Blessings and Raindrops

seeking joy in the midst of the ordinary

worn.

so, you guys, dave and i are in the midst of an intense battle with our mailman.

i feel like i’m living in an episode of Seinfeld {instead of the soup nazi, he is the mail nazi}. today, i actually ran after him, literally chasing him down the road like a complete lunatic as he drove away in his little postal truck, ignoring me.

my sister in law lives next door to us. each day, we keep watch for the mailman to arrive. she tells me when he is leaving her house and i wait on his next move. 9 out of 10 times, he drives right past our house and doesn’t look in our direction. he hasn’t delivered our mail consistently in months.

this is all incredibly ridiculous {and just annoying}. i have to load the boys up in the car every few days and drive to the post office, unload them and go wait in line to pick up our mail and try to talk to the postmaster. he agrees to talk with the postman and to reinstate our mail delivery and we leave {likely due to the damage being inflicted on the post office by my rowdy boys. this is the only time that i completely ignore their bad behavior. i want that post office to see what sort of crazy they are dealing with. i want to remind them that they do not want me and the boys in that place every few days}.

we repeat the whole scenario again a few days later when our mail delivery abruptly stops again. for the love.

you must be wondering why on earth is all of this happening.

well, it all started with this fence.

and this {10-year-old} dog.

and, the time dave forgot to close the gate behind him when he left for the day. da da dunn…

bailey’s arch-enemy is the mailman. he barks ferociously {as ferociously as a 10-year-old sheltie can} whenever that little mail truck drives up. and, the one stinkin’ time the gate was open, he chased after that poor mailman. now, here we are. front and center on the mailman’s black list. we our public enemy #1.

I share this silly ongoing mail saga because it is a crazy reminder of the real warfare happening in our lives — the spiritual battles relentlessly attacking our family. this week alone: dave fell off a ladder cracking ribs and fracturing his wrist, he backed into a car with his truck, and, today, another major setback in our adoption progress — we found out that all of the court documents associated with our case need to be corrected. a major change to each and every document that now leaves us facing extended time frames before we can begin the US immigration stage of our process. the unknowns of the long-term impact of this mistake aren’t clear just yet but there is little doubt that our case will take longer than usual to process.

we are weary of the fight. our muscles are aching. our bodies are tired. our souls are longing for rest.

the lyrics of the song “worn” are so fitting…

I’m tired 
I’m worn 
My heart is heavy
From the work it takes to keep on breathing

I know I need 
To lift my eyes up
But I’m too week
Life just won’t let up
And I know that You can give me rest
So I cry out with all that I have left

I want to know a song can rise
From the ashes of a broken life
And all that’s dead inside can be reborn
Cause I’m worn

And my prayers are wearing thin
I’m worn even before the day begins
I’m worn I’ve lost my will to fight
I’m worn so heaven so come and flood my eyes

Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That you can mend a heart that’s frail and torn

i don’t know what is to come but i do know that i’ll continue to wear my armor. i’ll continue to seek the One who knows what is coming. the One who isn’t the least bit surprised by the latest bump in the road. the One who is bigger and greater and mightier than all of these troubles. i’ll seek rest in Him alone. and, i’ll continue to pray that He is glorified in all that we endure on this journey. all of it — the desperate moments of suffering and the joyful moments of rejoicing in praise. He will not forsake us. He did not bring us this far to leave us now. i place my trust in Him alone.

for our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! so we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now. rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. for the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever. {2 corinthians 4:17-18}

Only God.

Don’t you just love it when God works in really fun ways just to show you how crazy about you He is?

I love how eloquently Ann Voskamp describes God’s pursuit of His children in a recent post…

“God is so bent on blessing, He chases.

God’s not out to get you — He’s out to give to you.
And God’s blessings don’t pursue temporarily — but relentlessly. It’s right there in His Word: His goodness and mercy pursue me not just some days — but all the days of my life. When I’m in a wilderness, His mercy and goodness run after me. When I’m hurting, His grace hunts for me. When I’m plagued by problems, His goodness pursues me.
No matter where I go, He has his two blessing men right there in hot pursuit: goodness and mercy, and no shadow of death can overshadow the goodness and mercy that shadows the child of God. “

Isn’t that beautiful?

His goodness pursues me.

This week, He showered me in His goodness through a friend whom He recently brought into my life. Leese has been such a blessing to me throughout the past year. She has been an encourager and an intense prayer warrior. Her strong faith has inspired me to see life differently and to marvel at the goodness of our God in all circumstances.

The past few days have been spent in hasty back and forth communication and coordination after she realized that her close friends will be very close to S’s orphanage during their upcoming mission trip to the DRC. They leave this Friday {as in, two days from now} so we have been frantically trying to ensure they have all of the information they need to connect with folks in country and try to visit S and her friends at the orphanage during their time there.

I ran around a bit yesterday putting together a small care package for our girl. A sweet little doll and another cute photo album {I don’t believe the first two ever made it to her} introducing her to Dave, the boys and I and telling her how much we love and adore her {with translations in Lingala for her caregivers to read to her}!

We are praying that God will create the time and the opportunity for Leese’s friends to visit S during their trip. They also have money to purchase food for the orphanage and will be in touch with Dr. L when they arrive to coordinate the logistics.

I just love how God has arranged all of this. Just when my heart was aching in a fresh way this week as I desperately called out to Him for favor in this process. To know that He is sending friends of someone so dear to love on our girl on our behalf just makes my heart smile.

I have to share some of Leese’s words from this week’s email exchanges and you’ll see why I just love her…

“As soon as someone says there’s
no way to make something happen it makes me determined to find a way to do it (well, you know, unless the someone is God!) –
between your stubbornness to be sure S gets loved on until she gets in your
arms, and my stubbornness to try to find ways to connect the people in my
‘world,’ I figure Congo’s going to want to get her out of there quickly because
they’re tired of all the visitors they’re having to entertain who come to check
on and provide for S.  Ha ha ha.  
…Oh and
my stubbornness to help you remember that there are lots of people praying for
your sweet little family and who are praying your princess home, too!  You
guys aren’t in this alone – and hopefully the fun little things God works out
will help remind you of that and be boosts of encouragement for you on the days
that get long as you wait for S!
Life in God’s
family is just so small sometimes…  
Seeing pieces He weaves together or times when you can tell
He’s laid the groundwork for something years before but you don’t see come to
fruition until years or even decades later. God’s so fun…I love when He does things like this!”

Will you join me in praying that God will make a way for these two ladies to visit S during their time in her country? I’m praying that God goes before them and handles the logistics of the visit so that S and her friends can receive another helping of tangible goodness and love and mercy in the form of full bellies while being held in loving arms!

3rd birthday celebrations.

i realized i never posted photos from the boy’s party on here. sorry about that. just be prepared for a photo-inundated post today.

we had a very laid-back celebration this year. my natural party-planning instincts normally kick in for any festivity and i go over the top with the whole thing. i spend a lot of money, energy and time on parties. this year, i decided that we had to pull the plug on an over-the-top gathering. i wanted a fun afternoon with friends that the boys could enjoy and i wouldn’t lose any sleep over. we had the party on a friday morning {because the weekends in summer are jam-packed with birthday parties and i know everyone just needs a break already} at a local indoor play place. it was casual and the kiddos had so much fun {proof below in photos} and, {huge bonus} i didn’t have to clean up.

i even just let the boys go to the grocery store and pick out their cake. they picked cupcakes. the end. easy-peazy. no special orders at a bakery. i loved these cupcakes because of the simplicity they represented.

easiest party favors ever. cute little wooden trucks {there were even pink ice cream trucks for the girls} from the dollar section at target tied to a balloon with a thank you note written on it. what kid doesn’t love a balloon? easy. inexpensive. and parents don’t have to worry about tossing the trinkets in the trash when the kids are napping. or is that just me? seriously. everyone does that, right?

ben wouldn’t take off the fire chief costume. luckily, one was waiting wrapped up at home from nana & papa as a gift. it has since been a staple in the wardrobe. 

i couldn’t love this picture any more. adorable.

we tried to get a group shot of the kiddos. on a bouncy house. sitting still. whose brilliant idea was that? i think it was mine. oops.

we opened a few gifts at home after the party. this picture makes me laugh. look at how patient they’re being…

nana gave them some new big-boy underwear. nathan loves his underwear. he carried them around with him all afternoon. this was a post-nap photo, holding his baby and his undies. hilarious.

we celebrated one more time over the weekend with a joint-birthday family barbecue for the boys and their cousin, drew.

adorable cakes made by papa with the very limited baking supplies available in our house.

i have no idea why they are smelling their cakes. or why drew is making such a crazy face.

happy 3rd birthday to my sweet, sweet boys!!! {who like to sneak icing…photo evidence above^^}. i love you both to the moon and back!

happy 3rd birthday to my boys!

These two.

Who knew how tough it is to hold up only three fingers?!
Apparently, it is. These two are proud that they can do it. 

I know every momma says it but I really cannot believe they just turned three. Time truly does fly by.

I was a whale. I blame it entirely on the two full days spent with IV fluid pumping into me while I tried to hold off on delivery for as long as possible. It had nothing to do with the trays of brownies consumed “because the babies needed chocolate” during pregnancy.

I remember when they were itty bitty newborns – how Dave and I were just surviving day to day looking forward to that magical “6 month” mark that we kept hearing about. That was nonsense. Two six-month olds are not any easier than two three-month olds or four-month olds.

hahahahahahah. attempt #1,200,242 of trying to get a sweet, sleepy newborn photo. 
Seeing a trend? Let’s just say, Nathan really liked to scream.

The days of the boys first year all passed in a sleep-deprived blur. Yet, we shared so many special moments of wonder and awe that first year.

{to be fair, they were so sweet at times…these pictures just aren’t nearly as funny as the above}.

The overarching theme of it all: it happened so fast.

We threw a big “we survived year one” bash 🙂

And, then, just when we came up for a breath and started to remember what it felt like to get a full nights sleep, they went and grew up on us.

2nd Birthday Barnyard Party 

My babies turned into hilarious little toddlers and now they’re these little people with such unique personalities. The things they come up with make me laugh all the time. They also take my breath away with their tender hearts and compassionate actions. I am so incredibly blessed with this privilege of being their momma.

Fun 3rd birthday celebration {more pics to come soon}

Again, it all happened so fast. 

I found this cute printable for a birthday interview and had to share their silly answers. {We didn’t get around to page two, it was naptime and crankiness was kicking in. Also, they have their 3 year check-up next week so I’m not even sure what they weigh anymore… that section is tbd}.

Ben: at 3 years old…

For the record, we have made cookies before. He just got a new set of play cookies and that’s all that was on his mind. 🙂

My sweet, gentle, kind, thoughtful, and stubborn-like-his-momma, Ben.

You are a momma’s boy and you are always looking out for your brother. You like to stay up late and wake up late, just like your momma :). You like to do everything on your own – you are very independent. You like to point out bugs for Nate to pick up…you think that’s hilarious. You like to line your trucks up like a train and then drive monster trucks over them. You are not a fan of cleaning up your toys. You love macaroni and cheese and ask for it at every, single meal. 

Your laugh is contagious. Your smile is adorable and sweet. You love chocolate and ice cream. You like to race and can run really fast. Whenever you wake up in the morning or after naps, you have to have someone come up and help you carry down all of your “babies” and blankets. You usually sleep with four or five blankets and ten or twelve stuffed animals. During the day, you store them all in your play shopping cart. You’re a little bit of a hoarder. 🙂

Nathan: at 3 years old…

My hilarious, rambunctious, gentle, compassionate, fiesty, Nate. 

You are “all boy.” You love dirt, bugs, construction trucks, tools, worms and rocks. Strangely, you don’t like to get dirty. You like to hose yourself off or jump in any body of water nearby {puddles, lakes, creeks, pools, etc} when you get dirt on yourself. Your laugh is contagious and you have the best sense of adventure. You keep us on our toes and worry us because you have no fear of anything. You love to snuggle in the morning. You love books and reading. You know all of your letters and love to sing the alphabet song. You love songs, in general. Singing and dancing are two of your favorite things to do. You have sweet break-dancing moves. 🙂

You are so tough, you fall down and just get right back up, shake it off and say, “it’s okay” or “I’m okay” or, my favorite, “it happens!” You like to go to sleep early and wake up {way too} early in the morning. You love your time alone with daddy in the morning. You look up to your daddy so much. You know how to use any tool and what every construction truck does. You love with abundance. You love to give “monster hugs” and sometimes knock the person you’re hugging over. You always, always have your “babies” with you – {named: “two baby, three baby and new baby”}. You love to pray and your prayers are the absolute sweetest words my ears have ever heard. 

What an honor and joy to raise these boys. To be here with them during these precious days before they grow up and leave home. I am in awe of how perfect they are and how much I don’t deserve all of this goodness. I am so, so blessed!!