A Muddy Good Time

My husband asked if I was going to write another "comical blog post" to accompany this picture (he thinks what I write is funny...I'm convinced it's just because he's the only one who understands what's going on in my head). 

I just don't know what can be said to go along with that picture to make it any better...so there it is for your viewing pleasure (or displeasure).

A Teaser

Yesterday we did the "Dirty Dash" 5k mud run with some friends. They sent me to do the shopping for our costumes:

Post-run (running is not entirely accurate--I'm way out of shape) pics to come...our cameras were in the car.

Family Weekend

Last weekend we rented a house in Bozeman for some quiet family time. The house was awesome...if you're ever in Bozeman and need a place to stay, it was a really great deal. 3 bedrooms, hot tub, xbox, stocked wine fridge. And it was Crazy Days in Bozeman...which means everyone has all of their clearance sales at the same time. We stocked up on our ski equipment and bought Isaac his first pair of skis. They're tiny!

Isaac's first ride on a ferris wheel (Gallatin County Fair):

[after doing this ride I've decided I hate carnival rides. I could hear the rusty bolts creaking and I was just waiting for our seat to break off and plummet to the earth]

Isaac the boat captain at the Bozeman Children's Museum:

Isaac with Big Mike at the Museum of the Rockies:

A Revolution

This post is going to be about small kitchen appliances. Lame, I know. But when you're a stay at home mom, it doesn't take much.

Let's start with my new addiction: coffee. It was slow-coming for a long time, lattes and espressos when I was out or needed extra energy. Then came Ansley. We keep her around because she's just so darned cute, but seriously, the girl still has not gotten the sleep-through-the-night thing down. I was eeking by on cokes and trips to City Brew, but that gets expensive. Then some sweet friends of ours bought us this:

(just because)

Well, it was all over once that thing made its way into our kitchen. A single cup of coffee in 60 seconds, with flavors like "Island Coconut" and "Hawaiian Hazelnut." Umm...yes please. 

We were out of coffee for this little guy this morning. First item on the agenda: hit up Sonic for a coke. And a breakfast burrito for good measure... [thankfully Fedex came through and delivered our next shipment this afternoon]

And appliance number two up for bragging rights today...

That's right, I bought the appliance that everyone has seen on a lame-o infomercial. Me and this guy have been spending a lot of time together. With Isaac I discovered how much cheaper it can be to make your own baby food. I used a food processor, which worked well, but wasn't mine. Those bad boys are expensive and a pain in the neck to clean. Again, enter Ansley. I had been eyeing this for awhile after hearing someone talk about how amazing it was, but I needed to do some research and find out.

Well, the verdict was quite mixed. Some people said they loved it, lasted forever, etc etc while others said theirs last only a few months, motor died, etc etc. Well, if it had been my dream, researched for months, stalked on ebay for weeks, stroller, I wouldn't have spent the money. But I decided since it wasn't expensive, and I had a coupon, I would go through three or four before I had spent the amount of money a good food processor costs. So I marched up to Costco and bought it.

Good news: I love it. Perfectly pureed baby food in seconds. Literally. Easy to clean, and takes up very little space. I can't speak to the longevity, but thus far the Magic Bullet and I are good friends.

Coming soon: coffee from the Keurig to make a frappe in the Magic Bullet. I can hardly stand the anticipation! [except this idea always comes at night...when I most certainly cannot under any circumstances drink coffee]

Contentment

Tonight is the fifth night that Ansley has been moved into the bedroom with Isaac. It is also the first night that this has gone off without a hitch. This whole situation has gotten me thinking about our life and how far the Lord has brought us the last couple years. So, if you want to learn the long, hard lesson of contentment, do the following:

1. Move to a city in the middle of nowhere, to a state that is so unknown most people will ask you how living in Wyoming is going. Well, actually, we don't live in Wyoming. It's Montana, the big one above Wyoming.

2. Move to that random place (where did you move to again?) having not sold your previous home. DO NOT...I repeat...DO NOT sell it for 18 months post-move. You must learn that the Lord will provide renters, and the perfect buyer at the perfect time.

3. Spend the first 6 months living with another family that also has kids and a dog. (You all live together?)

4. Buy a property that is in foreclosure. You MUST...I repeat MUST...find the one that has a prostitute/drug dealer renting the basement who refuses to leave or pay rent.

5. Move into the upstairs of the 'front' house. Refinish all floors. Paint all walls. Fix air conditioner (but DO NOT run it until August...that prostitute in the basement has some weird smells going on and she won't leave until then)

6. Get pregnant while the prostitute (and her weird smells) still lives in the basement. Enjoy the heat of the summer with no air conditioning, except in those precious moments when your pre-natal nausea just might be able to handle the smells.

7. Kick out prostitute...finally. Praise Jesus. A lot.

8. Re-model basement apartment. Floors, cabinets, walls, bathroom. Finally rid yourself of those awful smells. Enjoy your A/C.

9. Answer the door (in your pajamas) to the sight of a US Marshal. "I am looking for Larry Copp..." (he shows you a picture of the prostitute's boyfriend who is missing from a halfway house). "No sir, he hasn't been around for months..."

10. Explain that Larry Copp hasn't been around for months five times. To US Marshals, Bounty hunters ("Fugitive Recovery"), and child-support-something-or-other.

11. 'Back' house basement renter moves out. Re-model that apartment. Find renter.

12. New renter stays out 6 month lease. Leaves. Find renter.

13. Let renter get $2100 behind in rent. Decide: wait for his student loan money or find renter?

14. Switch bedrooms with 3 year old to make room for baby. New arrangement: to get to your side of the bed you must crawl over your spouse. Pregnant.

15. Have baby. Baby sleeps in living room. When there's a guest, she sleeps in the bathroom. (Where else would a baby sleep?)

16. Have gallbladder removed. (Really, who needs one?)

17. Move baby to share room with 3 year old. Let 3 year old nap in your bed. (Haven't you always wanted the sand from his toes in your sheets when you crawl into bed at night?)

But really, all sarcasm aside, the Lord has taught me immeasurably more than I could have ever imagined before we moved here. I am blessed. Not with a big house or a lot of money (or renters that pay on time...or ever). That is not where true blessings come. He has taught me what it means to love Him and live for Him alone. Not a house or an image or a paycheck. Just Jesus, wherever He has me go (even, and especially, in Montana).

"For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need." The Apostle Paul, Philippians 4:11-12

Happy Fourth (or twelfth...)

Well, this is a little late. No surprise. But here is Miss Ansley in her super cute 4th of July outfit. Of course I intended to get a good family picture but never did. We spent the 4th at a friends place on the edge of town. Isaac had his first experience with sparklers, along with a dozen other small children. It was a shock everyone came out unscathed! All in all a very good time with all the kids staying up way later than should ever be allowed...

Growing Up

(Isaac one month & 3 1/2)

I've found myself being a little over-emotional this last week looking at pictures from our St. Louis vacation. Have you seen Isaac lately? I just can't believe how big he is getting! I've been looking at him thinking "You're a kid. Like a real kid...not my little baby anymore." And then I start thinking about Ansley, who is still my little baby, but not for long...

Why is it that parents lament the growing of their children so much? We long to hold them and care for them like we can when they are babies. We love them in the same way, but we have to let them grow up, and unfortunately that means not always being able to hold them and protect them. And then as they grow we see how very human they are. Steve and I like to say "If you need proof that you don't need to teach a child to sin, look no further" as we gesture to our boy. It's not as much fun to see the sin of your children compared to the innocent images we have of them as babies.

Most of all, I lament the world that I have to let my children grow up in and be a part of. I'm not very old, but I've been around long enough to know that the world is full of false promises of fulfillment and satisfaction. The road is wide and easy that leads to destruction, this I can see every day. But the road is narrow and difficult that leads to Life. I am challenged every day to lead my children towards that narrow gate in the hopes that they will one day take up the Narrow Way for themselves. My greatest longing and prayer for them is that they put all of their hope and trust in Jesus. Growing up is inevitable. I can't protect them forever and that wouldn't be what is best for them anyway. Only Jesus can give them what they need. He can give them Life, and He promises to give it abundantly!