Adventures in La La Land

1. I feel like Levi has had a word explosion in the past few weeks. He's finally identifying Justin and me as Dada and Mama. He's picked up the word "more" (mo!), and has his own word for car. It sounds a lot like "yum," but I think it's supposed to be vroom or zoom. He also says "oh" when I answer his "questions." Like he'll cock his head to the side and say, "Dada?" When I tell him Daddy's at work, he responds, "Oh." Haha. It's adorable. 2. I've been majorly struggling with laziness lately. It's so much worse in the winter because I feel like I can't get out from under my warm blanket to do anything. And winter in general makes me kind of lethargic and depressed. I feel like there's an onslaught of books and articles and podcasts lately about slowing down and being present and not being a slave to your to-do list. But those are not helpful for me. I need some articles telling me to g...

I don't really feel like writing this week, so prepare yourself for a less than stellar entry. 1. Last Sunday the girls got invited to a gymnastics birthday party for one of their friends. Neither of my girls has ever been to gymnastics, but they're both interested in it, so they were thrilled to go. They loved the gym and all the equipment. By the time they were done, they were begging to sign up for classes. They don't do sports and I've been wanting them to get involved in something, so we signed them up for a weekly class! I think Lena will love it and be a natural, but I'm a little more concerned about Lucy. She does not like to push herself, and if she doesn't succeed the first time she tries something she immediately gives up. (She might  get that from me.) They start in September, so we'll see how it goes!! 2. This week I read The Reluctant Duchess  (meh), The Heiress of Winterwood  (meh), and Just The Way You Are  (yeah!). [Affiliate ...

1. I haven't been able to sit through the service at church much recently thanks to sick kids and nursery duty. But I was finally able to hear the whole message on Sunday. God knew I would need it for the rest of my week. We're learning about Israel's first kings, and this week was about Saul's jealousy of David. Pastor Chris emphasized that jealousy and envy can fester and become bitterness. As was Saul's case, it can literally lead to madness and open the door for demonic oppression. But it also just makes you an unhappy, un-likeable person. I've always struggled with jealousy, and this week was hard. I heard of a few friends getting amazing jobs, making lots of money. And then I saw some people from my past that are very successful and beautiful. It'd be one thing if I could tell myself these people are all greedy and mean-spirited and selfish, but they're not. They're all sweet and kind and deserving. I've been constantly reminding myself to ...

One of my favorite attributes of God is his sovereignty. I love  knowing that God is in control and has a plan. Maybe it's the writer in me, but it's comforting to know that God is the ultimate author and his storyline is perfect.  I once heard an analogy that time is like the line on a basketball. If you're on the line you can only see what's right before you. But if you're holding the basketball, you can see the whole line at once. God is holding the basketball - he's outside of time and can see all of it at once. I love that things that don't make sense to us are part of God's ultimate plan. Everything weaves so intricately together that we could never comprehend it - because we're in the middle of it instead of above it.  Sometimes knowing that God works everything together for his purpose is comforting. When a situation is out of my control, I trust that it's part of God's plan. For instance, when we were trying to sell ...

Are you ready to get theological?? This one has been a long process for me. And I still don't fully grasp it. But something dawned on me a few years ago. My pastor recommended a book that was a little over my head. I powered through it and took notes and came out in the end with this nugget of truth: I've always known that there's nothing I can do to save myself. I could never repay my own sins in a way that satisfies God's judgment. I 100% believe that I require Jesus to do so on my behalf. But I've always struggled with how to hold on to that salvation after it's given to me. How many good deeds do I have to do? How do I balance faith and works? What does grace really mean? What does it mean to take advantage of grace? Is that a salvation-losing-offense? Can you really even lose your salvation? I don't have answers to all of those questions. Haha. But it only makes sense that if I couldn't do anything to earn it, I can't do anything to keep ...

1. I'm trying to be intentional about doing at least one fun craft/activity with the girls a week. This week, we did Pinterest-inspired hospital play. I found this plaster stuff on amazon to make casts out of. Lena thought it was great. Lucy didn't appreciate the mess. We also got a bunch of supplies from Niki after Tayton's brain surgery debacle - cute little masks, alcohol wipes, and syringes full of saline water. The girls thought they were awesome . Applying the cast  Poor baby with two broken legs 2. One day, I had to run to Family Dollar for something and Lucy remembered that she still had some birthday money to spend. She got this $5 sprinkler which led to hours of entertainment - and glee: I've been trying to soak in these moments. Winter lasts so long in Michigan and I dream of these fun, summer days. I love the little moments of running through the sprinkler or laying in the hammock or picking cherries. Lena picks shirtless, because she ...