TWO!

A post to commemorate Laina's passage into two-year-old-hood. I know it's a couple weeks late, but better late than never, right?!

We were outside playing and taking photos today and I was inspired to write a poem about my little girl. I haven't written poetry since college, so it's not great, and it's not even close to being finished. And no, you don't get to hear what I have so far. But you do get a couple pictures from the session.




















On her actual birthday, we had a little impromptu gathering at our neighbors Josh and Andrea's house, complete with a cake made by a different neighbor, Myka. Our neighbors are so awesome and we absolutely love living in this community!



















Laina also received birthday gifts in the mail all through out her birthday week and still gets excited when a package comes to the door. Many clothes arrived which are much appreciated (so she has something to wear this summer!) and a special tea set from her cousins. She is very into pretend play and loves setting up tea for her stuffed animal friends and also me and Jay.

I so whole-heartedly, absolutely, love the age she is at now. Some people complain of the "terrible twos", and maybe that is still coming for me, but Laina really has a great personality and is so much fun to be around and interact with. She is so curious and wants to know about everything and I love teaching her. She loves singing and dancing and spinning. She is running now and trying to jump. And she still loves cars, trucks, buses and tractors! In the car today she was singing a song she composed about Daddy, Mommy and Laina. She is also creative and artistic, loving coloring and drawing. She draws lines and circles and tries to draw letters and asks us what they are. It's so awesome to see her growing and learning. While there may be the occassional fit when she doesn't get her way, she really is such a joy to our family. It may have taken me two years to see it, but now I can really believe that children are a blessing from the Lord.

Here's to many more happy years ahead of us.

An Inspiration

Today I had the privilege of attending Alternatives Pregnancy Center's spring luncheon. My friend invited me, and although I had to do some creative scheduling at the barn in order to get out of there early to get showered and up to DTC where the luncheon was held, I am so, so glad I went.

The speaker, Star Parker, was phenomenal and to say she is extreme is putting it mildly. She has an amazing passion for God, morality, and getting people up off their complacent butts and doing what's right. I have been interested in Alternatives for a while now and kept thinking I wanted to get involved, to volunteer, but never really followed through on it. Then I got somewhat indifferent and became what Star calls a POB - "Personally Opposed, But..." and my particular "but" was that the government is not a moral entity and that we can't expect them to make moral decisions for us so why should we try to do anything about it. Star pointed out that we can make a difference one person at a time and that we can get down on our knees and pray for our country.

How ironic that now, when we are not sure if we will even be staying in this area, I am seriously motivated to do something. And I can pray. And, no matter where we might end up, God knows what and where is best for us and knows the passions of our hearts and I'm sure there will be something similar I can get involved in wherever we may end up. And like I told Jay, if there isn't, maybe I can start something.

Coloring Eggs

Last week Laina and I colored eggs with Julie and Channing. Jay was out of town (snowboarding for the first time in CO since we moved here, finally!) so our neighbors invited us over for egg coloring and dinner. We had a lot of messy fun with the eggs but the kids really had a good time.

Waiting for God?

I feel I'm in an interesting situation. This post might jump around a bit but that's just how my brain's working right now.

Have you heard the story of a guy who's town is flooding? Probably. There are some different variations but the one I pulled off a Christian jokes page goes like this:

The flood was coming and word was sent to evacuate. One farmer sat on his porch and told the rescue team. "I'm waiting for God, He'll save me." Soon the water rose and the farmer was forced to the second story of his house. The rescue boat came but he told them. "I'm waiting for God He'll save me." Soon the farmer was forced to the top of his roof. The rescue helicopter came but he told them. "I'm waiting for God, He'll save me." The water rose and the farmer drowned. On his arrival in heaven he asked God, "Why didn't you save me? I waited for you but you never came." God replied. "I came three times."

I'll get back to the story in a minute. In our lifegroup at church, we're going through a book called "Walking with God" by John Eldredge. We're only a few sections in but the gist of it is that you can talk to God and hear from God on a day to day basis. I'm liking it and really trying out some of the principles and ideas he talks about.

So back to the story. Was it really wrong of the guy to wait for God and expect big things? Bigger miracles than a boat and a helicopter? Lately (as in, just this past day and a half or so) I've been feeling like I'm trying to rely too much on my own devices in the midst of our own little "crisis". OK, so maybe a better analogy would be if the guy in the story tried to build his own boat to save himself. I feel like that's what I'm doing. Trying to build my own boat. By trying to sell more baby leggings and diapers and really putting some time and effort into my Usana business and picking up extra hours at the stable. I'm not relying on God. This is where the book we're reading ties in. I really feel like God is telling me to stop trying to do it on my own and rest in him. To let him provide.

But that brings me right back to the guy on the roof in the flood. Maybe God is providing for us by these other means. I mean, my Etsy sales have never been so good. My Usana business is growing. The barn owner has been so gracious in giving me more hours even though she knows it's only until Jay finds work. I don't want to be an idiot and miss the provision God already is giving. So where is the balance? Is one mind set correct and the other wrong? Do I listen to the little voice in my head (that I think is God) telling me to rest? Or do I rest in knowing that God already is providing? Am I waiting for some sort of big miracle or can I be confident and content in where we are now? Maybe these seemingly conflicting thoughts can actually cohabitate in my mind - one is not wrong nor the other right. Maybe I need to stop and ask God, "exactly what is this 'rest' you keep mentioning?"

Laina's Day at the Barn

Jay brought Laina out to the barn on Saturday while I was there working and riding. She loves everything tractor and farm, so she had a blast. While I was riding, I asked her if she wanted to sit on the horse, and she said yes, but when she got up close and personal, she decided no. At least she helped me brush and wanted to pet Midnight.

Grandma and Grandpa come to visit

We had a great long weekend with my parents who left yesterday. Laina loved having her Grandma and Grandpa here to play with her and they set the bar pretty high! They entertained her with elaborate games of a version of peek-a-boo they called "hi there" with the Three Little Pigs and other toys, and now she is wanting to pretty much do nothing else.

We made some delicious and healthy home cooked meals and also got treated to very yummy Thai food in Denver called Swing Thai.

We spent Monday morning at the Denver Zoo and had a great time. The weather was cold and the animals were feeling fresh. We saw the porcupines and bears running around playing (not together, of course), the warthogs sparring, and even the awesome tiger was up for a minute. I've never seen the animals so energized at the zoo before. We also got to see the sea lion and elephant perform.

It seems the visits by family are always too short, and we are looking forward to another visit in summer!

Updates and...pizza

The big news - Jay had an interview today and has another one next week. I guess it went well and I'll let him blog more about it later if he wants to. I'm still working about 3 days a week at the barn plus doing good business with Laina's Laundry and also Usana. Today I got a call from church asking if I would do paid childcare for an 8 week course they are offering on Friday nights. So God is definitely providing!

We are hopeful that Jay will get a job offer out of one of these interviews, but if not we are still praying that more interviews come his way.

My parents are coming out for a visit this weekend so that will be a nice treat and I'm looking forward for them to spend more time with Laina and catch up on all her growing and learning!

And a little bit of small news - I got my first pizza stone and make this oh-so-delicious pizza on it and it turned out so well! I've always made pizza on a cookie sheet but this stone really made the crust perfect.