I {heart} us

Oh hello.

I have a blog.

It seems I may have forgotten about it. 

I really haven't forgotten. 

I have intended to do a "catch-up" post for the past few weeks.   Really, I have. Honest.

However, today, instead of doing a post summing up our spring, I thought I should "live in the moment" and celebrate TODAY.  That is, celebrating 15 years of marriage. 

What we have shared:

One dog Norman
Two states we called home
Three houses
Four baby girls
Five of the Narnia series books read out loud
Six speeding tickets
Seven vehicles
Eight fans for white noise in our room (okay so that is a guess but it sounds about right)
Nine road trips between Iowa and Washington
Ten long weekend getaways
Eleven months living in a retirement apartment
Twelve employers
Thirteen goats (just kidding we've never had any goats)
Fourteen school years in youth ministry
Fifteen awesome years of marriage as best friends 

Happy Anniversary to us!

Easter blessings...

it was one of "those" weeks leading up to Easter Sunday. 

hubby felt like he was being attacked.  we believe that spiritual warfare is a very real thing and this past week we felt it in a very real way.

it was a week where little things were so much harder than they should have been, or figured they would be.  Murphy's Law appeared to be a true phenomenon.  looking at the big picture, NONE of the issues we had the past week were significant.  no one we loved was seriously injured or taken from us.      

BUT, you know what?  we still celebrated Easter! PRAISE GOD that every single day we can celebrate the amazing sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus.  what a gift.  pure grace.   Satan will not win.  Death has been defeated. 

and so we take heart, even in the times where spiritual warfare feels so real. so hard.   Jesus has overcome.  and we continue on encouraged and feeling blessed.

and guess what else! 

we took our traditional Easter Sunday quick-a-minute-after-church-self-timer-family picture on our front porch:

we took 2 pictures.  BOTH are winners, what?! an Easter miracle. ha ha.  (guess it's time to update the family picture on the side bar of this blog, huh?)

I {heart} anniversary vacations!

this year chad and i will celebrate 15 years of marriage.  through ups and downs we have grown closer together and in our faith.  i could write a long blog post about just this but for now i choose to hold these things to my heart. 

we decided that this year we would celebrate in a big way, something we haven't done before and really didn't do for our honeymoon either (although that was an awesome trip to the Oregon Coast and i wouldn't change that for anything, such fun memories!). 

we went to this fabulous resort!  with some of our fabulous friends who were also celebrating 15 years of marriage.  i would HIGHLY recommend this place if you are looking for an all-inclusive place in Mexico.  we felt truly pampered from the minute we arrived until the minute we left.  i think the hardest part about coming home is not having someone to bring me everything i want to eat or drink all the time, ha ha. 

rather than boring you with ALL the details of the week i will just add a few pictures... if you want to know more than you will just have to call me or come on over and i can show you all the pictures :)


at the airport!

our first flight was cancelled (boo.)  so we spent 7 hours waiting to fly out and this is pretty much how most of that time was spent. 

our feet again... total relaxation, ahhh.

lovin' the ocean. the water was crystal clear and we had sun every single day we were there

there were lizards.  some rather large.  this guy lived in the rocks behind the beach beds we claimed each day

we got dressed up for dinner each night.  the restaurants were ahh-mazing



sad this picture didn't turn out better.... all dressed up with our beautiful friends



heading home. 

and now it is back to reality.  having to actually make food if we want to eat, washing my own dishes, etc.. BUT it is good to be home, refreshed and back with our girlies.  praising God for allowing us to take this trip! 



mud brownies & monkeys

a beautiful day this week, a glorious taste of spring, God's faithfulness displayed through the seasons.

everyone got outside to enjoy the warmth:

she claimed she was making mud brownies -yum, huh?

she continues to be true to her monkey like nature and climb on top of the swing set

she's talking to some birds above her in the tree

HAPPY ALMOST SPRING! :)

next years "list"

whoa. i have been really lacking in the blogging realm lately.  i know what will be on next years list of goals: to blog.  more than once a month.   

a little snippet of life in February:
- my birfday.  i'm 29.  forever.
- valentines day.  at home date night.  we watched a movie on Netflix after the kiddos went to bed. exciting, no?
- i went with chad on a "winter retreat" with our youth group and other local church youth groups.  it was amazingly fun and exhausting.  i forgot how fun it is to ski. i realized that i had not been skiing in just over 10 years.  the last time i went skiing was the weekend i found out i was pregnant with my oldest. (on a winter retreat for our church in WA)  it also made me miss the awesome ski slopes in Washington and BC.   (this was a little hill and a much different experience!)
- really busy month of just stuff. life. hubby in seminary is making life busier for both of us and we are really really REALLY looking forward to a break coming up this next week. 
- did i complete my February goals? nope.  1 for 2.  I read the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan.  It was awesome, convicting, and I am still wrestling with how to make some changes in my life and what it means for me to "run hard after God" on a daily basis.
I didn't clean up my paper mess and files.  I did a bit of researching on what I need to keep for paper and have a list and a plan.   Carrying out the plan seems a bit overwhelming and will probably take several "nap times" to complete.  So the piles will continue to pile up and get shoved aside.  I'm okay with that and will get to it eventually :)
- I completed Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.  woot! Lost a few pounds and a few inches again with that.  yay me! 

i have no new pictures to share so i will add some from January:

aren't they cute?  :)  i think so.

january goals: check, check

wow, i've been a bit of a slacker in the blogging department.  BUT that's because I've been so busy with working on my 2012 goals!

my January goals were:
1) clean out my fridge and freezer really good - done!  no pics of it in it's shiny clean organized gloriousness however, because, really, who wants to see my fridge.  very boring. (side note confession:  i had 6 bottles of mustard in there...?!!??  3 were expired.)
2) restock my card stash - done! i made 30ish cards to get me started here in 2012.  here are some of my faves:

AND I've finished one of my February goals already as well (read "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan)
that leaves me with a big paper pile mess to deal with.... anyone have tips on organizing that stuff and what needs to be kept?

dr. snowman

we finally experienced some true midwestern winter.  our landscape has changed to a snowy playground and thankfully the temps have stayed fairly warm-ish so the snow can be enjoyed.  i love that the kids can get fresh air on a daily basis rather than be stuck inside to avoid losing fingers or noses due to frostbite. 

the milder temps has provided snow that actually packs together and so dr. snowman has come to life:

the eldest named him. stating he looked like a doctor.  (side note:  we have never been to a doctor that sports a mustache and smokes a pipe)

miss j has been asking each day to make some "snow friends" for the good doctor.  we may need some fresh snow to accomplish this though.