Career Day

Today is career day. Some people may think these are odd choices, but in a family that celebrates creativity, adventure and talent - these are fantastic!

Our CIA Operative (spy)

Our Disney Imagineer

These kids are awesome! 😊

Real Life Photos

A few months ago we met up with a girl friend of mine (Margaret Koning Photography) at a coffee shop in town. She is one of my favorite people, with a beautiful heart and a creative mind. God has given her a gift to find and capture the beauty in even the messiest of moments. I love looking at her work and I was SO honored that she spent some time photographing our little circus. The best thing about them were that they are so REAL. Crumbs, messes and all. She did not disappoint!

She happened to be working with a fellow photographer that day who captured some great moments, as well. I have become a regular follower (and FAN!) of Raven's Next Photography, as well! 

What a gift these ladies were to us in capturing this sweet time in our family's lives! If you are interested in having family photos taken, I would highly recommend both of these talented artists.

Another Unexpected Life Turn

Just when you think you have things figured out... isn’t that the way it works? Some surprise. Some curve ball that you just were not expecting changes everything. And sometimes it’s tough to adjust to the news. Or terrifying. That’s what Andy and I were feeling in November when we found out that we are expecting our fourth child. Stunned. Confused. Scared. I never imagined my life with four kids. Even in elementary school, when I thought toward my future I would go back and forth between wanting two and three kids. But four? Nope. That’s too many.

And we had both agreed - we’re done. We have everything we have always wanted - and we had long since come to acceptance with this being our “last” of each milestone. Our youngest is almost out of diapers and we’re ready to move on! Time to make that official...
But God disagreed. Days after getting the doctor’s number to arrange the “official” part, we learned that I was carrying another life. Child #4. Talk about disbelief! Wowza. Four. That’s a lot. This can’t be happening. Somebody wake me up!
But this is no dream, and just as quickly as the panic set in, God reminded me that His plans are better than my plans - ALWAYS. He also gave me the overwhelming reminder that this was already a life - one that He already knows. One that He has set apart and created for a purpose. What an amazing and humbling thought. He has breathed life into these cells and caused them to grow and multiply, creating someone that He already has plans for. And I get the immense honor of carrying and mothering this beautiful life.
So it's official... we are going to be a well-balanced four kid family... with an even two girls, two boys in July 2018. Party of 6. It would be a lie to say that we are not still stunned, scared and in disbelief... but we know that God has a greater plan than we can imagine and I choose to be thankful, grateful, honored to carry this life. I can’t wait to meet this little guy.

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart...” Jeremiah‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭

Worn Chairs

The other day I was sitting at the table eating lunch with my son and he spilled his bowl of my soup on my chair.

He was, ofcourse, not sitting in his high chair when he spilled this soup - where the tray would have caught and confined the liquid. No, he was sitting in my chair. The "cleanest" of the remaining chairs.

I use the term clean in the loosest sense of the word. After all, the once white fabric is now a mixture of off-white, grayish-brown and colorful marker designs. The fabric on the seats has literally worn through from so much use.

For a moment I hung my head in shame. Yuck. This is gross. I can not keep up - every time I clean, it gets dirtier. These seats look disgusting. This is so indicative of how I feel right now - I can't keep it together, it's worn and tired and needs more makeup! I just can't seem to make it look pretty. I need to reupholster these seats and I don't have the time... aahh!

Then I lifted my head... and the Lord shifted by perspective. It kind of felt like one of those old 3D pictures where you had to stare at them for a minute and once you were able to adjust your focus, an image would pop out at you.

You know what I saw?

I saw my family at the table.

I saw my children at ages 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and now 8 sitting in those chairs, squirming around and being antsy the way they do.

I saw one daughter sitting on her knees because she couldn't quite reach and the other sitting in the odd, contorted way that she likes to sit until we tell her to put her feet on the floor and sit like a lady.

I saw the hundreds (maybe even thousands) of hours we have spent at that table - eating, laughing, crafting, coloring, play-doh-ing, painting, baking... the list goes on and on.

I saw the stories that have been created around that table, the funny memories, the spaghetti smeared faces (and stripped down children that immediately follow spaghetti night!), the days at school that have been discussed, the "question of the night" tradition that my daughter initiated when she was a toddler (and it stuck!).

It suddenly occurred to me... we did this. WE DID THIS. This is amazing. This is beautiful. In this fast paced life where I am inclined to lean toward fast food on any given night so that I don't have to wait for dinner to be ready or have to deal with the clean up afterwards, we wore through and thoroughly covered these seats with memories. And dirt, but... you know, whatever.

Thank you, Lord, for a table to gather around. Thank you for chairs to sit in, a home to belong in and a family to treasure. Thank you for the opportunity to be home together around the table. No matter how many times per day I have to sweep crumbs up off of the floor, I am GRATEFUL!

Oops

Gosh, it has been forever since I have posted on this blog! Is it bad that I forgot it existed? Life with three just makes it next to impossible to keep up with anything that is not absolutely necessary... but I should at least try to keep up on a family blog!
Apologies for the extended absence... since the last post Annalie has adjusted well to her big girl bed. Lol. In fact, she has also successfully completed Preschool, Kindergarten and is about to start First Grade.
Amberlin is about to go into Third Grade (where has the time gone??) and we have added another little life to the family. Ansel is our son - sweet as can be, and another BIG personality.
These kids make me so darn proud... 😄

Big Girl Bed

We finally took the front of the crib off for Annalie. She is so excited for her toddler bed! 

Only a few more months before she needs to move into a bunk bed with her sister! She is excited about that move, too.