A lesson in futility...

Christmas was wonderful and we are home now, after a long visit in Alabama made even longer by the snow.  

Now it is Sunday morning and I am already home from church.  Ken and the girls are still there, but the boys had reached their limit, so home we came.  Today, since it is raining, we got smart and took both cars to church.  That way, when the boys could no longer be still and outside wasn't an option, I could just quietly (at least, at quietly as is possible with 2 wiggly little boys) excuse myself from the service and escape to the tranquility of our house.

Today we made it through nearly 20 minutes of the service.  That may be a record.

We are at a place right now where Nathan refuses to go to the nursery (read: screams like he is on fire) and if I attempt to leave him there, I am paged within 5 minutes.  Jacob has alot of anxiety about church and the crowds of people he doesn't know, so Children's Church isn't an option for him.  Though he will sit quietly in church if I am with him, once I have to leave to take Nate out, that's over.  On nice weather days, we play outside until the service is finished. 

Every Sunday morning, we do this.  After the hours that is takes to dress all seven of us and tromp to the car and parade into the church, leaving after 20 minutes (or less) seems like a lesson in futility.  I feel like Paul, "beating the air."  

I keep reminding myself that this is just a season.  Granted, a season that we've been in for 9 1/2 years now, but a season none the less.  Lord willing, we will one day get to listen to a sermon and enjoy a worship service.  But that time is not now.

So why do we continue to do this?  Because.  Because God is faithful and has asked us to be.  Because we are teaching our children what our family is all about, the importance of corporate worship, the need to be apart of the body.  Because one day we will be able to sit through more than 20 minutes.  Because one day they will listen and learn and understand and be sustained.  Because 20 minutes of nourishment from the word is better that none..... because one day in His courts is better than 1000 elsewhere.

Today, in one of the hymns we got to sing while before we left, we sang Isaiah 66:12, the words of the Lord to Jerusalem, "For this is what the LORD says: "I will extend peace to her like a river..."

In His words to His people, He is speaking to me.  Extending to me peace, nourishing even when I don't expect it.  He has been faithful to me, even in this season.  What else could I expect but that He will continue to be?  He has promised this to me and to my children.  At a time in my life when teaching and worship with the body seems rare, He still knows what I need. And what a joy to see Him provide.

  "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."  Isaiah 40:11

Things I like about fall...

The falling of leaves....

and the raking of leaves.

The crisp air....

and sweaters....

and the crunch of every step.

And the giggling children in leaf piles?

Yes, the giggling children.

That's my favorite part. 

summer days... part 1

You've heard of drinking from a fire hose.  Well, this is blogging from a fire hose.  Or something like that.  

I really enjoy keeping track of our daily and weekly goings-on through this blog.  It's something I keep that I hope to be able to show our kids one day.  So that, when I look back at these days as one big blur of child rearing,  I'll have the pictures and the stories of those little things.  Little things that will hopefully remind me that these times were so much more than just a blur.  So much more.

But in the blurriness that sometimes is, there are just not enough hours in the day to capture these thoughts and pictures.  So, sometimes I have to do it all at once.  When the kids are sleeping and the wee hours allow.  So here goes... a start to our summer in review.

After a long roadtrip and lots of help from my father-in-law, we got here in June.  It was hot and has remained that way for most of the summer.  I know I should have expected this, but I think I've been in the north for too long.  I've grown rather fond on mild summers and this beautiful concept know as seasons.  But, none-the-less, we are in the south now. And in case we didn't realize it, there was a nice welcome sign to remind us.

I think I should have donned bare feet for this one.  But the baby on the hip should suffice, don't you think?

And another sign to make us aware of our proximity to the good ol' Mason-Dixon.

You just don't see signs like that in New England, folks.  You just don't.

Anyway, since we've been here.  We've been enjoying all the great things about Southern living... being close to home, good food, Southern accents, pick up trucks, awesome Walmarts, etc.

We've checked out the area and kept ourselves entertained this summer. 

We watched butterflies emerge from their chrysalis'. 

The kids named them Wisteria, Petunia and Spotty.  

Since we've freed them, the kids are sure that they can see them (and identify them by name) everytime we see a butterfly.

Filling the need to nurture, the girls have also collected a variety of other bugs.  But none of these were cuddly enough so....

We got Alfie.  Meet the newest member of our family... a grey tabby kitten we adopted from the local animal shelter.  Bless him, he is a patient cat.  He has been loved, toted, pushed in wagons and carried in every manner imaginable by lots of loving little hands.  Though we thought we would prefer a dog, we have discovered that a cat is just what our family needed right now.  Low on maintenance, high on love.

And speaking of love... Ken built the kids a great swing set for the backyard.

And he had lots of little hands to help.

Very little hands.

But mostly, everyone just enjoyed being outside with Daddy.  The smell of bug spray in the air.  Cheering him on, playing games.

Just enjoying summertime .....

and awaiting the completion of the new swingset.

Thanks, Daddy.  It's awesome.

Now that the weather is finally cooling off a bit, we've been able to spend more time enjoying the outdoors.  Playing basketball, riding bikes, the parks.

With summer ending, we're focusing on a whole new batch of new things coming up in the Fall.  God has been good to us as we've transitioned here. We've seen Him answer alot of prayers and are continuing to pray.  So much learning and changing.  So much more to catch up on.  But that will have to wait for another time.

More to come....

smiling...

Still here.

Just very busy.

No time to blog.

Lots going on.

New swing set. New friends. New haircuts.

Got a cat.  Getting braces.  Starting school.

Waiting. Deciding. Praying.

Enjoying the last few days of summer.

Still smiling.

Be back soon.

beatin' the heat

When it's this hot....

there's only one thing to do.

We celebrated...

We had a wonderful day today. I was a fun family day and a day that was full of hope.

That's what I love about Easter.

All day long, in everything we did, I was reminded that He has made all things new. From the eggs to the flowers to the children, there were symbols of new life everywhere.

Today we celebrated a God who loves us so much that He died for us. He took our sin upon Himself, so that we would not have to die. So that we may live with Him for all eternity.

Today we celebrated that His death was not the end of the story. We celebrated a God who is very much alive. Who conquered death, rose from the grave and who came to offer us the same hope through His son.

Today we celebrated that gift. The gift of eternal life. The gift of abundant life. Not a life without pain, but a life with hope. Not a life without death, but the knowledge that death is not the end. We celebrated the One who has defeated; who loves us unconditionally and offers to walk this road with us.

This gift is offered to everyone. Today we celebrated that. All we have to do is believe Him. Trust Him and allow Him to take the reins on our life. Seek His forgiveness and His face. Today we celebrated His victory over evil and death. That we worship a living God. The only God.

Today was fun and full of life. And only because of the one who truly gives life. Thank you, Jesus, for that life. For your life. For dying, so I wouldn't have to. For rising again, so I can too. For living, so I don't have to walk through this life alone.

The story is true. Jesus really lives. So, today we celebrated.

springing

Last week was 50 degrees and sunny. It was wonderful. I feel like spring is springing. I won't say spring has sprung, because that would guarantee a snowstorm next week. But I will say spring is springing. It's closer than it was, and we have almost made it through winter in New England.

As the last of the snow started melting a couple of weeks ago, we enjoyed some sledding with friends. The grass was starting to peek through the snow, but that didn't stop the fun.


The kids bundled and hit the hills.


Sledding two by two, one at the time, in trains.


Even one on top of the other.


I love seeing their rosy cheeks against the blue sky and the white snow.


The was the posse from our neighborhood. Always together. It was the 2 on the right who moved away last week. The rest of the gang is missing them, but really enjoyed their friendship while they were here.


Hopefully, this will be the last of the snow pictures for this year. Ken laughs at me when I say that. It's only March, after all. But I'm hopeful.

This week, we played outside and went to parks and had picnics and didn't wear coats.

Spring is springing.

snowflakes

It's been snowing this week.  Again.  I've decided that, although we don't get nearly as much snow as some of our fellow northerners, we get plenty up here.  We've enjoyed a winter so far with enough snowfall for playing and not enough to make you crazy.  There is a fine line there.

But no  matter how many times it snows, it never, ever gets old to the kids.  They run out into is as fast as they can get their little boots on.  Every time, you would think it was the first time they'd ever seen snow.

And every time, they immediately stick out their tongues and try to catch a snowflake or two.   And they usually do.

There's just something about the feeling of a fresh, crisp snowflake on your tongue, I guess.

But, try as you may, if you still can't catch one....


You can always just lick one off the door.

Really.  I'm sure it's clean.