Moving With Three Kids 5 & Under...

=hard.

Add to that the hubs who is not here right now. Add to that the overseas stuff (Alaska is considered "overseas". Funny, right?) that we have to get done. Add to that a house that will need to get sold.

Whew. It's a lot.

I think my adrenaline is slowly petering out. Lack of adrenaline=tired.

We've been at this almost a week now. We've known for almost 2 weeks. Not much has been crossed off of our to-do list. Which keeps growing.

Some of what we did lately:

Aubrey built a snowman with Daddy before he left.

"I'm cute."

Don't you wear a court jester hat and rain boots when watching a movie?

Charming imp.

Kodiak

Isn't this pretty? We get to live here starting this summer. John received orders today for Air Station Kodiak, Alaska! Dream come true, truly, for my hard-working husband.



So as you think of us, feel free to pray for:
1. The sale of our home
2. My ability to efficiently prepare our family and home for moving.
3. Our kids as they say goodbye to the first home they will remember.
4. John as he works hard to finish well here and prepare for Alaska
5. Me. Alaska is a big state. Even bigger than Texas. But with a lot less people. And a lot more bears. Hehe.

God is writing our story and in this particular case we have been completely surprised by His timing and the way He opens doors that are sealed shut. We are so excited to continue on this journey with our faithful, trustworthy God.

Our Ordinary

I've had a bit of a hard time coming up with something to blog about lately. It's not that we haven't been busy...

this was an inside job by the Anderson brothers. Bryant got the sprinkles down from the counter and both boys dumped them all over the floor. And then ate them. Stuart had stained green lips for a while.

We drove over to Tillamook to go to the cheese factory and eat some ice cream. Stuart enjoyed the ice cream part.

We got to partake in a crab feed at Leo's house. This is Bryant getting ready to claw fight his new friend, Jared.

Aubs & Bryant both love crab.

The feast.

Most of the grown men had to lean back from the table to make just a little more room for a little more crab. Bryant had to as well.

Bryant and his, "good buddy, Jenn." Bryant only has eyes for her.

Then we ate these. They were good. Banana Split Cupcakes from www.annies-eats.com

Aubrey started ballet & tap dance lessons. She is in heaven.

And today we got to play in the snow!

Ambition & Fruit

"Every one of us who embraces the glory of God as our purpose will end up doing great things precisely becasue we do God-things. His holy hand resting on the least act renders the ordinary extraordinary...Christ summons the disillusioned to the paradoxical bliss of spilling life lavishly, sacrificially for the glory of God and the good of man. Those with presence of mind and semblance of health are called to pour out the drink offering of their lives until the cup is overturned and every drop of energy slips--perhaps unnoticed, uncelebrated--into the vast ocean of earthly need. The last imperceptible drop of your well-lived life will sound to the hosts of heaven like a tidal wave hitting the floor of the Grand Canyon."
-Beth Moore, Esther study


"People so often look with longing into a daydream future, while ignoring the importance of the present. We are all in danger of thinking, 'Some day I shall be fulfilled. Some day I shall have the courage to start another life which will develop my talent', without ever considering the very practical use of that talent today in a way which will enrich other people's lives, develop the talent, and express the fact of being a creative creature."
-Edith Schaeffer, "The Hidden Art of Homemaking"

"It is something I love about fruit-bearing trees and bushes--that God told them to make something, and they do it enthusiastically. They don't care about what happens to the fruit. They do not measure their efforts or fuss when no one appreciates it...Waste it. Waste homemade pasta on your family. Don't save cloth napkins for company only--sew a dress your daughter doesn't really need. Be bountiful with your fruit and free with it. The only thing that you can know for certain is that God will use it."
-Rachel Jankovic, "Loving the Little Years"


Okay, God, I'm getting it. Now please help me live it out day to day. Help me not be swallowed up in the feelings of inadequacy, in the feelings of living an ambitious-less life. There is great ambition in being, "Mommy."

Help me waste my fruit, pour my life out until there is nothing left, use my creativeness to uplift my family and my home. And to find my satisfaction in the fact that you see my life as a beautiful work of art, designed and directed by You.

God Uses the Ordinary