happy 4th, happy summer

so good & refreshing.

makes me want to enjoy every

second of this season.

makes me want to catch fire flies

with our sweet little boys.

makes me want to stand in awe

& wonder of our good Father

& all He's made for His glory.

al

we flew to africa (instagram edition)

al

say "hello" amos!

amos benjamin has been dying to introduce himself.

here's our crazy, loud, funny, sweet boy!

you'll be seeing plenty more of this silly boy.

it's so amazing to see his personality come out more & more everyday.

it's also crazy to see the sin in his heart as he feels more comfortable. :) 

we're still trying to find where we packed our hard drive with all our pictures!!! 

ah! it's killing me! but instagram will do for now. ;)

al

vote for me, vote for me, please, please, please

i'm here, i'm here!

hi hi hi dear friends!

oh goodness i've missed blogging! so life-giving to me & helps me work through what i'm going through as i share it with u. :) i've been dying to get on here & write some things, but have had zero time with returning from uganda, packing our house up, saying "bye" to friends & moving up north.
so here we are... living in the middle of craziness. well not as much crazy anymore because all the "moving" is behind us (for now). but wow, i've felt like i'm going to go crazy sometimes. with all the change it's been very hard to make time with the Lord... what i'm learning/STILL learning...
I CANNOT DO ANY OF THIS WITHOUT HIM!!!! i'm in such desperate need of Him.
i am so type A. i make lists & i plan & i try to prepare for change.
but i just need Him!
we have more changes coming up for our family (i'll talk more about that later) & i just feel overwhelmed thinking about how to best prepare & set our family up to "do well" during this new season. i just picture myself in a crazy mess. writing tons of lists. food on my face. hair a mess. just STRESSED. running around trying to make things go smoothly.
...IT'S NOT UP TO ME! how anything goes really. everything is in His hands. our children are His. we are His. this new season is already perfectly planned out by Him. we, as parents, do our best with what He leads us to do. but how it unfolds is up to Him.
"in quietness & in trust shall be your strength." isaiah 30:15

give me quietness & trust Lord! trusting You will be my strength.
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we are still unpacking & i currently cannot get to all my pictures from uganda. :-/
so until then... enjoy this gorgeous song!!!!!!!
al

we're (finally) going home!

we're bringing our amos home!!! it's been a long long road & we are so ready to be home (for 2 weeks before we move ;) )! pray for lots of grace for our little family as we have a very long trip home!

while in africa... we've had a lot of fun experiences & quality time as a family, we've eaten way too many carbs & sugar, we've cried some, we've laughed a lot, we've sweated a whole bucket full (maybe more. sorry that's a little gross), we've enjoyed meeting new friends, we've learned to spit in the shower to keep from swallowing any of the water, we've played in puddles, we've done a lot of new things, we've been stretched beyond what is comfortable to us, we've longed to be comfortable, we've learned to cope in stressful situations, we've been sick, we've (well some of us) ridden boda bodas. we've been eaten up by mosquitos, we've resorted to letting the boys watch the iPad at meals to keep them still (& therefore become horrible parents), we've eaten doritos for breakfast, we've had way too much fanta, we've changed soooo many dirty diapers, 

we've been SANCTIFIED!

the Lord is so good to us! He's so faithful! we look forward to what the Lord has next for our family & we rejoice in what He's done during our time in africa. we will cherish these memories!

 al

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click the button, then click the owl on the left. 

thanks thanks thanks!