True Love

I love these boys! All four of them bring joy to my heart daily, and I'm so grateful to be blessed by their lives continuously...


** Note: The collar around Copper's mouth is NOT a muzzell! It's called a gentle leader, and for anyone out there looking for a FANTASTIC way to train your dog to walk beside you instead of pulling you, it's a great tool! :0)

Cleaning House

Do you ever feel like the Lord is just cleaning house inside the depths of your soul? Like He's reaching into ALL the crevices and removing every cob web?

I do.

Lately, I've been feeling that a LOT. I posted here a few weeks ago about how I felt like God was preparing me for some changes. I'm still totally unsure of what those changes are. I still feel COMPLETELY in the dark. I trust Him though. I trust him with my life.

The past couple of weeks, more than anything, I have felt like God was just cleaning house. He's doing the work that needs to be done inside of me before giving me MORE work that needs to be done around me.

Cleaning house is a hard thing though. It's dirty work. Letting go of past hurts and things that have made me down right angry isn't something that comes easy to me. Surrendering those things is what He wants from me, and I know in the end the burdens on my shoulder will be much lighter. It's true what they say you know... "It takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile".

So smile... I will. Frown... I won't. Today I'm actually feeling excited about this house cleaning. I'm expecting to hear God's voice whispering in my ear all along... assuring me.

I am His and He is mine.

Four Boys

Isn't this the CUTEST picture you've seen in a while??? They are BOTH cute, but the one I'm referring to is the one including my furry boy. I couldn't resist posting it. I've already made it my screen saver too. This past Friday we packed up "the crew" and headed for Apple Hill. For all of you who aren't locals, Apple Hill is located here in the foothills (but on the OTHER side of the canyon) and it's chock FULL of fun activities. There are apple farms every where and each one has something different to offer. There are crafters, bakers, ponds full of fish, train rides, pony rides... much to spend your money on if you so desire. Personally, we opt for the caramel apples and an occasional apple pie to take home. We don't spend as much money as we do time just walking around, enjoying the sites and mingling with other apple hill fans.

On our way home, we stopped in Coloma (an old gold mining town) and spent some time at the river. The boys made boats out of sticks and leaves and then raced them down the river. They skipped rocks and made bridges out of rocks. J and I took lots of pictures and cozied up on a rock and chatted about the boys and all of our many blessings. Copper hung out with the boys, and did whatever they were doing. The boys had climbed up on this small deck (actually it's part of a replica of an old mill) and they were looking over the edge across the river. At one point, one of them said...

"Wow... Look at that!"

Next thing we know, there's Copper... right up there with them. It seems he doesn't want to miss out on anything! It made for a perfect photo opportunity though. :0)

It's a good thing that we had such a glorious time on Friday. As of yesterday, all three are sick AGAIN! Seriously???? We are in the month of October, right? It's feeling a lot like February to me around here with all the tissues flying through the air and medicine spoons cluttering the dishwasher. UGH.... This too shall pass.

Taking a Break

This week we are on fall break. I LOVE fall break. Well, I guess I LOVE ALL breaks, but especially my fall one. My heart cozies up to my boys for a whole week of just playing and hanging out together. I get to linger over my coffee for a bit longer than usual. We all adore the colors of fall and the crispness in the air, so we get to take a break from the business of life and just savor it.

In some ways, I guess you could say that it sometimes feels like we are preparing for hibernation. Oh, wait... we're not bears, so I guess that's not actually allowed. Well, something similar at least. Our boys don't play any winter sports, so our schedules slow down A LOT and it really does FEEL like we almost hibernate.

Anyhow... I digress...

Back to our break. Today is Wednesday and so far this week we have gone hunting for our Halloween costumes and taken a trip to the pumpkin patch. Every year we shop around at thrift stores and find our costumes. We piece them together. It's more fun that way. It's just NOT fun going and buying the complete costume in a box or on a hanger. The boys and I look forward to this trip every year. I love to see their creativity change. Lucas chose to be a mad scientist, Colby chose to be the mad scientist's "experiment gone wrong", and Caleb chose to be a plumber. I know.. a PLUMBER?????? I'm telling you... my Caleb boy... he's something else! I will be sure to post pictures.

Our trip to the pumpkin patch was fun, as always. This year, for the first time ever.... the boys decided that they were too old for their regular trip to the patch. Apparently, the train is too small and full of "screaming little ones", and overall, they have outgrown it. :0(

HOWEVER... when Grammy Berta invited us to go to a patch with blow up castles and slides and HOMEMADE PUMPKIN MUFFINS... the overwhelming response was.... "Well, DUH, Ya!"

I'm so happy that they haven't truly outgrown the pumpkin patch.

We've been doing lots of other fun things this week, but the general theme has just been togetherness and it just doesn't get any better than that! Lots of hugs being tossed around... and even a few kisses here and there.

I love fall break!

Beautiful

Today I am embracing all "things" beautiful in my life. These are just a few...

Listening to my children sing the words "He loves me... Oh, how He loves me" with the David Crowder Band in our car. These kinds of moments are among the MOST beautiful to me! There is absolutely NOTHING sweeter. ~

The glow of our first wood stove fire on a cold,blustery VERY wet fall day. ~

The smell of nut bread and coffee lingering through my house.... YUM! ~

Knowing that my boys are happy. Seeing their joy on their faces, as well as hearing it in their voices. ~

Like I said, these are just a few. There are too many to count. What do YOU find beautiful today?

Love Never Fails

This past weekend my honey and I celebrated 17 years of being married. I have been married to my best friend for SEVENTEEN years... WOW!

Our anniversary was the end of September, but we spent the actual day wiping noses and handing out medications to everyone... including me. God is good though... He knew we needed that special time as a family. A time to slow down and spend time here, in our "cave". He also knew that a week later... we would be celebrating in beautiful SNOW!

That's right... I never thought that we would be spending an anniversary in the snow, but that's just what we did. We spent the weekend together in Tahoe and BIG, gorgeous snow flakes fell all day on Sunday. It was so peaceful... so sweet... so romantic. Mmmmmmm.....

I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man. He is a wonderful husband and an exceptional father. My heart still skips a beat when he walks in the door at the end of the day. I realize that not everyone is so lucky to be able to say that. We have our issues, as everyone does. We both never stop trying though. We know that relationships are never just "done". They take work continually. They require 100 percent commitment.

Life brings all sorts of challenges. The storms that come sometimes seem so totally unbearable. One thing that J and I have always kept tucked inside of "us" is this...

Love never fails.

The scripture says it perfectly. It is the anthem of J and I's hearts. It is what has rescued us many times over. God's love for us, individually and as a married couple never fails. God's love for us is what makes our love for each other so strong. So unique. So lovely. This love that we have will never fail... as long as we always have that foundation.

Love is what matters the most.

Love never fails... yesterday.. today and always.




I love you J.

~ me

Raging Seas

There have been many occasions during the past couple of weeks where I have reflected upon my current emotions, but I haven't had a chance to record them until now. We have had sickness in the house for a couple of weeks. For now, wellness is back. The boys are at school (it STILL feels weird to say/type that) and the little one I watch is taking her nap. The house is quiet on this cool, fall-like Tuesday afternoon.

I think I mentioned here before how I have felt recently that God is stirring things up in the depths of my soul. He is speaking, but my ears are not able to decipher the words yet. Well... maybe I should say I'm not ready to hear what He's saying. I honestly feel like most of the time this is the case. I often say that I need Him to put things in writing for me. You know... like a bill board or something like that. What I often mean by this is that I need (want) to hear Him clearly... making no mistakes about what He's saying.

In truth though, most of the time I already know what He's saying... I'm just not ready for it.

I was talking with a friend yesterday and she shared something that made perfect sense to me. She told me how it's a known fact that often times a mother eagle has to literally make her nest messy in order to get "the kids" to leave when it's time. They would stay FOREVER if the mama bird continued to clean up after them and do everything she could to keep it comfortable. As soon as she begins to make it UNcomfortable though... they take that as their signal to move on. Interesting, huh?

Well, God is starting to make my nest here a little uncomfortable. No, do not take that in a literal way. We are not moving. However, I do believe that God is moving me in different directions. He is making plans for me. New ones.

So, you know how I am about change. I'll fight it every time. UGH... you would think I would have learned by now! Therefore... I am asking a few friends to pray. Please pray that I'll fight the urge to fight. Pray that my heart will be open, my ears will be listening and that every part of me will be willing to follow a God that I trust and adore. Pray that whatever it is He has in store for me next won't present itself as being "too big" for me. Pray that I have confidence in knowing that He won't give me more than I can handle.

I'm so thankful that I have a God who is everything to me. I'm thankful that I can surrender myself to Him and be directed by His desires for my life. I'm thankful for quiet moments to pray and reflect.

I'm thankful for those in my life that I can go to and ask for prayer... knowing that you will do just that.