Don't you wish you were two?

Don't laugh.
Even once.
Here's Grant at Kate's birthday party.

Fourth.

Except that there are five of them now.
Best friends are the best.

Someone left a little note behind too.

Projects

Here's a few projects I worked on this month, thanks to the ever awesome Uncle who sends prolific fabric to his crafty niece.
People always laugh at me because I have a short attention span for my decorating- being less than wealthy means moving furniture and recovering!
My friend Lynn showed me how to build valances for about $5 with foam from Home D. They are super lightweight and flexible so you only need to pin the fabric and batting down! Good for me given my nature, since I will probably recover them....again...

Sunday night out

We went to the nearby railroad park last night for their outdoor summer concert series- it reminded me of Wolf Trapp concerts all those years in Virginia!
The kids love it, making us go down to the dancing area in front of the band. Grant can really groove, and of course, miss Kate knows how to shake it :)
Grant also found a new love- the saxophone. He just kept pointing and staring at it- he even tried to get on the bandstand to see it as close as possible.
I only caught one picture before my phone died (some small people must have opened up at least 20 applications)- they have a merry go round and a small steam locomotive you can ride along with some of the best grassy areas for picnics I have seen yet in Phoenix.
What a great way to spend a Sunday evening with the last great cool evening of the year

When life gives you...

A broken glass thermometer in a vat of beautiful, fresh strawberry jam...you make jelly :) it just makes a lot less than I thought the morning's efforts would produce.

Facing any disappointments today yourself?
I found this message to be very inspiring: Persevere to the end, because the conclusion is astounding.

http://t4g.org/media/2012/04/the-underestimated-god/

Favorite gluten free cookie

For our Friday night movie + wine + dessert night, we will be indulging in these (dare we say) healthy cookies?

You can find the recipe at Food & Wine
At this link :
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/fudgy-chocolate-walnut-cookies

Pre-review

Can you have a book review before you have written a book?
http://lodge.marrywell.org/2012/04/women-pursue-careers/
We got this review from Candice Watters based on our announcement. What I find most fascinating about this topic is that in reading the comments, there are the same threads in every conversation about women at work.

Do you what those are? What do you think about the phrase: 'women should be good investors and pursue a career until they marry'? Does that ring true to you? What problems do you see with this?

I'm not going to put my opinion out there yet, I just want to hear what you have to say.

Beautiful film. Beautiful truth

My friend, Carolyn, and her team, made this video that went viral over the last week. If you haven't seen it, give it your full attention. It is truly a beautiful film with beautiful truth.

Happy Mother's Day

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM MOM

Whether thick or thin
Rich or poor,
Classy or trashy
Life is more fun when you
Color Me Beautiful

Thanks for giving me a wonderful upbringing and for teaching me through all these years that beauty is found when we live our life for Jesus and not for ourselves. (even though you bought me my first dress at Nordstroms and spoiled me forever :)

Love, Nora

P.s. How did your mother teach you to have style?

Grant. Big 2

Here is a photo review of my (not so little) man who will turn two on Sunday, May 13 in no particular order.

 Turning One

 First Beach Trip- 15 months. 

 First Bath

 First Camera Smile

 Crawling at six months.

Pulling to Standing

 Bathtime Crazies

 Love the blond duck fuzz hair.

 Playing in the mud- 13 months.

Every boy's favorite food: Spaghetti

 Big Boy Chucks which he could barely fit on his fat feet

 

  19 Months.

First Gingerbread House. 19 Months.

 Seven Months.

The famous potty shot.

Grant we love you so much for all your goofy smiles, your ball obsession, your tender heart towards your sister (you always share first), your big-ness and for just being a joy to see every morning, even if it is mostly before six in the morning.

Princess braids

And I always hated matching, right Emily? WelI, I guess I have changed!

Seven years

It took seven years of hard labor for Jacob to win Rachel. Did it seem long to him?

There are lot of things that feel long to me. A day with sick children. Boredom at work. The last hour before bedtime.

The reality of hard labor can be so wearying and discouraging, I think.  There have been many long days, some very long months, and now as I look back, seven years in my life in Arizona filled with many disappointments.

You could be saying, "Nora, look at you! You have a nice husband, you have two great kids, a house, jobs, a book contract... What's wrong with your life?'

Sure I do. I am thankful.

But someway and sometimes it is okay to grieve a little. Life can be rough on a wife and mother too! As a wife and mom, I usually try to keep it all together. But sometimes I just can't. I have to feel a little and grieve.

Maybe for you, you look at the fridge and it's empty again and you heave that sigh of "O no, not again." You look at the bookcase and you realize all the books you should be reading. The exercise DVD starts giving you the guilty stare-down. The laundry mildews in the washer machine. Your friend never calls you anymore.


For me, it was my closet. I looked in my closet last week and I realized I hadn't bought any new clothes since before Kate, Everything else was second hand. Sure, it hasn't been that big of a deal in the ups and downs of four years of baby incubation and breastfeeding.

Clothes signify to me taking care of myself. It just hit me again that it's been really hard. Money has been really tight. And its been like this for years. When you are married and have kids, everybody's needs take priority. Even to take a breath, to cry a little, or to go buy clothes takes a major act of organization, delegation (and usually child bribery and manipulation).

Yet God is speaking to me. He is reminding me that all these years have given me a gift, one I didn't even know I needed. Like Paul Tripp said in his Wednesday words,

"He sends the rain of failure, so that we will get our identity from him and not from our achievement. He sends the rain of want, so that we will grow in faith and courage. All of these things are blessings of his love, but we tend to not see them as blessings. In fact, in the moments when we are experiencing these things we often are tempted to question God's love."

I was wrestling with these verses this morning from Isaiah 53:4 "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows" and Philippians 4:11 "Not that I am speaking of being in need, 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."

I know God cares about my griefs, but what is this secret I am supposed to get out of it?

I believe it is the last verse of that phrase in Philippians "I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me" (HCSB). The translation of those words  is crucial
"to do" from the Greek word ischus; to have (or exercise) force (literal or figurative) :- be able, avail, can do ([-not]), could, be good, might, prevail, be of strength, be whole, + much work.
"through" a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively).

To be whole and to be in a fixed position. 

What more could I want? To be wholly found in Christ, to be whole in body and mind and spirit, and to be fixed upon the hope of Him who transforms my life. Sometimes, the difficulty has taught me to wait. Sometimes I have learned courage. Sometimes I have learned to pray without ceasing. Sometimes I have learned to rest.

Jesus understands our weaknesses, our difficulty, our pains and our griefs.
Life is teaching me this secret:
I am more whole and that I still firmly fixed with Christ.

According to...

Kate.
A new take on carrots and 'sauce' (aka ranch)

I am not a toddler mom

Ever feel that way? Your two year old, if he is anything like mine, has some pretty amazing abilities. He can not only destroy things quickly and quietly, like Nikon cameras and couch slipcovers, but seem to derail my slightest attempts at 'godliness'. I find myself longing for a break. But god really spoke to me through a discussion with my family on Easter that reminded me about this bery great calling of motherhood in this very moment with these very kids. 'Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment' 1 Timothy 6:6.

Contentment. That is a word to chew on for a while, to digest as a mother. Children are not merely a project with a start and finish line. Motherhood, the essentially feminine act of work, requires contentment. I want to stop striving against my children, against the barrage of dirt, illness, and complaints - and find peace with who I am made for Him, what calling He has assigned me, and the place of weakness where I am at. All the losses to myself can be gain if I cherish peaceful content.

I was encouraged by Rachel's thought on this topic:
Think about the feeding of the five thousand when the disciples went out and rounded up the food that was available. It wasn’t much. Some loaves. Some fish. Think of some woman pulling her fish out and handing it to one of the disciples. That had to have felt like a small offering. But the important thing about those loaves and those fishes was not how big they were when they were given, it was about whose hands they were given into. In the hands of the Lord, that offering was sufficient. It was more than sufficient. There were leftovers. Given in faith, even a small offering becomes great.
(http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/motherhood-as-a-mission-field)

Now there is great gain in godliness if we remember we are giving what little we have, even if your two year old makes you feel like all you have is a leftover, but we are giving it to Him.

Zoo

 

We took a trip to the zoo with friends yesterday. We want to squeeze in our outdoor activities before it gets too hot around here! The maps were a big deal at the beginning of the day.

 Kate took this picture of the tiger. She was so eager to take pictures of everyone, especially Erin's baby, Macy.

 If nothing else, I was so glad I grabbed this shot of Grant. His expression is full of all the personality that he has right now-- interested, dynamic, determined and goofy

 Looking at the Meerkats.

This is Jackson making the growling sounds. He really like the tiger, who growled for us. It was a day of sounds as the howler monkeys were noisy, the screaming birds were screaming and the tiger was roaring!

I love spending time with Erin and her kids. Look how big these two have gotten. I remember the day that Zoe was born and went at visited her at the hospital when she was hours old.

Reaching?

Some of you are probably wondering, "Is she reaching too far?"
Writing a book, keeping three jobs and two kids and one very important man, plus one dog and our house going....the answer is yes.

I am already asking, "Is it worth the sacrifice?"  Writing a book is quite a challenge for a stay-at-home mom. I have had to surrender my nights and naps and all television I might have been watching because I can't get anything done without being interrupted. I don't have all the answers. Right now I am plugging away at writing a chapter about ambition, so I am asking myself those hard questions, and reaching for answers found in the Bible as well as in practical advice from others.

What do you think of ambition? Most ambition is negatively perceived when we associated it with women. But does that have to be norm? I admit that ambition is going to look different for women and men.  Even feminist Betty Friedan admits that women can't be ambitious in the same roles as men--

''Some militants repudiated all the parts of the personhood of women that have been and are still expressed in family, home and love. In trying to ape men's lives, they have truncated themselves away from grounding experiences. If young women lock themselves into the roles of ambitious men, I'm not sure it's a good bargain. It can be terribly imprisoning and life denying.'' --- Betty Friedan in a 1981 New York Times interview (October 19, 1981 New York Times Books by Nan Robertson “Betty Friedan Ushers In a ‘Second Stage’” as archived on http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/05/09/specials/friedan-stage.html)

How do you think women should be ambitious?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on ambition from both sides-- men and their opinions of ambitious women, as well as women's own thoughts on what ambitious looks like for you.

Comment away.

A new baby, new opportunity

Did I catch your attention?

No, I am not going to birth a new child, but like my friend Carolyn McCulley said, we are growing a book together on women and work. We are still figuring out the title, but we are excited to embark on this adventure together.

I was reminded yesterday of why I need to read this book. As I woke up, I already felt defeated. Grant has been sick, so we haven't been getting much sleep this week. Then as I was getting dressed for the day, I was mentally gearing up for what the day held. Travis and I planned to meet at the DMV to get the title on our car transferred. Before I even had blow-dried my hair, my phone rang.

It was my manager from one of the hospital I worked for. She said, "Are you at HR?" I replied that I already finished my required TB test and that she should receive confirmation of it by the end of the day. She paused.

She said, "Did you get my message?" My heart started beating faster. Long pause. She continued, "You were supposed to work today. I sent you that email on February 7th." My heart started to pound at this point.

I didn't show up for work. Again. Not joking. This is the second time I haven't shown up this spring. Through a series of what I can only attribute to God's grand design, I missed it.

I felt awful now, on top of feeling defeated. I called Travis crying and he put me back together, reminding me that everyone makes mistakes and that maybe God is using this as a divine opportunity to take time to reevaluate.

You see, I like to think I have it together. I have two toddlers, two hospitals where I work on-call, a growing private nutrition consulting practice with Anderson's Nutrition, a new book to write, on top of cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, errands, kid's music class, and managing the food for our women's ministry at church.

Whoops. You see, I am in need of reading this book. Not just because I have work//life balance questions, but because I am in need of recognizing the hope of the gospel as it applies to my work. All of my work, whether at home or away, needs perspective and encouragement.

When was the last time you read a book inspiring you with good perspective and encouragement about your work??? I haven't found many.  We don't pretend to be comprehensive experts on this topics, but we are serious about living for Jesus, which means He has something to say about work for women too. I have been confronted with my limitations. I missed my day at work, I ran late home from my client meeting to the babysitter, and my floor is filthy. Not just that, but my attitude this week about the sum total of my work has been rotten. But sometimes what God calls us means taking risks, stepping out into territory that leaves us stretched, weak and tested. All I can cling to is that when I am weak, God is still good. 

"So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." 2 Corinthians 5:6-10

Work awaits me-- I am trying to write this, catching up to Carolyn's post, scooping oatmeal and fielding questions about why the grandfather has an eye patch in The Nutcracker. Life is just as full as yesterday. I can't wait to see how God uses this weakness and watch him bring a yield for fruitful work.

An insightful new voice.

Love this article by Kate Harris at The Washington Institute

Most insightful paragraph:

" In all of this, whether it be language, category or context, it is essential for mothers to recognize that the goal in exploring identity in light of work is not to do more or be busier, but rather to think better about the ways we engage the fullness of our callings. For some women, it will mean granting themselves permission to explore interests, skills or opportunities that persist outside, alongside or amidst their responsibilities as a mom. For others it means evaluating whether or not their priorities and commitments are properly aligned with the commitments they have to their family. For all women, it means being humble enough to step outside the bounds of our own comfort and offer the fullness of our gifts in service to Christ, trusting that if it His work to do he will provide the margin needed to do it.

My favorite quote:

"Similarly, as believers engaged in every square inch of God’s good work, mothers have an opportunity to use this Epiphany season to reflect not on the work they deem most valuable to Christ, whether it be inside, outside or alongside the home, but instead to reflect on—and step into—the work Christ deems most valuable to Him."

According to...

this 5.5 inch santoku knife.

according to my Food and Wine magazine this month, you can get this nice looking knife for $25 plus 8 dollars shipping at www.hammerstahl.com...Enter " FOOD" to receive the discount. Thought I would pass it along!

Finding the solution.

It is the time of year to reflect on the year past and look to the new one ahead. Which ever direction you are looking at most, we must have resolution.

Resolution.

When I think resolution, I think solution. Today I can look at my life in that way-- I just want to identify my problems and find the solutions for this new year.

We all want to find out how to find the equilibrium--a solution when solvent and solute are compatible. And yet I will admit there are parts of my life that just don't mix. This won't resolve. This doesn't combine. This will never work.

Chemically, ingredients are either compatible or not. They will mix or they will separate.

Impossible combitions.
Suboptimal conditions.
Sound familiar?

Yet there is always one Solution.

Christ is my one great solution. Christ alone can dissolve these impossible combinations. He alone uses suboptimal conditions to catalyze change.  Impossible combinations and suboptimal conditions are rendered instantly by the Refiner.

Christ must first dissolve my weaker motivations and give me the right resolution-- something balanced, something stable, something pure. New Year's resolutions are people boiling down their problems and trying to name, define and identify the primary and obvious solutions to those problems. But as children of God, we find freedom from arbitrary goals. We can find deeper purpose, stronger resolve and clearer solutions because of Christ.

Malachi 3:
 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD...
 “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed."

Despite how we feel about the year past and the year to come, we can take confidence that it is God who leads the way.

I read Oswald Chambers on this and found it most encouraging:

 

He went out, not knowing where he was going —Hebrews 11:8

Have you ever “gone out” in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, “What do you expect to do?”You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to “go out” in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in constant wonder, because you don’t know what God is going to do next. Each morning as you wake, there is a new opportunity to “go out,” building your confidence in God. “. . . do not worry about your life . . . nor about the body . . .” (Luke 12:22). In other words, don’t worry about the things that concerned you before you did “go out.”

Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is. Do you believe in a miracle-working God, and will you “go out” in complete surrender to Him until you are not surprised one iota by anything He does?

Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to “go out” in dependence upon God, and your life will have a sacred and inexpressible charm about it that is very satisfying to Jesus. You must learn to “go out” through your convictions, creeds, or experiences until you come to the point in your faith where there is nothing between yourself and God.