Sunday, January 22, 2012

Imaginary Friends

We were all sitting around dinner tonight when Lydia explained to us a new friend of hers so I thought I'd share her with you too!
Her name is Flacka, she's a girl. She's invisible to us, but she's black and white and her favorite color is blue. She kind of looks like a hot dog & she likes to eat hot dogs. She only talks to Lydia, Grayson, and June- not mom and dad! She flies around a lot and likes to dance. Flacka moves REALLY fast and she likes to say "boo boo boo!"... I think she must be pretty cool from how excited Lydia is and I also think that Lydi must know her pretty well from how Lydia described her.

Oh Flacka... I hope that I get to know you pretty well (I hear you really like to play hide and seek and the light in lamps!-well I do too!). 

I know this is a short blog post, but it's pajama time for everyone, including Flacka.


Lydia caught Flacka for me so we could get a picture of the two of them, but she flew away pretty quick right after! I'm glad I caught the picture before she did!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Surfing my worries away!

I had a day free of children. It was wonderful to say the least.
I'm not saying that I don't adore my time with my children... I do. In fact... I had to fight to keep my mind from thinking about them and missing them constantly.
It was the first time I had an ENTIRE day without at least one little one by my side in over year. Strange isn't it? To live so closely and constantly near these little ones... to breathe the same air in the same space at the same time every moment for over a year. I had days that Jacob would take them places for a few hours here and there so I could have a little time to myself or to clean house without little hands getting into everything, but that just isn't the same. Still wonderful, but not the same.
I made a commitment during my day. I wasn't going to allow myself to feel guilty for my day. I set my mind on the Word, grabbed a few beautiful ladies, and went surfing!
Surfing to me isn't JUST a fun activity or hobby. It's one of those rare things that I love to do that's both peaceful, draws me into a place of adoration and worship of my God, and refreshes my heart in a way that not many things can. I  love being surrounded by creation and humbled by the beauty of it. It makes me feel so small. With every wave that crashes down on me and pulls me into the wash, pushing me any way that it wishes, it shows me how weak I am. Mentally, physically, spiritually. I come face to face with how much I need the Holy Spirit. How much I don't understand. I don't just know the need I have for Him, I feel it in the freezing cold water every time I reach my bare hands in to paddle. There's something about feeling the power behind the peaceful rolling and crashing of a wave that wakes you up from whatever is holding your heart captive. I often don't have the words to explain what I'm feeling. I don't know what to pray, how to ask, what to say. When I catch a wave, it's like a release switch. With each ride I find I'm laughing lighter, acting sillier, not worrying about anything, and mostly not thinking at all.
The place we surfed at was breathtaking. We climbed down a trail leading to the channel in Newport. It ended at a large field blocked by some small dunes between us and the ocean on one side and a rocky shore between us and the channel on the other. We stumbled along the rocks until we found ourselves nearly under the Newport bridge. We must have looked crazy too the people crossing the bridge... I would've thought we were crazy if I had seen us. We all managed to make it into the water without any causalities to either our boards or ourselves and road out into the surf. It was a small, clean swell. A perfect wave for a long board. The waves came around the clock in well spaced sets that broke softly to the right. They weren't too hard to catch, but you had to kind of drop in to the left and then turn to the right to ride them... then it would take you in a half circle wrapping you along the shore until you met with the bridge.  We could watch the boats coming in and out of the harbor, but they were far enough away that we weren't interrupted by their wakes. It was beautiful. I caught a handful of waves, which was more than I expected to. I'm not very good at knowing what to do after you actually catch one! They were moving slow and smooth enough, though, so I practiced turning this way and that. I didn't ride them long, but long enough! There wasn't any current and it didn't take much paddling to float a long way across the water. It was wonderful! Simple.
I really hope I can go out again soon. It's always such an experience. I came home feeling so refreshed. I left a lot of things behind in that water. I'm at a loss for how to explain what exactly, but I just know that I paddled in with far too much wrapped around my heart and came out with all of that untangled and tossed away. I'm so thankful to know the places to go and the ways to position myself to allow my mind to rest and God to move through and refuel me. Where do you go? Where is that place that you are refueled by God the most? What refreshes you? How can you find the time for it. For being there... For listening in the quiet... For allowing God to move through you and change your heart and your mind? These are the questions I start asking myself when I feel my heart starting to feel heavy. I'm not saying that the ocean is the only place that I can go or that surfing is the only way I meet with the Lord. This is just one of those places that I can't help but see Him, worship Him, and receive Him and I am thankful for it.
Thank you Jacob Michael, my love, for watching and playing with our sweet babies so that I could be refreshed and have a wonderful time surfing with my friends :)


This is a bit of what we read before we started our day in "My Utmost for His Highest". I think is was quite fitting!

Mark 4:10 "When He was alone... the twelve asked Him about the parable."

"When He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then HE begins to teach us."
"As you journey with God, the only thing He intends to be clear is the way He deals with your soul."
"Jesus cannot teach us anything until we quiet all our intellectual questions and get alone with Him."

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Happy New Year!

Gray·son

[grey-suhn]
noun:
1. A sensitive little boy with an extremely soft heart.
2. A wild tornado that waddles around the house unfolding laundry and stuffing it in kitchen cupboards and gives anything in it's path to the dog.
3. An alarm clock that wakes mom up 3-4 times a night.
4. A vacuum that eats up anything in it's wake, food or otherwise.
5. A VERY sneaky little booger that steals things from his sister and runs away giggling.
6. A future mountain climber that climbs on chairs, tables, toys, couches, beds, and anything else that happens to be in front of him.
7. Both the most annoying little brother and best friend to Lydia.
Synonyms: Stinky dinky doo, stink pot, stinky, little buddy, buddy bear, sweet boy, sugar bear

I'm learning more and more how difficult it is to function when this little man is awake! Thank goodness for Lydia who follows him around undoing his destructive-ness most of the time. If it weren't for my 'big helper'... well lets just say my house would be in a worse condition than it already is! Oh my babies are growing up! Woe is me :(
Grayson is taking on this task of turning into a destructive two year old something fierce while Lydia is working extremely hard on becoming a big 3 year old. I've been working on teaching Lydia how to help around the house. She's doing great at putting her laundry away, placing clothes on hangers, sorting the silverware and putting them away, washing anything plastic, and cleaning up after herself (and even brother!). 
SO awesome!
Fits aren't as frequent anymore (Grayson is quickly filling in those shoes!) and she's been so much more obedient. I haven't had to use 'the spoon' very often anymore. We've kind of transitioned to something that works SO much better for her. Whenever she's whining, throwing a fit, or isn't being a 'good listener', her nose goes to the wall for 2 minutes. I know it sounds silly, but we just don't have a good time out corner... so instead... it's just a spot on the wall that she keeps her nose on until her time is up. SHE HATES it. Very effective & it doesn't take long.
Grayson and Lydia are so different... all it takes to punish him is a firm no.
He's such a sensitive little guy! He falls apart into a puddle of tears if you just raise your eyebrows at him. I wonder what he's going to be like when he's her age? I guess time will tell... and sooner than I'd like!

So I thought I'd share a few of Lydia's favorite things right now... simply because I don't want to forget!
Activities: playing pretend, going outside, painting/anything crafty, riding her bike, helping mom around the house
Favorite toys: her new leapster book reading thingy (she'll spend hours 'reading' at night if we don't take it away), her baby dolls (she has two in particular), her back pack that she fills with random things (she's always on her way to Alaska or nana's house), stick sticks (stickers), the tin tea set that we all have to pretend to drink out of, and anything Grayson has... because obviously whatever he has is better.
Phrases: "Oh my WOW", "OH my goodness", "I can do it", "I think I can", "No NO Grayson!".
Best Friends: Jack Jack, Oh-Oh, Ava, Max, Towee, Chase, Bwytan (She prays for them every night!)

So update on me? Well things are changing so much around here! It's a new year and even more change is coming sooner than I'd like to think (more on that later). My mind has been fighting to stay on the present rather than on what's coming next and I fear that I'm losing the battle! I'm starting a 52-week organize your home kinda deal... and that's going to be quite the challenge for me... and I'm working on some DIY projects and ideas off of pinterest. I need something creative to keep the artist/musician in me at bay! I guess you could say I have some new 'resolutions'... to pray with focus and all of my heart, position myself to hear from the Spirit in even the littlest things (and follow through!), and to seek the Lord in his living Word with intention and purpose. It's not necessarily a 'New year' kind of thing, but more of an ongoing desire to become closer to Christ and rely on Him more in the everyday.

okay... I really need to go. In the time it's taken for me to type this Grayson has strewn crumbs all over the floor and couch from a piece of bread that I have no idea of the origin. My laundry is clearly unfolded now and all over the living room (I also should check the cupboards). I can see that the dog has obtained some new toys and is chewing on the batman sippy- Lydi will not be pleased. My dish towels are draped over the piano, there's chalk on the floor, and there are books EVERYWHERE.

oof.