Current Read

What are you reading?  I am reading the gospel of John.  I read it through once, quickly, and am now making my way back through it slowly and carefully.  The first time through was rough, but this second time has been far more rewarding.  I'm currently loving chapter six.  Well, five and six.  Here's a snippit of verses that stood out to me:

1. "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that come from the only God?" John 5:44

2. "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them, "The is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." John 6:27-29

3. "[...]Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." John 6:68

Stay saturated, peeps!




Photograph courtesy of David Escalante

Somewhere.

This is an unedited photo shot with my iPhone...

Do you think it true what he says about "The Best Camera Is The One That's With You"?  You know, ever since hearing of that concept, I can't quite get it out of my head.  I can never decide if I wholeheartedly embrace that mantra or not. I want to embrace it, but its a little scary to let go.  Equipment can be a crutch.  "My images aren't great, because I don't have a good camera or the right lens." Sometimes, I just stop looking.  Its an easy out.  Images are little snapshots of what we see and how we see it.  Why stop looking just because "the good camera" is at home?  You don't need fancy equipment to see things from an interesting perspective.  Look at life upside down or sideways or macro or micro or globey.  Just keep looking.  And keep shouting with what you see.

Bonus challenge: can you figure out how I made this image?

All About The Pockets

This girl is hardcore about pockets.


Pockets.


More pockets.

Can you see her there in the background?  Keepin' those hands safely tucked away in her pockets.  Otherwise its just a waste of a good pocket!

Sidenote: The kids' sunglasses were another great find at H&M the other day.

Good Finds

I have always appreciated H&M as a store to pick up basics and a cheap-ish place to get a few trendy pieces.  But now I am seriously impressed with their ability to deliver.  A suit for David, a suit for Elliott, and a dress for Caiden--as in, the best man, ring bearer, and flower girl have all been outfitted for a pretty reasonable price and in one stop.  And you can always count on them being current in their cuts and styles.  Wonderful.

Praise Him, Praise Him!

I prayed for a friend for Elliott because he cries every night for his grandparents who live far away.  The Lord gave him three!

Not only that, but a friend for me, too!  Blessing beyond measure.

"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1:21

The Lord blessed us so much with this family for a short season, but now they are moving away.  As sad as I am to see them go, I rejoice because Christ is my hope.  Truly.  Nothing else.  I am so blessed knowing that we can glory in any kind of heartache knowing that it is when we are weak, He is strong.  When we lack, He can fill us with the fullness of Himself.  Knowing that God's goal for us is not to make sure we have everything we want, but one of bringing us into further knowledge of Him.  And that knowledge is satisfying.  Truly my soul is satisfied in Him.

"He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." I Thessalonians 5:24

"And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:3-5

I totally trust Him!  I am so thankful for this thing that the Lord has done: in joining my spirit together with this person I've only known a few short months, and then also in her being taken away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.  I am truly happy and satisfied in His presence.  Praise Him!

Warning: Proceed With Caution

Rest assured that your children will not proceed with caution.  Probably not in anything.  I feel inclined to warn you of the perils of parenthood.  Children are a blessing and the fruit of the womb is a reward, but they sure are drama, too.  TV hospital dramas do nothing to prepare you for what is ahead.  Stock up, because being a parent means having a full on urgent care clinic in your bathroom.  It means blood on your nicest shirt.  It means having a life time supply of Neosporin/antibiotic ointment.  And something on hand for your nerves.  It means having a steady hand.  And lots of band aids, too.  Nothing can prepare you for the heartache of seeing your children hurting.  Speaking of that, have some band aids for the soul on hand, as well.  You never know when you are going to need those.

I love fixing people.  I thought I wanted to be a doctor.  I even discovered that I'm not really queasy around blood.  I am extraordinarily calm when it comes to gushing blood and wounds and emergencies--just not when they involve either of my children.  In that case I am an extraordinarily emotional wreck, unable to contain myself, prone to tears and worry.  I cannot keep calm.  I. Freak. Out.  Plain and simple.

Sunday afternoon was just such a case.  We were all having a lovely afternoon together.  Eating lunch, riding bikes, doing puzzles.  Then we rested.  Caiden was asleep in her crib. I was lying down on my bed with my eyes closed while the boys were preparing to watch a movie.  Then I heard a thump, David rushed over and picked up Elliott and I just knew something was terribly wrong.  I followed them to the kitchen trying not to let myself freak out and there was Elliott, sitting on the counter top gushing blood from his mouth.  I've never seen so much blood.  His whole mouth was just dripping blood and he was crying.  He sputtered blood at me as I tried to comfort him.  I tried so hard to keep calm. But my heart was breaking.  I held his head and tried to quiet him while Dad went off in search of supplies.  I've been scolded enough times now, to know that I have to keep my head and not freak out.  But inside I wanted to howl just as much as Elliott was. 

He is okay, he hit his face against the computer tower in our room.  But even the next day, I can't look at him without my heart hurting.  Oh, it breaks my heart to see my baby hurt.  Ugh.  He wants me to explain to him why it makes me sad.  How can you explain this kind of love?  My heart breaks when yours does.  My heart is all wrapped up in you.  When you hurt, I hurt.  When you laugh, I laugh.

Being a parent really blesses me.  It makes me wonder at God's love for me.  I am God's daughter.  Nothing can separate me from His love.  If you are a parent, you surely must see and understand a little bit better what it means to be a child of God.

"Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God!" I John 3:1

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:12,13

"What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [...] For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35-39

Oh, look.  Something ran into my son's face! Poor guy.  The swelling has actually gone down a lot in these.

Uh, oh.  What happened here?  Looks like something got tangled up in Caiden's fingers.

Don't worry, little munch. We'll get you free.

Whatever happens, whatever trouble you get in, we'll be here to bail you out. It's our job!

Good luck to all you parents and future parents out there, I pray the Lord gives you wisdom to fix your children as best you can!

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

What Kind of Day is Today?

It is assuredly, most positively, and definitely a chocolate chip cookie kind of day.  Don't you agree?  Caiden does.

But, even chocolate chip cookies can't change the fact that sometimes we all just need a good nap.  Don't you agree?  Elliott and Caiden most definitely do not agree with that!  But that's why I'm the mom, you see?

"And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.  So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord."
Deuteronomy 8:2,3

Ballerina Bag

This was the very belated birthday gift I sent off to my little niece, Hazel Rei, who lives in Pennsylvania.  Little Hazey turned four at the end of April.  I promised to be sending her something special very soon.  As often happens when on a budget, low resources caused the creative section of my brain to really exert itself and this is what I came up.  It is a ballerina's bag.  It can be used to tote ballet shoes or as a really cool purse.

I used a canvas drawstring bag that had at one time delivered a pair of Converse, a doily, ballerina silhouettes I found online, some fabric crayons, a leather strap that had broken off an old bag, and a needle and thread.  A few hours later and,"Voila!",A gift that I am proud and excited to give her that even I am jealous of.  I hope she likes it.

I made sure to fill the bag with all sorts of things a young woman might need--she IS four, after all!  Some makeup brushes, some jewelry, some hair things, lip gloss, an old compact mirror, and of course a coffee card!

To make:

1. Gather supplies similar to those listed above
2. Iron doily and place the printed silhouettes underneath doily and trace (a light board is helpful for this)
3. Use fabric crayons or markers to fill in the traced area
4. Sew doily to fabric
5. Take the strap and attach it to the bag (I used a sewing machine for that part since my strap was leather and kind of thick)
Enjoy!

Happy Cinco de Mayo

From here on out referred to as, The Day I Said, "Are You For Real? Yes!"

As I have a way of doing with most holidays, I feel I have a claim on this lovely 5th day of May. It was purely coincident, but Cinco de Mayo happens to be the day the most wonderful man in the world asked me to be his wife.

Here's what happened: We met at summer camp a year before high school graduation. We became instant friends. We vowed to visit New York City together one day, since it was an iconic city to both of us due to one of the greatest movies of all time, The Newsies. After camp, we both went to our respective homes--his in Orange County and mine in Connecticut. Cell phones weren't as widely used by high school kids in those days and I don't even know if text messaging existed, so we had a hard time keeping in touch. I always tried to call, but it was hard being the strange girl from Connecticut who kept calling and always heard, "He's not here right now." But, we did meet up in New York City that winter, like we had vowed, and it was magical. We were inseparable. It felt like the best thing in the world just to traipse around the freezing cold city with him holding his hand for the entire day. All too soon, the day was over and my sister and I left him standing there on the platform at Grand Central Station as we boarded the train that would take us home to Connecticut. This is a long story, so to shorten it, I'll just tell you that after high school graduation I knew I had to be near that boy, so I packed up my car and headed to sunny southern California. I think we started looking for my wedding dress the first week I arrived. We weren't trying to rush, it just seemed like the natural thing to do. We found it in one of the first magazines we looked through and my handsome side kick ripped it straight out the book and tucked it in his pocket--it was the one.

Well, I'm a hopeless surprise ruin-er. I always guess my surprises and any time he ever tried to do anything nice for me or out of the ordinary, I would think, "Is he going to propose and make this official?" So, he had a pretty hard time of it. Which is why, on Cinco de Mayo, 2003, I was awoken by a really cute boy kneeling beside my bed, asking me in rapid fire, "How are you? Are you okay? Will you marry me?" to which I replied, "Are you for real?" because I wanted to make sure this wasn't some cruel joke just to trick me. And we both have lived happily ever after.

And that is why Cinco de Mayo is special to me. Its okay if it is special to you, too. Its selfish, I know, but I think I will still always have to feel I have some claim to the day. Cheers! and Ole!

News Flash!

Hey friends,

I miss you.  It breaks just about every blog etiquette to talk about how you haven't posted in a while.  But let's face it, its been much to long.  I'm out of practice.

What's happening here is blue skies and warm sunny days.  Caiden Keats is now talking up a storm and saying things like, "Oh my GOSS! That's keezy!"

I went from drinking my coffee black, to drinking it with cream, back to drinking it black again.  I've also discovered that Americanos are not watered down espresso (well, technically they are, but they don't taste that way) and that I like/love them.  I also started to like drinking tea, but I think that is only a winter thing, because I never feel like it anymore.

Other than all of those important and newsworthy things I have mentioned, there are all kinds of things I am anxious to express, so stick around for one thousand more insights into my soul.

Hey Grandpa!

Somebody loves you...