Slow Season

This past week we have had a major winter storm blow through that left us with a foot of snow, ice, and super cold temps. It has resulted in no school for almost a week (when it will all be said and done), minimal travel, no work for Jason (thus no games or practices), and lots of time together. I was initially bummed about this because Jason's parents had planned to take all the kids for a few days last week, while Jason and I got time to ourselves to celebrate my birthday. But this past week has proven to be, in some ways, better than our previous plans.
 I was chatting with one of my cell group girl's moms the other day and she said something that really rung true:
"All this nasty weather has really slowed down the Christmas season this year!"

How true is that?! I hadn't thought of it that way, but in a time of total business (especially for us since basketball season is in full swing), we have been forced - on the heels of a Thanksgiving break, mind you - to relax and enjoy this season. I started thinking about all of the fun things we have been able to do together, that every other season, are just not possible.

1. Make/decorate cookies
2. Watch "Polar Express" and eat homemade hot chocolate
3. Sled
4. Build snowman
5. Snowball fights
6. Sled
7. Go to a Razorback basketball game (we never get to do that in season!)
8. Go out to eat - twice!
9. Sled
10. Do advent dinners by candlelight
11. Sleep in
12. Have fun breakfast's  - all together!
13. Bake brownies & cookies
14. Sled
15. Wrap presents together
16. In-home date night with Jason
17. Actually get my real camera out and take pictures
18. Watch all the Christmas movies that have been DVR'd that we haven't had time to do yet!

It really has been a great little week of slowing down and enjoying each other. I am thankful for it!

ADVENT:

This year we started doing advent with the kids. I kind of have my own way. I know some people pre-make activities and have readings every single day for the first 25 days of the month, usually with a "project" or activity to go along with it (every single day). But I know if I set out to do that, I would fail - miserably -  and it would frustrate me and take the joy out of celebrating our coming KING!

So this is how we do it and it has been incredible thus far:
1. I have our little advent centerpiece with the center "Jesus" candle, and the surrounding three candles in the middle of our kitchen table.
2. We "do advent" every Sunday night at dinner time. I make a meal, and we light the corresponding candle for that Sunday's advent. Then the following Sunday, we light the previous one, and the new one...we add a little light each Sunday, anticipating lighting "the big one" (as the boys call it) on the day Jesus will be born and we will eat by "all of the light".
3. Each Sunday, I "storytell" (something a group of friends and I have been learning over the course of this year) parts of the Christmas story while we eat.
4. The first Sunday was storytellling the prophecy part of Jesus being born from Isaiah - as we ate by the light of the prophecy candle.
5. We also sing a Christmas song together (with motions, of course) and we all take turns praying for things we learned from the story.

Each Sunday, we end up spending about an hour doing this at the table because the boys are so into it and have tons of questions. The wide-eyed wonder in Noah's eyes as I tell the story is a picture I will never forget. It's priceless. Jason and I agree this is the best "tradition" we've ever done. I look forward to it every week!
Probably the neatest part was last week when Lincoln was able to piece together himself how their anticipation back then of the King being born, was the same as what we feel about the King coming back - it was awesome. Which of course always leads to talks about Tucker, whose third birthday was yesterday. I love love love our conversations about Jesus coming back. Nothing grounds me more than talking about these things with a 3 & 5 year old - child like faith.

Another highlight was seeing the boys grasp the concept of how Jesus was born in a stable, not a palace - and how He continued to live on earth.; not in luxury, but in simplicity and humble circumstances. This has been soooo hard to teach the boys - especially at this time of year. Sometimes they "get it" and other times they fail (just like me!) but I pray our kids (along with Jason and I) can always remember the way our Savior led the example in the midst of a consumer-driven world where we're told we "deserve" everything. What a hard perspective to attain on our own merit.

4th Time Around

First off, thanks so much for all of your excitement you shared with us on facebook concerning our news!! I thought I'd share a little more detail about it all for those interested.
I am actually still early, a few weeks shy of exiting the first trimester, so the journey has just begun. Oddly enough, I feel like I've been pregnant for a long time because I've already had about 4 ultrasounds. I had some "issues" early on that mimicked a potential miscarriage (hence, the numerous ultrasounds) but it turned out to be a subchronic hematoma (i.e. blood clot) which seems to have now mostly resolved. That was a crazy experience going from  being certain I was losing the baby one weekend, to the next, being able to see everything was actually just fine. Very thankful for the Lord's protection over this little one.

10 Things:

1. Yes (believe it or not) this one was planned. In fact, Lincoln has been the only child not planned (yes, we actually planned to get pregnant when Lincoln was only 6 months old...ha). We really wanted 4 kids and didn't want to spread them out. I love how close in age our kids are, and how they always have little playmates around. So we knew if we wanted 4, the time was now.

2. Now, when this one is born, none of our kids will yet be in Kindergarten. My due date is late April and Lincoln will start in August, but we will have 4 kids under the age of five. I understand my love for them being "close in age" will also be total chaos and madness. Lincoln is my helper and I actually think it will be a lot harder with him gone to school.

3. No, I am not going to home school him, though :)

4. The boys are excited! Lincoln is so stinking sweet. He got crazy excited when we told him and he goes, "Now I get to take care of TWO babies!!" He does so great in this area. The other day, he went and got Adelynn out of the bathtub - all by himself - dried her off, and carried her to her room for us to put her PJ's on. Love that kid. Noah is excited too and wants a girl. Lincoln wants a boy because we already have a baby girl. He also says "I want her to be our only sweet girl."

5. Jason agrees with Lincoln - he wants Adelynn to be the only girl; I'm kind of the same, though for her to have a sister would be super special.

6. Noah said if it's a "boy" he wants us to either name him "Max", "Gideon", or "Jesus".

7. This pregnancy has been the worst (physically) so far. Each one gets harder with the sickness and such, and this one beats them all. I just feel plain pitiful most of the time. Hoping it soon subsides.

8. I didn't show until 17-20 weeks with Lincoln (my 1st), and with this one, I'm showing now. The joy of multiple pregnancies.

9. Yes, I already have some names (I, as in "I haven't discussed with Jason")

10. More than anything, we're so thrilled the Lord has given us this new little child and cannot wait to teach him/her about the wonderful Savior who is Jesus. We take Matthew 28 seriously - just making disciples up in this house. Ha. :)

No Joke

Baby McMahan #4 coming in April!

POWERFUL

Masculine & Feminine

This might sounds like a strange thought, but I have often wondered over the course of the years what a "man" relationship with God must feel like for a man...I mean, being called the "bride of Christ" and the image of a "Rescuer & Savior" or "falling so deeply in love with a Heavenly Father" have greatly appealed to my girlie senses and desire of a "knight in shining armor", but a man?
I really have thought of this before...multiple times! Yet, i know men have very deep, loving relationships with Jesus (bear with me); I've just always wondered what that feels like for them.

But then I remember that God made us in His image, which means that he is both feminine and masculine - in perfect harmony - which also gives credit to why he created marriage between man and woman to exemplify our relationship with Him in perfect harmony (that's another conversation).

Then today, riding home in the car, I got a glimpse of Jesus in my boys' hearts...in one of the "masculine" ways he created them - in His image.
It.Was.Awesome. And I wish I had it recorded.

But basically, it starts with Noah's question:
"Mom, how is Jesus going to come back and get us?"
And then the conversation went on with soldiers, swords, flying white horses, armies, war, conquer, and 2 sets of complete wide eyes and total excitement! I think we were all shouting at some points. Pure awesome.
Noah would express fears of getting hurt in the final battle, and Lincoln would assure him, "Noah, we are on JESUS' side - we can't get hurt!"
And then they asked if the swords would be like their pirate swords...to which Lincoln said "I bet Tucker throws me a sword when he rides by Jesus...and we will fight together!"
And that has to be one of the most beautiful pictures created in my mind at that moment.

Noah asked me what would happen, though, if he just "died on the ground" before Jesus came back. With joy I told him, no worries - he would go straight to Jesus, preparing for the war, and would ride in with Jesus to throw us our swords!

We often talk about our "mansions" that Jesus is building us and the life we were meant for in Eternity (they are fascinated by all of this), but talking about the WAR, the final battle, the ending, and the victory with Jesus was just plain awesome today.

It's so great to see their little hearts start to capture an eternal perspective (and so hard to teach in our culture!), so my heart melted when Lincoln said, "But before Jesus comes back to get us, we have to tell everyone about Him so they can join our army!"

And then he named 2 people he would pray for.

So great to see the masculine side of our Savior come alive in my boys' hearts today!

All Creation Declares His Glory

A sweet friend shared a video by a pastor I had never heard of. It was amazing and led to another link of another video that blew my mind. I am so thankful the Lord gifts people with ways to relate His message in fresh new ways. Same message of His love, but the fact that He can use people to speak it in many different "languages" that reach our souls in new ways is mind blowing.
What an incredible, living Jesus we follow, that even for someone like me - who has followed Him most of my life - He continually reveals more of His heart, His plan, and the Gospel itself continuously in my life.

These 2 videos are short and worth the watch. I've never seen anything like this before.

 

Song

Some friends and I have recently committed to learning guitar well enough to be able to lead worship among small ministry gatherings. I already know some basics and play by ear (from my piano days) and was picking out some of my favorite worship songs to practice to the other day. There was one in particular that as I figured out the cords and started playing/singing, the words, for the first time EVER completely overwhelmed me.
I had sung this song hundreds of times before, paying little attention to what I was actually pleading before my Father. I was overcome with emotion and began examining my heart "these are heavy words...do I really mean them when I sing?"
I desire to mean them...
I yearn for them to be sung honestly before The Lord, but I also recognize how deep of a commitment worshiping with those words entails.
And then I recognized how many times I have sung them in the past, in vain, and have not truly meant them at the core of my being.
But what a powerful song of total surrender to The Lord and his leading over our lives!!!

"Savior I come, quiet my soul
Remember redemption's hill, where your blood was spilled for my ransom.

Everything I once held dear, I count it all as loss.

You were as I, tempted and tried
You were human.
Your word became flesh, bore my sin and death
And now you're risen!!

Lead me to the cross, where your love poured out
Bring me to my knees, Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to you
Lead me to the cross.

Everything I once held dear, I count it all as loss."

Get Out of the Boat

We often hear/say to others: "we're just so blessed!" And while this is true in most regards, I have often found myself using this blessed term in regards to:

living comfortable lifestyles
being well-off
being safe & sound
living the "American Dream"

And while none of these are inherently bad, per say, something Jesus has been teaching our family lately is living in, and fully understanding the blessing of God - a lot of times - has to do with surrendering the above list, and fully abiding in His provision.

We've all heard the story of the ominous day on the lake where the Disciples got caught on their boat, in the middle of a gruesome storm. And how, in their fear and discomfort, they looked up to see Jesus walking on the water, out at sea, toward them.

The disciples were confused, still scared, rolling with the waves in their small fishing boat, when Peter cried out to Jesus asking if that was, in fact, Jesus.

Jesus confirmed it was He, and then invited Peter to step out of the boat and walk to him on water, in the midst of the raging sea.

NOW STOP. For Peter to do this was not safe/sound/comfortable (obviously). But He did it. He had immense faith in Jesus, and while the other disciples were too scared to ever do such a thing, Peter got out of the boat and walked to Jesus. Imperfect Peter...who even as He was walking to Jesus, lost his faith for a moment and started to sink, but Jesus, again, lifted him.

You see I find it most profound that Jesus never rebuked the clan of disciples who didn't want to get out of the boat. They were fine to stay. But Peter, in his faith, got to experience the blessing and power of Jesus in a way no other human has since experienced.
And while walking to Jesus, he was still weak and imperfect and needed a Savior as he lost faith and started to sink.
God uses the weak. Amazing.

I believe Jesus is doing BIG WORKS and massive movements for His kingdom all over the world, ever second that passes.

I also believe that He can accomplish such works all by Himself. He is God Almighty.

However, the God of the Universe INVITES US...you and I....to be a part of the great work He is doing. He invites us to partner with Him and be used as a missile of His power to penetrate the hearts of unbelievers and bring them to His Kingdom.

I have realized I can either sit in the boat and watch His work unveil, or get out of the boat, in total surrender and faith, and be a part of His great work...

What a privilege.

What a true blessing.

We only get a short lifetime to be a part of His work on earth before we join Him in His kingdom, yet we find ourselves concerned with menial things like making sure our kids are the best dressed, or that our houses are big and nicely decorated, or that our appearances please those around us...I am guilty of all, and like Peter, fail in my focus time and time again.

But our family has been praying lately to be more like Peter in the sense that we leave our comforts and surrender the safety of the boat for the sake of Jesus and experiencing Him in a way we never could if we clung tight to the boat.

That above list? I believe that is what awaits us in HEAVEN. Those things we long for in terms of security, safety, wealth, prosperity...we will attain those in perfect harmony living with our Savior in a very SHORT while. So why pursue that now, when God is preparing such things for us in Heaven?

(***my dad shared some of this about Peter with Jason and I, 4 years ago when we were making some tough decisions, and since it has grown like wildfire in my soul. It's a scary prayer to pray, but rich in blessing.***)

Jesus is BIG

I just love how Jesus can give us random ideas in our quiet moments with Him, and even if they seem big, hard, with lots of unanswered questions, He just asks that we "run with it" and watch Him tie up all the loose ends.
One of my favorite things about Jesus.

I've blogged about this some before, but for over a year some friends and I have had the complete PRIVILEGE of getting to know some incredible women from India. Thanks to Walmart, there is a massive Indian population here in our small Bentonville community, and bridging the two cultures and loving on each other has been such a blessing from the Lord.

This summer a few of my friends and I decided to minister to them through organizing a "kids camp" of sorts. Most of friends don't drive and they've told us how the kids get bored at the apartment complex when they are out for summer break.

Yesterday was our first camp and Jesus provided BIG. We got numerous donations from vendors, parents, families, for the snacks, games, and crafts, and then a ton of our cell group girls came to help, as well as some of their mothers. We ended up having about 50ish Indian kids/mothers show up for this first one which is INCREDIBLE. It was total chaos, total fun, and I left with such a full heart. We have so many amazing stories from those 2 hours of Jesus just showing himself and his love for all of us. How great we serve a Jesus that loves EVERYONE...regardless of your culture! He came to save us ALL!!!

I can't wait to see what He is going to do and how He will provide for the rest of the summer!!!

The Mango Won

I discovered a new found love.
Mangos.
A few weeks ago they were sampling them at Sam's and I actually turned around and bought a box (that sample stuff never works on me...until mangos).
They are smaller and juicier than typical ones you get at the store. They are amazing. I ate on average about 2/day until the box was gone, then went and bought another box.

I found myself saying more than once as I would cut one "I bet in Heaven, mangos don't have seeds and are easier to eat."

Then a few days ago, I realized the seeds in mangos were the least of my worries.

After a series of strange symptoms (mouth severely chapped, cracked, red, and swollen), I discovered through Google (of course) that I am allergic to mangos.

Incredibly disheartening.

Did you know that the same poisonous substance found in poison ivy is the SAME substance found in the rinds of mangos??? And that if you are allergic to poison ivy, chances are you will have problems when coming in to contact with rinds of mangos?

Yeah. True story. Who knew. oh - and I'm horrifically allergic to poison ivy.

The reaction has also spread to my left eye which is horribly red, swollen, and incredibly itchy. Fun times. Watch out for those mangos. Or just cut them nicely instead of devouring them in the manner that one eats orange slices (like I did).

Consider yourself warned!

Got a Computer

 

First off, we finally got a computer (yeah!), so I have been uploading some pictures from my camera that have been sitting around, but I'm more distracted currently watching the Moore tornado coverage. Jason's brother lives in Moore and his family's house was hit (they are fine, thank the Lord), but that's where Jason lived a chunk of his life and we are glued (like many of you, I'm sure).

 

So for now, I will say, Adelynn's party was awesome. She is more like Lincoln than we knew in that she loved the attention, knew it was her day, and was a social little thing. It was precious. And this one pic sums it up:

 

My precious 1-year-old. I love you dearly little angel.
Now stop growing up!!!!! :)

Hiatus

It's been a while. How are you? I am great, thank you. Except my laptop screen got crushed a while ago (hence my sole involvement on only Instagram on social media).
Working on finding me the cheapest possible replacement...think: <200 acer="" maybe="" p="">But in the meantime I am doing this without a conventional keyboard which means little to none posting by me.

The past month has been very busy, but fun busy...working in some fun stuff for this summer to do with huge group of little kids, friends, and my awesome  freshmen cell group girls (more to come on that later), but this week, working on big girls FIRST birthday party!!!! Can't wait!

Adelynn has been growing up so much lately. She is in a forward facing seat now, drinks solely whole milk (bye bye formula), eating things like hotdogs and other kid stuff, and starting to stand on her own unassisted...close to walking maybe?????
She is just now getting in only her third tooth. Praise The Lord she still sleeps awesome...sleeps from about 8-8:30/9 through night and takes a long 3-4 hour nap in the afternoon with her brothers. Not much news there.

Seriously I just love her to bits. I have also taken a hiatus from my good camera and am excited to get some one year pics of her soon.

This Stuff is GOOD

I have been reading through Acts (now I'm into Romans) with the perspecive of learning how the early church started and how they set out to fulfill the Great Commission (on the direct curtails of Jesus proclaiming it to them).

I've read this book several times in the past, but have recently been reading in The Message translation for a paraphrased view. It has been awesome and completely inspiring.

Did you know that right after Jesus gave that commandment, that the "church" (or Believers in Jesus) sold ALL THEY HAD...their land, their homes, their goods...and pooled all of the money together for Peter (and other first disciples of Jesus) to distribute out amongst the church according to NEED?? And then they used the rest of the money to aid in their efforts of spreading the Gospel to all nations??
Seriously?

I wonder how many people were reluctant to do such a radical thing because they viewed their "Stuff" as belonging to them...or they not dare give their things up because, after all, they had worked hard for those things and deserved them...

Acts actually talks of only 2 such people: a husband and wife. They sold their land and goods like the rest, but only gave the church a portion of what they made - not all of it. Peter called them out to repent and come clean, but they still were dishonest. And you know what happened, the Lord struck them both dead.

That's pretty radical.

I can't help but think of if our current church...my current church...did the same. What f every member who was serious about being a disciple of Jesus and spreading His name among the nations did the same?
What if I were to completely entrust the Elders of our church with EVERYTHING God has blessed me and my family with, to then distribute to people what they needed, and use the rest to further the Kingdom...

Do I trust God that much? Do I believe that advancing the Kingdom of God (taking the last words of Jesus seriously) is in fact a serious matter?

Would I be willing to throw away the mantra of "But we've worked so hard for this! My husband puts in so many hours, so we deserve a better ______!"

I wonder if I would have trusted Peter's guidance of the Holy Spirit to truly decipher what our family "needed"...

In conjunction with reading through Acts, I've also started reading "Multiply" by Chan/Platt.
At MultiplyMovement.com, you can read the entire book for FREE, watch the corresponding videos for FREE, get leader info to do in small groups for FREE...it's pretty awesome to see 2 men not concerned about the commercial aspects and revenue of sharing their giftings, but truly concerned with making disciples.

There's some pretty good stuff on that page. Sometimes I feel like I'm almost drowning in questions and prayers and I try and wade through some of Jesus' teachings on what it means to follow Him...but it's so incredibly addicting.

I have had a crazy number of GOOD conversations with my neighbor recently over a lot of these things. We haven't really hung out in a while and just spending some time with her recently has blown me away how much both of us have changed in the past few years...how God has gotten an absolute grip of both our hearts on these matters. Such a joy to talk about all these things and what God's been revealing and learning from each other...in my experience, those that agree with these radical teachings of Jesus are few.

Y'all, yesterday I sat with a very small group of women and got educated on the Muslim religion from an international who was raised Muslim. While she was sharing about the Muslim faith, I was overcome with "wow - Satan has such a GRIP in that belief system" and it almost felt impossible to ever break through such barriers. I mean, we're talking the wife is allowed (legally) to be murdered for leaving the Muslim faith...in this day and age!

But then...then came Sunday...then this girl shared her testimony, how God revealed Himself to her...how some German missionaries brought Jesus to her village one day...how she became a FOLLOWER of Jesus even though her parents disowned her for converting.
And now she is married, living among the people in Turkey (she is going back within the year), sharing JEsus and starting churches.
Isn't that amazing what our God can do??!!!!!

So check out MultiplyMovement. The intro video is awesome and short.
Check out Acts.
Would love to hear your thoughts.

Repeat...But Worth It

Yall, I posted this video a while back, but it is worthy of being posted again. My husband watched it the other day and was sharing his thoughts about the various ways the Holy Spirit spoke to him through it and possible plans of actions, and I really just feel like I should share it again.

I watched it in a small Bible study class I've been helping lead...
My husband watched it on his lunch break...
I've listened to it in parts again while working out...
You could do it while the kids are asleep...
While you're driving to work...
In the evening after dinner instead of watching TV one night...
But seriously - I urge you to watch it.

My husband agreed (as well as a handful of my close friends) that it is one of the absolute BEST sermons we've ever heard.

It's by David Platt  - the Radical author - and I know some of you are like "Oh - yeah that book was a little much; not sure I really agreed with all of that; in fact, he's a little crazy."
But let me assure you, the first time I read it, it sat totally wrong with me. Since then - over the past few years, however, the Lord has been slowly transforming us, revealing more about himself, and now when I go back to the things Platt/Chan/the like, preach, it is totally radical and insane and against the "american way".
But I see now, through the conviction of the HS, that this is how Jesus and the disciples lived. And aren't they our model???!!!! No matter how hard I try to find holes in these men's theology, I can't. But now the question becomes what will we do about it? Continue living as if we are not at war? As if Jesus didn't call us to live radically for Him?

Here's the cool thing: The main 2 mean that preach these things? They live it out too. Platt sold his house to live in a 2-bedroom place in inner city Birmingham so he can minister among the poor and needy (and yes, it's a dangerous area). He urges his 4K population church body to do the same. And Chan gives away 90% of his income, just sold his stuff, and is now moving his family to a 3rd world country to be like Jesus. Crazy radical.

For us personally, we have been striving o make some changes over past few years that line up more with living like Jesus, but oh my there's so much more to be done! I'm thankful for a God who lives and convicts, and guides. I sit in awe sometimes about how He has transformed us just since we've been married.

Anyway,

WATCH THIS. WATCH THIS. WATCH THIS.

Memphis

I know it's been a few weeks, but after Easter and busyness, I'm still re-acquainting myself.
So the trip...it was awesome.
I think perhaps the only thing that gets more exciting and energizing than watching young people give their hearts to the Lord and allow Him to transform them in new ways is watching your own kids experience God in that manner?? But even then, it's a close race. The girls I went with and the many more boys and girls I got to know on the trip were a true refreshing blessing to my soul.

Our week consisted of hardly any sleep and not a lot of food (seriously - but that's another post in itself), but it was refreshing to me personally (one who requires lots of sleep) to - no joke- see God be the sole provider of energy for that week!

I have grown a special place in my heart for these girls I have gotten to know over the past few years, and it truly was an absolute BLESSING being able to be there through the ins/outs of this experience with them, literally watching their relationship with the Lord grow before my eyes.
What a privilege.

Our mornings started with devotions, then on to service projects (which were different every day), and then on to our "gym" until dinner time to do activities with the inner city kids. In the evenings we had some PHENOMENAL speakers come and challenge our kids (and us old folk!) while worshiping our Savior. It was at these services that you got to see the Lord increase in these kids' lives - it was amazing. I will forever cherish some of the conversations and prayers that took place during this time.

There were a lot of cool ways God used us that week, but perhaps the most favorite service projects we were a part of were doing a downtown prayer walk and working at a battered women's shelter.

DOWNTOWN
One day a bus dropped me and about 7 of our girls off downtown and told us to meet back in about 4 hours. We had a shotty map (at best) and just started walking. I gave our girls a mission: to find people they could go up to and ask them if we could pray for them about something (while explaining we're walking around praying for the city). I gave them a goal of many people were going to seek out in our 4 hours. Honestly, they were a little nervous and apprehensive. The first man we came upon was homeless and a little rough looking. They all wanted me to take the lead and shuffled behind me. That man was very welcoming and friendly, and before we left him, our girls had given him (I estimate) close to $50 of their own money, and held hands to pray over him. It was beautiful. After Larry, there was a new energy to the girls and they began hopping all over Memphis downtown, stopping people to pray for them. Not once were they rejected; not once were they laughed at; not once was the person not instantly softened. One lady just cried and cried saying no one has ever asked to pray over her. It was beautiful.

WOMEN'S SHELTER
This day was awesome! Again, only a small group of us girls went over to do an aerobics class, paint nails, and eat lunch with a group of women seeking shelter. The Lord worked all over that place that day. It was amazing. We built instant relationships with these women who opened up to us on so many levels. We praised Jesus together, we cried together, laughed hysterically, and just loved each other. We hope to go back to this place for sure next year!

Perhaps the most encouraging thing about this trip was being to walk alongside our girls as they learned about the difference between needs and wants, and about how Jesus' love is for EVERYONE and it's our responsibility to tell them and talk to them without any discrimination. We live in a very wealthy area where it is easy to get distracted from how God wants to use our lives and the resources He entrusts to us (for me at least!). It was awesome for these girls begin to learn and understand how their money/time belong to the LORD and how to be obedient to His leading on how to use such resources.

One day, we were driving in my car on the way back from our gym, and we approached a homeless man begging for money on the side of the road. The girls had heard me say in one of our cell meetings last year how I always stop, give, and pray. So this time was no different. I stopped. And before I could roll down the window, our girls had already pulled out their wallets (with zero prompting from me) to pass up whatever they had (which wasn't much because most didn't even have their money with them). It equaled out to exactly $6. I handed it over to the man (who took it without yet counting) and we asked how we could pray for him. He said the shelter he stays in requires him to pay every night and that he wanted prayer that he could get the money. I asked him how much, out of curiosity, and it was six dollars. Our girls were blown away by this, and how the Lord worked through their obedience, then continued to pray for this man the entire way to our destination. Again - beautiful.

 

So anyway, those are a few of the stories. There were tons more, including some hilarious ones - like getting caught on the 14th floor of the most famous Memphis hotel landmark when the fire alarm was triggered - or showing up for a service project one day and the "man in charge" having our group do the Harlem Shake as our number one project of the day - but overall, nothing still tops seeing kids' lives change. One such kid Jason and I know well became a Christian on the first day of this trip. Incredible.

Anyway, so in love with my Savior, so amazed at how He lives and works through us, so humbled at how much I have to learn to be more like Jesus. I'm thankful He is always teaching me and always weeding out the areas in my life that are unnecessary, unfocused, selfish, and frivolous.

Reunion

First off, our trip to Memphis was amazing. I have a post coming up dedicated more to that, but for now,  just a quick post about my babies.

Adelynn
This was the first time me and little princess have been apart and it was for an entire week! People have asked if I was going crazy the whole week and I honestly wasn't. Of course I missed her sweet chubby cheeks and looked at her little pics often on my phone while away, but God just truly blessed us this week with Jason's parents. I was able to relax and be with my cell group girls in the fullest sense because I knew she was having a blast and creating bonds with her grandparents - something I desire for all of my kids! The only think I was worried about was her sleeping in a new place, but she did perfect!
But little cherry cupcake has grown up in a week! My goodness! She pulls up on everything, can cruise around the living room pushing things (whether it be a big plastic tub or a push toy), and perfected some tricks. My favorite is how she can "kiss" on command. Love.

Noah
Ha. HE had a blast. He got tons of attention since Lincoln wasn't there and even coerced his GP's into throwing him a "birthday party", complete with a cake, presents, and guests. Spoiled rascal. The most awesome thing? He is 100% potty trained!!! As in, I don't even know all of the times he goes, because he does everything completely independently which is awesome.

Lincoln
This week was hilarious, frustrating, amazing, blessed, and tiring with this guy. And I wouldn't trade it - the good with the bad. The bad, it was long days...but the only difficult part was timing up his naps between work projects and going to the gyms in the afternoon. We only messed up with it once. And then Jason missed out some evenings because Lincoln would need to go to bed before the services were over (and Jason took that duty). The bummer part for Jason was missing out on some INCREDIBLE teaching, but he in turn got some extra sleep with Lincoln. Another area of "work" that emerged is being nice to girls. :) He has pretty much always been around boys and this week was with me a lot and my girls. I think he started liking them by the end of the trip, but we have some work to do. Ha.
The "good" was just watching his independent self in action! He built relationships with little Memphis boys in the gyms and would ask them questions getting to know them, then play games with them. He LOVED being one of he big boys, getting to ride the charters and vans with his JH buds. He slept great and took naps which was a blessing, and even found jobs he could do to be useful on work projects. It was great for him to be emerged in a different culture and teach him some things that just don't really exist here in Bentonville (unfortunately).

Here's a funny Lincoln story that happened right away on our first day in Memphis. It sums up my little guys personality and why we felt so comfortable taking him:

Our first morning, the entire 200 group of us loaded the buses to go to church at Fellowship Memphis. The 2 main pastors that started this church are a white guy and a black guy, with the goal of easing the racial tensions in a very racially divided area. So the church was obviously new, as well as he culture to our little guy. Not to mention, it was day one being in a new city. We let Lincoln ride the charter bus over there with KK & Lauren (while we drove our car), and when we got there, he had a skip in his step all the way to the front door with the "big kids." The church was rather large and we thought FOR SURE he would just sit with us and the kids.
But when we got inside, he INSISTED he go to church with all the little kids he was seeing. We kept telling him he could stay with us since it was a new big place, but that little social bug insisted otherwise.
So we chuckled and checked him in. We took him down the hall and he galloped in his little classroom with new buddies, never looking back.
We shrugged and laughed and went on to the service (which was AMAZING).
After the service, we went with some of my girls to pick him up and his teachers said he did awesome! They said all of the children's section pooled together for "big worship" and in front of the entire children's church, they asked who wanted to play "Jesus" for the children church production that morning.
Guess who volunteered.
Lincoln. They said he played "Jesus" in the production, and that Mary even washed his feet. He later told us she washed it with her hair and that it tickled. Hilarious.
And we were thinking he would want to stay with us.
He also skipped out of class and thus started his signature "hop in his step" he seemed to have everywhere he went on this trip, he was so excited. Love that guy. I love how he can be thrown into strange situations and go with it.

Lincoln told me the other night that he really missed Whyatt, Riley, Tyler, Tyrik, and Bowen. Precious.

More on my experience with my girls and what all we did later!!!!!! :)
(and some pics - Bedfords is having to recover my SD card because it got damaged)

Season's Over

The "busy season" of our year has officially ended (aka: basketball is over), so I thought I'd do a little catch-up and preview while the kids are sleeping.

I'll start with Tiger Basketball.

Most people make comments like "Man, I'll bet you'll be excited when season's over!" or "It's all over! Now you can just relax and have more free time!"
But honestly, I go through a mild state of depression every time season ends! Yall I was meant to be a basketball coaches wife. God knew what He was doing because I love it...every second (well, almost). I love the intensity, the excitement, the crazy schedules and hours, the kids, their families, even the message boards...and more than that, I truly love the game. So yeah, I'm sad when it's all over every year, and especially this year. I'm truly going to miss this team. It was a joy and privilege watching them play, grow in the Lord, and love on my kids. Oh and icing on the cake watching them make it to the Final Four - a school record (like, in the entire history of Bentonville). They actually broke a lot of school records this year...so proud of them!

Then there's Lincoln...
Watching him become a part of the team this year was just hysterical. By the end of season, that 4-year-old was doing everything except actually playing the game. He knows every single players first and last name and their corresponding number. I'm not exaggerating. By the end of season, he even knew a handful of players and numbers on the opposing teams. CRAZY. He can use all the basketball coaching jargon I don't even understand, Jason has taught him a handful of post moves and how to have a good defensive stance, and he has learned about 50% of the "Star-Spangled Banner". He did warm-ups with the Tigers before every game (which was my favorite), got to stand on the floors for starting line-ups, go in the locker room for post-game speeches, and ride the bus home with the team. Jason said he thinks next year he will be able to be a full-on "water boy" for them and sit at the end of the bench. STOP GROWING UP LINCOLN!!
The boy loves loves loves basketball. I'll ask him at home if he wants to watch a show and he'll say "What basketball game is on?" He's got the motor (as they call it), now I hope he at least has a little bit of talent! Ha.

**In the past month, we have signed Lincoln up for pre-school (for August) and t-ball (for the spring) - both big firsts!!! Can't believe how quickly everything is going!
**Noah has been doing great at potty training! And he has started, here in past 4 months or so, to become so much more social with strangers! He'll seek out people to play with and he has taken a huge interest in Adelynn (which is heart warming). He has been super fun and playful lately...I am looking forward to some time with just him next year as Lincoln starts pre-school.
**Adelynn is just big. She's slowly creeping out of the baby stage which makes me sad. She says all kinds of things now ("Mama, Dada, Bubba, More"), can give you kisses, wave, dance, clap, and sign "more". She crawls all over the place and today I found her standing in her crib. She is a sweet little mess.

MEMPHIS
We have been crazy blessed with an awesome opportunity coming up next weekend!! I can hardly wait! Our junior high youth are going on an inner city mission trip to Memphis for a week. Jason and I are both going as leaders and we are taking Lincoln with us. When we first started leading cell groups, we were excited about the opportunities we would have to take our kids on some of these trips, and let them experience what it's like to serve God outside of our city. After this year, they become overseas trips. This one seemed perfect to take Lincoln on because we are partnering with an organization that seeks troubled youth in inner-city Memphis, and the main avenue is through basketball. I've been praying about this trip for a while and for God to show up in a mighty way. I am so excited to see what He has in store!
It's so crazy, but about 18 years ago, I went on my first inner-city mission trip and it rocked my world. It was then that God put this fervor and passion in my heart for that population, something I would continue to do well through college. I'm excited for Lincoln to start getting this experience early! (And crazy to think I'm now old enough to lead these things...and drive the vans...seriously??)

Can't wait!!!!

Great is His Faithfulness

"I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."

 

Lamentation 3:20-24

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.

 

 

 

 

 

Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

 

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

Snow Day

Remembering Tucker

This picture will forever be rested tightly against my soul.

It was the last image I captured of my sweet nephew Tucker before he went to be with Jesus. It was the last time I hugged and kissed him; the last time his cousins chased him through the hallways, laughed and squealed together, hugged, tugged, shoved, and wrestled in good cousin fashion.
You see this picture - in all its poor quality - perfectly captures the joy of these little boys' relationship. A relationship that had just begun to become vivacious and exciting. One year ago today, as Jason and I sat in Amy and Nate's living room until the late hours right before midnight, we laughed and relaxed in peace, watching these boys continue to develop a rich relationship. We joked about how crazy things would be with them as they continued to grow...how chaoic and fun family gatherings would become and so forth.
But as most of you know, the Lord had a different plan and Tucker went to his heavenly home 3 days after this picture was taken.
We'll never know the complete answers this side of Heaven but we are still confident in God's faithfulness...that He is alive and active in our lives...something we've seen demonstrated in many ways throughout this journey but more particularly in the birth of Amy and Nate's twins, Max & Gideon.

So today, as I look at this picture, I remember Tucker that night one year ago. I remember him and Noah chasing each other through the house with that walker-thing...I remember them playing with trains together...I remember Lincoln teaching Tucker how to put things together..I remember hugging and kissing his sweet little cheeks...I remember how much God loves us - even in the midst of unthinkable tragedy.

There are a few songs that remind me of those times a year ago. Some I can't listen to, and others I love to listen too, even if I'm an emotional mess by the last word. One such has been the following lyrics:

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

(This was taken the last time he was at our house...another cherished one. They were in the bath because Tucker had just discovered his love for blueberries that night when I gave him a TON and made a mess..he kept signing and saying "MORE! MORE!". I also gave him turkey because Amy said he loved turkey. But when I have it to him, he took a bite and spit it out with disgust. I text Amy and asked why he was refusing it, that I thought he loved it??! She text back "is it from the deli? He only likes it if it's from the deli." HILARIOUS. that little stinker!)

9 Month Pics

I did another little impromptu photo shoot with my baby girl. I can't get enough of her little cheeks!! Girls are so much more fun to photograph with all of their accessories. :)

Kid's Stats

we had some well-checks. So for my record-keeping, here it is.

Adelynn: 9 months
Height - 28.5in. (74%)
Weight - 19.6lbs (58%)

Noah: 3 years/0 months
Height - 38in (71%)
Weight - 28lbs (21%)

Lincoln: 4 years/4 months
Height - 43.75 (95%)
Weight - 43lbs (85%)

Verdict? Lincoln is a beast. He has been a beast from 4 months. In fact, his height percentiles have continued to just go UP the older he gets. I should start saving money for shoes.
I also think it is very possible that at Noah's 4 year check up, him and Adelynn will weigh the same.

The doc asked all sorts of questions about the kids yesterday, and then after having some insightful conversation with Jason about the kids last night, the conclusion at their current stage of life is:

Lincoln and Adelynn are pretty much twinsies. They even speak their own language together. I'm really not joking. I will be shocked if she is not a people person like he is, but then again, maybe she will only just be extroverted around the person she adores the most - Lincoln. We shall see.

Then our wild card is Noah Jackson. :) He is both wild and a card. And I love everything about him and how unique and creative God designed him. He is hilarious, amazes us with his language (he completely talks in descriptive sentences full of adjectives and words that continue to amaze me) and his ability to navigate any electronic device, and honestly, could really care a less what people think about him. This is different than Lincoln who already is a HUGE people pleaser. FYI, people pleasers are easier to parent. :)
But it hit me last night talking to Jason that we prayed Noah would be stubborn and stand for the Lord when no one else would and wouldn't be swayed by public opinion.
And here we are - 3 years later, trying to figure out the balance of how to instill compassion and empathy/sympathy in a child who can just do his own thing regardless of what others think, and sometimes, without thinking of others. It's not easy!
But I'm thankful the Lord made him so hilarious because his comic relief really is hysterical.

Anyway, I know I did a little update the other day, but just some more after their appt. since I seriously do go back and read these (I really do).

Miss Priss at 9mo.

She is a hilarious stinker who moves at full speed with her unique 1/2 crawl (she drags one leg behind her and has even rubbed a blister - poor thing). But this girl can move. I left her in the living room the other day with the boys while I was getting ready, and in no time, she crawled through the house to find me - she even knew her way!

She is not pulling up yet and really shows no interest (which is fine by me). I still predict she is a late walker.

She finally has her first tooth in about 1/2 way. The boys both used to wake up with full teeth that seemingly grew overnight, but hers seem to take their ever loving time. And while the boys used to sleep more when they teethed, she cries more.

When it comes to her schedule these days, she feels more like a toddler since they all three do the same thing (or maybe the boys are more like babies?).
She goes to bed earlier than the boys (around 8:00pm), and the past few weeks will wake up about 6:30am - by which I don't consider morning - so I throw her a bottle in her bed and we don't hear from her until about 8:30-9:00am.
She would totally take a morning nap, but we are literally rarely here and she is too entertained to sleep much on the go anymore (though she will sometimes), so she really crashes with the boys from 1:30ish - 4:30ish.

She also added a whole lot more solids this month and has mastered picking things up with her thumb/forefinger. She likes bananas, strawberries, carrots, and mix veggies (most of the time) and still has a special little passion for cheerios. I will still feed her the mushy stuff too, but not as often.
Since she is eating more, she only gets 4 oz. milk every 4 hours or so.

Some fun developments have been her communication skills! She now says "mama" all the time, and just recently started saying "bubba" to Lincoln (sorry, dada).
She can also sign "more", and will start clapping when you say the word "clap" or if she sees someone else clapping. She clapped through the whole B'ville starting line up at the game last night. She still "sings" with me when I sing to her which might be my favorite thing ever.

Her and Lincoln have had a special relationship for a long time, but this month, her and Noah have started connecting! He seeks her out and will play with her. They did a crawling race the other day and when Lincoln asked Noah to come play with him, he told him, "No, I'm playing with Adelynn right now."

Her and Noah both have well checks next week. I bet they weigh the same. Ha. No I know she is in the 70%ish for weight because they weighed her for her ear infection last week. (By which she has already gotten 2  - no tubes please!!!!!).

So anyway, that's my sweet *almost* 9mo. old. And so begins the last stretch to her 1st birthday. Crazy.

THREE!

Noah turns 3 today!!!! I made a little college of when he was born, and all his birthdays up to this point.

Can I say this boy has brought so much joy, laughter, and amazement into our lives. The fast pace at which his language has developed over the past year makes us laugh immensely since he has been saying "big" things for almost a year now, yet it all comes from this tiny little person. He really has brought tons of comic relief to our lives in the midst of some rough waters and I am so thankful for the little man God is molding him into.

He has so many crazy little quirks that makes him our incredibly unique, quirky, peculiar middle child. He is super laid back, takes his time doing everything, loves his sleep, and LOVES his toys. He has finally started being more of a social guy and has some little buddies now that he actually verbalizes wanting to go spend time with (this is a big deal - ha).

Obviously, we are all one-of-a-kind, but this little guy is seriously one of a kind.

In the past few months, he has really gotten into memorizing Scripture, with his latest verse being John 3:16. It's funny, because he can memorize them when put to motions, and Lincoln memorizes them when put to song. Already have their learning preferences!

Noah, we names you this after Noah from the Bible and have prayed from day 1 that you would be stubborn for the Lord and go against the grain, for the sake of your Savior.
You definitely are stubborn, and you go against the grain. (And you have a special charm over all animals - ha). I pray God continues to guide you in His ways of using your personality to honor Him!

 

 1st Birthday:

 

 2nd Birthday:

 

3rd Birthday:

 

Cookies!!!!

So I've talked about my absolute best chocolate chip recipe ever on here a lot, but I discovered something new yesterday!
I've been seeing on pinterest a lot about using cornstarch in the batter, and I thought I would test it out.

You see I, too frequently, will want to make CCcookies but forget (or don't have) vanilla pudding. And yesterday was one of those days, so I decided to see what cornstarch would do. I used the same recipe but instead of the pudding (since I didn't have it), I put in 2 tsp of cornstarch.

And it worked! Jason said he still liked the vanilla pudding slightly better, but I would say if the pudding ones were at a 100%, these were at a 95%.

So there you have it. If you forgot to get the pudding, throw in some cornstarch.