lately.

April and May flew by in a blur of flooding, field trips, and seasonal allergies. We have one week of school to go until SUMMER! Here's how we've been spending our spring days...

Spring break = a visit to the local recycling plant with friends. Aren't we the coolest moms on the block?? (Not sure if the kids were impressed but I give it an A+ for being educational and for getting us out of the house.)

So many good books to read, so little time. These are two of my current favorites. Glennon makes me laugh out loud and feel normal; Shauna makes me want to dirty every pan in the house (and that's saying something).

A new use for an old tutu. We'll see if this look catches on.

While muttering, "we can do hard things," under our breath, Matt and I spent 3 chilly hours in the garage assembling this hoop for the boy... 

...and it was all worth it to see his eyes light up in the morning. Basketball is his current passion - playing, collecting cards, watching it on TV.

Ella had a piece in the school district art show this year. You may recognize our pal, "David."

The kids all did a bike race in Holland a few weeks ago. Dylan has raced before and really embraced the experience this time around. Ella liked it but looked more like she was out for a joy ride than a bike race. And Mady, well Mady, surprised us all. She was dead serious, game face on, and cried giant crocodile tears at the finish line because they wouldn't let her keep going. {By the way, Strider bikes = best toddler present ever}

The kids LOVE to eat outside. And mommy's happy to let the mess stay out of the kitchen. Folks, this is what we call a win-win.

I have discovered Teavana thanks to my friend Holly, and my life may never be the same. My new treat is a cup o' tea (and I'm officially old).

The friend on the far right is Jori. I first wrote about her here. Jori is fighting the fight of her life and her faith and courage are incredible. She's also the girl who dances the Thriller at her own cancer fundraiser. It's an honor to know her. Please keep this sweet family in your prayers.

We enjoyed some cousin time when Myles came to town. Two days after this picture was taken, a new cousin joined the family. And two more cousins are coming in July and October...Christmas should be extra fun this year! Dylan and Ella are officially the big cousins and they suddenly seem so old.

Dylan's new favorite hobby. He draws these logos for hours, copying them off of his sports' card collection. Incredible.

Introducing baby Jensen! Congratulations, Chad & K3! Big cousin Dylan is absolutely smitten with this little guy (well, really, we all are).

Mady and I finally made it to the greenhouse! Spring is in full bloom!

First Quarter {in Review}

Well, here we are three months into the new year. I daresay it's been a bit brutal, but with the sunshine starting to peak through and temps climbing up past 40 (heat wave!), I think we will live to see another spring. Here's a quick glimpse into our first quarter 2013.

{January}

We capped off a holiday-season-to-forget with a trip to urgent care. It's all fun and games until someone falls on their head at a Christmas party and goes limp. Thus concludes, Christmas 2013. Better luck next year.

1. I've been trying to run some more, after some time off due to an injury and in terrible Michigan winter conditions. It's been going so-so, but the YakTrax have proven helpful on more than one occasion.

2. A bright spot in our January, our first glimpse of paradise.

3. These pillows make my heart sing. They now reside in Basement-ville.

4. From the look of sheer joy on her face, it appears we may have neglected to take our third child out in the snow often ever. Oops. Good news: she loves it.

Christmas cookie do-over, just in time for a little shin-dig. My favorite sort of friends are the kind who don't bat an eye when you serve them Christmas cookies in January.

{February}

When life gives you snowstorms, learn to slide like a penguin. This was the plow pile in our yard from our driveway. See that street light in the background? The snow in our yard has yet to melt completely.

1. Best Friends necklaces. Remember these? I was not prepared for this phase of life to be starting already for our 6 YO.

2. Love me some Church. Sacred moments shared over a long table at a brewery in Rockford on a Friday night.

3. Snow piles! Again, cannot get over the snow piles.

4. Poor Mady, as the last child home with Mama, she has no choice but to run all over town with the ladies, doing who knows what (always very important work, I can assure you).

Oh, this little girl. She fills our hearts to the brim with joy. We decided on this day that if we can't beat Winter, we might as well join it, so we took the big kids ice skating. She fell down more times than I can count, but she was fiercely determined to figure it out without our help. (Love him too.)

{March}

Take that, procrastination, perfectionism, and Seasonal Affect Disorder. This is exactly the bit of visual oomph I needed as we wait out the last few days (weeks?) until spring. A few free printables, a $5 canvas from Home Goods, a couple Ikea frames, and we're in business. {Oh, and I received a tweet back from John and Sherry mid-progress!}

1. A date night with my main {little} man.

2. A quick field trip to a favorite local studio. We left with our arms full and our hearts inspired.

3. My idea of heaven on earth: an entire floor filled to the brim with paper goods. (Local peeps; it's happens twice a year!)

4. Bracket business. Ella learns from one of the best.

Here is the very definition of cabin fever. Our Friday night entertainment consisted of cheering on our favorite toddler while she rode laps around the house, cyclecross style (cow bells included).

Winter, it was nice knowing you. Hello, Spring!

Insta.Life // Notably November

November was a doozy. It included many, many celebrations, not to mention the kids' annual photo session, an election, a weekend get-a-way, and living with a minor construction zone beneath our feet, Oh, and let's not forget about Turkey Day. Sprinkled between the big moments, however, were some small ones too.

This is how picture morning looks at our house. Imagine some yelling, near freezing temperatures, an uncooperative toddler, and you get the picture.

{Good news, Mindy is a miracle worker and we ended up with some great shots}

We voted!
And evicted some mousey friends...again (true story) all on the same Tuesday.

Cleaning Mady's room. It seemed like a good idea when I started.

Water slides & birthday cake or BUST! Headed north.

Pure torture (for him and me). How to choose? How to choose??

On the agenda for our long, lazy Thanksgiving weekend:

updating the baby books of my not-so-little "babies" anymore.

Tooling around town on Small Business Saturday with my favorite peeps.

Possibly my favorite Instagram ever.

A quick trip to Lowe's for door knobs.
 ...and suddenly I'm feeling like the third wheel ;)

Catching up.

I've been a little MIA in blogger world these last few weeks. After a season where I felt like I constantly had blogging on the brain, I seemed to have entered into a season of quiet. Life is still happening around these parts, however, and now I'm ready for a good old fashioned, catch-up post.

(For best effect, pretend this is all happening over a couple of cups of coffee at my kitchen table. And pretend we can actually converse because I'd love to hear what's happening in your neck of the woods!)

Further proof that Kindergarten is no joke.

No, thank you. With school-aged kids, fall has become a busy season of the year. With a couple of school years under my belt, I decided to try to slow the pace down just a bit. I said no to some really good stuff these past couple of months like MOPS, PTC (Parent Teacher Club), and kids' extracurricular activities. It's been a big transition these past two months for Ella getting used to all-day, every-day Kindergarten, and I'm thankful that we have no where to be after school and a few less commitments on our calendar.

Pumpkin pickin'. Saying yes to the little things.

Yes, please. A few things I've chosen to say yes to: Kindermusik once a week with Mady (a great bonding experience for us as she transitions from baby to big kid), our 365 blog (see, I'm still blogging, just in little tidbits rather than longer posts), and my "real" job (getting my hours in early in the day and while Mady is at Nana's so I can be more present when the kids are around).

I got so excited at book club, I lost control of my cupcake.

Bookmark it. Our informal book club wrapped up a couple of weeks ago, and our experiment into literary community was a smashing success. We discussed One Thousand Gifts as we read along thanks to social networking and met for one final discussion at Theresa's house. We laughed as we all met face to face, some of us for the first time. It was a perfect mix of old friends and new and while we made a somewhat unlikely group, I have no doubt that God put us together for a reason. We are working on our next book selection, coming soon!

Pure magic, Disney-style.

Home sweet home. We just returned from a week in Orlando, taking in the sights at both Legoland and Disney World. I love going, and I love coming home. I'm ready to settle back in to our cozy house, and hunker down for birthday season which is just around the corner! If I get my act together, I'll post a little later this week on our Disney experience as well.

I love the smell of fresh sawdust!

We've got walls! Also on the home front, our basement is on its way to being finished. We've lived in this house for five years now and while I've been itching to get this project done, we've also been cautious and waited until the time was right. We finally have a great builder to work with (if you're local, check out Chet Glass Builders) and while we were gone last week, the walls were studded. Next up: plumbing. The finished space will be general living space (a cozy TV and game area), office and crafting space, and a full bath (Dylan's future refuge as the girls get older).

My feet have never been happier. Who knew?

Let's get moving (again). Our workout challenge is still alive and well. I don't talk much about it anymore, as it's become part of my every day life (which was the original idea). We are starting Week 99 this week and our two year anniversary (of 5 workouts/week) comes around at the end of November.

I've been working through a heel injury (plantar fasciitis) leftover from my 25K training last spring, and I'm trying not to run on it which has been really, really hard. I went for my first run in weeks today on a sunny, fall Michigan afternoon and it was heaven on earth. I miss it. Praying that I will continue to heal as I love running not just for it's physical benefits but for it's mental ones as well. I've been slightly blue lately, and I know if I am able to start hitting the pavement again, I'll feel much better. On the recommendation of our PT friend, I've been stretching more frequently and sporting some of those newfangled barefoot kicks.

10 Ways to Live an Extraordinary Life.

The wind beneath my wings. Two shout outs here: one to Bob Goff and the other to Flower Patch Farm Girl. I've heard Bob Goff's name mentioned before but I never really connected the dots until this past week when I was paging through Matt's latest issue of Relevant magazine poolside. Please read this. I'd love to discuss it.

Secondly, Theresa turned me on to Shannan's blog, Flower Patch Farm Girl, and I can't stop reading. She is both ordinary and extraordinary, down-to-earth yet complex, on her way but still in the thick of the journey. I *might* have spent far too long reading through her blog one Wednesday night, post after post, knocking my socks off. I also may have narrowed down her location to Goshen, Indiana and we *might* be planning an ambush visit. (I'm SURE she'd be happy to see us.)

And, finally, a little Insta.Life. Oh, how I love this little app. If I hadn't just bought a fancy camera earlier this year, I think I could be convinced to record life exclusively via Instagram.

1) Scrapbooking, up to date! Always a good feeling. 2) Ella's owl. 3) Cheerleader pony tail. Happy to report, I've still got it. 4) Fooling around. 5) A trip with Daddy to the "zoo" (i.e. pet store). 6) Another successful annual outlet shopping weekend. 7) A great way to pass some time = Disney drawing. 8) The infamous taxidermy (nature center) field trip. 9) Getting geared up for birthday season!

#SheReadsTruth // Galatians

I just finished up a study on the book of Galatians along with the She Reads Truth community. It was a relatively short one, 15 days in all, with two weekends thrown in {Saturdays are for reviewing/re-reading the week's passages; Sundays are for committing a verse or passage to memory.}

I enjoyed this particular study because there was a devotional included with each days passage. And I know I've said it before, but reading a familiar text in a new translation {The Message} really made it come alive for me in a clear, bold, authentic way.

Galatians is a passionate letter from Paul reminding them of the true and beautiful Gospel. Here's a little peak into some of the truths discovered along the way...

 What's my goal? Popularity or following Jesus?

A central theme of Paul's letter to the Galatians: faith vs. works.
{Spoiler Alert: the answer is faith!}

Redeemed. Set free. Fully Adopted!

 Back to the basics: it all starts with love.

The Message's translation of this passage knocked my socks off.

The alternative way to live? Freely, animated & motivated by God's Spirit. 

A prayer: let us not become weary.

I love Paul's challenge here: live creatively.

The world wants us to live a certain way but God's way is so much better.

So, what's next?

If you're ready to get started with a new reading plan, the next She Reads Truth study is on Ephesians and it starts TODAY! You can find all the details on the "how" right here.

Insta.Life // Super September

September is in full swing, but besides the big kids' school schedules, our fall has been blissfully not busy. Dylan's not playing soccer this year, and Ella's taking a little break from gymnastics which means the after-school hours have been filled with watching Little House on the Prairie re-runs, baking treats, playing with the neighbor kids, and generally not rushing around in the minivan.

We have some winter and spring activities on the docket, so we'll be carpooling around soon enough, but for now we're enjoying the empty space on our calendar. (Not that we haven't been staying occupied...read on for a peak into some of our mini moments.)

 One last summer day spent at The Condo, enjoying rootbeer rocket pops.

 Theresa & I are hosting a book club of sorts...and I am enjoying the guilty pleasure of writing in pen in my copy of One Thousand Gifts.

A well-earned breakfast break halfway through a 24 mile bike ride.

 Our spoiled baby enjoying a foot rub (and a movie) with big brother.

 Life Lesson #67: take time to celebrate.

 Sushi 101: take an industrial kitchen, add a generous helping of good friends, toss in some seaweed, rice, fish eggs, and sake...and enjoy!

Post-bike ride park playing.

 A favorite after school activity with my Ella.

1 C peanut butter, 1 C sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp. baking powder. 350, 10 minutes.

 Applesauce day!
9 hours, 70 quarts, one hot mess. Phew!

Nice dam view.

 Sometimes being big brother is hard work.

We checked our inhibitions at the door, donned smocks, and played artist.
No one's quitting their day jobs, but we had a blast!

A sunny, fall afternoon spent stroller-ing around the city, taking in the art. {including this piece entitled Stick-to-it-ive-ness}

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