the here + now

What about socks? Are we going to make them socks? ...... I guess they don't wear socks. That was my son's reaction to watching the Sole Hope Promo video.  On Thanksgiving my family had a Sole Hope shoe cutting party and let me tell you my family + Jesus BLEW ME AWAY! We traced and cut out so many shoe patterns. The way these amazing people worked hard on a day we just want to eat & sleep just humbled me.  And I love that it's a great way to love Jesus and love others that children can also participate in. We had two 7 year olds and an 8 year old working just as hard as the adults.  To the Shannon Family THANK YOU! Thank you for loving Jesus. Thank you for loving others.  If you would like to learn more about hosting your own shoe cutting party go to  SOLE HOPE   You can also donate to help them have a nurse for one year 

First I want to say Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers. I pray you all have a blessed day. 1.Shannon Family 2. Sole Hope and all the work they are doing 3.Gold Foiling {see header & yesterday's post} 4. Snapchats that brighten my day 5. Good food to eat

I've discovered the art of gold foiling . It's dangerous folks. In my craziness to gold foil all the things, I decided to make a few facebook covers. Click. Save. Enjoy.

Come have a virtual cup with me Gosh, youtube you're really rockin the terribleness lately. If we were having coffee what would you tell me?

One. A full yes. About a year ago I started learning about saying no so that my yes can be a full yes. This I believe specifically applies to foster care. I have learned to be very careful with my yes. Because you can do a wimpy yes in foster care, it's just too hard. So I am thankful that God is teaching me that saying no is not a bad thing and the value of saying a full yes. Two. My little sister in law. It's crazy to me how fast she has grown up. I first met her when she was 3, actually I met her before I met Douglas because I was helping out in the church nursery.  But when Doug and I started dating she was around 5, I have watched her grow up. She loves Jesus so much and I pray she continues to grow in Him! Three. Every time we have foster children in our home, I begin to really cherish the small things with my biological children. Things like doing homework with Alex and Liv become magical. I'm not sure why that is, maybe because I share bei

home hōm/ noun 1 . the place where one lives permanently, esp. as a member of a family or household. "I was nineteen when I left home and went to college" synonyms: residence , place of residence,  house ,  apartment ,  flat ,  bungalow , cottage ;  More 2 . an institution for people needing professional care or supervision. "an old people's home" synonyms: institution ,  nursing home ,  retirement home ,  rest home ;  More adjective 1 . of or relating to the place where one lives. "I don't have your home address" 2 . (of a sports team or player) belonging to the country or locality in which a sporting event takes place. "the home team" adverb

I am linking up again this week with my girl  Amy  for Thankful Thursdays. Will YOU join us this week?!  ONE: I'm thankful for my camera and the opportunity to take pictures. I'm thankful for this humble love. I'm also quite thankful for the gorgeous people in this picture TWO: I'm thankful for my husband. I have been struggling lately. He knows and he doesn't tell me to toughen up or ignore it. He forces me to talk. Not recent, this is from like a year ago...but it's us  THREE: Snapchating with my sister in law.  Also -- I need more snapchat friends (unfadinggrace) FOUR: These crazy littles in the morning. Since driving them to school in the morning, we have more time which equals less stress. I'd love to say that means I never lose my cool, but come on now, let's be real. FIVE: I have seen this ecard floating around the internet lately and you know what, it doesn't upset me. I am thankfu

"Mom how old will Addie be when I'm 9?" "4" "How old will Addie be when I'm 18?" "13" "Do you think I've lived half my life?" "I surely hope not" And then..... Talk about a casual conversation stopper. I started turning in, tuning out. Because the reality is it could be true. I'm 28 x 2 = 56. I started freaking out, talking myself out of the panic attack that was starting to brew. I couldn't lose it all in front of my innocent 7 year old daughter. I switched the subject and pretended to move on, but went back to the drowning thinking later. What have I done with my life? What if I have already lived half my life? I've said hurtful words. I've closed people out. I've made sure to keep those I love at a safe, comfortable distance. I have given too many dirty looks. I've judged. I've been so selfish. I'm a stay at home mom. I've never changed anyone's

I remember it very clearly. Another pair of glasses I "had" to get it, another pair I never intended to wear. My mom was at work, my psycho step dad was who knows where. So I did it. I placed those brand new glassed under the cushion of the couch, stood up on the couch and jumped happily. And went to my room. My mom declared no more. That was the last time I had glasses.  Until today that is. And the story. With all the changes happening to healthcare, don't worry I'm not going to get all political and talk about how messed up it all is, probably most of you already have your own frustrations with it, anyway.... we will no longer have vision coverage so it was suggested we all go get our eyes checked while we have coverage.  Alex & I are both nearsighted and needed glasses. Olivia was fine and Doug's sight is 20/15, which if you don't know is really good. My lil guy was terribly bummed and to be honest I was/am too.  This whole adjusting t

Woahohoh what a view. If we were having coffee today, what would you tell me?

I'm linking up with my internet turned in real life back to internet life but still real friend  Amy  for This week I'm going to start with some internet thankfulness. One //  Thrive Moms As soon as this website went live I followed and subscribed. I had already been following both Nathalie and Kara Kae on twitter, instagram and their personal blogs. I loved their sweet hearts for encouraging mommas & that is what Thrive Moms is all about.  Bonus I got to meet both of them at the Influence Conference this year.  Two // Jessi Connolly You can read her blog in that link. There are blogs that someone writes that just seems to get you. Jessi and I are have a few things in common, we so love Jesus, a house full of littles, body issues & a heart for encouraging women. When I first started following Jessi on twitter a few years ago I was blown away by her way to approach the throne. She was gentle & graceful & full of truth. It was so

I see everyone in blog land is drawing inspiration from  Lara Casey  and blogging about November goals. Like normal social media fashion, it spreads & sticks like glitter. So I figured I love glitter & goals so I might as well jump on the wagon and take it for a ride. November goals: 1. I have been making a thanksgiving turkey every year since 2008. The first year was scary. Thankfully my brothers and sister in law were so gracious and just ate the food I made. Over time I've come into my own with hosting Thanksgiving. This year my goal is no stress. My turkey cooking has improved greatly, thanks to discovering the art of brining the turkey. OHEMGEE. Yes, I just went there. But I also want to just not stress about the other stuff. I have children, so to expect an immaculate house is just nothing short of stupid. To expect everyone who walks in my house to come with a presence of thanksgiving is quite prideful and selfish of me. And to pretend I'm someone I'

November. A month for intentional thanksgiving.  A month to remind us even in the toughest of days we are blessed. To focus on those things that on the daily we overlook. I love being able to set a thankful tone in our home.  The kids love writing on the leaves what they are thankful for.  I'm no artist, but I love this stuff. The things that I can make happen. To make your own tree --- just do it.  You can see how imperfect mine is, but what a wonderful addition it has made in our home. The placement is in a spot you can't miss.  I just can't wait to see a full tree by the end of the month, filled with all the goodness in our lives. 

I'm back. I took a break. I quit the 31 days of blogging at 29 days. Yes. At 29 days. I just couldn't do it anymore. And the reasoning is I hated writing about motherhood. Maybe it's because I still feel even after 7+ years I really don't know what I'm doing most of the time. Or maybe it's mostly because in this space, that is not my passion for writing. I love my babies to the moon and back, but I don't want my focus of writing to be about them.  This space isn't about them. This space is about me. And not just me me me,  but how God is working in this yucky heart. That's where my passion lies with my writing. That's where my most real writing comes from. I just couldn't do the crap writing anymore. Because going back, I'm sorry friends, that's all I was giving. And I definitely don't want this space to be full of crap writing. I will never be a good, or even decent writer, but I do want to write from my heart.  As