.Ten Things No One Shared With Me Before Becoming a Mommy.

10. That cleaning goldfish crackers ground into the carpet would be a daily thing.

9. That I would not be able to sleep at night until I had checked on, kissed, and tucked in each of my children - even though I had done it just a few hours before.

8. That I may as well wear my swimsuit to give my children a bath, because I end up soaked every. time.

7. That some of my best moments are spent on the couch with children all over me as I read and read and read story books.

6. That every time I make my from scratch macaroni and cheese, my children will raise their eyebrows and sigh about it not being from a box.

5. That my camera would get so much use, and that I would have so little time to do anything with those photos.

4. That I would want to teach my children at home, and that I would delight in it.

3. That some days the house will be a mess, dinner will be cereal, the children and I will all wear sweats, and the world will not stop.

2. That chubby hands that reach out for mine and sticky kisses, just for me, could make my heart burst.

1. That life would be this crazy, this loud, this chaotic and busy, and most of all this wonderful.

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.Home.

My hubby is home, and all is right with the world again - at least my world. For me, home truly is wherever Jim is.

I will get back to blogging shortly. For now I am just soaking up every detail I can about Ethiopia from Jim. It's wonderful to process with him and learn through him. And it is amazing to have Jim back here. I missed my hubby. I'm just not the same without him.

So, yeah, I am going to get back to that. Thanks for grace in understanding. I'll be back soon!






PS If you feel like doing a little Christmas shopping head over here!

.These are the Moments.

Not composed.




Not set up.





Not always in focus.







Spontaneous.







Giggle inducing.





Silly.





Real life.





Natural.





Timeless.



No props.



Mundane.





Beautiful.



Everyday.

These are the moments that I never want to forget.

The normal

mundane

everyday

simple

life-living

moments.

I dare you to get out your camera and capture yours today. Sometimes looking through the lens changes the ordinary, the every day moments, into a moment worth cherishing for a lifetime.


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.I Have Been.

Welcoming fall with arms flung wide. Fall is my favorite season (until winter comes, and then until spring comes....you get the idea. So thankful to live in a state that embraces the seasons.)

Baking these

and this

and these.

Teaching my Cadi (and learning myself) about the human body and Christopher Columbus, and what it means to have and show compassion the way Jesus did and does.



Lighting pumpkin scented candles and dreaming of crisp weather, vibrant trees, and Macintosh apples.

Laughing at and with my two little boys, who fill our home with sunshine and mischief.





Falling more and more in love with Jim, as we hang on for dear life through this roller coaster ride that makes up our moments.



Reading, reading, reading, to my children, with my children, by myself. Searching out God's Word to try to grasp what it really means to live each moment with Christ in me.

Cooking this.

Missing Ethiopia and aching to be back there. (Jealous my husband leaves very soon to go back.)

Rejoicing that Jamesy's hormone work-up came back normal, and that he does not have to have his hormones checked again for several months!

Living life to the full, falling in bed exhausted, realizing that mommying and homeschooling are the hardest jobs I have ever loved.

Waiting for God to show us what is next. Preparing my heart for anything.

.Dear, Sweet, Readers.

I love you. I love all 800 plus (what?!) of you. I am humbled by your kind words left here, sent to my email, and posted on facebook. You continue to lift me up and edify me over and over.



Most of you I have never even met, very few of you are my IRL friends, but yet we are connected through this little piece of the web. I am amazed, humbled, dumbfounded that you continually come here to read my so often inadequate words. God always sends the right people at the right time. So many of you have been sensitive to the Spirit's leading and reached out to me when I have needed it the most.





You have shared in my joy, my grief, my prayer requests. You have loved my family, and you have loved me through so much change in our family. Many, many of you have literally helped us bring our sweet Jamesy into our family, and yet we are strangers. Some of you I will never meet this side of heaven, but know this I am thankful for each one of you who has become invested in my family through this little blog. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you would never be enough.





My last post was a bit melancholy and blue. I received a few worried emails. I am fine. Truly I am. For the past two years I have tried to blog very authentically, which goes against my nature. I believe the body of Christ gets very good at masquerades. I don't desire to be part of that anymore. I still pick and choose what I write here, not everything gets published for the world.



Everything is prayed over, and I publish what I do in order to share my flaws and humanness and brokenness with the world, but I don't do it to receive sympathy. I publish the hard things sometimes, so that the good things can only be pointed back at my Jesus. I want all of the glory, all of the honor to go to Him alone. It's hard for people to see Jesus in me when I am being fake and try to appear all together all of the time, but when I am weak He is clearly visible. Because without Christ in me I can do nothing - I am nothing.

I know so many readers were praying for me this weekend, and I just want to tell you that God has answered your prayers. I had an amazing, calm weekend with my family. We hiked with some extended family on Saturday. It was absolutely refreshing to get outside of these walls and breathe in His creation. We explored and hiked and sweat and got filthy together. It was glorious. It was worship of our Creator.



Today we worshipped with our church family. Jamesy slept through the entire sermon, and for the first time in what feels like forever I was able to sit there in the pew during the whole service. I bathed in God's goodness, and walked away so thankful, so joyful. I had some wonderful meaningful conversations with friends, and I was able to fellowship and give back some today. I just felt so good, so alive, despite being tired and still hanging onto some sickness. We came home to a belated birthday party for Jim. He requested Ethiopian cuisine, and an absolutely sinful three layer sour cream chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and chocolate peanut butter genache. My parents ate Ethiopian food with us for the first time (and liked it!), and we enjoyed each others company. The children napped the afternoon away, and Jim and I cuddled while watching a silly movie. The evening ended with popcorn for dinner and Peter Pan as a family.

I feel ready for tomorrow, and our new school year ahead. I feel renewed, refreshed, recharged....yes, all of those great re- words!

Oh, and the dryer! We rearranged a few things in our budget to fit in a low end new dryer. Jim is going to work on that tomorrow. Praise God!!

God is so good to give me such faithful readers as you all. You have and continue to bless me. If only I could repay you....

Philemon 1:4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers.


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PS Jim taught Cadi to tie her shoes yesterday!! That is one thing checked off of my list for the school year!

.God's Best Gift.

Psalm 127:3 Don't you see that children are God's best gift?



And I have three of these best gifts. Some days I am still in shock, and most days we all still marvel over every single little detail about Jamesy - just like Scotty in this photo. It's still hard to believe he is here sometimes.

So thankful.



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