The Moberg Family

Author: Susanne

  • New Mercies Monday: the Glory of God

    New Mercies Monday: the Glory of God

    It’s been so long since I’ve taken the time to stop and record the goodness of the Lord through this here bloggy blog. I have so many things to say! So many things running through my mind but very little time to SIT. You’d think a world-wide pandemic that forces us all to stay at home would create gobs of extra time, but it sure hasn’t in this household!! So this week my goal is to make just a little time to sit and record. We are literally in the middle of making history!! I think it’s important to record some of the happenings in our lives and hearts and minds.

    And I’m starting here:

    The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. Psalm 19:1-4a

    I have not been able to get this picture out of my head for the past 19 days. Is it not GLORIOUS?

    You know how sometimes you go to take a sunset picture and the photo looks nothing like the sunset itself? This was not one of those times. This is really, truly, exactly what the sunset looked like in real life. No photo shopping. I’m still in utter awe that this is the view I have while standing at my kitchen sink. The Lord surprises me EVERY.SINGLE.DAY with the sunset that He paints in the sky. It’s the same feeling as getting a beautiful, heart-felt note in the mail from a dear friend or receiving a one-of-a-kind, precious drawing from the sticky, paint-covered hands of my child. Unexpected, genuine, filled with love, just for me. And here the God of the universe is handing me a piece of His glory…right there in my sky…and it makes my heart thump hard every time. He is breathtaking, and so is his artwork. Every day those heavens declare. They cannot hold their voice back from all the earth. Every night that sky proclaims. God’s handiwork is unmistakable. Unreproducible. Uncomparable. Unbelievable. For God himself is all of these things. And the sky so loudly reminds us that he is the I AM.

    He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:15-17

    Nothing that is happening is unseen by God. Nothing that is happening in the world is a surprise to him. Nothing that’s happening in our lives is beyond him. So let us, dear friends, worship him as loudly as the skies in the midst of this pandemic. When we feel overwhelmed, stir-crazy, stuck, alone, afraid…let us remember that it was never supposed to be about “us” in the first place. It was always supposed to be about HIM. May we LOOK UP and remember that his glory is painted in the sky for us to see. He lets us see a piece of his glory for his glory. Let us praise his name, for he is worthy! Let us give thanks to him, for he holds all things together! Let us glorify him who does not hide his face from those who seek him! Let us look to him, for he is glorious above all! 

     

    Your turn, my friends…how is God holding you together during this time? Where have you seen his glory here on earth? What new mercies has he brought to you today?

  • Elliott’s Turtley Awesome Ninth Birthday!

    Elliott’s Turtley Awesome Ninth Birthday!

    So Elliott started planning his birthday months ahead of time (as usual) this year. All he wanted to do was have his friends over to play tag and have a picnic on our property. So simple, right? Well, this girl just could NOT get the unction to plan it. I kept putting it off and putting it off and although I wasn’t entirely sure why, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in life it’s this: If I don’t have unction, there’s usually a reason and I shouldn’t force it. Well, of course…little did we know that the entire world would shut down and there would be no live birthday parties this spring.

    But our gracious God allowed us to have our nieces and nephew and grandparents here with us over Elliott’s birthday! Talk about a party! I threw some ideas together and we were all able to make a really special birthday for this mighty 9 year old. It’s no surprise that this guy still loves turtles. So we turned our dining room into an under the sea fish bowl and this guy was thrilled. As a side note, SUCH a treasure for me to have Taylor here to help me decorate and make this a turtley awesome birthday for Elliott!! Taylor made all of the plates :).

    We started off the morning with waffles, due to Elliott’s request. Side note: Anyone notice what Elliott’s NOT wearing??? Comment if you figure it out :).

     

    The cousins worked secretly to make Elliott a turtle shell out of a box so that he could have his very own shell, just like all of his turtle friends!! He was SO.HAPPY!!!!

     

    We did get a game of tag in, albeit not the most epic game of tag in the world. It was FREEZING outside…NONE of us wanted to join a very eager Elliott for a game of tag but we all bundled up and went out there anyway. I may have lasted 32 seconds. And then I took photos from inside. Hey, someone’s gotta do it :).

     

    The quick last minute idea I came up with was to have a canvas painting party. Thanks be to Amazon, everything we needed for a paint-your-own-art-piece arrived promptly at our door. I talked to each of the kids about what they wanted to paint. For a few of them, we printed off pictures that they wanted to use as a reference. I helped guide the ones who needed it through sketching out their drawing first with pencil and then we got to painting!

    They each did such an AMAZING job!!!! I love how each painting displays the incredibly unique personality of each kid.

    Elliott is just a little bit (ahem) detail-oriented and so he’s very particular about what he wants to be doing the MOMENT he was born, which is 6:25 pm our time. This year, he was emphatic about wanting to do our bible reading over that minute. So we made it happen. Wearing Christmas jammies. Because CHRISTMAS. This is him the MOMENT he really turned 9!

     

    Speaking of Christmas… For some reason I had a slightly difficult time saying “Goodbye” to our Christmas tree this year. It was just so green and beautiful and I couldn’t bring myself to slaughter it. Finally at some point in late January I decided it was time. The kids and I started chopping off branches and when we had done the bottom 2/3, I stopped and looked at it and just LOVED it! It was so cute! So we kept it like that for another few months. First year ever our Christmas tree was still up for Elliott’s birthday. So, obviously, we put his presents under the tree!! 🙂 This kid is THEE most expressive child on the planet. Check out these faces as he opens presents!! (And don’t make fun of the Christmas tree! Come on, it’s kind of cute, isn’t it?!!)

    Selah really, really, REALLY wanted to sew Elliott a turtle stuffie. So we worked together and, it wasn’t horrible. 🙂 It consists of a separate body and shell so he can change out the shell! However, it took us SO.MANY.STINKIN.HOURS to just make the body and the shell that right now his turtle only has one change of clothes. One day he might have two. One day long in his turtley future.

    Next up, mud pie. The kids got the brilliant idea to stack three more paper plates on top of the base turtle plate so they could “re-use” their plate for each meal. They just threw away the dirty top plate and used it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert!

     

    Grandma and Grandpa got Elliott the turtle costume he has been dreaming of ever since we got Selah a puppy costume for her birthday. Have you ever seen a happier turtle in the sea? I sure haven’t.

     

    One quarantine birthday in the books!! Although he was definitely bummed not to get to celebrate with the Mauss family and friends, he was abundantly, over-the-top blessed on this quarantine birthday of his! We were so thankful for the special treat of the Moberg cousins and Grandma and Grandpa. Happy birthday to our turtley awesome mighty man!!

     

  • Quarantine Cousin Camp

    Quarantine Cousin Camp

    So there we were, at the top of a mountain on our very last day of our big Moberg family ski vacation, and we got “the call.” All schools, churches, sports, etc. were shut down for the next 6 weeks in Pierce County. I’ll never forget my niece, with shock on her face, shouting, “Does this mean we’re going to be HOMESCHOOLED?!!!” Hahahaha! Although we were always planning on taking Grandma and Grandpa home with us, the rest of us had all been planning on heading our separate ways home the next morning. But that night after realizing the three oldest cousins had no commitments at home, we decided to take them home with us, too! Why not?!!!! The only problem was, we didn’t have enough seats for everyone! Thankfully we worked out a plan so that Taylor could fly in and meet us at home. The rest of us piled into the Suburban and we rented a uhaul for all of our luggage!  Here’s a little glimpse into our two weeks of Quarantine Cousin Camp!!

    The drive home from Idaho was, admittedly, slightly terrifying at moments. Just after passing Bozeman (where, P.S., we had a super fast but incredibly delightful meet up with Jenny, Clayton and kids!!) it started to snow and the roads got super icy. We passed more flipped cars than we could count and watched a guy roll in front of us. But, thanks be to our gracious God we made it through safely. Later, we managed to pop a tire on the uhaul in Wyoming. Good times.

    As we neared Colorado, the texts and emails started rolling in that Colorado was beginning to shut down. So as schools everywhere closed down, our Moberg homeschool enrollment more than doubled!

    We got settled on Sunday and Monday morning we hit the ground running. Needless to say, it was a BLAST. What a JOY to be quarantined with their cousins and grandparents!! Homeschool was way more fun with the three cousins added into the mix and it sure made acting out our history lessons a whole lot easier!! The kids played hard, learned a ton, had lots of opportunities to work through offenses (added bonus!!) and truly the whole time was such a gift from God.

    While they were here, my phone kept popping up with “this day 7 years ago” and “this day 8 years ago” photos, which I think were the last times these cousins were together during the month of March. So, of course, we recreated them real time :). Check these out…

     

     

    Still wearin’ those overalls. 🙂 I just love before and “laters”!!

    Honestly, I wasn’t sure how the kids would handle jumping into our routines, but it felt absolutely seamless. They are super eager and joyful learners and they fit right in! They stepped right into all of our learning–devotionals, scripture memory, poetry memory, hymn memory, history songs, nature study and painting, history, science, math, bible reading… Hailey even inspired Selah to learn how to crochet. The cousins read the books that Elliott and Selah have published and begged to write, illustrate and publish their own. And they did! The kids did a couple presentations and at the end of the two weeks presented all they had learned for Brian, Grandma and Grandpa. Seriously, such a blast!

    Did I mention the kids had lots of opportunities to work through offenses?!! 🙂 We spent a lot of time during our devotionals learning about friendship, biblical teamwork and ways to respond to each other in the midst of offense. (Don’t we ALL need these lessons and reminders?!!) It was so rich! I’m thankful Hailey and Taylor brought in the “hug it out” principle!! One of the things we do in our home is a “build up pyramid.” We’ve talked A LOT about building each other up in Christ rather than tearing each other down with words and actions. Each time I catch Elliott or Selah building each other up they get to put a lego onto a pyramid they’re working together to build. It’s served as a fantastic visual for them. We brought the cousins right into this and they built up the pyramid twice–once each week! To celebrate, we roasted s’mores each time. I think God was celebrating along with us–check out that sunset!!

    We were able to bring them to the Garden of the Gods on a gorgeous sunny day.

    And, of course, finally introduce them to our property where we played hard together!

    I honestly just kept catching them like this…laughing and snuggling and hugging!! There was an abundance of joy and laughter!!

    This felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I’m so grateful God orchestrated the world to give us these ultra special two weeks with cousins and grandparents!! If anyone else wants to come over and quarantine with us, we’re taking applications!! 🙂

  • Ski Vacation 101

    Ski Vacation 101

    I am convinced that a couple of stir-crazy kids invented the sport of skiing after being quarantined for a number of months. I mean, seriously. “I’m bored. I have an idea! Let’s go to the very top of a mountain where you could easily fall to your death with one wrong step. But let’s make it more of a thrill and go when the mountain is covered in snow. No, this isn’t enough. Let’s put long slippery pieces of laminated wood on our feet so that we can’t get a grip on the snow but will slide right along it, making it easier to fly off the side of the mountain.” Great idea, folks…great idea.

    I think anyone who knows me by now knows that skiing isn’t exactly my strength. Enter photo #1:

    Do you see that baby deer wearing a red jacket on the right side of the photo? Yeah, that’s actually ME the last time I went skiing, circa 1998. We were trying to pose for a photo but I couldn’t STOP! Because someone had strapped long slippery pieces of laminated wood onto both my feet!!!! There my friends are, laughing so hard at (with?) me as I frantically slid down the mountain. One of my favorite parts of this photo is the sign above our heads. Do you see it? “High Anxiety”? Case in point. Someone invented the sport of skiing after months of not thinking straight during quarantine. Case closed.

    Brian’s parents so generously invited the entire family on a ski vacation in Idaho and, to tell you the truth, I was actually pretty excited to give skiing a shot again. I mean, come on, grace and eloquence must increase with two decades of maturity and growth, right?? Well, let me just skip right to the end of my story: WRONG. Apparently thinking happy ski thoughts wasn’t enough. My sweet friend kept telling me before going, “It’s just like ice skating!” Yeah…ice skating on the side of cliff. Definitely a pastime of my dreams. But Brian loves to ski and the kids had never been, so we were eager to take our family’s very first ski vacation!

    And, it was truly a WONDERFUL vacation, despite the fact that apparently skiing and I still don’t play very nice together. The timing of the vacation was honestly so perfectly orchestrated by our great God as it was in one of the last states to shut down and we were there essentially the very last week before everything did shut down across the US. What a gift to have a big, fun family hurrah right before our country closed. Here’s a glimpse into our family’s very first ski vacation with the entire Moberg crew.

    We flew into Tacoma and drove with most of the family over to Idaho. Angela and Tony met us there from Oregon. We bundled into two cars and the kids got cherished car trip cousin time.

     

    We stayed in a great condo. We could hop right into a gondola from the front of the condo that took us straight up the mountain.

    Here is the entire crew (minus Grandpa, who’s taking the picture) at the beginning of the first day! This is at the top of the bunny slope. There was a conveyer belt that would take you back up to the top once you skiied down. Isn’t the view amazing?! It was breathtaking.

     

    We (and by “we” I mean “Brian,” the only competent skiier in our family) started both the kids off with a leash (I know, how embarressing, right?) because, if you’ll remember correctly, we dragged our children to the top of a snowy mountain and placed slippery boards on their feet. The least we could do is put a leash on them. After they had proven many times they could go down in a controlled way, we took off the leash and let them free on that bunny slope. Once we felt good about their bunny slope skills, Brian took each kid individually down a real slope with the leash. Once he felt confident they could each stop themselves from flying off said slippery mountain on their own, he let them go down sans leash. The kids really did AMAZING and were both very confident skiiers by the second day. They had an absolute blast and are in love with the sport of skiing. Did I mention they didn’t get that gene from me? Here is a little video I put together of their progress from day 1 till through day 5. Be sure to put on the Close Captioning if you want to see the captions I wrote in.

     

    At the end of each ski day, we headed back to the condo. We would play games and relax for a (very small) bit. By the way, here’s our resourceful engineer of a grandpa for you–no coffee filter? No problem. Use a a grapefruit!

    Each family unit took turns preparing a meal for the whole group. After dinner, we usually headed to the condo’s indoor water park. Because after a full day of skiing people apparently need to get even more energy out?!? It was a super fun little water park and everyone had a blast. So keep in mind, this is the very beginning of March as things are slowly starting to shut down in the US. While floating in the lazy river, the kids would throw a tube on eachother and say, “You’re quarantined!!” We had no idea that was only the VERRRRYYYY BEGINNING…..

     

     

    Here are a few more fun photos from skiing that week. At the bottom of the bunny slope the kids spent some time digging a couple tunnels into this mini mountain. What a perfect vacation!

    So the picture on the left is at the very beginning of the first day. A little scattered and hard for the kids to stand up. By the end of the first day they were SO much more confident but when we went to take a photo, both the kids accidentally slid down the mountain. (Upper right corner.) Thankfully Uncle Tony was there to rescue them. And we got the more composed (bottom right) picture…as long as the kids were hanging on. So maybe they did get some of my genes after all.

    This about sums up our week…hahahaha!! Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa for a most thrilling and fun vacation!!

  • Selah is 7! Let’s Paw-ty!!

    Selah is 7! Let’s Paw-ty!!

    Leading up to her 7th birthday, I cannot count how many nights before bed Selah would suddenly burst into uncontrollable tears while I was snuggling her. When I could finally calm her down enough to tell me what was wrong, she would sob, “I just want to stay little forever so I can snuggle you forever!! I don’t want to turn 7!!” #heartgush

    We had finally decided to make a little agreement that we would celebrate her birthday but she didn’t ACTUALLY have to turn 7 :). It would sure be fine with me!!

    But lo and behold, when October 8th rolled around, she confessed in a small voice that maybe she did, indeed, want to turn 7. So I permitted it. 🙂 That night, while going to bed, she confessed, “Mommy, I just wish I could still celebrate a birthday every year but only grow older every OTHER year. So I’d be 3 and 1/2 right now. That sounds nice.” I don’t know if I will ever grasp the incredible complexities in this little girl’s mind, but somehow my heart expands for her each day and I love her so much more with every sunrise. What a special little girl God made her.

    In this same vein of not wanting to grow older, for years Selah would “suddenly” turn into a baby. Literally, for years, we would be eating dinner, playing a game, or at the store and Selah would suddenly exclaim, “Mom, I’m a baby today, k?” And she would drop to all fours and start crawling around speaking gibberish. This year, that little habit transformed a bit. Now, at various times throughout the day, I hear: “Mom, I’m a puppy. A BABY puppy, k?” And, in like manner, she drops to all fours and begins to bark and beg. She asks (ahem, barks and motions) to have her food and water delivered in a bowl on the floor. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found her lapping up water from a bowl on the floor. She is a surprisingly convincing puppy for not having spent much time around one and I am getting used to stepping over my sweet little puppy while going about daily life.

    She asked to have a puppy party this year and, of course, the ideas just started flooding in. We settled on a puppy adoption party and invited some sweet friends to come join in on the fun. The kids pulled out all of their doggy “stuffies” (as they are called by these children) and placed them in various places around the house as decoration. Selah wanted 3 waiting right in the doorway as people walked in. A few minutes before party guests were due to arrive the kids began making a banner that said, “Selah’s 7th birthday,” so that is what they are doing in that bottom picture!

     

    We set up our dining room as the party room and adoption headquarters. Fun fact: I learned that we can print 11×17 papers so I made posters for the first time ever! You can see the basket full of puppies “that we found abandoned on the side of the road,” the carrying cases the kids got to decorate, adoption certificates and a bunch of leftover Great Wolf Lodge ears for the kiddos.

    The kids’ eyes were HUGE as I explained we had found these puppies and they needed homes! I said they could each pick one and they just stared at me with mouths gaping and said slowly, in awe, “Do we…get to…KEEP…them?” When I said, “YES!” they just giggled with gratitude and joy and wonder. My goodness, I love this age!

    Here are the various stations, with instructions on the “Selah’s Puppy Adoption Center” poster. Choose your favorite puppy, take your pup to the vet, design a perfect collar, decorate a doggy carrier, and receive an adoption certificate. The kids each selected a puppy and we headed to the Vet’s office! Selah had set out clipboards with “Check-up” sheets attached and various vet supplies.

    I created this “Check-up” sheet after scrolling through several ideas. They were perfect for giving the kids a guide as to how to take care of their pets. I was fully expecting Selah to jump in and examine her puppy but, instead, she took on a teacher (or head veterinarian?) role and helped each friend one by one, answering questions and instructing them on how to fill out their forms and take care of their puppies. It was adorable. I was hoping this station would be fun for the kids, but I was surprised to see how FULLY engaged and “in it” they were. They carefully, diligently, and quite seriously inspected their little puppies with stethoscopes and examining tools. We weighed them and checked their eyes, ears, hearts, paws, and noses. We bandaged, provided medicine, or x-rayed them if necessary. When we were certain we had 6 healthy puppies, we moved onto crafting!

    I had purchased these gable boxes from Hobby Lobby and Brian cut a hole in the front so their puppies could see through. Then, I just pulled out every sticker, gem, and crafting supply I had that might work to decorate them. They made adorable little carriers for their pups!! I also set out pipe cleaners and various beads and jingle bells so the kids could decorate collars. I cut out little circles from cardstock so they could create a tag for the collar. It was fun to see their creativity!

     

    Once they had finished their carrying cases and collars, they signed an official Adoption Certificate!

     

    Selah was adamant about having an obstacle course for the puppies. She and Elliott had set up a little course in the backyard and once the puppies were “officially” theirs, they took them outside and ran through the obstacle course with them! Meanwhile, I set up for lunch inside.

    We, obviously :), decided to have a HOT DOG BAR for lunch, along with some “puppy” food. As we were talking about various toppings we could have out for hot dogs, Grandma suggested chili. I immediately got the vision in my head for our “Hot Dog Cafe”…Choose between a “Hot Dog” or a “Chili Dog,” (check out the picture below) and then add your various toppings!

    In addition to hot dogs, we had Paw-tato Chips, Veggie Kibble, and Fetch Sticks. Super fun :).

    We had a couple older siblings playing with Elliott while the younger ones paw-tied, but they joined us for lunch!

    For her birthday “pup-cakes,” Selah requested Mud Pie, which is the Moberg tradition. I made these individual Mud Pie pup-cakes and we decorate them with paw prints. The Oreo paw has mint chocolate chip ice cream inside, and the marshmallow paw has cookies n’ cream. Mmm.

    Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Selah!

     

    For her birthday, we got Selah three presents this year. The shirt you see her wearing (how adorable, right?!!), a bible of her very own, and…wait for it…a puppy costume.

    She basically hasn’t taken the costume off since and now we all feel like we really DO have a real, live puppy in the house! For her birthday breakfast she requested waffles with fruit. We had an amazing feast! That night, we celebrated with (more) Mud Pie! Little girl by day, puppy by night. We all laughed hysterically when she put her little head down in front of her birthday cake! Look at that puppy!

    She lifted her head, howled, and eventually blew out those 7 candles. So I suppose it’s official. Our little puppy is 7 years old!

     

    And as if all of that weren’t ENOUGH birthday fun, here is even more celebrating!


    Happy birthday to our dearest Selah Bethany. You may be 7, but you will always, always be my baby girl. And I will never stop reminding you that you will NEVER be too old to snuggle me. 

     

     

     

  • 2019 First Days of School!

    2019 First Days of School!

    Well another school year is off to the races! We had some bittersweet changes this year. Last year our beloved little 2-day-a-week school made some (really positive) changes. Namely, they are now requiring students to attend 3 full days and, for various reasons, it just wasn’t a great fit for our family. I think the school is heading in a fabulous direction and we were all a little (or a lot!) heartbroken that we could see God didn’t have us on that path. We had many months of WONDERING, praying, researching, visiting…trying to discern where the Lord was leading us next. And, as He always does, He provided a really, really sweet combination of school options for us. So, the kids are attending two different one-day-a-week schools and, like usual, we are homeschooling the other three. One day is pure enrichment and one day is a very small classical Christian community that’s set up like a co-op. So despite the fact that we (all!!) miss doing school with our dear friends from our last school, we have been so extraordinarily blessed and thankful that the Lord provided something new and special.

    As for me, I have never been so happy homeschooling…although I’ve always loved it, the curricula I have this year is a much better fit for me and for the kids. I will admit that the first week felt a bit like my first year of teaching all over again (except about 1,000 times less stressful, ha!) in the sense that every single subject has a new curriculum and we’ve added a good five subjects to our day! Whew!

    The other interesting thing about this school year is that we bumped the kids up a grade for the Christian co-op we’re a part of, but they’re still in their “normal” grade on the enrichment day. It’s a long story…and although I feel pretty confident that we made the right decision in doing that, it is really hard for my brain to remember what grade they’re in! “What day is it? Okay, so what grade are you in today??” Hahaha!

    P.S. Assuming I did my math right…the kids both grew OVER an inch this summer!!! Is that even possible?? Although I record their heights at the beginning and end of each school year, I don’t think I’ve ever taken the time to do the math to see how much they have actually grown. I was floored.

    Here’s our sweet girl, as excited as ever for the school year!

     

    And here’s our mighty man!

    I tried to shape their bacon into their grade level…

    Lest you think it’s always peaches and roses around here…seconds after taking this lovely photo of the two of them, Selah squeezed Elliott just a liiiitttttle too hard… One of them isn’t too happy about it…I’ll let you guess which one.

    And here are some shots from their OTHER first day of school when they are in their OTHER grade levels…

    And here are their self-portraits from the first day of homeschool…

    I must point out that Elliott drew himself in something OTHER than overalls!! My parents got him a shirt with turtles on it and it is officially his absolute favorite shirt of all time. If he didn’t have to wear a collared shirt for school, he would have definitely worn his turtle shirt for his first days. Look closely at his self-portrait and find all the turtles on his shirt… And raise your hand if you can spot the turtle crawling onto his foot…

     

    Happy new school year, Everyone!!

  • New Mercies Monday: 10 Years

    New Mercies Monday: 10 Years

    Y’all. Brian and I have officially been married a decade!! Fireworks, please!!!!

    We celebrated the big 10 on August 8. Wow. As some of you know, it was my dream to have a 10 year anniversary celebration party and invite all of you but, alas, my plans are often not the Lord’s! Besides the fact that you know I love throwing a fun party, I really wanted to take the time to CELEBRATE what THE LORD has done in us and through us in these 10 years. It is worth taking time to celebrate!! So instead of throwing a party, we got a few days away together (in Washington, nonetheless!) to reminisce, to ponder, and to look forward. And, I wrote Brian a poem. Because you all know writing is how I process everything. He called it the “Iliad and the Odyssey all rolled into one” so apparently I’m still long-winded. But, come on! It’s been 10 years!! A lot has happened!!!

    If you are reading this you are most likely one of our dearly beloved friends or family members. YOU have been a big part of how the Lord has sustained us and grown us these last 10 years. THANK YOU for standing with us throughout our marriage and loving us!

    As I pondered the last decade, I couldn’t help but think about how we met each other at sea level, and here, 10 years later, the Lord has brought us to the mountains…with SO.MANY valleys, twists, and turns in between. We could have never, ever made it this far without the Lord’s new mercies to us EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness and goodness to hold our marriage together. 

     

    10 Years of Marriage

    “I do,” I did and what I didn’t know

     

    Our journey began at the ocean
    Promising to love with heart, soul and mind
    Now ten years later He’s brought us to a mountain
    After many valleys and hills, hand-in-hand we have climbed

     

    I didn’t actually know what that “I do” promise entailed
    Though I meant it with all of my heart
    I committed to you in the fear of the Lord
    And was more than ready to fulfill my part

     

    But I didn’t know how much I would fail
    At this God-given task I had waited years for
    I didn’t know how much dying it would entail
    And how it would draw me to Him more and more

     

    I didn’t know when we said, “for better,”
    All the gifts God had in mind on us to bestow
    Our first-born son Elliott and precious Selah as our daughter
    Have been the best “betters” of our lives beyond what we could have known

     

    I didn’t know when we said, “for worse,”
    What pain that word would really encompass
    Cradling our breathless babies was a path we had to traverse
    And now we await the reunion in Heaven with our two littlest

     

    I didn’t know when we said, “for richer,”
    That money would not be the primary meaning
    Rather the body of Christ has made our hearts fuller
    All our friends and family who, with love, are surrounding

     

    I didn’t know when we said, “for poorer,”
    That our lack and our need would come in so many forms
    So at the beginning of each day we go to Him in prayer
    And ensure seeking His kingdom first is the daily norm

     

    I didn’t know when we said, “in sickness,”
    The overwhelming way it would impact our days
    And I didn’t know how profoundly we’d see His goodness
    And how we’d learn how much higher, indeed, are His ways

     

    I didn’t know when we said, “in health,”
    How much we would thank Him for each God-given day
    Every breath, every step is our treasured wealth
    Every victory, together, is gratitude on display

     

    I didn’t know how much we would disagree
    On sometimes what’s seemed like everything
    I didn’t know when something appeared so clear to me
    That you could have a completely different hankering

     

    I didn’t know how different we could possibly be
    Male and female He definitely created us
    But it’s because of these differences that you so perfectly complete me
    And the grand design of God I’m learning to trust

     

    Yet I didn’t know how much we would agree
    Some subjects have been natural and easy
    But others have been won with hard-fought victory
    Thanks be to God, He has given us true unity

     

    I didn’t know when we decided to marry
    The vast number of decisions and choices there would actually be
    But I married a man whose convictions would strengthen daily
    To pursue holiness, to value life, to love—forever—only me

     

    I didn’t know we would call 8 places “home”
    Spanning 3 different countries and 6 unique cities
    In total, 25 cars and trucks, 3 houses would we own
    And now a kitchen sink facing water on our 40 acres

     

    I didn’t know what an incredible father you would be
    And how much joy you would find in instructing in righteousness
    That teaching our kids the Word would be such a high priority
    And in word and in deed, loving them with such boldness

     

    I didn’t know the various things you would help me learn to appreciate
    Faithful flossing and the thrill of four-wheeling are two
    My preferences now are SUV’s, trucks and the house cooled to 68
    But above all, most importantly, finding a ridiculously good value

     

    I didn’t know what a massive undertaking it would be to be my husband
    If I’d known how much I was going to cost, I’d have said, “It couldn’t be true,”
    Yet when through tears I share with you (and your gray hair) this sentiment
    You smile kindly and hold me tightly and say, “But I have you.”

     

    I didn’t know how very much I would need you
    I didn’t know you would—literally—catch me when I fall
    Your vision, strength and sacrifice in all that you do
    Your godly perspective and wholehearted love that embodies it all

     

    You see, I didn’t know when I said, “I do”
    How much choosing I would do every single day
    Yet still, with overwhelming joy, I do choose you—to love only you
    Still I do choose to live with you in an understanding way

     

    I didn’t know our love could withstand the fires and come out so very strong
    We know it never could have, save the love of Christ we’ve been given
    Some One wise once said that two are better than one
    Yes, but a cord of three strands is not easily broken.

     

    We couldn’t have known who we would need
    The perfect mate to help us follow God, remain true
    We couldn’t have known, but, in faith, we followed His lead
    And God, oh yes…God…He certainly knew.

     

    To Him be the glory for these 10 years! Amen.

     

     

  • 2019 Last Day Snow Day!

    2019 Last Day Snow Day!

    Happy Summer, Everyone! I cannot BEEEEE-LEEEEEVE how quickly this summer is flying by! Waaahhh!!!

    Our last day of school was a memorable one this year…not ONLY because we had snow, but the city had SO.MUCH.SNOW that they actually CANCELED SCHOOL. If you don’t believe me, ask me how many tears were shed that Tuesday morning.

    Last Day Snow Day. Sniff, sniff.

    Thankfully, each of the kids’ wonderful teachers did a “make-up” day. They were absolutely not required to do so, but this just shows how much they care about their students. It was wonderful for them to be able to give their teachers a hug and do some celebrating with their peers.

    Well, this is a story for another blog post, but we decided to set some of our turtles free because we had to bury some of the others (again, ask me about the tears shed)…Apparently Elliott was wearing this EXACT outfit on that day (down to the unmentionables), and that was the outfit he insisted on wearing the last day of school. He chooses to wear his overalls almost every day (one of the many things that melts my heart about him) but I can’t believe he remembered the shirt and, ahem, every other part of his outfit, from that day.

    Elliott had a fantastic year in second grade. He has such a great group of friends and his teacher was excellent. They always started out their day with prayer and rumor has it that every single day he prayed for our turtles. We are so proud of his leadership and excellence once again this year.

    I think this is the first time that policeman and fireman didn’t make it into his career goals. I was surprised to hear him say, “Farmer and construction worker,” but he would be excellent in both those fields. Good thing he already has the uniform ;). And seriously, could his self-portrait BE any cuter???? *swoon*

    Our church does a little end-of-the-year homeschool celebration. Some moms create certificates for each of their children and all of them honor their kids by taking a few minutes and talking about academic and spiritual strengths. I loved that idea!! Honoring my kids in front of others is a big deal to me and I was really excited about this opportunity. So I created certificates for them and then (long story short) we ended up not being able to make it to the celebration. So we did our own family celebration at home. It was really sweet to see their faces as I honored them. Elliott couldn’t hold back the ear-to-ear grin that completely took over his face. And when we were through, Selah immediately left the room and made certificates of her own for everyone in the family.

    As I reminisced about the year, the aspect of Elliott’s character that stuck out so strongly to me was how excellent of a friend he is. He has had many friends choose him, and I can see it is because he is a little boy seeking to serve God with his whole heart. His care and tenderness for others makes him a true leader and an incredible friend.

    And now onto our girl. This girl. My goodness. What a treasure. She flew through kindergarten and I’m pretty sure she thinks she’s ready for high school. Slow down, baby girl…slooooowwww down….! We are really proud of her servant leadership in her classroom this year.

    This was also the first time I’ve heard her mention that she wants to be a teacher (and an artist, for that matter)! She talked frequently about leading small groups during her school days…reading her peers books and coming up with craft activities to go along with them. So I must say, I wouldn’t be surprised if she followed in her mama’s footsteps…

    Elliott had the same kindergarten teacher and at the end of the year she gives each student a meaningful award. They are so thoughtful and true for each student–it is a really special time. Here’s a video of Selah’s award.

    For Selah, as I thought back over the year, the aspect of her character that truly stood out to me was her servant leadership. She would come home and recount stories of ways she had served her peers in the classroom, and I don’t think she had any idea that she was actually serving. Serving is like breathing to her. Of course, I couldn’t not acknowledge her Rubik’s Cube feat and I had to throw in her creative reading positions. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found her reading books in trees, or other very interesting places. But again, that’s another story for another post!

    Here are the kids with their teachers on the make-up last day. (And in case you’re detail-oriented and wondering, yes…the kids chose to wear the EXACT same outfits that they had picked out for the last day.)

     

    And now, for the part that always makes me cry…a little compare and contrast from the first day!

    Okay but seriously, he grew up SOOOO MUCH this year!!!!!!! How is that much growing up even possible????!!!!

    Oh, how I love these two!! They are growing up so quickly before our eyes…

  • Elliott is eight!

    Elliott is eight!

    And it sure has been great! (For the past 5 months….)

    It seems like my life motto might be “better late than never.” Sigh.

    So before I go any further, you all know we moved about 6 weeks before his birthday. So, to answer the question you will all be dying to ask–no, I did not choose the orangey-beige color on the walls and yes, I DID let the kids paint the walls and write verses all over them to make absolutely sure that the walls got re-painted. Win.

    Our mighty man hit the big 8 and we had lots of celebrating to ring in the new birthday year. One of the more exciting things is that we had the honor of a visit from Aunt Paula and Uncle Joe!! They got to join us for Elliott’s Mauss family birthday party a couple of weeks before his actual birthday! What a treat!!

    Let’s just take a minute and talk about Elliott. Oh this boy is just so special. He still chooses to wear his Carhartts and striped blue/navy blue shirt (that I got him for his 5th birthday, I think??) almost every day. If you’re wondering how it could possibly still fit this growing boy and how it could possibly not have holes in it from this active little buddy…well, it doesn’t really fit (see the sleeves?) and the elbows are basically two big holes. He loves the Paw Patrol (even though he’s still never seen the show) and boy is he into “stuffies”! Selah got him this little Marshall stuffie last year for his birthday and they are inseparable. He is also just hopelessly infatuated with turtles. I love his heart. Here he is on his birthday morning, wearing a 3 year old shirt, in his birthday balloon chair, with his birthday stuffie from last year. I just love this child of mine so much!

    On his actual birthday, he had testing at school for the morning (which he was really excited about, mostly because they got to chew gum, lol). Grandma and Grandpa were here to visit so we all picked him up from school, played at the park for a bit and then hit Chick-fil-a for lunch. Doesn’t get much better than that, does it??

    We celebrated as a family with mud pie (obviously). And…I discovered that I somehow lost all of our candles in the move. Hmmm. And I still haven’t found them. I’m starting to wonder if there’s a group of baby turtles out at our lake having a hey day with these colorful wax sticks that burn fire…

    I regress. I found some matches (matches?? who still owns matches??) so they served as our candles. It was a win-win because I also couldn’t find our lighters, so we just lit a match to light the match candles and told Elliott to HURRY UP and BLOW THEM OUT!!! We opened some special presents, one of which was the “biggest Lego set I’ve ever had!!” from Grandma and Grandpa. He might be a little excited.

    A different night, we ALSO went out to dinner at the Texas Road House (first year he hasn’t picked Red Robin!) which was fun because they put him on a saddle to sing to him!

    And, for the final celebration…One of Elliott’s best buddies, Quinn, has a birthday just 12 days after him. Our families decided to go to Great Wolf Lodge together to celebrate our boys. We ended up with two extra bands so each of the birthday boys got to pick one more friend to join in for the day. They went down a million slides, swam hard, bowled and even got to play in the arcade. It was such an awesome birthday!!

    Elliott is SO BLESSED with incredible friends. These three boys are no exception. This a group of respectful and kind, yet wild and super fun boys that I would happily have Elliott rub elbows with for a long time! They are such a blessing!!

    These two. I’m always tempted to pull out the baby pictures. Maybe I already have! It fills my heart with such extreme joy that these two were bosom buddies, and were friends long before they were born. What a GIFT and treasure from God!!

    Quinn’s sisters made a delicious Star Wars cake that was devoured pretty quickly for sure!

    Yes, we were all there too. And Grampa and Nonna joined us for lunch and birthday cake!

    Well, that’s a wrap. I will end with this picture, which I think is my absolute new favorite picture of my boy. But seriously.

    Happy birthday to our turtley awesome 8 year old boy!!

     

  • Selah’s Sixth Birthday Selahbration

    Selah’s Sixth Birthday Selahbration

    I am pretty sure that before every single birthday party we throw for our kids, I say, “Let’s keep it simple.” And every year, it just ends up being far from that. I seriously don’t know how it happens EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. This year for Selah’s birthday was no different…we decided to let her choose one friend to celebrate with and the plan was to…you guessed it…KEEP IT SIMPLE.

    But then as the birthday ideas began to come together in my mind, they just kinda snowballed into a somewhat extravagant birthday “Selahbration” for our girl. Her very special guest of honor was her dear friend Stella and so other than knowing that Stella would be there, we decided to keep all the party details a SURPRISE for Selah! Oh my, this turned out to be way more fun than I could have ever imagined!! The theme that came together was activities centered around the letter “S”…Selah turning Six with her friend Stella…it all just came together in my mind and I decided to send her on a little scavenger hunt with clues that she had to unscramble. (P.S. What a great learning opportunity! After I came up with this idea for her birthday clues I started incorporating unscrambling letters into her homeschooling day!) I created postcard clues with real STICKERS that she had to unscramble! I’ve never made stickers before and now I am totally hooked. I want to make stickers for everything. Super fun. I had so much fun prepping this day for her!

    So the day began with her finding an envelope pinned up to a cork board in our kitchen that read, “Selahbrate.” I had seven other envelopes waiting (six plus a bonus one) that I would place/hand out strategically. Within the first envelope was a card that explained the day ahead.

    She was VERY excited and immediately jumped out of her chair and began trying to find the six envelopes. I told her she couldn’t find them and that they would find her. “But how?!!” she kept asking. It was adorable. It was soooooooo hard for her to wait for the envelopes to “find her!!”

    To help kill time, Elliott selected a special book and suggested that she read it. It was one of her favorites–Angelina’s Birthday Surprise. And much to her surprise, as she began to read through it, an envelope fell out from the pages of the book! It said “#1” on it!! “WHAT?!! How did that get in there?!!” she exclaimed with glee. 

    She knew that Stella would be a part of her day and that was great because this was the first time she had ever unscrambled letters. This was definitely a challenge for her so it was great to start with one that she already knew the answer to :). So she unscrambled the letters and stuck them to her card and got…

    We headed off to pick up dear Stella. Once Selah greeted her I told Selah to go ahead and get back in the car so Stella could say goodbye to her mama. But when Stella climbed into the backseat with the kids, somehow she had envelope #2! Selah was SHOCKED when Stella handed her the next envelope! She opened it up and read the clue…

    Can YOU solve it?? Now, this one was a little tricky because it was actually two words and it was the second word that started with S. (But I knew if I put the first word into the print it would be too easy for her to solve.) And she had to unscramble it in the car. I told her which letters to group together for each word and with a little coaching, “What does the word have to end with to complete the rhyme?” and a few more prompts, she figured it out!

    She had been asking several months back if we could go ice skating and it just didn’t happen. When I thought of that idea for her birthday I knew it would be the perfect surprise adventure. The kids had never been so they were thrilled!!

    I was able to get a 30 minute private lesson for the girls. Stella had never skated either and this seemed like a good way to start things off. The gal was wonderful with them and happened to be from South Africa which was super fun!

    The girls had a BLAST and laughed their way through the lesson. Afterwards, the teacher handed envelope #3 to Selah. My goodness, you should have seen Selah’s face when she handed it to her! “How did she…??!!!” She couldn’t even finish her sentence she was so in shock!! She opened up the envelope and sorted the letters…

    In the second picture you can see Elliott running to tell me that he’s figured out the answer ;).

    The kids took a quick few bites and then were all eager to get back onto the ice! Brian gave Elliott his own set of private lessons. The rink also had these awesome walkers that the kids could use. It really helped them get comfortable on the ice. They all fell but they always got right back up with a smile. I was so proud of all of them!! (I was also proud of me who hadn’t been skating since…?? I have no idea!)

    After open skate time was over, the kids reluctantly got off the ice and enjoyed the rest of their snack while the zamboni prepared the ice for the hockey game that evening.

    We were at the Air Force Academy so we decided to swing by to see the chapel which will be closing for a long time for renovation. We walked in to look around and encouraged Selah to sit down in a certain pew. Within a few seconds she spotted the envelope sticking out of a hymnal and I’m pretty sure her jaw actually touched the floor!!

     

    This was another two-word clue. I did help her by sorting the letters into two piles so she could solve one word at a time. The party favors were that each kid got to pick out a stuffed animal. This was fun :).

    Selah brought her new stuffed animal up to the register and lo and behold, as the gal handed her stuffed animal back to her she also handed her an envelope… Selah’s utter shock never got old!!!

    We headed off to one of her favorite places to eat…

    She opened some very special presents, we had a delicious dinner and towards the end of our meal, Selah received a sixth envelope from the waitress!

    Now, for various reasons, I chose to do a Bonus envelope in addition to the six envelopes. I knew that this was, by far, going to be the best of all the surprises. She was surprised that their was a bonus envelope in the first place, but as she opened it and read it and started to figure out what it could be…she couldn’t even contain herself.

    It was both of the girls’ first (real) sleepover and it was absolutely fabulous. Girl chats, lots of laughter, not enough sleep, and delicious pancakes the next morning: utter birthday bliss :).

     

    Although yes, the clues turned out to be super fun and special, I have to say that what made this party a success were the people who were there to selahbrate with our girl! She had both sets of her grandparents there, her parents and brother, and her dear friend Stella who has so many of the qualities I have prayed for in a friend for Selah. Stella is kind-hearted, thoughtful and FUN!! She has the BEST giggle and she lets it loose freely!! I am thankful Selah had such a special friend to go on this birthday skating scavenger hunt adventure with her!  She was surrounded by people who love her tremendously, and that is what made it wonderful!!

    So all that to say… real simple, right?! 🙂 And the reality is, BEYOND this splendid birthday party Selahbration, Selah had multiple other celebrations…her very first classroom birthday celebration where her grandpa read one of her favorite books to her class, a park co-birthday celebration with one of her classmates after school, a birthday party at Grampa and Nonna’s house with family, AND…her Grandma and Grandpa took her and Elliott to Great Wolf Lodge for three days!!! AND we had mud pie at home on her actual birthday!! What a birthday!!! I have a feeling she’ll ask to turn 6 every year!! Selah girl, it is utter joy to selahbrate you!!!!