Sunday, May 25, 2014

Sisters, Projects, My Boys, & Casting Our Crowns (aka Random Post)


Sisters. I don't know what I'd do without mine. My sister in law moved in from the midwest YESTERDAY!!! And my other sister-in-law is visiting my sister in Virginia. And all I can think of is going to visit my sister too, so soon, and taking a long walk on the beach and catching each other up on all the pieces of life that can't be related in the 5 minute phone conversations we squeeze in whenever we can. 

Besides my heart being full of sisterly affection for these amazing girls in my life, I am super amped up to get projects I've been dreaming of for a while under way. Painting the living room and seeing the end result sparked something in me and now I am ready to go! The top three projects on my list are transforming an antique fan, re-finishing a beautiful secretary desk, and painting our laundry room. 
Here's the "before" of the fan :) 


And my boys. Oh my goodness they are so full of imagination. I can't count how many times lately I stand just out of their view, peeking into the room they are playing in to marvel at their imaginations and creativity. It's seriously so precious and beautiful and adorable all at the same time. They made up this word they call each other… I have no clue how to go about spelling it, but I'll give it a try: Bungable? (pronounce the "g" like a "j"... guess I could have spelled it bunjable but that would have been too easy)) Isaiah tells me this story every day. "Once I went to a jungle and saw a tiger, and he was nice, but then he turned mean and bit me!!!" And when Drew drinks water from a coffee cup at church he says he is drinking "woffee". And my favorite recent story... About 2 1/2 weeks ago Isaiah and Drew were getting into these heated arguments on a daily basis. It would start like this: 

Isaiah: I am four years old, and you are two years old Drew. 
Drew: No, I am four, and you are two. 
Isaiah: (somewhat louder) NO! I am FOUR, and you are TWO! 
Drew: (slightly less patient) No, Saiah, I am four and YOU are two. 
Isaiah: (full out screaming) I AM FOUR YEARS OLD!!! 
Drew: (No also raising his voice) ISAIAH- YOU ARE TWO!!! 

Upon which moment I would coming running in to make sure it didn't turn physical, and tell Isaiah that he was, indeed, two, and Drew was four, and Isaiah would usually crumple into a pile sobbing on the floor at this point. After multiple replays of this same scene we were in the backyard playing one night when two neighbor boys came over. The one looked at Drew and Isaiah and said, "let me guess, you are four (pointing at Drew) and you are three (pointing at Isaiah)." To which Isaiah very nonchalantly replied, "No, I am two years old, but I am big for my age." And having someone else think he was older than he is? That seemed to completely resolve the revolving fight of the ages for him. 


Jaden loves when he gets to be a big boy and sit at the table with his brothers. :) He is sitting up, though still wobbly... he gets excited and throws himself back so I have to either sit with him or have something behind him. He says "ma" and "mum" when he sees me or wants to be held now. And he is so smiley and interactive. Drew and Isaiah compete to make him laugh. I think he is about to get a tooth, he makes "brrrm" noises and makes the funniest faces with his tongue and lips like he is feeling for a tooth. His hair is really starting to come in, but it's so blonde it's hard to see. I still swaddle him at night but sometime during the night he finagles his left arm loose and I find him sleeping with it bent and his little fist up next to his face in the morning. He still wakes up 2 or 3 times a night, which elicits sympathy from some, but really I feel fine and barely notice the interruption of sleep. I just pull him into bed with me, feed him and put him right back in the basinet. He is so sweet and snuggly I kind of look forward to him stirring and needing me for a few minutes in the night.

Drinking smoothies at lunch time... They were trying to give themselves mustaches. :)



I looked out the back window and saw them like this. They said they were looking for bugs. 

My current favorite color combo is red and turquoise.... Especially this lace dress with this turquoise pendant. (And I really can't help but mention that the turquoise pendant was 1 cent on amazon. ONE. CENT. Shipping was 3.99. So technically I spent 4.00. But STILL!! I love it!) 

red dress: Ross about a year and a half ago, $12.99.
sandals: My FAV, birthday gift from my sister & brother this year. Urban Outfitters
Feather earrings: AE, 3 years ago.
Turquoise Pendant: Mentioned earlier, Amazon.
Cute Baby: Mine all mine :) 


And then this... it's been on my mind and heart for a few weeks now. I told Shaun that I always feel uncomfortable receiving a compliment. I love to give them, but it makes me feel awkward and I never know how to respond if I get them. I think it stems from the fact that I don't like to be in the spotlight. I don't mind being in a group of people if there's equal interaction going on, and I love one-on-one time... But I think that's a bit of a rabbit trail. My point is that when I shared with Shaun about wondering how to act or what to do with a compliment he said something really profound. He said "cast your crowns." That's what the elders do before the Lord constantly. They take what is precious and place it at His feet.  I don't desire praise from man for myself, but if I ever receive it I now picture myself laying it at His feet as an offering. Anything I am or do that is good is only because of Him. I saw this quote by Kris Valloton the other day and it totally confirmed this for me: "The goal of being a light set on a hill isn't to admire the light, but so people can see where they're going. When I turn a light on its not to stare at the light but to see the room. God's goal isn't that people see you it's that they see the Kingdom." I desire to be a light, but not so that people see me, so that they would see the Kingdom. Hopefully that is encouraging to you if you ever feel in the same situation, where you desire to inspire and speak out but don't naturally feel comfortable in this role.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend. 

xoxo

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