life with twins

He is LOVE

2012-02-13T11:02:00.001-06:00

on the eve of this valentines, amid all things pink & red - not even the lure of pinterest has motivated creative juices in this direction.

it’s a funny day to me, not ha-ha funny but the odd, sometimes sad kind of funny. where young girls set their gaze on overly priced stuffed animals from walgreens.

i’ll speak for myself, anyway. painfully adding up the helium balloons and bright bouquets as i slumped through the 7th grade hallways. if only i had a teddy bear to light up my life.

but we all know it’s more than cheesy symbols marking the isles of this occasion. it is the deepest longing of every soul…

to love and to be loved.

i have struggled to feel loved for most of my life- decades have past since that first longing was awakened… the pursuit of affection & admiration taking on many forms

but all of them leading to despair.

so we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.

God is love … 1 john 14:6

yeah, yeah, yeah …Jesus loves me this I know.

but do i really believe it? do i believe the love that God has for me and that it is enough.

enough to heal the wounded places, comfort the deepest aches, and satisfy my hopes deferred.

i am still learning to believe the blood stained love of my Savior- a love that fails me not.

to meet Him in my past means seeing it was always His love sustaining and drawing me close.

i love this song by Esterlyn.

He heals the broken Hearted
He binds their wounds
He is Love
He finds those forgotten
Those who’ve been abused
He is Love

He knows your name
A father to the fatherless
A healer of the brokenness

You make Beauty from the ashes
A helper to the helpless
A fighter for the hopeless You Love
Those who are alone

He comforts the lonely
He hears their Cry
He is Love

He holds the children
Through out the night
He is Love

He knows your name
A father to the fatherless
A healer of the brokenness

You make Beauty from the ashes
A helper to the helpless
A fighter for the hopeless you love
Those who are alone

Give us your Heart Lord, help us Love the unseen
Give us your Eyes Lord, help us Love those in need

You're a father of the fatherless
A healer of the brokenness

You make Beauty from the ashes
You're a helper to the helpless
A fighter for the hopeless you love
Those who are alone
Those who are alone
He knows your name

so whether you have a hot date tomorrow night or you cry yourself to sleep…

He knows your name.

He is a helper to the helpless… a fighter for the hopeless.

may you know and believe the love that God has for you.

happy valentines!

ruining your soul

2011-07-26T14:43:00.001-05:00

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.”

take a second to let that sink in

we are Souls cloaked in skin & bone, flesh and blood.

not sure about you but this isn’t how i live & think. much more prone to pay mind to the external, not excluding the sun kissed spots & fine lines mapping their course to middle aged life.

i have been challenged by what it means to keep careful watch over my own heart & soul. the Psalmist repeatedly spoke of his soul being pursued by enemies, downcast and then restored. trusting Him as the Keeper of my soul, i still have responsibility in it’s condition.

i can either nurture or ruin, protect or assault.

many things wage war against my soul: comparison, perfectionism, jealousy, self-promotion, approval addiction, toxic relationships …all having the potential to deeply affect my fundamental identity.

one of the greatest of these is a a dirty little word.

legalism

embraced by men but rejected by Christ

i see so much of myself in matthew 23

Woe to me

They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger… they do all their deeds to be noticed by men…They love the place of honor…But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in….You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering?..Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of self-indulgence….You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

like i said, Woe to me

Woe to us

legalism concerns itself with the external versus the internal, ruining the soul.

as tim kimmell, author of this race-to-the-store-&-buy-one-today book, Grace Based Parenting, writes

legalistic patterns emphasize the SYMBOLS of christian behavior over the SUBSTANCE of christian living. it grants more power & influence to the external forces of the world system than it does to the internal power & presence of God.

white washed tombs …full of dead bones

legalism crawls onto our pews & into our hearts. it seduces us to hide our frailties from one another, to refrain from vulnerability because we all know that “good christians” have it all together.

good christians have perfect marriages & well behaved children. good christians read their bibles everyday. good christians follow the standards of righteousness.

woe to us who shut off the kingdom of God from people with our good christian antics.

if only the world knew there was no such thing

legalism perverts the gospel. it says His work is unfinished. that i must earn His love & acceptance by being more, doing more, giving more, attending more, sacrificing more. it believes the lie that His grace is not sufficient. not for me & certainly not for others.

Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ's death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? galatians 3:1-3

even for us who believe, who claim salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone …how quickly we gravitate toward being perfected by “good” works, crippled by that very first lie… we must be unloved by God.

the true gospel is this…

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

i am not, could not, will not ever be enough. i will never reach the end of my growing list of arbitrary standards.

only the finished work of the cross declares me righteous, fully accepted, purchased by His blood, forgiven of all sin… according to the riches of His grace, that He has freely lavished on me.

any other belief, no matter how well disguised results in fear, failure, pride, judgment, estrangement, spiritual death.

legalism ruins the soul.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

may our hope be built on nothing less.

summer lovin’, had me a blast

2011-07-22T10:30:00.001-05:00

summer lovin’ happened so fast! everyone needs a little Grease in their life.

only a few weeks away from returning to work…here is a recap of our summer days… a driftin’ away.

with record breaking numbers in TX this summer, we were happy to stay water logged.

the twinks first crawfish broil!

i rearranged their bedroom to create usable work spaces. we have so many age appropriate materials that never get used because they haven’t been super accessible until now.

this is where IKEA comes in. one of my all time fave places! check out these shelves for only $39 each! organization- presto!

the above wall hanging storage bins are great for markers, stickers & more! and you can’t beat their colorful $12 chairs & $25 tables.

needless to say we’ve had gobs of creative art going on this summer!

you are looking at creative genius!

we had a gabazillion weddings this summer, which we LOVED…especially because i was able to squeeze in time with out of town friends & their wee ones.

this was one of our favorite weddings…we love zach & kathryn!! what an honor to celebrate with them.

we had a crazy, good time…which might have included vanilla ice’s- ice ice baby.

fun times with fun friends!the above pics are from the first wedding d&b have attended. we did lot’s of prep work since they will be in their first wedding this october! aunt amber is getting married…ryan is officiating, i am a bridesmaid & the twinks are the flower girl & ring bearer. should be fun! and by fun i mean chaotic! :) we can’t wait!

here’s to squeezing the life out of these last weeks… fun in the sun, loved ones & lot’s of zzzzz!

hope you are enjoying your summer wherever you are!

community: the buzz word

2011-07-12T17:46:00.001-05:00

i can still remember the first time i heard it. a few years after relocating back to college station my best friend, jamie, posed an unordinary question. let me first say that it has never been unusual for her to engage my heart with a question that shakes something loose in me.

19 years old, a carefree conversation behind the wheel of just another teenage adventure.

so how would you respond if God told you that ya’ll needed to break up?

but why would He do that? for once i was sortakinda yielded in this area…His sanctification well at work in me.

we broke up within a few short months

like i said, shaking things loose

fast forward several years…another unordinary question

so do you feel like you are experiencing real community?

i’m sorry, what? can you say that again?

to my recollection i stammered off the names of a dozen people that filled my time, from bible studies & coffee chats to Gilmore Girls viewing parties.

long after our phone date ended the words rattled around in my mind

real community

you see my life was full of people…but could i answer the question when i had no understanding of it?

i am still learning what it means to walk in biblical community but a few things are clearer to me since then.

we were made for it & our souls suffer without it

from the beginning of creation God established that it was not good for man to be alone. we need deep & abiding relationships with safe, like-minded people. Hebrews 10:24 admonishes for us to not give up meeting together but to spur one another on toward love & good deeds…to encourage one another all the more.

this is God’s heart for us

not that we simply come together in frequency but that we do so with purpose.

community means taking off the mask of religion, laying down our pretenses, and getting messy. only then can we really enter into life with others & let them love us in all of our unlovliness.

it takes God-sized courage & this coming from someone who has prided herself on “being transparent”. only recently have i discovered how deep my need is and it has rocked me.

i mean, really rocked me.

hi! my name is andrea and i am needy. because you see, under this glossy surface are deep wounds, irrational fears & nagging insecurities. will you be my friend & remind me of Whom i belong to?

thanks be to God for cultivating community in my life- multiple people that do just this. they receive me as i am while reminding me who i am because of Him.

community doesn’t just happen… we must first value it, then seek it out.

the health of our souls depend on it

ryan recently received a question about community from a former college student. i learned from his response & have a feeling you might also.

Question: "Do you think true community can exist through phone and email?"

Response: The short answer is, no, not if you can help it. If you're forced to because of being in an isolated environment (missionaries overseas, long-distance dating, etc.), then obviously that's all you can do. But, if there is anything you can do to actually share life with people, you must make it happen, even if you're attendance is sporadic.

When we are talking on the phone, etc., the only insight people have in our lives is how we interpret it for them. Unfortunately, we're not honest people (with ourselves or with others)... even the most humble of us can still shell out a good amount of manipulation. We need people that interact with our lives, people that can sift through the BS and direct us toward Jesus. And, we need to do that for others also.

We need to have people whose house we can go to after tragedy that will cry with us, or who can hear us work through our family dysfunction, etc.

Also, we can still be extremely lonely and talk on the phone for hours a day. There is something about presence that "cures" loneliness. And, loneliness can be a very dangerous spiritual condition.

Did you know that for the first 300 years, the single most important act the church participated in was to eat together? not listening to sermons or even doing justice but breaking bread. The reason is that there is power in being physically present.

They understood that who we really are is frighteningly contingent upon who is around us. Even today, communion is a critical part of liturgies around the world. Why is that?

So, although phone, skype, email are great tools for a few occasions, it can also be a very tempting false substitute for biblical community.

It's just enough to help us think we are linked with others, but not enough to be truly and deeply transformed by them.

I'm learning this stuff myself ...
Ryan

so it’s my turn to ask the question… do you feel like you are experiencing real community?

may we enter into life with people & be transformed!

today is my last tomorrow

2011-07-10T16:03:00.003-05:00

this blog post title caught your eye didn’t it?

because let’s face it, if you are like me (or the other bazillion people like us on planet earth) your mantra goes something more like this…

i mean why do today what i can put off for tomorrow?

whose with me?

i’m in a bible study with a few women, the kind of women that live out loud… exposing those raw, ugly places that are desperate for truth and grace. while sharing a personal struggle, friend-whose-name-i-won’t-mention said, “today is my last tomorrow.”

today is my last tomorrow.

does that hit you like it hits me?…right in the gut like the rotavirus.

it begs the question of me, “so what will you do with today?”

because at least in my life too many tomorrows add up to mostly never and a million missed opportunities to taste abundant life and extend it to others.

i’m not talking about laundry people, for whomever would declare life in such a task. i find that no matter how many tomorrows i put it off or however swiftly i take it by storm, laundry migrates.

i am talking about the good stuff…the stuff of the heart, mind and soul. the hidden things that drive our thoughts, behaviors and relationships…both for good and for bad.

only you know what those things are for you….or maybe just like me you stuff them down, wrapping them up with the busyness of life, tying them off in a bow of denial.

so long as we present well, what does it matter if we wait until tomorrow?

it matters much.

for many years i have sensed God asking me to lay some things down.

go figure- i said no. again and again. too afraid to peel back the perfectly pressed corners of paper, exposing my tattered box of hopes deferred.

to take a good hard look is painful…the debilitating kind of pain i’m certain causes internal bleeding somewhere within me.

through a series of events He is teaching me afresh that i can trust Him with my offerings, no matter how broken their condition. i can say yes to Him today because He meets me in the deep places.

i am also learning that saying yes to Him sometimes means saying no to others.

shocking, right?

YesGirl that i am, that’s about as far as i’ve gotten with this seemingly far off, yet life shattering truth.

will let you know when i am closer to wrapping myself around it but i do know it changes things. it forces light into darkness, exposing things for what they really are, and sometimes for what they are not.

more pain

more grace

and so i declare (me, myself and i) that today is my last tomorrow

i will choose today

i will say yes to ripping off another layer, exposing the pain

to having His light so shine on me

to letting His rescue come

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

2 Corinthians 4:6-9

let’s choose today together, shall we

party pics have arrived!

2011-06-07T23:27:00.002-05:00

this being the official 4th birthday and all, i think party pics are in order.

it’s no secret that small people love superheroes, so this party theme made for some SUPER fun!

several people have asked about how i did this invite…

Printshop is dreamy, but with a few shape text boxes and some colorful Word Art, you can do something similar in Microsoft word. i snapped the pics in our backyard and edited on picnik with the HDR effect to give it a cartoonish feel.

the same week the twinks decided on a superhero party, i saw this table cloth & birthday banner in the check out line of old navy. they looked comic-y enough so i designed the word bubbles around the banner.

i made the masks from felt & will have them to thank when i am diagnosed with carpel tunnel. you can get 3 masks per sheet of felt, so it is an inexpensive gift if you are in the market! the party favor containers were in the party section at walmart… another super find!

the character rings were a hit, along with these super cute crime fighters.

now on to this incredible photo backdrop, painted by two amazing college girls! if i could facebook tag them here i would but a bloggy shout out will have to do for now. thanks, jerica & andrea!! and thanks to their roomie, taylor, for the inspiration! while i am in the spirit of thanksgiving, thanks also to mandy for taking pics for me!!

by the way, a very special thanks to my mother in law, mimi, for transforming two elmo-ish cakes into these for me…

brilliant me forgot to put in the order for two small cakes, assuming they would have plenty the morning of. you see where this is going. mimi to the rescue. two stores later, and two orange elmo cakes later. (i’m sure some sesame street lover is correcting me on the other side of their computer but elmo is the best i can come up with). they had eyeballs and hair and look at them now! BIG thanks to mimi & cousin amy…especially for dealing with my perfectionism!

back to the oh-so-fab backdrop….so i texted our college supergirls on thursday when my time was running out and they joyfully worked their magic so i could have it done in time for the party. are they not UHmazing!?? the subjects below are pretty great too.

the early childhood educator in me cannot miss an opportunity to provide developmentally appropriate play experiences, which is where gotham city came from…

superfriends were able to literally paint the town. need a creative way to pass the time with your wee ones this summer? put out a few boxes with paint, rolls of tape, cups of water, sponges, brushes, you name it…then just see what happens. as they say, a child’s play is a child’s work!

the kids also loved decorating their very own super hero masks…and you can’t beat the prices at oriental trading company.

so there is no such thing in TX as an outdoor event in june without water. and what is more fun than a water slide? especially when it takes up half of your backyard. ryan and i laughed out loud (more than once) at the size of this inflatable beast! if you can’t tell, it was more than twice the height of our privacy fence! so not joking.

it also was no joke how much fun was had! their faces say it all!

thanks to our family & friends that joined us for our super celebration! birthday letter coming soon.

ka-zaaaam!

2011-05-22T17:15:00.001-05:00

the supertwinks turn FOUR in two short weeks. FOUR!

just.like.that.

i think the coolest kids in the world are four… which is why i fell in love with teaching head start. grown up just enough to hold a silly, sometimes poignant conversation. still small enough to wipe the tears away from a skinned knee or bruised heart.

and so it is… FOUR. old enough to have been in my classroom. this realization leaves me dismayed, a childish “so not fair” swells up in protest.

and it isn’t. the hands of time tick round. i scratch my head and ask that age old question, “where did it all go?”

so now that i’ve got us all depressed… the good news about turning four is that it’s party time. and you know how i love a good party.

especially when it involves costumes.

my sweet girl, you know the one who prefers “basketball shorts” over ruffles and batman over barbie? she just might be more excited about the party theme than her superbrother. what do you think?

here is the party invite i made this weekend…

stay tuned for party pics!

football and superheroes

2011-03-26T16:05:00.001-05:00

am loving this weekend…especially that it kicked off last night with hearing from three fantastic women and the stories God has written into their lives. will update more on this event another time… no worries, it will not be this long. promise.

but i do hope you take time at some point to read about how you can Be Part of The Solution.

so this morning was the first open practice for the aggie football team. look who was ready for the action

one of many admirable qualities of our sweet berk is her intelligence!

she calls hook’em horns a “potty word”. this one’s just for you, papa.

does anyone else find berkley’s expression somewhat funny?

or in my case, beyond hilarious.

here’s another look if you’re unconvinced.

on that note, can you tell by this pic she is a bit of a tomboy? don’t be deceived by that super cute cheerleading skirt …underneath is a pair of “basketball” shorts, as she calls them. i can almost hear ann, my mother in law, laughing through the computer as she reads this. ann, i’m on my way back to target now! :) inside joke.

just this week i put her in this cute, gymboree (as if i need to qualify gymboree as cute) … strappy watermelon top. she insisted on wearing a sweater jacket over it, not wanting her girlish figure to show, i suppose. seeing as how it’s 80+ degrees in texas i didn’t expect it to last. i was wrong.

along with her “basketball shorts” berkley has a love affair with superheroes…not that she wants one to swoop down and rescue her from some obscure villain… she wants to BE the superhero!

she has a closet full of costumes, dripping in sequins and tulle. she prefers superheroes.

“i’m batman” she declares in a raspy growl.

a stunningly accurate impersonation, i might add. spiderman is her all time favorite.

so instead of fight it, why not build a theme party around it?

while the poehl four dropped like flies around the house last week…i used our down time to start designing superhero signs. here are just a few.

what almost four year old isn’t obsessed with crime fighting super powers? just another reason that i love kids! so get ready for some crashing, blasting, ka-powing good times this june.

til then…

Part of the Solution

2011-03-21T00:24:00.000-05:00

if you are reading then you’ve likely seen me reference Part of the Solution, the missional arm of the Masterpiece Conference. many of you prayed for the college girls attending, the nations being impacted through them & even for me as i pressed into Jesus during this season of life. some have asked to see pictures & hear updates. grab the pop corn and be amazed.

amazed at the desperation, the depravity

how little we know, really know, what it means to suffer

i mean really suffer

and by “we” i am speaking of me… sucking down a starbucks venti, pecking letters on a laptop in a bed three times my size.

just hang with me…keep reading. you will be amazed.

at His heart for his people, all people. every nation, tribe & tongue.

amazed at His holy work in the world… in the lives of the oppressed

the most needy of the needy.

amazed at how He is calling ordinary people to participate in His extraordinary plan.

ordinary people who want to touch eternity…. people who are touching eternity.

the entrance of Part of the Solution - “Touch Eternity”

a little back story… Masterpiece is a ministry of Breakaway, a college bible study at Texas A&M. last i know of, 7,000 plus college students attend on a regular basis. i am one of thousands before and behind me whose life was changed through Breakaway.

fresh out of high school, jamie and i carpooled every tuesday night… getting there in just enough time to squeeze onto the balcony. hanging on every word and on the edge of our seats.

our debrief sessions lasting hours and ending with more questions than answers..all the while God increasing our faith, drawing us closer to Himself.

(jamie, if you’re reading this i owe you a phone call! missyouandloveyou-okaybye!)

over a decade later, a new director named ben. follow me closely, this gets confusing… ben’s sister, mandy, was and still is one of my favorite people. the kind of people that God uses to shape your life… to speak words of redemption over you without even meaning to. you know the kind.

i hope you do.

so mandy was in our wedding almost 9 years ago. (she & her husband are missionaries in Madagascar now & have two little ones.) click here if you want to learn more about how they are touching eternity!

flash forward…mandy’s brother ben leads breakaway and his wife, donna, is the director of Masterpiece/ Part of the Solution. she also leads worship and is an incredibly gifted artist. if you don’t already have her albums get one. get them all. i promise you will thank me later. so God gave donna the vision for Masterpiece and somewhere in that vision He included marci & i.

rabbit trail: just to confuse you further, marci’s husband, trey, works at Grace with ryan and they are in a secret club. well, it’s not so secret but they do do have a name for their accountability group. i will refrain from sharing it here… not because it’s obscene but because i’m still in trouble for posting our tacky sweater christmas photos from 2009! you’re welcome, trey.

by now you know this is going to be a long post but my nickname wasn’t motor mouth for nothin.

motoring on… i love these two women and am grateful to have served alongside them. we were friends before Masterpiece but i know their hearts in a much deeper, sweeter way as a result of working with them. they know & believe that He is the Solution and they invest their lives in eternity.

it took many many more people to pull off Part of the Solution…too many to name. but we could not have done it without the men & women who turned out to move furniture, build sets, hang signs, drill dozens of pallets together & a million things more. you might have been one of the lucky recipients of my desperate emails asking for manpower, tools or random materials. see pictures below to know why i was asking for your trash.

before i dive in, you will want to pause the “90s greatest hits if you were a foxy playlist” on my right side bar (toward the top of the page). another inside joke that will have a few people rolling- others rolling their eyes. never mind me.

music paused- and we’re off!

we designed a physical space where girls could be a part of what God is doing in the world. i encourage you to click on the links in this email to learn more about the ministries that help bring Hope & Healing to hurting people.

even if you have to pop in a few times, please come back to read about the amazing work going on in the world & how you can pray, give or even GO!!!

the Part of The Solution entrance included a market place highlighting Into the Streets of Ethiopia and Sseko Sandals.

Into the Street’s goal is to tackle poverty and loneliness in Ethiopia one child at a time. All donations support their basic needs, including formula for orphanages as well as educational programs & materials. Click on this button to learn more.

Sseko Sandals is an amazing ministry changing the lives of young women in Uganda.

(the sandals are also the coolest ever- see picture below on the top/left)

Sseko \say-ko\ Designs was created to help women continue their education. The Ugandan school system is designed with a nine month gap between secondary school and university. These nine months are intended to allow time for students to earn money for tuition before continuing on to university. However, in an impoverished and male dominated society, many of these young women struggle to find fair work during this time.

Sseko Designs hires recent secondary school graduates for this nine month period to live and work together, while earning money that will go directly towards their university education. These women will not make sandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war.

so check out Sseko sandals…maybe even sport a pair this summer.

testing 1,2 …is this thing on?

i hope you’re still with me because what’s next will make your head spin and your heart break. that’s because we are talking about As Our Own.

No girl dreams of a future as a slave laborer, forced to work in organized begging or the sex trade. But this is the horrific reality for millions of young girls caught in the poverty cycle throughout India. As Our Own has seen the plight of these children firsthand and is actively rescuing them out of treacherous situations and welcoming them into their care where they are loved and nurtured “as our own” children.

donna had the incredible vision for the As Our Own booth- it’s hard to use the word incredible when describing a brothel but what you are about to learn is incredible. incredibly tragic.

and don’t be fooled by the smiles on these precious girl’s faces. they serve with As Our Own and were helping to get the booth ready.

pay close attention to the statistics written inside the walls of the brothel.

i cannot begin to fathom these numbers. sweet Jesus move my thoughts heavenward as i go about my white, middle class day - strapping on nikes, sipping iced lattes & googling the latest-greatest-party blogs. give us eyes to see the hurting and hearts to put love in motion.

these are pictures and prayer requests of girls that have already been rescued.

do you see it, we can touch eternity? let us not grow weary in doing good!

we provided journals for girls to write in… to be sent to the children & young women in India. the college women also had the opportunity to paint pictures.

i have updated this post to add a few pics, courtesy of black tag photography. thanks, julia!

we also had a henna booth which was always full!

henna pictures from julia at black tag photography

next up is Living Water.

Unlike war and terrorism, the global water crisis does not make media headlines, despite the fact that it claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns. Unlike natural disasters, it does not rally concerted international action, despite the fact that more people die each year from drinking dirty water than from the world’s hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes combined.

This is a silent crisis experienced by the poor, and tolerated by those with the resources, technology, and the political power to end it. Yet this is a crisis that is holding back human progress, consigning large segments of humanity to lives of poverty, vulnerability, and insecurity.

Living Water International, is addressing this most basic of needs by helping deprived communities acquire safe, clean water. Our goal is to substantially ease the global water crisis while addressing root causes such as injustice, oppression, and abject poverty. As this happens, communities and worldviews are transformed—both among those in desperate physical need, and among those who have been blessed with much.

(if you have not already done so pause the music on the right side bar).

here was our booth for living water

girls had the option of going on a water walk. what do you mean, waterwalk? well you see those HUGE yellow jugs of water? imagine carrying one in each hand and walking.

for miles

well, our water walk was a short loop outside and then back again but you get the point.

so glad you are still with me. or that you came back to keep learning & asking how you might get involved.

many of you have heard about Compassion International but may not know much about the Bite Back Campaign. this campaign helps to provide mosquito nets for people in Sub-Saharan Africa. did you know that 2,000 children die from malaria EVERYDAY?

check out this amazing, mere 2 minute video

the bite back booth included bunk beds/ nets/ sheet rock walls with stats

you’re almost there, i promise.

and are you not more thankful as a result of reading? or maybe, like me you are overwhelmed by the deep suffering i warned you about when i first started this epic post.

can i tell you my hope? i am praying that everyone reading (yes, you) will choose to do something.

anything.

buy water to give water.

provide a $10 net.

pray for young, enslaved women and their children.

we can touch eternity TODAY.

next is Campus Crusade – our sending arm at Part of the Solution. did you know that Crusade has a ministry presence in 191 countries!? girls attending Masterpiece had the opportunity to pray for specific countries on our atlas. i don’t have the final count but many indicated praying about going overseas. Today, nearly one-third of the world's language groups representing 340 million people are still waiting for the Bible in a language that they can understand clearly.

One Verse is a program of The Seed Company that enables you to support local Bible translators as they make God’s message available in the language of their people.

we adopted an isolated people group, the Rutara People. in just 2 days, the women of Masterpiece helped the Rutara people have all of John 15 & 16 translated!

we are on the home stretch, friends.

next is a local ministry called HOPE Pregnancy. HOPE provides resources and support for young women with crisis pregnancies. counseling and parenting classes are also available. did you know HOPE gives away 80 THOUSAND diapers a year?

for their booth we set up a nursery.

the girls filled the crib with donated diapers.

the other half of Part of the Solution was creating a space for the Cup of Hope Coffee House.

our passage for the weekend was from Isaiah 61

for the stage we built a back drop from old corroded tin. and by we i mean the amazing crew of men that worked their tails off while i stood and watched. kidding. sort of.

with the help of a few oh-so-fabulous-girls i painted: “they will be called OAKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, a planting of the LORD that HE MAY BE GLORIFED”.

to tie in our passage we had trees throughout the conference… outside the entrance, on the stage, etc. the color in this pic is off because we were playing with the stage lighting but you can make it out enough i think.

friday night was the coffee house concert with three amazing amazing artists:

jill dezwaan

sarah degroat

erin woods (artists pictures are from black tag photography)

i have blogged before about this album from jill dezwaan, one of my favorites! other artists at the coffee house were sarah degroat…here’s sarah getting a look at her album, Old Moscow, for the very first time!

other Masterpiece musicians were donna stuart,

jourdan johnson

christy nockels

and lizi bailey.

click on their names to learn more or browse music.

during worship, jamie wells worked on this painting. (pic from julia)

she & her husband are phenomenal artists… check out their work here. and do not leave this post without watching them in action. blows me away.

and Masterpiece would not be complete without one of my favorite modes of art, dance! Talitha is Masterpiece’s very own dance company, led by stephanie lee.

pull out the blow horns, we made it!

wheeewww… i was determined to finish this post tonight and it’s officially tomorrow (12:23 am)…far too late to wrap this baby up in a way that pulls everything together. chances are your brain hurts anyway.

so let me just say, i still have a few lamps & a chair that does not belong to me. if you loaned me items and are sitting in the dark or on the ground, shoot me an email! in the mean time they are in safe keeping.

thanks for reading. thanks for praying. thanks for being a PART OF THE SOLUTION.

sweet dreams.

spring break!

2011-03-15T12:03:00.001-05:00

one of the many perks of my new job is keeping a school schedule…which means i am enjoying Spring Break with the fam.

sort of

just hours into a girls weekend celebrating erin’s sweet baby, katherine (due next month) i received a text from ryan.

it went something like this.

and by something like this i quote:

wow. vomit and poopfest 2011!

the rotavirus slipped in just as i slipped out… my super hunky husband left in the piles of every kind of unmentionable.

evidence of his daddy skills.

you’re right- he IS amazing.

and then there is big boy (who slept until 1:45 pm!) if you’re counting, that’s over 16 hours of sleep.

he woke up just in time for his doctor’s appointment, which went well …for those of you who were praying (BIG thanks!)

no dehydration… just a pitiless virus that lasts 3-5 days.

we are slowly on the mend…and this might be just what we needed to steady our lives a bit and slow down. after one of our busiest seasons of life and ministry, there is nothing like being smacked down by sickness. nothing except for the snuggles.

those feverish, my body hurts and i just want my mommy or daddy snuggles.

i’m a big fan.

plus, my toilets are clean for the first time since who knows when.

not such a fan but duty calls right.

back to where i started…here is the single picture i captured of our baby celebration “weekend”. we have 20 plus years of history together so they probably look familiar to you.

(my spring break playlist is in honor of them…and the memories associated with some of these songs… songs we belted… windows down, driving well over the speed limit… long before gas prices were 3.50 a gallon)

and just to prove it…here we are in the EXACT same order…

anna, erin, andrea & alexisthis was Spring Break of our sophomore year at a beach house in galveston…

yep. that’s 17 years ago to the week, folks. we were 16 years old & it’s been 17 years since. if i let myself think long and hard about this i could get mildly depressed.

instead, i’ll embrace the decades full of memories & look forward to many more!

but first i need to go throw in another load of rotavirus laundry.

happy spring break!

Masterpiece is HERE & you don’t want to miss it!

2011-03-03T23:50:00.002-06:00

if you have not already heard about Masterpiece: the women’s college conference… check out this video… (first, you will have to pause the music on the right/middle side bar of the blog)

and there is still time to get registered by clicking here! we have been getting ready for you!! the doors open at 5:30 tomorrow! (march 4th). here is an itty-bitty-sneak-peak.

enjoy special speakers & breakout sessions that meet you where you are in life. the weekend closes with a christy nockels & lizi bailey concert on saturday night.

check out lizi bailey’s Masterpiece video below.

by attending MASTERPIECE you help to rescue girls from sex trafficking in india, build clean water wells in peru, translate the bible for the rutura people, provide hope to young mothers, protect ethiopians from malaria and much more!

we hope to see you tomorrow night!!!

random is all i can come up with

2011-02-26T19:57:00.000-06:00

it’s our first free weekend since before the cotton bowl which means catching up on laundry, grocery shopping & the blog!

this picture is from last may… bath time fun with everything but the kitchen sink. i just ran across it & thought it was too cute to pass up.fast forward 7 months… a simple rocket launcher was a favorite around our house this christmas (thanks, robbin!) & is currently in the middle of our front yard. (sorry, neighbors!) if your wee ones don’t have one, it is SO FUN! …even for the whole family!this new year's eve we headed to Pine Cove family camp. someone anonymously sponsored us to attend for the weekend! if you have not heard about family camp, it is quite the vacation! from the moment you arrive, the counselors swoop in like super-charged super-heroes anticipating the needs of weary parents. buffet lines, they got it. over turned cups of water, they got it. nap time, they got it!

yep. they even had a place you could bring your kiddos to take a nap so you could get time together as husband and wife. we plan to go back as soon as we can!! and a BIG FAT thank you to whoever arranged for us to go to family camp! we are so grateful for that time as a family!

oh, and did i mention the view!?

they had all kinds of activities you could do as a family…

we enjoyed a fire work display over the water, followed by smore’s. such a sweet time together… wrapping up the holidays and launching into a new year!

if this post wasn’t random enough…here are pictures from our snow day a few weeks ago.

that’s all for now… stay tuned to learn more about the greatest college women’s conference!

i heart them

2011-02-12T22:35:00.001-06:00

so what’s all this about Intimate Issues?

2011-02-06T22:56:00.000-06:00

a year ago i was invited to an Intimate Issues conference by a friend and her mom (one of several spiritual mothers God has given to me). when i first heard the title i was confused and a little embarrassed. not enough to keep me from a girly getaway of course. so in typical last minute fashion i threw clothes into a bag and was off for another unforeseen adventure.

little did i know.

so what comes to your mind when you hear the words Intimate Issues? here was my thought process: sex, media, body image…ugh, i miss my pre-mommy belly, confusion, regret, sacred, failure, oneness, shame….confusion.

these might be some of yours...or perhaps others are more familiar to you: pornography, adultery, eating disorder, sexual abuse, abortion, divorce, rape…

just last week i poured over countless of prayer cards…. so many wounded women, intimately acquainted with words too difficult to even speak of.

i can tell you that God gave me a new word last year: FREEDOM.

how He longs for us to live freely, free to receive His love & to experience real intimacy.

i came home and typed up 12 pages of notes in Microsoft Word before distributing them to a list serve of women whom i love! (email me if you want the cliff notes!)

just 9 months later God graciously brought the conference to College Station. around 550 women attended, coming from as far as Pittsburg!

i am so grateful for how God called Linda Dillow, Lorraine Pintus & Nancy Barton Abbott to such a courageous & life-giving ministry.

i am grateful for our GBC women’s director, Carolyn, who has many roles in my life, co-director being among them!

and i am beyond grateful to the team of women that helped to carry this conference out….

if you ever have the opportunity to attend this conference, GO! it will change your life, heart, mind and marriage! and until then you can always read the book. Linda & Lorraine have two brand new books out…just click on their names to learn more!

our little valentines

2011-02-06T16:40:00.001-06:00

i was uploading pictures from the last few months when i had the burning urge to do some digging. so glad that i did! anyone recognize these little love bugs?

i’ve missed you, bloggyland!

2011-01-30T23:06:00.000-06:00

there is something cathartic about the sound of my thoughts tapping against the keyboard. and you know it has been too long when you are greeted by a christmas playlist upon your return.

since my last post: the holidays came and went, i accepted a new job, a new wardrobe and a new dog. last weekend i helped direct a women’s conference, this morning i boarded a plane home from savannah, GA and tonight i watched a lightening storm, built a tent & turned the tiny pages of a dozen other adventures with my 6 foot tall ~~almost-four but hold-on-as-long-as-you-can-~~three year olds.

so there you have it. the abbreviated version.

and a new playlist.

no more humming to the tune of o holy night when you drop in.

drop in again soon. we’ll be here.

yep, even more pumpkins

2010-10-20T21:20:00.001-05:00

pumpkin heads

2010-10-18T22:35:00.001-05:00

pumpkin munchkins

2010-10-17T22:39:00.001-05:00

are you getting tired of pumpkins yet?

2010-10-16T15:36:00.001-05:00

more pumpkin fun

2010-10-15T23:15:00.001-05:00

our lil pumpkins

2010-10-14T22:35:00.001-05:00

just something about kids & pumpkins

2010-10-13T18:50:00.001-05:00

pumpkins – part 1 of who knows how many

2010-10-12T17:06:00.001-05:00

remember when i said there were pumpkins galore? i wasn’t joking. in fact, i took so many pumpkin pictures this weekend that i had a decision to make.

i could either post only a few, so as not to seem like “that mom/blogger/wannabephotographer” or i could throw caution to the wind …because this is after all my life with twins, documented mostly through a memory-making lens.

to avoid having the longest pumpkin patch post in the history of bloggyworld, i will post a few pics a day.

because i can & because, let’s face it- i am that girl.

and because i am convinced the subjects might be the cutest to ever wander through a patch of pumpkins or roll in mounds of hay.

pumpkins galore

2010-10-10T23:16:00.002-05:00

i took the twinks to the dallas arboretum pumpkin festival this morning & was blown away! there were over 40,000 pumpkins, some forming houses you could walk through. i felt like we were in a story book… blooming fall flowers & winding trails at every turn. it was dreamy…and a photographer’s dream also! i have never seen more photo equipment in one location…

here is a little…

braving the fair

2010-10-10T22:26:00.001-05:00

Table Top Truths

2010-10-08T15:27:00.007-05:00

have i got a christmas gift for you! my friends lisa & sara have launched Table Top Truths!

If you mix a ten year friendship of two creative souls, a lot of cutting and pasting and a love for kids and God's Word...what do you get?

Tabletop TRUTHS!

As moms of young and busy kiddos we recognize the challenge of setting aside intentional time to spend together as a family. Our desire is to give you easy tools to incorporate God's Word into your daily routine.
We observed that our toddlers and kids learned colors, shapes, and ABC's from educational place mats and thought "why not Biblical truths?"...the most important things we can impart to our children!!
Tabletop TRUTHS is a collection of durable, colorful place mats designed to be used as a springboard to Biblical knowledge, spiritual growth and great family conversations. Each mat comes with thought-provoking questions, conversation starters and Scripture references to help you teach your children.
Our hope and prayer is that as you use these mats to adorn your tabletops they will also adorn your family's hearts with the truths of Jesus Christ!

We hope you enjoy them!

i love the armor of God, the fruit of the Spirit, the creation account, the gospel... i love them all!!! i love them so much, i kind of went crazy ordering. “how crazy?” you might be asking yourself.

CRAZY!

i have a feeling you might go crazy too… check out this Christmas Story set!

each of these 6 christmas mats will have this on the back.

have fun going bonkers over Table Top Truths! you can also join their FB group by clicking here.

enjoy!

has it really been four years of bear fun?!

2010-10-06T07:20:00.000-05:00

friends+fried food+farm animals = a whole lot of fun

2010-09-11T16:16:00.001-05:00

today we enjoyed our first ever kolache festival. you know you are at a festival in texas when you see this… the twinks favorite part was the petting zoo

especially this precious piggy (sleeping soundly in the last pic)

thankful for sweet moments with cherished friends & family

little AGGIES

2010-09-04T18:23:00.001-05:00

it’s game day in aggieland. whoop!

happy (beyond belated) 3rd birthday.

2010-08-15T15:22:00.002-05:00

on each celebration of their birth i write the twinks a letter. i’ve never been much of a card person. being a woman of far too many words, i figure there isn’t a hallmark on the block that could adequately express what is written on my heart.

aside from that, they are a form of reflection as i pause and give thanks for the previous 365 days of joyful chaos. my prayer is that these letters will also serve as a blessing to davis and berkley in the years ahead…words that will etch deep truths into their hearts over time.

words that remind them that the One who spoke the worlds into being, the One who commands the sun to rise & fall, that same One has uniquely formed them, as a display of His splendor.

the day will come… that dreaded day they will measure themselves against one another, against their peers, struggling to see themselves through the eyes of their Maker. struggling to believe they were created in His image, fully accepted in the Beloved.

aren’t we all victims of comparison, robbed of the joy that is ours when we know, really know, Whose hands have touched us.

if you know our children you know that they are different… gloriously different.

from the moment they drew first breaths… one cried… a piercing, shrill scream resembling less of a human and more of a wild feline. the other was silently whisked away for oxygen. one was near impossible to soothe, the other easily preoccupied by whatever was in their limited field of vision.

these letters are a celebration of the glorious differences that testify to a Creative God…a God that takes great delight in the work of His hands.

a God that delights in you, davis & berkley.

davis… small in stature, mighty in spirit. your tiny legs propel you, effortlessly bounding off any surface in your path. if it is out of reach, then it is yours to be conquered. nothing is too out of reach for you. how you crave adventure. fresh out of my womb, you forwent sleep…preferring to discover something, anything… to hold it in your gaze & take it in.

recently you began grabbing my hand to lead me to your world of discoveries. “look mommy, let me show you something! do you want to see?”

you see life with eyes wide open. i love that you do not miss any of it. a butterfly flapping his wings on the window pane. streaks of jet fuel drawing white lines on blue canvas. you take pleasure in things old eyes have grown dull to.

davis, you are a force to be reckoned with & your stubbornness is half your charm. you know what you want & how you want it. not that way, mommy, this way. and there is always a right way with you. something i know nothing about. (insert sarcasm here). i actually see so much of myself in you.

you feel deeply, tender to the bone. i can hardly stand to watch you cry without wanting to join in with you. sorrow melts every inch of your face before melting mommy’s heart. i never knew eyes & ears could frown until meeting you. i love your tenderness & pray you always feel deeply…the kind of feeling that connects you to the heart of God. His heart for people, His heart for the hurting.

and for as much as you feel, you giggle… the kind of joy that creeps up your throat & slips between a sheepish boy-grin. unexpected & hearty…& always infectious.

davis, you are the apple of my eye, the boy after my heart. i love that God chose me to be your mommy.

berkley… i’m convinced your heart is twice the size of the average person. your generosity astounds us daily. just this month i told your daddy you might be the kindest person that i know…& you just happen to be three.

you commonly set yourself aside to meet the needs or wants of others. if someone is without, you joyfully open your hand. you delight in giving, in loving.

we have had to convince you to hold onto your toys, snacks, etc. in an effort to teach important social skills to others.

“berkley, you can keep the toy right now…”

“but i want for him to have it”, you retort.

“he’s my bra-der & i love him.”

“here you go, bubba… i love you. you are my friend.”

speaking of friends, you have never met a stranger. just this week you waved at a middle-aged woman drinking coffee at starbucks.

“she’s my friend, mommy! i love her. bye-bye, friend!” you exclaimed with an energetic wave.

your love crosses social boundaries. you do not see age, color or economic status as a condition for love & acceptance. you extend yourself freely.

and in doing so, you challenge me to entertain angels.

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. hebrews 13:2

your smile can light up a room & lights up our hearts. just another way you give… a physical expression of what is deep in your being, the love that you hold there.

and your laugh - less of a giggle, more of a growl. wild & unrestrained…it fills the room & forces us to take notice

you are generous & full of joy… as much as you are bright. you are a student of life… recording information, conversations, experiences…often to our dismay & conviction. like the day i was parked at a red stop light.

from the back seat you exclaimed, “Go, dude! The light is green.”

a student of life, all right

you love life, my little party girl…

every day we pick you up from the church nursery or school goes something like this:

“Mommy/Daddy!!!!”

“i LOVE you!!!”

“where are we going next??!!” (with an irresistible smile)

you are always ready for the next gathering, the next encounter, the next opportunity.

berkley, my sweet one, you are a treasure… extending blessings at every turn. i am rich from mothering you.

davis & berkley…as the days pass like shadows, your toddlerhood slips further away & i see the young people you are becoming… the unique qualities that distinguish you from one another, from every other little person that bears His glory.

as you grow into the people God has called you to be, may you never define yourself by another’s estimation of you. you will always be too much & never enough all at the same time. my prayer is that you would instead receive value from the One Whose hands have touched you. He has gloriously formed you. He takes great delight in you & in Him there is fullness of joy.

The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

we love & rejoice over you. happy belated birthday davis & berkley.

scattering seeds

2010-08-08T17:56:00.003-05:00

our church hosted VBS (vacation bible school) this week, which has had me thinking…calling to mind my first memories & thoughts toward God. i remember sitting on quiet pews, the smell of incense, eyes passing over frail ribs made of bronze…who was this mysterious man of suffering? even then, He was there, captivating some small piece of my child-sized heart. isn’t it interesting how often Jesus warns against hindering children from coming to him, for theirs is the kingdom of God. He was not bothered by their presence, inconvenienced by their noise or activity level. He was never too busy, miracles and all, to take them in His arms & bless them. (that’s a whole other ~~soapbox~~ blog post).

beyond that, we are to be like them…receiving this Jesus Kingdom in simple, child-like faith.

just this week berkley was scared of the dark so i assured her that mommy & daddy would keep her safe. “and Jesus will keep me safe, mommy. I can’t see Him, but Jesus keeps me safe.”

child-like faith

if only we could shed our grown-up skin

let me stop here and say that in no way am i responsible for berkley’s heart-warming response. touched and humbled, but not responsible. what i am responsible for is scattering the seeds.

like you, i have read my share of perfect blogs, written by the perfect mother, cook, party planner, photographer, teacher, home-schooler, house-keeper, you name it. i have even pretended to be her.

the blogosphere is the perfect world of recipes & funny kid-stories. don’t get me wrong…i am not judging it, as i am an active citizen. but in no way do i want to perpetuate the fallacy. i do have a great life, but it isn’t perfect. if i were completely honest i would tell you that i yelled at my kids, was contentious with my husband & have felt a deep sense of despair…and that was all just this weekend. but what fun is it reading about the brokenness of real life? and so sometimes we pretend.

and post cute pictures.

and sometimes that’s the best we can do.

just the other day i had a great conversation with someone i deeply admire. she spoke about spiritual determinism as it relates to parenting… if we just do all the right things, then my child will (fill in the blank). today i came across this article, the myth of the perfect parent which speaks on this belief.

so, wise woman that she is, she said something… one of those things that sticks to your heart & remains, sure to be drawn out by God at some later date.

in reference to her dreams & fears concerning her children and their future she said, “the best case scenario is just as much a lie as the worst case scenario”.

it is not for us to know or determine. it is not for us to continue believing this myth of the perfect parent.

what is for us is to repent & return to His rest…

Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says: "Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit,
this sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly, in an instant.
It will break in pieces like pottery, shattered so mercilessly that among its pieces not a fragment will be found for taking coals from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern."
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” isaiah 30:12-15

what is for us is to scatter the seeds

"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." luke 8

what is for us is to live & parent by faith

child-like faith

even when we don’t know how the seeds will be received.

1 Corinthians 3:6-7 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

i have a great life

2010-08-03T16:35:00.001-05:00

might just be the cutest 1st hair cut ever

2010-08-02T01:31:00.001-05:00

View Full Album

though not his first, little d got his hair lopped off too.

before…

during…

View Full Album

after…

my new bff: windows live writer

2010-08-01T16:42:00.005-05:00

okay, so maybe that’s a bit exaggerative considering we are newly acquainted. my sweet friend, tyne, introduced me to WLW many months ago & i was giddy at the possibilities…drop & drag picture uploads, easy-peezy edits, & time saving shortcuts right at my eager fingertips. wasting not a minute more, i clicked download & waited in anticipation. and waited…

and waited….

dozens of ERROR messages later, i gave up & crowned myself the queen of bloggy dropouts.

let’s just say it has taken a few months, a handful of inquiring readers & an embarrassingly simple google search to resolve the problem & get me on my bloggy way. AGAIN.

yah, yah, yah… we've heard this before… it’s been a busy season, you are determined to update more often, more coming soon… “blah blah blog” as my close (super-funny-somewhat-anti-blogging) friend might say. so instead of high hopes or false promises you get this…. a snapshot of our summer.

enjoy… it may or may not be a while before i pop back in. in the mean time i will be getting to know my new best friend over an iced caramel macchiato.

**you will need to pause the music on the right side bar before playing the slide show**

4 weddings, a birthday party and a dose of groveling

2010-06-01T13:37:00.000-05:00

i'm here to say that it's official...

first, and most obvious... i'm a blogger dropout. i have successfully managed to miss an entire season in blogland. a combination of my addiction to facebook & an unusually busy spring are to blame. those are my excuses anyway. the good news is that i am out of excuses since i am on SUMMER VACATION. yep, that too is official! look for more poehl updates coming your way.

in an effort to summarize our spring semester from where i last left off...
2 funerals, 4 weddings- one of which ryan officiated, another of which he was the best man... (which also made for 2 different bachelor/ bachelorette weekends), 2 youth impact fundraisers, several out of town trips to visit friends & family... you get the point. all the while watching 2 toddlers grow in inches & personality!

here is a pic of ryan officiating ryan & kate's wedding (we love you, mr. & mrs. aubuchon)

a few random facts about the twinks...
both are out of pull ups at bedtime which makes our hearts & wallets sing
both are recognizing most letters & some sounds (which has absolutely nothing to do with me). special thanks to ms. canary!
an especially random fact...both are obsessed with Toy Story which makes the upcoming movie an extra exciting event.. especially since we have yet to go to the movie theater! and last but not least....

they are JUST ONE WEEK AWAY from turning THREE!

we will be having a candy land themed birthday party. i love candy & i especially love a good party so i thought it was the perfect way to celebrate! and i'm pretty sure they won't mind mommy picking the theme this year. candyland, here we come!!!

stay tuned for more!!

psalm 116

2010-03-01T16:47:00.007-06:00

i have been loving Jill Dezwaan’s new album, Coming Home
…particularly touched by her song Psalm 116

Gracious and Righteous, Compassionate
Merciful Savior, mine
I love Thee for hearing my sorrow and fear.
I love Thee for saving my life.
Whenever I wonder, or when I stray
Love that alloweth me pain
Shepherd King and Holy Fire
I cling to thy Promised Grace
To rescue my soul from death
my eyes from tears
and my feet from stumbling
I will walk in the land of the living
Return to thy rest oh my soul;
Be at peace within me
O my soul

Though all be false yet Thou are Truth
Rescuing, Saving Still
The proud cannot know it
in simplicity You show
the Freedom found only in Your will
what sacrifice could ever repay
blessings ten thousand mine
Lead me to repent, lest I should forget
To sing praise to thy name all my life

For you have rescued my soul from death,
my eyes from tears
and my feet from stumbling
I will walk in the land of the living
Return to thy rest oh my soul

He has have rescued my soul from death,
my eyes from tears
and my feet from stumbling
I will walk in the land of the living
Return to thy rest oh my soul
Be at peace within me
O my soul
Return to thy rest

so much death & suffering…countless of friends presently grieving the loss of close family members: fathers, mothers, husbands and young children

i am alarmed and comforted all at once. death awaits us. confronted with the reality... i will not escape physical death, nor will my loved ones.

but I have a Merciful Savior who has rescued my soul from death. He sets my feet in the land of the living & returns my soul to rest. truly He has dealt bountifully with me. with us.

grateful for this word from my sweet friend, tyne…
“…he took a last breath, and then he rode on angel wings to stand before the throne of God. Those of us who loved him prayed him over the Great Divide, both jealous and devastated as we stay behind.
Frederick Buechner calls people of God "connoisseurs of sorrow," for we are alive through the depth of Christ's suffering borne out of love for us. Today and for the foreseeable future, we wrap sadness around like a cloak. At the very same time, we are people of hope. Christ came to bring eternal life of abundant delight. To this promise we cling. O death, where is thy sting? Seems like everywhere we look at this moment. But a new tomorrow will dawn in which there is no sorrow or crying. For that day we wait.” Joni Powers (tyne’s aunt)

1 Corinthians 15: 52-55
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable will put on the imperishable, and this mortal will put on immortality. ..then will come about the saying that is written, "death is swallowed up in victory. "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"

i love this sermon quote by D.L Moody…
"Someday you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of Northfield is dead. Don't you believe a word of it. At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now… I was born in the flesh in 1837; I was born of the Spirit in 1856. That which is born of the flesh may die; that which is born of the Spirit will live forever.”

praying the comfort of Psalm 116 for all who weep & stumble today.

I love the LORD, because He hears my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live. The cords of death encompassed me and the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the LORD: "O LORD, I beseech You, save my life!" Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate. The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. For You have rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. I shall walk before the LORD In the land of the living. I believed when I said, "I am greatly afflicted." What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me? I shall lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the LORD. Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones. To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the LORD.
Psalm 116

Read Across America Day

2010-03-01T13:15:00.008-06:00

did you know that tomorrow is the national read across america day? NEA's Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss.
(dr. seuss happens to be the new theme of the twinks big kid room too!)

reading to your child is one of the most effective way of building the “language” neural connections in their growing brains.

a certain study compared two groups of eight months old – one group was read to often as babies, while the other was not. it was shown that those who were read to have their “receptive” vocabularies (number of words they understand) increased 40% since babyhood, while the non-reading group increased by only 16%.

if you are reading this blog entry, chances are this is old hat. in that case, be encouraged by some of the benefits your child is reaping from your commitment to read with them!

• pre-school children who are exposed to language by hearing words that are read to him and in conversation tend to do well in school.
• reading to your child promotes a longer attention span & increases focus ability
• it builds listening skills and imagination.
• reading helps with bonding, giving your child a sense of intimacy and well-being.
• fosters a positive attitude towards reading as they grow.
• increases communication skills.
• helps teach concepts such as letters, words, colors, shapes, etc.

best of all, reading with your child is fun!

just a few weeks ago we pulled the twinks mattresses to the floor & had a book camp out. enjoy the videos... (you will need to pause the music on the sidebar to hear)

thing 1 and thing 2, fast asleep!

happy national day of reading to you & your sweet ones!

decade at a glance

2010-01-31T22:04:00.034-06:00

today being the eve of February inspires me to finish this post... a reflection over the last 10 years. facebook recently had WAYBACK WEEK, encouraging millions of members to post pictures from way back when. i blew the dust off my old shoe boxes, pulled out the scanner and poured over the memories.

i am so thankful for the people & events, the joys & heartaches that have been a part of God's story of my life.

so many pictures
the little girl who made imaginary friends, whose daddy was her hero, who prayed "the Lord her soul to keep" on her pillow each night.

the awkward tween
4-feet-nothing, whose highest hope was to fit in, and maybe even a training bra.

the typical teenager
talking all about nothing, laughing with best friends & crying over boyfriends.

how clearly i see Him now. He was there all along...
sovereignly drawing, shaping & working all things out for good.

and it is still so...

Creator God bends down low
hears our hearts
counts our tears
beckons our gaze
governs all things

Act 17:27 he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

here is a look back over the last 10 years...
the times & places He set before me
my pivotal 20s, some of the greatest years yet...

newyears eve 1999 (also known as Y2K)
my best friend jamie & i talked ourselves out of our pajama pants & over to renee's house for a wild and crazy night of....

BUNKO!

we enjoyed the turn of the century with some of our beloved GBC friends & staff.

that same year i served on staff for Youth Impact (formerly known as Mission). there was this guy named ryan

or was it kyle?

i wasn't quite sure.
i'd met him the year before in 1998 & although his genuine care for others was impressive, our circles didn't yet cross.

he happened to join the leadership team during my second year on staff.

his integrity & matchless sense of humor caught my eye
(or was it his rugged good looks?)

staff retreat- january 2000

and so began the longest crush of my life
i remember asking a good friend if she thought i was in love with him.

she gently reminded me that we were not even dating... so no- probably not.

our friendship grew over the next year...along with my affection & resulting confusion.

september 2000
the long awaited DTR (defining the relationship) talk.
this is a picture of the sunset the Lord gave me that night...
i'm convinced it was just for me. the beginning of the greatest love story.
ours.

turns out he liked me too & decided to tell me so.

we continued serving in Youth Impact ... ryan eventually becoming the student director.

breanna, essence & monica

december 2000
my dad gave me a wonderful gift...
the coolest dog that ever lived
or at least the best to ever chase imaginary squirrels.
sweetest trooper.

ryan loved him too...which was a good thing since he would eventually inherit him.

ryan helping trooper & the roomies move houses that spring

aggie ring dance

summer 2001
i spent several months in namibia, africa
i learned a lot that summer

that God is not american
that He works in inconceivable ways
ways i will never wrap my mind around
that His heart is for the nations & He is drawing them to Himself
that the poor of this world are often rich in faith,
having nothing, yet possessing everything
that it is a joy & privilege to be the feet that bring good news

fall 2001
i started my grown up life... my first year of teaching
i learned a lot that year too...
mostly that teachers are much more than teachers
they are often parents, counselors, nurses, nutritionists, & custodians - to name only a few

february 9, 2002
a homemade book of journal entries, thoughtfully bound together with love
the last page changing my life forever
will you marry me?

i said yes.
sort of

only after...
"what in the world!"
"NO WAY!"
"are you serious?"

... yes!

our engagement party

pictured here with 2 of my closest friends (also my roomies at the time)

july 13, 2002
the day i married my best friend...
who just happens to make me laugh harder & love deeper than anyone i've ever known.

honeymoon lovebirds

summer 2002
we moved to austin & lived on love. you think i'm joking.
ryan sold long term health insurance & vowed to quit the day he became a salesman. turns out he was good at making elderly friends...
not so good at making sales.
i taught at a private pre-k.
turns out i was good at teaching children...
not so good at teaching 2 year olds. or at least not changing their many diapers. (who's laughing now).
hmmmm...could this experience have been a subconscious motivation to my potty training the twinks so early?
just a thought

later that spring
we got the phone call that would change the course of our life. i remember it well.
would ryan be interested in coming back to work at Grace Bible Church?

the phone receiver shoved between both of our ears.
we replayed the message while jumping up and down in our small apartment kitchen. literally.
two grown people jumping like little league all-stars.

april 2003
we made our way back home: college station, texas
(yes, you can whoop)

ryan began working full time as the director of youth impact

i landed my dream job working for Head Start in College Station ISD

Creator God
bending low
meeting our needs
setting the places & times before us

august 2003
we bought our first home... a Divine provision

the next several years were spent growing in marriage

growing in ministry
growing more open to motherhood

you see i had a plan. i always do.

my plan was to be unplanned...
one day i would just be pregnant.
at first i would probably think, "oh, crap"
but then i'd have no choice but to get ready.

who needed a plan... it would just happen.
conveniently some day in march of course.
just in time for the perfect teacher maternity leave.
i made sure to mark my calendar to be sure.

a diagnosis, dozens of injections & over a year later

there He was again, appointing the time set before me

july 2006
ryan & i were celebrating our 4th year of marriage in a hill country hideaway when we made this discovery

one month later
our first ultrasound
no heartbeat
our doctor remained hopeful, like any good doctor should

another week passed
another ultrasound
talk of a d&c

it was a grief like no other.
the hospital wall held me up on one side, ryan on the other.
driving slowly home,
carefully navigating through the flood of tears.
we climbed in bed & wept that afternoon.
loss upon loss, sorrow upon sorrow.

and yet we did not grieve as those who are without hope...

God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

He was not far at all

just one month later we pressed on, resuming treatment.

October 31st, 2006
i forced deep breaths into my lungs.
ryan held my hand & prayed as i lay waiting.
all i wanted was to see a heartbeat this time.
and there it was.

and there was the the other.

it's a boy

and a girl

it took me 9 months to fully realize there were 2 heartbeats that day.

in many ways i am still in awe & wonder.

we have a Mighty God

preparing the nursery for two

april 2007
i went into pre-term labor & was rushed to Temple hospital where i was put on bedrest.

God, full of mercy, sustained life in my womb for two additional months. those weeks were spent at home in bed...a gift of time, though i didn't know it then.

during that time i was voted teacher of the year.
an incredibly humbling honor i did not deserve, but am deeply grateful for.

i never understood why miss america cried until that moment.
not that i equate myself with miss america in any way, shape or form. certainly not in these pictures.

pictured here with our superintendent, dr. eddie coulson

i wobbled out of bed to the ceremony... my size of great concern to several onlookers.
who could blame them? i was the size of a small tractor.

just weeks later...
june 7, 2007
davis ryan & berkley grace entered the world & changed everything

we have discovered more love & more of God than we could have ever imagined

november 2007
another season of loss...
granny (ryan's grandma) passed away. she was a woman of grace & dignity. she loved her family well. she is a hero for many & we are thankful for her legacy.

christmas day 2007
one month later first birthday

june 2008

august 2008
we had no intention of buying, selling & moving that summer
(especially not in that order)
yet another Divine provision

this is the first picture i could find... in case you are confused by the snow

april 2009
jamies wedding & marriage to zachary stevens
our friendship started somewhere around the beginning of this post...
just two young girls with big dreams.
their times & places would intersect for decades to come.
thanks be to God.

this "glance" over the decade is suddenly a long, hard stare & i am breaking curfew. thankfully, i have a fairly strong recollection of the last 2 years so do not feel guilty neglecting to remember them in this post.

so i will end with these... our recent family photos.
for the two people still reading.

i am so thankful to God for appointing my times & directing my steps, however stubbornly i resist them.
i'm looking forward to discovering more of Him this next decade.

so much to say...

2010-01-08T14:01:00.005-06:00

so little time

will catch up soon but for now we're hitting the road for the weekend. until then...wishing you warmth & rest!

a little teaser

2009-12-17T16:35:00.008-06:00

my gracious friend, brittany, took our christmas pics yesterday.

isn't she great!!?
and the picture we chose isn't even posted. oh, the suspense. more coming soon.

BIG FAT thanks to you, brittany!
i love, love, love them.

multitude monday (belated)

2009-12-15T13:55:00.009-06:00

just yesterday i thought...

it's monday. oh, monday. the last monday before christmas break, monday. a much too busy monday...

there are presents to buy, errands to run, cookies to bake, gifts to make...
i'm much too busy.

and then...
that still, small voice

too busy to give thanks?

so i silence the noise
stop the frantic running
the list making

and i count His graces...
because there is always enough time to count

Lord, make me willing.
grow in me a grateful heart.

0101... for sticker art

0102- 0103... enjoying hayrides & christmas lights with friends

0104... baking christmas cookies

0105... our beautifully mirrored advent calendar...
even if it is numbered 6,7,8,14,10,11,12,13,19,15...
(yep, take a looky)

0106...a visit from dear friends, micah & michelle.
they are missionaries, home for their first furlow in 4 years.
we enjoyed exploring some of our old stomping grounds at Texas A&M...
the booty (halbouty), sweets (sweet eugines), the pershing house & more!

the greeting crew

0107...making new friends

0108...and developing new crushes

0109...for pink princess wands

0110...piling sticky children into sudsy tubs

0111...that neither time, nor distance can tarnish certain friendships

0112...for davis's prayer ...

God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.

repeat 10 more times.

this is especially funny if you know little man's neurotic tendencies.

which leads me to 0113...
buried faces into praying palms in an effort to restrain laughter

0114...that children are not as simple minded as we might think

translation for all who read/ write above a 3rd grade level...

Christmas is not all about candy canes, presents or santa.
It is about the little baby that was born, Jesus.
Without him there won’t be any Christmas.
Some people say he came down from up above to die for us.
He is the King of all kings.

from the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise. (Psalm 8.2)

have you started counting yet?

God gestates

2009-12-09T13:25:00.006-06:00

For nine long months, Divinity hovers over the waters of the womb, divides His own cells and pulls on skin.

A girl gently rubs her swelling abdomen.

She waits.
She prays.
She stretches.

God stirs within.

He moves her.

Then He who fills all space can no longer be contained and He lets go of the walls of her uterus, slides into air of this world. Does she weep when the umbilical cord is cut?

Christmas comes like Christ: in the wait of gestation.

The celebration of the Child doesn't begin the day of the birth. We celebrate the Child from the moment we become conscious of His presence.

walking with Him this wednesday...
considering how we will spend these next days, how we might give to the least of these this year.
click on the button below to read more...

multitude monday

2009-12-07T16:39:00.003-06:00

gratitude grows
... click on the icon above to grow with me...

0078... some of our youth impact students caroling at our house

0079...berkley & davis hearing the good news of Great Joy...luke 2:10

0080...preparing our hearts & home for worship

0081...little fingers passing over treasured ornaments.

0082...that ornaments hold a story... some rich with memories

0083...my brave husband who practically repelled the rooftop & risked his life, thereby perfecting the art of light stringing

0084...for Ace Hardware, the only store in town with white C-9 bulbs!

0085...baby greyson's little life

0086...his mommy & daddy
0087...their boys, whose names are frequently requested at our house

0088...smash cakes & how 1-year-olds are unsure what to do with them

0089...first encounters with santa

until now i have avoided the obligatory first santa trip (and resulting horrified photographs)

check out berkley's expression. davis wouldn't come close...jackson was a comforting substitute.

0090-0091...decorating cookies & licking utensils

0092...peppermint kisses

0093-0094... nature walks & signs of the season

0095...children in search of the perfect tree

0096...the magic of discovering one

0097... and "cutting it down"

0098...that they will never know it was really from Walmart

0099...taking joy in the simple

0100...the twink's half birthday today. i cannot believe how quickly they're making their way to three!

will you count with me this season?

for this reason...

2009-12-02T13:20:00.002-06:00

‘for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world…’ ~Jn. 18:37

What if Christmas focused on Christ’s very own words regarding His birth

That He was born for a reason, came into the world for a cause and it has to do with a tree, one decorated with Love, wrapped in Sacrifice, strung up with the Light of Word, nailed through with Grace.

That Advent is all about blood and the lamb in the manger bleating not a sound as He is sacrificed on the Tree.

what advent is really about

get ready

2009-12-01T15:14:00.001-06:00

2 weeks & counting...

check out the tour of homes & join me in the fun

a full heart

2009-12-01T13:37:00.004-06:00

multitude monday

2009-11-30T13:19:00.019-06:00

my heart swells...

0056...Advent is here. the time of expectant waiting, anticipation, preparation.

a season of reflection & celebration...
of the first advent - birth of the Savior child. when God became flesh, that mankind could be redeemed.

Emmanuel, God with us.

and just as the Israelites waited expectantly for deliverance from oppression, all of creation now awaits it's redemption, the second advent of Christ (Romans 8:18-25).

we long
we wait
we prepare

truly He has set eternity in our hearts - a deep, quiet longing.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

do i hear it?
or is there too much noise in my life?

what am i longing for today?
may it be Him - Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

adding up His graces...

0057... time with family

0058...the way they love

0059...my friend, sarah's, portable dvd player which saved us from multiple migraines & speeding tickets

0060...Finding Nemo (even after 5 consecutive runnings)

0061... mimi's green beans

0062... enjoying time on papa's boat

0063...the twinks first fishing poles (thanks aunt net)

0064...their first catches

0065-0066...curling up with berkley at nap time & that she slept much longer because of it

0067...eating pie for breakfast

0068...watching perched pelicans take flight

0069...fried shrimp & oysters at charlotte plummers
(notice how much i love food)

0070...our family babysitting so that ryan & i could enjoy said meal

0071...the ocean & it's vastness

0072...God-talkin skies

0073...throwing rocks into water

0074...window shopping

0075..picking up where i left off in a book i started last year.
Eclipse. there. i said it.

0076..decorating my classroom for christmas today

0077...playlist.com making my new christmas playslist & your enjoyment of it possible

what are you longing for?
will you join me in the journey to a thankful heart?

until next monday

a house divided

2009-11-26T20:52:00.003-06:00

papa up to no good

no worries

that's right, berk. horns down.

gig em, aggies

never too soon to indoctrinate em!

just one of the girls

2009-11-24T13:38:00.004-06:00

berkley joined me at school today, a mommy-daughter day of sorts. from start to finish, she was just one of the girls. on more than one occasion i forgot she was in the classroom!

being greeted with kisses while enjoying breakfast in her jammies

her girl friend for the day... gently wiping her face during meal time

helping to deliver thankful gifts to the office staff

fun on the playground

lunch with my assistant

getting her hand painted

i loved having her in our school family for the day!

can't stop counting

2009-11-24T13:33:00.002-06:00

0050... wagon rides at sunset

0051-0052... our neighborhood playground & the shrieking of "wees" that result

0053-0054...wide open spaces & quietly spying on it's inhabitants

0055...watching favorite people enjoy one another

thankful,

multitude monday

2009-11-23T13:10:00.012-06:00

thank you, ann voskamp, for encouraging me to look closely, intently...to not miss the Giver in my midst. in the chaos & in the quiet - His gifts are innumerable.

ryan and i have seen Provision like never before. sparing the details, we have been moved to give attention to our spending. it has required sacrifice (Target trips & grande lattes) & exercised disciplines that have been lacking. what initially felt burdensome has been a sweet form of worship.

truly, He is the Giver of every perfect gift. and He continues to give generously despite our foolishness. $12 stuffed in a jean pocket or a meal from a friend. every day, something unexpected - something undeserved...

had we seen Him this clearly before?

He was there all along. supplying for our needs, giving of Himself.

give us new eyes to see Your graces.

still counting:
this week i'm thankful for ...

0029...time with jamie and her husband, zach.

it is especially precious during this season. distance & the demands of life make it more difficult to steal away... but not impossible.

0030-0032... for midnight talks and laughing until we cry. may we always make time for both. thank you, Lord, for treasured friends to grow old with.

0033-0034... that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus & that we have been set free...romans 8:1

0035... for refuge from the cold & damp when little people & their mommies grow weary of home ( mall playgrounds - even if they are infested with every bacteria known to man)

0036...my student teacher, ms. vicki, who completed her placement with us last week. we love you, ms. vicki & will remember you!

0037...that no one cares how many pies you make when it's in the name of thanksgiving

0038...for people that enjoy doing dishes more than i do

0039...for our youth impact volunteers who give limitless amounts of time, service & love to the youth & their families.

0040...for the staff & their encouragement & support of ryan & his ministry.

staff girls reading thankful cards to the guys

0041-0043...for a visit from my mom - lasanga dinners, shopping sprees & putting a dent in mounds of laundry

0044...for the generosity of Texas Roadhouse, who provided meals for a field trip

0045-0046... for turkeys.. the kind you eat & the ones who helped me cook one

0047-0048... for the twinks school, who provided a wonderful thanksgiving meal - complete with adorable indians

0049...for a husband that seeks to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with his God... micah 6:8

will you count with me?

and so it begins

2009-11-18T13:30:00.007-06:00

barely 7 in the morning, the "fall-back" sunrise disrupting my sleep once more

unable to help myself, i engage ryan in conversation

shortly after, the rattling begins... similar to a scampering mouse or some other unwelcome creature.

ryan & i exchange groggy glances, followed by grins

"is that coming from their room?"

we tip toe curiously down the hall as the clanking grows louder

no small voices or mischievous laughter
but a sudden twist of the knob

"i climb out of bed."

a darting glance at sleeping beauty, as we ushered spider man out of the room...golf club in hand, pacifier secured.

and so begins our premature transition to big-kid beds

and yet another sign that our wee ones are not so wee anymore

tender moments

2009-11-14T15:35:00.004-06:00

between a girl and her baby

one of my favorite things... peeking from the edge of child's play. when imagination engulfs them, not a person or thing in the world to distract their senses

“A person's maturity consists in having found again the seriousness one had as a child, at play”
Friedrich Nietzsche

STOP...DON'T!!!

2009-11-12T15:13:00.007-06:00

i presented on the subject of assertiveness at a training for district employees this week.

often we find ourselves being passive or aggressive with children, but not assertive. assertiveness focuses on what we want children to do . sounds easy, right?

the problem is that we have a deeply ingrained habit of focusing on behaviors we don't want...

STOP talking, jumping, running, hitting... DON'T touch the stove, lamp, outlets, or fine china!

an interesting fact about brain development... children under the age of 6 cannot conjugate the word don't.

what might they hear then when we yell "DON'T RUN IN THE HOUSE!"
yep, you guessed it.

you might be interested to know that children under the age of 8 encode information in the form of pictures. when we tell them what to do we provide visual images of our expectations, making it easier for them to process & more likely to obey.

my encouragement today is that we start focusing on what we want children to do. a practical way to exercise this skill is to fill in the following statement...

"my child irritates me when they _____. what do i want them to do?"

instead of...

DON'T run!.. go back and walk
DON'T stand up in your chair!... sit down on your bottom and put your legs under the table.
STOP yelling!!... you are screaming (describing their behavior makes connections in the brain) make your voice match mine, just like this...

we have perfected this DON'T/ STOP language, haven't we?

i would submit to you that if we begin telling children, in specific terms, what we expect them to do we will experience desirable results!

finally, we cannot train our children to possess skills that we lack.

as women, we struggle with assertiveness don't we?

where do you want to go to lunch?
i don't care...where do you want to go to lunch?
you decide....i can't decide. where do you want to go?
wherever is fine with me.

oh, you want to go there?
i don't really like ___.
can we pick someplace else?
is that okay???

sound familiar?
i thought so.

we often think expressing our feelings or opinions is confrontational, in some way uncomfortable ...and heaven forbid we differ from one another.

join me on my journey to becoming this kind of woman, wife, mother, friend... the kind who isn't afraid of her own voice.

for starters, here is your homework:
1. practice turning your DON'Ts into DO's
2. be courageous - pick a restaurant.

here are a few videos of assertiveness..
the first one is the twinks. the next is of 4-year-olds resolving conflict. you will notice them setting limits, saying what they want the other person to do, and making commitments. (more on commitments next week!)

**you will have to pause the music in my side bar to hear the video **

suffering: a great mystery

2009-11-11T15:12:00.005-06:00

recent events in the lives of others have had me thinking.
sometimes pondering, other times wrestling...

the great mystery of suffering

the question is not if we will suffer but when. there seems to be a correlation anyway... years lived & the suffering one has endured.

just the other day a friend & i batted this subject around as we drove away from baby kaiya's funeral.

half joking but mostly serious, we gave God permission to allow suffering into certain parts of our lives.

You can touch our finances, just not our families.
i'll suffer anything but them. not them, Lord.

have you found yourself in this position before God?

and what if... just what if?

if you're like me, you cannot bear to ask the question. a lump creeps tightly up my throat - tears stinging, if i entertain the thought for more than 3 seconds.

suffering will come.
what shape it will take in our lives is yet to be realized.
but it will come. what will become of us?
will i choose to trust God & believe that He is good?

during our season of infertility i sensed God asking me this question...

Andrea, do you trust Me & believe that I am good?

somedays i did...
a lot of days i didn't

i am challenged today by this post, eat mystery.

despite loss after loss, john believed in the God who sees, the God who knows....and the God that is always good.

Lord, grow my mustard seed faith. make me like the tree whose roots are firmly planted, whose leaves do not wither when the heat comes.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD.

For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit."

jeremiah 17:7-8

what is it about monograms?

2009-11-11T13:30:00.006-06:00

everybody, including me, loves labeling names... from burp cloths, sippie cups, backpacks, luggage tags, dinnerware, stationary and everything in between. one of my dear friends even considered buying a monogramming machine not that long ago.

why?
1. people love monograms
2. why not?

well, lots of reasons but back to the point... monograms are timeless & personal gifts for all to enjoy.

lucky for you, i know just where to order your beautifully penned names for gifts & stationary this season...

here is my incredibly funny & beyond generous friend, erin...

and just because it wouldn't be a true-to-life picture of our friendship without a silly face...

she just sent me this stamp in the mail... only with a P.

if you're thinking, and i know that you are... that's the cutest gift ever, i have to have one! check out three designing women, a must-see website...

or you can browse & shop at the paper clique, the letter tree or the pinchy crab.

enjoy perusing & happy holiday shopping!

multitude monday

2009-11-09T14:12:00.008-06:00

can you feel thanksgiving in the air?

fall being my favorite season makes it easy to keep counting ... every turn meets me with something Grace-given.

my cup runneth over.

speaking of .. i'm thankful for red cups at starbucks... one of the first clues we texans have that christmas is fast approaching. 0014

0015...the changing of the leaves...even if it is from green to various shades of mostly brown.

0016... for unique snuggles that come my way when nursing sick tummies & fickle fevers

0017...gentle nudges of tiny elbows and knees tucked tightly in our bed. one day i won't hear their small breaths in my ear at 3 am

0018...berkley beckoning, "big kiss! bigger kiss!"

0019...simple games provoking endless laughter

0020...sun beams at dusk & how they make the lovely even more beautiful

0021...ryan's strong presence & example of manhood

the way little hands hold tightly to adult pinkys

0022...catching smiles when he thinks no one is looking

0023...that Creator God can be seen in the grains of a tree

0024...how fun can be captured in one's finger nails

0025... treasured moments with treasured people

words cannot express my thanks

0026...for "1st grade smiles", as my friend calls them

0027...little girl day dreams

will you count with me?

i've got this, God.

2009-11-06T14:45:00.008-06:00

the day i learned of this tragedy (a family of five being killed in a car accident) was just one of those days...weeks really. the kind you feel powerless as a mother. the kind where all you can say is, "Jesus, help me."

can i be honest?

there are several areas of life i think i can do without His help. if you know me well, you've heard me say it before. if you don't... then welcome to my closet - the place where dark corners so desperately need His light! God has gifted me in such a way, with skills in certain areas, that i often live independently of Him & "get by".... in the classroom, in leadership positions at work or in ministry, in important relationships... you get the picture.

this of course is a fallacy...
oh, the sin & folly of self-reliance.

"i've got this, God."

and then i became a mother.

i have always said that parenthood is the crucified life...
the call requires dying to self & all of those self-centered, self-reliant, self-exalting tendencies that i am so good at.

dependent on Him, supplied with His strength, living by faith... moment by moment.

..."and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." galatians 2:20

i don't have it at all. i need God. desperately.

this call of motherhood reminds me...
every day
every tantrum
stomach virus
pile of laundry
or sippie cup filled with curdled milk
i need God.

He has been teaching me most through a certain son that i love. davis - full of heart... an equal amount of spirit.

who me?

a few days ago i stumbled upon our day care's monthly newsletter. curious about toddler happenings i began to read...

"___ is working hard at potty training. ___ loves the home center. ____ vocabulary has exploded. ____ loves the block center. ____ builds houses & forts. ____ is a leader. ___ is always eager to help."

drumroll please

" and davis has improved quite a bit on his social skills."

"that's great!" you might say.
all kids need to improve social skills, right?
in fact, that is what i do for a living (at home & at work)
...help children to develop their social skills.

but i'll let you in on a dirty little secret...
this is teacher code for "davis has behavior concerns."

thankfully, i too, speak teacher code & do not take offense.
i know this to be true of davis, son that i love...
son that i learn from.
do i wish it wasn't announced in a school-wide publication? absolutely.
has God used it to strengthen dependence, deepen humility, & widen my sense of humor? most definitely.

thank you, Lord, for reminding me that i can do nothing apart from you. and thank you for the gift of motherhood... that which makes us lowly when we begin to believe otherwise.

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. john 15:5

a multitude, indeed

2009-11-06T12:45:00.008-06:00

it's not monday but i figure it's never too late to give thanks.
several weeks have passed since His gifts have spilled onto my keyboard. two difficult weeks in many ways...

a few saturdays ago we drove... windows down, breathing in the crisp fall air, sun beams illuminating two toddlers as their sing-song laughter rang out loud. (all of the above mentioned things swelling my heart with thanks). and just like that.... it could have happened.

they could have been gone.
we all could have been gone.

days earlier, this hypothetical tragedy was a devastating reality for a family of five.

a man & his wife, their three small children, all under the age of 7. the girls were students at my school...each attended our Head Start program over the last few years.

just this morning i attended a grave side service for a newborn baby named kaiya. her twin sister, kaidyn, is in the NICU fighting to live. in the words of the pastor, may our prayers storm the throne of grace on behalf of baby kaidyn. thank you for remembering the walkers in prayer as you give thanks today.

... just like that, the sun beams are brighter, the air a bit crisper, the songs and squeals of children even more precious...

why does it take suffering to embrace the ordinary?

The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; or is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us...
acts 17:24-27

may we find Him in the ordinary today

with a thankful heart

sneak peak

2009-11-02T14:32:00.002-06:00

here's two more reasons i love halloween

3 if you include the cotton candy :)

more coming soon! ... and a multitude of thanks, although it will probably be "thankful tuesday" instead of multitude monday

multitude monday

2009-10-18T15:58:00.009-05:00

it's that time again... time to reflect on His graces in my life. an attitude of thankfulness takes practice so i plan to revisit this list of ways to live a life of praise.

counting on...

0007... i'm grateful for how little eyes absorb the world around them... looking to discover something new... and almost always filled with wonder. they see Glory in things we dismissed long ago: rolly-pollies, hunting for acorns, or a cyclist peddling by...

A three year old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm.
~Bill Vaughan

0008... how pumpkins can be for climbing

0009...sharing the joy in children's first-time experiences

0010...the process of little people creating beauty when given the opportunity to do so

Good art is not what it looks like, but what it does to us.- Roy Adzak

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. ~ Picasso

0011...little hands at work (play)

0012...that children are uninhibited... careless to how they might appear to others

While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.
~Angela Schwindt

0013...the smell of marshmallows ablaze

0014...that smearing them on a simple graham cracker = pure delight

join me in the journey to a thankful heart

pUmPkIn PaRtY

2009-10-18T15:00:00.003-05:00

we had a pumpkin party this weekend for the twinks and their tiny tot friends. weeks of rain cleared & beautiful fall weather arrived just in time. dozens of little people enjoyed painting & hammering pumpkins, chocolate chip pumpkin muffins and goodie bags while their parents enjoyed socializing over chili-dogs and college football. grab your popcorn and enjoy the pictures!

some pictures speak for themselves

2009-10-16T13:29:00.002-05:00

national day of miscarriage & infant loss

2009-10-15T15:43:00.008-05:00

taking a moment to honor this day & the little lives remembered throughout the world.

today i remember & give thanks for our first baby, miscarried at 8 weeks...and dozens of dear friends who have painfully endured similar sufferings.

...some losses very early, some at 22 weeks and beyond

i remember it well- first infertility, then loss.
sorrow upon sorrow.

familiar with the cry of the psalmist ...

i am weary with my sighing; every night i make my bed swim, dissolving my couch with my tears. psalm 6:6

and yet He was ever present...the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 1 cor. 1:4

He knew our suffering intimately.
He bore it on that life-giving tree.

and He knew that those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
psalm 126:5

praying His comfort & joy for all who make their bed with tears today.

the ugly-beautiful

2009-10-14T15:26:00.010-05:00

from long before the era of She-ra, the princess of power, i wanted to be beautiful. long flowing waves of blonde hair with sculpted cheek bones. at the young age of 9, i already knew that beauty was a cultural value.

just last night we enjoyed dinner at a local pizza place. the twinks were admiring a nearby video game when something caught my eye....two scantily clad, well-endowed cartoon characters.

really?

a children's video game in a family-friendly restaurant... communicating value to my two year old children.

and yet do i not still struggle, 23 years later, with this idea of beauty... wishing my smile lines were less noticeable, my eyes more symmetrical, daily longing for my pre-mommy figure. truth be told, i was never all that satisfied with that one either.

have i not already found myself imposing such values on my dear daughter? perfectly coordinated clothing with well placed bows.

now i am not suggesting these things are harmful. they are, in fact, neutral. but what is my heart in the matter? am i protecting my daughter, pointing her to True Beauty or handing down to her a neatly packaged box of lies?

God give me the grace & wisdom to point her eyes upward...even while inserting colorful bows!

i am so thankful for Dove's campaign for real beauty & videos such as this one. perhaps, the next generation will better understand how deeply deceived we are as a society.

Love took the ugly, put mud on its eyes, and worked it slowly into blazing beauty.

The French have a phrase for it: d’un beau affreux; in German, hubsch-hasslich. The ugly-beautiful. That which is perceived as ugly reconfigures as beautiful. The impressionist painter, Paul Gauguin, encapsulated it as, “Le laid peut-etre beau…” The ugly can be beautiful.

please take the time to read this entry on the the ugly-beautiful. it will challenge your quest for beauty & move you to see that the ugly can be made beautiful.

He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
isaiah 53:2-5

read more about the ugly-beautiful by clicking here

multitude monday

2009-10-12T13:23:00.013-05:00

fall is here, at least for a few days anyway...the sight of pumpkins and smell of spiced lattes remind me of why this is my favorite time of the year. so many things to love and give thanks for as we move each day closer to the season of Advent.

and so begins my one thousand gifts challenge. i love lists, especially ~~marking each item off~~, one by one- giving a sense of productivity... as if being productive is of utmost importance.

insert tangent here: ryan and i did manage to clean our hazardous waste zone this weekend (otherwise known as a garage) - scratching it off the list a mere 14 months later

back to the multitude... when i think about the people in my life that exude joy and contentment, they all possess a spirit of thankfulness. gossip and complaining are quite difficult to do if i am giving thanks. judging the behaviors or intent of others is near impossible if i am instead thankful for them.

how easily we thank God for our family, friends, and material comforts. but do i notice Him in the smaller things of life? why are certain things less praiseworthy ... is He not the Creator of all things, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible? (colossians 1:16)

here is to a thousand gifts & a thankful heart....

click on the button below to join me in the journey

0001-0003 ... these three are at the top of my list

0004... and drizzly days wrapped in fuzzy blankets

0005...big hugs from little people

0006... and stealing away quiet moments together

what's missing from this picture?

2009-10-12T13:20:00.002-05:00

the beauty of ceremony

2009-10-08T13:00:00.008-05:00

did you know the brain is both pattern seeking and survival oriented?

most of us love order & predictable routines. when a young brain is provided a safe & structured environment, it develops a biochemical preference toward order. the same is true for the brain exposed to chaos... it learns and therefore creates chaos as a means for coping.

the wonderful news is that we can help children develop neural pathways through creating routines & ceremonies within our homes!

This atmosphere of known routine, expected ritual and, yes, celebrated ceremony, not only lessens the number of decisions that a parent must make throughout the day (the established ceremony directs, instead of the parent), but children thrive in such an environment....

...The institution of a ceremonious life requires daily petitions for God-strength; in the flesh we are too weak. But the mundane in our lives begs for the Christ-vigor to be made lovely with ceremony. The repetition of our days need not be monotonous, exasperating, recurrences....

i love this article & how God acts in ceremony with us each day!

read more about the beauty of ceremony by clicking here (this is one of my new favorite sites btw)

"They always say, "Do it again"… [It is] grown-up people [who] are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon…. The repetition in nature may not be mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore."

amazing grace

2009-10-07T13:16:00.009-05:00

i’m studying Ephesians this semester…it’s as if i’m seeing old truths with new eyes. i could make a list of the riches we have in Christ but my fresh understanding simply levels me.

what a wonderful mystery…

Ephesians 2:8-10
For grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, so that no one may boast.

how badly we want to earn favor with God… if i just (fill in the blank) or abstain from (fill in the blank). perhaps my shortcomings are not as bad as his/hers. certainly i can do enough good in this life to outweigh the bad.

despite our human condition (Ephesians 2: 1-3) … He, being RICH in MERCY, and because of His GREAT LOVE, saved us.

not because we regularly attend church, give to the Red Cross, or drink only in moderation. For GRACE we have been saved through FAITH, and this is not of ourselves.

beyond that vs. 10 goes on to say we are His workmanship, created for good works...

we are HIS workmanship …

He is the workman
we are HIS work

as Christians, even the good that we do isn't our work at all. it has been laid out for us and grace alone allows us to participate.

how refreshing. and beyond humbling.

thank you, LORD, for amazing grace & that we will never fully understand it's mystery!

visit with pop and dee dee

2009-10-06T15:36:00.006-05:00

my dad & his wife came for a visit this weekend. it was a great time, despite little d wearing the full effects of a 20 minute nap. in between screaming & crying episodes, he managed to get in a few swings at the old golf ball. not sure who had more fun, davis or my dad.

geared up for the game...poor aggies!

thanks for the wonderful weekend pops ...and special thanks to deirdre (dee dee) for mowing our entire front and back yard while we went to a birthday party! instead of embracing her first chance of peace and quiet, she found the lawnmower and went to town. thanks so much for the very kind gesture!

just because

2009-10-05T13:34:00.002-05:00

we're going on a bear hunt

2009-10-05T13:11:00.003-05:00

i took the twinks on their 3rd annual bear hunt last week.

berkley with my student teacher, vicki

SO BIG!

feeding the ducks

...and just for fun...

1st bear hunt at 4 months old

15 months

and now

remember when...

2009-10-01T14:25:00.003-05:00

cause i don't

i barely recognize those snuggly balls of baby.
and i truly don't remember them sleeping, much less at the same time.

this picture was taken just moments before two beyond grateful, yet blissfully ignorant new parents left the hospital for the real world of twinfants.

"if one more person tells us this will all be a blur..." we repeated several times a day.

"how can people say we will forget, this is completely unforgettable?!"

i remember typing those very words in a desperate-new-mommy email to my super-hero mommy friends. i was puzzled by what appeared to be an epidemic of mommy-amnesia.

"you forget", everyone assured me. i just knew we were the exception to this rule.

some friends of ours are expecting boy/ girl twins next month. we are so grateful to the Lord for His loving kindness and look forward to celebrating their arrival.

and chances are, we'll be passing on those famous, often annoying words..."this will all be a blur".

we pulled out the baby gear for our expectant friends so i had to snap a comparison pic.

biting hurts

2009-09-29T13:54:00.017-05:00

so i have another nugget of gold for you today! we will revisit the skill of assertiveness but begin first with composure.

would you agree that before any problem solving can take place (or prefrontal lobe skills we might say), we have to be willing or ready??

think of the last time you had marital conflict... if your husband is like mine, he is the far more mature party in the relationship and seeks to resolve conflict quickly. short accounts are the name of the game.

i, on the other hand, am often less willing. i enjoy wallowing a bit longer in my lymbic system, or emotional state. i'm sure i'm the only female with this struggle, so feel free to just keep reading.

often times we engage with our spouses or children before their brains are even ready. becky bailey, the founder of conscious discipline® , says it is like reasoning with a frog. our children only have access to certain skills while in their brain stem or lymbic system, and problem solving is not one of them.

we often attempt to make children feel bad for their behaviors in an effort to motivate new ones. interestingly, this is not how the brain works. it cannot simultaneously feel bad (or under threat) and learn a new skill. the goal is teaching young children new skills, primarily the skill of self-regulation. this is not to say that there are not consequences for behaviors. consequences are a necessary part of developing the desired skill.

my encouragement is for us to begin focusing more on developing the skills, modeling the language we refer to as "using your words", and then imposing the consequences. after teaching, modeling & practicing the skills, consequences have their proper place.

now that i have rambled on... remember to visit this site for more resources or feel free to email me any questions.

ps... i forgot to warn you that just minutes before this video was taken i had been folding laundry.... just in case you were wondering why berkley is wearing her brother's cookie monster underwear!

houston, we've made contact!

2009-09-29T13:36:00.003-05:00

this weekend was our first trip to houston as a family of four! ryan had his leader retreat in town, which we were both speaking at it. since my mom comes to college station for visits, it was the first time to be in my hometown since my high school reunion!

we had a great visit with my mom & brother...and even met a few four legged friends at the zoo!

i made the mistake of telling the twinks about the zoo on thursday night.

will NEVER do that again.

at bedtime, berkley cried hysterically for the "aminals"...
"NO, night night mommy!!! go see monkeys!!!
go see nakes (snakes)!!! go see elephants!!!
mommy, NOOOOOOOOO".

BIG mistake.

a wise friend counseled me to tell them only once we're in the car or airplane from now on until forever.

in their excitement to see the "aminals", they boycotted their naps all together. when i went into their room (for the 3rd time) berkley proudly announced,

"i woke up, mommy!"

"you never went to sleep, berkley." i explained
(unsuccessfully holding back laughter)

so off we went, with two very sleep-deprived but overjoyed toddlers.

and lots of fun was had by all!

can't help smiling

2009-09-21T16:20:00.003-05:00

this boy infects laughter. he really is quite funny in an irresistibly goofy way! see pictures below for proof.

davis has come into his own over the last several months. my once timid boy, resembling more of an appendage, has become quite the socialite.

it is not unusual for him to announce to complete strangers, "i tt potty!... i'm the man!"

like the time we had a roofing company at the house after a hail storm. davis confidently walks up to the roofer exclaiming, "hi man (his name for all adult males)... i tt potty!"
the roofer, understandably confused, stared back at davis. he then announced even more emphatically, "i tt potty, man!"

just last week he strolled into the office of our executive pastor to yell, "Gig Em AGGIES!" with his index finger extended high in the air. (he hasn't quite gotten the thumb part down, which i'm sure is an aggie joke in itself). wonderful pastor that he is, could have been solving a theological debate through a hebrew word study, but looked up with sheer enthusiasm to engage with davis. what i should also mention is buck, our pastor, moonlights as an ASF (aggie sports fanatic). "Gig em Aggies" was sweet music to his ears!

here is our sweet boy, oozing his boyish charm

look whose growing up

2009-09-20T14:56:00.004-05:00

silly post-church photo shoot today

berk going in for a smooch

davis is saying "cheeeeeese". i love berk's sweet smile in this pic...

and i love his smile in this one!

making each other laugh

mommy & her love bugs

puppy love

2009-09-19T20:17:00.004-05:00

no, we didn't buy a new puppy. we're not quite ready for one but what a day that will be since the twinks madly adore dogs. berkley has become quite a fan of pretend play... only instead of pretending to cook or clean or change her babies like she use to, she is a puppy. this means crawling on all fours and panting loudly.... like today in Target. i had to explain that puppies are not allowed in the store. "no puppies in Target?" she asked as she resumed her upright position. yep, no puppies in Target.

a few weeks ago she was in her car seat, gently cupping her hands together. "awww, puppy", she said softly, while petting the air. she then took her sippie cup and began feeding her imaginary friend. such a responsible dog owner.

i realize i have typed these words several times before and each time i really mean them but "THIS is my favorite age so far!" i dreaded two years old..."terrible twos" people love to say. i have worked with 2 year olds, and enjoyed very little of the experience. but i've been pleasantly surprised by the fun and wonder of this stage. their tiny brains retain information by the day, that comes out in the form of new words and adult like sentences! i laugh constantly ... hearing them process the world and watching them take pleasure in it! God help me to take mental snapshots that won't fade.

my hope is to get back to documenting our life with twins... i spend all my spare time enjoying them, that i have neglected to post as often. here's to capturing the moments and sharing them more often with you!

Connections

2009-09-18T13:31:00.010-05:00

for those who asked...

would you agree that we all want to be connected? we were created with a deep desire to be seen, known & valued by others. this longing to connect begins at birth.

early brain development is contingent on our connections with others, particularly our care givers. connections established through eye contact, physical touch and presence in a playful situation have a direct impact on our neurological connections. although most of the brain's cells are formed before birth, most of the connections among cells are made during infancy and early childhood. at times during brain development, 250,000 neurons are added every minute! as we intentionally connect with our children and encourage their connections with others, important development is taking place.

one of the ways we try to build eye contact, touch and presence in a playful situation is through activities called "I love you rituals". you can sing any nursery rhyme, poem or even your own song... just implement touch and eye contact and wa-la! to learn more about I love You rituals and Conscious Discipline®, click here.

here are a few videos of the twinks doing I love rituals, as well as my students. the babies were just around a year old during the clips.
*** you will need to pause the music on the upper right side of the blog***

connections with mommy

connections with one another
warning: i am without a voice (sick), ryan is without a shirt :)

connections with students

have fun integrating those little brains!

teaching assertiveness

2009-09-16T15:33:00.004-05:00

an important life skill for children and adults is knowing how to be assertive, not passive, aggressive or often in my case...passive aggressive :) without developing this skill, we attempt to control behavior through fear, physical aggression or a more subtle control that may be more familiar to you... emotional manipulation. we wonder why we have a society of people who either avoid conflict out of fear or become intoxicated by it. i am learning through life experiences and difficult relationships to be assertive... how to express my feelings, expectations and disappointments in an honest, yet composed way. it feels good. it does good. it may not always have the result that i hope for, but i'm a healthier person because of it.

i desperately need God's grace and wisdom as i attempt to teach our children appropriate assertiveness. it is a learned skill and therefore must be developed through practice. this means giving them the words to say when they feel infringed upon.

would you agree that we are quick to give attention to the "aggressor"?
"why did you do that? you know the rule about hitting!!! go sit in time out."

now i am not arguing against time out in this ramble (maybe another time) but how often do we empower the victim in a given situation and then teach new skills to an aggressor? my encouragement is that we begin doing so. not only will we have children who can learn to set appropriate boundaries, we teach children the necessary behaviors to express their needs or wants. win - win, i'd say!

end of tangent... roll the video.
here is a really funny clip of davis practicing his assertive voice. i have used this clip in my trainings with district employees.

ps..you will have to pause the music on my side bar before playing the video

like father, like son

2009-08-25T15:32:00.001-05:00

off to school

2009-08-24T15:53:00.005-05:00

here are some pictures from davis and berkley's first day at their new school. they've been at gigi's house since they were 9 weeks old, so it has been an interesting transition. thankfully, the twinks have done great! they seem to really enjoy themselves, are napping without pacifiers and going to the potty!

berkley said, "cheese, tree"...translation: smile by the tree

they were so brave...me, not so much!

checking out the scene

they walked right in like they own the place.

hi, my name is berkley...

2009-08-09T16:24:00.002-05:00

and i am a shoeaholic

sacked out

2009-08-09T16:23:00.001-05:00

ps...for any concerned readers (papa) :) davis is not suffocating in this picture... he apparently enjoys putting the pillow over his head while he sleeps.

party at the polters

2009-08-09T15:40:00.007-05:00

in july we enjoyed a few days with the polters. the babies loved getting to spend time with robbin, david, mariel and ezra. i was robbin's "baby", her babies were "my babies" and so on it goes...

funny story... when berkley first walked into the house, her exact words were..."OH, WOW!" i wish i had a picture of robbin's house to show you what an appropriate response this was! robbin is an incredibly talented artist and every square inch of her house celebrates art from cultures around the world! it is better than any museum i have visited. berkley had it right with, "OH, WOW!!!!!"

we spent most of our time in the gigantic inflatable pool...

having fun with chalk

and paint

and "honey" the golden retriever..

this truly was their favorite activity...

laughing at aunt robbin's birds

a lot

best lookin spidey EVER

enjoying breakfast and a trip to the park

thanks for a great visit, polter fam!
we loved spending time with you.

count em.... 1,2,3,4,5,6, SEVEN!

2009-08-09T15:17:00.004-05:00

i'm alive...and shamefully attempting to update our blog after a month long hiatus. to be honest, i have just enjoyed every minute of my summer time with the twinks (minus the potty training ones), leaving very little time left to upload, edit and post to the blog. so i'll attempt to catch you up in the form of pictures (which are far easier to share on facebook, by the way...in case you too are a FB addict)

on july 13th ryan and i celebrated our 7th anniversary. it's hard to believe we have already been married 7 years! not sure what this "itch" is that everyone keeps referring to and i pray we never suffer from it! every year we come up with 3 words to describe our marriage that year. for me, this last year was refreshing, humbling and fun! i feel refreshed as God continues to grow us both independently and together as husband and wife/ father and mother.... i feel humbled as we explore the learning curve of young parenting. finally, i've had lots of fun despite our stumbling through most of the process together.

i am beyond grateful to the Lord for the gift of ryan's love, service, friendship and leadership..

4th of july festivities

2009-07-07T18:01:00.006-05:00

meeting friends for a photography tutorial in just a bit but have time for a quick sneak peak. we had a wonderful weekend with friends, cooling off in the guadalupe river, feeding dolphins, splashing at the sea world water park, and much more! thanks to our sweet friends, tim & rachel, for a super fun fourth of july weekend!

ps... one month has already passed since the twinks turned two. slow it down already! i am also happy to report that i am graduating from potty talk now that BOTH babies are officially trained & accident free, for the most part. (praise the LORD!) who knew how many conversations about bodily waste could be had?

hide and seek

2009-07-02T21:46:00.005-05:00

is a favorite game at our house. davis loves saying, " air (where) davis go?" as he hides under our sheets. then he'll scream "peek a boo!" or "there is!"

we love our dress up box!

2009-07-02T21:41:00.002-05:00

two is better than one

2009-06-30T21:56:00.001-05:00

happy birthday sweet asher

2009-06-30T21:47:00.003-05:00

we love you little asher, and your mommy & daddy too!
here they are enjoying his new sand/ water table.

the birthday boy!

adrenaline junkie

2009-06-30T21:41:00.003-05:00

berkley has discovered she loves jumping into the pool and sliding down water slides. over and over and over again.

the versatility of a simple sack

2009-06-25T19:45:00.002-05:00

left over grocery sacks sure come in handy while potty training... to disguise the potty seat wherever we go (restaurants, the museum, park, mall, you name it)... as well as for soiled clothes. i am happy to report that today was the first day for davis to be accident free! slow and steady does it.

potty training boot camp

2009-06-18T20:30:00.004-05:00

last week we started our first attempt at potty training the twinks.

why? you might ask.

well, a few reasons...

1. why not?

2. $100 savings a month is a steal

3. i have the summer off to let them run buck naked

like many other areas of parenting, potty training is one that solicits a multitude of opinions, dogmatic opinions, i might add. one camp says they must be "ready" showing signs such as: has dry periods for 3-4 hours, is interested in bathroom habits, acknowledges when they have dirty diapers, etc. the other camp argues that 92% of 18 months old were potty trained in the 1950s, suggesting the skill has more to do with commitment to training than child readiness.
read all about the debate here

since people have asked... here is the method i attempted.
click here to read about potty training in 3 days it's important to note that the more intensive training lasts 3 days but the skill itself is mastered over time.

i began our training hopeful, but realistic... fully expecting a false start. but if you know me, i am stubbornly determined to accomplish any good challenge. and so began potty boot camp.

step one: roll up the pottery barn rugs and store them for several weeks

step two: stack piles of clean towels and disinfecting supplies closely nearby

step three: remove all articles of babies clothing for several days

step four: provide endless supplies of salty snacks and liquids

step five: watch, stare, obsess and wait for signs of an inevitable accident. quickly whisk them to the nearest toilet when said accident occurs.

step six: repeat step five over and over again.

step seven: sit babies on the toilet at regular intervals, providing potty toys and books to help combat possible resistance.

step eight: in between trips to the toilet stay busy by painting toddler toes, watching CARS enough to make you crazy, making brownie mix, playing hide and seek, water color painting or cooling off outside.

step nine: when an accident occurs, babies help in the clean up process

step ten: babies practice saying "TT potty" and running to the nearest toilet multiple times.

step eleven: repeat step ten more times than you want to count

step twelve: celebrate successes with a piece of candy, stickers, blow horns, potty dances or all of the above.

step thirteen: introduce big boy/ girl undies to wear for outings. berkley liked davis's CAR underwear so much, she had to try them on for size.

....and if this wasn't the longest potty post in blog posting history i would repeat a step in between them all: pray

one of the most helpful tips i heard from friends was to stay the course and not turn back. once you have committed to give it a shot, be consistent. and the moment you most want to give up, commit to another week. and i'm so glad we have!

we have been at it for almost one week and both babies are doing super. they are identifying the sensation of needing to go and have quickly learned the routine. just today, berkley told me "TT potty" EVERY time and was accident free! davis is just behind her, beginning to tell us that he needs to go and successfully "going" on our routine visits. TMI warning: both babies have also gone number 2 which seems to be a common potty training struggle for children.

like any other skill in childhood development, learning to use the restroom takes time, practice and lots of patience...on part of the children as well as their parents :). we have a ways to go before we are fully trained but i am thrilled for the progress and so proud of our tiny tots. they really are growing up!

ps... june 23- since writing this post...berk started consistently using the restroom independently or telling us she needing to go after only 6 days! she is accident-free at nap times as well. davis went on strike for a few days but is making progress again. we'll keep at it and see what happens over the next few weeks. he is never one to be outdone by his sister for long :)

still celebrating...

2009-06-08T14:21:00.003-05:00

we spent the babies' actual birthday at the pool with some friends. davis and berk are becoming little amphibians right before our eyes! we topped off the day with some fun at fudruckers before crashing into our beds. thanks to our friends for a spontaneous, fun ending to our celebration weekend!

... and the morning after

2009-06-08T14:20:00.000-05:00

birthday smooches!

2009-06-08T13:55:00.001-05:00

all in a days' work. this girl gives out sugar like it's going out of style. nothing like when they land your way.