Bullets and Pictures

- We had a great weekend celebrating the Resurrection and had three potlucks in three days. It was a lot of food. :)

- I feel like reading through the Old Testament this year really made me aware of how blessed we are that He is our sacrificial lamb. That we don't have to bring our offerings to the priest, and that we have direct access to Him. What a blessing!!!

- We had pink eye in our house for a while, NOT fun. I think we are all over it, but the sore throats have been hanging around now.

- Soren got his first tooth this last week. He has not been himself and now has a rash/eczema all around his mouth. I think the other tooth won't be far behind.


- The sun has been shining a lot, the snow is melting, there are no pesky bugs yet, and the world is a better place. :) It's amazing how much a steady amount of sunshine and warmth can change your outlook on life.

- Trying to get ready for leaving for a month feels a little overwhelming, especially since most things can't be packed till a few days before so it is all swirling around in my head.

- We are really excited to hit the road and go see and do things we have always wanted too. We never thought we would get to see some of the places we are going and I have a feeling it will be hard to come back.

-Theo no longer calls me mom. Ever. This has been going on for a while, but I actually noticed today for the first time that I can't remember the last time he called me mommy. My new name..Hun. "What's that Hun?" "What's for supper hun?" "Can you read to me hun?" "Can we buy this hun?" It is really just SOOOO cute and it never gets old. I like my new name, and I think when we are in public people are pretty amused by it. :)

- After 6 months we finally cut T's hair again. I was loving the natural wave, and curl or it, but it was getting too shaggy. We had put it off because he hates having it cut, but it went really well this last time, so I think we will keep it more trim now, and short is nice for the summer.
Before

After...still to come. :)

- We are trying to encourage T's love of chores, so he helps me in the kitchen a lot, loading and unloading the dishwasher, washing dishes, setting the table. He really is a great help as long as I remind myself that it doesn't have to be done perfectly.


-When T was little and grew out of clothes I just threw them in tubs as he was done with them, no matter the size, but I was finding with S that I couldn't find sizes I needed for him so I had to empty out all the clothes on the living room floor and sort them all according to size.
alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600492420880615410" />
Should have done it a long time ago but I am glad I am done. And this confirms to me that S is not in need of any clothes!

T on the other hand may need a few things, this is about all I have for him, and most of the shirts and pants are getting too small. I feel like he is growing fast right now....


-Lots of food posts going around these days, I am learning lots and have some thoughts of my own. I was just going to comment on someones blog about it, but it would have been too long, so I may do a blog post of my own about my thoughts on food/health/nutrition. I am so thankful for what I have been able to learn from others though.

-I think that is all for now, I need to go to bed, I am feeling very tired tonight. One last pic of little S. I love bath pictures...

A Looong post about Books

This has been a heavy week. Probably one of the heaviest I have experienced. Sickness, snow and discouragement aren't a good combo. But we survived, and I would like to say that we survived it well and that I found my strength in Christ, but that would be a lie. This week was full of failures and many many moments of having to ask myself what I really believe about God and if I was living that. I have high hopes that this coming week will be better! We have felt blessed by many people in different ways even in the last two days and we are so thankful to be living in community. Today however, I want to blog about books, cause I have wanted to do that for a while.
Ever since I can remember growing up books took up a large part of our house. My dad's study was lined wall to wall with books. My parents invested in many books for us, and always encouraged reading. When I was young, especially in elementary school age, I was sick a lot. I would miss one to two weeks of school easy, on a regular basis. I almost died from an asthma attack at age 8. I digress. When I was sick my mother read to me a lot. On the couch, in bed, in front of the fire, at the table. And books that were above my level, so that I would be challenged. Often times she had many things to do in the home so she would read to me long enough to get me really into a book, and then go on with her work while I eagerly finished the books. When I exhausted my library (the Boxcar Children, and Little Elsie being two of my favourite series I remember from my childhood) by jr, high I moved on to my Dad's book shelf and took in books by J.C. Ryle, A.W. Tozer, John Piper and many more.

As I have gotten older my love for books has not changed. I go through stages of books that I read, after college I took a break from the deep, more theological books, and read Lori Wick, Karen Kingsbury and if course last year the Mitford series. *Which I LOVED and miss and want to read again soon* This year I made the goal to read 25 books, and a variety, some deep, some biographies, some self-help, books on children etc. So far I have finished 10 and have at least 3 on the go. Part of my reason for pursuing reading is that I feel it is a way to keep myself educated and challenged in this stage of motherhood. It is easy I feel to become consumed with my everyday duties and then when visiting with people be limited in conversions to all things pertaining to children and motherhood and household/food related things. I want to offer more to a conversation, I want to be challenged beyond the everyday, to be more educated and more inspired by others out in the world and on the mission field, and I want to be engaging. SO here is a list of books I have read, am reading and hope to read yet this year...

Have Read....

- Heaven at Home by Ginger Plowman - Loved this book, mostly because it didn't just give great inspiring ideas about how to be a better wife and mother and homemaker but focuses a lot on the fact that we are unable to accomplish those things in our own strength. It showed me my need for God, and I appreciated that about it

- The Sword and the Scalpel by Dr. Foster - Missionary biography - really enjoyed this, and there are still Fosters in the mission field in Africa doing amazing things,

- To Africa with Love by Jim Foulkes - Another missionary doctor in Africa - lots of stories, great read!

- Goodness and Mercy by Esther Davison - Missionary in China

- A Mother's Heart by Jean Fleming - Another really good book about mothering, some great fun ideas to do with your kids as well.

- The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller - I realized that I never knew the true dictionary definition of what the word prodigal meant until I read this book. Wow was it good, and my eyes were opened for the first time to what a Pharisee I am. If you want an amazing interpretation about the parable of the two lost sons, this is excellent.

- A Fine Day For A Drive by Rick Cogbill - This was a fun read, I enjoyed this book

- Atonement Child by Franscine Rivers - Read this in high school, but wanted to read it again. A great story about abortion and redemption.

- Intimate Issues by Linda and Lorraine (Don't have last names) - This was a very practical and helpful book for women/ I'd rather not expound ;) but would recommend it for sure!

- Counterfeit gods by Timothy Keller - Another fantastic book about recognizing idols in our life, how they affect the way we live, how to identify them, and how to get rid of them. We all have idols, we just don't always recognize them for what they are and how the take us away from God. A quote from this book... " ' Your religion is what you do with your solitude' (Archbishop William Temple) The true god of your heart is what your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding your attention." - Timothy Keller

- 8 Choices That Will Change A Woman's Life by Jill Briscoe - Reading this for our MTO group. Can't say that I have loved it, nothing groundbreaking, but some good reminders and insights.


On the Go....

- The Price of Freedom by Simon Ivascu and Wesley Pop - This is a book about two guys that escaped from Romania. It is pretty crazy all they had to go through, almost died while in a container on a ship. They are singers who now travel around North America with another guy and my in-laws have heard them a few times. My Mom in Law recommended this book.

- Future Grace by John Piper - this is a BIG book, I hope I finish it. :)

- Decisions Points by George Bush - his bio during his presidency in the US. Not my kind of book, but I am trying to stretch myself, and I have found parts to be very interesting, especially what he writes about 9/11

- Life Skills for Kids by Christine Field - I just started this, but really good practical stuff in here.


Hope to read....
Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapmen
1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp
A Sweet and Bitter Providence by John Piper
Rescuing Ambition by Dave Harvy
Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan
Educating the Wholehearted Child by Clay Clarkson
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
Treasuring God in Your Traditions by Noel Piper

So far that is it. The library system has been invaluable in this endeavour as most of the books have come through there and I am LOVING the access I have to SOOO many books! I know this is a long post, but I just wanted to share. Maybe it will help others discover books they would like to read. Many of the ones on my list have been recommended by others who have read them. On the side I am also trying to read some books on homeschooling, I have been reading
The Well Trained Mind on Classical Education by Susan Wise Bauer and
The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading by her as well and
Slow and Steady Get Me Ready by Barbara Janson and Teresa Selove, pretty much a guide of weekly activities you can do with your kids from birth to age 5, lots of great ideas for fun things..
SO many options out there for homeschooling it is hard to know what is best. We have thought about delaying till T is older, but I think I am not going to now. We will just continue to seek God and pray that his blessing would be on our children as we will never make all the right and perfect choices.

Anyway, that is all for now, I need to go to bed and start this week off well. Happy Reading, Friends..

P.S. Sorry there is no pictures, I promise I will make up for it in the next post. :)

So things have settled here a bit. We have had a few nights to sleep on the shocking news from Thursday and although the emotions are still a bit raw for us we both have prayed for God's peace in our hearts and feel he has answered our request.

For the first time since I started writing out my 1000 gifts, it has taken effort to sit down and make myself think on His gifts. Not because they aren't there, because we see MANY ways that God is very present, but it was choosing to focus on that rather then choosing to wallow, and focus on the negative. It is amazing how narrow minded we can become in such a short time when we allow sin an avenue. But I just want to share some of that list tonight, because God is so so good, not just because of circumstances, but because of who he is, in the happy and the sad times.

- A husband who is committed to integrity.
- A husband who takes seriously the need to provide and refuses to sit and stew even if he has reason too.
- A husband who wants to take the high road, even when his wife wants to take the low one. ;)
- A God who is present
- Psalm 16
- God's word committed to memory to draw on anytime anywhere when sin desires to reign in the mind
- Financial provision for our basic needs that gives us a little time to reevaluate where we are going long term
- A sense of peace
- A currently self employed friend who asked Brian to come spend the day with him to help take his mind off the heaviness
- Meals with friends
- Friends who get movies for us to make us laugh and lighten the mood
- A pretty orange plant given to cheer me up
- Wise words from dear saints
- Prayers over the phone
- Lord willing a month to go travel and see family
- The chance to look forward to getting away and having time to re-evaluate our future

I could probably add more but that's lots for now.
We are actually really excited that we are going to go away for the month of May. It's crazy cause we have never gone on a trip for that long, but we have been planning on going to my cousins wedding at the beginning on May anyway in Montana, and then we were going to go see my bro and his family in June but we are just going to combine the two so that if B starts a new job we don't have to ask for time off right away. So it will be sweet to take a month and travel to places we have always wanted to see. So another blessing in disguise.

Anyway, I need to go to bed, but I wanted to write these things down in this my on-line journal.
And well, I just can't close this without a fun picture of our boys..

"The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup. You hold my lot....I bless the Lord who keeps me and gives me counsel. In the night also my heart instructs me. I keep the Lord always before me, because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. You show me the path of life, In your presence is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasure forever more." (Parts from Psalm 16)

I can't tell you how much this psalm resonates in my heart right now. I think it will be my life psalm. Oh how I long to be filled with his presence, each new day.
I have been meaning to blog for some time. I need to cover birthdays, I want to blog about the amazing books I have been able to read. But not today.

Brian lost his job yesterday. I have sat down so many times to write in the last 24 hrs. but I know that 'in the multitude of words there lacks not sin.' (Proverbs) And that the 'tongue has the power of live and death'(Also Proverbs), and I have been challenged lately to ' only speak words that make souls stronger.' (Ann Voskamp) So, this is all I am going to say about that.

My husband is an amazing man, full of integrity and mercy and grace. I want to be like that. So I am going to take his hand and walk with him on the high road. Pray for wisdom, and direction. Neither of us doubt that God will provide. We believe and trust he is who He says he is, Jehovah-Jirah, and for that we are thankful.