little boys

so i thought he was watching a movie with elise while i put clothes away upstairs...

i came down to find this scene...

view from our kitchen window

 

this morning justin is at work, the kids and i are going to attempt our first trip to trader joe's by ourselves, and i had just paid a few bills online.  but as i stood at the island, i was hit by the blinding light of the sun rising outside our window.  i turned my face and felt the warmth of the sun pound on my face.  whether it's the wind blowing or the sun shining, these moments always take me back to the Lord and His love for me. thank You Lord for reminding me once again.

maurice's baby dedication

maurice & maurice

 elise was in heaven having the cousins at church, in her sunday school class, and driving back to our house in our van.  

 his name could seriously be changed to "juice man"

our classic baby dedication pic that with have with each of them

oma and papa and little man

our now most recent family photo

a day in the life

justin has been working long days and many days lately.  i would be lying to say it's been no big deal.  we miss him so much.  it seems as though these six day weeks with some ten hour days mixed in aren't going anywhere any time soon.  i have to be honest and admit that as i go through the days, there are moments sprinkled throughout where struggle to embrace the joy of these days.  though for the most part, the Lord has been gracious to give me the perspective and joy i long for.  lately, i've been reminded of two simple truths: life is not all about me; it's about God.  and second, my time with my kids is a gift, and i want to embrace and enjoy it all...even the hard moments.

so here are highlights from one day...above was elise's first attempt to write her name.  i love it!!  below, i caught isaac reading to maurice.  he's such a book bug!

 i struggle with feeling guilty if maurice has been in the bouncy "too long"...i worry about his head getting flat and other silly things.  but here's our sweet, totally chill little guy.  love his blue eyes.  love his sweet, gentle nature.  love him!

after morning fun, Super Why, a nap, and elise doing school time, isaac needs a snack.  his latest favorite place to be is sitting on the counter or on a stool at the island.  i love how independent and capable he's becoming.  just this morning, he's started using short 2 and 3 word sentences.  so cool to see his speech develop one moment at a time.

 this scene is by no means normal at our house.  but twice this week, elise has crashed while watching cinderella...and i mean CRASHED!  both times i looked in to see her head falling to the side, snoring...with isaac right next to her, oblivious.

so while elise and maurice napped, isaac and i took advantage of rare one on one time and acted silly.

then our littlest man woke up...he's just so handsome!  i'm allowed to say that out loud, right?

later that night, the kids "helped" me get dinner ready...i firmly believe isaac would try to open the oven if i didn't stop him...

who's who?

can you name these faces...

justin?  isaac?  or maurice?

amazing, isn't it?!

recent winter pics

me and my other mama's boy.  maurice (or "reesey" as elise has been calling him) is such a laid back little guy.  he's our best sleeper yet (by far!)  he's so chill.  he has fallen into our family's groove so well.  we are just loving him more and more each day.  he even laughed for the first time last night!!

izie wearing daddy's old phillies shirt...i love that justin's mom saved some of his old clothes because now they get to wear them!

elise has been taking gymnastics for a little over a month now.  it has been so good in so many ways for her.  can you tell she LOVES it?!  our entire week revolves around, "is it tuesday, yet?"  and every week she gets sad when it's over because she doesn't want to leave.  so grateful for this opportunity for her.

izie wearing daddy's old pj's.  all he needs is a hat and i swear i'm looking at a "where's waldo?"

our dear friend, renee, and her husband just welcomed their first baby, chloe, into the world today.  here was our crew celebrating with a shower a couple of weeks back.  what a fun time of celebrating and living life together.  i love these ladies!

ascribe glory

"Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name...


The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders...
And in his temple all cry, 'Glory!'...


the Lord is enthroned as King forever...


For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.


You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever."
psalms 29: 2, 3, 9b, 10b & 30: 5, 11, 12


To "ascribe" is to attribute something to...we are to attribute to the Lord, the glory that is due His Name.  Why?  David, the writer of these psalms, identifies one reason: God's voice.  His voice alone is over the waters, it thunders, it is powerful, majestic, breaks trees (v.5), strikes with flashes of lightning (v.7), shakes the desert (v.8), twists the oaks and strips the forest bare (v.9).  And that is just His voice!  Ascribe Him the glory due His Name!

David goes on.  His anger lasts only a moment but His favor forever.  This is true for those of us who call ourselves "saved," meaning we believe that Jesus died once for all, to save us from our sins.  His favor is on us forever because He sees Jesus when He looks at us!  Though we weep, we can rejoice!  We wept when we weren't saved, and we weep even now.  But the truth applies to both...rejoicing comes in the morning.  On nights when I have cried over various things, I always find there is a distinct difference in the morning.  The darkness is gone.  There is light.  And the same is true for my emotions.  It's as if I've almost, for a moment, forgotten what it was that I wept about the night before.  Rejoicing does come in the morning.

Lord, You have done and continue to do so much for us.  May my heart sing and not be silent!  You were God, are God, and always will be God.  There are so many reasons for us to ascribe to You the glory due Your Name.  May that be the scarlet thread that weaves its way through every situation I go through today: Praise You for You are worthy of all glory.

our morning in the basement