Things I’m Loving

I figured I could pop in and share some things I’m loving lately on this sunny Friday!  The week has been rainy so the fact that it looks sunny outside has me excited for the day! Plus, Fridays always carry extra excitement. 

1. I found some adorable Baby Bling Bows for my sweet girl! I had been eyeing them online and I love supporting small town stores so this was a win-win. Plus, grandma was with us and was super kind to buy them. I am excited to see if I like them as much as everyone raves about them! Either way, she’s pretty cute in them. Here’s one of them:

2. If you come to my house, you’ll find an entire shelf dedicated to all my Bibles. Well right now you’ll find them in a box since we are moving and our bookshelves are empty. Details 😂  Yesterday, though, I was SO excited to open up a review package and find this gorgeous Bible. I’ll write a review on it soon once I’ve had a chance to check it out more but I am in love with the feel and look of it!

3. A clean house!  We spent time cleaning on Wednesday and Thuraday in prep for a house showing. This meant clearing out a lot of boxes we had filled too which felt great!  We are slowly getting all of our stuff out. I love coming back to a clean house even if I know we will play hard and get toys out within minutes. The contrast still feels great. Plus, how cute is Asher’s little guitar on his bed?

4. Browsing Target! I’ve been dreaming of all the fun things we can do in our new house and I have a few empty canvases to paint so I’ve been on the lookout for fun quotes. I love that this one talks about growth. I recently finished The Happiness Project and in her definition of happiness she includes growth. There really is something happy about continuing to change and grow!

5. Lastly, I’ve loved being able to do fun things with people this week! Music class, lunch with grandma where Asher and I shared my favorite vanilla milkshake, dessert and shopping with friends from Sri Lanka, a morning meeting on declaring and decreeing, and reading books in bed with my husband.

And now the weekend is almost here! 

What have you been loving?

Do What You Can

This last weekend was full! We kicked it off with a Passover Seder meal on Thursday.  We had our Good Friday service and lots of prep for our Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.  The Egg Hunt went great and we were able to use the Resurrection Eggs before the hunt. I love the anticipation and involvement of the crowd. The kids seem to love taking turns opening each egg to see what part of the story is next.  

We ended with lots of family time on Sunday after church. Not to mention we snuck in some packing time as well. We move in less than two weeks! Then we are off to live with Grandma and Grandpa for a bit before we close on a house in June! 

While it’s been easy to become overwhelmed with the mess and with all of the tasks on our list, I keep reminding myself to do what I can. Pick up what I can. Pack what I can. Prep what I can. Play when I can. Talk to those I can. Give what I can. A little bit goes farther than I think. 

In reflecting on this weekend, I am reminded that Jesus did what He came to do. He what He could for us and those small steps of obedience to the Father resulted in exponential blessing and favor for us today.  The veil was torn and we were granted access to the Father. I am so thankful He did not turn back. I am thankful for the example to follow of simple obedience no matter what comes my way. 

And now it’s back to Monday and just like the disciples kept going after Jesus had risen, we get to do the same. 

And I can’t forget to include a few pictures from our weekend!

We didn’t have a basket for Asher for the egg hunt so he got a makeshift one from one of the rooms, he enjoyed laying on the floor for church since it was a family service without Nursery options, and next year we will take a family picture right away in the morning while everyone is in theory in a good mood! I’m learning to keep loving all the funny things that make this life imperfect. 

Destined to Win

I love listening to Kris Vallotton speak and have enjoyed reading some of his other books and articles. I set out with high expectations for his latest book Destined to Win especially since it has to do with my word for the year (purpose). 

I had a hard time getting started with the book since it is so different than some of his others and realized that this one was not going to be quite what I pictured. I wanted a book on personal purpose. The chapters felt geared toward people who already have more focus and really spoke to work roles for me. Many points were helpful for me to think in terms of leadership and teams. Some chapters I really wanted some more depth too but I did love some of the stories included and big ideas. 

Some big take-aways included: find people who are like you (your tribe), expose yourself to others to help get vision, get really good at using your gifts to build others up, and focus on who God has for you to help.  

All in all, I would suggest this book for a look at teams and leadership as well as insight into “tribes” of people.  

Disclosure: I got this book for free but all opinions are my own! 

What We’ve Been Up To

We’ve been packing boxes and getting ready to move! Once I know something is coming, I would rather just have it here and be done with it so that’s what I have been working toward doing! Even though, I wish we had clearer next steps at least we know where we won’t be living! I keep praying that something exciting and purposeful will happen. I definitely feel like we are in the one step at a time stage. 

Melea has been all about the kick n play lately! She loves turning 360 and is such a mover.  She will go from using her feet to turning to use her hands and back again. She’s also a fan of the crab and the elephant on it too for grabbing and “eating.”

The weather is inching toward spring and summer! We have had some nicer days thankfully. I have been in full on double stroller search. We have our REI coupon that we could use too so I’m trying to figure out what we want. BOB or Thule or Phil and Ted or what?! Whatever happens I am anticipating lots of walks wherever we end up living! 

And a little flashback to South Africa because who doesn’t need something to smile about (and miss) on a Friday 😍 

4 Months

And just like that we have hit 4 Months with Miss Melea 😍 She sure has all of us wrapped around her finger (even Boaz likes her!). She brings so much joy to our every day life and has such a fun personality. She’s still our petite little one who is happy and content and still quite the sleeper but also squirmy! 

What we have learned…spring can keep coming! A double stroller is on our to buy list. 

What we are enjoying right now…the days we get to be outside, music class, storytime at the library, and hanging out as a family. Lots of drives looking at houses too. 

What our struggles are right now…waiting to see where we are going next!

Most exciting milestones…lots of grabbing things, chewing, and moving all the way around!

What we are looking forward to… moving! Warm weather! Seeing people at my cousin’s wedding. Easter. 

What Melea seems to like and dislike…grabbing the crab and elephant, tummy time, watching Asher, her toes, and chewing on things. Dislikes seem to be when she chews on something and it moves unexpectedly, when she can’t reach what she wants, and getting stuck. 

What sleep looks like…I still haven’t kept track much but she’s waking up usually twice a night and sleeping until 7-8. Then napping again usually around 9:30/10. Then another nap or two and then going to bed around 8-9.

What we are eating…still nursing like a champ. She’s getting more distracted when Asher is around but not bad. 

Who we have seen…the usual people ☺

At the last doctor appointment…we haven’t had one recently but she’s finally edging into 6 month clothes! Still size 1 diapers when she’s not in cloth diapers.