Spring was Sprung with Lotz' of Fun

I feel like I'm playing catch up here in bloggers world. Sorry for the delay (especially for my Hero who asked if I remembered I even had a blog!!!) So without further a-do here is a glimpse to the tail end of our beautiful spring we enjoyed and the family trip with my parents and siblings to Seaside, OR. 

Once a week for the past year, Addison has been attending art class with Brenda Calvert and one of her friends from church. It was her second year going to Teacher Brenda and Addison did a fabulous job of expressing herself through pictures, paintings, and her God-given talent of creativity. Addi has always exhibited artistic abilities and learning the different techniques of art has allowed her to get even more creative. Lately, Addison has been making duct tape products including purses, gift bags, hair bows, and wallets that she plans to sell at her lemonade stand this summer. This past month Addison entered her painting of two cows in the End of the Year Art Show at the library and won 1st place for her age division and canvas paintings!!!!  Mommy and Daddy were so proud of her and her first blue ribbon! 

 {Addison & Teacher Calvert at the art show}

{Addi with her 1st place painting & her two best friends Annie & Jordan}

And with the warmer weather comes popsicles, pools, swimsuits and sprinklers.

For the past many years Dad and Mom have been gifting trips rather than "things" for Christmas. This has been an amazing way to create awesome memories, have many laughs, and give our kids the ability to travel with extended family. Memorial Weekend we headed south and to the beach for a long weekend in Seaside, OR! It was also a weekend of celebrating 11 years of marriage for My Honey and Me!!!!  God surrounded us with family and has continued to bless us with mounds of support and love for one another. Here are just a few snap shots of the weekend. 

{Beach bikes = tired legs but lotz' of fun!}

{The attempt at getting 18 month pictures turned massive fail but this was too priceless not to share}

{Yes, you see 6 of us...Michaela joined the party while her mommy was on a mission trip. It's God preparing us for 4 kids or God showing us what 4 kids is like on vacation}

{Why not have a CHEESE face with every picture?}

And Spring simply would not be complete without your Sweets catching toads and Chuckles kicking Ninja style...

God has given us much to be thankful for this past season: fun, family, health, and God's amazing grace. I'm excited to create more memories, grow deeper in love with God and my family, and just "be" with our kids as we are blessed to live in a neighborhood full of loving people surround by His beauty...And let's not forget Sunday S'moresma's all Summer long!

Remembering HIS Mother...

As we remembered and acknowledged all the moms in church today, I couldn't help but think of one mother that made the ultimate sacrifice...Mary. I can't imagine having an angel tell me I would be the one to carry the Son of God in my womb; to birth the Savior without the aid of drugs or doctors or the conventional hospital bed. To receive hastily looks of disapproval for a growing tummy without a wedded husband which was social not accepted and punished. To have to explain a miraculous event to your husband-to-be and attempt the future without fear. Feeling Jesus dance about within and internally become excited because just like me, Mary was a mother. We forget that Mary experienced the joys of motherhood like I experience with my little people. She nursed Jesus, bathed Jesus, taught him to read and write, to sing and to play. And knowing the opportunity placed before her, she also knew the pain her Son would endure.

I can never imagine the anguish Mary went through seeing her Son beat, scorned, brutally mocked and crucified. I imagine it's multiplied by the thousands when one of my children scrap their knee, fall down, or like today, bite their lip and have physical pain that only a mother can soothe. Like my mom having to watch her oldest daughter fight an agonizing battle with breast cancer. Like my girlfriend begging for life as her daughter was on life support or a mother standing by as her child endures emotional pain so extreme for one to handle.
I'm humbled to know that Jesus' mother had enough love to set Him free. I'm forever thankful for Mary to carry and birth the Son of Man. To raise Him to be the King of Kings and Lord of my life. So as we celebrate our Mom's today let us not forget the mom's before us who may have had the opportunity of raising the most important son of all: Jesus Christ.

Today I can't help but thank the mother that gave me a gift so precious and full of life herself. I'm honored to be able to raise our "baby" and to be called "mama" every moment throughout the day. This picture is a moment I will never forget and I thank all of our Nana's and Grandma's for their selfless love, spoil alerts, and kisses that will last for days. I thank God for the faith example they are to my children and the inspiration they are to me offering encouragement to a young mom myself.

{Judy meeting Myriam at only a day old}

I'm blessed to have the most prized job of all, the job that no one but me can do: parent our three beautiful children. It is a job that God destined me to have. A job that I thoroughly enjoy even when things get loud, chaotic, displaced, and inpatient. I wake up to the sounds of chatter or fighting and I'm ready for the task at hand because I know that part of God's dream for me is to be non other than Addison's, Charlie's, and Myriam's mommy through birth and adoption: The bath washer, laundry folder, nose picker, diaper changer, referee negotiator, meal cooker, sweet tooth maker, snuggle holder, tickle monster, toe pincher, cheek kisser, prayer warrior, faith teacher God wants me to be.

{Addison's Mom's Day stash that she gave me today}

"We're so lucky that our mom is so ducky" HILARIOUS!

That's a good question but here's my answer: Everyday is a children's day!

{From none other than my Chuckles}

So I can't help but say Happy Mother's Day to Mary and for being the mother to my Savior. I wish blessings to those mommies expecting and think about those waiting for the moment we experienced through selfless giving of another mommy. I pray for wisdom as we scrub the dishes, clean the bathrooms, and wash the 100th load of laundry. I ask God to magically impress the need for young children to fold the mounds of clean clothes after they effortlessly, without complaint, cleaned their rooms and put away their toys. I plead for grace in my inpatient moments and forgiveness for the things I've done wrong or done in rage of the moment. And I thank God for the laughter, the smiles, the quiet snuggles, and whispers of "I love you's" because its in those moments that define my job: Motherhood. 

 

{Me and my CrAzIeS}

{HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY}

He's Watching Over Me

So this past week I went crazy and ran 8 miles out in the small town county roads where the smells are potent and can melt paint off the walls. It's actually more enjoyable then it sounds but when running through God's farming country there are pleasantries that come with the territory. 

I love to run with my friend "Pandora" playing as I soak up the view of the mountains and the miles of green fields. It keeps me going as my soul fills with worship music and my heart speaks directly to God. 

It was during mile 3 that I noticed a man dressed from head to toe in cameo attire, styling long dreads and carrying a few bags walking towards me. I hate to profile people, but I'll be honest and say that I started praying for protection as this man was simply out of place in the country roads. I picked it up a few notches and kept running but as I made my turn at mile 4 I saw this man talking to another man on the side of the road with an unmarked truck. It was then that I noticed the stunning bald eagle sitting with such grace and poise in the field right next to the road. I was a mere 20 feet from this gorgeous bird. I felt a small sense of peace and it came to me how God is like that eagle. It wasn't until I past the truck that the neighbor approached me asking if I saw the border patrol man. This random lady had seen the man walking as I ran past her house and called in for a patrol officer to check it out. THANK YOU to this lady who has never met me and called in to keep me safe as I continued on my training run. 

It is a BLESSING to know that I live in a serving community that cares enough about others to make phone calls for strangers. God has blessed me with a safe neighborhood and friendly community members who serve each other, care for each other, and make an effort at making this small town BEAUTIFUL.  Just like that gorgeous eagle sitting in the field, so is God within our community. It would be a disgrace to not give God the credit for this amazing town we live in. God has placed us ever so perfectly between the oceans and the mountains. A gentle reminder of His great powers and creation. 

It was about 5 years ago that God reminded me of His promise and faithfulness by placing 7 perfect eagles on the top of telephone poles on the Hannegan starting by the Nooksack bridge and headed south. This came a week after a 7 year old girl was killed tragically in a car accident due to icy road conditions as her mom and sister were driving to school. I have no idea who she was or what made her smile, but I heard the sirens the morning of the dreadful car accident. I was heart broken and shook up by this girls death. I prayed for peace for the mother and that she knew God. And then the eagles...sitting above the scene where God grabbed a girls life and took her to Heaven to dance. 

No matter where I am, there He is also.  

"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

I run for me. I run for my health. I run for my sister and when I grow weary and exhaustion takes over, I am gently reminded that my Hero has been running for 6 years with a beast trailing close behind her. I run every mile in every race for my Hero. My goal...to run in every state before the age of 50. Whether my sister can be there or not, I run for her. She keeps me going. But when she can't be there, I know that God will be watching over me, pushing me, and protecting me as I take one step in front of the other. 

I will SOAR with strength from the Master of creation and maker of my being. I run in gratitude for my serving community that I'm blessed to live in and the people that live around me. And I pray that the mother of the 7 year old has found peace in knowing her little girly is dancing with JOY and soars with wings as she runs free in Heaven.