City Slickers invade the Horse Town

A friend and co-worker of Will's invited us to a state park yesterday to go for a ride on his horses! It was perfectly beautiful weather and we had a lot of fun playing outside. Will and Mark took a two and a half hour trail ride with the horses and Chloe and I just took a stroll around the grassy area. For your viewing pleasure, here are a few pictures!
Daddy and Chloe petting Dusty

Will on Daisy Mae

Where Chloe and I hiked


Chloe resting after our hike

Chloe and Mommy riding the horse

What a great day we all had!

Babies on the brain

This is what I've been thinking about lately

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My darling daughter will be two years old in just eight days and I cannot fathom the idea!! When she turned one, I was so excited at her newfound independence and was celebrating all the milestones and accomplishments from her first year. Now, as we embark on birthday number 2 (technically 3, right?) I am astonished that a year can go so quickly and I want to make time stop. Even for a moment, can I just cherish my sweet little toddler who is so full of smiles, hugs and laughter? Her energy inspires me and her presence makes me want to be a better mommy and a better person. What is it about this baby girl that makes me want to hold her forever?

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Sometimes Learning Hurts

This past week has been filled with mirrored images into my soul. That's the thing about marriage: it's no longer me, on my own, with only myself as a responsibility or the only one to reap a consequence. When you're married, everything you do affects your spouse in some way or another. I'm just going to be honest here: Lately, I haven't been very fun to be around. I'm grumpy, tired and have a poor attitude. I'm worn out from chasing after the toddlers and am increasingly anxious about not having found a job for this quickly-approaching school year. My time is sucked away by cleaning, laundry, field trips and diapers. And instead of seeing these tasks as a blessing and an opportunity to serve my family, I have been feeling defeated and depressed. Through the course of my day, I try to keep my head high but when the evening comes, unfortunately, my husband is the one to receive the short answers and the frowning face along with inability to give another ounce of myself.
While Will and I were reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller the other night, I read aloud this quote and it hit straight to the conviction area of my soul: "If we are not willing to wake up in the morning and die to ourselves, perhaps we should ask ourselves whether or not we are really following Jesus." If you can't say Amen, you better say "Ouch!"
That is exactly it. My pride has been doing all the acting - I had/have this complex that says something on the lines of, "I deserve better than this. This isn't what I signed up for. I'm wasting my time and my life away by menial tasks that mean nothing to anybody. I'm not appreciated. I'm not loved."
If I can step back from my self-deprecating why me attitude, I can hear the voice of God speak straight into my heart. “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself."
And this prayer, that was said two thousand years ago by Paul rings as true to my life today as it did to the Ephesians then:
"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."
And I fall to my knees in gratefulness and thankfulness for the treasures God has entrusted to me. What a wonderful I life I have indeed.

Rain oh rain

What do we do when it's raining outside ALL day long?
Well, for starters, we definitely play soccer in the house! During my pregnancy, Chloe was very active and Will always joked that she was going to be a soccer player. I'm thinking that "joke" may very well turn into a reality. She loves to play ball and, if I may brag, she has quite the advanced kicking skills! This morning we were playing in our upstairs hallway. She started at the end of the hallway, gave the ball a gentle kick, ran after the ball and proceeded to kick it with determination, making the ball fly clear across the house. Move over, David Beckham, Chloe is storming the field!
After nap time, we headed for the play area in our mall. Chloe loves to play with the "big kids" and she also enjoys sitting on the rides!

Here she is riding in an apple, traveling into the deep of Richard Scarry's storybook:


And driving her tractor - two of her favorite things in one!! Driving and tractors!!


The rain also gave me a chance to get some much-needed cleaning done. With the in-laws arriving in a week, I've got some motivation to scrub the toilets, sweep the floor and wash the bedding. There's nothing like company to kick-start the neglected to-do list!
I'm so thankful for the rain. I think this whole summer we've mowed our lawn four times so we definitely NEED the refreshment! And it has given me a break from watering the tomatoes myself ;) Here's a peek at one of the tomato plants. They are doing incredibly well and I took this photo after I picked the ripe ones.

Add to the Beauty

"We come with beautiful secrets.
We come with purposes written on our hearts; written on our souls.
We come to every good morning with possibilities only we can hold.
Redemption comes in strange places. Small spaces calling out the best of who we are.
And I want to add to the beauty. To tell a different story.
Shine with Your light that's burning up inside."
~Sara Groves
A few years ago, sitting near the front row in a concert hall, Sara Groves sang these lyrics. And I have been forever changed. She told this story of a lone man, sitting on a chair in the midst of war and bombing during the Croatian-Serbian conflict, playing his cello while the buildings around him were being blasted, crumbling to the ground. He played his instrument despite the ash piling up at his feet. He played because he wanted to be a protest for beauty in the midst of chaos.
Sometimes this world feels like it's at war. I mean, literally speaking, war is an active verb in many places in the world at this moment. Afghanistan, Iraq, tribal warfare in Africa, deforestation in the Amazon leading to the destruction of native people. But I also feel like it's more than dropping bombs and firing weapons. The war is seen in the eyes of a homeless woman holding up a sign that says "Money for food & medicine" and war is seen in the stomach grown overripe in a child starving for nutrition. War can even be as close to us as our sharp tone or impatience with our spouses or children.
In the midst of chaos, of a housing market downturn and an unforgiving job market and an unfair and much-too-expensive health care system, I want to be a protest for beauty. I want to protest with my life. To tell a different story. A story of a God who loves us enough to give us the peace that transcends understanding. A story of a marriage that, despite the ebb and flow of romantic love, flourishes because of perseverance and the commitment to become a better person. A story of a mom who sometimes has to sacrifice her desires to create and shape a family. For that homeless woman whose heart is broken, I want to provide for her the things she needs. For the hungry kids, I want to give them food.
I want to add to the beauty to tell a better story.

Toddler times Two

Well, it's official: the honeymoon phase of having two toddlers is OVER! At first it was really fun having two almost two-year-olds running around, chasing each other, playing, and dining together at our little blue table from IKEA. Then the tantrums set in. The pushing (yes, my baby girl started pushing her friend this week), the whining (lots of whining), double diaper duty (and inevitably one of them has a smelly substance in their pants), extra dishes to wash, and fewer places to go for outings (I have to make sure they're in a contained space at all times). This is what it's like with twins. CRAZY! And of course, I can barely sit down during the day because as soon as I put the girls down for their naps and clean up the kitchen, one of them wakes up!
But look at these faces!




Could they be any cuter?