One year later...

I hardly know where to begin...it's been such a long time since I've written anything! I think about blogging often, and I'd love to get back in the habit of writing on a more regular basis. I enjoy recording our family stories here...and my occasional thoughts and reflections.

So much has changed for our family since I last wrote. We've added a 3rd child. We've traveled and made some wonderful memories as a family. We've begun our homeschool journey. Truett is potty-trained (most of the time) and Maren is learning to read. As cliche as it sounds, life truly does pass by quickly. Thus my return to the blog...I've missed documenting the ins and outs of our little life. 

And so, in starting 'fresh', I've decided to share a few pictures of favorite memories from the previous year. Now for a stroll down memory lane...

Visiting Santa at the bank is always a Christmas highlight. 

We spent Christmas 2013 in Michigan. A highlight of our morning was announcing to the kids that a new baby would be joining our family the following summer. Maren was ecstatic and said it was her favorite gift. Also, I had pink hair.

After Christmas we ventured to Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City for a few days. The cousins had a wonderful time...the kids were the perfect ages to enjoy the slides. We hate living so far away from family so times like these are particularly special.

Maren and Truett took every opportunity to play in the snow...they'd often be outside bright and early before Brett even left for work...'helping' to shovel the driveway.

Maren and I spent a long weekend visiting my grandma, aunts and uncles in Minnesota. I hope I never forget this trip...it was special to travel alone with Maren and to enjoy girl time with her. We also treasured the time we spent with my sweet grandma. Maren was so attentive and helpful with her in pushing her wheelchair or making sure grandma was comfortable and had whatever she needed or wanted. I'm so thankful we were able to make the time for a visit.

Truett's yearly cardiologist appointment went smoothly. This was the first year we were able to make it through the tests without too much drama or too many tears. Most importantly, our boy is healthy and everything looked great!

We enjoyed hosting several close friends from church for Easter dinner and an egg hunt. The kids were pretty excited for the festivities!

Maren danced in her first ballet recital. She looked so grown up in her sparkly dress and stage make-up. We love her ballet studio and the fact that she danced to a special rendition of Jesus Loves Me. 

Maren also finished up her time in preschool with a special performance and party. Her best friend this year was a little boy named Destry. She once told me how much she was looking forward to college so she and Destry could hold hands. (One month into Kindergarten she's already moved on to new friends...her first crush didn't survive the perils of attending different schools!)

We had a surprise encounter with Elsa and Anna at a local frozen yogurt place. Maren was beside herself with delight upon seeing them...they even performed a special song for the patrons...pure JOY for our girl!

With the coming arrival of a baby in August, we traveled to Michigan over Memorial Day week instead of later in the summer. It was a treat to be at the lake for the initial summer activities. My dad, brother, cousin's husband and Brett put in the dock.

Truett was a big fan of riding on Grandpa's boat. Both of the kids loved the water and pretty much everything about our week at the lake.

All the cousins' kids...there was never a shortage of friends or activity with all these kids around!

Funny story...the kids were so excited to go fishing, so we bought some worms and loaded up the boat to go out fishing one day. We enjoyed some peaceful time on the lake without a single bite. Not even a minute after we returned to the dock, Brett dropped his hook in the water and caught a fish...right off the dock at our place. Brett and my dad proceeded to catch a few fish that were hanging out under the dock. The kids thought it was the greatest thing ever. 

The very cold water didn't keep us off the water! I was pretty thankful to have the pregnancy excuse to keep me warmly in the boat.

One benefit of traveling over Memorial Day week was enjoying the beach at the state park...a place typically overrun with teenagers and a louder party crowd. 

Considering how early in the season it was, we enjoyed some beautiful, warm weather. Also, I love him so much!

With a little [a lot] of bribing, Maren finally tried out the EZSki. By the end of the week she was asking to go out again and again!

The kids sure loved their time with Grams...and so does their mama!

Back in Colorado we made the effort to enjoy some fun family outings that we knew wouldn't happen again for a while after the new baby arrived. We took Maren and Truett to Ringling Brothers circus. They were both highly entertained...even though Truett covered his ears the entire time!

Truett turned 3 in June. Each year that passes with him, I'm so thankful he's here and healthy. I feel so blessed to live in a time when we have the medical intelligence and capability to have repaired his heart. Truett is funny, loving, mischievous...he brings so much joy and energy to our family. He's also incredibly sensitive and thoughtful with his words. He'll frequently tell me things like, "this is the best dinner ever mom" or "thank you for giving me this candy mom. It's good candy, mom." We are so thankful for the gift of Truett in our lives!

We had a simple backyard BBQ with some friends to celebrate T's birthday...it was the perfect evening with no frills...I might be over the fancy parties. :)

Truett was excited to celebrate his birthday again at Papa and Gigi's house!

Brett worked feverishly at finishing our basement. With a 3rd baby on the way, we were excited to make a space in the basement for guests and for the kids to play. I'll have to share more pictures later when we're completely done. [It's livable now...just needs some finishing touches!]

I loved having Maren along to celebrate baby 3 at a sweet shower my friends gave me.

Amy and Jaime spoiled me with a 'sprinkle' for baby girl. It was a special treat to be so spoiled by my friends. I'm blessed with a wonderful community of friends and love any opportunity to get together with them!

We attended a local parade for the 4th of July...a nice and hot day!

A highlight of the parade is the kids' bike parade...Maren did an excellent job of decorating her bike this year!

The Florida cousins were visiting over the 4th of July...so fun to have all the Colorado and Florida kids together! Also, Maren's glad to be welcoming 2 more girls to the family this year!

We love summer Slurpees!

More basement work...the kids enjoyed spending time in the basement with Brett.

We went miniature golfing a couple times this summer...both kids really enjoyed it! Truett loves golf and took the game pretty seriously for a 3-year-old!

Getting bigger...and closer!

We had a garden again with a few of our favorites from years past. Here was our first zucchini harvest.

I think this was maybe a week or two before I was due.

Elin Elizabeth joined our family on August 9...her due date! I had a quick labor and we welcomed our 8 lb. 6 oz. girl at 9:52 on a Saturday night.

The three girls! Maren is such a caring big sister...even with 6 years between them, I pray they'll have a special relationship.

She waited so long for this moment!

Truett is actually a sweet big brother, apart from the occasional impulsive gesture towards her. 

Just a week after Elin joined us, we celebrated Maren's birthday. Her two good friends from church came over for an 'almost sleepover'. The girls played, enjoyed pizza and cake, and finished the evening in their pj's watching a movie. We wanted to make sure Maren felt loved on her special day...so glad she could spend it with Hannah and Abby!

Our family of 5!

Sweet Elin.

Maren started Kindergarten this fall! We are homeschooling, which I hope to write more about at some point. She attends a hybrid program 2 mornings a week, which she is loving. So far this has been a great fit for our family. She loves her time at school, and works hard during the alternate days at home. I'll look forward to documenting more of this journey soon!

Elin has been my chunkiest baby...she weighed 11 pounds at her 1-month check-up!

We've enjoyed the Balloon Classic for the past several years over Labor Day weekend and were sad to hear this would be it's final year in Colorado Springs! Even with a small baby, we made the effort to go early on a Sunday morning for the balloon launch. Truett talked about the balloons non-stop leading up to the event and cried hysterically for the first 30 minutes or so once we arrived. He did NOT like being so close to the balloons as they were filling up and taking off...he finally calmed down enough to enjoy part of the morning, but continued to ask to go home. Crazy boy!

We had a stranded baby bunny in one of our window wells, which provided some great entertainment one Saturday morning!

We sure love our baby girl!

Elin cozies in and falls right to sleep in the Ergo...so I've taken advantage of wearing her around quite a bit. It's been a convenient way for me to keep 3 kids happy during the days!

Maren is playing soccer for the first time this fall, and Brett is her coach. She's on a sweet little coed team called the Sharks! A couple of weeks ago she scored her first goal...so fun to become a soccer mom!

When I look at this picture, I get a little teary and also feel overcome with gratitude. It took us so long to get pregnant with Maren, I remember wondering if we'd ever have the privilege of raising children. I've experienced 3 miscarriages along the way...and I had a hematoma early in my pregnancy with Elin that caused quite a frightful few weeks. I wouldn't trade any of the hurt, months of waiting, times of crying out to God for anything! I look at these three faces and thank God I get to be their mama. I cherish each of them so much, and I'm amazed at the miracle of each of their little lives. I remember begging God for just one baby...and thinking that I'd never ask Him for anything again if he'd allow just one child to join our family. Now I have a house full of noise, little feet, laughter, sometimes screams and tears...I can't believe how fortunate I am! 

So, there you have it! A glimpse of where we've been these past 12 months. I sure hope I make it back here before another year has passed!

Many Useful but Unrelated Tidbits

I have a bunch of random things to share with you today...and if you make it to the end, there's a prize. {Well, sort of...it's a discount code...surprise!} I guess now you don't have to read the whole post.

Let's start with this picture of Maren...I have no idea what she is doing, but I included it since it's, well, random.

I love to read. My goal for 2013 is to read 33 books. I'll let you guess why 33, because a woman never tells her age.

My aunt gave me this little prayer book for Christmas several years ago, and I've just recently started using it again. There are a month's worth of simple prayers for morning and evening. My prayer life has been richly flavored by Baillie's words over the past couple of weeks.

I also just finished The Thirteenth Tale, based on a recommendation from a trusted fellow-reader-friend. {Side note...if someone who loves food is a foodie, and a picture you take of yourself is a selfie, what would you call someone who loves books? Just doesn't quite work. Also, if you live in Colorado, you are not eligible to participate in Amazon's affiliate program. Sad. Not that I was planning on getting rich from it or anything, but I love to buy books, so thought I'd give it a go. No go, Colorado address.}

I liked The Thirteenth Tale. It's dark and eerie and has a pretty great, unexpected twist at the end.

Maren learned to change diapers. Almost. It's backwards, but it worked! And...one less diaper for me. Literally, one less. This was her first and last attempt.

I've decided to do some things a little differently in my shop. I've read several books this year, and I've just been generally convicted lately about simple living. I'm pretty terrible at it, but as a family, we're working on getting better. It's so hard not to chase after the next new, better, smarter, more fun or special thing. I like to shop. I like to decorate. I like to cook. I like to read. I like clothes. I like stuff. There, I said it. But, I'm trying not to let all those things consume me or my family's resources. 

The thing is, I also LOVE to give things away. I like giving gifts to my friends and family, I like filling boxes at Christmas for children who might not have much, I like supporting various missionary friends, and I really find great joy in giving and supporting people doing special things. 

All this considered, I started praying a couple months ago about how I might use my Etsy shop to serve, love and help others. I received some great feedback and support from a couple of special friends. {Thanks Hannah and Heather! You should visit their blogs and shops...two very special ladies!} And, what I've decided is that I want to use much of my income from Oh Write to offer support to friends and family who are walking through the adoption process. My goal has never been to get rich from my Etsy shop, but I do really LOVE the idea of using it to help others! 

Effective immediately, 50% {hopefully even more...just need to see how the numbers all pan out!} of my sales will go directly towards helping families who are adopting. I have 2 special friends who will likely be my first recipients. I'm in the process of working out those details...but hopefully I'll get to share about them with you soon. I've always had a hard time promoting my shop for my own benefit, but now I'm thrilled for the opportunity to use my creativity and time to bless others...so go buy something! Ha. But, seriously, it's for a good cause. {wink}

Finally, I've come across a few great posts recently, and maybe you'll be blessed, encouraged, or informed by them, too.

Tsh reminded me to take time for Friends of All Ages. I'm constantly blessed by my friendships with older and younger ladies...how about you?

Is your family broken? Elisa shares the truth that we ALL come from broken families. Such a freeing reminder!

Do you read Edie's blog? I can hardly wait to try some of her October recipe suggestions...and please tell me that we're not the only family NOT eating like this every day?!

These Quinoa, Black Bean and Corn Tacos were delicious. Every single one of us loved them and raved about them...and they're a great meatless option, if that sort of thing matters to you!

And, that about wraps up this post.

Oh, yeah...a prize!!! Use code RANDOMLOVE for 20% at the shop.

How about you? Any random goodness in your life lately?

a model child

Depending on how long you've know me, or how long you've read my blog, you may or may not be aware of how Truett's life started out. Most days I completely forget about those early weeks...facing the news of his heart problem, the days in the hospital with my sweet 6-week-old baby, weeks following the surgery filled with prayer and hope that he would be 'okay'. 

Well, let me tell you, Truett's heart is working just fine these days. My sweet, fragile, helpless boy is fragile and helpless no more. {He is still occasionally sweet, thank goodness!} Parenting him is a mystery. Prior to having a second baby, I was aware that children have unique personalities with different needs. But now I know the magnitude of this truth. Oh boy...literally...oh boy!

To be honest, prior to having Truett, I thought I had the mom thing pretty well figured out...even that I was exceptional at it. Maren responded well to discipline, she was smart, funny, mostly-agreeable, a good eater, good sleeper...and then came Truett. Ha!

I love him fiercely...he has taught me so many lessons in his short {okay, sometimes it feels long!} two years. He is affectionate and snuggly, he loves to read books, he is an introvert {like his mama...really, most of the time when we have lots of friends over, I'll find him looking at books in another room, or playing quietly in his bed!}, he has a great sense of humor, and brings much joy to our family. I honestly love him so much.

But, he also makes me crazy! He's so hard for me to parent. We are learning and growing together, but there are days that end in tears...for both of us. He is stubborn. He throws fits. He is messy {I know, he's a boy!}, he's aggressive, and often I just don't know what to do with all these different things. 

God is so gracious...and reminds me often of my own sin as I'm working at training and disciplining Truett in love. This business of being refined through my kids is hard, though! I'm thankful for the glimpses of God's great love for us...no matter how massive our mistakes and wanderings, he loves us enough to patiently guide us back. Admittedly, I'm not always as patient as I wish...and way too often I focus on my immediate desire for behavior modification rather than the lasting implications of heart-change for my kids. I mess up...I yell sometimes, I get lazy sometimes, I try too hard to do things on my own, without the help of the Lord. But He faithfully reminds me that he has not left me to my own devices in this calling to be a mother! He's given me a wise, loving husband...He's given His relevant, encouraging, challenging truth in the Word...He's given me gifts of prayer and rest. Thank goodness...because really, I'm not sure I'd make it any other way.

So, here's a story...last week, our family was all under the weather. Truett had a cough that was lasting a long time, and he has a history of ear infections, which had me concerned that his ears were bothering him. We were having a really rough morning at home...he'd been particularly whiny. I decided to go ahead and take him to the doctor just to be sure he didn't have something more serious than a bad cold...but also sort of dreading a trip to the doctor's office with my feisty little guy. 

Truett remained disagreeable right up until the doctor walked in, and then something unbelievable happened. The doctor asked him to sit on the table, and his reply? "Sure." She asked him to take some big breaths for the stethoscope..."okay." Can you open your mouth really wide? "Okay." He proceeded to let the doctor poke and prod, check his eyes, nose, mouth, ears...he coughed, breathed, and moved on command. I sat there in awe, and considered asking the doctor to come home with me. She turned to me, and I kid you not, the lady said,

"He is a model child. I wish every 2-year-old was as cooperative as he is! He would be a perfect child for a student to observe because he is so compliant. Most parents would pay to have their 2 year old behave this well!" {Yeah, sign me up to pay for my kid to behave this well!!!}

I wanted to laugh hysterically and bawl all at the same time. Also, I wished I had a tape recorder (ummm...that dates me just a little bit, right?) so I could remember those words. I have a feeling there will be times in my future when I'll want to replay them over and over to myself, to teachers, church nursery workers, grandparents...a model child. It still makes me snicker to type that out. And I'm realizing now that even if I DID have a tape recorder, no one would ever be able to hear those words again, because nobody owns cassette players anymore! 

So, these are the lessons I'm learning, and the little gifts the Lord is giving me to help make it through. Do you like that picture above? Truett loves Maren's purse and pink Bible. He opens it up and recites {several times a day} "Then Jesus went to work. The end."

I can't help but think, Yup. Jesus certainly does go to work...every single day. He works on my heart, and Truett's...and I'm so very glad He does.

Things worth mentioning

The thing about having a blog is that the writer gets to pick exactly what gets published...as the writer of this blog, I choose my favorite pictures, I tell stories that {usually} make me happy, and I write when I choose. Recently, it came to my attention that you, as the reader, probably don't get a great representation of what our life is really all about. I love my family...we try to make lots of great memories together, and that's about what you hear. Truly, I want that to change. Mostly, I am very grateful for the life the Lord has given me...I have an incredible husband, 2 clever kids, and some pretty special friends and family members. But we have some bad days, too. I get mad and impatient, Truett hits Maren with his helicopters, Maren's room is usually a wreck (I like to think it's because she's so creative???), and Brett forgets things. A lot. We're all learning and growing...just like you, I'm sure! 

So, until I get a chance to take a picture of Truett having a meltdown, here are some carefully selected photos of Maren's first day of school, which was really the second day since she was throwing up the night before the first.

It is next to impossible to get a good picture of these two together...both looking at the camera and smiling. But, I sort of like this one...it's real life. They're good buddies most of the time. With Maren gone at school now, Truett gets some peace and quiet (which he relishes) and I am able to be quite productive. (miracle!)

If I ever get around to it, I have some fun things to share with you. I'm making some changes to my Etsy shop, I've got some good posts written in my mind, and a few more honest, hard ones, too.

Happy October!

Spending my moments...

I'm in a rut. Life has been more disjointed and haphazard recently. I think I've been feeling behind and more disorganized than usual...and the combined effect is a paralysis of sorts.

What I'm learning ever so slowly, is that my responsibility lies is many small moments of obedience...obedience to the small things the Lord calls me to each day. When my focus is plagued by worry, fear, and anxiety about the future, I too-quickly succumb and find myself trapped in moments of disobedience. My joy dissipates until it's unrecognizable and I begin to wander somewhat aimlessly through a fog of doubt, unclarity and weariness.

I found myself in such a place this morning as I faced a looming 'to do' list, kids that had awoken too early, and a generally grumpy disposition. And then the Lord gently led me into a different place when I opened his Word to 2 Corinthians and read these words...

For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

So we do not lose heart. 

Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:15-18 esv

And now I'm doing my best to serve and love and take captive each moment...paying less and less attention to the temporal, transient things and relying on that grace extended in a way that increases thanksgiving. As it turns out, when I pursue this way of living, all the stuff that so quickly brought me to my knees in a fit of worry doesn't seem so important after all. And I find I have more time to spend on my knees in thanksgiving to the glory of God.