girl drama

sigh...yes, even these days, i want to remember....as i drag my heels, kicking and screaming tentatively tiptoe into this unexpectedly early season of girl drama with a certain almost twelve year old boy who has oodles of spunk and charm and gorgeous dark chocolate coloured skin, i want to remember it all.  

granted, i need to survive it first, which is no guarantee, but assuming i do, i need this place to capture the funnier moments for humourous reflection in say, ten years or so...

an honest and perhaps a bit desperate young lady passed this on to my son a few weeks back.  i was thrilled to discover it in his closet...sarcasm, you know that right?! :) apparently she is okay with being second choice~ which could be another post for another day, perhaps.  a one sentence summary would go something like this: young girls out there~ never be content as the runner-up of your guy's heart.....

yes, this dear son of mine is in regular, even weekly conversations with me these days about dating, purity, respect, becoming a young man of integrity, and holding out for God's awesome plan much further down the road....praying the words we discuss sink in and take hold.  

the note~ thank goodness it is funny!  thank goodness so much of life with this boy is funny.  need the funny to balance the crazy sometimes! :)

gonna miss this...

how much longer will i be stumbling on discoveries like this one??  

love these windows into my smallest two sons' creative play. this unfortunate villain is captured and being transported to some form of detention to pay the punishment for the trouble he caused...no seating in the actual plane, but restraints on the wing, of course.

as i picked up the plane from the middle of the hall, it occurred to me that there likely aren't more than a couple years left of such discoveries, so i took a picture...

for almost twenty years this has been my life as i've watched my kids grow and develop through play and creating.  cute little discoveries of Duplo, Lego, Play Mobil, K-Nex, etc....and really as AJ turns ten this year, and Hudson twelve, i'm realizing these days are numbered.  gotta enjoy them!

hope

all around me i'm surrounded by people and circumstances that seem to be in desperate search of this one little word.....HOPE.  one word that contains within it promise and expectation of things to come, of purpose and an innate desire for good or better, still to take place....

this week it all feels a bit crushing.  friends and family and acquaintances who face pain and loss and struggle and addiction and a lack of any real life-changing purpose to their existence.  it is heart breaking.  it is heavy.  it hurts.  my children feel it too...all around them in elementary school and highschool and university are youth and young adults who are in an intense struggle~ a battle for their souls that wishes to convince them that there is no real point anymore.  no real victory, no real plan or any real joy or peace available to them beyond the dreary day-to-day existence they grind through.  it pushes so hard into and onto them that their spirits ache to no longer carry the burden of this message.  they long to be free, to have the weight of it all lifted mercifully from their weary backs.  

they search for hope...love this song by Danny Gokey...

Hope In Front of Me

see, it is my experience and solid belief that the search for hope will be 100% elusive until the burdened and weary ones arrive at the right place.  the only place.  the only solution....also found in one simple word.  

JESUS.

i cannot sit silent about this.  if even one person reads this and considers these words for even a minute...then it is worth every keystroke...this faith i have in Jesus~ well, it has proven true time and time again in my life.  Jesus~ and the knowledge of His love, forgiveness and His clear plan for my life and my future has been my only real source of lasting peace and hope and joy.  it isn't pretend, it isn't crazy, it isn't pie in the sky...still, my life's never been free of pain or hurt or suffering.  it is still real, and sinful, and sometimes a challenging struggle to shine and rise up from the dark and into the Light...but mine has also been a story that has a strong consistent undercurrent of hope and peace through those life experiences.  i have felt the loving hands of my Heavenly Father holding me and carrying me through the storms...

Just Be Held

"so when you're on your knees

 and answers seem so far away, 

you're not alone

 stop holding on

 and just be held.  

your world's not falling apart 

it's falling into place.  

I'm on the throne, stop holding on

 and just be held" 

song lyrics based on truth.  truth from Scripture.  God's Word. 

Psalms 62:5 says this...

"God, the one and only~ 

I'll wait as long as he says.  

Everything I HOPE for comes from him, so why not?  

He's solid rock under my feet, 

breathing room for my soul..." 

Isaiah 40:31 says this...

"but those who HOPE in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint."

i'll wrap this up.  a bit of a sermon, i know.  but man...it's life-giving, life-restoring and both timeless and timely.  before i end this, i'm sharing one of my very favourite songs by one of my favourite singers, David Crowder.  it is called Come As You Are  and is this post in a nutshell...Jesus waits, His saving grace is a free, wonderful and life-changing gift.  it anchors me, secures my future and makes sense of my present. 

if you ever want to know more, please ask me.  we can chat.  i'm happy to share the source of my HOPE eternal.  i want many to know, many to hear, many to be free.  consider the music, the words, the verses, and the desire you carry down deep to be free and sure of where true lasting HOPE lies.
that's my wish for you...HOPE eternal...

growth spurt?

do ya think?

(his face and whole look here is so "Steve Urkel-ish", and it comes so easily to him! :)
...cracks me up!) he came out one morning while getting ready for school and said "mom, i think these pants might be too short?!" yes Hudson, they most definitely are!

my grocery bill can verify the accuracy of this picture.  oh yes it can.  this kid, along with his two brothers on either side of him, are starting to consume some high volumes of food.  still so thankful to feed this dear fella, so rewarding for me.  not all aspects of parenting bring me those instant rewards matching time invested.  feeding Hudson tough~ his enjoyment is visible.  it is super sweet.  he loves enjoying food, like his mom! except i'm not having a growth spurt...sadly.

moments and things i love

Christmas 2016 has come and gone.  kids are still home for this last week of vacation.  there are still a few "holiday" type activities happening.  a new month and year has begun.  sadly, Jeff returned to work today. we always miss him that first day back to routine...here are a few pics of recent things I've enjoyed, smiled about, and completely loved this holiday season.  those highlights worth remembering.  the lowlights are there too, of course, moments we don't care to record~ any and every home has them.  but the moments of joy~ well, obviously these are the best kind! 

here are a few...

i always love watching the post-Christmas construction of new cars or trucks or buildings.  there are fewer toys being purchased and given these days in our family as our kids get older and their interests change, but this car was a favourite!  thanks Aunt Beth!

 

love this picture below of our Layla.  she was deep in concentration over a new canvas and her painting project.  a typical Christmas vacation scene, right there...time to create and relax and just be.

at the same time, Hannah was off to TO for an amazing wrestling training camp for four days.  such a highlight for her.  she was trained by some pretty awesome individuals~ not simply for their world champion, Olympic accomplishments, but even more because of the great "character" these athletes exemplify. meeting Jordan Burroughs topped her list though.  she might never be the same! :)

in January i always miss the simple things like cranberries and pine and garland...

 

the decorations get packed away for another year, but i really do enjoy them while they are on display. 

 

the boys love football evenings with dad and jammies and a warm fire....

and then there was this masterpiece...this quilt of over 2000 stitched pieces is a cherished gift i will always appreciate and never fully understand how my dear mom created.  what a beautiful piece of art that now graces our bed.  it is warm and cozy and such a timeless heirloom i will always treasure, not to mention the generations after me.  as her "non-crafty" daughter i'm not sure i'll ever fully fathom the work that went into pulling this off, but i'm totally enjoying the finished product.  thanks Mom, we both love it!!!



 

my three sons, not even sure what screen they are looking at, but that relaxing moment warmed my heart.  all lined up in the corner just hanging out.  bedhead and all...

as i enter 2017~ i'm even more determined to capture the moments of joy around me, to exercise gratitude and try to be even more present in the day-to-day stuff.  i wish you all the same in your daily lives! 

Happy New Year!