One Hard Week

A few weeks ago, my husband decided to get on a plane with 20 other college students and go to New York, therefore leaving me with two young active boys while pregnant...30 weeks pregnant! Needless to say it was one hard week for me--probably one of the hardest weeks I've had. But I'm happy to say that we all survived. There were some days I wasn't so sure that I would. However, we all made it out alive!

I did have some help that week. And I want to give a HUGE thank you to the people that encouraged me along the way. Alissa and Megan joined us for some playdate fun. It was so good to have some good conversations and be encouraged by their great attitudes toward motherhood...and to have a listening ear from them. And my mom's group also had a play group that week to celebrate St. Patty's Day. It was so good to be encouraged by other moms, and to run down some of my boys' endless energy.

Thank you to Tiffany, who shared dinner with me one night, as well as bringing me some amazing ice cream. Her encouragement was priceless as well. It was great to hang out and enjoy some down time together.

And then my mother in law, Janie, helped me almost every day in some way, from cooking dinner for us, to playing with the boys, and so many other things! Her help was so amazing and I don't think I would've survived without her.

I'm so thankful for all these people, and the many more who were praying for me and encouraging me, such as my family and my small group bible study.

There was a good reason why my husband and the college students left. They went to help a growing church plant in New York...where there are hardly any churches at all. They passed out flyers about the church, which may not seem like a big deal, but it was. It would've cost thousands of dollars for them to do a mailout, but instead our willing college students passed them out door to door. I think they passed out over 12,000 flyers...and within the first day the church had over 50 new hits to their website. It was great to see God move in the college studnts lives'.

And it's good to see how God provided greatly for me along the way during that long week...through his patience, strength, love, and caring embrace. It wasn't easy by any means, but I'm so glad to be able to look back and say "wow! thank you God for taking care of me" and "thank you God for bringing back my amazing husband!"

Visit with Pop

In February, we went to visit Pop (Erick's grandpa), and Aunt Diane. It was a good visit as we got to see Pop's new apartment, and the boys got to spend time with their great grandpa.


It was fun for the boys to sit on Pop's walker. Daddy even pushed them around on it for a little while!

Darkness is Necessary

Recently, I read this quote and it's been ringing in my brain for a while. And I wanted to share it with you.

God does not demand that we give up our personal dignity, that we throw in our lot with random people, that we lose ourselves and turn from all that is not Him. God needs nothing, asks nothing, and demands nothing, like the stars. It is a life with God which demands these things...
You do not HAVE to do these things--unless you want to know God. They work on you, not on Him.
You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is necessary. But the stars neither require nor demand it. (from Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard)

So I've really been thinking about this a lot lately. Spending time with God (reading the Bible, praying, etc.) is necessary for me to have the best life, be most encouraged in my thinking, and be the best mom, wife, friend I can be to the people around me. However, there is noone that makes me do it.

I remember when we took a mission trip overseas to a 3rd world country, and we had to sit in the dark because the eletricity was out. We all sat outside and enjoyed the stars. It was beautiful and refreshing. I don't do it enough here, probably because there is so much on my to-do list. But I'm realizing I need to enjoy the "dark" more with God. Noone will force me to do it.

I pray we all take some more time to enjoy the "dark" very soon.