Let's hear it for Blogging!

Ok, so I am making no excuses for the lack of blog posts in the last few months. I have absolutely nothing to say for myself. I simply forget. Everyone else in the world is probably better at blogging than yours truly here. So, here's to blogging and here's to this blog. Here's to staying up to late waiting for something witty or inspiring to come to mind. Thank you and goodnight!

What Are Little Boys Made Of?

"What are little boys made of?
What are little boys made of?
Frogs and snails and puppy-dogs' tails,
And that are little boys made of."

And, apparently quite a bit of dirt, PB&J and that sweaty-first-grader smell:)







And well, i guess Vrai has the class enough to wear his formal attire every so often, just to make his momma smile:)



Ah, brothers don't shake hands! Brothers' gotta HUG!


and now, a shameless display of Constant boy cuteness

I'm encouraged even though I'm discouraged

Why is it so hard to stop yourself from totally beating yourself up as a mom, as a wife, as a friend, as a human being? It is far too easy to see your failures and take them to mean that you ARE a failure rather than just someone who has made mistakes and can get back up and move on. I've been reading lately about healthy growth patterns and grace is a big issue in being able to grow or not.
I realize that I have most of my life seen grace something like this:
"you screw up, you admit it, you're forgiven, you promise to do better"

Wait, you're thinking, (just as I am) that doesn't sound all that bad, right? Wrong! I was so surprised to find myself thinking," well, yeah, that's just what you do." Man, have I been living under the law. Now, don't get me wrong, admission of guilt,or recognizing your failure is a good thing. Denial will get you nowhere. And being forgiven is huge. I don't take those things lightly. It's just the "pull-yourself-up-by-your-boot-straps-try-to-gut-it-out-and-do-better" mentality I'm so prone to live by. When did magically finding the answer inside myself creep in and make itself at home in the instructions on how to live?
So, what is grace then, you ask?
It is technically, God's ability. Get that. God's. Not mine. It has to come from outside myself. It has to be something other than me. It has to be someone that I have to rely on other than dear ole' #1. It means relegating myself to #2 or perhaps far far far below that:).It means coming to the dead END of my own efforts to change, manipulate, hide and beat myself into that perfect person that I have set up as an idol in my mind. Transcendance. I heard that we all need a little (make that, ALOT) of transccendance in our lives. We need to know it's not all about us. We need to know that we are at the mercy of Someone far greater than us. And to be thankful for the precious life we are given and sometimes not given. And to follow His lead like you would if someone just rescued you from a deep deep pit. I need to live in an environment of grace where I am reliant on God; so much of the time through others; and be filled with the gratefulness that comes from recieving that which I do not deserve. Man, to get something for ABSOLUTELY nothing!!! That is scandalous! And breathtakingly amazing and loving! One of my favorite French phrases is from an old Catholic monk, "L'amour de Dieu est folie!" meaning, the love of God is crazy, or like pure folly. He is crazy to love us. But if crazy means He loves us unconditionally then I don't want Him to be sane. :) On that thought, goodnight.

Jump for JOY! There's grace!

An update, finally...

I so haven't been keeping up with this...sorry fam. Here's a few pics of the boys lately. Vrai is so close to finally sitting up on his own and Wyatt is getting more and more hilarious with each new word he learns. Tim just dropped his phone into the toilet, so if you want to get a hold of him, you should probably try our home number or my cell...what a guy. :)
check out the cuteness.

Good Friday

It's Good Friday! The thing about Good Friday is that it's ONLY good if you also have Easter Day. Without the resurrection, Good Friday becomes a horrific, bloody, immense tradgedy. I'm so thankful for the resurrection...without it, there's absolutely no power to anything about Jesus. He is alive! So, happy Good Friday, without which we would have no chance...and Happy Easter, without which we would have no hope!

The Nomadic Sleeper

Ahh, time for another fun update on my firstborn. Wyatt has of late taken to sleeping in different places within the confines of his little room. We've stopped trying to make him stay in bed (read: complete losing battle) and given him a choice now to sleep in either his bed or his new sleeping bag on the floor. He has found the floor an exciting alternative since he was already "falling" (i think he was purposely getting out) out of bed and falling asleep on the floor anyway. This way he actually is sleeping on the floor on purpose and with permission:) So, the last few nights he actually chose his bed over the floor, which was surprising. We still go in around 11pm to see where he actually ended up and make sure he doesn't freeze or lose all circulation in his limbs (he has fallen asleep half off his bed before or with his legs up on a bench).
Here you see him as I found him the other night. Completely sans bedding with his faithful Teddy Gram by his little side. I love his hiney sticking straight up into the air! He is such a precious, hilarious little boy.
Well, time to go see where he's landed tonight...

It bears repeating...

Life as of late has been such that this exerpt from a friend's blog seemed apropos. As I write this, Wyatt is taking bites of his latest Valentine from his great grandmother. And yes, he actually got a bite in his mouth and just spit it out on the floor. I guess is didn't taste as good as it looked.
I think maybe I needed reminding more than any of you, but here it is none the less! I hope you moms remember what a great and awesome job you are doing. When you actually stop and think on it, it is of the utmost importance, all while feeling like the most insignificant. That's why the article.
"Homemaking" written by J.R. Miller, originally published in 1882
"Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse into the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into it's soul to see it's possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of it's life and for it's destiny-she would see that in all God's world there is no work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other hands the sacred and holy trust given to her.
What we want to do with our children is not merely to control them and keep them in order, but to implant in true principals deep in their hearts which shall rule their whole lives; to shape their character from within into Christ-like beauty, and to make them noble men and women, strong for battle and duty. They are to be trained rather than governed. Growth of character, not merely good behavior, is the object of all home governing and teaching. Therefore the home influence is far more important than the home laws and the parent's lives are (far more important) than their teachings.
O mothers of young children, I bow before you in reverence. Your work is most holy. You are fashioning the destinies of immortal souls. The power folded up in the little ones that you hushed to sleep in your bosoms last night are powers that shall exist forever. You are preparing them for their immortal destiny and influence. Be faithful. Take up your sacred burden reverently. Be sure that your heart is pure and your life is sweet and clean."

Lord, let me remember the awesome and amazing job you've given me in the form of two little snot nosed boys and keep me sweet! Happy Valentines!

Our Year in Review

This is a little something I whipped up on a really cute thing called Smilebox. It does a pretty complete job of "showing" our 2008. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook