confession of sin

O Holy Spirit, as the sun is full of light and heaven full of glory, so may my heart be full of you. Give me yourself without measure, as an unimpaired fountain. I bewail my coldness, poverty, and emptiness, my imperfect vision, languid service, prayerless prayers, and praiseless praises. Suffer me not to grieve or resist you. Come as power, to expel every rebel lust. Come as teacher, leading me into all truth. Come as love, that i may adore the Father and love him as my all. Come as joy, to dwell in me and animate me. Come as beautifier, bringing loveliness out of chaos. Magnify to me your glory by being magnified in me. Amen.

adapted from The Valley of Vision: a Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

one reason i still like sesame street

as we returned from church...

adam smelled grilling meat and asked if we had any. i mumbled something about chicken and marit (she calls herself mare mare) said:
"mare mare...chikin...get it...hot!"

marit and nutella agree

thanks nicole for the reminder to stock my pantry with this amazing food!

another month day already!

if these monthly updates get old, just skip it. my blog is primarily for friends and family to keep up with what goes on from day to day in our family. today graham is 7 months old and marit is 22 months. time is passing so quickly!

graham must weigh at least 20 pounds. he is a chunk. he is getting close to sitting up on his own and he has entered a phase of frustration...he fusses when he drops his toy or when he can't reach something. he is falling into better and better sleeping habits, though he still wants to eat 6 times a day. he is eating rice cereal, oat cereal, peas, sweet potatoes, and rice puffs and boy is it messy! he still loves to jump in his jumper. he is such a mama's boy and is pretty much always content if he is being held or in his ergo.

marit is running everywhere. her words are taking off. she says a lot of two-three word phrases now: "love you," "get it," "hold it," "he dropped it," "there you go," etc. she loves to give graham tackle hugs and kisses and points to him and says "hold it." we then let her sit with him in her lap, which is funny because she is not much bigger than him. she is hilarious and has started singing with us before she goes to bed her favorite innocence mission song. her "yes" still sounds like the s word and we are not sure what to do about it. in general she is a delight (despite the occasional tantrums and the frequent need for discipline and reproof).

house update

closing: may 27th
moving: june 1st-we know it is a monday, but that is just how it is working out...let us know if you want to help!

keep us in your prayers that this process would continue to move along. we are excited, especially since one of our major drainage pipes started leaking in our basement. as my sis-in-law said, it's such good timing to move. true true.

mountain footage

on a misty morning



my wonderful grandmother has a beautiful little house in the mountains. she does not live there most of the year now, but was so gracious to allow our little family to occupy it for nearly a week. it was truly a treat to be able to afford a little time away to rest, enjoy each other, celebrate our anniversary, disconnect from chaotic life. it was truly a wonderful week even though poor graham was fighting a cold and didn't sleep so well for the first few days. we were so thankful to be visited by a dear friend (our friendship is 23 years old!), who now lives near my grandma, and her enchanting dog that the kids LOVED and i wanted to bring home. it was a lovely trip...we took much fewer photos than we should have...we were too busy relaxing!





we did a lot of walking up and down the mountain road


this is the view from the porch and dining room




i know marit is small, but do not be mistaken...this dog is BIG


graham loved this dog's soft fur...i have never seen a gentler dog with children