Sunday, March 27, 2011

bag lady

this is elia...our resident bag lady. she has bags for her bags...stuffing any and every thing she finds about the house in them. she just loves to carry a bag!

i have never carried...nor even ever owned a purse.(i even hate the word!)

my whole life...never.

not sure why.

perhaps it was because i never knew exactly what was supposed to go in it.
or maybe the idea of having to carry something all the time was annoying to me.

over the past 8 1/2 years i have been resigned to toting around some form or another of a diaper bag.

the term "diaper bag" is used loosely here, since way more than diapers were stored in the bag.

over the years i have found good use for said bag, shoving such things as wipes, water, snacks, rocks, trash, even a tiny dinosaur or two in the handy little bag.

my diaper and wipe days have finally come to an end this past year, but i find myself still clutching a "bag"(not even a cute one!)...usually with not much more in it than my keys, a pen and some chap stick.

this morning, while sitting in church, i found myself irritated at the "snif snif snif" coming from my sweet girls on my two sides. colds have completely taken over my household these days...the reason i was at church with all my kids but no husband...but i digress. after ignoring the sniffle-ing for as long as i could, i finally grabbed my handy little bag and (quietly!) rifled through trying to scrounge tissue (or anything really!) that i could use to blow the tiny noses to my right and left.

i pulled my hand out empty...nothing! not even an old gum wrapper!

i sat there, perplexed, wondering why the heck i carry such a bag and have NO TISSUE in it!

after a few more minutes of thinking (and sniffle-ing!) i decided desperate times called for desperate measures!

i asked elia to give me her sock. yup! a little sock seemed like a perfect substitute for a tissue! she said no...and was totally offended at the idea! not to mention the thought of having to then "only have one sock, mom!"

rats!

so...i did what any mother of little ones with runny noses in a quiet church service would do...i took off my own sock!

no joke.

it worked like a champ!

spent the rest of the service enjoying a wonderful sermon without any sniffling!

ahhh, the quiet!

plus, i had a handy "bag" for storing the now nasty, wet sock!

of course, my left foot was pretty cold by the time we headed home.
:)

Friday, March 25, 2011

milestones

our sweet emma kait officially finished her induction phase!
read all the details on her blog, "emmakaitstanphill.blogspot.com"

emma we are praising God with you through this first big accomplishment.

we will continue to pray for strength, endurance, grace and courage as you enter this next step in your journey.

what an amazing girl He is growing you to be!!!

we love you ek!
c6

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Chuck

many years ago i was blessed to meet and be loved by a dear woman name LeeAnne. she was a missionary in MX while i was there...she lives there still, sharing Jesus with the people of that turmoil-ed country.
every once in a while, during an overnight layover here in la, we get to see her!
this time(like last time!!!) she gathered us up (all 6 of us!) and treated us to a fantastically fun evening of silly games and too much pizza!

a flashback to my childhood...
we went to Chuckee Cheese!!!

it is the perfect place for our time...we sit and visit nearly non stop...pausing just long enough to hand the kids more pizza or tokens!


her visits are always WAY too short, but every minute is precious to us!

g

We miss you already LeeAnne! Thank you(from all of us!)so much for the awesome gift of your time and love!!!!
c6

Sunday, March 20, 2011

eternal perspective

"one day all things sad will become untrue"
-jrw

praise God!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

pressing on

from Hosea 6:1-3...a song by chris weldon, a friend from church...

Come, let us return
To the Lord our God
For he has torn our hearts
To heal us in the end
Our bruises he will mend

Come out of the dark
To the glorious light
Together we'll be raised
Beyond the reign of night
To live within his sight

Let us know
Let us press on to know the Lord
Let us know
Let us press on to know the Lord

Now, sure as the dawn
Comes the mighty King
His glory is revealed
The bursting forth of spring
Inviting us to sing

Let us know
Let us press on to know the Lord
Let us know
Let us press on to know the Lord


this morning at church, as our community sang these words, my eyes filled with tears. thoughts of my brother, his amazing wife, their precious family and the incredible, terrible, painful, stretching journey they are on flooded my head.

being a parent is the most precious burden one could ever bear.
emma kait, we are beseeching His mercies on you and your family's behalf.

Monday, March 7, 2011

making friends

we've been so blessed by our newest LA friends...the Forgeng girls!! (that's what we call them!)


they are the neatest family, recently moving here from PA to plant a church and love los angelians. except for their PA loyalties(Phillies and Eagles fans!!), they totally rock!

besides the amazing way we met them(that is another post!), is that their family has the same number of kids as ours! plus, three of their four were born in the same month and year as three of our four, and our "fourths" are only a few months apart!

"the girls" were over the other day, and while they were here, they showed our four how to make "friends" out of footed jammies and tons of blankets, pillows and a favorite stuffed animal at the top!

it was a hilarous afternoon!


a perfect rainy day activity!

we love our Forgeng girls...your family makes LA so much the sweeter!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

rewind


habits...like brushing teeth...so "second nature" that you no longer think about completing them, you just do them, day in and day out. they become who you are.

my ability to recall things i have said, done or even thought has drastically shrunk with, eh hem, age!
so, to remind myself of what i am striving for and WHO i am serving...
here's a review of my long term habits i hope to form...
1. re-read these resolutions weekly.(jonathan edwards had this written at the top of his list)
2. put my family and friends above a clean house.
3. speak the truth in love.
4. stop rushing others and myself around.
5. plan less, live more...and enjoy it.
6. be joyful always, pray continually.
7. live intentionally.
8. give more...of myself, my time, my focus.
9. encourage more, critce, critiseze, criticize less.
10. learn how to spell!
11. stop raising my voice, unless someone's life literally depends on it!
12. write stuff down.
13. remember that i have been saved by God's grace...ALONE.
14. less rules, more fun.
15. put the needs of others above my own.
16. clean my bathroom more regularly.
17. calm down.
18. stop worrying about what others think.
19. appreciate my husband.
20. sit still in the moment.
21. enjoy the sweet "mess" God has blessed me with.
22. love my husband.
23. respect my husband.
24. eat more fruit.
25. praise God, in every circumstance...always.
26. give all glory and honor to God alone.
27. take myself less seriously.
28. talk less, listen more(and better).
29. remember i am far more sinful than i could ever imagine.
30. remember i am far more loved and forgiven than i could ever dare hope.
31. accept people as they are.
32. accept myself as i am.
33. no chocolate before noon.
34. keep the sabbath day holy.
35. bloom where He plants me.