A day in Stillwater part 1...

Yesterday, we made a daytrip to Stillwater packed with wonderful adventures including old friends, new friends for the kids, ducks, lots of walking, family, shots, and a cookout.

Our first stop was at Kent and Michelle's house. Kent and James have been friends since highschool, maybe even junior high, and Michelle and I have been friends since college. The last time we were together was at least 8 or 9 years ago. Kent and James were in each other's wedding and I was 3 months pregnant with Shelby on their wedding day. I remember it like it was yesterday. Michelle had also been told it would be very difficult for her to have children and I was so excited to share with her that after 2 1/2 years this infertile Myrtle was pregnant. God smiled on their family too. We got to introduce our 4 kids to their 3 and they took us on a walk to Theta Pond to feed the ducks and stroll around campus. They are two of the most gracious people we know. I can't believe we have been back a year and this is the first time we have gotten together. First of many visits, I am sure.

The kids had a hay day feeding the fish. They were supposed to be feeding the ducks, but there were only 2 and apparently they were full. There was no shortage of fish to feed though and Jesse was trying to catch them with his hands. GROSS.

It is weird how driving through Stillwater and walking are two very different memory joggers.  As we walked across Greek walk past the pond I remembered how long before James and I ever dated he used to flirt with me every time we passed, or make googly eyes as he says. We walked past my sorority house and his fraternity house and I remembered how he said he stalked me out of his bedroom window because our houses shared a parking lot. He says he always wondered why I was dating who I was dating and wished it was him instead. He was kind of off limits for me, though,  because even after I had just broken up with one of his younger fraternity brothers, it was just not okay to pursue a brother's ex-girlfriend. However, I do remember being intrigued by him every time we'd cross paths and eventually our attraction to one another won out against fraternity brother loyalty.

Then, as we sat outside of the student union and enjoyed the beautiful weather I kept remembering places where we'd intentionally meet for just a moment before classes to steal kisses. I also remembered the exact spot where I saw a hippie get knocked out of his Birkenstocks by a bike rider. I can still see him shake his head, stand up, put his Birkes back on and walk away. The bike rider had to carry his bike because it bent the wheel. {snicker...}

Time flew by way too quickly and we had to run to meet Whitney, James sister at Hideaway Pizza. We didn't have time to walk back to the Aker estate, so they thoughtfully drove our van to us while we walked to Hideaway. Well, 4 of us did. Lucy and Preslie had had enough walking. Hideaway now serves g-free pizza, I am happy to announce, so I got to eat my favorite food. Woot! I felt bad for Whitney because the kiddos were so worn out they didn't allow for us to have very much conversation. We will be getting together with her and Kaitlyn much more in the future too, so hopefully she understands. 

After Hideaway, the kids all got shots...LOTS of shots in Dr. Colbi's office.  Apparently, Shelby and Jesse had never gotten their 4 year shots, so they got 'em and the littles got their usual. Then Lucy and I went next door to the hospital where they "took some of her blood out of her body," to test for Celiac, lead poisoning, and whatever else Dr. Colbi could think of. We have to get to the bottom of Lulu's tummy issues! I am so glad my BFF since 7th grade is their doctor! We plan to get her last appointment of the day so that we can go over to their house for a play date afterwards. She gets off work at 4 so she can be home with her boys who go to school right across the street from her office. Part 2 of our day in Stillwater will include the adventures at the Smithton estate.

embracing the candid camera...9 yo style

 

Shelby was on a photog phrenzy the other day with my Canon Rebel capturing us at our not-so-greatest, off-guard moments. We need to document those too, right?!

James is gonna kill me. If I can post that pic of me where I look like I could have been rolling up a doobie instead of a bag of coffee, he can't get mad about his...that's all I gotta say!
{p.s. I do not roll doobies for the record.}

 Do it for your kid's sake. They wanna know what you looked like at your best, worst, craziest, youngest and oldest. Just capture moments for them. Emily has the right idea.

Remember Em...Click on the side bar if you want to donate to help me help them move in June.

We still need a lot more donations. Really just $10 a pop would help immensely AND/OR please pray for them and safe travels as well as a smooth transition to Texas!

What's cookin' mommas?

Our church activity center, the OAC, has the most amazingly huge kitchen. It is the perfect place to prepare food for parties and banquets or even just have a once a month cooking marathon, which is what we did, y'all! Our Resolution for Women book club decided to make more time for our families by precooking several meals and freezing them. Not a new idea by any means, but a super practical, easy and fun way to git-r-done without having to pull out all of our hair each night before pouring yet another bowl of cereal for dinner. Just kidding, we don't do that EVER!

What was on our menu, you ask? Savory ground turkey meatballs, chicken teriyaki, chili, taco soup, chicken and cheese enchiladas, and pulled pork. Lori and Julie cooked all of the meat except for the meatballs and chicken for teriyaki the day before, so all we had to do was assemble.

We rocked that assembly line, let me tell you!

For $60 each and about 2 hours worth of working together we each got to go home with 8 to 10 meals depending on the size of the fam. We were also able to provide 6 meals to a family in need
{who told me that the size of the meals would actually feed their family at least twice each, so make that 12 meals for them.}

You'd never guess from the smiles, but some of us are going through some pretty rough times. In fact, I was having a major IC flare-up and in so much pain I wanted to climb the walls, but they helped me through it. We were able to take time to pray with each other, encourage one another and laugh our heads off while quickly discovering who were the Marys and who were the Marthas in the group.
I have a split personality, so I am both depending on the circumstance. : )

I love this one, because Lori's hands were literally burning off with hot tortillas for the enchiladas and this is her "I am dying, but I will smile anyway" look.

I love these ladies. Each and every one adds so much flavor to my life and holds a special place in my heart, as do the ones who couldn't join us today. This book club is not what I expected, but it is exactly what God knew we needed at this very season in our lives.

Want to join us next time?

{Interesting side note, right after everyone left, my bladder pain subsided so much so that I cancelled my doctor appt, went home and took a nap and was able to come back to church tonight refreshed. Prayer works. God is good!}

Princess...a true princess.

I know a lot of beautiful people, and yes, I know everyone is beautiful in his or her own way because we are created in the image of God. Beauty is all around us. We have but to look around and ask for God's eyes to see the beauty in each and every soul walking this earth. But, I know many many people are beautiful by this world's standards as well.

My sister-in-law is no exception. She is the epitome of beauty inside and out. I don't say that lightly, because although I know several beautiful people, I have never met a woman like her. She is the true definition of a Princess. She walks with beauty and grace, like no one I have ever known. And she is a Princess...the daughter of a King, the King. All who love and follow Him are Princesses. Yet we don't all behave as if we are, myself included...Maybe we don't fully believe we are Princesses...Maybe we feel unworthy and we have the need to be noticed by others in order to fill up that longing to feel beautiful, important, noble and valued. For whatever reason, even the most outwardly beautiful people sometimes carry themselves in a way as to attract attention by being flirtatious or flamboyant. You know when they enter a room that their goal is to get as much attention as they can because of the look in their eyes or their body language. Or even on the internet, they post things that will draw others to them in an inappropriate way. It could be pictures of themselves, or strong opinions about this or that. If they attract the attention of men and the envy of women, it feeds this need for acceptance, for value. But it is empty. It is not befitting a Princess and truth be told, it may create attraction or attention, but it isolates others because they feel unworthy to approach or envious and insecure. A Princess has beauty and grace that is undeniable but also approachable, welcoming and contagious.

One definition I found of Princess as an adjective is "created to stay close-fitting and hang in smooth lines from the top to the hem." This is a fashion definition, but it applies to daughters of the King. We are created to stay close fitting to our Father and our husbands as well...the Kings of our home.

As I watched my sister-in-law the weekend of her wedding, I was in constant awe of her charm. She is incredibly humble, despite her beauty. She walks with confidence in who she is. She has to know she is beautiful, yet she only has eyes for my brother and does not wish for any other man's eyes to behold her or any woman's eyes to look upon her with envy. She is a true Princess.

I can only hope that my girls grow up knowing their value and their position of royalty in the Kingdom. They are Princesses too. So am I. Let me behave as one and be true to my family name.

CHRISTIAN...

Let me and my daughters rejoice in our calling, our heritage. And, let us learn from Kristin, our newest earthly family member how to better walk in grace. And as for the James and Jesse, let them walk in a manner befitting Kings and Princes.

And may none of us ever take for granted Who paid the price for our adoption into this royal family!

Link to slide show...

It was a royal wedding, because every Christian wedding is.

{thanks again, Kate Bernard, for the amazing pictures and Holli B for the slide show}

It's that time of year...

The kids have hardly spent a moment inside for the past 4 days. We've had amazing weather here in Enid and we have started to get some much needed landscaping done. It makes a huge difference. Lucy keeps saying, "We are making our home beautiful!" I love it. We are a family who loves beauty...our own unique brand of beauty, but beauty still. We enjoy putting our personality into our home. It is where we are most of the time, after all. Even though every home is really a temporary home, we put down roots and display our character through our homes. My mom has always said how much she admires people who live in a tiny little place without much money to spend or yard to landscape, yet they take pride in what the Lord has given them and fix it up as much as they can. If we really believe everything we own belongs to God, we should take care of it really well, and display our God-given uniqueness through it right? 

Speaking of uniqueness, Lucy put 10 worms in our flower pot on the porch just to make sure there were enough to keep the soil healthy and encourage root growth. She is a little gardener or scientist or something. She and Jesse love bugs and worms and they even hold the fish they catch by their mouths...I just shivered in disgust when I typed that. I am a pansy. : )

without the littles...

Without the littles, my life would seem easy. I'd have free time. I would be able to keep a clean house and make a full meal every night. I could go work-out or hang out more freely. The bigs' school would be a breeze because we could do everything together without interruptions. Our lessons might go much more smoothly and we could leave out all of the art supplies with no worries of the walls or furniture getting painted or shredded. We could only watch shows that the bigs like and read only the books they choose.

I have to admit that there are moments, and I do mean moments, seconds really, that I allow myself to think about how easy life would be if we had stopped at 2 kiddos like the majority of the population. "You have your girl and your boy, now you are done!" {If I had a dollar for how many times I heard that nonsense!} Now you are done... YOU are done... As if it were actually James and I who created these children. As if we really have that much control over our lives...or want it.

We gave up that control when we prayed and begged for God to open my womb and bring us a family. How could we have taken that prayer back once we had our girl and our boy? And the thing is, it has very very little to do with us anyway. He used our DNA and my body as a vessel to bring forth these lives. Lives He planned before the foundations of the earth. Lives He is going to use for His purposes and His glory. He knew when, where and how they were supposed to arrive in order to fulfill their specific roles in the lives of those around them. He entrusts us to care for, teach and guide these children, but they are only ours for a moment. They belong to Him and we had better take that simple fact seriously as parents.

Without the littles, our lives would be totally different. Easier, probably, especially on days like yesterday when it seemed like we'd never finish school because the littles were busy trashing the house and themselves while I was trying to focus on the bigs. Making each other over right after I had just bathed them and then using a roll of wet toilet paper to try to clean each other up before I came in the bathroom does not make for a happy-go-lucky Momma...in the moment. Or on days like today, when Preslie was up with a fever again last night after just finishing her strep antibiotics, making it impossible for us to go today as a family to hang out with friends who we haven't seen in years in Stillwater.We were so looking forward to that.

Then, in the next moment they are pulling on my heart strings, entertaining me with their hilarious antics, snuggling me, giving Eskimo, butterfly and fishy kisses and loving on their big brother and sister. They bring so much joy to our lives and they are so unique, all 4. God has huge plans for these littles, and the bigs too. I am just so glad He is allowing us to be a part of that plan and I pray I don't take it for granted. Any of it!!!

Even brushing out this little's fro after a bath. One day I will miss that fro and the little sporting it. I have no regrets in handing control of our family over to God. His plans are so much better than my own. My life is so full and rich. I may not have the luxury of selfish pleasures, but who cares? They would never compare to the pleasure & honor of raising these kiddos. 

my baby brother's big day...

{Thanks to Kate Bernard, sister-in-law of my sister-in-law for capturing these precious moments!}

Well, it is official. They are Mr. and Mrs. Jones. It was by far the most meaningful wedding ceremony I have ever seen or been a part of. I can't wait to read their vows again just to refresh my memory because they made me want to be a better wife. These two took their engagement and pre-marital studies and counseling seriously. They take the institution and covenant of marriage seriously, and their's is truly a match made in heaven. I am not even trying to be cheesy. God created them for one another and there is no doubt about that!

The above pictures were all taken at the rehearsal dinner and those below were taken on their wedding day. So many memorable moments. Every detail was thoroughly planned out and had significant meaning for the bride and groom. Every member of the wedding party and guest in attendance played a special role in God's sovereign plan to bring these two together. I was honored to be a part of it and I am so excited to see what God has planned for this amazing couple and for our families who are forever joined through the covenant they made with one another and with God last Saturday.

Embracing the camera with the WHOLE family today, except for my better half. Sorry we don't have any pictures of us together yet. We will when the photog sends proofs.

Now, go get your embrace on. Share pictures of yourself and your family so your kiddos never have to forget what you looked like at every stage in your life!

a boy, and girl and a lite brite...

Last night while the rest of us were watching a movie Jess and Press were lite brite giddy. They kept making us masterpieces and bringing them to us to judge. I love that she is old enough to play with them more even if she is turning into a little bully sometimes. We will hear a scream and just know Preslie has pulled someone's hair or bit them to get what she wants.

We are handling it, though, don't you worry.

I love that they created all of their pictures without the paper templates. Little artists!

After several lite brite projects, they finally joined us. Can you tell how sleepy he is?

Someone else almost fell asleep on Daddy too.

The funny this is, at around 7pm while Shelby was taking a bath and Jesse was off playing, Lucy, Preslie, Momma and Daddy almost fell asleep in our room. James asked me to come snuggle with him for a minute and the next thing you know Lulu joined me on my side and Preslie joined him. Lucy rubbed my back and sang to me and Preslie made a strawberry garden on James' arm. We literally almost fell asleep at 7. I guess the wedding weekend took a lot out of us! It was fun to snuggle together, though. Lucy did end up falling asleep around 7:15 before we made ourselves get up and come finish the movie we had started in the morning before James left for work. We are very early risers around here. That probably adds to the necessary early bedtime as well. : )

Andersons are moving to Texas, let's help...

I am blogging today to request your help in moving the Andersons to Texas! If you are cynical about financially supporting others in ministry, this would be the time to leave my blog. If not, please read on.

My blog is mostly only read by family and friends, so if you are visiting me, you either know the Andersons or you have heard me tell their amazing story and we have the opportunity to help this family of 8 make the move from Florida to Dallas a little more smoothly. Here is a link to their blog if you haven't been acquainted. Emily and Keith were friends and youth leaders of ours when James was the Family Pastor at CRCC in Kansas. They are an amazing couple...if you know them, you know that! God has taken them on an unbelievable journey in the relatively few years they have been together and they totally give Him all the glory.

Keith has been on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ for the past several years and has accepted a position with an awesome ministry in Texas, as their new director of finance. They will be moving in June. They are a young couple who God has blessed with a large family in a short period of years. When they were a family of 6 they felt called to adopt a waiting child from Ethiopia who would complete their family. As soon as beautiful Elsa arrived home, Emily discovered she was pregnant. God had one more Anderson in mind. She also found out that same week that her mother is very ill and not expected to recover. In the past year, the Anderson family has experienced quite a bit of change, challenges, and unexpected financial obligations with all of the obvious new additions as well as traveling to visit her mother in Kansas as much as she can. The move to Texas will be expensive as any of us who have moved across the country knows.

How can we/you help? Emily has asked me to fly to Orlando to help them with their cross country trek and then after helping them get settled, I would fly back to Oklahoma from Dallas. After praying about it and talking it over with James, we really think this is something that I am supposed to do, a way to serve a family who has been such a blessing in our lives. They love, serve and give of their time and resources so freely and we'd find it an honor to be able to lighten their load if possible during this move. So really, you can help them by helping me get those plane tickets. If you are still reading, chances are you know our family well enough to know that we are not in a financial position to be able to do this on our own this summer.


I have emailed some friends and family and if they and those of you who read my blog who I do not have an email address for even pitch in $5-10 my tickets would be paid for and we might even have enough to put a little toward hotel rooms. If funds aren't available or you do not feel led to give, we'd appreciate your prayers for their family as they make this huge transition to a new home and ministry! Thank you so much for even taking the time to read this post and considering contributing to my airline ticket to help them move. If you would like to give, please click below:

busted...no pun intended.

I walked in the other day to find Miss P trying on one of Momma's bras. Hey, what little girl doesn't do this at some point in their childhood?  {by the way, my bras actually look larger than they are because they are on a 2 year old's body...hilarious} You can tell by the look on her face that she felt like she was busted for doing something wrong. Why do they want to grow up so fast? Their lives are cake!



By the second take, she was completely comfortable in the bra and quite enjoying her newly found womanhood. She is going to be a woman someday?! What? I know that is how Kristin's parents felt last night at the wedding. Their little girl who always wanted to grow up to be a woman and find the man of her dreams did and they are on their honeymoon as I type. Bitter sweet, I feel sure.

I know I feel that way about my little brother and he isn't even my son.

Thankfully Preslie has a few more years. Shelby is 9...she was born yesterday, so I have a feeling these next  several years will f.l.y.  Stop time. I love my babies!

family time...

Today, all of these kiddos are sick, but a few days ago, they were feeling spry. Before bedtime is our favorite time around here. Many a night we gather in our bedroom and Daddy plays guitar or we watch movies, favorite tv shows or read books. Then, we meander upstairs and Daddy tucks in the littles while I tuck in the bigs.

Are they not adorable??  They look so much alike! I love how sweet Jess {usually} is with his sisters.

These are the orneriest 3 in the family!



I hope when they are adults we can all pile in bed and take silly pj pics with all of their families too. As cheesy as that sounds, I would love it.



monkeys!

Sometimes I put curling rods in the girls' hair. As we all know this is about as girly as I can get so far, but I will learn to french braid if it kills me. My friend Heather says to practice on a cabbage patch doll. That's how she learned.



Preslie had Francie Lou in a headlock here and everyone was freaking out even though they look surprisingly calm here. te he...

biggest



littlest

I love these crazy people!!

Mighty P!

Lately, the kids and I have been frequently having Mighty B marathons on Netflix on the Wii after being introduced to the show my Mason, Mya and Kenna. Bessie is hilarious and the show is our brand of funny. It is not all flowers and rainbows and super polite kids, but it has its merit. Mighty B is an underdog who has a positive can-do attitude and she is stinking hi-lar-ious. Anyway, Preslie got this Wichita Shockers mask from Grandma Sherri and having it on her reminds me of Mighty B. These are possibly the most unflattering pics of Pres we will ever have, but they are amusing to be sure, especially the double chin nacho cheese dorito pic. Love it! Preslie is our Mighty P!

Nugget for newlyweds...

{my brother and [next weekend] sister-in-law}

 If I had one nugget of advice for all of the newlyweds in our life this spring, 

it would be what I told my little brother the other day:

Dream big, set goals and make plans for your future, but be willing and excited to take whatever detours God places in your path. One thing I know without a doubt is that God is for His children. He loves us with an all consuming love and His love never fails. 1 Cor 13:8a.

Because of this, He is trustworthy and His plans always lead us in a better direction than our own.

 {James' sister Janell and our new brother-in-law, Matt. Photo by Novella Photography}

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord,

"plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

 {Our good friends, Amanda and Joe who are so newlywed they are still on their honeymoon}

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,

so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10

{One of our favorite girls in the whole world, Sarah, and her fiance, Brian who James has the honor of marrying in June in Colorado.}

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7

You see, in order for our roots to grow down into him, we must allow him to take us on detours from our well thought out plans at times. These detours are sometimes happy surprises and at other times they feel like tornadoes spinning us around and rocking our very foundation, but just like trees planted in areas with adverse weather conditions, we will either be broken and torn apart by the rough times or we will cling to one another and to God more tightly growing our roots deep into His soil to "hang on to our foundation." If our relationship is formed on any other foundation, including our own rigid plans it is unlikely to flourish. It may grow to a point of familiarity and our lives may turn out just like we always planned, but our relationship with one another and with God himself may be shallow and unfulfilling. I have to be careful to say this next statement in just the right way because I typed this entire post earlier and it was "accidentally" deleted, I think, because I had not used my words carefully. But, here goes, I have seen couples attain all of the goals they set in their early marriage only to end up financially stable or established in their community but estranged from one another and from God.

It makes me think of the Toby Mac song and the scripture accompanying it, "I don't want to gain the whole world and lose my soul"...{or my marriage--or my future hope, my words}

It is taken directly from Jesus' mouth when he said in Mark 8:35-36  "If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?"

We certainly do not have this whole marriage and life thing figured out, but I can tell you this, our life looks dramatically different 15 years after we said, "I do," than we thought we would. We had big plans, James was going to be a successful business man and I was going to be a working mom, a principal in a public school with our {2} kids in daycare or public school after we'd been married 15 years. Yet, he is now a sports & outreach minister and I am a stay-at-home homeschooling mom of {4}. We are best friends, doing ministry together and weaving a tapestry of faith into our family heritage the best we can. Because of our experiences, our relationships with God and with one other have become firmly rooted and we have no fear of the future, only hope.  I shudder to think of what our home, our family composition and our lifestyle would be like today if we had held fast to our own plans and not allowed God to take us on a few, ok, more than a few "detours."

So I will let the parents of the newlyweds give them all kinds of advice to keep their kiddos safe and on the path to worldly success. There is no shortage of that advice out there.

I lean more toward the advice "Dan in Real Life" gives, "Instead of telling our young people to plan ahead, we should tell them to plan to be surprised."

Our God is a God of surprises, that is for sure!

You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail. Proverbs 19:21

Tiny Town...

Every second and fourth Tuesday, we have Tiny Town in the gym at the OAC. It is a huge indoor play date for preschoolers and homeschoolers.  I always forget to take pictures when we are busy, because, well, we are busy. So, I managed to snap a shot right before it was over this week and most people had already left. It was rainy this week, so we were packed.  These Tuesdays are my favorite because I get to meet new people every time and get to know some familiar faces as well.  It isn't just for our church. We have moms, dads and grandparents from all over Enid who bring their kiddos to Tiny Town. Enid is a military town and we have a lot of families who are used to moving around and haven't really made friends yet.

My goal every week is to make sure every mom and child feels welcome and valued or at the very least, noticed.  I meet so many women who tell me they could live their lives totally unnoticed because they move around so much it is hard to get up the courage to get out there and meet new people.  Sometimes they join a moms' group that is already filled with cliques that have grown up together or become close for some other commonality and they don't notice the newbies. Almost every week I meet someone "new" to Enid. So, there are a lot of newbies. I was a newbie in Arizona in two different communities and several churches in the 2 years we were there, so I know how it feels. Sometimes, just having someone stop and ask you a few questions about yourself or your kids makes all the difference for you that day {or week}. So, while Tiny Town is really a community outreach and community service, providing a safe & FREE place for caregivers and kids to come play twice a month, which is sooooo important, it is more than that to me. I have a few friends and an awesome children's minister who feel the same way and we try to make our way around the gym several times to talk to moms, dads and grandparents and make sure the kids are safe and engaged. One of my friends has brought crafts or activities for school aged kids the last two times and that has been great for homeschoolers and PreKers. We are hoping more and more people hear about it, join us and invite friends. We have two bounce houses, lots of ride-on toys, and nursery toys like a play kitchen, babies and strollers.  We also have a cafe where everyone can order lunch or snacks.

I actually got the idea from our pastor's wife in AZ. They have Tot Town.  No, I am really not creative enough to come up with an idea like this on my own. Nancy was a HUGE help to me in providing ideas and resources. I am so thankful for her. Tiny Town blesses a lot of families and without her inspiration, we may not have ever thought of it. {side note: It is a small world, because Nancy's sister-in-law and brother live in Enid and Lori comes to Tiny Town most weeks!  I love how the body of Christ is connected across so many miles and how we work together in spirit to minister to our communities!}