Nine Years Later

To my dear sweet husband,
Today we celebrate nine years of marriage.  Would I do it again if I had known the trials we would face that first year, the loss we would experience, the illness we would face, the stress that would follow?  Would I do it again if I would have known the hurt we would cause each other and the pain that would follow? 
Yes.  Over and over again.  Yes.

Because over nine years this happy, blissful (somewhat naive) couple...

...has turned into this amazing, happy, loving family.

I'm not the same girl I was nine years ago and you're not the same boy.  I no longer think that marriage was made to make me happy.  I know that it was made to bring glory to God and to show the world His love.  I'm so thankful for His mercy and grace that brought us through those hard years into the place we are now.  A place where you lead our family with a godly heart and you long for the world to see what God is doing in us.  A place where I trust your guidance and know that your devotion to our family doesn't waiver.  A place where I'm trying to be a godly wife and mother and no longer think of myself first.  A place where I know that God's plan for our lives is coming true.

Because I know that God created this little girl....

...for this little boy.

So that the world would see His love and His grace and His mercy and His glory through our love for each other.  

Snails...

The boys had so much fun watching this little guy the other day. He came out after a nice little rain and the boys just sat and watched as he inched is way around the flower pot. I love simple fun like this.

Home Decorating

Pretty much everything in our home is hand-me-down or a gift.  Seriously, as I look around our house the only thing we've actually purchased is a bunk bed, book shelf and few things that are hanging on the walls.  Because of that everything is kind of a hodge podge of different decorating styles.  There's not really a flow or style to the house.
Now don't get me wrong...the hand-me-down and gifted decor for our home has been a HUGE blessing.  I mean HUGE.  Without it I don't know how we would have decorated, much less had furniture to sit on, in those early years of our marriage.  Money was beyond tight and there's no way we could have bought anything.
But at some point you have to make your home your own.  I kind of feel like I've been living with someone else's style for the past 9 years.  But now I'm getting ready to bring my own style into our home.  We're getting ready to delve into remodeling and redecorating and I can't wait.
So, here's the problem.  Because I've really had no way to express my home decorating style over the last 9 years I really have no idea what my style is.  Am I modern, traditional, transitional, contemporary?  There are so many different ways to decorate and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the possibilities.  I thought I might be into a modern style, but as I research more I'm thinking more mid-century modern.   I also like everything I see when I google Scandinavian design styles.   Oh who knows....I just want a beautiful house that is livable for 6 people.
Here are some pictures of things I like:
I love the straight lines and simple color palette of this room.

 

Oh my word. I love the front of this house.  It reminds me of the house my grandparents had when I was little.  Those yellow doors rock my socks off and the lines of the house are ah...mazing!

Source: google.com via Heather on Pinterest

So, what's your style? How did you figure it out? Any decorating advice for someone new to the decorating world?

More in the Garden

Our garden is doing so well.  Seriously, way better than I ever expected it to for our first go round.  I think it has something to do with the all natural organic fertilizer we have (aka horse poop from my dad's four horses).  Today we picked our first squash...

And we have lots more squash growing that will be ready for picking soon!

Along with lots of zucchini...

And lots of little green tomatoes just waiting to turn red...

And yummy delicate lettuce that is unfortunately getting overrun by the squash plants (I'll now better where to plant things next year)..

And we've just started seeing flowers on the cucumber vines, so we should start seeing the actual vegetable soon...

Oh, and I'm choosing to ignore the snake skin Wyatt found in the garden....

Getting to theTop

Sometimes you work so hard

to get to the top.

That when you finally get there,

there is no way

you're ever coming back down.

Pine Cove Camp, thanks for the awesome day of family fun.

We're Gardening

We've planted our first ever garden and I'm so excited about it. The boys are having such a good time too. We've got tomatoes, all types of peppers, onions, spinach, 3 types of lettuce, squash and zucchini, eggplant, strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, and all kinds of herbs. It's so fun to see everything growing. My dad has 4 horses, so we've got lots of fertilizer (hee hee). Everything is growing and sprouting like mad. It's fantastic.

Flying High

We've been enjoying the windy weather and flying kites! Jerad bought a new spool of kite string that had 200 feet of string and we got it all the way out. It took forever to get it back in, but it was so fun and the boys thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Just like His Daddy

This is what happens when you have a son that has the same sense of humor as his Dad. You get out of the shower to find spiders crawling under your door.

Wyatt is 7!!!

Life has been busy and I haven't taken the time to blog. Time to get back to it!
While I was away from blogland Wyatt turned 7!!! How did this happen? How did 7 years fly by in the blink of an eye? He's gone from my precious little blonde baby to a smart, adventurous 7 year old boy. We had a great time celebrating him. His birthday was on a Saturday and he asked to go to IHOP for breakfast and then we gave him a new "big boy" bike. He was so excited! We spent the afternoon at the movie theater watching Mars Needs Moms (in 3-D) and then headed to the bike park for Wyatt to test out his new wheels. We closed out the day with pizza and cupcakes.

From this...

to this...in 7 short years.

Yes, he wore his 3-D glasses the rest of the day.

Preschool Work with Reece

Reece loves this little school activity. If we don't do it everyday he gets upset.
I have a set of Upper Case Letters and a set of Lower Case Letters. Each letter is on it's own card and Reece has to match the lower case letter to the upper case letter. We're working through the alphabet and we're up to I. He has most of them down, but still gets messed up on B, D, and H.

Ummm....okay

Sitting at the desk and Wyatt walks up behind me, whispers "mom", I turn around to find this....

Yeah, he takes after his dad.

No Stinkin' Way!! (Also known as...Reece turns 4)

Reece, my precious boy, turned 4 a week or so ago. I kept meaning to blog about it, but the bitter cold has gotten to my mood and I've stayed away from the computer. Anyway, here it is...
Dear Sweet Reece,
How in the world has 4 years flown by since you were born? Since you were whisked away to to the NICU before I got to hold you, since they stuck an IV in your head because all your veins kept collapsing, since I prayed and prayed and prayed some more that you wouldn't get a feeding tube and since God mercifully answered my prayer and you ate like a champ.
Oh my word how you have changed in the last four years. That stubborn streak that I worried so much about for the last two years has given way to the sweetest personality. You no longer stare me down with eyes that say you'd rather walk on hot lava than do what you've been told to do. Instead, you are quick to obedience and you work diligently at your tasks. I never thought you would be quick to do anything, much less something you don't want to do. You have become a thoughtful little man. You always wait for me on the stairs and say "Ladies first" as you hold your arm out for me to pass by. I can count on you to be right by my side when I'm making a meal and you're always asking how you can help me. Again, I never thought I would hear those words from your mouth.
You have changed so much in the past four years, especially this last year. You amaze me daily and I can't wait to see the big things God has in store for your life.
I love you Reece's Pieces.

How Do I Fight Injustice

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. I've been thinking about this a lot and I have so much on my mind.
In 2008 I visited Washington, DC with Jerad. I wrote about our trip and promised to come back and write more about my visit to the Holocaust Museum. But I didn't, I just couldn't. Now I will.

Visiting the Holocaust Museum rocked me to my core. I wept as I walked through it and saw the horrific movies and pictures showing lifeless bodies in massive graves in concentration camps. I wept as I stood in a boxcar that carried men, women and children to their death. Then I realized that while I was seeing this through pictures, videos and exhibits my grandfather saw this first hand. At the age of 21 he was a soldier in the 104th Infantry Division. His group discovered the Mittelbau Dora Concentration Camp. My grandfather said that there were normally 25,000 inmates in this camp, but when they were arrived there were 6,000 and 5,000 were dead. The remaining living inmates were all near death because of starvation and beatings. I can only imagine what this would do to a young man. How this must have changed him. I wept for my grandfather.
There were signs and posters throughout the museum that said "The next time you witness hatred, The next time you see injustice, The next time you hear about genocide THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU SAW." In my naivety I didn't understand. Here we were in 2008 and this kind of thing doesn't happen anymore. If it did happen then the United States would step in and do something about it. Wouldn't they? I was so unbelievably wrong. It still happens. All the time. It happened in the 1990s in the former Yugoslav Republics of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina and we did nothing about it. It happened in Rwanda and we looked on. It happened in Sudan. These are not the only places it is happening. Where is the United States? What are we doing? I was so angry as I realized that the country that I live in and love was letting people around the world be murdered.

It was then, August 2008, that I said I would do something about this atrocity. I would take action and stand up for the oppressed. Here's the truth though and here's why I never wrote about my visit to the museum. I haven't done anything. I'm ashamed as I write that. I haven't followed through with a promise that I made to myself and a promise that I feel like I made to people around the world. I can't believe I've done nothing. I was so shaken when I left the museum. So, consumed for days, weeks and months afterwards with thoughts of what I saw. But still I've done nothing.

Here is my struggle. How do I do something? How, as a mother of four small children, do I fight for the rights of the oppressed? How do I give of my time, my money, myself to stand up against murderers? In Isaiah 1:17 I am told by God to seek justice and defend the oppressed. How am I supposed to do this so that it really makes a difference?

I shop for items that are fair trade. I buy cute things for my kids that help women rescued from sex trafficking. I support my friends' adoptions. But, how can I do more? I feel like it's not enough. I feel like I am not even making a dent in the problem.

On a day when I am remembering the Holocaust I am overwhelmed with regret and sorrow for what I am not doing. For the actions that I've not taken. But I don't know where to start. I don't know what to do.

Wyatt Loves His Daddy

Wyatt left this on Jerad's desk for him to find when he got home from work.

**Just in case you need a translation: Surprise!!!!!! A Biker. Happy Day Dad. Dear Dad, I love you so much I will give you this so you know I already won. Love, Wyatt!** What did he already win? Having a great dad.

Yep, this boy loves his dad and apparently I'm chopped liver because I never get anything like this. My feeling aren't hurt though. Really, they're not. Seriously. Okay, maybe if I just keep saying it I'll actually believe it.

It's Crazy Around Here...

...just the way we like it!

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Eli

Dear Eli,
Oh my goodness. How is it that you are already 1 year old? This year has flown by.
Sweet boy, you are so precious. You have been such a blessing to our family. One day I will tell you the impact you've had on me in this your first year of life. How you made me realize that I could do the baby thing all over again even though I thought I couldn't. Not only could I do it, but I could enjoy it. How your smile this last year has brightened my days. How I cherish every moment that you stay a baby and don't grow up. I didn't get to enjoy the baby time with your older brothers because they were so close together and I was so overwhelmed. God gave me a second chance when He gave me the gift of you. Eli, you are a joy. You make everyone around you smile. Your daddy says you were put on this earth to bring joy and you do. Oh how you do.
You already have your quirks. Your favorite toy is an empty milk carton. You squell with delight when we get a new one out of the fridge and scream with anger when we put it away. You are so shy, but will smile at anyone. I'm interested to see what it's like to have a shy child. you love your brothers and get so excited when they play with you. You love your daddy and his hats. I know you love me and you love to cuddle in my arms.
Happy First Birthday Sweet Son. I love you more than you know. I'm so glad I'm your mom. (Now if you would just say "mama" that would be the best).

How have you gone from such a tiny little baby to such a big boy, so quickly?

Ten on Ten

Today I participated in Ten on Ten for the second time. I love this project and wish I got around to doing it every month. I know there's Project 365 (take a picture a day) and another one where you take a picture a week. But, ten pictures in one day just works for me. So here we go.

Eli is so happy that he stole not only the remote, but his brother's toy as well.

Math Work for Wyatt

Reading and Writing work for Seth

Spelling Work for Wyatt

At IKEA (one of my happy places) to buy a birthday present for Eli

At the YMCA so I can spend some quality time with the Elliptical Machine

It's decided! Moroccan Chicken and Lentils for dinner (from the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook)

Dinner is finally ready

Wyatt reading about amphibians

Daddy reading to Seth about Star Wars