The 3 Musketeers

    Today we got to meet someone pretty special. The Lovely Keren Ruth and Benjamin welcomed Little Mr. Mathias last week and today we got to go for a visit. He is so very tiny and sweet.

Buirlen meeting his newest cousin, Mathias

One year ago, when Ephraim met Buirlen...Time just keeps a moving.

Ephraim, Buirlen, and Mathias...The 3 Musketeers. Ages: 2 years, 1 year, and brand spanking new. Adventures and, no doubt mischief, are coming our way!

Speaking of babies...During Retreat, my dear friend Polly and her family stayed with us. It was lovely to spend some time with a good friend who I don't get to see as much as I once did. Last year during retreat, Polly and I were both pregnant. This year our babies were buddies.

Stripy baby bumps...February 2017

Buirlen and Ruthie, bumps turned buddies....February 2018

And, it occurred to me, that Spring officially starts in just a couple weeks and the weather is starting to prepare for it...Bird songs, bullfrogs, tulips, and mud are coming soon. Yay!

"Cousins are the perfect friends." ~Unknown

"There is nothing on earth more to be prized than true friendship." ~Thomas Aquinas

A Week in June

    Sunday evening is here once again. Another week is behind us, but a new one is just beginning. What adventures might it hold?

    This past week we had a good ole downpour. It rained and rained and rained. I do love a good summer storm. 

Strawberries from Steven and Bonnie's garden. Yum!

A grandma and her babies.

Prepping the site for the new goat barn. 

This sweet boy is growing so fast. He is such a joy. 

 Helping Mamma go through the mail.

Bible study is hard work!

 Sitting like a big boy!

Hanging out with Jaten.

Reading in the porch

Chilling with Daddy

I love his sweet and smiley awake times but there is also something incredibly special about holding a baby as he succumbs to sleep. They relax and get heavier and snuggle in. Soft little nose and cheeks to kiss.

My parents celebrated their 32 wedding anniversary this week. They have an awesome marriage! Spend some time with them and their is no doubt they are still head over heels for each other. My mamma did a great job modeling to me what it means to love and respect your husband! 

 And finally I spent some time this afternoon planting this little garden of succulents. 

May your night be lovely and the week ahead even better!

"Find joy in the ordinary." ~unknown

Gardens, Friends, and Canoes

     Did you have a beautiful weekend? A weekend full of laughter, friendship, sweet babies, and sunshine? I hope that you did. My weekend was just such a combination of goodness.
     On Saturday, Luke spent 12+ hours in Alexandria. He is a state delegate so he was being all political and getting the job done. We get to go to Duluth later this month for the next step of the convention. I must say I'm looking forward to that.
   Anyway, on Saturday, the Lovely Keren Ruth and I hung out. We decided to work on getting our garden ready for planting. Luke had tilled it up for us, so we headed out to the farm for a load of home grown fertilizer(of the goat variety). Luke's dad and brother loaded the truck with a huge pile of manure and after lunch we headed back to the house with our niece Mara. We brought her in case Mr. Ephraim decided he wasn't into gardening. But he ended up sleeping almost the entire time, so we put Mara to work.

Jonathan was being anti-picture. Mr. Ephraim didn't mind the spotlight though. 

    Then Saturday evening, we had a get together with a group of friends. My sweet friend Emily hosted and she planned a "Great Race" for us. Each couple worked as a team to solve clues, get to destinations and complete tasks. It was a lot of fun. Of course, since Luke was being Mr. Delegate for the day, he missed out. So I partnered up with Emily's daughter Sunita. She is 5 and we had an awesome time. One of the tasks was to spend $10 dollars on something for supper. Sunita decided we should get macaroni and cheese and ice cream sandwiches and I picked strawberries. 

     On Sunday, we celebrated my sweet mother-in-law's birthday at the Cobb's(My sister and brother-n-law and their kids) house. They live on the Mighty Mississippi River, so after lunch we spent some time playing outside. My good friend Katy and her kiddos were there as well so Nettie and I enjoyed a lazy canoe ride. Lazy for us anyway. We made Benjamin do all the rowing. (Below Photo credits to Katy)

 Apparently Luke and Ax share a love of cars. 

     All in all, it was one of those simply lovely weekends that you feel completely satisfied with by the end of it. Happy Monday. 

"Busy is a choice. Stress is a choice. Joy is a choice. Choose well." ~Unknown 

Make a Statement For Spring

      Oh what a lovely day it has been. The sun is out and the air is warm. Spring is coming, despite the fact that we got a decent snowfall yesterday. Luke and I cut and stacked wood today. It was so warm, a sweatshirt was all that was needed.

     Awhile back I had seen an ad for a Bible that had coloring designs in the margins. I thought that was pretty neat and then I realized, my Bible has wide margins, why not just create my own coloring Bible. A good decision in my book. 

Noah's Ark Genesis 7-8

 Jesus calls Peter to walk on the water. Matthew 14

 The Fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5

 The Armor of God. Ephesians 6

      This afternoon we headed out to have ice cream with the Popes. A lovely Spring thing to do. I pulled my converse sneakers out of the closet since I'm now thinking Spring. Perhaps not the best decision what with all the piles of melting slush, but hey, I was making a Spring statement. 

Mr. Ephraim and I enjoying our time at the ice cream shop. 

     Tonight we had supper with the Murrays. This picture is pretty sweet if you ask me! Miss Nettie and My Love getting some serious coloring done. 

    So there you have it. Spring, coloring, ice cream, and babies. All wonderful reasons to smile!


Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush. ~Doug Larson 

Snow, Babies, and the Truth

        Another beautiful Friday has rolled around. Yesterday, it snowed and snowed and snowed. Today, the sun finally peeked out and the world was absolutely beautiful. The evergreen trees were heavy with sparkling snow. And since it was so cold it stuck to the trees all day. The view from my classroom window was delightful.

       Despite the beauty, I did manage to pick up a cold this week. I don't know if the kids were just chill today or if I just didn't let little things bother me, or maybe they sensed my need for a chill day. Whatever the reason, it was nice. I love having a rocking chair in my classroom. We spent a good chunk of time reading and when someone needed help with math my rocking chair pulled up to their desk. I am truly blessed with the job I have.
       Exciting news! The Lovely Keren Ruth had her sweet baby this week. Mr. Ephraim James was born on Wednesday and he is the cutest little nephew. From now on the adventures of Keren and Bea will be the Adventures of Keren, Bea, and Ephraim. They will be good ones!
       The other day I got an email from Pay Pal that was not addressed to me and I don't even have a Pay Pal account. Then, this morning, on the radio, they were talking about some scam that is going around. They talked about how scammers often send out incredibly legit looking emails trying to get your information from you. This made me think about how the enemy of our souls is a class A scammer. He knows all the tricks in the book to try to deceive you into believing a lie.
     It says in John 8:44 "When he[the devil] lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar
and the father of lies." So we know that the devil is a liar, but he's not just any liar, he's the best one. In the story of Jesus in the wilderness, we see how the devil comes to Him and begins to tempt Him. And he lies to Jesus. The tricky part comes when the devil uses the Word of God to try to deceive Jesus. (Matthew 4:1-11) Just like those internet scammers can do a pretty good job of making themselves look legit the devil tries very hard to make himself look legit. It says in 2 Corinthians 11:14 "...No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." Because he wants nothing more than to scam you of the peace, joy, and hope that is yours in Jesus. 
       So on this beautiful, snowy, Friday, I hope that you lean back in the arms of the One who makes the snow sparkle and rest in His love. And if you have a baby to snuggle and kiss go for it. Because it doesn't get much better than that. 

Side note, Norbert the Turtle is a yoga master. 

"The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them: there ought to be as many for love." ~Margaret Atwood 



"A baby is God's opinion that life should go on." ~Carl Sandburg 

Relax

    I love babies, I always have. I have multiple pictures of me over the years holding some baby or other. They are just so sweet. I look forward to the day when My love and I have our own little snuggler, but until then, I have great friends who are willing to share their babies with me.
    This morning at church, I was holding my newest little friend. He was tired, but resisting. He wasn't really upset, he just couldn't quite figure out what he wanted. He was wiggly and fidgeting, he would lay his head down then pick it back up. He just couldn't seem to relax.  I rocked, swayed, and rubbed his back until he finally gave in and fell asleep. One of the best feelings in the world is when that sweet little 8 pounds of wiggliness finally calms down enough to relax into you and fall asleep.
    As I was holding that sweet little guy I started thinking about how even as adults we sometimes struggle with that very same thing. We struggle to relax into the arms of the One who is holding us. Our heavenly Father has us securely in His arms. He loves us so very much but as He holds us, we so often struggle to calm down and rest in Him. We flail our arms, wiggle, feel frustrated, lay our heads down only to pick them up again. Resisting.
   Why is it we so often fail to rest in His love? Perhaps it's fear, or guilt, or the desire to hold onto control. Sometimes I think it is because we simply don't know how to just give it up and rest in Him. We are so used to the feelings of anxiety that resting in His peace is almost a foreign concept.
    But the One who knows what's best just keeps holding onto us. He sways and rocks, pats our back and whispers to just calm down and rest in Him. And just like holding that sweet baby as he finally fell asleep was an amazing feeling, when you finally relax into the Arms of the One who holds you, a feeling of peace will engulf your very soul... And peace is about the best feeling there is.
Happy Sunday

"Peace begins with a smile." ~Mother Teresa