It's a Golden Life

The kiddos finally got their first few snow days of the season on February 16-18!  Last year was an unbelievable snow and ice adventure all winter long. The kids had-I think- had 16 days tacked on to the end of their school year. That is not the case this year. I love snow days! (When I am not out and about) They force you to hunker down and take it slow. I love having the kids home! There's just something so beautiful about everything being covered with a blanket of endless, white snow. Just a reminder of how Jesus has covered everything with his blood, making it beautiful.  Grand total was 3.5 inches. That's enough to shut down our town for a day or three!  Owen loves the snow! He ran circles like a mad man when he was let out. He also really enjoyed eating the snow and sounded like a pig.  Halynd loves the snow. It was light and fluffy on the first day, so snowman/ball making was too hard. She was happy to make snow angels all over the yard while Owen helped. Paxt...

We are all out here carrying around our wounded hearts like luggage. Dragging around the oversized bags full of forgotten apologies, selfish mistakes, and  damaged relationships-and they are so heavy. Time can be a thief and before we know it, our hearts and minds have run a marathon and don't know what happened.  It takes so much time to set deep roots down in life. To have them spread so far that they are stuck by grace and love-is a difficult and consuming task. Sometimes those roots are turned up and it hurts deeply. Thinking on what Christ has done for us rather than what others have done to us is salve in the wounds. Hurt is real and Christ died painfully to cover it.  Great encouragement comes from the book of Ephesians-With all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.  While our temptation may be to run from pain and hurt, God speaks through the ...

Malachi wants to be an author and an illustrator. He is great at writing stories and a rather impressive artist at the age of 7. He just did his "self portrait" and it's so cute.  His favorite types of books to write are about superhero, science, and snakes. He loves having a couple art kits and will contently draw or color for hours.  I want to remember this part of his younger years in case he changes his mind about what he wants to do when he grows up-which most likely will happen! 

The big adoption deadline is coming up fast. We have to get our dossier mailed out by March 7! It has officially been 2 years that we have been in this process. I feel like I have been pregnant for 2 entire years. The anticipation grows as each day passes .  Thursday, we will spend the day running around town to make important appointments.  We are still working the life and health insurance to get the exact documents required to send over. That process has been quite extensive, and if our deadline is not met this go around, we will essentially be starting over with the adoption process.  "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Matthew 6:26 brings much comfort. The Lord hears my prayers, and he knows my heart. His timing is perfect.   One of my favorite songs lyrics say:  "Let not your heart be troubled; these tender words I hear;  And rest...

I hate to burst society's enormous bubble, but...there are NO perfect moms out there...and everyone's perception of perfect differs greatly!  A decluttered, clean home all the time-ready for drop in company. A rather colorful collection of pinterest crafts proudly displayed for each day of the week.  A perfectly planned out monthly planner-where exercise is written in pen in those 5am slots. Organic, gourmet meals planned out for the entire month. Perfectly groomed and behaved children, ready to recite the book of Psalms at a moments notice. A trip to the park everyday at 3 pm. A spotless car-freshly vaccumed (daily) with no sticky spots on the seats or crumbs stuck in the crevices.  Whatever your perception of perfect may be- Each mom is just doing what is perfect for her family's needs. Instead of condemning each other for not doing what we deem as good, why not take this opportunity to lift one another up and encourage each other on this journey of motherhood?  We...

I have been getting side tracked easier lately. Maybe it's keeping track of three kids, or being a wife, or keeping up with the house, or the daycare, or family, or ministry? Maybe I am dreaming of warmer weather? Probably a combination of all those things. I do know that I have felt God convicting me to read more of the Word and meditate on what he is saying through it.  In journey group--which was over 3 years ago! Wow!--I learned a method to study scripture, and it was helpful in retaining what I was reading. (The star method) I feel like I fell off the wagon for a while and just went wayward, without a method to guide me. While that can be good to learn new scripture, I do better with a guide. Using a method really helps me to dive deep into the scriptures at hand. 

Mornings around here are...interesting (usually). It's unusual to have a slow morning, where everything runs smoothly, everyone is in a good morning mood, and people are at school and work on time. We used to do a few things differently that made the madness manageable. I feel like we better get this to an oiled, running machine before we have 3 kids in school (or maybe 4 when Izzy comes home). To make mornings easier, we do a few things-and it begins with the night before. -Do reading and homework the night before. We have tried to do this in the morning, but boy-it doesn't work out! They are tired and do not want to focus. I don't have the time to sit down and go through each word and sentence. It's 100% better for our sanity if we do all homework before dinner!  -Pack lunches-make sure they are in the fridge and ready to go!  -Lay out breakfast. Set the cereal or oatmeal and fruit they are going to eat, on the counter. Bowls and spoons ready to go.  -Lay out clothes ...