Storming and stuff

Time to catch up.

There was a snow"storm" a while back. :)

Christian lost his first tooth!

I've been painting up a storm too.

I think this one is finished.

This one is not... here's a close-up of the work in progress.

A good book, anyone?

If you are one of the few that have not read this book, you will not regret adding it to your "to-read" list. It's one of those that stays with you. Had to mention that!

What is one of your lastest good reads? I'm looking for some new books. :)

Painting

Okay, this weekend I focused on PAINTING! woohoo :) This portrait is most definitely formal or traditional (what the client requested). The photos aren't great. I had to take them indoors, as it was raining and didn't have great light... but you get the idea.

Love this little guys' chubby cheeks!!!

At any rate, I had FUN doing this!

#5

See that guy on the far left. That's John, Belle and Christian's Daddy. He has been in the US for almost 8 months (stationed in Italy & deployed to Afghanistan for 3 years prior), and this week he'll head out to Haiti. John's an Army Medic and will do an amazing job caring for people. I'm excited that he will be performing his passion. I'm excited that hurting people (beyond what I can imagine) will be receiving more care. John teaches classes on battlefield medicine. Right now Haiti, looks to me, comparable or worse than any battlefield. Expert crisis care is what they need. My heart is so glad for all of this.

John will be gone for 3 months or more. So, I pray for my babies' hearts, which had just gotten use to having a Daddy nearby. My most fervent prayers though are for what the Lord will do in the heart of that man in this picture (taken on our ski trip a week ago). The Lord has put me on a mission to pray for him.


I, of course, pray for all of those who are on a mission to help the suffering people in Haiti and for the very people, themselves, who are enduring circumstances that any blog cannot do justice.

Will you join me?



Thank you friends.

5 peeks

1. It's been a great day! These happen every so often. You know the kind, where your closets and drawers are stuffed with CLEAN CLOTHES, that made it out of the basket, got folded and actually put away in the (gasp!) saaaammmeee day.

2. This message by Andy Stanley was beyond good (the Lord causes some serious wisdom to spill out of that man's mouth) and perhaps gave me a push towards such "go-get-'em-ness". I listened to it while typing in grades this week at school. Perhaps you can check it out during a jog or tackling your own laundry!

3. I think God might have taught me how to paint like a big girl, today. I'm painting a portrait, and I just might post a pic when it's done. I'm also working on an 8 ft. sign for someone else. It's a delight to do what I love, while my kids play in the same room as me.

4. One of the trillions of things I've underlined in this study, One in a Million by Priscilla Shirer is this quote, which caused me to ink up a page again:

"As we consider the possibilities of what might go wrong if we step out and do as God says, we slowly convince ourselves that the possibility of the negative is more trustworthy than God."

5. ...

Out of time! I'm going to save this one for a post tomorrow.

2 under 2

Hey friends!
I just had to send out a word of encouragement to any Mommy of young babes or babes-to-be! My children are 18 months apart in age. When I was toting my 14 month-old around AND wearing maternity clothes people looked at me and even asked, "Did you do that on purpose?!" Well, God did. But, I'll be honest, I was overwhelmed at the sight of the pregnancy stick, later when I was vomiting due to morning sickness with a toddler following me into the bathroom, and certainly in the days when I'd care for one while breast-feeding the other and loading the dryer. :)

BUT! Let me tell you. Mine are 6 & 7, currently, and have been playing Legos together, happily for the past hour!!! I didn't say, "Hey, why don't you go play Legos?" They just spontaneously did this... and they're singing a made up song together... oh wait, they just transitioned to the Jackson 5's "Rockin Robin." hilarious
Remarkably, this is NOT uncommon.

So, be encouraged!!! It is a sweet sweet BLESSING to have children so close together. Was it hard 6 years ago? You betcha. Would I trade this for ANYTHING? Not on your life.

2 and 3

And two more resolutions

So clearly putting these in writing is key, since I thought, "crud, what were the other two???" as I began to type.

#2 Put photos in albums

Aha! Already off to an excellent start here.

One present for Christmas was a camera. Great gift. Needed it. Problem is I'm not a fan of pics all over my computer that never get printed and leisurely laughed over. Solution is to print them as they are taken and put into albums. Christmas pics are printed and in album. CHECK!

#3 Use the "envelope system" EVERY month with my budget.

This works for me. I spend too much on little things at Target or Wal-Mart or even the grocery store, when I have my debit card handy. So, I'm challenging myself to leave the debit card at home or in the car and take in only the cash I'm okay with spending. Gotta do the same with the eating out cash (aka drive thrus).

...Biting my lower lip - I can do this!