Welcome Home!

Last night our family got to be part of something small and huge. Our friends ,who are adopting two little boys from The Democratic Republic of the Congo, came home with their little boys in their arms.We were at the airport with many of their family and friends to share in their joy. Two small little bundles, a huge amount of love. It’s a night I will never forget. Liquid love, as our senior pastor calls it, flowed down my cheeks as we welcomed them home.

It was especially fun for me to take pictures for them. I’m going to leave it for the proud parents to post most of those pictures, but here is one of my favorites from the night. The former baby, welcoming home the new babies.

Congratulations, again, friends. It’s been a privilege to walk along side you and pray these boys home with you. We love you!

******If you want to help them with the costs, they still have t-shirts to sell. Click on the link on the upper right side. **********

A Quick Update

 

I'm terribly behind on posting. I could blame it on our new home  school co-op and the fun we're having there. Or, my husband working insane amounts of hours. As in -It's 11 pm and I'm staying up to wait for him to get up in about half and hour so I can kiss him goodbye.- kind of hours. Or the musical my kids are in. Or, or, or...I'm just a lazy blogger.

I think it's mostly that latter. :)

Just for fun and to try to catch up (let's not talk about the Christmas pictures that never got posted, okay?), I thought I'd put up a few of my favorite recent pictures.

Ty's 10 now. Crazy, right? I cannot be the mother of a 10 year old.

He, on the other hand, is proud of his new two digit age. "It makes me feel a lot older, Mom." Yeah, me too. Not really, but hearing him talk about how grown he is doesn't help me feel like a young hip mom. Neither does the fact that he walks about 12 feet ahead of behind me. Or the gray hair.

This "baby" girl is getting so big. We are finally having her dedication next week. Thankfully our church is now calling it "Infant and Child dedications" because she most certainly is no longer an infant. In honor of that I had a mini photo shoot with her.

Next week she's going to be walking 12 feet behind me too! She's a delightful, keeps me on my toes mix of  ornery, sweet, creative and crazy. And I'm crazy about her. This age is so much fun! I love watching her grow into an independent little person.

These two have a love-hate relationship. Hope loves Lucy and Lucy...well you get the picture. We came home from co-op and Hope, as usual was crashed. I dumped her on the couch and look who came to pester her awake. I think Lucy considered it payback until Hope woke up and loved her some more.

Another wonderful take away from co-op. The kids absolutely adore their art teacher there. So. much. fun. stuff. Becca loves art. My fridge, dresser mirror, nightstand, and walls are a testament to that love. I'm so grateful we've found a place where our kids are nurtured and taught well.

The older kids are in a musical this weekend at church. It the story of Jonah with a western twist. I can't wait to see them in it. I'll try to get some pictures of that up soon.

Spring (and my first attempt at shooting exlusively in manual mode)

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of going to a photography class. If you are in the market, Rocky Mountain School of Photography's weekend classes are incredible. I have been learning about my camera and trying to learn to shoot in manual...and failing. This class gave me push to try to again.

With the gorgeous weather we've been having I've been outside a lot. But my yard is just kind of icky for trying to get good pictures. It's small, the neighbors garages don't make awesome backdrops, yadda, yadda, yadda. So today we headed to the park for some play for the kids and practice for me. It's a win-win! All these are SOOC.

Oh, Man! When did my boy get so big. He spent most of the time watching the teens play on the super crowded basketball court. He was really wanting to play today. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to take him down to the less busy park near us. At least he chose a spot with interesting light. It was sort of a win- win that way, right?

See the crazy busy court behind her? She was so sweet hanging out with her the little sister on the slides. This was the only picture I got of her before she joined a game of tag. After that I wasn't even going to attempt manual shooting.

Girly-girl loved this little slide. She was ornery on it. She loves climbing up and playing queen of the slide. I thought this was the best exposure shot of the day.

Hey! Do I know you?

Okay, so not only was this the worst exposure of the day. (Backlit shots are hard! - at least for me.) But, while posing for the picture, notice what she's doing. That's right, fixing her hair. Guess how fast she went down that pole? My poor baby. She got back on the horse (or pole in this case) and managed to hold on tighter when she didn't have to think about smiling.

I love the light and her expression in this one. Overexposed for sure, but I still love it!

After Bree melted down at the park we headed to Chick-fil-@ for kids night. Talk about crazy! At least the kids got to enjoy their ice cream and I got to practice more. It's amazing how the slightest shift in light change the feel of the whole picture.

Observing Lent was not something I grew up with. It was rather strange to be in a church that talked of Ash Wednesday services, foot washing in connection to Maundy Thursday and  Good Friday services. Although the formality of the services was unaccustomed, the preparation of the heart was not. For as long as I can remember it's something my parents encouraged us to do. Often, they would read us books that would inspire deeper thought.


My papaw was a reader. A librarian as well as Latin and English teacher, he loved books and learning. When I interviewed him for a college paper, I learned that he was an special ed student. He wanted to be an elementary school teacher so he could help kids get off to a good start. In order to be an elementary teacher, you had to be able to sing. Singing- well- that was something Papaw never mastered. But he did overcome his learning difficulties enough to be a fabulous teacher. More importantly, he passed on his love of reading. To my dad, and to me (among many, many others!).

One of his favorite authors was Max Lucado. The newest book was a sure winner in the gift department for him. When we went through Papaw's things, each of the grandkids were given back whatever gifts we had given him. I honestly was not excited about the thought of getting back all those books, until I opened them again. Instead of pages that were neat and clean as I had expected of my librarian grandfather, Papaw had filled the pages with notes of insight. Underlined passages that spoke to him. Exclamation points, upward arrows and "Papaw-isms" filled the margins.


Almost every year since then, I've picked up one of those books, "He Chose the Nails", to read near Easter.


This year I picked up the book with a less than eager heart. Anxiety, hurt, frustration have been nagging at me. One blow has landed on top another blow and it just isn't seeming to stop. I wasn't really wanting to lay anything down at the foot of the cross.  It was so much easier to dig in and wait for it all to pass. Easier to back away from people and relationships than to remain open to what I know God was calling me to.

So tonight, while I was reading the words hit home.

"Until you leave something at the cross you have not embraced it."

Those words were coupled with a reminder of our pastor's words a few weeks ago.

"The choice isn't between self and God. That is a far easier choice. The choice is between self and the cross. 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.' (Mark 8:34)  You cannot hold onto self and the cross at the same time." 

This message was followed by an invitation to literally leave something at the foot of the cross. Crosses had been placed at the front of the church with a basket to collect the slips of paper.  As I wrote on the blank sheet and refolded it, I was reminded that God knows my heart and my needs better than I do.


Tonight I am not only reminded of what I need to leave at the cross, but what I need to embrace.

"By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another" John 13:35

"Above all, love each other deeply for love covers a multitude of sins." I Peter 4:8

"Therefore encourage each other and build each other up" I Thessalonians 5:11a

"give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" I Thessalnians 5:18

My prayer this season is has three parts: for Christ to increase and myself to decrease, that I might learn to love they way He has commanded, and I will give thanks more readily for all He has done.

Happy Birthday, Hope!

Dear Hope,

Happy Birthday, Pumpkin Pie! You are four, although you wake up every morning asking if you are five yet. :) Mommy isn't ready to let you grow up that fast.

This year you have grown up so very much. You are growing tall. At your check up you are in the 90% in height. You are a quick learner too. You love to sort things, figure out new words, color, write your name and anything else you think you can write and work puzzles. You are trying to hard to read without anyone teaching you. That's the way you do everything, On. Your. Own. You make us laugh!


One of your favorite activities this year was going to the zoo. We went a couple of times in the winter, this was the week of Becca's birthday. We went just after a huge ice storm. You were thrilled to see the dolphin show. Since our membership has expired you keep reminding us that the giraffes are very sad that you don't go to see them any more.

You love to help me cook. That one of your favorite activities. You want to help with everything, including peeling vegetables, stirring and pouring and, my personal favorite, "hatching" the eggs when we are baking.

You absolutely love church. You are developing such a soft heart for the things of God. You want to live for him already and the blesses your daddy and I to no end. You often lift your hands during praise time at church and can't wait for Miss Lisa or Miss Rebecka to take you to "Scunday school" as you call it.

This will forever be the year you cut your hair in my mind. Everyone thinks I went and had it cut now. The cut you gave yourself is so cute. :) I think in another month or two your bangs will finally be out of your eyes again. I can tell you are beginning to get frustrated with them. Hopefully you won't be grabbing for the scissors again.

Every now and then I still get a little peak into the tiniest bit of baby left in you. Like when you weren't feeling well and conked out on the couch. I love your sweet, sweet sleeping face.




 This was taken on your first ever camping trip. We went with a few other families from our church and you had a blast. I think  you lived in a hammock half of each day. It was so hot. You would climb in and rock for what seemed like forever. Mommy and Daddy loved knowing exactly where you were!

 You are having so much fun being you! Daddy and I are so proud of the little girl you are and know that God will continue to direct your life. We pray that you will acknowledge God in all your ways and allow him to be the center of your life. You are so very, very precious to us. I love you, baby girl!

Mommy

Beautiful Things

I'm taking a quick break from catching up.


This week has been long. Not that we've been busy. It's just been long somehow.

The kids have done great with the new school routine we've started second semester. It's been fabulous to finally have a new structure since Breeley gave up her morning naps.

Speaking for Breeley, she is talking so much. She was saying a around 20-30 words right before Christmas. Now she's in the "popcorn" verbal stage. We are loving listening to her. Today she saw a gag gift I'd gotten Doug for Christmas.  (A really, really tacky hang over the door basketball hoop - that talks to you carnival style. Doug was horrified that I bought it from our friend's garage sale. The kids and I thought it was hilarious. It was Becca and Bree who played with it the most.) She pointed to it and said "Boom baby" totally enunciated. I was dying laughing. She also says "Ang Bur" when she wants to play Angry Birds on Doug's phone.  Some days I think my baby may be a genius; and then I see her eating crayons....

Hope and Becca have found a new love in playing together. It's fun to watch the two of them dress up and put on shows. Becca is normally the producer/director/ gopher, while Hope enjoys center stage. They both are happy that way.

Ty is getting ready for his first solo camping trip. It will be interesting to hear how he does overnight by himself. Of course it will be on private property, but it's still hard for this mom to believe he even is ready to try something like that on his own.

I'm being reminded right now of the beautiful work God is doing in my family. I know that God is working in every family who allows Him to be the center of their home. The gift and the honor that it is to be a part of the kingdom of heaven sometimes grows stale. I love that He has already made all things beautiful in his time. I pray that the eternal perspective he so greatly desires me to have is where my focus stays.

My family is growing up and these years are going so fast. Maybe that is why this long, long week was a gift. A time to slow down and scoop my babies off their feet to rock or read or color or play computer games. I want to grow close to the Lord's heart and close to my husband's and children's hearts so that I don't miss the beautiful things God is doing in our home.

Wordless Wednesday - Early Morning Snuggles