SPRING....It's Here, It's Here, It's Here!

Spring has finally arrived and it is simply GLORIOUS!!! And, this little cowboy thinks that the great outdoors are the best thing ever. 

Warm breezes, sunshine, sandals, picnics......Deliciousness! 

Song of Solomon 2:11-12a

"See! the winter is past; 

the rains are over and gone.

Flowers appear on the earth;

the season of singing has come..."

This past weekend my parents came up for a visit. We had a lovely time. Buirlen warmed up quickly, and who wouldn't when Poppy and Ama come armed with bubbles, whipped cream, and a willingness to take you outside if that is what your heart desires. 

 Luke was doing some measuring because the plan is to re-side the house this summer.

2 summers ago, Luke put a lovely blue roof on our house. Last summer, we got a new door to match. This summer the old red siding is going to be replaced with grey steel. I think that it will look smashing once it's done. 

Playing with the ball chute. 

Poppy and Ama brought new books for Buirlen's birthday present.

Tasty!

Keeping an eye on the grill. 

We took a trip to Itasca

Jordan took this awesome picture of my parents

The Mississippi Headwaters

And other springy adventures of late....

First trip to the park was a hit. 

This little boy loves helping Daddy....And driving. 

Overseeing the oil changing business. 

Until next time....

"Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's Party!'"~Robin Williams

Color Contest

The Lovely Keren Ruth and I created a game back when Luke and I were first married called "Color Contest." The rules were quite simple, see who could get the most color into one outfit. We came up with some glorious combinations. Well, it has been a couple years since we did one and last week we decided to dust off the tradition. This time our kiddos joined the competition. 

We switched babies for this picture...And Ephraim didn't feel like being in it.

My spiffy little dude. 

Ready to go.

Friendship is the best!

Spring 2011...Not actually a color contest, just good outfits built around new mud boots...Those mud boots were a very exciting purchase. 

First official Color Contest....August 2011

Rematch....August 2011

Other colorful adventures. 

"Color in a painting is like enthusiasm in life." ~Vincent Van Gogh

"Friends, they know how crazy you are and still choose to be seen with you in public." ~Unknown

Guarding Your Mind

We are still waiting for Spring around here...Perhaps a little impatiently. I have this feeling that we will live outside once it's warm if this little boy has his way.

So, a few weeks ago, my dryer decided to go on strike and not work. Thus, in order to get laundry done, I had to hang it. By the time the dryer was back up and running I had discovered something. By getting into the rhythm of doing one load of laundry a day(because due to dry time, I couldn't do multiple loads all in a day) I was actually staying on top of the laundry. Instead of washing a drying and then stuffing it in laundry baskets to be avoided until I absolutely had to fold it, I'm spending 10 minutes on laundry daily and never getting behind. So, despite the fact that I have a working dryer now, I'm still hanging laundry because I like this new habit. 

Speaking of laundry...This morning as I was throwing a load in the washing machine, I was think about how laundry is one of those never ending tasks. Even if you manage to be on top of your laundry, it's because of the simple fact that you're always doing it. And then I thought that the same is true when it comes to guarding ones mind. 

It says in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to conquer strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 

God calls us to guard our minds, because they can so often trip us up. But the thing is, just like laundry we must actively guard our minds every single day. All to often I find myself struggling, so I go into guard duty mode, realizing that I've let my thoughts go free, leading to anxiety and fear. But then I start to feeling better and eventually let my guard down and then BLAM!!! Before I realize it something sneaks in and my thoughts are causing trouble again. Guarding our minds must be a constant and daily task. Even if skies are clear and the enemy is no where in sight, a castle guard stands watch, ever vigilant...And so must I be with my mind. We are all dealing with the same enemy. He's sneaking and desires to steal our joy and pull us from The One who designed our minds. Perhaps the enemy uses different strategies on different people, my struggles might not be the same as yours, but the end goal is the same. So we must guard our minds daily just like laundry. 

Anyway...These two cuties discovered a new use for the walker. 

Popcorn

Trying out Daddy's boots. 

"You either control your mind, or it controls you." ~Napoleon Hill