Wee little lass

When will I meet my darling dear niece?

Come on... We've thrown you a shower, now it's time for you to GET HERE!

Your Auntie Ang needs you!

Get ready, baby Kate, it's gonna be tons of fun!

Yeah even when you love it

Just so you know, I believe in a most theatrical and (hopefully unoffensive) real way that I am living in job purgatory.

Even when you love (parts of) your job and have bittersweet feelings about leaving, the time between when you put in your notice and you actually LEAVE feels like forty forevers.

Holey moley!

Scrub boards and laundry lines

For the past year and a half or so, my dryer has been, let's say, underperforming.
It would overheat after 5-10 minutes of drying and I would have to restart it multiple times to dry a load. Like all day to dry ONE load.

Bothersome, but non-essential.
It did, however, make it so that I was NEVER on top of my laundry.

But last week, to my horror, my washing machine gave out. Gonzo.

I began thinking about scrub boards and laundry lines. It was doable, but difficult, and maybe a bit too agonizing for how hard my work life will be this summer...

I decided this was a last straw scenario.

So I...

• Went shopping.
• Got discouraged.
• Began thinking about money and the impending gap betwen paychecks during the job change.
• I did something stupid and financed a matching set of Maytags.
• I began having buyer's remorse.

Then, the next day, something wonderful happened.

In the mailbox, I found a statement talking about some stocks we had cashed in when Chris switched careers last fall.

But why am I still getting a statement in May when we received 'payment in full' in October?

So I made a phone call. The statement I was holding in my hands was some OTHER stocks we didn't know we had. And they had grown by more than double since the time Chris left Red Lobster in September.

Today, I got a check in the mail.
Come Monday morning, my brand new, do-not-take-all-day-to-complete-one-load, matching washer and dryer set will be paid off.

It's in the little things that God daily shows up in our lives. When He shows off fancy, taking care of His little girl, in a big, big way, I can't help but feel overwhelmed by His interest in my life.

To what do I owe this enormous love You show? I am overjoyed by Your faithfulness!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l3CEMWCxSk&feature=related

A snail of a tale.

When I was a little girl, I looked forward to the few hours after a big rainfall. I would go outside, a hunter, and collect earth worms, snails, and every other non-perilous critter that would cross my path.

This evening, after dinner, Avery, Jaron, and I went outside. We were all business, we three "Snail Hunters," using our whisper voices, prowling tactics, and everything.

We collected scads of them. Then we would gently touch (er, poke) their long spindly eyes and giggle as they slunk back into their shells. Poor snails.

We made snail art.

We had a family snail race.

Each of the 4 snails got a permanent marker tattoo of each family member's first initial.

D= Daddy Snail, M=Mommy Snail, J=Jaron Snail, and A=Avery Snail.

As you can see, it was slow going at first. But Avery snail took an early lead.

Notice that Mommy snail is flat on her back, with no intention of even poking her eyes out of her shell...

In the end, it was Avery snail. Followed by a distant Daddy snail in second place.

Mommy snail is still refusing to play. I guess Jaron snail had a great video game to play...

Good times! Yay Avery Snail!

(No Snails were hurt in the filming of this post.)

seven

(Jaron's last 6 year old shot @ bedtime last night.)

It's amazing - how one little person can completely change your world.

Even though I know, with a deep inside kind of knowing, that God feels this way about us - still I find it difficult to accept His unbelievable and unchanging love as a Father.

But it becomes infinitely easier to comprehend because of how I love my son. Today he turns seven years old.

(The sweet little angel)

(The truth...)

Seven years I could repeat a thousand times in my mind with love increasing each moment and with each memory.

Our lives are super-charged with energy and love, all because of these seven years with you, Jaron. You are an absolute page-turner of a person!

I can't wait for eight!

Yes, thank heaven for little boys.

Extra Extra Read all about it!

I have been given the go ahead from all the people who have a say in these things, so here goes...

You are reading the blog of a newly selected elementary music teacher.

She will be teaching at her children's school.

This. is. a. dream. come. true.

You would not believe how long I had to sit on this information...

God - Thanks for blessing us big time! It always amazes me how much you care about the things that matter to us. Such awesomeness you are!

I've been cheating myself

In 30 years of living, I never cultivated the habit of reading.
I certainly have never really read by choice. I always did my studying. And I have read the Bible from cover to cover because that's what good Christian girls do, but I have never chosen to read for the sheer and intensive therapy that I see it becoming in my life.
In the past two months, I have made some pretty big commitments to myself, one of them being reading regularly and intentionally.
At first, I read because I convinced myself that I needed to pick up a hobby and reading is just about the most practical leisure-time activity a person can have. But now,

I love reading! I have been devouring papyrus!
It's weird - because you don't spend 30 years avoiding something like the plague and one day up and decide to make a lifestyle change. But I have. And I have done it so consistently that I feel comfortable blogging about it, so that's something...

The book I have been reading is amazing and eye-opening, thought-provoking and popping with unreal life and energy. It's called the Bible. Ha!

(I have also been reading supplemental books that are terrific in their own right.)

But seriously, if you have never made the commitment to yourself to really delve into God's Word and become studious about it, you should.

It will change your life!

Blessed are the Peacemakers...

...for they shall live in an eternal mess that they made while trying to make peace.

Am I alone?

And no, you won't find that anywhere in Scripture.

:)

I'm a Dummy!

yes, yes i am.

and no this is not me being self-deprecating.

my hubby actually uses me as a dummy

he's applied tourniquets, given CPR, taken my blood pressure, put me on a long board, immobilized fake broken limbs, etc.

rest assured that if you have an emergency and you see my husband walk through your front door, he is well prepared for the task ahead

i am so proud to be his dummy!

things that stir my heart

• watching my husband play legos with our son
• eyelash kisses with my little girl
• cooking a very healthy dinner and inviting family over to enjoy it with us
• having a very faithful 'helper' while I cook, who loves to wear her 'fun-size' apron and taste samples of everything
• reading in a quiet moment
• the way Bonnie's whole butt wags when she sees us
• thinking about how awesome VBS is going to be and that I get to be a part of seeing lives change
• buying tiny little newborn size clothes
• getting an out-of-the-blue phone call from a friend
• sneaking back into my kids' rooms to watch them sleep - it's just about the only time they look like babies anymore
• picking a whole field's worth of wild flowers with my kids
• giving
• reconnecting with people who mean a lot to me
• humbly delivering a long overdue apology
• learning more each day how to be the person God made me to be