reflection...

I'm praising the Lord for this summer.

Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my job.  I love heading up to the classroom for a few hours every morning, meeting with students in my office, pouring into the men and women God has placed me with.  I'm so thankful I get to work part-time at EBS.

But this summer, despite all of the traveling and speaking, has given me some GREAT time, LOTS of time, with my girls.  Lots of hours in the car.  Lots of spontaneous discipleship opportunities.  Lots of time to go on walks, not rush, wander the store, cook together, do things we never get to do, lots of time to talk.

My newest fav has been here in Delaware, where Matt's parents live in a housing development and Matt's sister-in-law has a bike with a kid seat mounted on it.  Every night, I take first one girl on the 2-mile loop around the development, and then the other.

The heat of the day's been replaced by a cool breeze.  The bunnies are out, the sky is beautiful, and best?  There is no rush, no noise, no schedule.

This un-interuppted 15-20 minutes with each of them has been PRECIOUS.  Time to talk, and best, time to just Listen.

I LOVE where Lily is at right now.  Beyond learning to talk, and onto learning to reason, to reflect, to remember, and to ponder.  Talking about her feelings, her dreams, her concerns, and her questions.  just precious.

Tonight, she wanted to know why the sun is always following her...if loving God means that she has to die like Grandma to be in heaven with Him...and sharing with me her dream.

"Mommy, I really hope my dream comes true", she tells me

"What's your dream, baby?"

"To go back to Haiti.  I really want to go back to Haiti now."

Man, what a heart wringer in so many ways.

Everything everyone says to her, she is thinking about, reflecting on.  Feeling.

It's making everything so much more heartbreaking...or fun.

Bought her new school shoes.  Has told me 10 times since..."Mom, I REALLY DO love these shoes.  Thank you SO much for getting them for me!"  Took her to the pool today.  Said three times on the way home, "That was just SO much fun, wasn't it.  That was GREAT!"

Hearing her say stuff like that just...man...makes me want to just spoil her to death :)  It's not just seeing her smile...it's hearing her be BLESSED, which is SUCH a blessing to DO.

Then there's Sofie, chattering on and on about seeing the moon and the baby bunnies, answering every question I ask with a sweet "uh-huh" or "yesh."  Telling me about swimming, and everything that she did while acting it out, causing the bike to swerve :)  Telling me about the dive show we saw a week ago that STILL has her enamored.

When we pulled in the driveway, I was panting, and I told her, "whew, mom is TIRED!"

"Whew!" she proclaimed, suddenly puffing loudly.  "ME TOO!"

They are such precious gifts, and man, just a blink ago, we were here LAST year, and LAST year, and I was pregnant, and they were BABIES, and suddenly I realize and SEE so many of the things God has put in them for this huge great adventure of their lives that has ALREADY begun.

There is just no greater ministry in my life than these two, nor will there every be.  They are one thing in this life I just can't mess up.  Discipling and loving them is one thing I just CAN'T do half-heartedly or with my left-overs.

So in awe when I realize that my girls AND I are all of that, and more...to Him.

Survivor

Today, I took the girls to the grocery store to buy all the groceries for three days of camping for 9 adults and 2 children.

When I got home, and my sister sweetly pointed out that my shirt was on inside out, I stumbled across this very hilarious, very timely post: The Grocery Store with Children Challenge.  Enjoy!

fun family friday

JEANS

My dad got us a gift card for Old Navy.  So, I got each of the girls their very first pair of jeans.

And I don't really know what it is...but it was like the moment they put them on, all their razzle-dazzle rose to the surface.  

They looked darn cute, and nobody knows it better than Lily and Sof!

easy peasy

Absolutely NOTHING has been easy with Sofie.  Sofie made Lily seem a breeze.  Sofie has sold us on the small family thing.  Sofie has made us compassionate for crazy-kidded parents.

Until now.  She potty trained herself, in like 2 days, because she wanted to.

Like, I had no intention of even starting to talk to her about it until she was at least two, because Sofie likes to do stuff the hard way.  And two weeks ago, she's coming to me, "Mommy, new diaper, wet."  "Mommy, new diaper, stinky" and so we pull out Lily's old frog potty, and the toddler step, the neighbors gave us a "I love my potty book" and bam...she's had an average of one accident a day since, is waking up dry in the morning asking for her potty, and doesn't need m&ms or stickers or...anything.

huh.

I'd think maybe those challenging days with Sofie are behind us, except I found her in MY bed yesterday afternoon with a FISTful of brown sugar she'd pushed a chair into the kitchen, climbed on, stole out of the pantry, and ran to hide in my bed.  

we'll take our victories :)

March!

Very Sad.

I entirely missed March.

The girls didn't!
Here's a catch up, in pictures!

There is nothing (NOTHING) Sofie loves more than a baby-doll.  Any baby-doll.