My sweet little Chico has a new habit. He brings me my slippers. It’s so sweet and his little face seems to say, “Here Mami, put these on. Get comfortable. I want you around. And I know you won’t leave if you’ve got your slippers on.” For him home is where I am. And he …
Someone’s crying. My ear tunes in. The three boys are in their room and I’m on the other side of the house. But I know. It’s Mediano. That’s how things go when we are at home. When it’s just us. But here’s a little mom confession for you. Things are VERY different when we are …
Someone’s crying. My ear tunes in. The three boys are in their room and I’m on the other side of the house. But I know. It’s Mediano. I know it, because I’ve heard that cry before. I am familiar with that voice. I hear it every day. All day. I know his cry. And I …
My boys love pancakes. On any given morning if you ask them what they want to eat they will answer pancakes and chocolate milk. They love them not only because they are yummy, but because making them is a process and it’s a process they participate in. Normally Grande and Mediano will take turns pouring …
They move along. Placing one foot in front of the other, step by step down the cold empty hallways, up the elevator, around the corner. Small feet hurry along. To places I wish they never had to enter. A small room. A bed. And their Abuelita so happy to see them. Happy to be alive. …
I have a headache. I’m hungry. I’m tired. The sun is to bright. The wind holds a chill. And the boys are longing to run free. To head to the park and to play with me. So we pick up chinese and head for the park. And I sigh as they call me to come …
Pad thai. No tofu. Extra lime. Yummmmmm. It’s one of my favorite foods, but when we eat out with the boys I end up bringing most of my food home to eat. Between feeding them, getting drinks, answering 101 questions posed by Grande’s curious nature and keeping them in their seats there’s not much time …
So often as we walk the path of faith it seems as if we are entering the wilderness. We are unable to see where our next steps will take us let alone our destination. To know that God has a plan for your family without knowing the specifics and walking in obedience is a difficult …
A red motorcycle parked right next to our van! And it was on Josiah’s side. You should have seen his eyes light up when the side door slid open and he saw it. He wanted to touch it. He wanted a picture with it. In all honesty he wanted to climb onto it. While his …
I tied them together. I thought they would play tug of war, but they just didn’t understand why they would pull against each other. After all they are cousins and friends. Why would they compete when they would rather work together. So they invented their own game, shaking the rope while Grande jumped over it. …
I tried a recipe. It was full of promise. Delicious, healthy chocolate icing it said. Easy to make. Four ingredients. Two steps. When it was ready it looked fabulous. It smelled heavenly. So I dipped my finger in and gave it a taste. It was awful! How could something so appealing be so bad? I …
“Are we going to our mall or to a new mall,” asked Grande. “We are going to our mall,” I answered. “Yeah!!! I like our mall. There’s lots of books!” “Oh, you want to go to the bookstore?” “Yes!” And I smile and sigh contentedly about how my son is so smart that he readily …
The competition was fierce. Grande and Mediano were teamed up and ready to go. Markers in hands and excitement on their faces. They attacked that blank poster board and turned it into a masterpiece. Don’t you see it? The instructions were to draw a character from Sesame Street, but my boys like to blaze their …
The shell cracked and broke open. The egg’s contents were poured into the pan. Passed over the flame and transformed completely. It became something more palatable. And what I had previously admired for it’s smooth flawless appearance was made better and some could argue more beautiful in the breaking. Much like someone I know who’s …
We went to Chuck E Cheese last week with some friends. In the play area there was this cute little school bus with three windows. As soon as I saw it I thought it would be perfect for a picture of my three boys. And I tried the entire time to get a picture of …
We went to walk along a stream in the middle of a shopping center on Sunday. My boys have been very interested in streams lately. We’ve been practicing the Spanish word for stream (arroyo) quite a bit lately although when they say it it comes out as “a yo-yo.” Grande’s just beginning to roll his …
There’s my boy. Grande. Big toy gun in hand. Shooting imaginary dinosaurs. That’s my boy. Courageous. Confident and brave. He knows his aim won’t fail when it comes to those big T-Rexs, Triceratops, and Spinosauruses. They don’t stand a chance. He’s in position. Standing high on a chair. Observing from above. Not missing a thing. …
The table was set. The food prepared. Extra chairs in place. Ready. Empty chairs waiting for us. Waiting for family to gather. Empty. And gather we did. We filled our plates. Filled our cups. We filled the chairs. Gave thanks and filled our stomachs. Full The table was prepared. The food was delicious. There was …
I heard giggles. Loud giggles. I was curious, but almost didn’t want to know what they were doing since they were obviously playing well together. But I just had to know what they were doing that was causing so much laughter. So I decided to peek in and that’s what I saw. Chico and Mediano …
We were all dressed and ready, in the car and on our way. When Grande asked, “why are we going to church?” I’m beginning to get used to these deep questions showing up randomly. It must be his age, but they seem to come out of his mouth when I am least prepared to answer …
I took this picture a few weeks ago at a church my husband was invited to play keyboard at. I love it so much. It totally captures who my boys are. Grande’s being a dinosaur (looks like a T-Rex to me, but it could also be some kind of raptor). Mediano has a cape that …
My sons and I went to a baby shower on Saturday. I’m not sure why, but I had been thinking it wasn’t until next week so when I opened the invitation to check I went through a little bit of a mental scramble as to what to bring as a gift. I quickly found a …
My boys get dirty. I’m not talking about cute little dirt smudges on the knees of their pants. I mean DIRTY! As in covered from head to toe. As in they grab handfuls of actual dirt and pour it on their own heads. They get dirty. So we wash faces, hands, and little bodies around …
Grande gave me a flower. It’s blue. It’s plastic. It’s made out of some sort of construction toys. It’s 100% BOY. He made it for me. He asked if I would keep it. He wanted me to put it in my hair. It was a gift. Days later he still asks where I have my …
This is Chico reaching out for his Abuelita on her front porch. I love the arch in his back, the stretch of his little arms, and his head thrown back in petition to be held. He doesn’t hold back when he asks. He doesn’t try to hide his need for her. He’s not embarrassed …
My dad texted me a picture of some tortillas on his griddle. It was obvious that they were store bought so I had to text him the picture above of what my mother-in-law was making from scratch. If it was a competition to see who’s griddle had something yummier on it, I won. He …
Iron Man crawled into bed with me a few mornings ago. Not the real Iron Man (obviously) but a miniature version. A sweet little 2 year old we affectionately call Mediano who often seems to believe that he is a superhero. He holds out his little hands makes a noise and imagines he’s shooting things …
I took the boys to the park again this week. For those of you who may be wondering no I did not torture Chico by pushing him in the swing again. I did slide down the big twisty slide with him on my lap though, and he loved it. I have to say that …
I’ve been sewing lots of ruffles lately. Ruffles for me, ruffles for friends, ruffles for books, and ruffles for babies. The thing about ruffles is that their’s beauty in the imperfections. It seems that the messier they are the more beautiful the final product is. It reminds me of some testimonies I’ve heard. Testimonies …
The water rushes as small hands grasp the garden hose. The land parched by months of drought soaks up the cool stream as it passes over the plants, grass, and trees. In times like these patches of green mix with brown as the grass struggles to survive through the scorching hot days of a Texas …
Ingredients: 1 year old boy plenty of sunshine warm weather park baby swing push Procedure: Gather all ingredients. Insert boy into swing. Push gently while smiling and exclaiming what fun it is to swing. This should elicit giggles and happiness from boy. I had all the ingredients. I followed the recipe. Chico cried. What …
Chico’s up high. Sitting high on the wall. But how did he get up there being so small? Did he jump, did he climb, did he suddenly grow? Does he have superpowers? Could he have his own show? Can he fly, can he run, does he swing from the trees? No, most of his time …
We took a walk around the block today while my mother in-law made dinner. About half way around Chico stopped and sat down. He was exhausted. His tiny legs just couldn’t keep up with our big ones, and his few months of experience walking just doesn’t compare to the years his brothers and …
My father in-law has a lasso. And he knows how to use it! When the family gets together one of his grandchildren’s favorite games is to run around him and be lassoed. It’s a game filled to the brim with laughter, smiles, and lots of “na na na na boo boo you can’t catch me’s.” …
My husband and I have spent the past week talking, praying, planning, seeking, and revising our purpose and direction. We’re taking tabs on where we are and where we know God wants us, on what we are doing and the work God has for us to do. And sprinkled into all the reality that encompasses …
I haven’t been in all that many photos since I became a mom. And it’s not because we don’t have pictures. I would guess that we take an average of 2o pictures per day. And that’s not an exaggeration. It’s probably much more than that. Pretty soon after Grande was born my husband and I …
My boys baby and toddler years have been sprinkled with tears. Although in the end the laughter outshines the cries and the smiles outnumber the tears. There is a place for tears and sometimes even scars. Because through the tears we can see the promise. In the ashes of grief we can see God’s promise …
Boys are LOUD! Boys are rowdy. Boys wiggle. Boys shout. Boys run. Boys jump. Boys ask questions. Boys take risks. Boys hug. Boys race. Boys play. Boys pray. Boys learn. Boys teach. And boys are LOUD! The sky is blue. The grass is green. Birds sing. Lions roar. Crickets hop. Cats stretch. The water of …
My sons make noise, loud noise, and lots of it. Basically the only time my house is quiet is when they are sleeping, or we are not home. To tell you the truth most days I really want them to be quiet. I long for silence and my head tends to throb from the lethal …
My boys love to play in the dirt. There’s so much you can do with it! Today Mediano buried his car. They often make roads, dinosaur footprints, mountains, dig for dinosaur bones and even shower themselves and each other in that dirt. I’m sure if we let them add water they could come up with …
Someone’s crying. My ear tunes in. The three boys are in their room and I’m on the other side of the house. But I know. It’s Mediano.
I know it, because I’ve heard that cry before. I am familiar with that voice. I hear it every day. All day. I know his cry. And I answer it.
My soul cries out, “Lord, Help!” And He hears me. And He knows right away. “That’s my daughter. That’s my Christy.” And he comes to answer me. He is familiar with my voice. He is faithful to answer. He never fails.
He knows your cry to.
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
We had the privilege to review the movie “We Bought A Zoo” coming out on DVD April 3. I really enjoyed it. If I had to choose my favorite kind of movie it would be those that are based on true stories and are either challenging or uplifting. ”We Bought A Zoo” was all of those things. And it includes a family friendly sound track which eliminates any curse words that might have been in the movie. We watched it with that track and thought it was very well done.
While “We Bought A Zoo” is not a Christian movie it does offer plenty of opportunity for Biblical application and discussion. There is even a Film Companion which outlines some major themes with scriptures to discuss. You can find it here.
You can watch the trailer here.
I will warn you that it is not for young children. There is a scene at the beginning with very graphic artwork that I would not want my young boys to see. But even that part of the film was done tastefully and I really do think it was necessary to the content of the story.
Overall I recommend “We Bought A Zoo” for teenagers or adults. It will leave you smiling and with a sense of hope. It’s a fresh storyline unlike those typically produced by Hollywood. Would you like to win a copy? We have 2 to give away!
This month I received a pair of Perfectly Loved Mugs and a Loved Block for review from Dayspring. As always these products from Dayspring are beautiful, practical, and meaningful. They are a lovely reminder of the great love He has for us. I especially like the saying on the mug.
“She didn’t have to be perfect because she was perfectly loved.”
This seems especially appropriate for me right now. I am far from perfect and find myself in such need of His perfect love to cover all my weakness. I took this picture a week or two ago and wanted to call it a self portrait. Because I see myself in that tangled mess. My rough edges a startling contrast to the beauty that surrounds me. My imperfections helping to shine the light on His perfection. How is it that a person like me can be covered, surrounded by such a perfect, beautiful love?
That’s where the mystery of it all lies. I have no idea how this is possible. All I know is that I am grateful and inspired to worship because of it.
The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love-so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about-not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.
1 John 4:8-10
This collection is inspired by Holley Gerth’s book, “You’re Already Amazing.”
Would you like to win a $20 gift card to Dayspring?
How To Enter:
Complete as many entries as you like. Each is worth 1 entry. Make sure to include a valid email address in your comment if you do not have one available in your profile. Open to Continental US residents only. Winners will be chosen by an online random number generator. Winners must respond within one week.
Disclaimer: Day Spring generously provided me two Perfectly Loved mugs, a Loved Block for review and a coupon code worth $20 for the winner of this giveaway. Thanks Day Spring! All opinions are my own.
My boys love pancakes. On any given morning if you ask them what they want to eat they will answer pancakes and chocolate milk. They love them not only because they are yummy, but because making them is a process and it’s a process they participate in.
Normally Grande and Mediano will take turns pouring the ingredients into the mixer while Chico drinks his bottle or plays. But today he asked for a turn. Doesn’t he look so sweet with the measuring spoon?
So I measured out the baking powder and handed him the spoon. He turned it over like he had seen his brothers do and poured it right on the counter.
Oops!
And it reminded me of all the times I’ve missed the mark. I’ve tried to do something and messed up. I’ve tried to walk the righteous path and gotten lost along the way. I’ve tried to live a holiness that reflects the Lord’s but muddy it up with myself.
And yet the Lord does the same with me as I did with Chico. I measured out another teaspoon, placed it in his hand, gently guided him in pouring it into the mixer and praised him for doing well. In the same way the Lord picks me up, washes me off and gently shows me His way for the ten thousandth time.
God is all mercy and grace-not quick to anger, is rich in love.
That’s where the mystery of it all lies. I have no idea how this is possible. All I know is that I am grateful and inspired to worship because of it.
