A trip across the mitten

There was a lot of baby wearing on our recent vacation.  We drove 8 1/2 hours away and never left our home state.  Although, we did leave the mitten and cross the bridge into the upper peninsula, which to me feels like a whole other world.  We enjoyed lots of sunshine, fresh air, and came home feeling refreshed.

Back to Blogging

Here's reason number one, why I want to start writing again.

Introducing Jack Tarin...

I'm a stay at home mom now and while the days can be slow, time is flying by.  Our little guy is already a month old!  Life is so full right now; not busy but full which is totally different and way better.  I don't want to miss any of these moments and figure this is a good place to share the joy with others.  Stay tuned...

Weekend update

I crawled into bed last night exhausted.  But it was the good kind of exhaustion, like the good kind of sore after a workout.  I was tired because we worked our buns off this weekend, but I felt great about it.  I think I'm officially nesting, because I did more cleaning and organizing in this past three day weekend than I've done in the past three months.  It's a great feeling to get our house in order.

And having some accountability, feeling like I would need to come back here and post about my lists for the weekend, gave me a push to meet my goals.  So here's the update on how we spent our weekend.

Play List:

1. Prayer walk the neighborhood with Jeff and Monte. I have lots of excuses for this one: snow, Monte's leash is at my parent's house, and I made so many trips up and down stairs this weekend that extra walking did not sound like fun.
2. Use our Blockbuster Express free rental code (ESU11B good through 1/18).  We got into watching Lost online instead.  It was still free entertainment, so I'm ok with it.
3. Paint something.  I don't know what, but I have many projects waiting in the wings.  I just feel the need to paint.  Painting my nails counts right?

To Finish:

1. Rearrange the furniture in the dinning room/kitchen.  Done, including my new piano.  It makes our home seem so much more peaceful and there are less flat surfaces for clutter.
2. Purge the magazines.  About halfway done.  I'm going through them and tearing out any recipes that I may have missed, so it's taking a little longer.
3. Make Colossians memory books.  Done with hubby's help.
4. Get donations ready to go out the door.  Two garbage bags have been loaded in my trunk.  Just need to stop at the thrift store and drop them off.
5. Start and finish cleaning the house.  It's much cleaner than it was on Friday morning!
6. Make chicken stock.  Done and used some for last night's dinner.

Finish-It Friday

Aby over at Simplify 101 does a weekly Finish-It Friday post.  Our whole family has a three day weekend coming up and we have very little on the calendar.  This is so rare for our family.  I work full time and husband is in full time ministry that often dominates our calendar.  His day off is usually Monday's, but as he's also in seminary, these days are often loaded with homework/studying.  This three day weekend is like the trifecta of calendar bliss.  My government funded office is closed for MLK day, hubby has his usually Monday off and seminary classes don't start back up until the following week, no major ministry events on the calendar, and our exchange student also has Monday off school for MLK day, so no getting up early for the carpool.  I love weekends like this where I have time to finish up the things that have been driving me crazy for a while and still have time to rest.

So here's my finish it list for this weekend.

Play List:

1. Prayer walk the neighborhood with Jeff and Monte.
2. Use our Blockbuster Express free rental code (ESU11B good through 1/18).
3. Paint something.  I don't know what, but I have many projects waiting in the wings.  I just feel the need to paint.

To Finish:

1. Rearrange the furniture in the dinning room/kitchen.
2. Purge the magazines.
3. Make Colossians memory books.
4. Get donations ready to go out the door.
5. Start and finish cleaning the house.
6. Make chicken stock.

May you also have a restful and enjoyable weekend.

Humble Beginnings

My husband and I began our marriage in a rather unconventional way. The day after we returned from our honeymoon we packed up our cars and moved to camp. God had called us to work with teenagers for the summer, to love on them, teach them truth, and serve alongside them as they came to camp two weeks at a time. Our home for that summer was pretty swanky by camp standards. It had a kitchen, a queen size bed, and we even had our own shower. We didn't have to walk outside to a bath-house and had a little more privacy than most of the summer staff. However, compared to what I always imagined my first married house to be, our little fifth-wheel trailer was a bit of a let down. I almost cried the night we first moved in, but over the course of the summer, our little shady spot in "Maple Grove" became home.

This particular camp has become one of my favorite places on the planet. God works so mightily there and I love connecting with him through his creation in ways that aren't as easy in the city. This past weekend we got to go back home. We took 70 high school students and leaders to camp for a weekend retreat. And we saw the Spirit move big time. There was a great speaker, wonderful times of worship, meaningful small group conversations, and lives were changed. We're praying that the Spirit continues to move in the lives of our students now that we've returned to reality and that the commitments they made will be lasting.

Hubby and I visiting our first home this past weekend.

Gifts of grace that I'm counting this week...
65. a day of rest and worship

66. baby movements while Daddy was talking to my tummy

67. a weekend at "home"

68. lunch with our mentors/friends

69. vulnerability of our students

70. knowing we can't fix their lives and turning to the one who can

71. sleep in my own bed

72. popcorn for dinner

73. a sassy new haircut

74. the dish fairy and her light hanging husband (aka my mom and dad)

75. the anticipation of seeing inside my belly (tomorrow!)

76. hopes to one day see our little one encounter God at camp

An intentional, creative, and trashy Christmas wreath

I've been convicted this year to really be intentional about how we budget for Christmas. The hope is to give more to others who have real needs rather than just overindulging for ourselves.

In order to keep things in check, we've limited gifts for each other to one from each of the following categories: Something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. (I totally stole this from someone else in blogland. Can't remember who, but thanks!) It's made shopping much more fun for me this year, as it's forced me to be more creative as well as intentional.

I also decided that I didn't want to spend money on additional Christmas decor. We've pretty much filled our green and red tubs with things we'd brought into marriage from childhood, hand-me-downs and items purchased in years past. The one thing that was missing was a wreath for the front door. Last year I bought a fresh one from a friend at work whose son was selling them for a fundraiser. That wasn't an option this year, so I headed to the craft store to find something cute. I was hopeful that I wouldn't have to spend much, especially since Christmas decor was 50% off. But to my surprise, the cheapest wreath was going to run me at least $30 at half off. Thirty dollars is not an huge amount, but I could not justify needing what was at one point a $60 wreath.

Over the weekend, my husband had hung an old wreath that I made in elementary school on the front door. It's made out of a wire coat hanger and white plastic trash bags. It's not fresh or new but it looks pretty good from the street with a big red bow on it. Most importantly, it fits our convictions to spend less and give more. So we're having an intentional, creative, and a little trashy Christmas this year.

In case anyone wants to recreate the wreath, here's a quick how to. It was always special to me to have this wreath hanging on my bedroom door as a child.

You'll need:

A wire hanger

Lots of white trash bags cut into one inch wide, 6 inch long strips

Ribbon for a bow

It will probably require sharp scissors to cut the trash bags well. You can make your strips shorter or longer depending on the desired fluffiness for your wreath.

Bend the wire hanger into as best a circle as you can. It doesn't have to be perfect, but should be somewhat round. The hook of the hanger will become the hook that your wreath hangs from.

Simply tie the strips of trash bag around the wire hanger. I would recommend double knotting. Scrunch them together as you make your way around the hanger. The more trash bag strips you tie on, the fuller your wreath will be.

Add a pretty bow and you've got a beautiful white fluffy wreath to hang anywhere in the house.

A first hot chocolate

This week's gifts from my Abba...

11. a first hot chocolate warming cold hands

12. my boys

13. listening to father/"son" bonding time

14. chances to serve alongside our students
15. time to dream with my husband
16. keeping my snuggie in my cubicle

17. homemade stew
18. my photographer friend
19. pictures worthy of frames

20. honest conversation complete with tears

21. family room worship
22. hearing the gospel proclaimed through song at the mall
23. entering a season of growth

Joy in New Beginnings

The room is painted and prayed over. God gave us two extra days to get ready in that Sam missed his original flight. But the Hubby picked him up from the airport this afternoon.

Now the boys are playing guitar together. I should say the Hubby is teaching Sam guitar. Can you imagine learning how to play in instrument from someone who's not speaking your native language? It's a bit crazy, this whole thing is a bit crazy, but it's making me laugh and smile and excited for the year to come.

An Answered Prayer

We've been praying for God to give us a way to use the blessing of our four-bedroom house to bless others. Our guest bedroom has been used two nights this week and will be used on Saturday as well.

But the ultimate answer to that prayer will be moving into one of our other bedrooms come Sunday. We have decided to host a foreign exchange student from South Korea for this upcoming school year. Sam arrives on Sunday evening and starts school on Tuesday morning taking us from being DINKs (Dual Income No Kids) to the youngest "parents" at the Christian high school in less than 48 hours.

God gave us so many opportunities to accept an exchange student into our home, and after much prayer and consideration we're excited to start on this new adventure. Even though we're not set on Christian school for our own kids when they come along someday, we thought that was the best option for this experience. We have a great support network there of families from our church, whereas we would be so lost with a student in the large public school district where we live.

We're excited for the opportunity to share our lives with another person. I've come to a new understanding of parenthood as the ultimate opportunity for discipleship and see this temporary parenthood as a chance to practice that. We're excited for how the Lord will use this experience to stretch us and sanctify us as we learn to be more selfless.

Please be in prayer for Sam as he travels half-way across the world and for his jet-lag as he starts school. Pray that I will cast all my anxieties on the Lord because He cares for me, when it comes to last minute details. And please pray for our new family as we open up our home, our lives, and our hearts for the Lord to do an amazing work full of love and grace.

A month of adventures

I've been too busy living this past month to do a whole lot of blogging. One would think that youth ministry would slow down in summer like the rest of the world does, but rather just the opposite happens. I'm not complaining, we love our students and enjoy the extra time with them that summer allows.

I love adventures, like all of these that have happened in the past month...

• Celebrated a quarter century with family, friends, 11 innings and fireworks.
• Feathered the nest of a dear family friend.
• Flipped a kayak.
• Relaxed in one of my favorite places.
• Traveled around and across Lake Michigan.
• Rode through 4 states in one week. Drove in 0.
• Yes my husband is a driving saint.
• Witnessed two lives joined together as one.
• Explored Chicago with my sister on her birthday.
• Got too much sun at the beach.
• Roasted marshmallows. Reese's smores = amazing.
• Harvested more zucchini and cucumber than I know what to do with.
• Finished a number of little house projects.
• Figured out how to use my sewing machine.
• Hosted two college students who shared their music ministry with us.
• Took a bike tour of our city's community gardens.

We still have two more weddings and a mission trip to go before Labor Day. I used to think that I would get it together when life settled down and felt normal. But I've come to realize that this craziness is my normal and that is part of what makes my life a grand adventure.

There are no weeds...

just plants in the wrong place. That's what my landscape architect friend says anyway. So yesterday, in the rain, I dug up some daisies that were in the wrong place and brought them home with me. My parents' neighbors probably thought I was crazy out there in the empty lot, in my raincoat and flip flops, digging up the "weeds" and putting them in plastic grocery bags. I'm finding lots of joy in gardening this year, especially when the plants are free. I'm finding that I connect with my creator when I'm tending his creation.

On another note, hubby and I made some new friends tonight with our neighbors across the street. We've been very blessed with friendly and kind neighbors and have been wanting to use our home more often to serve others with hospitality. We had this couple and their daughter over for a nice relaxing dinner and really enjoyed getting to know them. I'm excited to see what the Lord is going to do with this new relationship.

Sissy's Graduation

My little sissy graduated from college this past Saturday. It was a day filled with great memories and lots of proud moments. My hubby graduated from the same university three years ago, I graduated from there four years ago, and my parents graduated as Spartans 35 years ago. It was fun to remember our days on the banks of the Red Cedar and to celebrate my sister joining the fold of MSU alumni. She'll tell you that she's always lived in my shadow, but as she graduated with high honors, a job lined up, and a bright smile ready to be shared with the world, she's shining so brightly nothing could overshadow her. And I could not be more proud.

We didn't always have a good relationship. We fought often when we were young. Over toys, who got to sit in the front seat, who got to play on the computer, eventually clothes, but thankfully never boys. I pulled her hair and bossed her around. I showed her sinfulness at its worst. And over time she's shown me forgiveness. Now I call her not only my sissy, but my best friend.

And that's GRACE.