God's Provision

God's provision comes in so many forms, and He is ever so faithful to provide for our needs.  Our good friend, Edith from Simply Kissed Photography, is holding a photo fundraiser in support of our trip to Kenya.  If you are local and interested in participating, she can be contacted at info@simplykissed.com to set up an appointment.  She takes beautiful photographs and is offering a great rate for 30 minute mini sessions on September 21st and 22nd.  Be sure to check out her website.  She is amazing in heart and talent!

The Beginning of a Great Adventure

For years God has been stirring our hearts for a people and a land far from here.  Years before Brian even got into medical school, before we even knew one another, God put Africa clearly on his heart.

He shared it with me when we met, but I tucked it neatly away with all of the thoughts labeled, "Not Sure What to Think About That."  We dated, married, and a few months after our first anniversary Brian began the long, arduous journey of becoming a physician.  Africa has always been on our minds, and slowly it increased as a topic of our conversations.  It became a regular part of our prayers, and it has found its way knit into the very fabric of our hearts.  It is clear that God is calling us there in some form, some capacity, to love a people we do not yet know and a land we have only heard about and seen pictures of.  Something that doesn't make sense to others makes perfect sense to us.  Why would you go when you can live a very nice, financially sound, stable life here in the states?  There are plenty of people who need medical care and love here in the US.  Very true!  But God has told us to go.  And when God tells you to go, you go.  Remember Abraham?  Moses?  Jonah?!!  The disciples?  We will go because God wants us to, and it is not just a command from the Lord, but our hearts desire to go now as well.

Last year we attended a medical conference through World Medical Mission of Samaritan's Purse called Prescription for Renewal.  It was there that He affirmed the calling on our lives and where He led us to the country of Kenya and Tenwek Hospital.  This February, 2014, we will be traveling as a family to visit Tenwek for three weeks.  We are using this as a scouting trip to see if it is what we are to do after Brian completes residency in June 2015.  World Medical Mission has a two year Post-Residency Program that provides training in medical missions for doctors who feel called to the mission field. We feel very specifically called to apply to this program.

Our hopes are that we will know whether we should apply to serve these two years at Tenwek when we visit in February.

We know many people have questions and we hope to answer them the best we can.  I love to research and have found the best way to find answers to my own questions is to read about it from those who are already living out what we feel called to do.  I am including a couple of links to blogs from the Galat family that have been helpful to us to see what life will be like there.  Brian has spoken with Dr. Galat in the last few months and we were so encouraged by their conversation!  He lives in Kenya with his wife and five children.  Dr. Galat is also an orthopedic surgeon, so Brian will be working with him while we are visiting Tenwek, and then again if we go back for the Post-Residency Program.  They have a great video talking about the work God is doing at Tenwek.

Their personal blogs are:

http://dangalatkenya.blogspot.com/

http://heathergalatinkenya.blogspot.com (She hasn't updated in a while, but she has great posts about daily life.)

We are also aware of risks and dangers there, just as in our own country.  We have researched every aspect of our trip and of living there.  I am very thorough and like to know as much as I can about things before I do them, almost to the point of exhausting myself and those around me!  I say that to say that we know what you may be thinking and feeling.  We have probably had the same thoughts and feelings at some point.  But being educated about where we are going and what life is really like there is the best way to dispel fears.  Making assumptions can bring about many unnecessary fears.   Our greatest peace is knowing that God is calling us there.  We know that being in the middle of His will, no matter where in the world that is, is the safest place we can be.  Our deepest desire is to be obedient to His calling for us.  Yes, it will be incredibly hard to leave friends and family.  But we know that the Lord knows that and He knows the desires of our hearts.  Our future may be different than we had once pictured it, but there are so many times that I have looked back at our lives and praised God that things did not happen the way we thought it should.

So we are stepping forward and trusting Him to lead us on this new great adventure.  Please keep us in constant prayer.  There is nothing greater you could do for us.  If you feel led to provide financial support, please click on our family picture to the right or just below.  The link will take you to the support page for World Medical Mission.  Scroll down to "Find Dr/Medical Professional: [example: Smith, John]" and enter Hodges.  Hodges, Brian will appear and our family picture will appear once Brian's name is selected. 
 

Please pray about joining us in some way in the work God is doing with our family as we serve Him in the mission field.  It will be a great adventure indeed.

Back to School

 

Last year we home schooled Elisabeth for Kindergarten, and loved it.  It was something that we prayed long and hard about, made lists of pros and cons, and talked to friends, family, mentors, and teachers.  In the end it was just something that we knew we were supposed to do for our family, and we are so glad that we did.  She is in First Grade this year and Abigail has been begging to do school, so we are indulging her in Preschool activities every day.  She loves it!  I love that our girls love to learn!  And I love to teach them, so it's been a great all around.  A lot of work, but so worth it.   

Last year Elisabeth also participated in Classical Conversations, a program that puts her in a class one day a week with seven other children her age led by a tutor who covers math, timeline/history, English grammar, Latin, science, and geography.  She also participates in a fine arts project/lesson, a science project, and does an oral presentation each week. It's a lot of fun learning with her friends each week. She starts again in a couple of weeks and is looking forward to her new classmates and tutor.  It's a fun change to our week to be in a class setting versus being at home.  

Being in a class is fun, but we manage to have a lot of fun at home too.  Our playroom is set up to be a school room/playroom, and it works so well for us.

View into the dining room where we have a chalkboard and baskets for our library books.

Chalkboard and Library Books

My desk and subject organization for the girls.  Drawers and baskets for play clothes, baby dolls, and more school supply organization.

My desk and the white bookshelves separate the school area from the play area.

View toward the play area.

Table, white board, piano (I completely underestimated how much the kids would LOVE having a piano!)

The play area is set up like a house with table, piano, living/bedroom area, and a play kitchen.  John is hanging out in the living/bedroom area.

Play kitchen area

Play kitchen and back side of bookshelves.

View from the playroom door into the school area.

Books, toys, and school stuff accessible from both sides of bookshelf.  This makes a great divider for when we are trying to do school and John needs to be occupied on the other side!

The girls each have a specified desk, and they love having their own supplies handy when we need them for particular activities or subjects.  Our reading spot is in the middle.  It's the perfect spot for snuggling up to read a book alone or together.

We love the flexibility to learn any where, but it has been really fun to have this set-up.  This room was originally a garage that was enclosed, and it's purpose for us has evolved over the three years that we have lived here.  But this is by far the most fun and well planned it's been.  It is very functional and we use it a great deal during the day.  It's also nice that if we do use it for school most of the day, we can just close the door and "go home."

We are thankful for this time together.  I know home school does not work for everyone.  Not everyone feels called in that direction and not everyone has the desire.  Honestly some days I don't have the desire to do it either.  But it is what we feel called to do at this particular time, and overall I do love it.  The flexibility allows us to take breaks when I need it or the kids need it, or just take a day to do something completely opposite of what we have planned.  We are taking it year by year to see what is best for each child and for our family.  This year we are excited to see what First Grade and Preschool hold for us as we enjoy it together! 

Trust and Obey

The Lord's leading is so sweet and tender.  He is so patient and full of love.  He has been leading me for quite some time to follow Him in very specific ways, to trust and obey.  It is amazing how we can so quickly become wrapped up in seemingly simple things.  Very specifically the Lord has called me to delete my Facebook account and other social media accounts, to get rid of the things that have become a distraction from the most important things in life.  This is a very personal thing, not something that would necessarily apply to everyone.  But it applies to me.  I have found that I compare myself to every picture and every post, and I wonder all too often what others must be doing...because it must be better than what I'm doing at that moment.  Instead of reveling in the joys that God has placed before me I have allowed insecurities and boredom to cause me to focus on what could be instead of what is.  Instead of realizing that what I have is beautiful, I find myself looking for more.  I do not want to live that way.  I don't want to miss out on what God has given me.  Even the mundane.  So with sincerity of heart, I am stepping out to trust and obey what God is calling me to do.  To keep my eyes on Him and these precious ones He has entrusted to me.

So I Don't Forget

The girls have gone to round with Brian this morning and enjoy an especially sugary breakfast in the hospital cafeteria.  I love that spending precious time with their daddy makes them so excited.  John and I are enjoying the quiet morning with the fireplace roaring and Christmas music playing in the background.  The air outside is in the mid-30s and I am thankful for the heat building up inside from the crackling fire. John is exploring every corner of the house while I watch on with a hot chai latte in hand.  I love watching his boldness and determination as he curiously examines all that he can find.  He is already thoughtful in the way he holds up an object in my direction and grunts at me as if to ask if it's okay for him to have it.  Though, like any young child learning that they have their own will, he does not like to hear the word "no", but he is quick to listen and move on to "ask" if another object is okay to use.  I love learning more about him every day.  At this time of year especially, I am so thankful that he is here, that he is thriving.  Watching his little legs crawl with much greater speed than his sisters ever had doesn't worry me that he will be into everything, but makes me thankful that his body has the strength to move his legs at all.  I am amazed at the miracle of his surgery.  That the artery in his left arm was used to make his aorta stronger.  Because of this he has no pulse in his left arm now.  I often wonder what that feels like for him.  I wonder if he'll someday be able to tell me the difference between the feeling in each arm.  We cannot tell a difference from the outside.  He has such strength in both arms that I sometimes forget that there is even a difference on the inside.  I am amazed at God's creation of our bodies.  Tiny capillaries took over the blood flow to his arm when his artery was sacrificed.  Simply amazing.  God allowed his body to know exactly how to compensate for such a major change.  I love to see such joy in a boy who has been through so much.  And I don't want to forget these moments or take them for granted that they are even allowed to happen.  John is our permanent, physical reminder of God's grace in our lives.  He shows His grace to all of us in infinite ways, but I will never cease to be thankful for the reminder this little boy brings every time I hold him.  It has changed Christmas for us.  It has made my love stronger for our God who came to rescue us in the form of a tiny baby who would grow to be a man who would tell all about our Father and His love for us.  He would grow to be our God in the body of a man who would sacrifice His life so that we may have true everlasting life.  He gave our son another chance to have physical life last Christmas.  And though I praise God for John's healing, my heart longs for his life to be saved yet again.  To have wholeness and healing that surgery can never bring his body. John still has issues with his heart that could possibly lead to another open heart surgery at some point.  I think of it often.  It makes my own heart physically ache and my stomach tighten.  But I know that our God is absolutely good not matter what.  I want John to have physical healing with every part of me, but not more than I pray for his spiritual healing.  December 23rd is the one year anniversary of his open heart surgery.  This year it happens to be on a Sunday.  We will be celebrating this special day with dedicating Elisabeth, Abigail, and John at church.  We can think of no way we would rather celebrate John's physical healing than by publicly praying over him and his sisters and proclaiming our desire for them to know and love and live for the Lord.  Their hearts for Him are our greatest desire.  Only then will any of their hearts be truly healed.  And we praise God that that is His desire too.

Leavin' On A Jet Plane

I have had this song stuck in my head all week, excitedly counting down the days until we fly to see friends and family in Texas! The day has finally arrived for us to head home...

The last time we were supposed to go home, our plans were suddenly and unexpectedly changed when instead of heading to the airport we were waiting for John to come out of heart surgery. We are so thankful to have had our plans changed in order to get him well. And we are so thankful he is well enough to be going home today. I have a feeling he is going to love Texas just as much as we do.

The Countdown

 

We've been anxiously counting down the days until we set foot on Texas soil!  It's been two years since Brian has been able to go back, a year and a half for the girls and I, and John has never been to Texas before.  That last one seems crazy to write, that as Texans we have a son who has never even been there! We can hardly wait to see our family and friends.  We will be spending a week with Brian's family before he heads back to Oregon and the kids and I head to visit my family for another week. We have great plans of soaking up every minute with our loved ones, resting and relaxing, and enjoying the beautiful sunshine and warmth of summer.

Because this week, IT IS COLD!

That's right, we are burning a fire today with the weather in the 50s.  I have a feeling we are going to melt when the 95 degree air hits our pale, long sleeved wearing skin.  I'm not sure we remember what Texas feels like anymore and sure hope we can handle it!  At least there's A/C!

We are so excited though, for our much needed time of rest and for just being in the presence of those we love most.  

5 days and counting!!

My Privilege

For months now I have been wanting to catch up here with life, to chronicle all that has been going on in our life, to journal this ride we are on.  So many months have passed since my last posting that I get a little overwhelmed in trying to fill in the missing pieces of the story between that post and now.  As today is Mother's Day, it seems appropriate to just jump back into the blogging world and fill in the pieces as I am able. 

Today I am running solo with the kids while Brian is on call.  The kids and I enjoyed a wonderful morning of teaching and fellowship at church before heading home on this beautiful day for lunch.  As we squint our eyes in the sunlight it seems like the rains of winter and spring may finally be behind us now.  All three of them are resting now, a rarity as of late with Elisabeth having outgrown the beloved nap.  Today, though, she was glad to take a nap.  A very fitting gift for today.  I do love to have some quiet time.

Since my last posting, life has evolved from the physical challenges of late pregnancy, to the sleep deprivation of the newborn stage, to the emotional ride of open heart surgery for our sweet boy at just two months and three weeks old, to three precious children sleeping through the night and taking a simultaneous afternoon nap today.  Our life of residency is extremely hectic and often lonely with Brian working about 100 hours a week, but the Lord has taught me how to adapt.  He has blessed me with the privilege of being a wife, a mother.  And I love it.  Even in the most difficult times, amidst the tears and lonely nights, despite the screams and crying and tantrums, I love being Brian's wife and I love being a mother to Elisabeth, Abigail, and John.

 

John.  What can I say about this precious boy, except that he is pure joy.  All of our children have been very happy, and John is no exception with his constant smile and excitement about him.  His demeanor is sweet and playful.  And he is healthy. It brings tears to my eyes to write that.  Tears of gratitude and joy.  What was once a weak heart and a diagnosis quite grim became more and more hopeful with more testing and ultimately a life saving surgery.  He has recovered beautifully and we fall more in love with him with each passing day. He is now seven months old.

Abigail is now a little over two years old and loves to make us laugh.  She is silly and naturally very funny.  She is in the full throws of being a two year old, but she is a delight to all of us.  She loves gaining her independence, but still loves for us to "hold you."  She loves to be near others and often pats the space beside her and requests, "Momma sit."  She and Elisabeth love to play and be together.

  It is one of my heart's delights to see Abigail sitting in Elisabeth's lap or to see them holding hands as they walk together.  Abigail is our little artist and can most often be found with paper and markers working on her latest masterpiece. 

Elisabeth turned five recently and has catapulted from late toddler hood to school age.  We have prayed long and hard for the last couple of years and sought wise counsel on schooling for Elisabeth and have decided to home school her for Kindergarten.  Her curriculum came in about a week and a half ago, and although I was planning to wait until late summer/early fall, she was so excited that she wanted to start right away.  So, since we have the flexibility to do so, we started last Monday.  And it was awesome!  She loved it, I loved it.  It fits our family so well.  She has loved having a more structured learning time and Abigail is even enjoying the greater structure given to her day.  Elisabeth is bright and vibrant and joyful.  She can turn anything into a song and the steps to her day are cheerfully choreographed. 

I am so blessed to have been given this gift of motherhood.  I am so thankful.  Though the mundane tasks of everyday life seek to cloud my memory and distract me from one of the most precious gifts the Lord could have ever given me, He is faithful to clear the fog and shine His light on my life to help me regain my focus.  It is then that I am overwhelmed in knowing that this is truly my joy and privilege. 

Just Trying to Keep Up

The days and weeks and months have escaped me, busy with life and little ones. I am blessed beyond measure to have so much to fill my plate, but I don't want to forget it. I have been inspired by those who keep such great record of life while living it fully, and hope to try to keep up and remember to write it down or blog about it to do the same.

So, first thing's first: We found out in May that we will be having a little boy! We could not be more excited to be adding to our family and to be having a boy this time around. He has two sisters waiting to dote on him, a daddy ready to share his love of sports, and a mommy who is still trying to figure out just what to do with a boy! Don't get me wrong, I am completely excited about our boy. But I only have sisters and mostly girl cousins, so boys are a whole new world to me. But I can't wait to learn and grow as I become a mom to this little boy that God is giving us. I do know that I'm going to have to get over being a germophobe and learn to deal with dirt. The girls are breaking me in with that, but I have been told that boys take it to a whole new level. I can't wait, though!

Here is our boy at almost 21 weeks (I'm now almost 28 weeks; pictures below):


We have named him, but are waiting just a bit before sharing it with everyone to be absolutely sure. He is already so precious and we cannot wait to meet our boy!!

And now, for those of you who love the belly pictures, here is a picture of me today at almost 28 weeks:


I feel like I'm carrying him differently (higher) than the girls and also feel a little bigger, so for kicks I thought I'd do a little comparison:


Definitely looking a little bigger, I think! Hopefully he's not any bigger than Abigail was at a little over 8lbs. Elisabeth was just over 7lbs, so that would be even better. We will see in just several short weeks. We are looking forward to those weeks filled with summer and lots of sunshine, fun, and family visits that will bring a little bit of home to us here in the cool Northwest.

As I type this my shoulders are sunburned from many days spent outside, the windows are all open with a cool breeze blowing, Louis Armstrong is serenading us in the background, Elisabeth is talking and singing as she plays dress up, and Abigail is just waking from her nap. We have a full afternoon planned of running under the fruit trees in the backyard, picking ripe cherries to snack on, reading new library books from this morning's trip, and welcoming daddy home for a weekend that doesn't involve work. Life is full and beautiful, and although it's all going by in the blink of an eye, I am thankful for the energy to just keep up and enjoy every second.

The Love of My Life

Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.
Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The Lord do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me.

Ruth 1:16,17

(Our vows from March 17, 2005)

Today, Brian and I celebrate six years of marriage. He is the love of my life and a blessing beyond measure. I could not have dreamed of a better man to share this journey of life with. He is my best friend who makes me smile more, laugh harder, hope fervently, love deeply, and believe with a faith that grows stronger as we keep our eyes on Jesus together. Each day I am more grateful than the day before to be his wife. Six years, many moves, medical school, residency, and on our way to three children make this life, this marriage, beautiful and full. I could not ask for more.

Happy Anniversary, Brian. I am so in love with you.

Life

Life has been busy and full lately. It has been full of reality, of fun, of celebration. We celebrated Abigail's first birthday just before Valentine's Day and can hardly believe it has already been a year since we were blessed with meeting her. We had a small family celebration that carried over to celebrating Valentine's Day and then a much needed week off for Brian. We loved having him here all day every day.

But life as usual is full of residency for Brian. We are constantly adjusting and readjusting to Brian's ever changing schedule, but always cherish the moments we have with him. Days for us girls are full of routine that include a lot of eating, sleeping, playing, reading, learning, growing, wobbling (although Abigail is VERY close to walking), laughing, singing, and anything else that can go on with an almost four year old and one year old.

Did I mention reading? It's pretty much the most popular activity around here. We have bookshelves full of our own books with more bookshelves full of those checked out from the library. Abigail is developing her own love for books, so we keep all the board books low for her and the "paper" books, as Elisabeth calls them, on the shelves that only Elisabeth can reach. We can't get enough around here. And with Abigail wanting to do everything her big sister is doing, it's a good thing we have two copies of this particular book...


So not only is Abigail getting to read the same book as her sister, she's on her way to being a big sister herself! Our third little baby is on his/her way and due to arrive early October! We could not be more excited to meet this new little life!


Life has been busy and full lately. Full, in the most wonderful sense. We are blessed.

Random

Just for fun, I thought I would share a few random things about the girls:

Elisabeth

1. She has a fear of buttons. She won't wear them and she won't let us hold her if we have them on. I have no idea where she gets this from.
2. Her eyes are so dark that it's hard to see her pupils.
3. She has an amazing memory.
4. She absorbs every detail in life and then lives it out. We've found this to be good and bad.
5. She loves to sleep in a "Daddy shirt", but she calls it her dress.
6. She loves to wear dresses.
7. She loves to dance. Almost every "performance" begins with her hands on her hips and only her legs moving. Think Riverdance. She can't wait to start taking dance lessons again.
8. She has changed her name to Meg. We watched Little Women over Christmas and she decided she wanted to be the oldest sister, Meg.
9. She is almost 4 and still puts everything in her mouth.
10. She has a habit of biting her fingernails. So does her Dad.
11. When she helps me cook, she likes to pretend like she has her own cooking show.
12. She has pretended to graduate from college everyday since my youngest sister, Allyssa, graduated from Texas A&M last month. When she graduates, her name is Meg. She finishes the graduation ceremony with the Aggie War Hymn. Her version starts out, "Goodbye to dear old Texas Aggies." She won't let me teach her the real words because she says she knows how it goes.
13. She loves to sing, mostly making up the words as she goes.
14. David and Goliath is currently her favorite Bible story. I overheard her "reading" it yesterday and realized that she almost has it memorized out of her little Bible.
15. She loves to carry Abigail around.


Abigail

1. She does not like for Elisabeth to carry her around.
2. She's a screamer.
3. She loves to sleep.
4. She figured out how to pull the crib bumper down so that she can sleep on it like a pillow.
5. She loves to eat, but only by herself. Yogurt and oatmeal are the only things we can spoon feed her.
6. She's wearing 18 months tops and she's only 11 and a half months old.
7. She is a speedy little crawler, especially when we are coming toward her.
8. She's starting to stand on her own unassisted.
9. She loves to laugh. She'll start fake laughing just to get the rest of us laughing.
10. She is a snuggler. She loves to hug.
11. She is babbling a lot lately, A LOT. It makes Elisabeth laugh really hard. She may be more of a talker than Elisabeth!
12. She is a little choleric in getting her way, but when you tell her "no" she is extremely sensitive. She pouts her lip and starts to cry like you just ruined her world.
13. She loves to sing and dance to any beat. A song, Elisabeth singing, the hum of the dryer...
14. Her dancing consists mainly of head bobbing.
15. Like her sister, she always has a smile on her face.

Maybe It Was Just My Imagination

I think Abigail can talk.

Yes, I know she's supposed to be learning words, saying Mama, Dada, baby, etc., but we're into baby sign language around here and she's not really playing our game!

We taught Elisabeth sign language when she was just a baby and still use it today. It's fun to have another way to communicate and helpful when we are in a situation when we need to be quiet and still need that communication. She only knows basic words, so it's not like we could really communicate with someone that has signed all their life. But it was tremendously helpful when she was a baby and couldn't yet speak all the things she was trying to communicate to us. We love the Signing Time videos and watch them fairly regularly.

Several months ago, we began working with Abigail on more, please, and all done, just a few signs. It took Elisabeth until about 12 months for it all to click, so I wasn't expecting much when we first started with Abigail. Repetition and consistency were all we were focusing on so that Abigail would eventually have her moment to get it. She is 11 months and one week and we have yet to see a sign from her. But I'm not sure we're going to need it! Whenever I ask her if she wants more of something, I repeatedly show her the sign and then use her hands to make her do the sign and then I give her more of whatever it is she is wanting. She usually just stares at me, but a few times, in the middle of all of my, "More? More? More?" she will just say, "more." Oh. So you'll just talk to me? Well, okay. And today while we were trying please, she just stares at me while I'm doing my bit to convince her that it's great fun to copy me and says, "pease." Really?! I thought I just imagined it, but Elisabeth was laughing because she heard it too. So it appears that Abigail will just be talking to us instead of signing! We'll keep at it though, because it's so extremely helpful at this age. Plus it's a fun activity to do together and use in certain situations. Elisabeth is having fun trying to teach Abigail different signs. We're looking forward to her playing and learning along with us!


And while she may just skip over signing and go on to talking, her little body has been in no hurry to produce any teeth. Until yesterday!! At 11 months and one week, the girl finally has a tooth coming in! We love her gummy smile, but know those teeth will sure come in handy!


We are enjoying her so much more each day and love the interaction we have with her at this age. She loves to laugh, often randomly and dramatically laughing to get the rest of us going. She's quite the little character. She seems to be pretty laid back, yet knows exactly what she wants and will let you know if she's not getting it. She adores her big sister and fills all of our days with joy. We are so thankful for our Abigail Grace!

Reaping

"And let us not grow weary while doing good,
for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."

Galatians 6:9

This is a verse that I cling to. It applies to every area of life, but for me it is a verse for motherhood. As mothers we pour our lives into the lives of our children. It can be exhausting while simulantiously being completely joyful. It can be frustrating yet beautiful all in the same moment. It is my dream job, yet the hardest thing I've ever done. Parenting is HARD. Being consistent is HARD. So many times I feel like I'm doing it all in vain, that it's not sinking in. But then the Lord allows a time of reaping. Elisabeth came to me recently, unprompted and said,

"Mommy, I did what you told me to! I wanted to obey you! I didn't want to disobey you! I wanted you to have a happy heart! I wanted God to have a happy heart!"

It was one of the proudest moments of my life. She got it! All that we are doing to teach her and help her in order to walk through this life and become the person God desires her to be has not been in vain. It was a sweet and beautiful moment and I want to remember it for ever. But thankfully we didn't just reap, but we are reaping. My Elisabeth is almost four and is becoming such a lovely little girl. She has always been a blessing and a joy, but there is something about how she is growing up and turning into this more mature little girl. Of course, she's still silly and VERY loud, but I think mature is the right word to describe who she is becoming. She is more thoughtful in her actions and polite and respectful with her speech. She is learning to treat others the way she would want to be treated. She is desiring good. She is desiring Jesus.

And oh, how I learn so much from her and from being her mom. Being a mother has given me a clearer picture of the love and desires the Lord has for me as His child. And by His abundant grace He fashioning me, chastening me, molding me to be more like Jesus. In turn I devote myself each day to point Elisabeth and Abigail to Him, and while I feel like I constantly fail, the Lord is faithful to work through me. He is pursuing them. But it is through my obedience to teach them and train them in the ways of the Lord that I, we (I'm so thankful to share all of this with Brian!) are blessed with a time of reaping.

And there is nothing more beautiful than to see someone's heart unfolding for the Lord.

Like a Weed

Our little AbbieG, as she is affectionately called, is a growing girl. All the cliches are true. It all just seems to go by in the blink of an eye. She turned nine months on the 10th and had a doctor's appointment the following day. She weighs 20 pounds (almost 90th percentile) and measured 28 and 3/4 inches long (75th percentile). She's loving her big girl food, but is still all gums. We keep thinking her teeth will make their appearances any day, but nothing so far. It's hard to keep her from standing these days.


As soon as we set her down she immediately scurries to the closest object she can pull herself up on. She then looks around so proud of herself as she stands up with the rest of us.


She's saying Mama and Dada a lot more and it seems she's doing it intentionally. She also screams (a lot...we're working on that) to get our attention.


Elisabeth still, of course, brings the brightest smile to her face. They love to play together and their laughing is infectious.


Abigail is a speedy little crawler.


If we come toward her she will almost always start crawling in the other direction as fast as she can while laughing.


I felt like I was playing defense tonight while Elisabeth and I were trying to get her to crawl into the living room. It always makes us laugh. She moves a lot faster than I remember Elisabeth doing, but I suppose she's just trying to keep up with her big sister.

She is such a joy in our lives and we love each day with her.

The Simple Things in Life

I've mentioned before that I thoroughly enjoy having a fireplace and subsequently a fire to go in it. We were just blessed with an abundance of firewood, and yes, to me, it is worth blogging about! There is just something about the simplicity of sitting in front of a fire listening to the crackle of the wood burning and feeling the warmth on my cheeks. I love everything from the smell to watching the flames dance about. I love the accomplishment of building it into a raging fire that makes the entire house feel cozy. It just does something to make the atmosphere more enjoyable. It creates a certain ambiance that I love. The firewood was delivered a few days ago and dumped on our driveway.

The rainy season is underway, so my little helper and I had a job to do to get it all stacked in a dry spot. My littlest helper was thankfully taking a nap...that was the best way she could help any way! So I put Elisabeth in charge of the kindling and off we went. I've honestly never done that before, and as my husband will tell you, I've come A LONG WAY to stack an entire cord of wood by myself!


I was quite proud of myself for completing such a big task, but I was more excited to have been given this blessing and to know that we will be able to enjoy a warm fire all winter. Such a simple thing, but such great joy!!


Now, if only there was a little snow to go with it... ;)