All The Wild Things

2013 is nearly upon us and as each year passes I am just sure it was shorter than the one before. For the life of me I cannot believe that in less than 50 days we will be celebrating Camden & Christian's 2nd Birthday. It just doesn't seem possible. I was looking back over this past year and there was so much to it. It was a really incredible year. Here are some highlights, and you can click those links to go check out the full blog post if you're bored. We celebrated Camden & Christian turning ONE   Mustache Bash style Jack finished his first year of Preschool and then started his second year My Mom finished treatment for her breast cancer!! My Dad had a triple bypass but only a few months later ran a 5k! We participated in Relay for Life Jack turned 4 years old Only ONE injury bad enough to warrant a doctor visit this year! I ran 10 miles We went to Portland for a wedding and then camping with the whole family to Brookings.  We said goodbye to a dear friend who

We don't get a ton of snow here on the valley floor, so while you may laugh (especially if you live in Minnesota or Alaska)...this amount granted us a snow day from school! The boys loved it.  Are you kidding me?! Jack nailing Trev with a snowball Just stop it... YUMM He has a cold so he was a bit grumpy but didn't want to go inside Quite pleased Jumping Happy Snow Day

Waste me on You ...it's become the cry of my heart.  It's a lyric from Shane and Shane's song, "I Want it All" Use me, break me, waste me on You, Lord   Ruin me, take me, waste me on You   For to die is to live...  to starve is to feast  and less of me is more of Jesus  Lord, I want it all  Lord, I want it all  If I lose my life  I gain everything  And at the cross  Away with all death's sting  Lord, I want it all  Lord, I want it all  There is power in the blood  There is victory in Jesus  It's based off  a few verses in Philippians. It's a  deceleration   not just a pretty song. Giving myself to Him, recognizing that what that may look like is a lot more  sacrificial  and scary than anyone wants to admit.  Do I truly mean it? Do I mean what I say when I say I will do ANYTHING for Him? Give him EVERYTHING I am and that there are no stipulations? Or do I say it, holding back part of myself? Like my safety, and my families safety?  There is no half in

I didn't post a 21 month update, whoops. 22 Months In two months these boys will be two. It's so strange, I feel this past year has just flown by. They still seem so babyish, and I find myself treating them like little babies more often than not. They are loving puzzles and books, they are really good and puzzles and they usually fight over them. They love to stack blocks and push the mower and popper around the house. They love to chase and they will stand at the entry way, count to three and then run into the living room to dive onto the bean bag. They totally take turns and it's so cute. They have lots of words and they are loving to sing Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children, The BIBLE, Healer, and Row Row Row the Boat. They are still sleeping from about 7pm-7am and napping from 12-2ish. They eat waffles, french toast, pancakes and bananas for breakfast. Hot Dogs, chicken nuggets, PB& Honey sandwiches, cheese, grapes for lunch. Spaghetti, Mac & Cheese,

Grief. It's been heavy on my heart lately. Holidays bring with them, a joyous spirit which can sometimes be woven together with sadness and the reality of a loss.  I was chatting with some dear friends about how when people are going through a tough time, either a spouse or parent or child has passed away, everyone is there for you. You have incredible support and they bend over backwards for you. But after a few weeks, or a month or so...people stop asking. People don't call or send you a card, or check to see how you are doing. Often it takes such a time to grieve that the time people need you most, is those several weeks to months after when the adrenaline that you get pushes you through the hardest times, and you are left in a fog.  I think sometimes, people don't know what to do. They are worried that bringing it up might cause pain, but I believe that most often people do want you to ask and talk about it, they need to continue to feel supported and loved and especial

I got a little note from Blogger saying I can't upload anymore pictures because I've met my quota. I didn't know there was a quota. I'm frustrated.  Whatever decision I make, I end up having to spend money. Either I pay for more storage, or pay to move to Wordpress. It's dumb. That's all I have to say. Sad Face.

I wish so bad that I could truly share my heart with each of you over a nice hot cup of coffee. I wish that you were sitting across from me in a local coffee shop, legs tucked up under in a big comfy chair and your favorite drink was being sipped and holiday music played in the background and I could look into your eyes and tell you what really is going on in my heart. It just doesn't seem fair, to read it online... I wish ever so much it was in person. A year ago I would have never seen myself the way I am today. We never know what to expect in a coming year, and we know there will be good and bad and yet we cannot ever imagine what life will really look like. Sometimes it's a physical change, something tangible. Like watching your Mama walk graciously through breast cancer or your Dad go through open heart surgery and then only a few months later run in a 5k race. Or you move, or you get a new car or your kids are taller or your hair is grayer. Sometimes it's

I love me a Birthday. Today's mine.  29. I feel 23.... Been a lovely weekend full of lovely people and I am so blessed.

I am SOOO excited to share with you something amazing and inspiring that I am a part of now!! I had never heard of Trades of Hope before seeing the display of gorgeous jewelry and handmade items at our church holiday bazaar a few weeks back. It wasn't just the stunning pieces that caught me, but the story behind each one. I hung around for awhile, and found myself going back two more times, the final time asking the lady selling the items what I needed to do to sell them myself. Trades of Hope is set up like a home party. Think, candles, makeup, kitchen supplies, bags etc. There are no end to these types of parties and businesses, and they are fun.  But get this, Trades of Hope is the ONLY one of these that is selling Fair Trade  products made by women from all over the world in impoverished communities.  Here are some statistics: 1 . 40% of all working women make less than $2 a day.  2. Women are paid, in general, 25 cents to a mans dollar.  3. Of the world's 1.3 billion pe

October: Waste Guys, this month just sucked. With Trev on Sabbatical and us gone for almost 2 weeks in the middle, and then again some other days here and there....we just didn't do a good job. We decided not to plant a winter garden, we forgot our reusable bags all but one time, we did do our best to remember to recycle but we didn't do great. The good things:  Being October in Southern Oregon means (usually) no heater on and no AC, so that part we did good in! We didn't buy any paper towels, napkins, baggies, foil or cling-wrap. We had to get creative for sure, but we did just fine. We won't be going back to paper towels, so that's a positive! Although we didn't buy local, I did do an amazing job with our groceries and pared our budget down even more, and we ate it all up...hardly any waste. That always feels good! This is definitely an area we can continue to improve upon and we will! November is about Stress . Jen takes time at 7 different places throughout

While on vacation, I was almost completely unplugged. I didn't post to Facebook once we arrived to our destination, posted a few pics to Instagram the following two days and never got on Twitter or my Blog. Once we got home I didn't feel like plugging back in. I still really don't. I love this little space of my own, I love that I get to share my precious family with our friends and family that don't see us every day and I love to share what God is doing in my heart. I don't have a product to sell, or a side business. I don't have a gazillion followers that I have to make sure and post at least 2x a week for. Guess what? I'm really glad about that. That's pressure I just don't need. If I feel led to write, I will. If I want to post some pictures I will. Even if I go three weeks without doing it. All that to say, I removed my most of advertisements along with the buttons for other blogs. I also won't be hosting a weekly link-up and I am no longer