so thankful

for this little fellow! he turned one on wednesday and we smile at the wisdom and care of our Heavenly Father seen even in this one's small life. we were shocked to find out i was pregnant with graham in the first place. we spent the last month of pregnancy in and out of the hospital on strict bedrest, but he made it to term just barely and he was 8.5lbs! we returned to the hospital at 2 weeks with viral meningitis. he weaned himself cold-turkey a couple weeks ago ( maybe he will potty-train himself too?). he keeps us on our toes:)

we are so thankful for him and the joys he has brought to our little family...we call him our "little scalawag." here are a few photos of his life thus far. the only gift we got him is this nice fuzzy fleece and we will celebrate with our neighbors next week.

we had graham's ortho appointment yesterday. all our children will likely be followed for their first year to make sure they don't have hip dysplasia since Marit's was so severe. anyway, our wonderful orthopedist took one look at graham's beautiful x-ray and said with a grin "that's all i need to see. he doesn't need me until he breaks his arm." though this is what we expected, we do not want to take this wonderful grace for granted. we are so thankful that graham has healthy femoral heads and acetabulums and we praise God for it. isn't he just precious?

sleeping woes

today is monday and i am thankful. really i am. we are extravagantly loved by our heavenly Father. last weekend we traveled for a quick family reunion to meet my cousin's beautiful new wife and to see other cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters etc. it was fun, but resulted in serious sleep deprivation for the munchkins. since our return, graham has completely weaned himself and now sleeps all night. this is wonderful, truly. however, marit has really been struggling with her sleep. she has always been a great sleeper and does really well with bedtime ritual going to sleep on her own for TWELVE hours a night and usually a 2-3 hr nap. until last weekend. she has suddenly begun to scream hysterically before going to sleep. we thought she was afraid of the dark, so we put up globe chain lights. we frequently return to her (every 20ish minutes) to remind her of how much she is loved by us and by Jesus and to lay her back down. she is so tired. she frequently falls asleep if we drive for any length of time and her voice is hoarse. we struggle to know if she is manipulating us (we have been through those phases too) or if she is really afraid of something. the other night, she was finally quiet and we found her sound asleep like this:


isn't that so sad? pray for us to have wisdom to extend the love of Jesus to our dear daughter and to help her get the sleep she needs...

driscoll on idolatry

multitide monday

Psalm 145:10
"All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you."


a while back, a sweet friend sent me a link to this sweet blog and i have since been so encouraged by this woman who is a stranger in real life. we have been transitioning into this residency stage of life as adam completes his 3rd ward month in a row and it has been really hard at times. i have truly struggled with fleeting joy...i guess my happiness is too often dependent on circumstances: ___X__ amount of time with adam, __X__ amount of time with adam while he is actually awake, children that sleep through the night and obey quickly and cheerfully, __X__ amount of money that we can use for things other than bare necessities, a vacation...the list continues...these things are idols as they are the "one more thing" i think i need to make me happy/content/joyful. they are the things i subconsciously (and sometimes consciously too) think i need to add to Jesus to make things right. the truth is that i have been so abundantly blessed with grace upon grace upon grace. as God has worked on my heart, i heard of this thing call the gratitude community . of course, we don't need gadgets and things to make our hearts thankful instead of complaining ones...we need Jesus to do that. however, what i like about this little community is that it is just simple encouragement to give thanks for the daily graces and kindnesses that God showers upon us all the time...and that, my friends, changes our hearts...action first and then feelings second (as pastor george always reminds us). if we really step back and think about the tremendous work of grace He has done for us through His precious Son, our hearts should always be offering thanksgiving.



so here we go, i had this red moleskin that was blank. i love journals, but am a terrible journaler. it is bright and easy to find, i leave it in my kitchen so i can write in it when i think of something. adam has joined me. we write one-liners and we number them to remind us of the abundance we have been given...material and immaterial. we are just thanking. periodically ( on multitude mondays) i may post a few of the things we have written down.

1. blue sky speckled with pure white clouds
2. pudgy hands that hold mine
3. "toddler attacks"
4. blond curls
5. husband's early release from work
6. conversation with sweet sister
7. blooming calla lillies
8. kitten with limp, reminding me of God's grace with me
9. husband's boldness with neighbors
10. generous parents visit
11. soft brown eyes
12. a tooth in graham's little mouth
13. music by the river with husband
14. time today to read encouraging words
15. no injuries upon toddler falling out of crib
16. the joys of "losing you life"
17. post-call husband
18. sweet girl singing hymns with her daddy
19. neighbor visit
20. over-ripe bananas in banana bread
21. grace, grace, grace
22. my children are alive (after hearing of two who tragically died last week)
23. wiggles
24. peek-a-boo
25. banana bread (repeat)
26. the book of Job
27. frozen plums
28. marit running everywhere
29. that "dying is gain"
30. family walks
31. sweet mommy/child field trip with friends
32. farms
33. toddler excitement over how "big" horses are
34. no tooth damage upon first busted lip
35. road races
36. mother-in-law pound cake
37. jogging strollers
38. a most beautiful and kind wife (adam wrote that one...)
39. children's laughter
40. a Sunday off
41. kids sleeping through the night
42. light-hearted fun with ellen (adam again)
43. a cool morning
44. 2-tooth smile
45. long sleeves
46. warm sun shining through our window
47. sidewalks

see? in just a little over a week, we have compiled this light-hearted list as we look for God's every day graces in our lives. He cares about the intimate details because He is a good and personal Father to His children. join the community if you like, keep a private journal, or not...but do endeavor to cultivate thankfulness and allow God to change and soften your heart.

we did it!

we completed our 10k (6.2 miles) this morning in just over 56 minutes. it was a cool misty morning, the kids and a couple friends (nicole and katie) ventured out to this race and it was so much fun! here we are before.


the course was flat, the kids did really well...i broke out the cheerios at mile 4. i was unprepared for how much i would stand out with a bright green double stroller...i'm used to running races somewhat anonymously. here we are after.


after the 10k, marit ran her 100 foot tot trot and had so much fun



and look who got off work (after overnight call) just in time to see her finish! she could not have been more excited with her daddy and her ribbon!


it was a really fun family event and marit is still wired from all the gatorade...

when you have a bit of time...

i know it is scarce, but this sermon is so worth it. suffering will surely be a recurring theme over the next year as we study Job in my women's Bible study. already, it is so relevant. my life right now is not riddled with it (though we have suffered hurts and there are surely more to come as we continue on in this very broken world), but i have several friends who are hurting and struggling in real, tangible, mysterious ways. so this piper sermon keeps playing and it is just a good "kick in the pants" so to speak. i need to be reminded to fight the very human/american tendency to pursue my own comfort and ease...piper was speaking about missions, but it is very relevant to just about any season of life.