Cultivating Childhood

The day after my parents left, we were blessed to have a college buddy come visit.  Little Buddy and Button love hanging out with Luke, and we had a great time. We had some fun with water guns and bubbles at home... That night we went to Capitol Hill with the whole family after Daddy got off work.  We hit Dick's Drive-In , Volunteer Park , and got our Vivace coffee (so us "big kids" could play Settlers after the "little kids" went to bed!) The next day, we dropped Daddy off at Zoka to work then the rest of us went to the Ballard Locks to watch the boats go through from Puget Sound to Lake Union.  Afterward, we went to a local park.  It was a fun morning. Canadian Geese Of course, no visit would be complete without some online gaming! It was fun to see you, Luke!  Thanks for coming!

Another major thing we did while my parents were here last week was a major room change in our house.  It feels like a brand new home!  We have a play room, the boys are now sharing a room, and Phil and I have moved into Button's old room (which was really the library/office/nursery/catch-all room).  I am so excited!!!   I finally feel settled into this home since there is finally a place (or at least a room) for everything.  The boys seem to really love sharing a room, and they are actually going to sleep better than they were when they were separate.  It's fantastic. By far, I'm most excited about our play room.  This room comes right off the kitchen, and it used to be our master bedroom.  Now, we have our books and toys in it which keeps our living room so. much. cleaner.  This room will eventually become our homeschool room with some minor improvements in a couple of years.  In the meantime, we are enjoying the extra space to play ...

We were blessed to have my parents here this last week.  The boys really enjoyed having their grandma and papa come.  Thankfully, we had a few days of sun, so we got to do a bunch of fun stuff.  Here are some pictures from our time together. We got to take them to our "secret" park one soggy afternoon. Little Buddy enjoyed looking at earthworms with grandma. Button did some of his own exploring. Papa helped us put up a garden shed.  He had some eager helpers! We moved the shed off the deck later. We also had a lot of cuddle time. Thanks for coming Grandma and Papa!  We miss you already!

My parents have been here this weekend which is always a HUGE blessing.  The boys love their grandparents, and it is so fun to see them all interact.  I'm sure there will be more posts soon with all that we've been doing this weekend - especially my new playroom/school room. {happy dance} 147. Leftovers 148. Button bringing me flowers 149. A working  dryer again 150. Cuddling with both my boys on the couch 151. Raindrops dripping off the roof 152. Talking to my husband even when he is all the way across the country 153. Being a jungle gym for my children 154. Clouds being swept across the sky by the wind 155. Harmony 156. Naked baby belly 157. Blowing kisses on said belly 158. Childcare at the YMCA 159. My kids love playing there 160. A toddler happily running into my arms when I come to pick him up 161. My 3 year old trying to sound important by telling all his Y "friends" in a matter-of-fact voice that he needs to go now. 162. Elevator buttons lighting up 163. My p...

This week I get to share two weeks worth of gifts since I didn't get around to posting last Monday!  I'm also excited because my mother-in-law bought me the book for Mother's Day. (Thanks Mom!) I'm so looking forward to reading it. 105. Running into friends while doing errands 106. A pink-streaked sunset 107. Getting to go out for coffee with a neighbor 108. Losing track of time 109. Getting to go on my first ever women's retreat 110. My husband getting off work early so I can leave on time 111. Getting a much needed break 112. Sweet good-bye hugs from my boys (all three of them!) 113. Making dirt volcanoes with my sons before I left 114. Meeting new people on the drive to the retreat 115. Not having to be the driver 116. Having uninterrupted woman conversation 117. The majesty of Mt. Index 118. A "sunrise" walk 119. Seeing four yellow goslings 120. Admiring five wild mule deer 121. Enjoying the sunshine 122. Visiting Leavenworth 123. Ma...

We completed the 5K for World Concern !  We weren't quite  the last people to cross the finish line, but we sure got close.  It's a long way when you have two little kids who want to get in and out of the stroller (and sometimes go the opposite direction!), but we made it! Here are some of the highlights: Boys showing off their race t-shirts The boys loved going on the bus from our parking place to the race start! The littlest racer! Getting ready to start Reward at the end - a bounce house for the kids!!!  It was so much fun, and we got pretty close to our fundraising goal to help stop human trafficking.  Thanks to all who contributed!

I've already alluded to it, but for the season of Lent, Phil and I have been reading Timothy Keller's newest book, The King's Cross.   I must say that it was powerful.  I came away with a greater sense of who Jesus really is and how significant His death on the cross really was. I wanted to share one passage that was particularly meaningful to me.  Timothy Keller begins one of his early chapters explaining the "dance" of the triune God.  The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all gave and received perfect love from one another in a sort of dance between three distinct persons in one most holy God.  Keller then goes on to say: Why would a triune God create a world? If he were a unipersonal God, you might say, "Well, he created the world so he can have beings who give him worshipful love, and that would give him joy." But the triune God already had that - and he received love within himself in a far purer, more powerful form than we human beings can e...

I'm kind of late in the game, but I just signed up for my first fun run this coming Saturday, May 7 .  I'm so excited.  My family (all four of us!) will all be doing the 5K together to support World Concern and their fight against human trafficking.   Some statistics about human trafficking: Approximately 80% of human trafficking victims are women and girls and up to 50% are minors.   - U.S. State Department The average age of entry for children victimized by the sex trade industry is 12 years.  - U.S. Department of Justice The global market for child trafficking is over $12 billion a year with more than 1.2 million child victims.  - UNICEF Surveys indicate that 30 to 35 per cent of all sex workers in the Mekong sub-region of Southeast Asia are between 12 and 17 years of age.  – UNICEF The average cost of a slave today is $90, a historic low. –  Kevin Bales, author of Ending Slavery I'm so excited to partner with World Concern. ...