What a JOY for Elliott to have 4 siblings this Summer! For a boy who is SO SOCIAL, he was in absolute Heaven. He admired Judah and Samuel so much, and would just marvel at Ariel’s beauty. How fun for him to have 3 older siblings for a few weeks!!
But as much as he ADORED the older 3, there was something special, something unique about his love for Mookie. Mookie was his bff. They are just one month apart, and they had their own special language. I feel like I got a tiny glimpse at what it would be like to have twins and to watch their special bond…such a joy to watch these sweet friends build their friendship!!
Cruising the Town
On one of the days that Suz and I headed into San Diego, OJ took the big kids to play on go carts and Brian took the babies to have their own racing fun. One thing is for sure–Brian has ensured that Elliott has an appropriate love for Home Depot. This is a regular favorite Daddy-Son pass time–cruisin’ through Home Depot.
“Does this thing have power steering?”Mookie: “So WHAT’S so great about this place again?” Elliott: “We’re in HOME DEPOT, Mooks! It’s the happiest place on earth besides Costco!!”
The Bonding Place
I’m not sure what it is about this bottom step, but it was THE PLACE that they loved to chat.
Telling jokesYeah, we’re cute and we know it.“Hey, Elliott, look at my toes.”“Cool! They look just like MINE!”“Let’s be best friends forever!”
The Office Chair
This was another special place to play and chat. The boys would climb up here together and then would scheme and plot to look as CUTE as possible until someone gave in and gave them rides up and down the hallway.
E: “Who do you think will see us sitting here and get the hint?”E: “I think if you keep being charming like that, that will really help our cause.”M: “We GOT her, Elliott! Your mom said she’s putting down the camera to play with us!!! YIPPEE!!”
The Alphabet Train
A most popular toy with the boys. They usually did a great job of taking turns–one would ride while the other shoved alphabet blocks into the train and visa versa.
M: “You okay back there, Elliott?” E: “Yup! I’ve got this! Don’t worry about me!”
Elliott had never been a “hugger” until the McD kids moved in with us. He’ll give us kiss after kiss all day long, but he’s never been a big snuggler. But his love for his new friends brought out the hugging in him! He would OFTEN run up to the kids and give them big hugs!! He reminds me a lot of “Elf,” who loves to give hugs and snuggle and hold hands and sing Christmas Carols…and this Mama couldn’t be prouder :).
Although Mookie didn’t exactly share Elliott’s hugging affinity, he was always a great sport about it.“Mookie, I just think you’re the greatest.”“Thanks, Elliott. I think you’re pretty great, too!”“I know we’re playing with the Alphabet Train, but can I give you a hug?”“Just…one…little…HUG!”“Okay, Elliott…but I’m just going to keep chewing on this alphabet cube, if that’s alright.”
[WARNING: This blog post got really, really, really super long…! That’s what happens when you blog about an entire SUMMER in one post!]
I’ll admit. Our first few months here, we were pretty swamped. With YWAM training, with my first trimester, with adjusting to life in a foreign country, with Elliott’s first birthday and house build, etc., etc….It was busy. So, needless to say, we didn’t get out much. When we had a free day, we couldn’t wait to stay in our pajamas all day and just stare at the walls to recover. Exploring the city wasn’t exactly at the top of our list of “fun things to do.”
When we were in Tacoma in May, someone asked us, “So what do you guys like to do for fun down there?”
And the first thing that came to my mind to say was, “We cross the border into San Diego, pull off at the first gas station, stick our heads underneath the faucet and guzzle the water straight from the tap…just because we can!”
And that’s when I realized we hadn’t really had very much “fun” since we had moved down here. I remember those first few months we were here, the only thing that sounded “fun” to do was cross the border and do things we couldn’t do here…like drink from the tap, run our toothbrushes under the faucet, use our cell phones, go to Target…things you come to take for granted when you live in the good ‘ol U-S of A!
But, we adjusted. We got working cell phones. We mastered the art of using bottled water to brush our teeth. And, to top it all off, summertime brought glorious weather which compelled us to get outside and discover. We weren’t so busy getting settled in the midst of everything else we were juggling. And so…we have had some FUN!! Here are some photos from our Summer to highlight what we do for “fun” around here… 🙂
Playas Boardwalk
There’s a little city between us and Tijuana, about 20 ish minutes away, called Playas. As close as it is, we had never been to its amazing boardwalk! These pictures are from the end of May, and I can’t believe how young Elliott looks! (And how small my belly looks!) 🙂
The beautiful oceanThe BoardwalkDaddy is simply the BEST.“Burr!” (Bird!)“What are those silly birds doing flying into the ocean??” Elliott ponders.Loving life on the Boardwalk.
Rosarito Market
Here’s your pretty typical Mexican market, just minutes from our house… we finally made our way there in June!
We made Elliott stay in the stroller and he wasn’t a huge fan of that…just too many temptations to let him run around freely!!Katie 🙂
Visit from Grandma & Grandpa Moberg
Ken and Marilyn came to visit in July, via Florida :). They have always been quite the cross-country travelers!! Very impressive. We had several fun highlights with them while they were here.
Slow mornings, relaxing on the couch…Playdough with Grandpa!Sportin’ Mama’s glasses at the beach!Walking along the beach with GrandmaElliott trying to be brave in the water while Mama and Grandma cling to him for dear life :).The Rosarito MarketElliott-o!2 out of the 3 Mexican Mobergs
Babymoon
For the first time EVER, we left our little buddy alone…for TWO WHOLE NIGHTS! While Brian’s parents were in town, they let us get away to San Diego to take a little Babymoon before our sweet girl arrives.
Eating breakfast a delightful little cafe one morning.
Rosarito Beach
I’ll be honest, I never imagined we’d be the people who lived 2 minutes from the beach. I mean, I know we lived 30 seconds from Ruston Way in Tacoma, but I’m talking about the real kind of beach, where you go to play in the sand and swim in the ocean. But it sure is FUN to be able to hop over to the beach for an hour or two in the afternoon any time you want! Elliott loves it!! July, August, and September were finally hot enough to be able to enjoy the glory of Rosarito Beach in its fullness…
Learning how to use a shovelElliott still doesn’t really like to have his hands dirty, but he’s learned how to play hard in the sand, trusting that we’ll help him wipe off his hands when we’re all done playing :).Trying to play paddle ball like the big boys!
One of Elliott’s FAVORITE things to do at the beach is to stand at the edge of the water and let the waves wash up and get him.
Look at that face!Pure delight.AND the water is pretty cold 🙂
Soccer Field!
Our YWAM campus has been building a soccer field the last few months, and it was finally finished this summer. Talk about GLORY!! For the kid who eats, breathes, and sleeps balls of all sorts, this is a dream come true. Brian brings him there on weekend mornings (while I get to sleep in!!) and we usually get at least one or two other visits throughout the week. Elliott kicks the soccer ball the entire length of the field and can even score a goal if he wants to :).
How cool is THIS?!
Swings and Slides
There is this tiny little play structure in our housing community that provides for a good hour of entertainment for little buddy. He loves climbing the ladder and going down the slide, and he will do it over and over and over and over again until he’s so exhausted that he’s falling over.
Side note: Several months ago, I taught Elliott that when you see flowers, you smell them. His “smelling”, however, comes out more like a snort. It’s SO CUTE. So any time he sees flowers or trees, he does this snort thing, and I just think it’s the greatest thing ever. So on our walk down to the little playground, he found some flowers to sniff…if you look closely you can see his little wrinkled nose as he snorts!
Stopping to smell the roses…Swinging with DaddyClimbing up the ladder…Yippee!!“This is so much fun!!!”
Swimming!
Well, it may have taken 7 months of pressing and prodding our landlord, but she FINALLY got our pool fixed for us, and let me tell you–it has been GLORIOUS. There are days that this pregnant lady stays in her swimsuit all day, and may go swimming three different times! And although I did get a SUPER cute maternity swimsuit that I’m sure you’re dying to see, there will be no posts of me in my swimsuit…ever :). But trust me…there are days I live in the pool!
Pointing to the ball…of course 🙂This is his FAVORITE ball, and his favorite thing to do in the pool…throw every object he can find in the pool and let Daddy fetch them :).Loving the snorkel.
Killing Bugs
It gets SO HOT inside on certain days that it’s an absolute necessity to keep a few doors open to get a breeze going in our house. There’s one door that leads out to a balcony that has no screen. Thus, we get gazillions of flies inside throughout the day and way too many MOSQUITOES inside at night. Yes, you heard me–mosquitoes. After my Dominican Republic experience, I don’t think I would have agreed to move to Mexico had I known that mosquitoes existed here. Anyhow. Elliott spends a good majority of his day watching us kill the gazillions of flies, and he has become an expert at getting those “buhs!” himself…
Good ol’ fashion PLAY
Playing with Brian’s old toys…the hard hat and drum set from when HE was a kid…I love it!!
In early August, Elliott decided he wanted to start setting the table :). He is fairly obsessed with cups, plates, bowls, etc. One evening as I was making dinner, he ran over, grabbed my hand, and dragged me to the cabinet where we keep all of the dishes. He knows he’s not allowed to open it (it’s a floor-to-ceiling cabinet, so he can easily open it), so he was clearly asking me for permission to open it. So I did, wondering what was going on, and he kept pointing to all the kids’ plates, cups, bowls, etc. I asked if he wanted a cup and he said, “Yeah!” so I gave him one. He runs out of the room with it and then seconds later, runs back into the kitchen, grabs my hand, and pulls me back to the cabinet. Well after this same pattern repeating several times after I had given him a plate and a bowl and another cup, I finally went into the other room to see what was going on…
…and I discovered this.Now that all the dishes are out, it’s time to organize.
I love what a helper my little man is!!!
He has mastered the art of Duplos, and loves building towers as high as he can…
The following photo is very classic…what a typical HOT summer day looks like for me and my little buddy:
Taking a break from playing to snack. I love this photo…Me, suspending Elliott on the counter with my belly, feeding him a banana while he plays with the balls in the fruit bowl (limes). Just look at how darling my Elliott is…Doesn’t he look like a little muscle man?!?!
Last, but certainly not least…although I could devote an entire post to the incredible awesomeness of having our dear friends the McDowells live with us this summer, these few pictures will have to do…
Suzanna and I got not one, but TWO, special date days all to ourselves in San Diego. TOTAL GLORY.
Registering at Babies R Us!We had *SO* much fun that we COMPLETELY lost track time of time. At one point I realized I was feeling kind of weak and when we looked at the clock it was after 5 pm!! I hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink in HOURS. NOT okay for this prego mama. Jamba Juice saves the day. 🙂On our second day in SD, we spent a good majority of the afternoon at THE CHIROPRACTOR’S OFFICE. If you know me, this doesn’t surprise you. But WHO KNEW that Suzanna and I shared the same passion for Chiropractic?! She even introduced me to a whole new branch of chiropractic which lets you sit in these UH-MAZ-ING chairs when you’re done being adjusted. So we sat there, and talked chiropractic for an entire afternoon…*BLISS*
Having our dear friends here was nothing short of a glorious, incredible gift from God. To sum up? Laughter. Prayer. Exhortation. Encouragement. Deep love. Lots of kids. Lots and lots of FOOD. The Word. Richness in every way.
Al the kids worshiping together!As Suz put it, “A break-our-hearts-goodbye.” This was right before the tears started to flow like rivers. We love you guys so much!!!!
Well, there you have it. A little glimpse into our Summer and what we do on the weekends for fun around here…and, admit it…you’re finally ready to come visit us now, aren’t you?!?!
Today is one of those days, where I wake up and am flooded with gratitude from the moment my day begins. Not because life is easy right now. Not because we have everything figured out. Not because I slept well. Not because I’m comfortable.
But because God is good. So, so good. I am overwhelmed with gratitude today, and am taking my first “down” moment of the day to write down those things…so I don’t forget, so I give glory where glory is due…thank you, Lord. And as the tears flood my eyes, I write…
I am so grateful for my husband. Who relentlessly serves me and our family with such joy. Who tells me to sit down and talk about my day while he does the dishes. Who rubs my swollen feet. Who encourages me daily and tells me I’m doing such a great job. Who loves our son better than any dad I know. Who takes him swimming and teaches him to play soccer. Who helps me. All the time. Who always goes back down the stairs when I’m all tucked in bed and have forgotten to get my middle-of-the-night snacks. And then again when I realize I’ve forgotten my phone. And then again when I realize I left the monitor down there. 🙂 Always with such joy, always with such an eager heart. Who has done all of our Costco shopping with Elliott every single week by himself so I can sit and take the 30 minutes I need to eat a hot dog after our long afternoons filled with doctors appointments in San Diego. Who ties up my vomit bag for me after I’ve upchucked said hot dog mixed with who-knows-what-else, and takes care of it so I never have to see it (or smell it) again. Who adores me, and tells me so every day.
I am so grateful for my son. My Elliott. Who is simply my greatest joy. Who is in this stage where he loves holding our hands, so it’s not good enough to be walking next to him, I must be holding his hand. I love that.I cherish that. Who, after telling me to sit on the ground and me realizing he has a poopy diaper, brings me his diaper caddy and lays down on the floor with such joy so I can change his diaper without having to stand me and this big belly up again! Who is such an incredible helper. Who instructs me to sit down on the bench in our bathroom and brings me my tennis shoes. Who tells me when I have yogurt on my elbow and marker on my face. Who loves people so much that when new friends come by he wants to emphatically show them where the nearest ball is right away, because that’s his greatest treasure.
I am so grateful for family. Who love us so much. Who pray for us daily and tell us that. Who are always thinking about us. Who Skype with us and visit us. Who would, really, do anything for us if we asked.
I am so grateful for friends.Real friends. Who speak real truth. Who encourage me, who encourage us. Who pray for me. Who love me. Who send me daily text messages with Scripture. Who rejoice with me. Who help me design my baby girl’s nursery. Who send me fun surprises in the mail and beautiful cards. Who write things like this to me as I wait for my baby girl: “…so in praying for her arrival, I’m praying for something greater than perfection circumstancially. I’m praying for the peace that comes from seeing clearly the magnitude of the prize that this soul is, so that whether day one is perfect, or as imperfect as many of the days that will follow, it doesn’t matter in contrast to the power and glory of this little one shining the light of Christ in this and in eternity…” How blessed I am to have real friends.
I am so grateful for four cheese curly pasta. It makes me so happy. Every. Single. Day. Elliott was about 98% cheeseburger; this little girl is about 98% macaroni and cheese. With a good amount of hot dog mixed in there (I know, I know…but hey, YOU DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO TO SURVIVE.)
I am so grateful for cold water. Seriously, so grateful. I am thirsty and hot all the time, and I do not take it for granted that I have access to cold, fresh, filtered water all day long, when there are some just minutes away from us who do not have that luxury.
I am grateful for my daughter. Oh! My perfect, wonderful, tiny little bundle of girlness…I love her so much!! She is my daughter…my daughter. I cannot wait to meet her, to see her face, to watch her first breath…to hold her and nurse her and provide for her every need…to look her in the eyes and tell her who she is in Christ. My daughter. Oh, I am so, so grateful for my daughter.
I am grateful for peace. Supernatural, miraculous peace that can only come from Peace Himself.
I am grateful that I don’t have to be in control. Because HE IS. Because HE IS the I AM. Because He knows…and I don’t.
And last, but certainly not least, I am so grateful that it’s Friday. Friday night, even! Family time for two whole days, Grandma & Grandpa Moberg arrive tomorrow night, and soon…very soon…we will have our baby girl in our arms.
And yet still, for so much more…for Frosted Flakes and for my supportive sandals that allow me to wear dresses and skirts and not die of a back ache by the end of the day. For the super discounted air conditioner unit we found for our bedroom. For our friend Rayel who is living with us. For my exercise ball. For anti-nausea medication. For my maternity swimsuit. For four new babies being born this past week! For peaches. Oh, how happy peaches make me!! Ahh, for all these things and so much more…thank you, Lord…thank you, Lord.
Today is blog catch-up day. I actually started this blog post 3 weeks ago.Yes, that’s how busy life has been. But I’m sure it’ll get less busy as we, you know, add a fourth member to our family in a few weeks…. ha!!
Okay, back to Colorado. We had the gift of traveling “home” (how many “homes” can we possibly have??!!) to see family and friends and–most importantly–finally meet our nephew Cypher!! As many of you know, a horrible fire broke out right by my parents’ house the week before we were scheduled to fly out, so we thought we may be canceling the trip up until the day before we left. THANKFULLY, my parents’ house (and entire neighborhood) was untouched by the fire and we were able to fly home, stay with them, and spend a lot of time being grateful that they hadn’t lost everything they owned the week before.
Cypher Evan
Finally getting to meet our nephew!
Elliott is so incredibly affectionate around babies…every time he sees a baby he smiles soooo big and just wants to be near him/her. It is so sweet! It was no different meeting his little cousin Cypher!
Going in for a kiss…Seriously, now. Just look at this CUTIE-PATOOTIE!!
Cousins
Playing with blocks togetherFable, Cypher & E-manEB, Rowan, Gryffin & Jaxon
4th of July
My Lil’ FirecrackerWearing our red, white, and blue! (Brian wore green that day so he was excluded from the picture) 🙂Cypher and I called each other ahead of time and planned to wear the same shirt
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!!
Grandpa and Nonna took us to the zoo one afternoon. Anyone who’s been here knows it’s such an amazing zoo! Elliott, however, didn’t quite seem like himself the whole time, and when we got home we took his temperature–102.7! Yikes!! So, he looks a little sedated and sad in these pics…because he was :(. But the adults sure had fun!!
Feeding the giraffesMy FAVORITE part of the zoo (and Elliott’s)…the birds!! Many of you know I have a DEEP love for birds in my heart. So does Elliott, as “bird” and “tweet, tweet, tweet” were some of his first words. I couldn’t be prouder :).Nonna, Grandpa, and an apparently very sick Elliott 🙁
Friends
We had the chance to visit with several friends while we were home. We haven’t seen Michael and Amy since our wedding, and that was SUPER brief…hardly even counts. The last time I saw Nathan he was about 2 weeks old, and I had never met Joel! We found out that they would be in town visiting Michael’s family at the same time we were, so we were thrilled to get together. What a gift to see them!! (P.S. Amy and her mom are the ones who made Elliott’s beautiful quilt and wall hangings!!!)
Michael & Amy & their sons, Nathan & Joel, our little family and sweet Fay joining in on the fun
The McDowells!! Our dear friends are in the process of moving to the Denver area (as in, looking for a house) and we couldn’t wait to connect with them while in town. O.J. was Brian’s best man and there are few women I respect as much as Suzanna. Besides, she has a great name :). They drove their little family down to the Springs and spent a couple nights with us (thanks, Mom & Dad, for letting us all have a big sleepover!!). And, here’s a fun long story made short for you: The Lord led them to move in with us for a few weeks! We all had had so much fun together those few days in Colorado, that we definitely agreed that the best thing for life and godliness would be for them to live with us for a short season. So they packed the kiddos into the van and drove over to Mexico, and we have been graced with the presence of our sweet friends and their wonderful children the last several weeks!
The McDs!
Our trip didn’t allow us to see too many other friends, but we did get a quick dinner with the McCabes (and no picture!) and a SUPER quick visit with Jilly Bean, the boys and her brand new sweet baby Olivia on our way out of town.
Thanks to Alaska Airlines and some saved up miles, we were able to take a little trip to T-town in May to 1. sell some steel in order to get some how-do-you-call-it? Ahh, DINERO. 2. Celebrate Brian’s dad’s 65th birthday! 3. Celebrate my 30th birthday with dear friends and 4. Of course, see family! Here are some highlights from our trip:
PLAYING DRUMS!!
Grandpa, teaching Elliott how to drum like the best of 'em.
Elliott has L-O-V-E-D drums for months and months now, but “drumming” to him was always just using his hands on our little ottomans. Well, leave it to Grandma and Grandpa Moberg to not only have a drum at their house, but to have BRIAN’S ORIGINAL toy drum from when HE was a baby! As soon as Elliott saw it, it was truly love at first sight. Then one day, Grandpa took out a couple of “special” drums…some pots and pans!! And thus, Elliott’s drum SET was born. They had SO much fun playing drums together!
Do a little dance!
I know this picture is blurry, but I just LOVE it! Can’t you just see Elliott shaking his ‘thang? Something about the way he’s holding his shoulders reminds me of one of my classic “Susanne Dance Moves”…doesn’t it?! Elliott has also loved to dance for months and months. His first “dance moves” (starting when he was about 9 or 10 months old) were shaking his head back and forth. So it looks like he’s saying “no,” but really, he’s dancing. Any time we are in public and music comes on, he starts shaking his head back and forth. People always think he’s saying “No” to them, and we have to explain, “No, he’s not saying ‘no’…that’s just how he dances!” He sees an ipod and just starts shaking his head back and forth! Ha! Well, anyway, just within the last few weeks he’s started to get some shoulder and hip into his dance moves, and it’s awfully cute… I think we have a worshiper on our hands!!
KEN’S 65TH BIRTHDAY + ELLIOTT’S FIRST INTRODUCTION TO GRASS
I did a horrible job of capturing pictures from Ken’s birthday. As in, I didn’t take a single one :/. Honestly, I was so busy stuffing my face full of food, that I didn’t even know where my camera was until after the party was over! But it was great afternoon/evening of celebrating Ken with lots of friends and family.
Since it was GORGEOUS while we were in Tacoma (I left Mexico as white as ever and came back to Mexico with some touches of color, thanks to Tacoma!!) we were outside for much of the day. Which led to Elliott’s first introduction to grass!! Keep in mind that soon after he started crawling we left for the Dominican Republic, and I couldn’t put him in the grass there because of all the spiders + ants. And now, we live in Mexico, where the word “grass” isn’t even in their vocabulary. So we set him in the grass, with shoes on, for the first time and he just STOOD there. With his arms out. Staring down at this foreign substance like it was lava. And refused to move.
Eventually one of his cousins knocked him down and he instantly lifted his legs up so they weren’t touching the ground, and he just sat there with his arms and legs out in front of him in the air with an incredibly disgusted look on his face…the poor kid. We finally got a blanket out and now I know how to keep Elliott contained…just surround him with grass!! He refused to go past the blanket…
Blast! I can't go any further!!We put the volleyball a foot or two away to see if he would be distracted enough by his goal to walk on the grass…but nope!Soo frustrated that he couldn't reach the volleyball…
By the end of the evening he had made a TINY bit of progress in being a little more comfortable with grass, but it’s definitely not his favorite yet…
Micah has been THEE smiley-est baby I’ve EVER met in my life…in every picture he is smiling SO BIG while we try to get the other cousins to just sit still for two seconds and look at the camera! But he taught himself this “new look” just since we saw him two months ago. (Tabitha said she caught him practicing in the mirror once!) I think it’s so hilarious!!
"The Look"Brothers + their boys
SWING TIME!
Grandma and Grandpa have the BEST backyard…grass, a swing, and even a pool! Grandpa gave Elliott his first swing lessons, and, as you can see, Elliott had a BLAST.
Now THIS is fun!!Sheer joy!
PLAY DATES
One of my priorities for our time in Tacoma was to get as many play dates in as possible for Elliott. Besides his cousins, he got to play with Cody, Arielle, Henry, Katie, Jamison and baby Stella!! He, of course, LOVED playing with his friends and was simply enamored with baby Stella. He has been simply awe-struck every time we’ve been around baby girls lately…must be preparing to be a big brother!!
Elliott + Stella
MOTHER’S DAY!
I could write an entire post on what a joy it is to be a mother, and especially to be Elliott’s mom. But, let’s be real…that’s what most of my posts are about :). Our little family celebrated Mother’s Day by going back to our old stomping grounds, our old front yard…Ruston Way. It was a GORGEOUS day, and everyone and their mom (literally!! haha!) were there, too. It was so fun to walk along with Elliott, looking at the gorgeous mountain, listening to the waves crash against the shore and breathing in the potent smell of fish :). Later we went to an early dinner with Brian’s Mom, Dad, and sister and then headed to church.
Me, my baby boy + my baby girl! (20 weeks)Our Family, back in T-Town
Hasta luego, Tacoma. It was good to see you, and we’ll see you again soon!
Today I am friendsick. Longing to sit and be with my dearest friends…longing to hear their hearts and share mine…longing to hold the babies of some and longing to hold the hands of others as they wait on God for promises.
God has given me the most phenomenal friends on the planet…I will boldly proclaim it…I have the best friends in the world. I always have. I remember moving to Tacoma to go to college and being convinced I could never find friends like the ones I had in Colorado. I spent my entire first semester wishing I could go back…go back to Colorado, or bring my Colorado friends there…
But you know, God provided. He didn’t replace, but He provided. And within the matter of a few months I began to develop new friendships. New, deep, rich friendships. And suddenly, if “home is where your heart is,” I had two homes. My “Colorado Friends” and my “Tacoma Friends.”
For my 30th, I was extravagantly blessed. Extravagantly poured out upon. Not with physical gifts, but with the much-more-valuable gift of friendship. With both my “Colorado” and my “Tacoma” friends…I was extravagantly loved.
My 30th, Part I
My 30th birthday celebration started in October, when my “Colorado Friends” and I met up in San Diego for a birthday bash weekend. I mean, come on–we were all turning 30 (!!!) this school year!! So we took the opportunity to have a little reunion and celebrate. Seriously, now, how fun is that?! It was A BLAST!! I have known these girls since I was 8 years old!! We stayed in Keely’s gorgeous apartment and had a weekend to connect, be together, play on the beach, eat, and for Kari and I–pump! (Haha!!) And everyone’s still the same. We have all moved on to such different paths of life, but somehow we are all the same…
Friends for 22 years!!!
Jill is still the sensitive, creative, artistic one who finds laughter and joy every where she goes. Keely is still the one who can–and does–do anything…the paint-balling, modeling, yoga-ing, pilot-ing, parallel-parking beauty. Logan is still the one who will wake up at the crack of dawn (no matter WHAT time we went to bed or HOW MANY brownies we ate the night before) to go for a run. Emmy is still the selfless, giving, faithful friend who is always up for a new challenge or adventure no matter what else is going on in life. Kari is still the incredibly thoughtful one who can have us all rolling on the floor, gut-laughing with her stories, which are always about predicaments or situations she’s gotten herself into…things that would and could never happen to any other human being on the planet.
…and all still the same…
The thing that marks my “Colorado Friends” more than anything else is faithfulness. These are my faithful, FUN friends. Faithful for 22 years. And there is no doubt they will be faithful friends for 22 more. I am so grateful for these life-long friends!!
My 30th, Part II
Somehow Brian just knew that I needed to be in Tacoma for my birthday. There were several reasons to head back to Tacoma in May, and he insisted that we plan the trip over my birthday. And I had no idea how much my heart needed it.
I woke up that May 14th, and all I could think was, “I am not in want…I truly lack nothing.”Why? Because I am so loved. But as icing on the cake of life, I was lavishly celebrated by my friends. Amazing food, incredible cupcakes, rich fellowship, and life-breathing encouragement. Not to mention a photo booth!! 🙂 (P.S. All photos below are taken by the incredible Chrisy Dorsey!!)
Mmm…these touched the depth of this pregnant lady's heart!!
What is there to wish for when I lack nothing??
And each of these friends of mine came prepared with an exhortation for me. Powerful words of truth, of love, of memories…there were lots of tears and lots of laughs.
The dearest of friends…
I wish I had more adequate words to describe those few hours of fellowship with my “Tacoma Friends…” Rich, sweet, tender, joyous… But all I can say is, at the end of the night, my tank was full to overflowing. I left to head back to the mission field filled to overflowing with abundant love from my friends. I’m so, so grateful for every way these women have walked with me over the last 12 years, and have continued to walk with me in the last 7 months since I’ve been gone. I would not be who I am today were it not for each of these women in different ways. Texts, phone calls, and messages came in from my friends who were afar…even a DVD video from Danielle, who exhorted me through tears and even sang me happy birthday :).
EUREKA!! (You had to be there…)
So, so, so grateful for the gift of my friends…ALL of them, including the ones not pictured here…there are SO MANY MORE who are spread all over the U.S. and even one in England!! And now, my prayer is that God would not replace, but provide new friends as we are in a new chapter and season of life. A new home, a new job, a new country! And in the meantime, I celebrate and give thanks for all of my faithful, loving friends…spread out all over. I love you all so much!!!!!
SO grateful for my friends who "heart" me 🙂
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up.”
–Ecclesiastes 4:9-10a
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another —and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
My sweet baby boy turned one (yes, 6 weeks ago, but that’s beside the point), and we were so excited to celebrate him!! Although this post is quite late, I wanted to get it up anyway :).
Due to the fact that the majority of our resources–time, energy, and money–for Elliott’s birthday were dedicated to his House Build, I committed to keeping the party itself SIMPLE. But that didn’t mean we couldn’t have some fun :).
We had Elliott’s Birthday Banner up the whole week preceding his birthday. Melisa and I designed and made this banner several months ago for Elliott out of the same material that my friend Amy made his quilt and wall hangings out of. We’ll add a new photo each year!
The Birthday Banner!
Let’s get this party started!
We went with a construction theme (of course). And with a few sheets of yellow cardstock, a Sharpie, our printer, some balloons, and some Spanish “Caution” tape, we had our decor.
THE DECOR
Construction signs everywhere!Some of our guests relaxing before lunch (American tacos, of course) is served.The party game…putting Elliott's photos in order from 1-11 months old!Brian designed the cupcake construction signs himself!Cupcakes galore
THE FIRST BITE OF BIRTHDAY CUPCAKE!
Lighting Elliott's cupcake…me and the baby bump 🙂Everyone's singing "Happy Birthday," and Elliott is LOVING it!!Trying to explain that he has to blow out the candle…"Mom, that's the silliest thing I've EVER heard!!""Seriously, Mom? No way! I'm feeling a bit candle shy today…""Helping him" blow it out before he grabs onto the flame…"Now what do I do? ""Oooh…I've never felt anything like THIS before…""Ehh…let me touch it with my right hand, too."When, after a few minutes of poking and prodding this strange sugar phenomenon, it was clear that Elliott had deemed this object inedible, Brian helped him out."Whoa. Now that was different.""Let me try that again. Is everyone still watching? Good.""Wow. That is REALLY something.""I'd better try one more bite."
Now, when Elliott really likes something that we’ve given him to eat, he either does one of two things: he smiles so big and waves at us, or, he wants to kiss us over and over again. As you may or may not know, Elliott’s kisses are VERY open-mouthed. So after about three bites, apparently he decided he liked it, and leaned in to give me kiss…
*Melt my heart*We BOTH had a chocolate mustache after that smooch!!
He kissed me two or three times in a row, and every time he did, all of the party guests (of course) went, “Awww….” I think he really liked that, so after every kiss, he broke out into joyous applause for himself. It was awesome.
So pleased with himself for kissing Mommy. 🙂My goodness, I love him!!!
Brian and I tried to take advantage of his smoozing with the camera to sneak in a family pic. Little did we know that Elliott had very much moved on already.
"Alright, alright…enough kissing and clapping. Lemme have another bite of that awesome goodness!"Finally got a family birthday picture in there :)."Mmmm. Now THAT was good. Talk about about satisfaction!"
THE GUESTS!
FamilyMost of our DTS familyMark, Korrin, and two of their boys–Noah (who apparently is camera shy) and Declan. Elliott looks up to these boys so much! We are grateful for these new friends who are on staff here for the next 2 years!Louie, Taylor, Micah, Declan, Hailey, Elliott, Noah (Hunter had already gone home to take a nap)Grandma & Grandpa Moberg with all the grandkids
You know, it wasn’t easy thinking about the fact that Elliott’s first birthday would be far, far away from the people whom we love most dearly and from the people who love our sweet baby boy so much. But I am so grateful for how the Lord came through and made Elliott’s birthday lacking nothing. Don’t get me wrong–I missed my family tremendously and all of my dear friends spread across the globe. But Elliott’s birthday was rich. Rich with friendship, with love, with giving to a family in need. We are so grateful that Brian’s family could come down for the weekend, and that our DTS class adores Elliott and were all so excited to celebrate him. We are so grateful that Elliott has new friends here–Noah, Declan, Louie, Hunter and Parker–and most of them could make it to his party! We are grateful.
Happy 1st Birthday, Elliott Brian!!! What a joy it is to celebrate your life!!!
Thank you to those of you who journeyed with us in Elliott’s House Build Project! Those of us who had the chance to be there to build all agreed that WE were the blessed ones…WE were the honored ones…WE were the privileged ones.
And for those of you who so generously GAVE and so powerfully PRAYED…we hope that these pictures will give you a glimpse into the fruit that came BECAUSE OF YOU…a glimpse into the honor that it was to get to know this family and give them a home…because if it weren’t for YOU, this could have never been possible…
Here’s a time-lapse video of the entire house being built in 90 seconds!
Here are a few still shots from throughout the day…
Elliott the birthday builder boy, ready to build!The Homes of Hope truck, rolling up to the job site!The neighborhoodSee this empty space between these two houses? It won't be empty for long…The wood for the houseBrian's brother Kevin cutting the wood to sizeOur nieces, Taylor and Hailey, painting the sidingGrandma Moberg painting sidingChrystal and Angela building the roof!Rayel painting trim with the girlsWorking so hard…Brian's sister Angela and sister-in-law Tabitha painting trim!Getting the very first wall up!"How do I use this, Dad?"Grandpa Moberg teaching Elliott how to use a hammer.Giezi and Angela carrying one of the trusses for the roof.Josh building the roof!Luis, Jonas, and Josh working on the roof!Malene getting to know Wendy and Isabel and a friend of theirs.Chrissy putting in the windowThe girls taking a break in the back of the pick-up truckBrian putting the door togetherTaylor making sure everyone's putting the trim in correctly on the inside of the house
When the outside and the inside of the house were both completed, several people in our group went on a grocery shopping trip to stock them up with yummy, healthy food!! The rest of us stayed back and built their new beds, table, and chairs and installed their brand new stove.
Elliott helping put the bedding togetherTheir new beds and bedding!Elliott helping me put together a chair for their new dining room table!Their new dining room table, chairs, table cloth & stove! (Dishes and place mats not pictured.)
After all of the furniture was assembled and everything was ready, we closed the door and gathered outside in a circle.
We passed the keys to the house from person to person, and each one shared how meaningful it was to help build the home.
We presented Teresa and her two granddaughters, Isabel and Wendy, with a bible, a plaque commemorating the house, and, of course, the keys! While they walked inside, we all ran to the van to get the bags of groceries…
Look at all that food!!Taylor knocked on the door…And we all carried in the bags of food, one by one, and gathered in Teresa's new home to pray for her family and bless them.
Would you not agree with me, that…
'TIS MORE BLESSED…TO GIVE……THAN TO RECEIVE.
God bless this home, and the hands that gave to make it happen.
As we worked, my mind flooded with all of the people who gave to make this possible. Because this whole project was about “WE.” There is no way that Brian and I could have done this alone. The two of us, in and of ourselves, don’t have the money or the manpower to pull something like this off. There are MANY who make up the “WE” that built this home, and we want to take a moment to acknowledge them…
First of all, I can’t write one more word without mentioning the McCabes. Kari McCabe is one of my best friends from elementary school–yes, that’s right, we’ve been dear friends for over 22 years!! Kari’s son, Quinn, is just 12 days younger than Elliott and they are true bosom buddies (but that’s for another blog post :)). Well, when Kari and her husband heard what we were doing for Elliott’s birthday, they decided to turn Quinn’s birthday into the same outward blessing. So they asked for all gifts/money that would have been given to Quinn be directed toward the house build. They even took up an offering at their church! Between the McCabes, their family and friends, and their church, they raised 1/3 of the money we needed to build the house!! We could have never done it without them, and Brian and I were continually overwhelmed at not only their generosity, but the way that they carried this burden with us. We are so grateful for the way they invested in this project with us!!
Next, Brian’s family! His entire family made the trek down here to build the home with us. They were all so eager to be here to celebrate Elliott in this unique way and to jump right in and get some dirt under their fingernails (and lots of paint all over their hands, ha!)! 🙂 We are so grateful that each one of them could be here.
Third, our newest friends, our DTS classmates. Ahh, how we love them. 🙂 They couldn’t have been more excited to jump in and build this house, and it was a tremendous joy to have them with us. They have all become so dear to us in the last three months!
And last, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST…to all the people who so generously GAVE towards this home. YOU were an ESSENTIAL part…
Jim & Jen A.Dan & Donelle B.Michael & Ana B.Mike & Diane B.Jim & Linda B.Jordan & Danielle B.Bryna B.Marcus B.Jason & Janna B.Jason & Callie B.Bruce & Paulette B.Chrissy C.Craig & Michelle C.Ray & Debbie C.Robert C.Mima E.Ron & Michelle F.Kay G.Eric & Margo H.Mark & Korrin J.Erika J.Tommy & Bonnie L.Jean L.John & Helen M.Jonathan & Jillian M.Guy & Sue M.Harry & Evie M.Kyle & Ali M.Trevor & Kari M.Paul & Lisa M.Ken & Kay M.Kristin M.Angela M.Ken & Marilyn M.Shane & Hilery M.Trent & Kelly N.Jeff & Barbie N.Beth N.Paul & Ashleigh O.Nycki P.Michael & Chris P.Dave & Claudia P.Alan P.Mary Michael P.River of Grace ChurchMichelle R.Rayel R.Yuri & Julianna R.Blair & Kappy S.Biddy S.Jeb & Eleanor S.Preston & Helen S.Adrienne W.Sara W.Keith & Nancy W.Rick & Susan W.Skip & Betty W.Bill & Becky W.THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU…for joining with us and blessing this family with A HOME!!! (The magnitude of that statement still gets me every time…this dear family now has a HOME!!!!) We pray that you would be blessed tremendously as you have given so generously. Thank you, dear friends!!!!
Leaving our family and friends is for sure the hardest part about leaving… We’re going to miss everyone so, so much…
Adios, familia
A “Hello, Elliott,” and “Goodbye, Mobergs, etc.” party 🙂
Adios, amigos
Lots of friends gathered to say goodbye, Mexican fiesta style.
Elliott wore this AWESOME hand-me-down from the Hippes! It’s a Mexican soccer jersey!!!
Elliott’s buddy Tony had on a matching jersey jacket!!
AND…there was a photo booth at our goodbye party…does it get much cooler than that?
Adios, mejores amigos
A few of our friends came together to have a last supper with us. Not the best quality picture ever, but at least we got Duke the surf boarder in the background!
And when I say “oldies” I’m not referring to age here, people.
These are some of Brian’s oldest friends. Again, I’m not talkin’ wrinkles and gray hairs, but length of friendship years. Kristin and Denise have known Brian since even before I knew Brian (gasp!) and are two of the biggest “Brian Moberg” fans that I know. And there’s nothing greater than being around people who think your husband is just the greatest. It was so great to spend an evening with them.
Piper, Wesley, Denise, Brian, Elliott, Kyla & Kristin
Kristin just may be one of the most compassionate women you’ll ever know in a lifetime. She spends her days devoted to helping middle-schoolers live peaceful lives on the straight and narrow.
Denise is a super fun, hip mama of three who teaches her kids with passion and patience. We wished her husband Dwayne could have joined us!
Kyla and Piper loved lil’ Elliott!
Cah-ute-ee-pie!!! Little Wesley will steal your heart in an instant!
