Home

I've been away for the last 3 weeks; traveling and vacationing to the best of my ability.

It's been great.

We headed cross country to the West Coast and enjoyed every minute of our much needed break. We saw grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and every other relative you can think of. We saw old friends, new friends, college friends, and church friends. We saw the sights. We saw the Pacific Ocean. We saw (and felt) rain, cooler weather, and a thermometer reading that was less than 70.

It was wonderful.

But I'm so very glad to be home.

From the very moment we walked in the front door, all the weight of saying goodbye and leaving loved ones, all the challenges of living in someone elses house or hotel, all the stress of travel and lack of sleep-- it lifted. It disappated. It was gone. We were home.

We relaxed. We let our hair down. We sighed long deep sighs of... well... of home.

The boys, while they loved every doting minute with our relatives, sighed long deep sighs too. They ran around collecting favorite toys and books that they had missed. Isaiah hugged his pillow. Joshua climbed in bed and sucked his thumb. Noah smooshed his little face into his bed sheets. And they all just smiled. And sighed. Wonderful deep sighs of home.

There's nothing quite like home.

While we breathed deep and took in our humble abode, I prayed that we would remember the reason home feels so good. It's not about our stuff. It's not about our beds or pillows, or about toys or swing sets... or even about having a spare set of clothes when everything you packed is dirty.

It's about the life that is lived here. About the memories that are made here. About family. About friendship. About love. And most importantly, about God and His love towards us. We love our home because our home is filled with His love.

Our beds are not just the places we sleep, they are the places we pray and give thanks to God for another day. The living room couch is not just a comfy place to sit, it's the spot where sweet little boys snuggle up for a story. The dinner table is not just where we eat, it's where we meet with God as a family, where we read, pray and sing to our Savior.

Home is where we really live. Where we are our real selves. Where, by God's grace, we can share our true emotions, where we can laugh and cry, display joy and sorry...where we can repent and forgive. Home is where we learn and grow. Where we train, discipline, nuture, and build relationships.

Home is not about the house, about the stuff, about the leather living room set I've been dreaming about, it's about God and His work in our family.

Thank you, Lord, for our home.

Playing hopscotch

Isaiah learned about playing hopscotch from a friend at church and asked me to help him draw one.

So I did.

And then I showed him how to do it.

He became a professional (just like me, of course) within a few tries.






Then he decided to just sit an color chalk on the driveway for a while. At which point we both noticed the
casualty’s of playing hopscotch in bare feet and with blue chalk.





Completely unaffected by the fact that his feet looked blue and un-oxygenated, he said, “Mom, can we make a hopscotch with green chalk next?”

Sure thing, Isaiah.

A much belated

birthday greeting to my dear husband.

Man, do I love my man.

He’s been part of my life for so long, it’s hard to imagine life without him. In fact, I do my best not to imagine life without him…because it always makes me cry when I do.

Nicholas James, I love you. You mean the world to me. Thank you for being you, for leading our home in godliness, for raising our children in the Lord, for being my perfect soul mate…and loving me as Christ loves the church.

Thank you for choosing me to be your wife. Thank you for eating the leftovers so I don’t have to. Thank you for  frequently lending me your listening ear—I hope you can still hear when you’re 90. Thank you for being my best friend and for being that iron that sharpens iron. Thank you for picking up Starbucks on the way home and for always kissing me at the door.

Thank you also, for humoring me when I asked you to blow out 30 candles.

After all, you only turn 30 once.

Everyone loves…

a slip ’n’ slide? Don’t they?

Isaiah and I spotted this incredible Lightning McQueen slip ‘n’ slide when we were out running errands a few weeks ago. It’s a bit more hi-tech than the ones I had growing up—this one has an attachment for the hose to fit into and  a built in sprinkler.

Initially, the boys just wanted to crawl down the red carpet and feel the gentle spray of water (although I guess Josh didn’t really think it was that gentle and kept his nose plugged—haha!).



Then they wanted to grab the water.



And taste the water



And just plain old watch the water.



But then the play really got going.







And being the child at heart that I am… I joined them.

I mean, someone had to show them how it’s done!!

In all honesty, I had at least as much fun as they did. Oh my, it was so fun. I felt like I was 5 years old again, and as carefree and excited as I ever could be. I loved every minute of it.

And I only have a few bruises. So I’m sure I’ll join them again.

I really do think that everyone loves a slip n slide.

Judge me, if you must

I was doing a little car cleaning in prep for our upcoming trip.

I always keep my car clean, (cause I can’t stand a disaster) so this was just one of those quick tidy-up, empty the trash, dump out the crumbs, kind of car cleaning.

But after making 8 trips from the car to the kitchen with my hands full…


I discovered that this was more than a little problem. And required more than just a little car cleaning too.
Sigh.

I’m guessing that we eat a few too many snacks on the go. And that I give into the “Mom, can I bring a toy with me?” request a little too often.



Because somehow one toy attracts another… and another and another. And then those others toys invite their friends and Al-a-ca-ZAM!! One toy so very quickly leads to a few hundred.

Or at least it felt that way while unloading today.



And the rocks, you ask? How did those get in the car?

Well, let me tell you: I HAVE. NO. IDEA.

What I do know, is that boys love rocks, and I love boys, and so I’m sure I’ve been given a few hundred rocks as precious gifts from my boys. If I had girls, I’d probably receive flowers or stickers, as a token of appreciation. But boys, yep, boys love rocks. And really? So does their mom. So I keep them.

I guess that makes the rock pile in the car my fault.



Oh well. What can I say?

Judge me if you must.

But love me, if you will. It happens to be the best of us.

Crawling

I came across these older pictures on my camera and nearly wept about how fast things change.

These are the very last pictures I have of Noah crawling.







Oh dear me, the crawling phase is such a precious precious phase of life. And it passes so quickly. For my crawler is a walker.

Thank you, Lord for my little boy, for his sturdy knees for crawling.

And his wobbly legs for walking. How I love this not-so-babyish baby of mine.