when the artistic gene skips you and your daughter gets it instead

another creation by my Layla.  

i give her the verse and she creates it, so beautifully too! i love seeing the results...

a boy and his shoes

this guy contemplated, researched, waffled back and forth, but finally landed on this shoe as his post-Christmas purchase~ funded in part from Grandma and Grandpa's cash gift, part from our regular contribution and part his own money saved.  a super sweet basketball shoe for this upcoming basketball season.

he's hoping for extra airtime and speed off these babies!

2019

something about the promise of this budding bulb drew me to it as i enter a brand new year.  a discounted after Christmas Amaryllis that holds promise of growth and beauty and life.  

nothing much yet, barely worth a second glance even.  simply and slowly, however, it's cutting through the dark soil~ the dirt, the ugly.   it soaks up the water i offer and reaches purposefully for the sun.  it will be particularly thirsty as it begins the active stage of growing, says the store provided tag.  i read that it will bend toward the light and therefore the pot will need to be turned regularly to keep the plant growing upright...each day i wake and check for signs of change, hoping my attentive care will result in a beautiful bloom in time.  it seems slow and i wonder "am i giving it enough water, am i watering it too much??"

this Amaryllis is not that much different than my life.  lots of dry hard soil that needs to be softened, readied for growth.  parts that are even quite ugly, unattractive and dull.  parts that are needing redemption, and parts that can feel the suffocating weight of sin, inside and out.  parts of me that long for more of the grace of Jesus to cut through the dirt and rain on the dry and cracked places of my heart.  for beauty to come from the slow process of hard growth.  for more solid strength of character with roots reaching deep.  and more and more i wish to have the posture of leaning in to Jesus each and every day.  waiting, trusting, hoping through 2019...

Christmas break

i'm back...after a much needed break to celebrate Christmas with my bunch.  and as is the usual nature of the holiday season it passes quickly and in a flurry of family activities, fun, rest, food and a complete drop of the usual routine.  it was needed and well received. 

here are a few parts i loved from Christmas 2018...

the school Christmas play when AJ rocked the dancing reindeer part.  

deep fried croquettes...the most amazing Dutch tradition...

family movies under cozy quilts (thanks mom!)

Christmas Eve shenanigans...a crazy fun high stakes game with so much laughter (thanks Beth!)

somehow these two often end up doing this when we have guests.

   beautiful new coasters with an even more beautiful message for this fresh new year, made by sweet Nicole

this sweetie joining us this holiday~ she was the last one awake Christmas morning, and clearly Hudson should have slept longer! :)

a most special gift of art from my Layla...i will forever cherish this!

sleeping sisters on Christmas day...the best post-turkey (thanks Barb!) snooze...

and now these two are deposited back into the start of their second terms at their respective schools.  always more fun picking them up than bringing them back...

a huge Lego set mastered and enjoyed by AJ.

and two other highlights~ one of the pictures i wish i'd gotten was the evening of inter-generational puzzling we did.  a beautiful puzzle and hours of relaxing as it came together.  and super high on my list was the video and picture we received Christmas morning of E&H, our two precious fosters who left back in August.  definitely made me cry, but so great to see their sweet faces and hear their voices at the same time...God~ hold them close i pray...

  soooo, i think we all felt rested and recharged after Christmas 2018...so blessed...

two things i love

how i love being on the mat watching my kids wrestle.  it is now the season.  wrestling 2018.

i also happen to love hugs from my wrestling son~ and on this day he caught his dad snapping a picture of it.  sometimes it's the hugs that energize me for the next day, or hour~ or the next minute even!  like actually...

family firsts

when the oldest cousin marries, it's kind of a big deal.  the first of the family.  a main event.  everyone needed appropriate wedding attire which turned out to be pretty fun shopping for (especially the three boys who knew exactly what they wanted!)  there was the wedding day styling and primping and sister time.  the entire event turned into a super fun memory on many levels.  being together as eight.  being together as extended family.  supporting our beautiful and dearly loved niece and cousin, V, and her new husband J.  gorgeous venue and delicious food.  solid lifelong family and friend connections held even a little bit tighter than before, new connections forged as well.  super special.  abundantly blessed.  a few pics to highlight...

congratulations to V&J on your marriage...may God's presence fill your home and hearts as you journey together...

thanks for letting all of us share in your BIG day!  the kids are still talking about it!  yes, we were happy to provide the dance floor entertainment at no extra charge!  and by we i really mean the two cuties above! :)

we're back...

....to cute little sparkly shoes

 

and Christmas bedtime stories

definitely a few of the best parts of fostering these sweet little souls.  there's also lots of hard, lots of messy, lots of "wring you out and hang you out to dry" days, to be totally honest.  i want to remember the parts that are wonderful~ and these parts sure are!  ❤