random moments.

' i shelf '
this is a popular phrase right now.
charity uses it whenever she wants to do something by herself.
and this is often  always. 



matthias asked me to take his pic by the over-sized icee
and i couldn't resist a photo op.



sometimes you have to be spontaneous
and go to dunkin' donuts after church.
because it's fun and there's nothing better than a chocolate cream donut.

we know mrs. homar likes mountain dew.
we know after 1 1/2 weeks of teaching preschoolers all day
mrs. homar needs one.
i don't know what i cherish more.....
the letters matthias wrote or the look on his face.

sometimes God gives us a rainbow after a storm
and sometimes He makes the entire sky a colorful canvas.



when a baby's got to eat a baby's got to eat.



i have no idea how to turn this picture right side up.

but this is us at panera bread for my birthday.

{ yeah....}

shopping.

for a special {secret} package.

headed to a faraway land....

that's all the clues for now.

cousins.

flag football.

panther style.

GO TEAM!

{ blessed. }

 

 

end of summer photo dump

summer's out with a bang......

 

climbing trees

biggest.bubbles.ever.

picnic in the park.

caleb loses his 1st tooth.

swimming and sand at the lake

pizza and arcade fun

john's rootbeer!

first days of 4th,1st, and PreK

matt turns 5 and decorates an incredible hulk cake

 

thank You, Lord, for beautiful rainbows and signs

of Your continued promises to us.

 

here's to a wonderful new school year

complete with fresh pencils

and renewed enthusiasm.

(and i'd like to give a shout out to the wonder of routine....

wootwoot.)

 

 

 

 

warrior dashing

 

so here it is....

warrior dash memories

{in all my muddy glory}

 

i've decided to attack this post as if i was answering

all the many questions i've been asked about the experience.

so here you go......

 

to train for the dash, i simply worked out.

i ran and i did jillian michaels '30 day shred'

consistently, giving myself few days off, and adding more weights as i went

(nothing crazy, but at the end i was doing the workout with 8 lbs in each hand)

since this was a 5K with obstacles,

i knew the running wouldn't be too hard core

so the most i ran at a time was about 3 miles.

 

did that seem to be enough? 

sure. 

my friend, amanda, and i were not 'in it to win it'

we just wanted to have some challenging fun.

i definitely think there were some people who were in it for the beer at the end

and they were a little surprised at the obstacle of it all.

we did some passing of people (ok, that was kinda fun)

and then there were some 'marine dudes' from the heat behind us

who went barrelling on by us near the end

(way to go, guys)

 

 

we had a blast.

totally and completely.

there was water, mud, fire, heights, barbed wire, walls....

and we did it together, which was the best part.

in fact, it seemed that everyone at least had a partner

if not a whole team in the WD experience.

everyone seemed in a fun mood and we all got discustingly dirty together.

 

the 'warrior wash' at the end was a complete hoot

and probably made us feel grosser but maybe a little less muddy for the ride home.

which, by the way, was lunch time and we grabbed McDonald's.

 

would i recommend this?

yep.

but nobody seems to be taking me up on it.....

except justin.

a couple that dashes together, stays together

(or something like that)

 

happy friday, everyone!

bring on the 3 day weekend

 

 

12 years of holy matrimony

when we dropped our kiddos off at my in.laws

{i'm not gonna lie}

we were pretty. darn. stoked.

3 days, 2 nights all to ourselves....

in our fav city,

CHICAGO

fun times remembering our newlywed years

and all the walks we took on navy pier.

fun times on our dinner cruise

complete with dancing and cuddling on the upper deck.

fun times just being together and having a moment

to actually look into each other's eyes.

(that may have been my fav part)

it's funny how after 12 years of marriage you realize

that special times like this are really special

{ but so very rare }

it's really the everyday moments that make up a marriage

and a life together.

sweet attitudes, loving words,large doses of encouragement and grace.....

that's what truly weaves together the bliss part.

i'm so thankful to the Lord that He has sustained us

that He has brought us closer together

that He has made a miracle

out of the complexity of a man and a woman together

that He gives us hope for another 12 years....and then 12 more......

happy anniversary, babe!

 {i love you so incredibly much }

in the mommyhood: slushie bribery and ephesians 6

 the thing about mommyhood

is that it's so incredibly constant.

if you don't know what i mean by that you've never spent

a full 13 hour day with children

followed by another 13+ hour day with children

followed by an entire summer of children.  that are yours. 

that you are raising to be

law-abiding citizens

and lovers of Jesus more importantly.

oh mercy there are those moments when i just want to find the hidden camera

in my house or in my shopping cart or somewhere on my van's dashboard

and replay the moments that just occurred.

not always for comic relief (but sometimes)

but mostly just to verify to the world.....

yes, yes i just had to say that same thing 17 times in the last 10 minutes

{ and now someone's asking again }

yes, yes i did just have to tell my son not to lick the inside of the freezer

at ALDI as his brother cheered

on his near-victory tongue attachment to tilapia fillets

yes, yes i did just run across the living room, leaping into the bathroom

as my daughter almost fell head first into the tub

where her brothers were bathing

i wipe up spills approx 3 times a day

i wipe tears more often than that.

i have splenty of snot-smeared shirts

and the laundry to prove it all.

while i think my children are sometimes entertaining

i guarantee you that the target cashiers

never think so

{especially when one of my boys was about to pull the fire alarm

as i swiped my target card...

the one moment

i was distracted during check-out.  promise.}

no amount of slushie bribery can or will stop my boys from being boys.

arm wrestling and basketball-style tossing of goods into the shopping cart.

random yells and bathroom words and running headfirst into displays.

{and they know better.  mercy, do they know better}

don't even get me started on potty training being added to the mix

of summer 2012.

charity is now beyond the 'mike and ike' bag of goodies

everytime she goes

and onto the

'i think going potty is fun

when i know mommy is super duper busy and distracted' stage.

{ yeah.  we're there.  mercy.}

{ i don't want to forget these days.}

i don't want to forget the adorable legs hanging in the front of my shopping cart

and the random hugging by short arms around my neck.

i don't want to forget the crazy frustration that lasts for the moment.....or moments

but makes a great story for justin when the kids have been tucked into bed.

i don't want to forget the monday morning bible study

with 10 kids between my friends and i.

chaos mixed with God's grace and vulnerability and wisdom.

i don't want to forget my need to cry out for patience as a fruit of the Spirit

i know i can taste.

or the verses about strength and waiting that i cling to during this season.

don't let me forget.

there's nothing less grace-filled than forgetfulness mixed with judgment.

and i'm not about to be that woman.

so i come unglued sometimes in front of my children

and i ask for forgiveness if i've wronged them in some way.

those times, by God's work in my life, are becoming fewer and farther between

{praise Him}

but i know i want my kids to see a mom who is real about Jesus

more than a mom they perceive to be perfect

only to find out at some point they have been seriously fooled.

so i tell them i pray for them

and i pray with them.

i make grandious plans to read through ephesians 6 in the summer

and to make detailed armor of God to bring home the point.

but real life is a beautiful chaotic mess at the breakfast table

with each child wanting a different cereal poured

and so ephesians 6 is slowly but surely becoming a part

of breakfast chatter

with my boys excitedly telling me the part of the armor they remember that morning.

kinda, sorta, maybe with the idea of letting others go first being lost....

but we're getting there.

and i slowly but surely plant the Word of My Savior and theirs

into their sweet little hearts.

and mine overflows with the fruit i see.

my helpful little guys filling up my boxes at the end of grocery shopping

and sharing with each other

and shining with the love of Jesus as they obey

'with a happy heart'

that which i've asked of them.

and other moms in the checkout lanes next to mine

overhear my children picking out a bouquet of flowers for me

{all their own idea}

and there is oohing and ahhing

and i realize that i'm no super mom

and my kids are no perfect little people

but there are just some moments that fill me up with

the realization that i'm just so overwhelmingly blessed.

{wild moments and all.}

thank You, Jesus.