CrynFiction

Waste Not, Want Not

2011-11-21T10:02:00.001-08:00

I scored a roasting pan for $5 at Cost Plus World Market the other day. It came in such a nice box that I really didn't want to throw it away... So I brushed the box with a few coats of white paint and cut out some holes to turn it into a little play house for Caiden. I feel like Made by Joel would be proud... He is the king of simple play things.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm realizing that I'm as bad as my kids. They steal any box leftover over from a trip to Costco and fill it with all sorts of random things. I usually find a few milk boxes with lots of holes and scribbles all over them kicking around the house with random objects rattling around inside... I finally work up the courage to try to throw them away and I get very heated objections! Well... Waste not, want not, right??

A Love Note From Elliott

2011-11-10T10:07:00.001-08:00

Let's be honest: There are lots of reasons to not want to ~~have kids~~ be a parent. You see your friend's kids being monsters, you notice the lack of order in their house, you see how tired the parents are and how annoying it might be to have to be consistent all the time. These things are true. Being a parent is hard, dedicated work. Being a parent magnifies all your faults and forces you to look within and change, it forces you to practice selflessness (and nobody enjoys that!).

But you know what? For all its hardships, being a parent is worth it.

Especially when you get little love notes like this:

("I love you Momma, I love you as much as a lion loves his cubs"--Elliott, age 6)

I happened upon this love note left for me and my heart felt like it might burst. It feels like that now as I look it over again. I love my little munchkins and I am so thankful for them! I learn so much about our Creator through my relationship with my kids and I know I've grown a lot as a person as well. But sometimes its just a simple, selfish enjoyment. I love these little notes! I love having these two little people around me who love me so unquestioning. And plus, they're just so darn cute!

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,

The fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one's youth.

Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."

Psalm 127:3-5

More of my thoughts on this topic here...

Santa's Busy, Are You?

2011-10-20T00:04:00.000-07:00

Have you gotten the Christmas planning itch, yet? Word around the web seems to be that its almost time to break out the Christmas music, which is exactly how I've been feeling.

I haven't quite pulled out decorations or Christmas CDs, but I've started planning. I have my notebook scribbled in and gift ideas floating around in my head and on paper.

Giverslog has put out a clever week by week holiday organizer printout where you can schedule in from now until Christmas what needs to be planned and done in time for Christmas. Find the printout here.

Another holiday-esque thing I'm contemplating is this Maple Walnut Custard Pie. It sounds amazing.

I always enjoy hand making at least some of my gifts, but hesitate sharing them here in case of spoiling the surprise for the recipients. But I've resolved to share at least a few of my favorite DIY present ideas.

What about you? Any Christmas aspirations up your sleeve? How do you prepare for the holidays? Any favorite "go-to" Christmas gifts you'd like to share?

5 Minute Pillows

2011-10-13T00:18:00.000-07:00

In one of my feeble attempts at decorating a few years back, I bought three couch cushions; two of them didn't have covers. I always meant to find some covers or make some covers, but I suffer from a few diseases that prevented me from doing that. I have indecisiveness disease, fear of picking design elements disease, fear of the unknown process disease, procrastination disease, and lastly, inability to act unless certain of procedure disease. All of these things prevented me from using my pillows, so there they sat, stored, for a few years until last night. I happened upon this 5 Minute Simple Pillow Tutorial that suddenly pushed me over the hump (many humps) and into the sewing room (dining room table). I think you find the tutorial great for people suffering from the "inability to act unless certain of procedure" disease (ITAUCOPD). Kinda gives you that little "umph" to try it, huh?

I used a (vintage?) table cloth for the rectangular pillow and an old sham fabric plus miscellaneous scraps for the two square pillows. This was a fun project and additionally, allows me to report to my friend, Toni, that I have indeed done some sewing lately.

DIY Treasure Hunt Party Game

2011-10-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Caiden was very specific about the details of her 4th birthday party. She specifically requested to have her presents hidden so she could have a treasure hunt with a treasure map to find the gifts. I thought I could make that happen. It turned out to be a big hit with all the kids and made present time a lot more fun, too. Once they found the gifts, all the kids helped lug the loot to a central area where they made a pile and all circled around to open them up. Nobody even seemed sad that Caiden was the only one to get to keep the treasure! They all seemed to have a sense of pride in finding those gifts and were just too happy to be a part of making it all happen.

To do this yourself, simply: Hide something, leave clues, and make a treasure map.

All you really need is:

1)paper
2)pencil
3)imagination
4)treasure

You might also want, but don't necessarily need:

5)envelopes
6)tape

I put 4 clues into white envelopes and taped them in the locations pointed out on the map (this was for a 4 yr. old, so we kept it really simple). Once it was time to hunt, I told everybody to put on their eye patch (for effect) and handed them the map, instructing them to find the clues and read them to find out where the treasure was hidden.

I made sure to make it clear that the treasure they needed to find was the birthday girl's presents and she needed everybody's help to find them!

Our map led from the 'START' words to a corner in the fence where they found the first clue; it said, "Look in another corner for your next clue." Then, "Look under something blue that you can walk up." Then, "Go to a girl's room to find another clue." Finally, "Look inside a box that is old and is outside to find the treasure."

I hope you try this and make sure to take lots of pictures and let us know how it goes!

"Polaroid Posting"

2011-10-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

From a summer outing in Berkeley where we visited the Berkeley Art Museum for a food festival.

Above: Elliott and Caiden in front of Four Barrel's history of coffee blackboard set up for the festival.
Below: Me, Caiden, and Elliott on the corner near the museum ready for an adventure!

Future Tattoo Artist?

2011-10-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

What do you think? Will Elliott make it as a tattoo artist someday? I'm impressed with his "Ed Hardy-esque" skull contrasted next to a heart with an arrow through it... Elliott's got skillz--watch out!

DIY Piñata

2011-10-04T22:50:00.000-07:00

What is more fun than hitting something as hard as you can and then being showered with loads of candy you then get to eat?? Not too much, I'll tell you that. Having a pinata at your party is pretty cool. Having a pinata you made yourself is even better!

Here's what you'll need:

1) A large balloon
2) Newspaper or grocery store ads cut into roughly 1 1/2 inches wide by 6 inches long
3) Liquid Starch (or a mixture of flour and water works, too)
4) Paint and/or tissue paper to decorate it

What to do:

1) Blow up your balloon to your desired size.
2) Pour the liquid starch into a wide and shallow container such as a pie tin.
3) Submerge paper strips into starch and begin to place on top of the balloon overlapping the pieces as you go until you cover the entire balloon, leaving an opening around the top of the balloon where the knot is. (This is where you will insert the candy.)
4) Let the first layer dry. (Be careful not to leave it to dry in the sun if it is very hot or the balloon will expand and crack your paper mache.)
5) Do 2 more layers going in opposite directs, drying in between layers.
6) Once dry, hold the top of the balloon while making a slit in the rubber and the balloon will pull away from the paper mache as it deflates.
7) Paint the piñata and/or glue strips of tissue paper in a pattern around your balloon to decorate.
8) Fill with candy.
9) Make a small hole on both side of the balloon near the top where you can put a rope through. (I leave the candy filling hole open since it is at the top and doesn't really matter)
10) String up your pinata and let it be smashed to smithereens!

Monday Mom Moment

2011-10-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

Today my job pretty much resembled that of a bridesmaid. There I was, sitting on the couch, trying to recover from a Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred workout (which is excellent, by the way) when out tromps Caiden dressed like this:

I was compelled to take her picture to record this amazing presentation and immortalize it in history before I let her go back to playing her imaginary game. She then took apart a very carefully built lego ship her brother had built. I scolded her and explained how I didn't think brother would appreciate her wrecking his creation, so she somehow managed to put it all back together again.

Then the pirate princess had to use the bathroom. "This dress is really fluffy!" she cried from the bathroom as I hurried in to help. "I got it!" she yelled just before I got there. And there she stood with all of her layers of skirts and capes held up in her little arms just like a wedding gown. "...Ummm... Can you help me get on the toilet?" she asked. So, I lifted her up and there she sat, clinching her toes to try to keep her plastic heels from falling off. I left. Pretty soon I heard the sound of the plastic heels clopping around on the bathroom tile and hurried in to make sure she could wipe. There she stood in front of the toilet with all the layers of her gowns still in her arms.

"I'll do it." I said. And I did. The end.

Happy Birthday, Caiden Keats

2011-10-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

Something crazy happened when we all weren't looking. Caiden turned four! I never gave her my permission to do that! But time keeps on flying by whether we want it to or not, right?

I enjoy watching my kids grow, though, and it is a pleasure to see what kind of lady she is turning out to be. One thing I know for sure is that my girl is decisive! She gave me lots of very specific details whenever we would talk about her birthday and I would judiciously and furiously be typing them into my notepad on my phone so that I wouldn't forget. This is not the kind of girl that tells you details lightly. She means what she says!

She told me that first of all, she wanted a party hat--a rainbow colored, cone shaped birthday hat. Also, a pink cake, please, with white frosting and sprinkles! The next thing she hit me with was the fact that she wanted her presents hidden and wanted to have a treasure map and do a treasure hunt to find them! When asked by her Aunt what colors she would want for her party, her reply was, "Orange, yellow, red, blue, black, gray, and white." There is no room for error here, people! She was even specific about what she wanted to wear on the day of her party. In the morning, she wanted to go get donuts with Dad and wear regular clothes, "And then later right before the party starts I'll wear my princess dress." She ran around her party clickety-clackety in her plastic high heels and told me she would wear her crown until it was time to have cake and sing and then she would put on her party hat.

Well, we did the best we could and started inviting people and as I was talking to Caiden about the people, she says, "MOM. I don't want a lot of people at my party! I get nervous when there are too many people!" So we didn't have too many people and the party turned out super fun!

We barbecued hamburgers and hotdogs, had lots of macaroni and cheese, destroyed a homemade pinata, went on a treasure hunt for Caiden's present, played dress up, ran around, and had cake and icecream.

At the end of the day, Caiden declared, "That was a FUN, FUN, FUN, party!!!" I asked her what her favorite part of the party was and she said, "The part where you were singing happy birthday to me and I was coughing and trying not to cry!" Earlier she had confided in me that she kept coughing during the song to keep herself from crying. I think it makes her nervous having everyone looking at her!

My baby girl is FOUR! What a happy, intense, and laughter filled four years you have given us, Caiden... You make our family kind of magical and fill our home with glitter and joy. Happy Birthday, Caiden Keats!

Watch Out, World: Elliott's in 1st Grade!

2011-09-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

Problems uploading have delayed this post...
From August 30, 2011.

My Elliott is a worrier if ever there was one. He worries about anything and everything you could possibly imagine. So, of course, I was a little hesitant to talk to him about starting public school for
the first time ever (we homeschooled him for Kindergarten). But, what do you know, he wasn't worried at all! Only excited--full of hope and anticipation. This is Elliott on his first day of school: anxious to see what its all about. (What a blessing, thank you to those of you who were praying for him for this transition!)

Elliott's first day of first grade was today. All things considered, he did great! He only cried once... The only problem is that although his first day began with hope and excitement, now that he knows what's what, the anxiousness and worry has set in for him. We're talking it out and praying with him, encouraging him. He could use your prayers, too!

There also happens to be a very large hole in our kitchen ceiling (and water falling out of it...) so we decided to have dinner out tonight, partially in honor of our crippled kitchen and partly in celebration of
Elliott making it through his first day of school! Just like the day he was born, Elliott had a lot of people rooting for him today and we couldn't be more proud of him!

Good job, Elbow! We love you! Keep on punching your fears in the face and we'll be right here for you to help you through it.

Time vs. TIME

2011-08-06T23:41:00.001-07:00

As a stay at home mom, I spend a lot of time with my kids, but sometimes when you spend all day every day with someone its easy to take that time for granted and be so busy with cleaning, calculating, organizing, and running a household that you don't spend a lot of quality time with them. I find that to be true for me. Recently, I've been noticing opportunities to pour into my children by spending real time with them. If I'm REALLY honest with you, I would have to admit that a lot of times it does not sound very appealing at all to sit and play pretend or do the things that they would like to do. In fact, its often the last thing I want to do. I love accomplishing things like organizing and cleaning and I would much rather be doing that. So I'm thankful that the Holy Spirit has been ways and reminding me to do things with my kids--and those things have ended up not being painful at all, but have actually been extremely enjoyable. As I've been being obedient to those promptings I've ended up feeling great knowing that I am not just spending lots of time around my kids, but I am actually spending quality time with my kids. I love that!

Sometimes, giving them of my time comes when I see them playing in the living room after dinner and I decide to engage with them instead of flopping down in exhaustion because, "Hey! They're already occupied!" The other night it was as simple and spontaneous as grabbing a bag of pipe cleaners and making them each a crazy hat which then morphed into messing around with some balls outside, which then morphed into them getting creative with pipe cleaners on their own... All before dessert. I loved it! And they did too.

{Elliott received "antlers" and Caiden received "bug antennae"}

Other times, giving my time to them has consisted of something I like to do, like organizing! We organized Elliott's legos so we could rebuild some of his old models whose pieces had become jumbled together--so fun! Then we built a police van, a police car, and a helicopter. I loved it! And they did too!

The more time I spend doing things like that with those munchkins, the easier it becomes and the more I realize that I love hanging out with them and spending time with them. Just sitting quietly--not multi-tasking--just loving them.

That's what we've been up to (so I just wanted to share) learning to love each other more purposefully. That's what my life here is looking like right now. And I'm loving it.

Road Trip // July 2011

2011-08-01T23:40:00.001-07:00

Dave and I were blessed to have a weekend away this past week! One of our good friends got married on Saturday. Dave's cousin offered to fly up to Berkeley to hang with the kids while we drove to San Luis Obispo for the rehearsal and wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and a beautiful weekend. Dave and I have had very few of these alone times since the kids came 'round, so it was pretty special.

The wedding took place on the bride's family ranch, the reception was in an old barn on the property. It was beautiful and fun. We were so blessed to be a part of this special day for our friends Brandon and Emily. We can't wait to see how God uses them and their marriage.

This was the rehearsal at the bride's parent's beautiful home.

This is Dave's new buddy, Oakley. (Dave made him an honorary groomsman)

Brandon gave each of the groomsmen a sweet pocket knife, so I guess they were trying to show off their tough side here.

It was great to see so many old friends.

Emily was an absolutely stunning, radiant, and gorgeous bride!!

And in between wedding stuff, there was lots of coffee, of course, and good fellowship.

And lots of driving...

It was a great trip! Now back to real life!

The 4th Weekend of July

2011-07-25T00:48:00.001-07:00

Hi friends, I thought I would check in and share a few recent highlights from the Escalante tribe.

One of my favorite moments from this weekend happened while I was trying on jeans at a shop in Emeryville. The dressing room happened to be right in the middle of the lingerie department and I had my whole clan with me--my husband and two kids. As you must know, going jean shopping requires moral support and that person happens to be my husband; kids come along with that as a package deal sometimes, you know? Anyway, right in front of the dressing room door is a whole rack of black bras with little orange bows on them. "Look," my husband says, cheekily, "its a Giant's [baseball] bra!" I laughed and went into the ~~torture chamber~~ dressing room to do my thing. When I came back, Dave told me the best story ever and now I am going to tell you.

Apparently, after I left, my son, Elliott, said very loudly, "Is that really a Giant boob holder??"

"No, its not," Dave said, "I was just kidding."

"Oh," said Elliott, "so its just a regular boob holder, then."

And that totally made my weekend. You're welcome.

On Sunday, we took the kids to this really cool spot in Berkeley called Indian Rock Park. It is a group of very big rocks that can be used for climbing practice and is located in the hills of Berkeley. It boasts a spectacular view of the the city and the San Francisco bay. Just gorgeous. We recently showed Elliott some indoor rock climbing videos so he was pretty stoked to try it out. We even bumped in to a couple of guys doing some free climbing who let us borrow their falling pad. I'm so proud of Elliott, because he is encountering a lot of situations, lately, that involve facing fears and he is looking his fear in the face and in his words, he is "punching [his] fear in the eye!" Here are a few shots from my iPhone of Indian Rock Park.

The Beauty of Redemption

2011-07-07T01:12:00.000-07:00

Today I had an epic conversation with my six year. It is one I would like to remember forever. Somehow we got to talking about redemption while driving home from the Bay Area Discovery Museum. His sister had fallen asleep in her car seat as he shot off his questions in rapid fire succession.

A conversation with Elliott usually goes something like this: You begin a topic and start conversing. Elliott stops you to ask what a word means. You explain it in a whole paragraph. There is one word in that paragraph that he doesn't understand. You explain that word, etc. Before you know it, you are 5 miles downstream around the bend and down a giant waterfall before you even know what hit you.

Today was just another such day conversing with (what seems to be) the most intense six year old on the planet; And he didn't disappoint.

We were talking about redemption and, of course, he didn't understand the word redemption. So we launched into discussing errors and penalties and justice. He didn't understand penalty. So we talked about robbery (fitting?). We talked about how according to the law, if you rob, you can't just give back what you took, but you must also pay a penalty, or give above what you took to "pay" for not holding up to what the law requires of you (not to steal). And how we as sinners have not lived up to what is required of us and so there is a penalty for rebelling against God.

The paying back more on top of what you took got his attention. He asked me if I would like that. "Would I like what?" I asked. He wanted know if I would want that to happen to me so I could be payed back a bunch of extra. (Which I thought was funny considering the recent events: see post about our new home) So I reigned him back in and got back on topic.

"So," I told him, "God could exact the payment that He is owed from us, but He decided to pay it Himself. Instead of making us pay Him, it was like He payed us! [He pays our debt and makes us part of His family and gives us a good inheritance!]"

Elliott responded immediately, "because He loves us so much..." He was blown away. "I want to pay Him back! He was so nice to me and I want to be nice back."

"You can't pay Him back. All you can do is just give Him your life."

"What do you mean, 'give Him my life.'?"

"That you no longer live for yourself and what you want, but instead you give Him your life, to let Him use you however He wants."

"I want to do that right now! Can you just do that right now? Like whenever you want? Like just today or tomorrow or in a couple of hours?"

"Yep!"

"I just did it, Mom. I gave Jesus my life. I'm so excited to see what He will do. I'm so excited to get to see Him. I can't wait to see what He is like. Do you think he has hands and feet like us?"

And so the conversation continued. But I am excited, too, to see what Jesus will do with Elliott's little life that he so joyfully surrendered in response to the preciousness and awesomeness of the Gospel. I am so encouraged and blessed talking to my son about the Lord. I am sharpened and spurred on and encouraged by my son who is (amazingly enough) also my brother is Christ!

*edit: This was so impactful and beautiful because, for Elliott, it was a very heartfelt response to the Gospel. But it wasn't the first time he responded to the it, and my prayer for him is that it will not be the last. You see, the gospel is something that always requires a response from us and should be applied to every part of our lives. Dave and I try to share the gospel with the kids and to each other constantly. Elliott had already made the decision to accept salvation from the Lord at a much younger age, but this day was beautiful in that as he heard the gospel again, he was prompted to go much deeper in his understanding of what Jesus' sacrifice for us means, and much deeper in his love and appreciation for Him. His response was to let go of his own desires and plans for his life and surrender them to the Lord in gratitude. Beautiful. May we all continually be amazed by the gospel and prompted to respond to God's amazing love for us daily.

Sent from my iPhone

Verse of the Day

2011-07-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:7-11

How comforting to know the heart of our heavenly Father. Especially in light of the previous chapter where Jesus tells us not to be anxious:

25 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" Matthew 6:25-27

Sent from my iPhone

New Beginnings

2011-07-03T00:45:00.000-07:00

Our new home!

We finally moved to Berkeley! After a year and a half of praying and waiting on the Lord, we are on the ground.

It's been a bit of a rough start, but that was expected. From everything we've heard, planting a church is usually most difficult in the first year and we've been thoroughly warned to expect to be completely discouraged. With God's help we are determined to be resilient. Knowing that God has asked us to be here is just about the only comforting thing in moving to a strange city, a strange house, and being alone and vulnerable in them. Every once in a while I look around our new little flat and think, "What in the WORLD are we doing here?? This is not my life!" But God is so faithful and keeps reminding us that indeed this is not our home--this world is not our home, but we instead are heavenly minded, looking forward to that time when we will be with Him face to face.

Indeed, some of the reminders have been very tangible as the second day of our residence in Berkeley, Dave came home from work to find our front door kicked in. Thankfully, I was at our old place cleaning all day and arrived home after Dave. As it was, he had the police come out and check things out. No one was inside, but we discovered a few things had been stolen including Dave's iPad with his sermon notes, some speakers, and our computer monitor. It wasn't until later that we discovered our (really cute) laundry bag missing as well, but even worse, two days later we realized that all of our photography equipment had been taken as well. Some of you know that photography is our livelihood, so that was a very low blow.

Overall, the move has been super discouraging and difficult, but we keep clinging to Jesus and trusting him. No matter where we go, we know that Jesus is our home(Psalm 90), as my good friend reminded me (see my earlier blog post entitled "Home").

Another hope we have is this: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

An upside to be burglarized, though, is that amidst all the chaos of boxes and piles of stuff, we have someone to blame whenever we can't readily find something. For instance: I couldn't find the coffee scooper, "Dang burglars! Stole the coffee scooper," I say. And then we have a good laugh before finally locating it in some box somewhere.

We're learning more and more each day about the grace and love of our God and how he so wonderfully demonstrates His love for us in sending His Son, Jesus, to lay down His life for us, to bear upon himself the wrath of God in our place, so that we could be restored to Him and not only that, but to be part of His family--sons and daughters! It's so amazing. We are excited to share this hope that we have with the people who live in Berkeley. Please pray for us!

Sent from my iPhone

Announcements, Announcements, Annooooouuuuncements!

2011-06-07T23:12:00.001-07:00

Hey folks, a few updates to share with you...

1. We put in a 30 day notice at our rental in Santa Rosa so here we come, Berkeley; hopefully by July 1st. Woot! (Still looking for a place to live, though.)

2. Husband looked at my driver's license today and realized it had expired
in February!! I hit up the DMV and guess what... New picture! I'm so
stoked. My last picture had me with super short hair and was very
unflattering... I wasn't expecting a picture so we'll see how it turns out. I stoond in front of the blue screen with the awful lighting and the lady said, "smile!" I smiled awkwardly until she told me, "Sign here. Oh, I didn't take it yet, I just had to make sure it was you! Your hair was so short!"

3. I spent nearly 2 weeks in Orange County and came back with a "half-calf" tan... You don't want to know. I will look ridiculous all summer, I'm sure. Very exciting. We did have a blast, though.

4. I found a new perfume to love at Sephora... very mild and delicious. I hesitate to tell you the name... Here's the link!

5. Oh! And Dave and I got to have a weekend away in San Jose for an Acts29 church planter bootcamp. Such a blessing. We even snagged a photo with D.A Carson... We hung out with some friends, had lots of good coffee, and played bocce at our hotel!

I would love to post some less "me-centric" content, but life is kinda closed in right now. Thanks for your prayers, friends.

Love!

Los Favoritos

2011-05-19T23:49:00.001-07:00

First up, these delicious, delectable, and delightful cookies. (I'm on an alliteration kick, lately) Please make these chocolate espresso shortbread cookies! You won't be sorry... I take that back, your hips might be sorry. Anyhow, you can find the recipe here. Easy to make and oh, so delicious. (These were a find from a previous pregnancy. My pregnant friend, E., reminded me of them. We were pregnant together last time, but she's on her own with this one. No babies for me! I'm not totally cold-hearted, though--I saved her a few cookies...)

Up next in this week's favorites is the clouds. The clouds this week were incredible. They were giant and white and fluffy. Did I say huge? They were huge! I love those kinds of clouds. Cumulus?

Then, Elliott: Elliott was a favorite this week with his "Newsies" costume and his maturity. Hanging out with the big boys at our coffee spot, Elliott was discussing the finer points of App organization with Todd and was grilling him on his methods. He was so delighted to have the same model as Todd. [Elliott uses an old, crippled iPhone as an iPod touch (Todd's, however, is not crippled; his works fine.)]

And Caiden: beautiful Caiden is on my list, too. I love the little details the last photograph captures of her lovely, long lashes (alliteration!) and her precious little fingers. I noticed this week that her face is changing. She is maturing and growing up. This makes my heart skip a few beats. It is exciting, but also kind of sad, too. Caiden made us laugh a whole bunch this week, though, so it more than makes up for it!

Another favorite this week, for me, was the book 2 Corinthians. It pretty much knocked me flat these last few days. I felt like a thirsty tree, soaking it up! I'm still processing it. God is so good, speaking to me like He does.

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies."
2 Cor. 4:7-11

"He who has prepared us for this very thing, is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.:
2 Cor. 5:5,6

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich."
2 Cor. 8:9

"The point is this; whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully, will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, "He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food wil supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God."
2 Cor. 9:6-11

"Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!"
2 Cor. 9:15

Any favorites for you this week?

His and Hers

2011-05-18T22:04:00.001-07:00

A funny thing happened--it wasn't "On the Way to the Forum", but still I thought it noteworthy... Two funny things, actually. First of all, Dave got strep throat--not funny. After the worst was over, he asked me to buy him a new tooth brush so as not to re-infect himself with his old one. So, while at the grocery store, I remembered and spent quite some time deciding on the best toothbrush for my hubby, whom I love. It wasn't until I presented it to him that I noticed its color--bright pink! Okay, innocent mistake, kind of funny, but oh well.

Then another funny thing happened. I got strep throat--again, not the funny part. After MY bout with the wretched sickness, Hubby picked up a new toothbrush for ME. Guess what color--blue. I thought it was kind of ironic. So now we have pink and blue toothbrushes and I always have to take a moment to process which one is mine before I brush my teeth. Just keepin' it fresh, you know...

Sunday Photo

2011-05-16T13:17:00.001-07:00

Dave spoke at a church near Napa, CA on Sunday. After church, we brought some new friends to the Oxbow Public Market in Napa to introduce them to amazing coffee at Ritual Roasters. I snagged a couple shots of the fam next to this sweet wall that my graphically minded husband pointed out to me. Elliott took off his sweatshirt and one of our new friends commented, "Oh, Batman, huh? ... I didn't realize you were Batman today at church."

"Neither did we," I said, wryly. Sneaky, little guy. He totally broke the "no wearing pajamas out of the house" rule.

Home

2011-05-04T02:01:00.001-07:00

I've started an ongoing "Note" on my iPhone called "God is:". Its a place where I notate things that God shows me about Himself that are of course biblical, and I may have already known about in my head, but are things that He reveals to me about Himself by teaching them to me through personal experience. It has been an excellent practice and super encouraging to look back on later.

Every time I discover something "new" I put it in my "Notes" application on my phone and save it with the date and a scripture reference if I have one.

One of the main things that God has shown Himself to be to me this year is "my Home." October 9, 2010 I wrote that down along with a reference to Psalm 90, which reads:

"Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. You turn man to destruction, and say, 'Return, O children of men.' For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night. You carry them away like a flood; they are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: in the morning it flourishes and grows up; in the evening it is cut down and withers. For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified. You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; we finish our years like a sigh. The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days! Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil. Let your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands."

It just struck me so strongly, in October, as we had already been praying for some time about moving to Berkeley to start a church and were uncertain of the future, that God alone is our dwelling place.

Psalm 90 is so beautiful, especially due to the fact that it was "A Prayer of Moses the man of God." Moses was the man in limbo: he was an Israelite by birth, although not really a Hebrew in the sense of life and practice having grown up as the Pharoah's (adopted) grandson, but not a true Egyptian either. He was a man outcast in the desert, rejected by Israel, rejected by Egypt, left without a home. So, he tends sheep for years in the wilderness and then later God sends Him back to Egypt to rescue the Israelites and lead that mutinous group through the desert, wandering for 40 years. It must have been frustrating. It must have been discouraging. The man never had an earthly home or earthly security. Yet it seems as though Moses understood something about God, something better than earthly security. Moses knew God. The Promised Land was not his true dwelling place, his ultimate goal; God was. "Teach us to number our days," he prayed. This life is but a vapor, nothing to be compared to eternity with Him.

Neither should finding a home in Berkeley be my ultimate goal, though of course we are trying to find a place for our family. But like Moses testified, "[He] has been our dwelling place[...]" Finding a home in Berkeley is proving frustrating, difficult, and darn near impossible. Scam artists galore offer false hope (and housing) at every turn. Logistically and logically, it does not seem possible for this move to happen. Often I think of the verse I wrote here yesterday, "[...]Nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You," 2 Chronicles 20:12. But, in reality, my truest difficulty has already been accomplished for me through Jesus Christ who beat sin and death for me to give me an eternal place with Him. He alone satisfies me. He is my home. How then can I worry? Berkeley? I'll let Him deal with that... But we sure could use your prayers! Thanks, friends.

Greetings: Distracted

2011-05-03T00:44:00.001-07:00

Hey friends, we're still here! Just resting in the Lord and waiting on His timing to transition to Berkeley... Life is a bit upside down lately and blogging has been hard. But I took out my camera a few weeks ago and snagged a few cute photos of the kids while we were out at Costco.

The kids are growing and learning how to live in a world that has... people in it! Learning to think of others is hard work. Learning to be compassionate and considerate can be tough. Teaching it isn't cake either! But these little moments like the one captured in this photograph make it all easier to bear. These munchkins are a huge blessing!

"O our God, will You not judge them?
For we have no power against this multitude that is coming against us;
nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."
2 Chronicles 20:12

Happy Wednesday!

2011-04-19T23:12:00.001-07:00

Be thankful! After all, your head is not stuck in a toilet seat... Can I get an "amen"?

Sartorial Inclinations

2011-04-16T03:28:00.001-07:00

Caiden is only three, but even still, it has been a very long while since I have had much sway over her choice in wardrobe. She has long since vocalized her opinion on what she should or should not wear and makes quite a fuss about selecting the right combination of clothing pieces.

Both of my kids like to bum about the house in their pajamas most of the time, so I always find it necessary to make an announcement, a good thirty minutes prior to any planned outing, that we will be going out and they need to get dressed.

This is the outfit that Caiden came out wearing today. She was killing me with her cuteness and I just fell in love with her selections, as quirky as they may have been. I took her into my room for a quick photo shoot before heading out the door and discovered even more richness in her attire: she was so thorough in her selections that she had even thought to wear an "underwear cover" to cover up her chonies and the cover also matched her pink boots and provided a "pop" of color whenever her dress splashed up. Love it!