE. We have spent way too much time over the last week dealing with mice in our kitchen. Every morning I wake up to find new little mice droppings in places I just cleaned the day before. So, we clean, we set traps, we plug holes, we wait, we catch no mice, and we start over. The worst part of this I haven't even shared yet. So prepare yourself for something really awful. I was working on some yummy sweet potatoes for my sweet Anna when I opened a utensil drawer and found the grossest thing I could imagine in the back of it. 20 plus grapes plus lots of little droppings filling the corner. It was so awful. I gagged multiple times, shut the drawer, and called Andrew. At first he didn't understand the urgency I was trying to convey until I step by step explained that the mice had to scamper and scurry their little selves all the way across the kitchen in order to get from that drawer to the grapes on the other side. So. So. Very. Gross. In case you haven't already looked down, here is a picture of what I found. Sorry for the gag I'm sure it will produce.

Yea!

2011-02-18T11:08:00.000-08:00

Hello blog. I am back. Thanks to my wonderful friend from Boston days I have this beautifully designed blog. And because I am so THANKFUL I will shamelessly put in plugs for all her creativity starting now. You can see her blog designs here and more of her awesomeness here. Thanks Rach! &, aren't you proud I figured out how to do the links?

a new broom

2010-04-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

This is a conversation that occurred between Andrew & me this week that was priceless. It was around lunchtime at our house and I had just returned from a WalMart run with the kiddos. They were eating & Andrew called. We chatted some and he proceeded to tell me what the rest of his day looked like. He was on his way to lunch with a friend at Whole Hog, then to meet up with another friend for a bit (work of course), then to play hand ball with the guys he disciples for the afternoon. Also work, of course. After he said all that, I said, in all seriousness, guess what I found at Walmart today? It's a really great new broom! As the words came I genuinely meant them...my new broom is really great. But the image of the things that fill his day next to the things that bring excitment to my day was very laughable. Either way, I firmly stick to the fact that I love my new broom...even more now after a weeks worth of use.

a little on parenting & community

2010-02-21T18:47:00.000-08:00

I think I've either said or heard the words, "phase of life", about 1000 times over the last few months. And generally it is in some connection with the ups & downs of parenting & the ups and downs of living life in community with others. I actually write this thinking I am thankful for that phrase, how often it is used, and what it implies. Because this is my phase of life: I'm a wife, a mama, a friend, a mentor, a teacher, a chef, a book keeper, a driver, a washer, a wanna be reader, and I love it. And I am walking through this "phase of life" with a group of folks who are walking the same way-and I don't mean that we are doing all the same things & constantly talking, sharing meals, spending time together, or anything like that. But we are walking together headed towards more of what Jesus has called us to, planned for us, and prepared in advance for us to do during this exact time in our lives. So I'm thankful. Thankful for my wonderfully chaotic life. Thankful for my community that pushes me to authenticity, vulnerability, truth, grace, love. And thankful to Jesus, my Sustainer in a sometimes confusingly beautiful "phase of life."

good feelings

2010-02-07T20:17:00.000-08:00

Two nights ago I felt the baby move for the first time. I had just gotten in bed and Andrew was still brushing his teeth. Quickly I called for him to come and we sat for a good while with hands on my belly waiting and smiling and willing the baby to move some more. As we were sitting there I couldn't help but get overwhelmed and giddy. To feel life within your body is an unbelievable and indescribable feeling. Several Scriptures came to mind but especially Psalm 139. Every day when I put Madeline & Simeon to bed I tell them they are fearfully and wonderfully made and now I have the blessing and privilege of being a part of another life being fearfully and wonderfully made. With Simeon home and being pregnant at the same time I find myself thinking often of his birth mother. What feelings was she having when she was 18 weeks pregnant? What emotions go through her life now as she will most likely never see her biological baby again? The baby she felt God fearfully and wonderfully make within her. These are difficult and emotional things I wrestle to understand. There are days I get tired, frustrated, overwhelmed with parenting but I rejoice in the blessing and honor it is to be a mama to all three of my kiddos.

unblogworthy

2010-02-03T11:36:00.000-08:00

So I kind of made a mental goal to blog weekly-I know I am failing but my new struggle is what to blog about. I'm not a creative writerly person. And pretty much every day we do the same kind of things. Wake, eat, play, eat, sleep, wake, eat, play, eat, bath, read, bed. And so on. So here is my feeble attempt at a new post. Things I'm currently enjoying that you might as like as well.
1. Sandwich thins-introduced to me by my sister Becca. They are great for panini's or burgers. Yum.
2. Big girl beds-Madeline is now in the bed I grew up in which is high off the ground. We added child safety rails & solved the getting out of bed 1,000 times a day & night problem. Yea.
3. Exercise class-I am taking an exercise class at a local church that is 3 days a week, includes child care, and is only $15 a semester. Love it.
4. Friends who cook-we have had meals brought to our door, warm & yummy, three days a week since getting home. Wow. Thanks.
5. I also love friends who don't cook by the way. :)
6. Simeon's funny faces. Pics to come as soon as we can get the computer liking us again.
7. Warm fires. As Madeline says, they are nice & cozy.

So...

2010-01-24T20:15:00.000-08:00

So since we've been back from Ethiopia Madeline has had some trouble sleeping. Mostly she has been waking up several times a night wanting Mama-sweet but slightly exhausting. Anyway, the last week things have improved in that department & generally we were just going in her room once after putting her to bed to sing one more song or what not. Tonight, we were standing in the kitchen and I commented that tonight was the first night in FOREVER that we didn't have to "put" Madeline to bed multiple times. Yea! Minutes later we hear cries from Simeon, who sleeps in a crib in our bedroom. This is odd because he never wakes & cries. So we give him a minute & then decide to go in. As Andrew is walking that way we here Madeline crying and think, this is odd. What is even stranger is it sounds like she isn't even in her room. Well...we enter our bedroom to find both Madeline & Simeon in Simeon's crib. We have never seen Madeline climb into the crib before, let alone at night, in the dark, and with both her blankets. But aparently she is that talented. She left her room (quietly I might add), entered ours, climbed into bed with him, and they both fell asleep (they must have b/c they were noiseless for over an hour). I guess he finally felt a little cramped and thus the crying. When we were re-putting them both to bed I kept telling myself not to laugh in front of Madeline but it was actually very funny and cute-at least this one time!

4am Mama

2010-01-07T18:19:00.000-08:00

This morning, around 4ish, I woke up to the moanings of my little gal. I thought really hard over and over, "please stay asleep!", however, she decided against that and began crying. All of my body says, argh!! I'm tired, it's 4am, leave me be. But, once I get in there and she grabs ahold of my next and asks me to stay with her, I'm melted. There is truly nothing like the feeling of being wanted, needed, and loved. As I was doing as much thought & reflection as I can muster at that hour, I was thankful that I too have a Daddy who will come to me when I need. And He never refuses. He watches over my sleep and He Himself never slumbers.

"He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand" Psalm 121:3-5

crazy dust

2010-01-06T19:08:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,
So we’ve been home for a little over a week, had loads of love, food, encouragement, and prayers showered on us from family & friends, and are in the beginnings of making some sort of routine for our life. Although, I must say, I’ve said countless times over the last 10 days, “What is routine?” and “who needs it?” Well, honestly, I DO! I am a structured routine kind of gal. So, as you might imagine, I’m ready for the crazy dust of our lives to settle and my days to adjust to having my 2 kiddos at home, buying groceries, making meals, sweeping floors, playing blocks, reading books, and anything else that comes my stay-at-home mama way. And I truly do love all those things. (If anyone wants to come keep my floors clean though I would love it.) My heart is very full, my family is healthy, and we can’t find an end to counting our blessings. Thank you all for everything. We love you. We are excited for what is next and where God will take our fam. Everyone says going from 1 to 2 kids is the hardest. Well, good news! We won’t have long because in just a short 6 months we will be making the transition from 2 to 3-so things must be headed toward easier! In case you didn’t read through the lines, we’re pregnant. God’s blessings continue…