As we have opportunity, let us do good

Galatians 6:10 has always been a favorite verse of mine.

I remember highlighting it when I was in middle school...

"As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people."

What a challenge...

What a beautiful motto for our lives.

And you don't have to look far to find that opportunity.

J had the brilliant idea of bi-monthly date nights....I was game.

Then he suggested a homeless shelter....well, why not?

I literally googled (heaven help the days before google) ways to help in the Twin Cities and got 85 thousand hits.  Really, people...it's not hard.  Pick one.  I promise, you won't regret it.  We have been volunteering at this little gem for the past few months and it has quickly become one of our favorite places...on PLANET EARTH.

this hotel was renovated to house women and children in transitional living situations

mostly we serve supper here, but last week we were invited to do some child care while the mommas went to a training

we're in.
hire a sitter.

have a 45 minute UNINTERRUPTED conversation in the car on the way there.

hang out with totally awesome people

and have ANOTHER 45 minute conversation on the way home.

we hold hands

and finish our sentences
for about 3-4 hours we don't have to wipe anyone's butt

it is total bliss

this particular day was my favorite so far.

we started indoors.

J got the older kids going on a VICIOUS game of Monopoly while I assembled legos (ahem...NOT my gifting, Lord, but I did my best) and colored pictures

when the heat of monopoly got too much to handle, we got adventurous and took the kids on a walk to a nearby park where they told us all about the different schools they had been in, how most of them didn't know their dads, which foster families they liked and how the food at the shelter in Chicago wasn't nearly as good as the food here :(

it was sad

but precious

and we got to hold their hands and tell them that they are dearly, dearly loved

i learned that this one wants to be an artist

and this one wants to "fix stuff"

at the end of the day, my heart was breaking but full

sad and happy

angry and overjoyed

before we returned them to their mommas, we got bear hugs and high fives and the deep down knowing that the promise is true....that every ounce of good we pour out is multiplied

over and over again

and returned to us, a double portion

pressed down and running over into our laps

pick-a-nick

have you ever tried to spend the ENTIRE day outside of your house?

with three littles?

who need to nap?

i'm not talking like being on vacation.

i'm talking like, there is a guy at your house installing carpet and you have to be OUT....ALL day

it's a challenge, let me tell ya'

the day started with school supply shopping

and ended with hiking and a picnic.

only one major melt down as the result of a 20 minute car nap

this is what whining about how tired you are will get you during a hike with our family ;)

at the end of the day we had fresh carpet and tired kids.

which meant that J and i had the night to do one of my very favorite things...re-organize the house

sweet memories... 

Yippie I O

calling all cowgirls!

this happened two weeks ago, but who has time to document memories when they just keep coming one right after another??!?!

i'll have to make this one brief as i have a kitten crawling on the keyboard this very minute.

more about her later, but the short story is...we got a cat.

against J's better judgement

the kids begged.

he said no.

they begged some more.

he reminded us ALL what a train wreck our last pet adventure was.

i gave him the spiel about how our kids will have a VOID in their childhood if we don't provide pets for them.

he put his foot firmly down and said no.

then peach says over breakfast one morning, "i know that daddy doesn't want a cat.  but he loves us so much that i think he'll change his mind."

enter daddy's heart twisting and melting and him caving.

the end.

okay - back to the RO-DAY-O

we had never been to the Hamel Rodeo, but J's cousin told us it was a blast.

i decided that since we've read ALICE FROM DALLAS - cutest book at the library right now - at least 17 thousand times, we'd fit right in.....

we put on some fake tattoos and got our cowgirl groove on

it was a blast.

the kids made it until 10 before we chose to avoid the onset of total melt down and traffic jam in the parking lot.

we got to see the bucking horses (tulip's favorite...how in the WORLD do they hang on for 8 seconds?  i'm serious, i'm all for adventure, but there is no way you would get me on one of those!)

the cowgirl barrel racers

the steer ropers (peach LOVED the lasso action)

and the buffalo

J talked like a cowboy the ENTIRE time and embarrassed us all

we ate overpriced popcorn and we will definitely go back

i mean, where else can you lasso a diaper bag

really, people...the kid has mad skills

yippie - i - oh....

good times at the rodeo!

Attack

let me set the stage for you:

sparkle has the flu...in summer, i know

she wants me to hold her all.day.long

peach finds some water balloons stashed in the waaaaay back of a cupboard

the joyful INSISTING begins....

pleaaaaaaase, can we do water balloons???!?!?

momma, it will be sooooooo fun!

let's get daddy when he comes home!

can i honestly tell you that i wanted to spend the brief moments of naptime bending over the mosquito-infested spigot outside about as much as i wanted a fork in my eye?

okay, yes, we will do water balloons after i hang up the laundry and take out the garbage and go to the bathroom and....

you'll have to be patient, okay?

okay!

okay okay okay okay!

YAY!!!!!!!

momma, are you ready to fill up those water balloons?

you're not? it's okay.  i'll do it.

um.  no.

i'll be right there.

leave the laundry.

and the garbage.

quick stop in the bathroom where they BOTH had to watch and ask what was taking so long.

alright, here's the deal.

you two go play and i will fill them up.

YES!!!!!

i bend over to fill the first balloon.

which pops in my face as i thwart 16 mosquitoes from my legs and arms.

here they come.

momma, are they done yet?

no.

breathe.

sometimes we have to wait for good things.

replay this scenario about 82 times and you can replicate my experience with my children last week.

heaven help me.

i did get a few filled.

and an aching back.

and welts the size of Scott county on my arms and legs.

but the beautiful thing about it is that a year ago, this would have send my stress level soaring.

i would have been angry and maybe even given up.

but God is gently teaching me to worship Him in it all.

i GET to do this for my kids.

halleluia

her joyful chasing and his attack face made it worth the effort

the craziest part is that when all was said and done, tulip cowered in the corner and refused to participate in the fruit of my hard work.

i felt the anger creeping up.

WHAT?!?!  that took me an hour!

you asked me to do it!

you fussed 46 times in 47 minutes that i wasn't going fast enough.

but i don't have to live there.

the old is gone.

the new has come.

and in this house, we're learning to live in the goodness of God...

where we are so unbothered by the attacks of the enemy that, eventually, he doesn't even try any more.

it is written that we are seated in the heavenly realms, FAR above the problems and stresses of this world.

it's a good view from up here.

;)

Baptism

it's taken me a while to find words for this post

it was such a beautiful day

i don't know that i can accurately capture it

but i'll try

last month, jason and i had the blessing of baptized in front of our church family.

we had both been baptized as infants and wanted to experience it now as adults in the body of Christ

our pastors spoke beautiful words over us and we got to share a bit about our story with these people that have grown oh so dear to us

in front of our kids, we laid back in the waters of baptism and let the goodness of God just wash right over us.

aaaahhhh....i can still feel it

and when we came up, our friends were shouting and cheering and smiling at us like the love was about to burst right out of them

as i write these words, i'm reminded how blessed i am to live in a place where i can declare my dependence on the One and hear a joyful response

it's not so in many parts of our world
this is a dangerous proclamation for countless people

but oh, how worth it!
to declare WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE



it kind of feels like flying...

over a clear lake...

on a beautiful day....

with the Spirit washing over me,
making my rough edges smooth.

Summer sports

so, i am trying really hard not to over-schedule my kids

last year i gingerly dipped my big toe in the pool of youth sports by letting the girls each try gymnastics

but with J and i both home during these months, i've decided to let them explore a bit more this summer

they were excited to pick out activities in the community ed. catalog, which proved much easier for Peach than Tulip, but we did manage to get her in a couple activities

we've been busy, bot not in a bad way....i'm having a blast running around after them and they seem to be enjoying it, too

J and i have pinkie sworn that if/when it gets to be too much, either for them or for us, we'll graciously let go (even though i'm making mom friends everywhere we go!)

our first summer sport has been t-ball

Peach plays on Monday nights and it is perfect - there is a park close enough for Tulip to play on and Sparkle and I get blanket snuggles with snacks while we watch the girls play on either side of us

we had a week of soccer camp, which was hilarious!

we discovered that leg warmers can double as soccer socks to cover shin guards and well, other than that it was a huge mob of half-heights running after a ball.

end of story.

everyone loved it.

so much so that peach has asked to play again this fall.

both girls are in gymnastics, but Peach is in the big girl class and parents aren't allowed

lucky for me, i still get to tag along with Tulip and watch her strut her stuff on the balance beam while sporting her terribly adorable outfit :)

so far, so good on the summer sports

still coming are swimming lessons and a possible tennis camp (if i can find a racket for less than $40)

i was a little tentative at first with all the "get your kids involved in stuff and they will miss out on their childhood because it is so competitive, blah blah blah...."

my experience so far has been that it is super fun

with the exception of the time that Peach ran from first base to the pitcher's mound and a dad sitting near me was clearly annoyed that someone could make such a "joke" out of something as serious as baseball.

whatever, dude.

chill out.

we're in it for the fun....hope i'm still saying that when they are teenagers :)

Bacay-shun

whew!

a week on the road for what tulip referred to as "bacay-shun" was so much fun that i'm literally trying to catch my breath after unpacking

speaking of packing - for the love!

the trip?  awesome

the packing?  re-packing? unpacking?

ugh!

i have never, in my LIFE been as stressed as i was the last 15 minutes before we left the house...

kids in car

car running

hot outside

air on in car

last minute toothbrushes, waterbottles, sippy cup

start their movie

grab some coffee - is it hot?  who cares?

kids out of car...potty

kids back in car

baby crying

do we need pillows?  i don't think so. do you want yours?  no. are you sure.  yes i'm sure. maybe we should pack them

JUST PUT THEM IN THE CAR ALREADY!!!

do we have our phones?

chargers?

i want a snack

this isn't the movie that i picked

are we there yet??

enter gray hairs and a steely 20 first minutes of the drive where i NEEDED silence

Honestly people.  If there are professional packers out there I want to know about them.  I'll pay top dollar.

Anywhoo...after that, the trip was a blast

first stop:  bemidji

love fest with my college roomie

and peach's pen pal

it's always a good time

always

after teary good byes, we headed to park rapids where my in-laws had rented a cabin for the week

we had it the first night all to ourselves

exploring park rapids was a total blast

supper - check

ice cream - check

candy store - check

movie - check

hot tub - check

bibs?

uh, i forgot them

no worries

there's a little boutique right here that sells them for $14 each...

;)  no, honey, i don't think that $30 on bibs is ridiculous

not when we're on "bacay-shun"

my husband seriously loves this about me

we met up with the rest of the fam for the fourth of july parade, fireworks, pool time and beach bummin'

grandma bought team uniforms :)

warning...if you can find the sand baby wearing a hat in the upcoming collage, you might just die of a big ol' heart melt

the height of our pleasure was experienced when we discovered the resort had push pops.

squeals.

jumping up and down.

be still my heart

i randomly bumped into another college roomie at the fireworks.  i hadn't seen her for 10 years.

thank you, Jesus!

we ended our trip by stopping at our day care provider's cabin.

we've always, ALWAYS loved her, but spending time at her lake home expanded my heart in a gigantic way

it was a blast...

makes me excited for future road trips with these lil' rascals ;)

but for now i'm content to be dozing in my own bed

g'night!