All Over Us

I should never doubt it, but in complete honesty, more often than not I do. I should have expected nothing less. This trip, God's grace has been ALL OVER US. We left Arizona on Sunday morning and drove ALL day with the five kids in the back. And they did unbelievably well.

Tara and I had a blast. We talked about silly things & serious things. We laughed so hard when I got stuck between the rope that was holding up the DVD player and the head rest on the seat when I was trying to get back into my seat after helping one of the kids with something. Adam and Joey had rigged up this whole contraption in the car so that all the kids could see the DVD player while we were driving. When I was trying to get back in my seat, my belly got stuck and the air control panal that was helping to hold up the DVD player fell out of the ceiling. I was laughing so hard that it took me nearly five minutes to some how manuvure my way through the rope and get the control panal securely back into the ceiling. The kids had no idea what was going on. They just kept repeating over and over again, "Hey, what happened to our movie? Mom, can you move so that we can see the movie?"... I was laughing so hard that I couldn't move, at least not fast enough for them.

Soo... if you're ever having a sad moment in your day, just picture the pregnant lady stuck between the rigged up rope and the headrest, as they're driving 80miles an hour dwon a hwy in the middle of nowhere with five little kiddos in the back seat who are clueless to the hilareous sight that is blocking their view of The Incredibles. :)... I'm sure that the mental image that comes to mind could easily brighten anyone's day. :)

Anyways, we made it all the way here with zero car troubles, zero catastrophies, zero problems. God's grace was clearly ALL OVER US!

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It's 8:30 on Tuesday night and I just got off the phone with Joey. They just finished cleaning up the final touches on the house. Joey bought a cheap little trailer this afternoon on his way home from work for some addiontional items that they were unable to fit into the truck. They are hoping to get on the road within the hour and drive for as long as they can tonight. I am so proud and grateful for my Joey. He's been working like crazy in the midst of trying to move across the country & clean the giant house on the hil one last time. I have been reminded these past few days that the Lord takes care of every detail beyond anything that we can muster up on our own. Every penny that we've needed to make this move the Lord has provided... not even one little need has the Lord overlooked. God's grace has been ALL OVER US!!!!

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Tara and I went and saw our new homes yesterday. Let me just say that the view from our from porch is absolutely stunning!!!! I forgot to take a picture while we were there but I promise to do so in the next few days. The place itself is about 1/3 the size of the giant house on the hill and I can't expres with my words how GRATEFUL I am that that's the case. It will be so much more manageable to clean and my kids will never be too far away. It's cozy to say the least... and that's just what The Mama ordered. :) Tara (who's from The Springs) said that it's located kinda in the middle of nowhere, but I must confess that as I followed her around The Springs yesterday, the entire city made me feel like I was in the middle of nowhere. :) It feels nothing like home here. I'm not sure why I ever thought it would feel like home. But it definately felt strange to me as we drove into our new town. Although I felt like I was Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, like We weren't in Kansas anymore, I did feel overwhelmingly grateful that Tara was there and that the Lord was gracious enough to not have me make this move on our own. God's grace was ALL OVER US when we drove into our new city.

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Well I'm tired and am going to go to bed. But Thursday's the big day... the day that we move into our new home in Colorado Springs. :) It's really quite lovely actually... I'll take pictures. :)

Good Night....

Adjuting Just Fine

I have totally enjoyed soaking up my kids the past two days. I think that it was an absolutley brilliant idea to leave the packing and the cleaning to the boys and take the kids out early. Without the stress of trying to wrap things up in San Diego I have had plenty of time to focus on my treasures. As we were driving out to Arizona (our first stop) on Thursday I kept looking into the back seat where all three of our treasures were lined up in a row in their carseats. Reesie's legs now hang way down when she sits in her seat, not quite touching the floor. She looks to me like one of the big kids. My life is seriously flashing before my eyes.

Today I wanted to write about my kids... about the ways that they're adjusting to this crazy adventure that we are finding ourselves on... about the perfectly detailed way that the Lord is bringing this season in our lives to pass.

The truth is that they are handling themselves just fine. They are each different. When I ask Siah how he is feeling he'll say, "I'm sad. I'm going to miss my friends." Then Halee will pipe in with her chipper voice and declare, "But we get to meet new friends!!!!" Siah has a harder time with change. I think that Halee actually gets a thrill with change. She seems excited for her new bed, her new room, her new friends. Siah's been so cuddley with me... which is not the norm. He's been wanting to sit in my lap and he keeps asking if he can sit by me at the table when we eat. I love it. I know that it's probably just what he need as we make this transition and I'm more than happy to oblige. I'm grateful that since we left early, I have all the time in the world to give him whatever he needs.

And Reesie...mmmmm???? My sweet, defiant, loud, hilareous ,almost two-year-old!! With her I don't know if she's behaving the way she is simply because she is two or because she senses all the stuff going on in her life. I can gues that it is probably a combo. The girl looks just like me when I'm mad. Her whole body tenses up and she kinda waves her arms and stomps her feet, and she makes the cutest facial expressions but I have to pretend that I don't think they're cute so that she doesn't get that the message that her behavior is even slightly ok. :) If I lightly flick her on the hand when she directly disobeys me, she carries on and on and on like someone just chopped her arm off. It's LOUD and quite ridiculous actually... but we are working on it and I can already see her response getting less and less dramatic. She is my cuddle bug. She loves to be held and it has been a challenge for me lately because I just can't hold her as much since the baby in my tummy has been getting bigger and bigger. So I've been getting down on her level and hugging her for a minute or two instead of holding her. Somtimes I just tell her that I can't hold her but that I would be happy to hold her hand. She's pretty content with that idea. :)

Over all, all three treasures are doing great... genuinely.

I have been so blessed.

And I am keeping my eye out for them as we continue to move into our new home, in our new city, while meeting some new friends. Below are just a few pictures that are proof to me that although they are all in adjustment, they are far from being depressed!!!

Driving Away

Yesterday we drove away from the city that I have called home for nearly my entire life. My Joey called me several times yesterday morning just to check in and see how I was doing.

(Side note: It really blesses me that in the midst of his absolutlely crazy schedule with moving and work that he still makes the time to call me and make sure that I'm doing ok.)

Any who... As I was packing up a few final things I couldn't stop thinking about how strange it was that in a few short hours I would be driving away from everything that I've ever known with our three small children, (and one more in tote) to somewhere that I've never been. And for some reason, although I am completely aware of the fact that I am pregnant,as I sat folding clothes and putting them in a box, it just dawned on me that I really am having a baby in a few short months and I still need to find a doctor... I should probably figure out what hospital I'm going to have the baby at too. :)

On Wednesday night, I absolutely lost it for the first time in this entire process. It was really hard to say good bye to some really close friends and I just needed to "let it all out." Once I did, I felt much better! Joey prayed for us as I cried. I was sobbing. Then he asked me if I was sad that we were moving out of "this house'? I went from sobbing, to hysterically laughing, in 2.5 seconds (remember that I am super pregnant and I have these crazy mood swings... I'll admit it.:)

There is NO WAY that I am sad to move out of the giant house on the hill. (I hope to do a "wrap up" post someday on all the things that I learned, loved, and didn't love about this last year.) But for some reason it just cracked me up that Joey would even ask me if I was sobbing about leaving the house. The truth is that I am absolutely gitty about moving out of that excessively huge house. NEVER again will I have to clean those never-ending wood floors. I am so glad to be moving into a house that is only 1/3 the size of what we have been living in. I am extatic to be moving into the most affordable place that we have ever lived in!!! I'll post pictures and a video when we get there and get settled in. I am super excited to just have our own home again.

I must say that it made it so much better to drive away with a dear friend. Our kids were amazing in the car. I believe with my whole heart that God was just showering his grace all over us. Five kids in a car for several hours at a time could be chaos... but it was so far from that. It was actually peaceful in a lot of ways. It was such a blessing to have a friend to let out all my thoughts to and to hear all her thoughts as well.

Driving away was unforgettable. It was overwhelming. It was scary. It was exhillerating and exciting. It was a day that I will remember for a long time.

Instruction Through Confession

I wanted to make a note of something really important that I have noticed in parenting lately. It sounds simple but I know first hand how difficult and humbling it is to actually live it out. What is "it"? It's the power of instruction through confession with my kids.

The Lord gave me another opportunity with Siah today to encourage him to overcome something that he struggles with by confessing to him my own sin. The conversation went something like this...

(Preface... Siah had just yelled at Reesie because she didn't do what he was asking of her. At this point he's crying and carrying on and I start to talk to him about it ... )

M..."Siah, You need to stop raising your voice at Reesie when she doesn't listen to you the first time you ask her. When you raise your voice does that make the situation and better? Does Mama speak that way to you?"

(Right after I say this to him a huge light bulb turns on in my head... YES!!! Mama does speak that way to him!!! Not always, but for sure sometimes, I model this exact behavior to my children. When they don't listen to me quick enough or fast enough I raise my voice in hopes that they'll hear me better and want to obey... But instead it iritates them and often times causes them to shut down.)

So I bent down and looked Siah right in his face and confessed,

M..."Siah, actually, sometimes Mama does raise her voice at you to try and get you to listen. And I'm sorry about that cuz that's not the right way to handle that situation. How does it make you feel when Mama speaks that way to you?"

(Immediately after I confessed that I struggle with the same thing, Siah's crying and carrying on ceased. He began to answer my questions in a regular, self-controled voice. And he actually looked at my face and gave me his full attention.)

S... "Sad."

M... "When I speak to you with a harsh, loud tone does that make you wanna listen to me?"

S... "No."

M... "So do you think that when you raise your voice at your sister that makes her want to listen you?

S... No.

M... "So what could we do instead of raising our voice?

S... "We can ask once. If they don't listen, we can ask Mama for help. "

M... "That is a much better way to handle that. Now let's go try again the right way."

Then he went to Reesie apologized, and then asked her again in a kind voice. She didn't listen, so he asked he me help. I helped him. Then we went on with our day.

It was so cool for me to see how quickly his demenor changed the moment that he heard me say that I struggled with the same thing.

Being appropriately honest about my struggles is something that I really appreciated about my own mother. I don't really remember how she was towards me when I was really small but as a teenager I can remeber countless converstions where she was honest and humble. She never gave me an excessive amount of information but when I was struggling with a partiular sin, she was really good about reminding through her own confessions that I was not alone in my sin. And she was commited to figuring out a better, healthier way to overcome that sin rather than just staying stuck in that sin. She was willing to walk with me and hold me accountable to improving that part of my life. I would like to give that same gift to my kids. But in order to do that I have to take the time and humble my heart enough to confess to my kids when I am in the wrong.

I know it's been quite some time since I've written much on our blog. But in the midst of the business that has filled our lives over the past four weeks I still find myself learning important lessons that I don't wanna forget... The power of confession with my kids being one of those things. :)

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Tara and I will be loading up the kids in her car and heading out to CO in just 2 days. The boys will be joining us next wednesday when we move in to our new places. They're staying behind to wrap things up around here. But once we leave town I know that I'll have a bit more time to blog about all the emotions and details of this move, of this past year in the big house on the hill, of our family happenings, of our growing baby in my tummy.

I'm looking forward to catching up. :)

Make New Friends... But Keep The Old

We had our going away party last Saturday. It was simple but oh so sweet. Joey and I have known each other since we were 12 years old. We've grown up in San Diego. The party on Saturday made me feel so grateful and blessed for all the friendships that we have gained over the past 18 years. The friends that have poured their hearts into our lives, the friends that have treated us as they would their own children, the friends that we have taken under our wings and adopted into our family as our many children... each has an important place in our hearts.

I'll write about it more later, but it I just feel like the Holy Spirit has blessed me with such a peace about this move. I know it's it's the Holy Spirirt because I know that my personality and my typical struggles would never allow me to be this peaceful on my own strength. Although I am super bummed about moving away from all these amazing people in my life, I know with every ounce of my being that these friends will be friends for eternity. Seriously. There is something deeply rooted and extremely comforting about having friends In The Lord. I dont think I said "Goodbye" to anyone at the party. I just said "see ya later."

The Girl Scouts sing it best...

Make new friends

But keep the old

One is silver

And the other's gold!!!

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Some pics...

Siah's almost five!! He rode his bike around the park and played with his friends during the entire duration of the party. He was always within an eye's view, but he was completely independent of me. It was weird to me that he's old enough now that I don't have to have him right next to me all the time.

Hal's almost four years old. Her actual birthday is on Easter this year. She wants to wake up and eat a pink donut with rainbow spinkles on it on her birthday. :)

And this girl... How cute is she???? It's hard to believe that our little Reesie is only three months away from her second birthday.

We actually got a a decent picture of the nine of us who lived in the giant house on the hill this past year. I can hardly believe that the year is coming to an end in TWO short days!!!

Our family

Below are a bunch of pictures of some of the amazing friends that we have been living our life with over the past 18 years...

Steph and "Mads"

Elizabeth and Mike

John and Lisa

Jason and Mindy and Laylie

Mo and Mindy

Ed and Patrice

Anna and Bobby with Wyatt and Laney

Peter and Sandi with Peyton and Kalli

Chris and Marla with Landee, Cladee, & Tadee

Lauren & Annabelle

Reed and Janae

John and Milly

Dave and Heidi

I didn't get a chance to get pictures of all who were there... but even without the photos I promise that I will remember each and every one of you in my heart!

If we meet friends in CO that are just half as cool as the ones we have out here... we will be beyond blessed!!!

A Tree Of Righteousness

I love San Diego... I love it for a lot of reasons. It has lovely weather (Of course it's raining outside right now :). You can go to the beach and the mountains in the same day. There are an endless amount of things to do that cost little to no money at all. The air is clean. The majority of people around here are active and there is an abundance of delicious healthy food options to be found on almost every corner.

On the flip side, this city is overflowing with individuals and families alike that can't really afford to live here. An abundance of people who live outside of their means, who are constantly trying to keep up with the Jones's (whoever the hec they are?) Materialism surrounds us. Competition is the name of this city's game. Who's the skinniest? Who drives the nicest car? Who decorates the house in the most lovely of decor? Even when we're trying to be "thrifty"

we still compete over who got the best deal. I am guilty of this myself. A friend gave me a compliment the other day about something that I was wearing. But instead of simply saying thank you, I proceeded to explain how I had got the dress at a thrift store for a mere $2 several years ago. People are often times very shallow, surface-y, empty, and often times looking for love in all the wrong places. (I'm sure this can be found all around the world just the same.)

It can be hard to find true, genuine, deep, lay-it-all-on-the-table, share my strengths AND my weaknesses, speak the truth, fun-laughing, truly live all of life, kind of friends. And for some reason that I cannot explain, The Lord has brought not only one, but a generous handful of gems into my life. What I love most about living in San Diego has nothing to do with all it's geographical perks but everything to do with the women who I get to live my life with.

When I see these women we talk about our hearts. We talk about our marriages and how we can spend less time wrapped up in what we want from our spouses and more time figuring out tangible ways to spend our days making our home and our actions a blessing to our husbands. We talk about our kids. We confess our struggles and go to The Word in search of ways that we can better train each one of our children up in righteousness. We talk about our Savior and how much we love Him and we remind each other of how much HE loves us.

We say the hard stuff. The stuff that nobody wants to say and the stuff that is often times hard to swallow. We say it because the hard stuff is what helps us grow. WE know each other's hearts. We know each others intentions. We sharpen each other (Proverbs 27:17). We spur one another on towards love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24).

These women are what I love most about San Diego.

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And yesterday, My dear friends Mindy and Monique, invited a handful of our closes friends over to Monique's house for an afternoon tea to send off and encourage Tara and I with scripture and prayer and friendship. And my silly words on this silly blog could never express the gratitude and love that I felt from these women at this tea.

The food was sooo yummy!!!!

The set up was elegant and blissfully peaceful.

The conversation was encouraging and memorable.

Each woman shared scripture and some very tender and kind words about the things that they like about Tara and I. I soaked it all up, let many tears fall, and cherished each moment in my heart. ALL their words were a blessing but one part of scripture stuck out to me above all the others. It comes from the first Psalm and it talks about each of us being like a tree firmly planted by the water and how when we choose to delight in the law of the Lord we will become like "trees of righteousness."

And for some reason that little phrase, "tree of righteousness" hasn't left my mind since yesterday. I've been thinking about Colorado and meeting new friends. I've been thinking about not wanting to leave the friends I have now. Thoughts have crossed my mind like, "I am going to be to tired, to fat, and to cold to be able to muster up any time to meet new people." Or how about this thought, which I am embarrassed to even admit because I am 30 years old and this is the kind of stuff I thought about when I was in junior high... but thoughts like, "Nobody's gonna like me, bla, bla, bla," have also crossed my mind. Silly I know! But then this reminder that the Lord wants to grow me into a "tree of righteousness" for His great glory!!! What a thought that my little "housewife life" can be grown into a tree of righteousness by the personal hand of the same GOd who created the universe!

So this is my prayer... That no matter where we move... no matter how cold it is... no matter how round I get...By God's grace, may in each new place I find myself in for the rest of my life, may I continually be being transformed into a MIGHTY TREE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS for the absolute glory of my amazing Savior!!

Mindy, Tara, Me, and Monique...

And a generous handful of all the gems in life.

Thank you ladies for being true, genuine, deep, lay-it-all-on-the-table, share my strengths AND my weaknesses, speak the truth, fun-laughing, truly live all of life, kind of friends!

This Is Me... NOT Complaining :)

I made a vow before I got pregnant this time. I told Joey and the Lord that if I was blessed to get pregnant again that I would NOT COMPLAIN.

I would not constantly question why my bum seems to be growing at a more rapid pace than my belly... or wonder why those lovely "love handles" on either side of my body are quickly turning into truely defined "handles."

I would not complain about the tiredness, the fatigue, the exhaustion, the inability to keep my eyes all the way open a large portion of the day.

I would not make it known that although the Lord has shown me several times that no matter the outcome of this pregnancy that I will be ok, but I still worry... like A LOT!

If the Lord allowed me to be pregnant just one more time, I would not complain about all the foods that just smell absolutely atrocious to me... not to mention that my husband also seems to have this really distinct scent about him when I am pregnant that does NOT resemble the smell of anything sweet, like roses.

I promised to never mention the fact that I am more than slightly uncomfortable when I (attempt to) sleep at night.

But instead... If I was given just one more chance to be pregnant, then I would choose to wallow in the joy of knowing that there is a little life in me... gettting bigger by the second it seems. I would choose gratitude instead of discontent. I would choose to let the Lord shower peace over me. I would choose to bathe myself in the truth that I am blessed beyond measure.

So this is me... 19 weeks pregnant and NOT complaining!

Ok...

So maybe I'm not as good at being true to my vow as I would like to be... but I promise that I'm trying. I'm really really trying. :)

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RANDOM INFORMATION

*I know that I have not posted pictures of the kiddos in quite some time... truth be told I haven't really taken any. But I'll get on that soon I hope.

*Only three weeks left until we move. Believe it or not I have actually gotten some packing done. We still don't have a place to live but we are looking... so that's kinda fun. :)

*I am just getting over another cold and am so grateful that I have not had to blow my nose even once today.

*All three kids are actually sleeping right now which is super LOVELY!

*We still have no names for this little one in my tummy.

*And that' us right now. :)

Until next time... :)