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| Relax like uncle Joe-Joe |
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| Let Daddy sit at the kid table :) |
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| Think it's hilarous when the 12 year old babysits us! |
And we have lots and lots of DANCE PARTIES!!!
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Dance party?!
When family is visiting ... We ...
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Summer fun!
We love summer with kids! It's just fun. Water play, berry picking, being outside as much as possible. Scott and Luke get home tomorrow and we're excited and ready to have them back with us. They just spent five days in Arizona to be with Gramps as he recovered from surgery (which thankfully went smoothly!) I had to laugh though because this is the first time the twins have EVER been apart for anything more than a few hours. In four days, Amelia has asked about Luke ONCE. Yep. One time. I think she loved the one-on-one time (and Luke was loved on by Grammy, Gramps, GG and Daddy! What's not to love?!) It was so refreshing and FUN to just get to focus on one of my kiddos. Even though it was a busy week with family in town, a wedding (a BEAUTIFUL wedding tonight of a family friend), work, etc. I felt so much less scattered because I could focus all my attention on her. I think we both enjoyed the special time together a lot.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Simplify ...
"While it's easy to become paralyzed by the world's suffering and the inequalities created by corruption and greed, we actually hold immense power for change, simply by virtue of our wealth and economic independence. Because we decide where our dollars go. Never has so much wealth been so concentrated; our prosperity is unprecedented. If enough of us decided to share, we would unleash a torrent of justice to sweep away disparity, extreme poverty and hopelessness. The world is waiting. Our kids are watching. Time is wasting. Are we willing?" -Jen Hatmaker
My children were born into the wealthiest nation ever to exist. This is not something I want them to feel guilty about -- they had no more say about where they were born than any of us have (and Scott and I had the same privilege) but I do want to instill in them a deep sense of justice and responsibility. How do we teach American children today the difference between needs and wants? To always value people over things. That Jesus speaks more of caring for the poor than He does about almost any other topic. That this matters. How do we compete for their souls with a world that is constantly advertising and telling them that this one new toy/game/item will make them happier? Will they think it's weird that their "crazy" (insert eye rolling) parents chose to live in a small space intentionally to use fewer resources? Will they be embarrassed that they don't get every new gadget and toy that comes out on the market? The more I've read and talked and prayed ... the word that comes to mind is: simplify. The longer I've parented the more sense it makes. I know for a fact that the more toys and clutter my kids have around them, the less attention they pay to them. I know that every young kid would rather play with the boxes and bows than the toys. I know that my children get overwhelmed and overstimulated by constant noise and too much STUFF. I know that it saddens me deeply that we consume such an incredible amount of resources on things our children will play with a hand full of times while most children in the world don't have enough to eat. I know that we're setting them up for the idea that they always need something that's newer, bigger, better. A new toy to replace the one that they've grown tired of. Of course I want them to have favorite items -- a bike, books, special meaningful toys. But what if we said enough with the excess. This is hard to do! I didn't struggle with this in the same way before I had kids. I've talked with a lot of mamas about this recently and things become so much easier to justify once kids enter the picture. But all the other kids have ----, but I'm so tired from the kids that I should have that latte ... again (very guilty!) ... But they NEED (sometimes true, often not) this, that or the other. That, I think is the hardest part. The justification of our excess. Our kids will learn how much value to place on money and possessions based on how we do. We either walk the walk ... or we don't. But soon they'll be old enough to figure that out. Living with less creates more space. It just does. More physical space, yes (and Lord knows how much I hate clutter to begin with! Post-kids, Scott jokes that if he doesn't nail things down they'll end up in the Goodwill pile!) but also more space for relationships and more time for the things that matter. I read this beautiful blog this week (you can find it here) that shared a list of why less is more. This isn't something I'll always (or even usually) get right. But I WILL keep trying to "live simply so others may simply live" (I grew up in Portland -- this bumper sticker is a favorite!) It matters too much to stop trying and the generation of kids being raised today MUST understand that the world is not all about them and how comfortable they can make their lives. It matters more than almost anything else I could teach my kids. And they are paying attention.
My children were born into the wealthiest nation ever to exist. This is not something I want them to feel guilty about -- they had no more say about where they were born than any of us have (and Scott and I had the same privilege) but I do want to instill in them a deep sense of justice and responsibility. How do we teach American children today the difference between needs and wants? To always value people over things. That Jesus speaks more of caring for the poor than He does about almost any other topic. That this matters. How do we compete for their souls with a world that is constantly advertising and telling them that this one new toy/game/item will make them happier? Will they think it's weird that their "crazy" (insert eye rolling) parents chose to live in a small space intentionally to use fewer resources? Will they be embarrassed that they don't get every new gadget and toy that comes out on the market? The more I've read and talked and prayed ... the word that comes to mind is: simplify. The longer I've parented the more sense it makes. I know for a fact that the more toys and clutter my kids have around them, the less attention they pay to them. I know that every young kid would rather play with the boxes and bows than the toys. I know that my children get overwhelmed and overstimulated by constant noise and too much STUFF. I know that it saddens me deeply that we consume such an incredible amount of resources on things our children will play with a hand full of times while most children in the world don't have enough to eat. I know that we're setting them up for the idea that they always need something that's newer, bigger, better. A new toy to replace the one that they've grown tired of. Of course I want them to have favorite items -- a bike, books, special meaningful toys. But what if we said enough with the excess. This is hard to do! I didn't struggle with this in the same way before I had kids. I've talked with a lot of mamas about this recently and things become so much easier to justify once kids enter the picture. But all the other kids have ----, but I'm so tired from the kids that I should have that latte ... again (very guilty!) ... But they NEED (sometimes true, often not) this, that or the other. That, I think is the hardest part. The justification of our excess. Our kids will learn how much value to place on money and possessions based on how we do. We either walk the walk ... or we don't. But soon they'll be old enough to figure that out. Living with less creates more space. It just does. More physical space, yes (and Lord knows how much I hate clutter to begin with! Post-kids, Scott jokes that if he doesn't nail things down they'll end up in the Goodwill pile!) but also more space for relationships and more time for the things that matter. I read this beautiful blog this week (you can find it here) that shared a list of why less is more. This isn't something I'll always (or even usually) get right. But I WILL keep trying to "live simply so others may simply live" (I grew up in Portland -- this bumper sticker is a favorite!) It matters too much to stop trying and the generation of kids being raised today MUST understand that the world is not all about them and how comfortable they can make their lives. It matters more than almost anything else I could teach my kids. And they are paying attention.
Monday, July 22, 2013
7 years?!
Seven years ago this happened. We joined our lives. Not everything (thankfully) has turned out how we would have planned it or imagined it but I couldn't have dreamed up a better match for myself than Scott. When I look at our wedding pictures we look young! Without the bags under our eyes that come along with parenting :) The best advice I've ever heard on marriage is so simple and so true: take care of each other. This is what I appreciate the most about Scott -- how he selflessly cares for us. In big ways, like the months he slept on a cot so I'd never be alone at the hospital. And in small every day ways like jumping right into the dinner/bath/bed routine (or chaos!) after a 12-hr shift (and being up since 4am) without ever complaining. When you're nurses and parents sometimes it feels like you're always in a caregiver role. Mostly, I love that role. But for the times when I'm burned out and tired it's so refreshing to feel cared for and understood. Couldn't imagine doing life with anyone else. Feeling thankful for and blessed by this man.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Instagram summer fun!
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| Bike ride! Although shortly after this pic he pitched a fit because he wanted to go down more hills :) Just keeping it real for the blog! |
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| My kids both love Gretchen which of course makes my heart happy! And our dear friend will be getting married soon! So happy for them! |
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| Taking a break from berry picking to admire the horses. |
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| What can beat summer concerts in the park and snuggle time with Grandma? |
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| Naked finger painting! Well, he's still diapered :) |
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| Lukey takes his berry picking very seriously (he knows it's what keeps the blueberry muffins coming!) |
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| Matching "dancing cow" PJs! Their favorites! |
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Toddler tales ...
Tonight was a minor miracle ... THREE two year-olds got along so well that we (their four parents) thought we must be dreaming. Watching your children learn to play well in the sandbox is a crazy thing ... frustrating, embarrassing (yep, my kid just shoved yours down for no apparent reason), hilarious and sweet. We've had a weekly play date with Aven and Henri for the last six months and it's a very hit or miss sort of activity -- Their mom and I decided we're so thankful we met when we did or we might think we were the only one struggling THIS MUCH to raise toddlers. Last week we took them berry picking and learned our lesson: berry picking may require a 1:1 adult to child ratio. In 2.5 hours we ended up with 1.5 pounds of berries. Haha! Most of our time was spent disciplining and alternating which girl was in time-out. ("No Aven, you may not ram Amelia into the bushes with the wagon!" Or, "No Amelia, you can't dump out all of Aven's snacks ... again. And then shove down Henri." Sigh.) But since we don't take pictures of those moments ... we end up with pictures of our darling sweet angels that look more like these pictures :) Well, in 30 years these are the ones we'll want to remember anyway, right?
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