so this is what he did....

Big day Monday for this guy...fire station field trip in the morning and a new bike adventure in the afternoon.


Yep, no more training wheels. Gotta tell ya, it's so much easier when it's their idea. He was ready and did so good. Big stuff, big deal.

What's your news this week?

capture life and all the stuff that come with it

So, I still find myself struggling to live in the moment.

So much of me, well all of me, wants to be able to capture time with these guys. I don't know why things seem so crazy and busy for me lately. I know part of it is one cute little guy who hangs out with us a few days a week (providing childcare for a friend). But that really doesn't seem to cover it. We are still so much in adjustment mode since the layoff and the adventure of starting a new business. The routine I put so much value on is just gone. Simply put, things have changed.

It's really not that big of a deal. Really, it's not. But in a way it so much is, well for me at least. I cherish the routine, the predictable. I love to know what the day will hold, what the week will hold and am forever composing lists, even if they're just in my head. It's time to let go and roll with it.

In the midst of all that there's life. Weekend projects, grocery trips, bills paid, time spent together, books read, church stuff, friend stuff, us stuff. How to capture that? How to remember that? Still happens through the camera for me. Sometimes we pick it up a lot, sometimes not at all. Saturday was more on the a lot side.

Seriously, how could you not take at least 50 pictures of these guys? Yes, they dress themselves. Some battles are not worth fighting. We turned a lot of heads when we ran to Fred Meyer on Saturday. They had to wear their sundresses, even if in lots of layers, even though it snowed. Yes, it snowed. Still. Snow. Yuck.




Yes. Snow Saturday, church Sunday, snow Sunday, Thanksgiving dinner with some friends. (It's so good, why save it just for November?) Oh, and more snow today.

But then there was a very big thing for this guy.


Kindergarten registration. I've really got very little to say about it, honestly it's a bit overwhelming for me. We have been praying, discussing and debating home school for this guy, at his request and at some prompting from the Lord. Change and new situations are hard for him. So, this big new thing has been nerve wracking for him, for us too. We were actually pretty surprised that he agreed to come along with us to the school. When we got there he said something about the place being really cool. It's beginning to become okay for him. It's beginning to be okay with us, we feel really good about it. We're thinking he will too.

So, then there's life. Youth group at our house, painting at our house, yard work, small groups, and a night away with my honey this weekend. Yep, one night away-no kids, just us. Heaven I tell, it'll be heaven.

hope, jokes and plants

Today caught us by surprise a bit, not the new growth but what was happening outside. We really said to each other, "you've got to be kidding me!"



Yes, that's right-check your calendars everyone. Mine says that it's April 8th. Isn't that right; isn't this so wrong?!? We're supposed to be pulling out the flip-flops, well, we're supposed to be able to wear them now with out getting cold toes. Man. We are so ready for spring. On a brighter note, it is supposed to be in the 70's this weekend. Hurry up Friday, we need some warmth!


This makes me think more on hope, it's seems to be a continuing theme for me. I keep getting reminders from God to keep on hoping, keep trusting, keep walking forward (even though my toes are getting cold and snowed on).

Where is my hope found? David said, “And now Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.” (Psalm 39:7) He was sure in this hope, sure in the Lord. In the Biblical sense hope is confidence in the future, not just a feeling of “I hope it’s going to happen” but one of certainty in who God is. When I have faith in God I can claim his promises and they will give me hope for the future. Hope is vital. Without hope we have no joy in our present situation because we have no confidence in the future. My basis for hope is God’s character. As a Christ follower I have been given a living hope through Jesus.

What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, 4 including a future in heaven — and the future starts now!
(from THE MESSAGE: 1 Peter 1:3-4)

I have great reason for hope because of who God is and the promises he has given me. We “can have joy, confidence, encouragement and excitement today if will remember that you have a living hope.” (Taken from Prayer, Praise and Promises by Warren Wiersbe)

Today is all about hope for me, hope not just as a good feeling but as an assurance that God will take care of us because his Word says so. Confidence that this season we are in is just that; a season. He will see us through this just has he has through every other season we’ve gone through. I know He is good and I know he is faithful. For me that is enough.

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Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Romans 5:5 TLB

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Oh, on a lighter note. The other day I mentioned that I wanted to remember the things the kids found funny. Well, yesterday it was all about bathroom humor. What else would you expect from a 5, 3 and 1 year old? Well, the joke was "I pooped in my pants!" repeated many times with hilarious laughter, at the dinner table.

I tell, what did we do before we had kids?

reflection and a pirate ship cake

What a weekend...one of those that makes me realize the speed of life. This past week I've found myself harried, not slowing down enough. Not taking enough time to watch and see. Just moving from one task to another without the appreciation of the details. I hate that.

I want to live aware, with eyes open. I don't want to miss the rich details of life; little smiles, the giggles, the whispered secrets, the quiet cuddles. None of it is insignificant, but all of it is so easily missed. That needs to stop, there needs to be more observing in the midst of our living. What would our lives be like if we were to do that? Perhaps we'd be more kind and loving to one another. Maybe we'd slow down to hold doors open, help those around us and move in acts of service towards each other.

I found this quote awhile back and seem to come back to it again and again. It's a good reminder of the quickness of life; how kids grow and things change, seemingly in the blink of an eye.

..but the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three on them sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4, and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in a hurry to get on to the next things: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.
Anna Quindlen

How do we do that? How will we treasure the doing, the being? For me it's through the lens of the camera. For me just looking at life through the camera causes me to slow down, see things in a different perspective. Once those pictures are in my hand (or even before) I journal. Journal about nothing or journal about everything, but just journal to get my thoughts out. To remember the sound of their laughter and the things they found funny on that particular day.

So, here's to a new week of living with my eyes open-looking with the purpose of remembering. Slowing down. There will always be a list of things to do, but there will not always be moments when kids are begging for a story or to help in the kitchen. Seasons come and go, sometimes faster than we'd prefer.

So here she is today, just being. Love that.



Then here they are, waiting for instructions from Dad. Sweet little stair steps.



Here's when they found it was going to be a Happy Meal/movie night, a rare treat. I think the littlest was already on her way to the van at this point, she was so excited.



Then, there's this-a pirate ship cake I made for a special friend's seventh birthday. His momma put on quite a party, complete with lots of kids dressed up like pirates, temporary tattoos and a treasure hunt. Fun for all, and a pretty good cake (if I do say so myself, there's nothing wrong with a bit of bragging now and then right?)

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Young man, it's wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.
(Ecclesiastes 11:9 NLT)

After looking at the way things are on this earth, here's what I've decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that's about it. That's the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what's given and delighting in the work. It's God's gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now.
(Ecclesiastes 5:18-20, from THE MESSAGE)

a beautiful day and hope

Today was amazing, one of those days that make you believe spring really will come. The kids played out all day. Really, all day. I had to drag them for lunch. Then, we couldn't even come in for stories before nap. Zac was home just in time to sneak in and take some pictures.


Then there's hope, new growth and the promise of fruit. I take this as a little gift and promise that God can bring growth and fruit for the business. It's exciting to see things coming to life, this time of year is full of that and I love it. We'll keep waiting patiently.



See the tiny little sprouts here, they're bigger now but I love the picture-Zac seems to do such a better job than I do.


Don't be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honor you with every blessing, and you will see the wicked destroyed. I myself have seen it happen: a proud and evil man, towering like a cedar of Lebanon, but when I looked again, he was gone! I searched but could not find him! But the good man-what a different story! For the good man-the blameless, the upright, the man of peace-he has a wonderful future ahead of him. For him there is a happy ending. But evil men shall be destroyed, and their posterity shall be cut off. The Lord saves the godly! He is their salvation and their refuge when trouble comes. Because they trust in him, he helps them and delivers them from the plots of evil men. (Psalm 37:34-40 TLB)