roots

Grandma, 90, with 13 or her 16 grandchildren and lots of great grandchildren

Both of my Grandmas' birthdays are 1 day apart. One turned 82 on Saturday and one turned 90 on Sunday. Because we live only 5 hours from our family instead of 17 when we lived in Spokane, we were able to join in the birthday celebrations this past weekend. It was such a special time. We haven't been together since Grandpa's funeral back in 2003. My oldest was only 8 months old.

I'm so glad that my kids will know their Great Grandmas. My husband is so good about having our kids connect with them. Because of him, they've seen both of their Great Grandmas 3 times in the last 9 months. He says it doesn't matter if we drive 10 hours and stay only 1 hour. It's worth it. I'm glad they'll know these women and their little houses. They'll have memories of playing in their backyards like I do.

No matter how busy we are, it's important for us to take time to connect with the past. As we drove home last night, I kept thinking about an article that I tore out of a magazine and stashed away in my address book years ago. It's called "Grandma's Hands," written by Kent Nerburn...

"Did you have a good time at Grandma's? Did you hold her hand? When Grandma was little, her grandma used to hold her hand just like that. And you know what? Her grandma's hand had once held the reins of a team of oxen that were pulling a covered wagon. When you were holding Grandma's hand, you were touching back all the way to the pioneers. She can help you touch faraway places."

Do my kids even know what a privilege it is to know these two beautiful women--to know and to connect with anyone who was born in 1921 and 1929? No, of course not. But it's my job--no, it's my privilege to teach them.

bff

Meet my friend Katie. We met back in 1987 when we were in Jr. High and quickly became best friends. I love that I just used the words best friends, Jr. High and the 80's all in one sentence. They go together, don't they? We had so much fun together. I remember stretching out our Walkman earphones so we could both have an earpiece to "sneak-listen" to Richard Marx. Sorry, Mom.

She's in Oregon this week so we've been able to catch up after all these years. I vacationed here with her family 21 years ago--we can hardly believe it's been that long. We decided to go to the mall today, because that's what old friends from Jr. High do.

When my girls and I drove out to pick her up this morning, they asked me all kinds of questions about Miss Katie. I told them that we used to save up our babysitting money so we could go to the mall to buy clothes, and that one year for my birthday she gave me Salon Selectives shampoo, conditioner, mousse and hairspray because I loved how it smelled like apples.

It's so fun to meet up with someone from your past--someone with whom you can just pick up where you left off, no matter how long it's been.

three letters

With the kids in school this year (we've homeschooled up until now), I've had lots of "think time" this week. The boys are in school all day and my girls are in half day Kindergarten, so I'm not quite sure what to do with my time while staying in a hotel in a new city.

Yesterday I drove up to my husband's work just to look at the directory in the lobby. He told me they had just placed his name on it and I wanted to take a peek. I know it sounds silly, but it took my breath away. Seeing those three little letters after his name...PA-C...made me so happy. Then I had this thought...no one who glances at that directory will ever know how those letters have impacted our little family. No one will know that those three letters after his name are a testament to what God has lovingly brought us through. I wish they could, though. It changed us, and I want everyone to know about it.

My husband used to be a firefighter. Five years ago, he was injured at work. One day, as he was driving an ambulance on a call, a truck crossed the double yellow lines on the highway and struck him head-on. The other driver was killed instantly; Phil survived, but sustained several injuries that would end his 18-year career as a firefighter. He had 3 surgeries that following year. Things at home were probably very hectic...I don't really remember much. I'm sure it was God's grace. Our girls were only 3 months old and our boys were 1 and 3. All four of them were in diapers. It's all a blur now. When I watch our home movies, I'm so glad to see that the kids were happy. They just toddled around, laughed and played with their toys. It was probably a good thing that they were all so young and didn't taste the bitter aftermath as we did. We prayed and prayed for healing from physical injuries, Post Traumatic Stress, and direction for what to do next. God directed Phil's heart to pursue a new career as a Physician Assistant, and he was accepted into the University of Washington's Physician Assistant program.

Four years ago, we moved from Northern California to Spokane, WA, so he could attend school. I remember wondering how I would survive without the help and support of all of our family and friends in California, but I quickly learned that when God leads, He also provides. Spokane will always hold a special place in my heart. So far, it's the best place I've ever lived. I think it's because it's the first time in my life where I had to depend completely on God and He proved Himself to be ever faithful. I watched my husband heal, my kids grow, and I watched my own heart grow as I learned to trust when I couldn't see. I loved our little 2 bedroom/1 bathroom house. I remember wondering how all 6 of us would manage in such a tight space, but we always had room enough--even for out-of-town guests and weekly preschool playdates that would number in the 20's! I learned that God makes much out of little.

Now we've moved to the state of Oregon. I'm anticipating that God will fill our lives as He did in Spokane. I'm really hoping that He will, because waves of sadness come over me when I think about our life up there. I miss people and places and my heart is breaking. So yesterday when I walked into the lobby at Phil's work and saw those three little letters...PA-C...after his name, my heart leaped. Those three letters mean God has carried us through darkness. He's been good to us--beauty from ashes, is all I can think of. Beauty from ashes. He's redeemed something that was so ugly at first glance. Five years ago, I remember thinking, "What are you going to do with all of this, God? It hurts so much." God never let go of me. I feel mended. These glimpses of why, these answers, are so sweet and so dear to me. This transition time for our family will unveil a few more answers, I'm sure. I don't want to miss any of them.

I need to write this, because it makes me sad to think that no one who walks into that lobby and sees his name on that directory will know this. But now you do.

back to school

Tonight is First-Day-of-School Eve here in our hotel room (more on that later). My kids are going into third grade, first grade and kindergarten. We've homeschooled since day one, but this year all 4 are going to school. We're all so excited; in fact, my husband starts his new job tomorrow, as well! People keep asking me if I'm excited to have time to myself. The answer is no. I'm really going to miss them. But I'm just as excited as they are because I'm excited for them. We've been bustling about doing our Back to School shopping (my first time ever) and it's been so much fun. When I'm through typing, I'm going to pack their little lunches--something I've always dreamed of! When I taught school, I would check out my students' lunches and say to myself, "When I'm a mom, I'm going to pack..."

Now, about the hotel...we don't get the keys to our new home until the middle of next month, but Phil needed to start his job and the kids needed to start school. So instead of renting a house for 1 1/2 months, we're staying in an extended-stay hotel. It was easier than unpacking our belongings and getting utilities and Internet hooked up--not to mention there's a pool, continental breakfast and housekeeping. :) We have a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom suite with a kitchenette.

We're just so, so excited about tomorrow!

home

"Home is where we tie one end of the thread of life."
Martin Buxbaum

After a month and a half of searching for another home, God very graciously provided this beautiful home for us. We're praying that its inspection goes well next week. If it does, we'll take possession mid-October, because the seller requested a 60 day escrow.

Here's a quick re-cap of our busy, busy month:

Many of our wonderful friends came over to help us pack up our home and load up the moving truck the day before our move

I turned 37

We had very dear friends make the trek with us--this was just so, so comforting

The men unloaded all of our belongings into a storage unit (because we still didn't have a house)

We camped for a few days on the California Coast

We celebrated our 12th anniversary

We drove down to visit and to stay with family in California

We flew down to Arizona for my niece's wedding

We drove back up to Oregon to house hunt, once again

We found this beautiful home, put in an offer and it was accepted the following day

We drove down to the Bay Area to visit with more family

We're all so excited to move into our new home. The kids are excited to see it, because they weren't with us when we walked through it. Seriously...October can't come soon enough!

this makes me sad...

Phil is taking down our playset this afternoon. It makes me so sad. The other night I sorted through a few drawers in the kitchen and noticed I had several sippy cups which we haven't used in over 2 years. I didn't even know they were in there. As I sorted through the drawer, I got all choked up. I'm not just leaving behind friends and a city that I love. It feels like I'm leaving behind something greater--part of my kids' childhood--and it hurts. They were all so small when we moved up here 4 years ago. We had diapers, bottles, sippy cups, high chairs, car seats and training wheels. None of these are coming with us next week.

finding a home

my kitchen table at the moment

We received word this week that the seller of the home we'd like to purchase does not want to fix the items we requested. Some of the things that need to be fixed or updated would require permits, and all of this would come out of our pockets at this point. We thought it best to walk away and look for another home to purchase. This should be interesting, considering the fact that we have to be out of our home in 2 weeks.

This morning as I thought about our current situation, I heard something very familiar running around inside my head. It sounded like something I've read in the book of Exodus, right after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea--after they sang their song of deliverance and then demanded, moaned and complained, uttering these words...

“What are we going to drink?”

“If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt. There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”

...and right after crossing the Red Sea, too! I remember reading this thinking, "Come on, you guys! God just parted a SEA for you!"

But oh, that temptation is so strong right now, even though our house sold without putting it on the market--without even having to show it--the equivalent of a Red Sea crossing in my book!

moving update

I didn't mean to leave everyone up in the air with my "now we wait" post. The truth is, we're still waiting! We did buy a house in Oregon. The sellers accepted our offer and we thought it was a done-deal. But then we got the home inspection back. It was 45 pages long! The original owner still lives there, so the home hasn't changed hands in over 55 years, which means the home has never been inspected. It's a good, solid house, but lots of things don't meet code. We're waiting to hear back from our realtor to see how much the seller is willing to fix. So in the meantime, we're looking online for rentals in the area. We have to be out of our house in 3 weeks and we don't have enough time to go back down again to house hunt. I don't know where I'll be unpacking my boxes in 3 weeks. It's kind of unsettling.

But on a brighter note, God worked a miracle on our behalf! Our home in Washington sold 2 days after we "bought" our new home. And the story is simply amazing!

Last month, our neighbor 2 doors down walked up the street and mentioned to my husband that he was thinking about buying our house, and to let him know when we were ready to sell. Phil walked over to his house a couple of weeks ago, talked for a few minutes and our house was sold! Just like that. No showings, no weeding out the flower beds or touching up the trim and baseboards--sold!

So I'm kind of excited to see what God has in store for our family in 3 weeks. He surely hasn't forgotten about us. :)

something to laugh about

In reference to this post on laughing...

I often call my boys "brothers" and my girls "sisters." Today in Costco, I called to my girls and said, "Come on, Sisters." And sure enough, as I turned around there were two nuns right behind me loading bags of chips into their cart.

What are the odds?

do you laugh?

"I am the happiest creature in the world...I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh."

--Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice

I'm studying the book of Proverbs right now, and I can't help but notice how many references there are to laughter and cheerfulness. It's no coincidence, I know, because every time I start one of these Bible studies, something always hits home and relates to my present circumstance.

Right now, we're buying and selling a house and moving to a new state--all with 4 children. I'm learning that it's absolutely necessary for me to keep a sense of humor. Otherwise it's so easy to despair when things don't go my way.

My kids need me to be happy right now. And not just a superficial happy with a fake smile. I mean real joy. Joy that can be found only in Jesus. I'll be 37 this month and you know what? He hasn't failed me yet. I wish I would've known this 10 years ago, because I probably would not have worried so much about the things that always work themselves out.

Here are a few verses that keep me going these days...

"A glad heart makes a happy face." Proverbs 15:13


"For the happy heart, life is a continual feast." Proverbs 15:15


"A cheerful look brings joy to the heart." Proverbs 15:30


"When the king smiles, there is life; his favor refreshes like a spring rain." Proverbs 16:15


"A cheerful heart is good medicine." Proverbs 17:22

Oh, and especially this one...

"She laughs without fear of the future." Proverbs 31:25

now we wait...

my girls outside of a dream home

Our house hunting trip has come and gone. Now we wait...

I don't want to get ahead of myself, but we put in an offer on a house yesterday (not the one in the picture above) and I've already decorated each of the rooms in my head. Oh, and did I mention that I've already been to Lowe's and have in my possession all the paint chips for each room? You know, just in case. My palette is ready to go.

Waiting is sometimes difficult for me because I like knowing. I like to be certain of things, like the way I feel about my chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's the best ever and I'm certain of it. It makes me happy every time I bake them because they always turn out yummy. I can say this only because it's not really my recipe, but a friend's--otherwise I'd be bragging. :) But you know that feeling when you try a new recipe for the first time? You're a little excited, but a little nervous at the same time, because it might not turn out the way you expected? Maybe this isn't the best analogy, but that's what this whole putting in an offer thing feels like to me--exciting but scary.

farm chicks show 2011

I love that this amazing show has become
an annual tradition for me and my lovely friend, Andi.
Each year, we enjoy it more and more.
Maybe it's because we know what to expect by now--
as opposed to my first year when I nearly
hyperventilated upon entering the building.

But maybe not.
You think you're going to see the same stuff you saw last year,
and then you're blown away (again) by the creativity
of these amazing women all in one place to sell their wares.

I think my style changes every year, too.
In the past, the colors red and green made me drool.
This year, I was drawn to the blues and grays.
I loved the maps, globes and school supplies.

oh, but I still love green!

These were from my friend Becca's booth.

And here's my friend Courtney's booth.

Funny thing: when I picked Andi up in the morning,
we had on matching outfits.
Even our purses matched.
And as we left the show, both of us carried
large, school atlas maps over our shoulders. :)

what we're reading...

After reading to my girls this afternoon, I glanced down at the couch and loved the sight of this!

just talking to myself

I've had a few thoughts running around inside my head for a few weeks now and oh, how they resonated with this post by Ann Voskamp. I've mentioned here before that I'm entering a new phase of parenting. My oldest just turned 8 in January. Being a parent just feels different now. I thought I'd have it down by now (ha ha). Don't worry, I don't.

There are so many things I want to teach them and so many things I want to do with them. One thing I found myself doing when they were younger was to tell myself, "Don't worry, Jen, they're still young. You'll get to that." Did you ever do that in the toddler years and then suddenly find yourself with school-aged children? We still haven't gotten to some of those things.

So here are a few of the thoughts that have been swimming through my head...

...only one of your kids can ride a bike without training wheels...one!
...none of your kids can tie their own shoes...none!
...none of your kids are signed up for music lessons...none!
...your kids should be better swimmers by now.

Three weeks ago as I was driving home from the grocery store, I realized part of the problem. God is so good to give wisdom when we ask. He always comes through (James 1:5). As far as music lessons go, I really, really want my kids to have them. Why? Because I quit them. It's as simple as that, and it might seem reasonable enough, but here's what I discovered about myself...I think I want to raise my kids to be better versions of me. I want to redeem some of my faults and my shortcomings by raising children that make better choices than I did. I'm finding that this puts an awful lot of pressure on a child--learn to do this because mommy can't. Of course I would never say that to my children. But I don't want to live like I'm saying it. Saying it without my words.

My kids are precious. They're individuals. They're not me.
The only One I want them to strive to be like is Jesus.

new shirts

I appliqued little cupcake shirts for my girls the other night and hung them in their room so they'd see them first thing the next morning.

Here's the first peep I heard from their room...

"Look! I hope those are for us!"

a little royal wedding party

Last night I had two very wonderful friends over to watch the Royal Wedding. They arrived around 1:00 a.m. and we had a such a sweet time together. I tried to sleep beforehand, but I only managed to get about an hour of sleep because I was so giddy with excitement with all the preparations.

There was food to prepare, tulle to hang, and British flags and party favors to make. Yes, I know it seems a little over the top. I even planned an outfit to wear--a blue dress and black cardigan sweater like Kate wore when she and William announced their engagement.

By the way, this is the best scone recipe ever!
And if you don't like lavender or Earl Grey, you can easily substitute them with another flavor.

Here are the favors.
The blue gem and foil are supposed to be Diana's sapphire ring.
I was a little disappointed that the tea bags were yellow, because they didn't go with my color scheme of red and blue.
But I was so relieved to see that the Queen wore yellow to the wedding...perfect!

princess jenny

Do any of you have Royal Wedding plans? I certainly do, but nothing spectacular. I think I'll stay up tonight and watch it live. I'll bake/make a couple of things off of this site--a royal wedding-inspired menu by Epicurious.

Just last night I went into World Market to buy culinary lavender for my scones. When the clerk glanced down at my items, she said, "Ooh, are you having a royal wedding party?" All I could do was shrug, giggle and say, "Um, yes."

I feel kind of foolish about it, maybe a little girlish, too, but I just can't help it! Diana was married two days after my 7th birthday--the perfect age for a little girl to be enamored with princesses and weddings.

I remember it so vividly. We lived in San Francisco and watched it on T.V. the following morning. For months after, I played Diana. I took my Strawberry Shortcake bedspread, gathered it around my neck and walked down our stairs, pretending it was my wedding train trailing behind me. I played tennis outside pretending I was on my honeymoon. I'm not sure if she played tennis on her honeymoon, but apparently that's what I thought people did on their honeymoons. I called myself Princess Jenny.

My girls are 5 and I want them to have just as much fun with this as I did when I was a girl.

A friend of mine sent me the link to this site with lots of fun royal wedding ideas for kids. I adore these Princess Kate paper dolls with Disney princess outfits!

Do you have any royal wedding plans or are you thoroughly annoyed by all the hype?

my new crush

So what do you do when you're looking at real estate online
and you love, love, love the seller's furniture?
I think I could eat that couch up!
These rooms have 1963 written all over them...aren't they great?
Love this kitchen!

easter weekend

flowers at Pike Place Market, Seattle

How was your Easter weekend?
Ours was glorious!
The week leading up to Easter was a little crazy.
We were in California all week, flew home Friday night and then left early, early Saturday morning for a 5-hour drive over to Seattle for the weekend.

The weather was perfect on Saturday, about 70 degrees with sunny, clear skies.
We walked around Pike Place Market and enjoyed the Aquarium.
Downtown Seattle is by far one of my favorite places on the planet.

On Sunday morning, we drove out to Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks, for Mars Hill Church's Easter Celebration.
After driving around for an hour looking for parking and walking about 10 blocks in the rain with 4 children, we finally made our way into the stadium and found seats.
All of the parking woes, and the walking, and the rain were well worth it!
We snuggled up under our blankets--I'm so glad fleece blankets do well in the rain--and were blessed, blessed, blessed!
Pastor Mark preached a great message on who Jesus is.

This, I loved..."Jesus was not a good man...He is the God-Man. The Bible says there are none that do good."

There is nothing redeemable in man.
We all need Jesus.
It was all so, so good.

A quick Starbucks warm-up stop after the service.
Hot chocolate and lattes all around. :)

Then we headed up north to Arlington to visit our wonderful friends for Easter lunch.
They had Easter baskets and an egg hunt for our kids!

Hope your Easter was wonderful, too!

embroidery 101

Recently, I've been inspired to try embroidery,
thanks to a sweet friend and very creative
Farm Chicks vendor, Courtney.

She's always working on something cute--most likely trying to
stock up her booth for this year's Farm Chicks Show.

At Christa's baby shower, we asked the guests
to decorate onesies for Baby Ella.
I wasn't going to make one, but I couldn't resist all the adorable fabric.
It's like it was calling to me.

Now I think I might understand a crafter's obsession with cute fabric
and why one might justify collecting and possibly hoarding a large stash of quilting fabric.
I think I'm on the verge!
Maybe.

So here's my little creation for Baby Ella.
I'm so thankful that Courtney was there to help me get going.
It was frustrating at first, because I had to start over 3 times.
But now I can't wait to get started on another project!

baby ella

A few of my friends and I had the privilege of throwing a shower for one amazing friend, Christa, and her sweet little Ella Louise.

Simply put, Ella is a miracle. She was born with heart complications about 2 months before her due date and spent the first 70 days of her little life in the NICU.

And when I say privilege, I mean it with all of my heart.

I feel so honored to know Christa. Even praying for her sweet family during this time has felt like a privilege.


So many creative girls worked so hard to make everything beautiful!

I love all the sweet details that went into this special day.

beautiful artwork...

yummy food...

and little onesies to decorate.

We love you, Sweet Baby Ella!
We pray that God will continue to strengthen your little heart.
Our own hearts have been strengthened by knowing you
and by praying for you
and by seeing our amazing Creator
work a miracle in your little life.

xoxo

life in these parts

photo courtesy of my purple girl

We love spring up here in the northwest! After our long, bleak winters, the sunshine feels so nice! My youngest daughter, lover of all things purple, noticed this crocus out in our front yard. I love each budding sign of spring around here!

"Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold...
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only for an hour."

from "Nothing Gold Can Stay"
--Robert Frost

That's what's going on outside...inside our home is just as sweet. I've really been enjoying my kids lately. Sometimes I forget that stopping everything to read a library book can reset the whole tone in our home. This past month I remembered. And what a difference it makes. The kids forget they're disgruntled or bored when we're lost in the pages of a good book. Puzzles and games have the same effect. It took me a few years of parenting to realize this. I think I'm so busy and have so much to do, but sometimes all they need from me is 5 minutes. Then I go back to making dinner and they run off to play and everything's good. Why do I think these interruptions will set me back 5 years? I think I read this in one of Sally Clarkson's books--my children are not interruptions in my day. They are my work (and I don't use the term "work" here as negative or burdensome). Maybe the laundry and the dishes are my interruptions. :)

Now that we're out of the baby stage and my oldest is 8, I often do a double take and think, how did we get here already? Where did the time go? Are they really all school-aged?

"...her early leaf's a flower; but only for an hour."

So, as I said earlier, I've really been enjoying my kids lately. They're growing, but I'm growing, too. I'm learning that good parenting is partly good perspective. It's difficult if you think it's difficult, delightful if you think it's delightful. I realize there's more to it than that. Trust me, I know. But I also feel the deep ache that tells me this season is short and I'd rather have more delightful moments than difficult ones. So we're going to read more books, play more games and do more puzzles. And if it ever warms up, we'll play outside and enjoy the springtime.

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year."

"A Prayer in Spring"
--Robert Frost

Happy Spring, Everyone!

4 years

I mentioned in this post that my husband finished school recently and is looking for a job. Right now, in fact--he's interviewing today miles from home. When we first moved here, I remember thinking we'd get back to regular life after graduation. You know what? I would say these past 4 years of life have been the best ever. How is that? I wanted to rush through them, as if they were something to be endured.

I think I've grown as a wife and mom. We're about 17 hours away from our families and I was so lonely at first. Depending on God was a good thing for me. Hard, but good. He soon filled my loneliness with sweet friendships. It's an amazing thing that God can fill any void. He's proved this to me, and that's why this time for me is bittersweet. My husband is interviewing elsewhere right now, as in not here. But I think we'll be o.k.

Never again do I want to say that I'm living in an in-between state. Life happens there, too. God works there, too. And He has.