Llama Llama pics

See our previous post on Emery's birthday. Anyway, here are the llama pics...

Emery's 3rd Birthday

So this is a little late, but Emery turned 3 on Monday. I can't believe he is already 3! We decided to have a family day and it turned out to be very fun. Since we are living with our friends, the Kinneys, in Corrales, we got to "feed" some of their neighbor's llamas, Pete and Cowboy. For those of you who don't know, Emery's favorite animal is the llama. He has a stuffed llama called "llama, llama" that he sleeps with and likes to pray for Columbia because this is where Taylor told him llamas live :) (all this stems from the book, Llama Llama Red Pajama, and others by the same author). Anyway, the llamas weren't super cooperative, but it was still fun and Emery loved it. I especially love the picture of him holding up his 'llama, llama' with Pete, the real llama in the background.

In the afternoon, we went to the Rio Rancho pool for some swimming and water fun. Then we came home for dinner with the Kinneys. Emery wanted a "Cars" party (from the movie car) and a cake with red frosting, hence the cake :).

Here is a little description of what Emery is like at age 3 (although some of the pics probably say more).

1. Still has a sweet little spirit, but is now becoming increasingly mischievous.
2. Has become quite the jabberbox, but still loves to snuggle (or "nuggle" as he would say)
3. We call him our little neatnick. He likes to keep his hands clean or have a washcloth close at hand just in case.
4. Did you see his little sly grin? Has some great facial expressions! This boy is definitely a charmer!
5. Loves his siblings. Likes to copy Autumn and Taylor and pester Mya (although in a very sweet, sly manner)

We love you so much, Emerson!!!

Happy Birthday Zach!

To honor my wonderful husband I wanted to pubically proclaim what I so love about him (hint, you may be able to figure out how old he is today :))...

1. He loves the Lord with his heart, mind, and soul
2. He encourages me to do the same
3. He is a very loving husband and devoted father
4. He does not shrink back from speaking the truth but does so with love and humility.
5. He plays the piano beautifully
6. He also is gifted with the guitar and as a singer
7. People are frequently led into the presence of God when he leads worship
8. He is big and tall (from Taylor)
9. Thankful we can listen to music from daddy (from Autumn)
10. He can roast marshmallows (also from Autumn)
11. He loves to learn (not only knowledge but how to grow in his faith, role as a paster, father, and husband)
12. Sings silly songs for the kids (and with voices)
13. Repeats one word or phrase over and over when he gets squirrelly in the car
14. He is passionate (in lots of ways) :)
15. Helps me understand the grace and freedom in Christ
16. He holds and cuddles me (from Autumn)
17. He is redheaded handsomeness
18. He likes to play legos and basketball with me (from Taylor)
19. He likes to eat my cheeks (from Mya)
20. I love daddy, I like daddy (from Emery)
21. He still watches Lost with me even though he is getting very frustrated that nothing is being revealed (and watches an occassional chick flick) :)
22. He seeks ways to more clearly speak the gospel and have it impact every aspect of our lives
23. He has a heart for adoption (both physically and spiritually)
24. He is a gifted communicator in both speech and song
25. He is dedicated to our family and being the best husband and father he can be.
26. Seeks to be a servant, even when it doesn't come naturally for him.
27. Teaches us indicatives and imperatives (everyone in our community group should recognize this one :))
28. Disciplines with calmness and quickness and tries to point to the gospel as he does and encourages me to do the same
29. Patient with me
30. Plays with the kids in what they would like to do and also takes them on dates
31. Great listener
32. Good at asking questions and drawing people out.
33. He can take care of me (also Autumn, she is really loving this exercise):)
34. Willing to follow God at all costs and lead our family in exciting endeavors that require us to trust in God and see Him provide!

Zachary Taylor, we love you so much! Happy Birthday!!

Dance Party

This song never fails to produce an immediate dance party in our home. You can get it here.

God's Faithfulness in the midst of our chaos

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. (Habakkuk 3:17-19a)

Even though I haven't specifically been praying these verses, this is what our hearts have been crying out the last couple of months. We have been praying for funding, a place to live in Madison, and the sale of our home. Specifically, I was praying that our home would sell outright in a conventional way and that we would lose as little money as possible. But, Zach and I have been reminding ourselves and each other, that God is faithful EVEN if this doesn't happen. We need to trust and praise Him when our prayers are answered differently or unexpectantly. We want our hearts to be drawn to Him, and not just His gifts! He is what is worthy, not just what He does for us. He, Himself is the treasure!

So, the last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. Yes, God has been faithful and yes, He has been good. Here is the gist of what has been happening. We went to Madison almost 2 weeks ago. God provided a place for us to rent at the very last minute of our trip. We will be downsizing to a little house with great character and in a perfect location. We even met the family who currently lives there and will be moving just up the street. While in Madison, we were going back and forth with a possible verbal deal on our house in ABQ that just didn't seem to be working out.

Then, when we got home from Madison, our van's transmission went out and we realized that the real estate contract we had turned down while we were in Madison, may be the best we could expect so we reopened negotiations. After working hard at trusting, talking to friends in real estate, and some sleepless nights, we accepted the real estate contract. We end up losing more than we expected but it will in some ways be gradual (a monthly loss), with some up front (realtor fees) and a little at the end (difference in purchase price and what we owe). It will be for 2 years, until the family buyer our house obtains their own financing. It feels so nice to have it completed and we are thankful that we don't have to show the house anymore :). We close April 30 so we are now in full packing mode. We will live with a dear family here who graciously agreed to take in our whole, chaotic family :)

We also found a great deal on a van, a '01 Honda Odyssey with pretty high mileage but that has been extremely well cared for. The kids were so excited to drive around in it yesterday and it feels like a huge upgrade compared to our previous van. Zach and I used to say our dream car was a Honda Odyssey with stow and go seats and we realized that about 8 years later that is now what we have :)

In the midst of all this, Zach also preached on Sunday. He did a fabulous job and really spoke God's Word of challenge in confessing our sins to one another. You can hear it here.

God has blessed us so abundantly through relationships. So many people have offered to help (and have helped) us through watching the kids, giving advice on cars and real estate, inviting us into their homes even when this causes great upheaval, taking in our dog for a month (molly is staying with another family), and offering help in packing and moving. We are very rich indeed!

Happy Easter!

The Rewards of Motherhood

So today has been kind of a rough day for me. I admit that some days I am just discouraged and today has been one of those days. Maybe it is appropriate it is Good Friday. I have certainly felt those "groanings" of sin and fallen creation and have been thankful that Easter is just around the corner and of the reminder today that Jesus became the curse so that I don't have to bear it. Well, you can always look at Zach's blog if you want more discussion of this :). My day started with pretty grumpy kids, especially Mya. Emery pooped in his pants 4 times today and did make it to the potty once (no he doesn't have diarrhea, I just think he holds it so long that it all comes in one day and then he just goes little bits, or big, at a time). Needless to say, this is very frustrating especially on a day that I have been trying to clean bathrooms, dust, finish laundry etc. I'm trying to be diligent in keeping the house clean and ready to show but have been pretty discouraged and a little cynical (keep preaching to myself that God will provide, He is faithful, "why are you so downcast oh my soul", etc). Anyway this is what our house looks like today...

Animals...


Legos, more animals, etc, etc, etc...


Lego guys guarding all over the bathroom...


Even set up for a large meeting in the middle of our living room...


Aren't you glad I didn't take any pictures of Emery's many messes :) (we've done those before). I seriously felt like going back to bed much of the bed (ok I know, whine, whine, whine), but then Taylor brings this down...

Inside is a pocket with a tongue...

Which says...


Oh, the rewards of motherhood are great! Makes all the mess (literal) worth it.

Another growing up moment

Here is Mya finally going down the stairs by herself. For months and months she has been going up but we have been trying to teach her to go down to no avail for about as long. I guess today was the day!

She also has started talking up a storm and singing. As you can see, she's not super cooperative, but you get the idea.

Amidals

A few weeks ago, we were all sitting in the girls' room for some rare, unplanned family time. Autumn was playing with her stuffed animals and all of the sudden proclaims, "I can't believe I'm 5 and I can't say 'aminals' yet!"
She used to say 'amidals' but recently moved to 'aminal'. We love it!

Anyway, she must have been practicing because a couple of days ago at the dinner table she was talking about animals and said 'animals' ever so slowly and carefully. Zach asked her to repeat it and sure enough she said, 'ani-mals' again. Drat! I'm so proud of her, but also a little sad. It was kind of her last hold out in speech and means she is growing up! :( I'll always love "AMIDALS"

Preschool Concert

On March 2nd, Autumn had her Spring Concert for Preschool. Each class, age 2-4 yo, sang about 5-6 songs. You can tell from the excitement on Zach's face how he felt about it :) Autumn, on the other hand, was in her element and loving every minute! Her class sang, "Be Happy", I Have a Hello in My Heart" (somewhat weird song), "Skidamarink a Dink a Doo"(which Emery also loves to sing), "This Little Light of Mine", and Thank You God for Making Me".

More Snow Pics

Hard to believe there is enough snow to actually play in! It was beautiful this morning waking up to big flakes and the ground covered in white (I'm sure this won't be our sentiment next year in March when we've had snow all winter :)). The kids loved it! It is sunny now and already starting to melt.

Snow?

March 20th in Albuquerque, NM. 

Crusty Nasty Sicky

This is what Mya looked like this morning when we got her out of her crib.  Nast. 

Lots of catching up to do! Let's start with Valentine's Day

So I started to try and catch up on my blogging a couple of days ago. This is how far I got...

"Ok, it has been a long time since we have blogged."...Maybe I should try again :)

I think it has been about a month (well except for yesterday's nasty nose and snow day today). We put the house on the market and I have preoccupied getting it ready and trying to keep it clean and ready to show. On a side note, please be praying with us. We had quite a few showings initially once it went on MLS and got great feedback but haven't shown it in about 2 wks. We will be losing money on the house so we were hoping to sell early and make up a little on not having a mortgage payment, but anyway...We are trusting in God's provision and timing but I have to admit I can get anxious and discouraged. It is another good lesson in patience and trust; we do not want to be like the Israelites in the wilderness who grumbled even though they had seen God work time and time again. Anyway, enough of that...I'll go back and start with Valentine's Day.

Zach did a great job making me feel special. Since Valentine's day was Sunday this year, he was up and gone for church before I even got out of bed. I found little messages all over as I was getting ready (and some I didn't find until the next day). Some of them are inappropriate to show here so I censored those!. Let's just say I was glad I got up before the kids, especially Taylor who can read :). They had fun helping me find the ones in the kitchen and it was a great example of being romantic for them to see!

Love you sweetheart!

Mya Speak

At 15 months, Mya is quickly gaining more and more words. As predicted, she is quite the talker (not only with frequency but often with volume as well). Some of her favorite words are: NO, hi, yeah!, bye-bye, bye dada, mama, maw lee (molly our dog), all done, no my (no mine usually directed at Emery). She also likes to mimic the inflections of anything we sing, especially ABC's and Happy Birthday ("hap birday").

These are the most recent pics. Autumn loves to match Mya, especially in beautiful dresses. Mya on the other hand was having a hard time keeping still and reverted to her "cheesy", silly smile. Aren't they adorable. On a side note, Mya's hair is just about long enough to make cute little nubs (she is not a fan of sitting so I can do this, but that's the price of fashion :))

Bow and Arrow

Taylor and Papa Lynn spent much of their time together this weekend making a bow and arrow.  Needless to say, Taylor is fairly excited about it.

Do not be anxious about tomorrow

Zach and I started the ESV plan to read through the Bible in a year. Since I am a checklist kind of person, I really have to consciously remember that I am reading to know God and His Word better and not just to check off the box. Taylor has been wanting to read out of the "big Bible"(meaning not out of one of our children's Bibles)so sometimes I just read my daily reading aloud with him. This actually really helps because as we talk about what we've read and what it means, it helps me meditate on the passage as well. A couple of days ago was one of these mornings, especially poignant and keeps coming back to me.

Matthew 6: 25-34--Why are you anxious, don't be anxious about food and clothing (or housing or funding). God clothes the flowers and feed the birds, how much more valuable are you. God knows you need these things so do not worry. "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

I'm so thankful for the timing and truth of these verses. The last couple of days I have felt heavy and slightly helpless. As for many of you, the situation in Haiti has been weighing on me(can our small giving actually make any difference, "How long oh Lord" do people have to suffer!). The other situation that has been weighing on us has been with putting our house on the market (we are putting our house on the market Feb 1st and have learned that the housing market in our neighborhood and appraisal prices are much lower than we were expecting; way lower than what we bought 3 yrs ago and most likely lower than what we currently owe). I admit that I've cried about our housing situation, but keep coming back to Matthew 6 and to hope. Not only are we thankful that we have a home, our family, and our health (unlike many in Haiti), but more so that God is Sovereign. I am not in control (I can't control our housing or funding and I can't control anything that happens in Haiti) but I do not need to be anxious because I know the God who is in control. He knows what we need and He will provide. It may not be in the way we've imagined, but He is Good, Sovereign, Sufficient, and Satisfying. I pray that I will learn to seek Him first and be able to laugh at the days to come (Prov. 31) because I have no anxiety about tomorrow for I trust in My Rock, My Fortress, and My Savior.

Thank you once again Taylor for challenging your mama to think things through in a deeper way! :)

Autumn Turns 5!

Some Cute Pics of Mya - 12/30/09