Spring is Here!

Now I'm a Fall/Autumn girl, through and through, but who doesn't love it when they start seeing green again?! And when they can start playing in the backyard everyday for hours on end?! And when flip flops become the go-to shoe for everywhere?!!

When we left our house Friday morning to take Gillie to school, we saw this:

And I got so excited. That is, until I also saw this:

but ya know what? I don't care! It's just more color in the fields!

The kids and I spent a bunch of time outdoors today playing. We were supposed to have a playdate yesterday, but they called and cancelled because they weren't feeling so good. We were also supposed to have a playdate today, but they also called and cancelled due to illness. Stupid colds and upset stomachs. I sure hope everyone feels better soon, but I wasn't about to let that stop us from spending some time playing together.

So we played today. Jack was especially cute.

And Gillie took a fun series of shots. I love these! I didn't ask her to do this. She's just naturally that good. :)

I took these next two shots in the same light as the rest, but MAN did they turn out cool! I don't know what I did wrong, but if this is what I get when I'm wrong, I don't want to be right. :)

Just guess who's holding all this mud!

Is it Josh?

Is it Jack?

Is it Gillie?

Yup! It's my prissy daughter!!

And here is my backyard through my eyes...

Happy Spring!!

joy

I find joy in getting to know God more,
in loving my husband
and raising my three kiddos.
I am in bliss when taking photos,
writing,
reading,
thinking,
daydreaming,
singing,
going to a coffee shop by myself
and finding a warm seat by a window
and writing down everything that comes to mind
when I'm reading the bible.
I find joy in having friends over to talk,
who come over even when my house is a complete disaster.
I find joy in hearing that one more child,
who was once called an orphan,
is now called son
or daugher,
sister or brother,
loved by their forever family
forever.
I find joy in hiking
and strawberries and
hearing kids have belly laughs.
I find joy in overcoming fears,
by taking on challenges
and discovering that I'm better than I thought.
And I find joy when the dishes are clean,
the sink is empty,
the laundry is folded and put away
and when I go from being exasperated
by the never-ending cycle of those particular jobs
to being so grateful for dishes and clothes and a home that I just want to sing!
I find joy in feeling a baby move inside my womb
and forgetting all about the discomfort of pregnancy and labor
when you first see that precious, wrinkled, little gift from God
belting out a whale of a cry.
I find joy in Davids beating Goliaths.
Listening to a new song that I really dig makes me full of joy.
Finding a pair of jeans
that don't make my butt look so big
calls for a major celebration.
I find joy in playing games with family,
in having adult conversations,
in mimic-ing the goo-goos and the gaa-gaas of babies,
in the Holy Spirit helping me interpret the Will of God.
I find joy in hope,
compassion,
unconditional love,
grace,
mercy,
friendship,
and faith.
I find joy just thinking that it might be possible some day
to travel around the world,
to see the different sights,
smell the different smells,
taste the different flavors,
and still see eye to eye
with people much different from me.
I find joy in date nights,
movie nights with the kids,
and nights when hubby and I can just
sit back and enjoy some tv.
I really, really find joy in plopping into bed
at the end of a long, busy day -
the feel of the cool sheets
and soft pillows.
I love soaking in an entirely too hot tub of water,
reading a book until
my body starts feeling a bit loopy from the warmth.
I find joy in coloring my hair,
cutting my hair,
painting my fingernails,
and playing with makeup.
I find joy in knowing that I never,
never ever ever never,
have to go back
to the person I used to be,
that person who felt so alone,
scared,
and sad,
that I will always have someone
who loves me just the way I am,
who made the ultimate sacrifice
just so I could be with Him forever,
who wants to wipe away my tears
and be my friend,
my Father,
my Savior,
the Lover of my Soul.

In what do YOU find joy?

Happy Birthday Josh!!!!

My sweet little boy is 4 today!!! Wow, how the time flies! He's grown up so much this past year. It's just incredible!

We had his birthday party on Saturday and had family over. He wanted a volcano cake that we had seen on tv, so I made that. It was fun, and Ben had loads of fun showing all the kids how dry ice works. :)

Magic Shows and Lemonade Stands

We went to a magic show/pasta bar event the other day hosted by the fabulous Celebration Community Church. They were trying to raise funds to send to Love146, an organization that helps rescue girls caught up in sex trafficking. It was a wonderful event, and I was impressed with the number of families that came! They even had us buy raffle tickets to win some really amazing prizes, like going on a all-day prayer excursion with the pastor, his wife and their jeep, up into the mountains. (that's the one I wanted!) and someone else offered a weekend in their cabin in the mountains and stuff like that. Ben ended up winning a terrabyte harddrive (yeah, I don't really know what that means either) and a 19" flatscreen computer monitor. Some guys have all the luck! In the end, we raised over $3000 to donate to Love146 and were all well fed and greatly entertained by the magician who did some super cool tricks and really hit it off with the little ones!

I had first really explained to Gillian that some kids around the world are tricked into working for no money around Christmas time when she was trying to figure out who to give her money from Santa to. She's asked me a few times about it, and I always explain that they are tricked into being slaves.

I told her that the magic show used all the money we gave them to help rescue and restore some of those slaves. She was so moved that she has been asking me non-stop for the past two days to make a lemonade stand for her so she can raise money to give to Love146 too.

swoon.

So now I just need to figure out how to make a lemonade stand. :) Maybe if these guys are going to have another Pink Lemonade Brigade!

Jedi Mind Tricks and other funnies

Thank goodness I'm too smart to fall for this:

Gillian: Mmmmoooommm! I'm thirsty.

Me: Hi, Thirsty. Nice to meet you.

Gillian: (sigh) No, mom. I'm really thirsty. And don't call me Really Thirsty.

Me: Ok, sugarface. As soon as we're done shopping, I'll get you a drink.

Gillian: Oh, alright.

(6.8 seconds later)

Gillian: Mom?

Me: yeah?

Gillian: You look thirsty. How about I get you a drink?

What a clever girl! But see, I don't fall for those Jedi Mind Tricks. I AM a Jedi.

yeah whatever.

Josh asked me the other day if he was my love.

Josh: Mom, am I your love?

Me: Yes, honey. You are my love.

Josh: hmmmm. That's ok. But I'm also your favorite Josh.

Me: Right again. You are definitely my favorite Josh.

Josh: Mom?

Me: Yes?

Josh: You're my love too.

awwwwwwwwwww!!!!!

Another funny saying from this week actually comes from my husband. I've been going to the rec center to workout everyday, and yesterday after I'd finished, I was telling Ben about it. I was telling him that I rode a bike and put it on the weight loss program and that when the resistance got really intense, I would alternate between praying for the little girl we're sponsoring through Compassion International and envisioning myself in a bathing suit on a beach in Cabo with him. I told that I didn't want to go to Cabo and get mistaken for a beached whale, to which he replied "Yeah, no kidding! That would be awesome."

WHOA! Stop the bus! Did hubby just say I looked like a beached whale?!!!

Now see, a girl can call herself fat, but if her husband does it, he's sleeping on the couch. You know, because there's just not enough room for him and his Shamu wife in that nice comfy bed of theirs. It's really an act of compassion on the wife's part. Truly. If she gets unnaturally violent urges toward him in the middle of the night, she'd have to get out of bed and walk over to the couch to do anything. And it's probably just not worth the effort. So you see. It's for the best.

I wish I could have taken a picture of his face. His eyes bugged out of my face, and he turned so red that I thought he was having an allergic reaction to something.

"No, no, no. I meant it would be awesome to go to a beach with you. You're gorgeous, baby."

He literally spent the rest of the night grabbing me and saying how much thinner I'm looking these days.

So he got to sleep in his own bed with me and my much thinner self. Hilarious.

Great Website/Idea

I found this site recently through MySpace and saw that they had a shirt about child sex trafficking. Here's the shirt. I just ordered one.

What a great idea for a fundraiser. If I came up with some t-shirt designs raising awareness of different social injustices like this, or with some great Scripture verses, I could find out about getting them printed and then sell them. Then I could donate proceeds to the various causes. I know this is not a new idea, but it's a way for me to use the creative bug that God blessed me with to help those who need a voice.

Hmmmm. The wheels are turning. Can you hear them?