just a little family update

In attempt to be more faithful in documenting our simple life, here is an update! All of about 2 people will wanna read this whole thing. For the rest of you, enjoy the pictures! ;)

Our kids are growing and changing every day.

2 weeks ago you were eating with your fingers, and now you eat with a fork. 

Yesterday you were looking at the pictures, and today you read your first sentence.

2 weeks ago you were crawling all over the church lobby, and the very next day you decided you're an expert walker.

My Sweetie-Girl Sky is just that: a really sweet, tenderhearted girl that I feel privileged to mother. I tell her every single day, and it is true, that she is *exactly* the daughter I prayed for, for as long as I can remember. We absolutely do have rough days. She is still 4 and has tempers and gets crazy when she's had too much sugar and is super-duper emotional. She doesn't like going to bed and thinks of at least a million excuses to stay awake. She... she is four. But, she is becoming such a caring individual that has a heart of gold. She genuinely CARES for people, and for animals. When she sees a child at the park, she goes up to them and introduces herself. And in Sunday School, she will find someone sitting by his or herself and befriend him or her. And when she looses her temper and yells, she will come to me on her own initiative, after she's calmed down, to apologize. Jonathan and I really see HUGE evidences of grace already being poured out on her little life and are excited to see who she is and who she is becoming! She loves to dance, loves to craft, loves to write letters to people. Her current favorite animals include: dolphins, tigers, hamsters, flamingos, and of course, puppies.

My baby boy is no longer an infant. He's a growing, hungry, babbling, crazy, energetic, goofy-head with no fear. He gets into stuff. The unflushed toilet, (don't question why my toilets are unflushed. You know you've had unflushed toilets in your house before!) the trash, the shoe closet, annnnd he just likes to rip stuff up in general. And I have to watch that boy at all times. He's totally and completely 100% different then Sky was at his age. He's a dare-devil that likes to dive head-first down the slide and thinks mulch is for throwing and eating. He is obsessed with The Fresh Beat Band and loves-- absolutely loves-- music. If he hears a song with a cool beat, he will instantly start bopping his head to the beat. He loves the guitar and airplanes and cars and jumping without knowing where he will land. And for all these reasons, we just love him so much! 

On Jonf's days off we've been intentional in planning fun family adventures.

Going to the pool, we discovered Grayson is half fish.

Going to the Zoo, we discovered that both mommy and Sky share a crazy passion for flamingos.

And we don't always "go out" to have fun. We dance to Jonf playing the guitar, or talk about endangered species, or make ice cream, or watch movies and eat popcorn. We like to cook together, dance together, be together.

Several have asked recently if we're considering a third. And our answer is, we are just so content right now with our 2. We've always sorta said we'd probably like three, but, there is time to decide. I'm really enjoying our family of 4 and would probably like to keep it this way for a while. Maybe forever. But we're still young. 

Jonathan is still loving Lockheed. I am still loving being a mommy at home. Together we've been working on our "calendar thing" as we've nicknamed it. We are attempting to start our own husband-and-wife business making custom calendars for children, teaching them all major components of a calendar. I'd love to see this launch by the middle of July and am actively working on building a superior product that is both beautiful and functional. So anyway, here is our little logo:

We're reading books and spending more time in God's Word. This year I have set a little personal "resolution" of sorts that is tangible and so helpful to me. And that is, to delight in the Lord more by thanking Him for even the littlest of things. To find the goodness of God in the midst of chaos and trials (believe me, there are trials). Thanking Him for my son's laughter, for a gentle breeze, for my daughter's bubbly toes. In this heart of gratitude I've noticed a peace in my heart that I've been craving for so long. 

"The Lord Has done great things for us; we are glad." _Psalm 126:3

Bethanie: my childhood friend

Does anyone else besides myself remember collecting Lisa Frank stationary when they were little girls? My neighbor and best friend Bethanie used to collect tons of it. I was always jealous of her collection. I had a few things, but Bethanie had the full, all-out collection of everything Lisa Frank. She kept it so organized and had everything I wanted.

Before I moved from Richmond, VA to Gaithersburg, MD, I gave her the little bit of Lisa Frank stuff that I had. We moved away, and I eventually lost touch with my best friend.

Having Bethanie as a friend when I was a little girl influenced who I became as an adult. I loved what a sweet person Bethanie was. She looked up to me because I was older. I think I subconsciously knew that  she looked up to me, because I remember thinking that I needed to be a good example. I've always kinda been the older one in friendships I've had with other girls growing up, and this mindset of wanting to set a good example has always stuck with me and played apart of who I am, my character, and who I want to be. Even when we lost touch for all those years, I would think back at this dear friendship I used to have with my friend and would pray for her. I was used to loosing touch with people who were dear to me (grandparents, my father, my friends in Richmond) but Bethanie was one of the hardest losses for me. I missed my friend.

Fast forward to about 10 years later. I found Bethanie on MySpace. I was ecstatic and in tears; I found my childhood friend! She was married, and had a son! Jonathan and I visited her and her family during one of our visits to Richmond, where we reunited. We reminisced about being children and shared with each other old memories that only we would remember, including our crazy fetish for Lisa Frank stationary.

5 years later = Christmastime 2011 (like, 2 months ago). We had Bethanie, her husband Zuhir, and her 2 boys over to our house from Richmond, VA. I knew that Bethanie would be bringing some of her Lisa Frank stuff with her so we could look through it and reminisce. What I **didn't** know is that she'd be bring ALL of it up here, still completely organized from years ago, and would be giving every bit of it to Schuyler! Sky was so excited to have an endless amount of crafts and stationary. I was shocked that Bethanie gave her everything she ever collected. It meant so much to me, because I know how much this stuff meant to Bethanie.

Sky uses this stationary every day. Not joking:: ev-ery-sin-gle-day. It's been so nostalgic rediscovering the different patterns and characters on this sentimental stationary, bringing back vivid memories of being upstairs in Bethanie's room going through her precious collection. You wanna know something fun? Since December, I've been finding all of these letters Bethanie wrote about 15 years ago. All written to me. Because we lost touch, she had no way of getting them to me. But she kept writing. And saved every one. Tonight, Sky was writing a note to her best friend, Kaylie, who also lives next door. When she opened the envelope to put her letter inside, she pulled out yet another precious note Bethanie had written to me over 15 years ago.

I cried.

It's been a sweet reminder from the Lord of how GOOD God has been to me throughout my life, to give me friends that care for me so much. Even though we had lost touch, Bethanie continued to write letters to me, as though I had never left her life. And that's the cool thing: We never really did leave each others' lives; she's been apart of my life and my heart for most of my life, and in finding these letters I'm able to see that I never left her life, either.

Friends are such a gift from the Lord. I'm so blessed to have true, meaningful, sweet, lasting, loyal friendships with dear gems such as Bethanie. Love you, friend.