Ponytail days and plastic pools

It's March 18th and seems to be that time of year already! The kids are running barefoot, shirts off through the yard...sweating! It's PONYTAIL day! That means it's a day not to worry about what I look like... throw my hair back in a ponytail, get outside with my kids and ...ENJOY!
First order of business is to put on my first pair of shorts of the season! Next, I put water in the water table and it isn't long before they are ready for... THE PLASTIC POOL....as I drag it out and get the soap and water for the boys to help me give it a good cleaning...I wonder...How many more years will I get to do this???....the plastic pool that is. We've filled it up with cold (and warm) water and Eli is now splashing around and Nate has put himself in charge of keeping the water topped off with the garden hose. Such simple pleasures......such RICH MOMENTS to soak up.
Thank you, Jesus for plastic pools and boys who still fit in them....for happy children...big smiles...mud puddles ..lots of giggles...green grass and blooming trees for a backdrop....warm sun on my shoulders...slight breeze...."ponytail days."

4 candles on a Racecar cake

Saturday I lit four candles on a race car cake and joined in singing the "happy birthday song" in celebration of our middle child. Each time I add another candle, it's bitter sweet....but today I choose to dwell on the sweet....I will REMEMBER the blessings of the Lord.....for isn't it my memories of God's provision in the past that spurs on my trust for today? So I will take a few moments to remember the last four years.... the ways that God has loved us.... through our children and used them to draw us closer to Him.
The Bible tells us that our father KNOWS how to give good gifts...and boy does he ever!
Nathan's name alone means "gift from God" and how true that has been every day of his life. He was given to us 6 months before our world temporarily fell apart. His sweet spirit, big smiles and spunkiness met us on some of the most difficult days... and I counted all of them as blessings in the storm. Nate was not only a gift to us but also to Luke....what a great brother God gave Luke at just the right time.
So many things have happened. Ive overcome huge hurdles, found freedom from things that bound me, grown spiritually in ways unprecedented, watched some of my fears melt away, found joy that had been buried......and it's all marked by four candles on a cake....a small span of time representing the BIG love of God....
The past four years have been filled with airplanes, constructions trucks, race cars, sword fights, and lots and lots of story books! Each day, I've been amazed with the ways that God is growing Nate in stature and wisdom and the favor that God is showing our family.....the ways that God continually teaches me about His love for me through the love I experience for my children....and the ways he teaches me about my response to him through the ways my children show love to me.
Nathan's birth marks the beginning of a time of God's work in our family that brings about words of praise to my lips!
Praise you God for the big things you've done in us over the last four years and
also for small ways you've loved us:
1. for little feet running down the hall
2. tiny voices producing constant chatter
3. toys spread across every room in the house
4. bare feet outside
5. lots and lots of giggles
6. short arms wrapped around my neck
7. "Mommy, I love you"
8. cartoon pajamas
9. children learning to read
10. big brown eyes
11. smiles and kisses
12. friendship
12. family growing together in love

# 105 Signs of Spring

I saw my first daffodil of the season last week....my neighbor's forsythia is blooming, the birds are having all kinds of noisy conversation high in the treetops, my door is wide open to the outside and warm sunshine is spilling in....the sky is blue and it even SMELLS like Spring.....I love the physical beginning of the Spring Season....EVERY YEAR it's my FAVORITE.....I love to see the old things die away and the new things burst into life....color...warm....I love Spring.
There were signs of Spring in my home as well this morning....hands interlocked with one another, we stopped and read and prayed and listened...and I sense that God is doing a fresh work in my home...he's pruned away old and un-profitable striving and effort and is birthing grace and love and warm and beauty in my home.....in my marriage....in my children.....in me....
I LOVE Spring!!!

Mothers and babies

#100 Mothers and Babies.....pretty ribbons...tiny bows...

What a beautiful sight today....a room full of ladies...most of them mothers....assembling gift sets for the local Crisis pregnancy center....onesies, caps, diapers and pacifiers....all staples for a new baby! Happy chatter....busy fingers tying tiny bows with pretty ribbon.....a gift for each new mom after her first ultrasound at the clinic....
A room full of women celebrating LIFE...
Prayers going up for over 100 new moms who will hold each of these gifts in their hands....our hands to theirs...reaching out...celebrating the little gift inside of them....encouraging them to choose life....
A room full of beautiful women ministering to the community the love of Jesus....
Thank you, Lord...for #100......what a great Tuesday morning......

#87 the smell and taste of Brazil

# 87 Sweet smell of Maracuja--the taste of Brazil
Funny how a smell can immediately transport you back in time to a different place....flood you with a million memories... and send a warmth from your head to your toes in a split second....
Today I lifted a glass of juice to my lips and before I could even taste the treat that my husband had surprised us with this morning, I could smell it...and suddenly it was as if I'd gotten in a time machine and gone back many years....I found myself sitting around a table with family and friends in a place so far from home that I'd grown to love....Brazil....drinking a juice I'd learned to love and had only found there......I felt a smile spread wide across my face and I took a moment to remember....
Today #87...I'm thankful for the ability to remember such sweet, rich times that filled my life with joy....for meeting and growing to love some of my favorite people on the entire planet....
I'm very aware as I watch family members age and struggle to hold onto their own memories, what a GIFT it is to be able to remember.......
Thank you Jesus....for precious memories.....for a sweet smell and a taste of delicious fruit that triggered a beautiful start to my day.....

Matching Shirts

I've accepted the challenge of 1,000 blessings....I just finished writing number 72-matching shirts. As I dressed my two and three year old little boys this morning, I lovingly reached for matching shirts. Today, they love to dress alike...today....I'm very aware as I look at my 6 almost 7 year old, that these days are passing so quickly....so today I will soak up and enjoy two little boys desiring to be "on the same team." Big smiles....big brown eyes.....(sigh...) thank you Jesus