strawberry picking

what could be better than a sunny spring saturday morning picking strawberrries with Nana?
for these boys, nothing.
not a crowd, room to roam, lots to eat....
yummy.
Simeon picked, Justus ate and trampled.
everybody was happy.

moments i'll remember

today i was driving along listening to the radio and i glanced to my left and the girl in the car was singing to the music in my car and it was a surreal moment - i looked back at the road and then back at her and she was still singing along to the Lady Antebellum song that was playing in my car... right on time. of course i know that radio is public and there is a good chance that more than one person on any given road is listening to a station - but still it was weird. that has never happened before.

Simeon was in his "nap time" one day this week and I sat here in the living room listening to him sing loudly "Always, always, I'll walk with Him always. Always, always, I'll walk with Him always. " And whether he has any clue what he is singing or not, nothing could be more precious to my ears or my heart than listening to my little boy singing out words of devotion to Jesus.
One of those moments that I will never forget....

more thankfulness on this rainy day

and my list continues....

41)drifting to sleep to the sound of rain
42)rice cakes with peanut butter
43)marrying your junior high crush
44)fresh produce
45)little ones sincerely believing that mommy's kisses can heal
45)keeping a secret
46)relaxation of the soul
47)feeling really proud of someone
48)the perfect lip gloss
49)fruit salad
50)feeling God's prompting to do a simple thing - and doing it
51)handmade journals
52)racing your kids on a sidewalk
53)somebody that really gets you

rest

Cease striving and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

"...I've decided that if I had my life to live over again, I would not only climb more mountains, swim more rivers, and watch more sunsets; I wouldn't only jettison my hot water bottle, raincoat, umbrella, parachute and raft; I would no only go barefoot earlier in the spring and stay out later in the fall; but I would devote not one more minute to monitering my spiritual growth. No, not one.

Gerald May is incisive and humomorus:

The entire process (of self-development) can be very exciting and entertaining. But the

problem is there's no end to it. The fantasy that if one heads in the right direction and just

works hard enough to learn new things and grows enough and gets actualized, one will

be there. None of us is quite certain exactly where there is, but it obviously has something

to do with resting.

In retrospect, my ponderous ponderings on the purgative, illuminative, and unitive stages of my spiritual life, my assiduous search for shortcuts to holiness, my preoccupation with my spiritual pulse and my fasts, mortifications, and penances have wrought pseudobliss and the egregious delusion that I was securely ensconced in the seventh mansion of spiritual perfection.

What would I actually do if I had it to do all over again? Heeding John's counsel, I would simply do the next thing in love.

-Brennan Manning, The furious longing of God

my new boy

BEFORE

AFTER

free iced coffee day!

"Look! I'm Eric!"

i love it....

"Daa-shoe!! Daa-shoe"

Justus cracks himself up oh so many times each day....

Simeon lovin on his brother....

horsey rides on Daddy...
we can only guess what Simeon is thinking....


they're both sporting their new moose t-shirts...
fresh from Moosehead Lake.
Thank you Nana=)

Simeon's hair.....

to buzz or not to buzz?

that's been the debate around here lately....

i love his hair, but what i really love is him,

so even though a new look might be an adjustment,

its him, so i have no doubt that ill soon love it.

i love the curls.....

...but its not curling up so much lately.
Hair grows back, right?

This morning Simeon was pretending that he and Justus were "Anita" and "Natalie". I was confused for a minute, but then realized that they are the two girls that are on the 30 Day Shred video....hmmm.... what to say about that??

This morning Justus decided to help me out by cleaning the bathroom floor - dip the sponge in the toilet, clean some, do it again.....

obeying is way at the bottom of that little guy's list right now...

Yesterday Simeon was crying - I said "what happened?" He said "Justus threw Chewbacca right at my eyebrows". One of those "I-can't-not-laugh moments".

This is no dull life I'm leading....

=)

i'm still thankful....

32) a smooth grocery shopping trip
33) lazy afternoons in the backyard
34) Chick-fil-a milkshakes
35) a good cry
36) talking to my mom in the phone
37) snuggling
38) clearing a clogged drain without a plumber
39) headbands that are headache-less
40)a great brother-in-law

a few days ago we mentioned to a friend, in front of Simeon that our car died. he looked at us and said "did it die on the cross"?
even if it sounds a bit heretical, how could you not laugh?
just when i think he might be getting it a little bit... =)

on the verge of falling....

i mentioned these videos in an earlier post, and i picked one to share with you. i realize that probably not everyone gets as excited as i do by watching these, but because i sincerely do get excited, i must share. seriously, the idea is ingenious...the way they find the right quotes with just the right voice and rhythm that fit in so well with the music... ah i love it. be sure to pause the music at the bottom of the page so you can hear =) tell me if you like it.

our computer is no longer broken, and i will be posting more soon. its been a few weeks of God actively at work in my heart and I'm sure that I won't be able to help but share....

"I would rather live on the verge of falling and let my security be in the all-sufficiency of the grace of God than to live in some kind of pietistic illusion of moral excellence--not that I don't want to be morally excellent, but my faith isn't in the idea that I'm more moral than anybody else. My faith is in the idea that God and His love are greater than whatever sins any of us commit. " - Rich Mullins

Amen.