Pour Out Your Hearts

Trust in Him at all times, o people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. – Psalm 62:8

I love that throughout scripture I see examples of God hearing and answering His people.  He longs for them to cry out to Him and to come to Him.  He asks them to cast their cares on Him.  He binds up their broken hearts.  He knows their sitting and their rising.  He does not act like an indifferent bystander.  He’s working for us and for our good.  So, today, in light of writing that, I’m going to share some of the things that are tucked into my heart and just plain make me happy (besides, Fridays are for happy things!).

1. That husband of mine who does life with me.  He is such a gift.  Such a rock and such an encouragement. The road has been rocky and full of adversity, but I’m grateful that I chose him and am still choosing him…and grateful that he chooses me still.
2. Baby oh baby.  Mr. Asher is pretty much the happiest baby and my goodness I am so blessed and privileged to be able to be his mom.
3. My Lindo. He’s the one I miss and the one who taught me to love little boys so much.  I’m so glad I got to know him and for all the ways he cracked open my heart.  He taught me much and he is part of one of my absolute favorite God stories.
4. My Africa. My heart still beats for this place and for this country.  This is such a both and of happy and the heart wrenching grief of not being there.  This is where I pour out my heart waiting for God to weave this piece back into my life in a bigger way.
5. That crazy Boaz.  He pushed me out of my comfort zone and led me on a path toward more joy, laughter, and lots more snuggling than I could have guessed when I brought him home.
6. Church.  I couldn’t have guessed all the ways being on staff at my church would challenge, encourage, change, and ground me.  There’s so much goodness in being planted in a local church.
7. Community/Friends/People.  The world is so full of so many good, good people and I am so glad I’ve gotten to know and do life with a lot of them!

I think (maybe?) sometimes part of knowing you are the beloved of God is remembering, taking note, and being grateful for the things He has put in your life.  He is good to us.

What has He put in your life that makes you happy?

Friday!

Yikes! This week kind of felt like it was dragging on, but I’m sure glad it’s finally Friday.  I’m ready for a date night, family time, church, and maybe even a few other fun things packed in there.  Oh and guess who is 10 weeks old today!? Asher!  I am like whoa he is already in double digits for weeks.  To celebrate, he oh so kindly has been sleeping 8 hours in a row the last few nights.  I’m a fan of this new stage.  Plus, he is extra smiley too.  Though, let’s be honest…the flip side is that during the day he has been extra hungry and quite a bit clingy.  There’s always something new to learn and an ever expanding lesson in flexibility.  Other than that, this has been a pretty normal week.  Here’s a little list of the things I’ve been loving!

• KIND Bars
  • Since I’ve been nursing (and that boy can eat!), I have been so snacky and have often found myself needing something fast.  I’ve taken to trying out some fun granola bars.  I’ve been loving the Vanilla Blueberry by KIND this week!  I’m on the lookout for healthy, fast snacks so send them my way if you have any!
• BOB Stroller
  • The more I use the BOB stroller, the more I love it.  I’m a little addicted.  Trip to Target, okay I’ll grab the BOB.  Grocery shopping? Why, of course, I’ll use the BOB and then I won’t need a cart.  Time for a walk or running? Yep, the BOB.  I am so very glad and thankful that we budgeted and made getting a nice jogging stroller a priority when it came to baby things.  Asher loves it and he’s a happy guy in it or well probably mostly sleepy or content, but I will take that!  Plus, the shocks make rocking him just enough if he does get fussy and they help curb the uneven ground on the dirt roads by our house.
• Journaling
  • I’ve been intentional about journaling more lately and really trying to set aside time to write.  I love writing.  I have for a long, long time.  I can remember whipping out a 70 or something page book in middle school and being extra proud.  Though, I also know other times where “art scars” have popped up and caused me to hold back from writing.  I’ve got a whole shelf full of journals and they’re one of my favorite things.  I’m working on putting those gremlins death and to keep on picking up the pen or typing out the words.
• Baths
  • Since having Asher, I’ve learned the wonderfulness of a warm bath and time to sit and read or write or just plain think.  The time alone is golden and I am a big fan in this season.  Plus, we have a nice big bath so I will take advantage while I can!  I’m glad I’m finally learning to enjoy this and this week was no exception!
• Instagram and Feedly
  • I’ve really been enjoying reading other people’s stories lately and seeing beautiful things in the pictures they post.  Lately I’ve been inspired, encouraged, challenged, and refreshed by the updates I have been seeing.  I love when these are what I walk away with rather than bitterness, jealousy, envy…those are my red flags to check my heart and see what is going on inside.  All that to say, I’m loving them right now.

Lastly, here are a few of the pictures I’ve loved from this week!

Boaz cracks me up!

Somebody looks SO big!

I love that we are a family who loves to read! 

I made food! Frittata deliciousness. 

What have you been loving!? 

Friday Love

We made it to Friday!  A full week with the husband back at work.  I’ve been having fun getting to know our little man more each day and he sure makes us smile and laugh a lot!  Plus, he’s already 3 weeks old today!  That is way close to being a month old and so far I totally get how things are in a “blur” for the first bit of having a newborn.  Mostly, though, I’m loving this stage!  Here are some of the things we’re loving…

Things I’m Loving:

1. Tummy time with the little man.  He’s pretty good at cuddling.

2. Lots of walks.

3. Tacos! Pretty sure I’ve eaten tacos for lunch for the last three days.

4. Reading with the husband.  We have continued our habit of reading a book together before bed and it’s one of my favorite times of connecting.  And let’s just say any time spent with him is pretty much my favorite.

5. Sitz baths and showers.  My midwife and my nurses were big on telling me to soak/take a sitz bath in order to help things heal.  I totally jumped on board and have continued to take time to be alone and enjoy hot water!  I like to think they’ve helped me heal up fast too 🙂

Things Asher is Loving:

1.  Falling asleep during tummy time.  This is one of his favorite places to fall asleep.

2. Eating. eating. and more eating.

3. Being in his car seat for walks or car rides.

4. Kicking his legs like crazy and getting his arms out of his swaddles.

5. Being rocked in his rock n play.

Things Our Family is Loving:

1. Walks with the four of us!

2. Time together in the evenings and mornings.

3. Ice cream! Well…Asher hasn’t tried it yet, but I’m guessing he might like it someday. 🙂

4. Sleep.

5. Reading books.

Due Date Baby

Asher Ryan

7 pounds 15 oz 20in

Two weeks ago our little man decided to come!  Right on his due date (July 4th).  I definitely did not think that would happen, but we sure were happy to meet him!  We’ve been soaking up the last two weeks as a family with time off work for both of us.  There’s been all sorts of funny stories and lots of laughing.  Not to mention a lot of cuddling, eating, sleeping, and diaper changes.  So far, I’m loving this new adventure and am still saying, “Wait…I have a baby boy!?” God sure knows how to bless us abundantly!

Friday Love

A few of the things I’m loving lately…

1. Walks with puppies.  Can they get any cuter!? Plus, let’s just be honest.  My husband is like the dog whisperer times twenty.  When I took them both on a walk without him, things were a bit crazier! 2. Ellie Holcomb‘s music.

3. Nike+ Training Club App.  Fun workouts that you can do at home–yes, please!

4. Tons of baby kicks and jabs and pushes 🙂 (oh and note the sunglasses on my head…there may be snow, but I’m ready for spring and summer!)

5. I made this fun little reminder with my word for the year.  Now, we’ve got Joy, Trust, Celebrate, Free, and Open around the house!  

 

 

What I Learned-February

I had so much fun writing last months “What I learned” that I thought I would jump on board again this time!  February really felt like a short month and yet I definitely feel like there were a lot of big learning curves as well as fun things to learn too!

1. The Olympics are my favorite, but I learned that I do have a limit of watching…I eventually hit the: “We need to do something else!” stage!  But all in all, I loved being able to see the athletes and the competition.  Plus, my husband likes them too! Even Boaz loved all the times he got to either “watch” or sleep on us.

Boaz is so high maintenance.

2. There are SO many baby options for everything. I’ve started bookmarking a few things and my Pinterest page is growing!

3. This baby loves to move and I am in love with baby feet.  One of my favorite ultrasound pictures definitely was the one with cute little feet.  Not too surprising because I have always taken feet pictures wherever I travel.

Speaking of, I’m ready to be back in Africa… 🙂

4. I definitely have a bump and people have noticed. Maternity clothes are around the corner.  Not yet, but definitely soon!

Oh and how cute is this picture with my husband.

5. My limit of handling winter is getting shorter.  I am longing for walks and runs outside.

6. It’s okay to spend money to take care of me (even when I’d rather spend the money elsewhere!) and to do things afraid. I definitely had to be open to making this decision and to God’s promptings.

7. Downton Abbey turned into a perfect thing to watch while on the treadmill with Boaz! And I will say that I was thankful for a “happier” ending than last season.

8. Communication is ever a learning process, but worth the hard work.

9. Even though February is a “short” month, we totally used all of our grocery budget to make good food early in the month.  Next month, I might need to spread things out a bit!

10. This salad dressing is delicious. 

11. The book of Numbers hasn’t been nearly as hard to read as I thought it would be this time around and I am loving reading Romans this month.  (I’ve been using this plan since I think July last year and have been more or less reading a day or two or three at a time.  I love getting to read out of 4 different books each day.)

12. Baby names are hard to pick!  But I am loving all the potential names and options…I may or may not be a name hoarder.

What did you learn this month?

Friday Round Up

I’ve been enjoying reading these blog posts…

Read This and Change Your Parenting Experience Forever by Momastery

–I so appreciate the reminder that people are only acting/saying/doing things “AT ME” when I buy into that thinking…let’s be honest, people don’t think about me that much!  Plus, everyone is typically doing the best they can for their family and every family makes decisions that work for their own family. 🙂

5 Reasons Social Media is Dangerous for Me by Momastery (I just found her blog recently so I’m on a kick)

–I am absolutely guilty of being an Input Junkie.  Input is one of my Strengths from Strengths Finder and let’s just say I love gathering information and reading.  Not a bad thing, but I can take it to an extreme.  And well Facebook and Instragram are on my list of things I do when I’m bored.  Some of these reasons link into why I’ve been much more quiet on social media this last year…plus, I’ve been soaking up moments as they come instead of posting on them.  Though, I agree too with her that social media can be an awesome, uplifting, fun thing! So, here’s to 2014 being a year of figuring out what works for me while not totally going dark.

OmniGames: Day 2 by Peanut Butter Fingers aka Julie Fagan

–I’m ready to go and join the Columbia OmniGames! I loved seeing all the awesome things they got to do and the ropes course looked terrifying but totally fun!  Even though I’m not a big fan of winter, these made it look fun!

Pinterest Inspiration

Lemon Blueberry Marble Cake —can we just say blueberries are amazingly delicious…!

Peach Raspberry Swirl—yeahhh…I miss summer.

A Million Little Ways—added this baby to my readable list…I love art!

Verse

Matthew 7:8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Picture of the Week

Currently Reading

Chasing God by Angie Smith

A Confident Heart by Renee Swope

7 Things to Be Thankful for This Week…

*Vulnerability with my husband even if I sometimes hate it.

*Sleepy puppies

*New recipes to try and meal planning

*Church family

*Friends to text and talk to

*4 wheel drive

*Heat

 

Your turn! What would you include in your Friday Round Up?!

 

 

 

Things I’m Loving / High Five for Friday

At some point I should probably come up with a different name than the crazy long one up today, but it fit since I was torn between doing like I did last week and posting the things I am loving (from my favorite Vizsla loving blog) and from posting my top five moments of the week (from The Small Things blog).  So here’s my mish-mash of the two. 🙂

1.My husband is my favorite.  He plays with the dog when he gets home and the dog is going crazy from the cold weather.  He doesn’t hesitate to leave work when I call him with an emergency.  He helps make food.  He prays.

2. And Boaz…well he’s been a highlight this week with all his cute (sometimes annoyingly stubborn) habits of wanting to be under the covers.  He makes up for it by always being happy. Plus, he’s awfully fun to have nerf gun wars with at times. And he’s been a great napping buddy this week.

3. Unexpected follow-up calls from my doctor and the ER.  I so love that they took the time out of their busy days to make sure that things were still going good!

4. Visiting with my sweet friend, her husband, and their adorable baby boy!  I’ve been waiting for this ever since they came home for Christmas.

5. All of the Christmas cards, New Years cards, pictures, notes, prayer cards, and random things on my fridge! I love having a fridge full of life and people to pray for and encouragement.

6. Giraffe print! 

7.  Songs that speak to my heart while at church and reaffirm picking that pesky little word for the year (open).