As the days go on…

So this is what happens when you are sick: the world goes on and you are on the catch-up. After a week and a half of oogies, I think our brood is finally on the rebound. Abi missed the bugs – thank goodness, for that kid whined enough busting in her two top teeth to drive anyone to the edge. Good thing I was drugged numb (kidding). But poor Matt received sick wrath – FOR ONE DAY- while Rachael and I are still on the up rise from our suffering woes (cue the violins). If I could just vacuum suction out all the mucus (viewer rating tanks). ANYWAY.

So life is happening all around us. It feels like years since we’ve been outside and in the meantime some kind of huge deep red flower popped up in our backyard planter box. Perty cool, people. Perty cool.

Dakota has found herself a new home – it was her or Abi so alas, we opted to keep our daughter over the dog. But Dakota is and will continue to be well missed for a while yet. And, as with any family pet whom you have invested in and incorporated into your world, our love goes with her. Saturday was a sad drive to Indianapolis, but it is good to know that while the breed-specific shelter finds her a home her life is not in threat.

So with that change has come some decluttering (or simplifying, eh Jess) of our home as well. I’ve put up a clothes line in the backyard in efforts to thoroughly brand myself a “woman of another decade”. No really, I just think drying blankets and sheets, etc on the line as well as those “we can’t seem to get the stain out of them” whites is beneficial.

Only in picking up Material World from the library and thumbing through it a bit yesterday I’ve come to realize that clothes lines are more common than we “stuck in America’s movement” people may have imagined. Talk about a book to readjust your worldview, people. The book goes about the globe and selects homes around the world to do a homestudy upon. They take a picture of all the material goods a family possesses after moving them to the front lawn or such location near their home. Then the book compares similar needs, like toilets, food, etc cross-culturally. Amazing to think of how little some can live on compared to how much we may convince ourselves that we need.

And thus, we’ve also been thinking and praying and hoping and talking about our efforts toward adoption. Matt and I enjoyed date night conversation walking kidless around the mall (loathe summer heat). It’s so wonderful to get us-time to talk about what all we have been praying about and hoping regarding our family’s future. I HIGHLY recommend date nights with your husband/wife. Crucial in any marriage to be on the same page.

So alas, that has been our life lately. And next week we’ll celebrate Abi’s first birthday (falls over dead). How quickly the time flies!

But alas, I must get going, it has been requested that I come read to the children while they soak the bathmat with bath time bliss.

Hope you are fairing well.

Raining and Thoughts

This weekend was a good one, even though it was a hard one. The reality of our dear brother in Christ, David Cowherd, really being gone is a mixed bag of emotions. While life “goes on” here on this side of heaven, we miss his smiling face. Continued prayers for Jeanie and family. The visitation is tonight and the funeral is tomorrow.

Yesterday was a quiet day and today feels like a repeat of yesterday.

I have found sometimes in my walk with Christ that there are high moments and then the valleys. Valleys can be brought on by many things. And it’s odd, but while in a valley you can still have joy in Christ. You’d think a valley would just be consumed with heaviness and darkness. But amidst the trials there is still unwavering hope – hope in faithful Jesus.

But there are still times that bring on silence, thoughts whirling in your head and times of just being and doing with little thoughts. Oh the value of a walk or a mundane task amid “quiet days.” There’s just been a lot of process lately. A lot to think on. A lot to surrender.

Abi’s smiling face today has been lovely. She has two little curls on the top of her head that appeared after bath time this morning. The two curls counteract each other resulting in both standing straight-up on her head in one Alfalfa sprout. It’s super cute to witness the both bobble as she crawls about with a smile devouring her face. Amazing the affects of a full belly and teething meds.

Rachael is having a cute moment as well, setting up a picnic for Abi – which Abi promptly mauls and then claps. Rachael seems only mildly affected by Abi’s inability to “play right.” It’s fun to have two, even when they clash at times. And it still amazes me how much that toddler just loves that little baby – right where she’s at.

Matt and I have been trying to eat healthy again. HA! Isn’t that the story of our lives. But Matt stumbled across a book called “Eat this, not that” and it’s been helpful in eating REALISTIC healthy things. Let’s be honest, people, we just don’t have the time or determination to spend a whole afternoon making one dinner. Maybe that’s part of the cooking/workout plan – burning the calories in the food prep. Regardless, we’re exploring the possibilities of eating more healthy things without breaking the bank or feeling the need to jump on the organic fad. Let’s just say the only “Go green” we do is to “Go Green, Go White” (Michigan State – oh how my hubby would be proud.) Don’t get me wrong, taking care of the planet is a good thing, I’m just not into the craze of walking on eggshells as if the planet’s going to explode tomorrow. Maybe I’m just broken, but I think the world is going to look like we lived here after we’re gone – cuz, you know, we lived here. And I’m probably wrong – I have been in the past and will be again- but I feel like a lot of the “Go Green” is just a new fad, like skinny jeans and mismatching clothes. (Feel free to throw your tomatoes now. hehe.)

We’ve been going to the gym 4 times per week – no they’re not giving out door prizes. The kids enjoy their little daycare play zone and Matt and I “enjoy” killing ourselves for the sake of health. It’s actually quite nice to relieve stress and work hard, even at the expense of sweat dripping down your back. The gym can be so selfish, like the one “nicely fit” mom who dropped off her very overweight preschooler with fruit roll-up in hand into the daycare and then proceeded to the tanning room to tan her sculpted self. But we believe that the gum can also be a statement to God that we want to keep His vessel healthy and ready to go wherever He leads. We may not be marathon ready, but we’ll try to be run-a-flight-of-stairs-without-dying ready.

Well I better get going, Rachael notified me that she needs a tissue (she wiped her nose on my shirt while snuggling. mmmm.) and Abi has begun her daily curtain attacking. It’s raining outside. Despite common opinion of the rain being a nuisance, I like it.

Hope you all are enjoying your day and have enjoyed your weekend.

Outside

The spurts of beautiful weather stampedes my little clan outdoors. Oh how we long for the fresh air, wind in our hair, and freedom to RUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNN!!!

So here’s a taste of our adventures outdoors.

Enjoying the ride.

Our lucky tag-along choosing to push the baby.

Daddy’s helper walking Dakota.

Feeding the ducks.

Gotta love some fun with the cousins:

Bekka (3 yrs)

John (2 yrs)

And Josiah (10 mths)

Josiah doing what he does best – being cute.

Tunnel slides

the favorite… swings (esp. with Daddy pushing)

Oh the joys of the G-Force

can you tell they’re her favorite?

And when it’s all said and done and we’re headed back:

this happens.
(She calls it, “Daddy snuggle me.”)

And this one has been like this for the whole time. hehe.

O how we LOVE the glorious outdoors!

My Bitty Biter

Proof of my bitty biter. (Click to look close)

Playing just wears you out.

Accomplishment in pulling to your knees.

But sometimes you get stuck and need someone to bail you out.

Oh my sweet little Abi! How I love you!

"Mommy read book?"

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTMLexhwi0o?fs=1]

“Mommy read book?” she pleas as the climbs in bed to snuggle up for a nap. When Rachael was 11 months old, we made the family choice for me to become a stay-at-home mom. Abi, whom we had yet to know to be Abi, was on the way and my heart overflowed with the prospect of being there fully to raise our kids. I rearranged the kitchen, did some serious housecleaning to kick off the week and began a new tradition, reading before nap time.

I remember my mom reading the Lord of the Ring’s series to us before bed, my sister and I fighting to stay awake longer to hear “just one more chapter.” We were elementary aged and past the “little kid book” age. But I found such a joy in the stories coming to life in our minds – no need for pictures, we were each writing our own movie as the text filled our imaginations.

I began the Anne of Green Gables series when Rachael was 11 months old. I still remember the joy of feeling her little body drift into sleep amid turning the pages and rocking. And it’s so precious to me to think that ever since Abi could hear from the womb she has drifted to sleep amid a story. I remember feeling Abi get heavier inside me as she neared her ripeness toward the end of Rachael’s lap-rocking days. When Abi joined us on this side of the womb, Rachael would fall asleep in her bed and I would rock Abi while sifting through the Chronicles of Narnia series and a Karen Kingsbury novel (yes, Matt finally convinced me). There’s something beautiful about knowing your kids are falling asleep to the soothing pattern and rhythm of your voice. And here we are today, with the Secret Garden.

Today we met Colin for the first time and a flood of a high school musical emerged in my mind. I love how a good book captures you as the scene is painted in your mind. But the scene coming to my mind was literally painted on sliding set pieces. I remembered try-outs with my sister, one of the first things I remember coming together to accomplish (due to high school falling at such a “sisters are uncool” age). My sister, an ever-so-old Junior, and then there was me, a little scared Freshman. My sister had the part of Lily in the bag, literally just waiting for the formalities of try-outs. But the part of Colin was up for grabs among all my friends. Whoever got the role of Colin would be immediately excommunicated from the group as the rest would probably be listed amongst the long list of “chorus” (hehe). My sis jumped into action, practicing and practicing with me. I remember thinking, “WOW! She knows me outside of the house too?!” (love ya, Jes.)

And then the call-backs list and the final posting sealed it all. I had my first lead in a musical, playing my sister’s son. There was much make-up, ace bandages to make the illusion of a boy’s chest appear, and a wig that took nearly 2 hours to put on my head (tucking my long hair beneath). But something magical came from singing “Come to my Garden” with my sister. I will never forget the excitement rush of hearing her beautiful voice cut through the fog (fog machined in) and pierce through the silence of the room. It was a moment. A moment indeed. And then that bridge… “I shall see you in my garden…” those tight harmonies. It was so neat. The show took on a life of it’s own.

The lady on the recording has NOTHING on my sister. You should see Daddy’s recording. =) But I do remember practicing to this version with my sister as we prepared for try-outs. It was just lovely. Lovely indeed.

Some pieces of the experiences God has given me are hard to convey. Rachael and Abi may never know the feeling of standing, or in my case laying on a bed (I was a crippled boy), and knowing that an audience of some hundred(s) of people are watching and yet feeling like no one else is there, but whomever is on stage. I hope Rachael and Abi get the chance to lose themselves in a musical number (not as in become loose morally here people). Just so much fun. So shaping and altering.

Funny how God has used some small-town moments to build up this stage-fright child within me. hehe.

Anyway… back to house chores.

– looking forward to tomorrow’s nap-time reading.

Paradise

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR4Y6Ll0DwA?fs=1]

Returned from our two day rendezvous in Louisville to the normal. Funny how much I’ve found enjoyment in the normalcy. The hotel stay was great; Matt at the Youth Advisory Board meeting on Tuesday from 8a-4p with a few breaks and the girls and I with no schedule, hanging out in the hotel room, going for a walk in the beautiful weather and enjoy the Seminary campus recreation center. Tuesday night, after the meeting ended, Matt and I enjoyed a little dinner and swimming with the girls – AKA sitting in one foot of baby pool water while Rachael ran in circles and Abi splashed. We looked foolish, but it was so much fun just to laugh and play childish games and be in the moment with our kids. No pride. Wednesday, we took the girls park-hoping to a few really fun parks with great slides, swings, ride-on bouncers, and a merry-go-round. Parks plus a wonderful walk alongside the Louisville riverfront and with full lunch bellies we spent the girls’ naptime traveling back home.

Once stepping into the house it was funny how the normal hit us: dog barking, cat zipping about, laundry piles, toy explosions, dishes overload, etc.

And I just had to laugh this morning; 6:55am wake-up call – both Rachael and Abi in sync, nursing the baby while cuddling a not-quite-awake toddler, discovery of no toilet paper, 7am phone call with Goga (my mom) in which Rachael got it into her head that we were going to eat cinnamon rolls, improved cinnamon rolls from crescent rolls while rescuing my hair-tie from the cat, attacking Daddy at 8am as his sleeping in comes to a screeching halt (I couldn’t help it!), playing in Mommy and Daddy’s bed with Rachael’s additions: thrown about foam puzzle pieces and a play cordless phone – on which Matt talked to ‘Aunt Jes’ about her making him snicker doodle cookies. hehe., Matt jolting out of bed and running for the oven at the realization that the kitchen timer had been going off for a while, sawing cinnamon rolls off the ungreased cookie sheet (promise I followed the ungreased directions) while rescuing another hair-tie and handing the baby salad tongs to pacify, joking and tickling with Matt, serving the toddler while Pounce lives up to his name in stalking and attacking my pajama pant legs. Listening to Rachael’s rendition of “Jesus Loves Dakota” sung to our dog with an interlude of pleading for more applesauce, while feeding the baby oatmeal-apples-green beans – buttering, jellying and eating my breakfast between baby spoonfuls. Matt emerging from showering bliss in just enough time to grab breakfast, wash toddler hands, put in her requested Praise Baby movie, and grab a kiss on the way to the office. And as I sit here typing these words with two fingers the above song goes through my head, baby asleep in my arms – just realized the missed dried baby food on her nose, with cat attempting to find space on my lap – sitting on the baby- while in a purry mood. I’m telling you, people, there’s no place I’d rather be.. oooo just another day in paradise.

-loving my circus! =)

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