Life Round These Here Parts

Life has been pretty laid back for the last couple of weeks, since returning from our big trip back to Rochester and my trip to Spain for my little brother's wedding. I'm so glad I was able to be there, I had a great time and I can't believe Ben is a married man now!



We haven't had much going on, but we've been working hard to settle into the house, get ready for baby, and just enjoy our time together as a family again. This has entailed a lot of Craiglist shopping, some gallons of paint, and a certain happy guy with a chainsaw taking down about a dozen bushes in our front and back yards. So.Much.Better!





All of the bushes in this picture with the exception of one are now gone. And by gone, I mean that Lover cut them down and then we dragged them over to the other side of the yard where we will slowly cut them up and burn them in our fireplaces. About half of the bushes were dead, and the other half were so old and overgrown that it was better to just cut them down. We're big fans, especially in the back yard, of a big open grassy space where everyone can just play, so that's what we are working towards. That planter right in the front of the bushes is also on its way out.



Our front yard is also a hot mess. Maybe more so than the back. Because you and the neighbors and everyone that drives by see it every day, you know? Lover dug out the bushes that were just to the left of the steps, so you no longer get groped by their poky branches every time you enter the house. Again, they were overgrown and half dead, and then the movers broke one in half when they brought in our furniture. The little tree all the way to the left had pretty hot pink flowers when we moved in, so for now it's staying. We just trimmed it up quite a bit.  The bush just to the right is gone now, along with the two big ugly bushes in front of the basement window. My thought is that we will make gardens everywhere you see mulch and then eventually get rid of the grassy area and at least one of the big trees and put in some more gardens and xeriscaping. One of the big trees belongs to the city, but it's dead so I put in a call to have it removed. We're debating on whether or not to take out the other tree. We decided to wait at least til the end of summer to see if we prefer it shading the house. :)



The kids have been having fun watching Daddy wield the chainsaw, and just generally being goofs. Peanut is really growing up, our trip was so good for her - it really pushed her out of her comfort zone (me and only me) and she's been a lot more independent lately. Javi had a blast with all his cousins in Rochester, and is never happier than when we are hanging out with lots of friends here.



We spent Saturday prepping and then painting all of the paneling and walls in the basement (above the orange paneling - that's staying for now). It was a long, tiring day, but it looks loads better now. And see how much light pours in those windows now without those dark bushes?



Primer lightened things up quite a bit, and then once we got the actual paint up - so much better! Now I'm working on curtains and decorations to pull it all together. It's getting there! No more pictures till we're closer to the finished product! :)



I'd say nesting is in full swing, although it's looking different in this house than with the other two. This time it's been about organizing, putting systems into place, unpacking those last few boxes, and settling in. Making sure we have all the necessary stuff for the baby, who should be here in about three weeks! I'm nervous and excited and anxious and patient all at the same time. :)


And these little goofballs make me laugh every day. They keep me on my toes and I can't wait till there's another one running around with them.


So that's what life is looking like these days. Hopefully this baby will make an appearance sooner rather than later! :)

In Christ Alone {How ISIS won't win}

Last Sunday, as we drove up to Broomfield after church to buy a couch, Lover spent a good long while listening to me as I bawled my eyes out about all the things that were breaking my heart. Number one on that list? The women and children affected by ISIS' unbending regime. Our church encouraged people to wear orange to church in support of Christians being executed by ISIS, and we spent quite a while talking about the trials the Church is facing over there during our Sunday morning service.

This came on the heels of reading Ann Voskamp's posts about her trip to Iraq recently, where she sat on the floor of shipping containers with women who had been widowed, then fled their homes with their children, trying to escape ISIS. They are powerful posts, and wonderfully written, but only read them if you are prepared for some heart wrenching images and thoughts. It will not easily leave your mind.

All of this left me just absolutely shattered. It didn't shake my belief in God or anything, but it just truly broke my heart that for some reason these women and children have to suffer so much. How was it fair that I get to live in my beautiful, spacious home in Colorado, and sleep peacefully through the night? That I get to  raise my children without any real concern that someone will harm them, or deliver my new baby in a clean, sterile hospital where it is an expectation that, not a question of if,  my baby will live? When women over in Iraq are literally choosing which children they will flee with and which they will leave behind?



Like I said, it just reduced me to tears. I couldn't fathom how you walk through that, how God can carry you through a trial like that. How can you live in such an environment of fear, destruction, of death? How do you see God in the midst of all of that?

Yesterday, during the praise and prayer part of our service, the worship leader talked about the heart wrenching pain that God experienced when He gave up His only begotten Son. I wrote a little bit about this before Easter, but from the perspective of the Son - forsaken by his Father. But I didn't really spend any time thinking about it from the Father's perspective.

And in that moment of reflection, I knew that God understands. That He knows what it is like to lose His very precious child, to make a choice that results in losing them. He sees those beautiful women, making impossible choices. He's there when they have to choose which children they will leave behind, when their daughters are taken by ISIS, when their infants die hours or days after birth because of the conditions into which they are born. He knows their pain, because He's suffered through it. And they can find comfort in knowing that He understands them, and that He's holding them close. They are NOT forgotten or abandoned. He knows their names, the names of their children, He sees their pain. As Second Corinthinans 9 says, they are persecuted, but not forgotten, cast down but not destroyed. 



And then we sang one of my favorite songs "In Christ Alone." This song brings me to tears every time I sing it - the message is so powerful. In Christ alone, my hope is found...firm through the fiercest drought and storm...my Comforter, my all in all...

The last verse spoke to me in particular.

No guilt in life, no fear in death, (you, fellow Christians, executed for your faith)

this is the power of Christ in me,

from life's first cry, to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny. (He sees them, he hasn't lost control)

No power of hell, no scheme of man, (ISIS can scheme all they want, they won't prevail in the end)

can ever pluck me from His hand. (He's holding them, they won't be lost)

Till He returns, or calls me home, (Whether they survive this trial or not)

here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

I can't express how much comfort this brings me. The idea that Christians a world away can feel God's presence walking through the valley of the shadow of death with them, holding them in His hands, hiding them in the shadow of His wings. And it helps me to know how to better pray for them - that God would show Himself so real to them as they walk through this fiery trial.

And I'll thank God that He has not chosen me to walk through this trial, and I'll be all the more grateful for the ways in which He has chosen to bless me.