If He cares for the birds….

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26

The girls found this nest tucked away in one of their Mimi’s hanging plants on her porch. We’ve been watching them daily and in awe at how the mama bird cares for these wee ones. When I look at the perfectly crafted nest and watch the mama bird go find food for her babies, coming back to the nest over and over… I can’t help but think of our amazingly detailed creator- God. He promises to tenderly provide and care for us. He doesn’t demand that we rise up and take things in our own hands but rather – like the helpless little birds who could be taken from their nest in a second, or destroyed by a watching enemy, He cares for them. And how much more does He love, value and promise to care for us? Oh, for faith to believe!

Keepin’ it Real – through life’s transitions

I read on a blogpost somewhere that you give up being well rested once children come. Oh, that couldn’t be truer… Life is full of transitions. Just when it seems to settle for a bit, then comes something new…different…change. How we buck against it sometimes don’t we? I’m learning that when you embrace it, there’s beauty to be had. We are packing this week…a 2,400 square foot home that has been lived in by 6 people. I never thought I could pack up an entire house on my own ( my sweet husband is working sooo hard these days!) but here I am…doing it. They say it takes a village to raise a child. It’s taken 4 villages.  I’m thankful for those who have taken the children to give me some time to pack up. I thought it wise, to pause for a moment today and cultivate gratitude in this heart for all of life’s precious moments that were had in these last months and days in this place we’ve called home for so long. We’ve lived down here for 7 years, and we’ve all been changed  because of it.  We moved into this urban area as the first family from our Church with children. (There were other real-life God-heroes down here before we even came). We watched the homeless….prostitutes….drugs. We also watched redemptive racial reconciliation, experienced true friendships,  saw beauty in the restored places, and witnessed an army of Christians being intentional in a dark place. We’ve dined at our table with the shunned of this city and you know what? We weren’t the blessing. We received the blessing. It is here that God has broken us, molded us, changed us…brought forth beauty from ashes. And we got to be apart of it. These precious years will be etched in our memories forever…

Memories, in picture, of our last weeks in this home:

First haircut

Daddy spent lots of time away while he was candidating for jobs, we were happy when he came back!

This ballet has created sweet memories over the years, the last one.

Palm Sunday

Swiss Chard from the market

Easter Garden

Wait. When did she become a teenager?

His buddy “Lamby”

Interview in Indiana

PJ party!

A respite to our Farm friend’s house…(Thank you sweet Reeds!)

Baby chicks at the farm!

Wildflowers from the farm

and lots of yummy fresh eggs!

kitchen sink play- I love kid’s imaginations

We will miss our sweet neighbor friend – learning how to sew!

support raising

Local produce

finished with 1st grade!

Atlanta- our new home

a boy and his train

alot of cleaning these days

princess birthday party

reading in the sun while eating breakfast – our multi-tasker

first days of summer 2013

sister-love

picnics with mama

Ashtyn’s first “real” haircut. AKA – not by mommy

beauty!

We heard Ravi Zacharias speak – amazing!

Mother’s Day 2013

Found my 11 year old wedding dress while packing

Love her

Annual strawberry picking with Mimi

Life this week

the streets we’ve walked for 7 years

my favorite view from a window in our home

Our bungalo at 239 Broad St.

Bringing us through another door of change

Spring Pictures 2013

 

Every spring, I like to have the kids pictures made so we can see how they grown from year to year…this year, I decided to shoot pictures of them myself. We went to a local park on the river and had a picnic and walked around. The Spring here in Georgia has been just lovely – cool and not too hot. I’m thankful for these 4 precious little ones…they are growing like weeds physically but they are also teaching me so much about life…and I’m challenged daily to stop and connect with them because life happens so quickly….

Malachi started hamming it up before we even began…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Someone was getting tired of all these glamour shots!

 

this girl….a little ball of cute-ness!

 

 

So gorgeous, she is

I love the light in this picture, and of course this little beauty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After all the pictures, this is my favorite because it captures them all so perfectly.

Perceived Beauty

 

I’ve always appreciated the Dove campaign and how they encourage the unique design of woman – not holding her to a standard unachievable and since having 3 precious, uniquely beautiful daughters myself, my prayer is always that they wouldn’t fall prey to the world’s lies of beauty. This video was a stark reminder of how we view ourselves as women. May we encourage oneanother – different as we are to achieve inner beauty but to also praise the outer beauty that God created:

 

Last Roar 2013

 

We celebrated what will most likely be our last “Roar of Love” ballet performance with the girls, based on C.S. Lewis’s “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.” Unless the Lord redirects our steps, changes are on the way for our family in the future. It was bitter-sweet to have all 3 girls in the performance together for the first and last time. Ashtyn has danced since she was 3  making this her 6th performance! We look forward to many more opportunities for the girls as the Lord moves us on from this sweet ballet studio. It seems Ashtyn, in particular, has really taken to classical dance and we look forward to seeing what the Lord will do with all of these precious girls in the future. For now, here are some precious pictures…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        

Keeping’ It real

Life continues to be so, so full. But what a blessing! Here are some more raw snapshots of the latest happenings in the midst of bible study, ballet, discipleship, children’s choir, ballet lessons for 3 girls, homeschooling, diaper changes,interviews, laundry, cooking, cleaning, playing outside, reading good books, co-op and the list goes on. We continue to count our gratitude to the Lord for breathe in our lungs, health and the fullness of our days…

The 4 Year Old…

This little girl…Oh, we are just so in love with her adorable personality. A little while ago, she decided she wanted to learn to read. This is typical of our Ellie Joy – she decides on the spot that she wants to do something and gets REALLY disappointed if she can’t do it immediately. So…I pulled out our little first readers and we began to sound out the words….to my surprise, she was reading her very first book about 15 minutes later!