it can all change

Sometimes things can all change in just a moment.
You can be walking into a Mexican food restaurant, and get a phone call that can leave you unable to eat.  That sends butterflies straight from your stomach to your heart.
That's what happened to us last week.
We got the call.
The call.
A birth mom has chosen our portfolio!
We are meeting her soon to see if we are a good match.
I get to see her face and hug her sweet neck.
We will get a chance to hear her speak and to probably cry together.
We are over the moon, but trying to remain realistic.
Because in adoption, it can all change in just a moment.

this moment

joining soulemama

vacation pics

We originally went to Arkansas last week to celebrate with my family at my cousin's wedding.  It was such a sweet occasion.  They were married outside at her parent's house, right on the lake.  The girls were barefoot, and the guys entered by boat.  The bride and groom are both professional musicians, so instead of a first dance they sang us a first song.  We ate fried fish and took sunset cruises around the lake.  It was really perfect.

While we were in Arkansas we decided to extend our stay a bit and stayed at a cabin on Lake Catherine, at the state park.

This was a great spot for kids.  The hikes were varied and full of wonder!  On one 2 mile hike we saw creeks, waterfalls, crawdads, tadpoles, fallen trees, turquoise dragonflies, and huge boulders.  Buddy kept saying that it was his favorite hike "ever"!  It really was great!

We also rented a boat for the morning and let the kids do some fishing.  We didn't catch anything, but they both enjoyed getting a chance to steer the boat.  A first for both of them!

This is what we saw every night right off of our back porch.

And first thing every morning...

The kids have decided that we should live on a lake.  

I'm game!

home again

We just returned from our trip to the lake.  We stayed in a small cabin, right on the water and had all sorts of fun!
We hiked to a water fall, boated, fished, S'mored, and swam.  We spent every moment that we could outside squeezing every bit of beauty out of the day.

And this is where it gets good...
It was just a few months ago that I couldn't get through laundry without really having to push myself.  That reading aloud to the kids was cause for rest time on the couch.  I'd watch a movie and a travel scene would come on and I'd wonder "am I ever going to have the energy to travel again?".
You better believe that every minute of our trip, I stood in wonder of the healing that has taken place in my life.  I'd catch myself grinning and I'd whisper to John "I wasn't sure if this was possible".
But it is.  It is possible to recover.  It is possible to move forward.  It is possible to sit in a season of illness and then be better.
Even in my darkest moments, my moments of doubting that healing could emerge, I could feel that whisper in my soul- when I'd ask "will I ever be able to hike with my kids again?", I could feel the whisper of "yes".  It truly was always there.  I just had to bend in to hear it.  Not into myself- but into the heart of Jehovah Rapha- the God who heals.

sovereign strong

I'm all sorts of proud today.  My sister launched her website for her new clothing line!  She is crazy talented when it comes to fashion (and all kinds of other things too!).  What I love most about this new venture of hers is the heart of it.

It's her heart after all.  

She is vigilant about not only the clothes being made ethically, but she is also giving some of her proceeds to Freedom House in San Francisco (a therapeutic safe house for victims of sex trafficking).  The mission of the company (as taken from the website) is this:

We are a women’s wholesale apparel brand that is passionate about empowering women to embrace their confidence, femininity, and future. Our vision is to free people from the bondage of modern-day slavery by providing them with a second chance and new opportunities. Ethical and local production are important to us, which is why we promote a lifestyle of living for the eternity and not for the temporary. We are called to be dispensers of hope and fashion is our platform.

My sis and her business partners are currently raising funds to launch the first line.  If you are passionate about seeing the heart of the fashion industry changed, or just about great fashion in general, and would like to contribute, click on the link below.

Take a minute to stop by her site and say hello (she's the beautiful blonde)!  Read the story, look at the clothes (hover your mouse over the last image to get the arrow to pop up), watch the video!

I have my eye set on the Farmer's Market dress!

Which is your favorite design?

mango ice

photo credit:  hipsta-buddy

Lately we have been enjoying a new snack of mango ice.  We love mango around here, and have found this to be a perfect late afternoon snack.

It is so simple to make!  I chop up three mangoes and throw them in the blender.   I then add equal parts ice, and blend it up.  That's it!  It comes out almost having a creamy texture.  And you know how disappointing mango flavored ice cream is?  Well, this isn't that.

This is pure delicious in a cup.

overly ambitious

Sometimes I can be a little overly ambitious without even realizing it.  Take today, for instance.  I decided that it was time to process the beets from our CSA box so I tried my hand at pickling them.

I only put up 5 pints, and Moonpie helped with the chopping, but it was a lot of work.  You know, on top of everything else...

Like the laundry I have been putting off for a while that needed to be done NOW, and the folding of laundry that I've been putting off that needed to be done NOW, and oh yeah, there's lunch to be made and children to be hugged and read to.  So yeah, maybe pickling beets could have waited for another day, but they are done and so pretty to look at!

(please excuse this horrible photo from my phone)

I used a recipe found in Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff.  It is a beautiful book and very informative.  This is my first time to use it and I found it to be easy to follow and thorough.  The little reminders to do things like wipe the rims are always helpful.  Because you know when you get into that frenzied moment of filling jars and getting them back into the water to process, sometimes you can forget the necessary steps!  I highly recommend this book to anyone new to canning or just wanting some new recipes to spice things up a little in the pantry.