Family Updates

Happy Mother’s Day

April/May 15, 2017/ 4 Comments Edit"Happy Mother’s Day"

Hey guys. It’s been a while. I’ve been around. Always busy with something, and to be honest, not really in the mood to sit at the computer lately. But today is Mother’s Day. The third one that has celebrated me.  It’s still a weird shift.

As a kid still living at home, it was all about spoiling my mom and finding that perfect gift for her (which I never found by the way). It was about making special cards and rallying the troops (a.k.a. my younger siblings) to make or do something special for her too.

Sometime during college, when I started to pay my own rent and buy my own groceries, shampoo and cleaning supplies, I came to appreciate all that my mom did for me and was still doing for my siblings at home. After I got in an argument with a roommate over who used “my” laundry detergent (love you Mandy), I started to get a glimpse of how my mom felt when we abused our privileges or wasted things she purchased. We took for granted the simplest of provisions. I don’t recall ever (not even once) running out of toilet paper or Q-tips… or not having a clean towel to dry off with.  We always had more than we needed.  And I appreciate that about my mom.  There was never a time that I can remember that she didn’t take care of all our needs and more.  That’s just who she is… always thinking ahead and making preparations for what’s to come.  That’s a trait I gained from her, and one my husband really appreciates as well.  Thank you mom, for who you are and who you taught me to be.  I LOVE YOU.

Being an adult with small children on Mother’s Day has given me a very different perspective on the holiday.  Slightly different than living at home and making crafts.  It has given me a deep love and appreciation for my mother and the ability to understand the kind of love it takes to raise a family.  It’s selfless and hard and sometimes makes you want to scream; yet it’s beautiful and rewarding and fills your heart up in a way you didn’t know was possible. And I’m only three years in!  I can only imagine the kind of emotional roller coaster motherhood will take me on in the years to come… I’ll need lots of prayer, coffee mate, and a giant helping of JESUS!

I love this generational picture of Mema, Mom, Me & Lil. I love these ladies so much!

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On a totally separate note, today (May 14th) marks my ten year anniversary of living in Hawaii.  A whole decade you guys. Wow… That’s kind of insane.

The short version… I flew to Oahu with a suitcase and guitar in hand and never looked back. Three years of “camping” on the mountain where I worked, formerly known as Camp Timberline followed by a year of subbing and surfing. Then, after getting married, three years of teaching middle school, followed by three years of full-time momming.  

And here I am.

I can only hope my next decade is as much of an adventure as my last!

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God is faithful.  If you would have told me in high school that I’d be living in Hawaii and raising sweet babes this far away from my family, I probably would have laughed in your face.  It wasn’t my plan to be here during this stage of life, but I do believe my relationships with loved ones are just as strong (if not stronger) as when I lived there. We love it here. 

Here’s the most important thing though.  So if you’re reading this, I’m talking to you…

Where ever you are in life or on the map, God wants to use you. Don’t wait for all your ducks to be in a row.  Don’t wait for your kids to hit that next stage in life.  Don’t wait for your finances to be in order.  Make an impact on those around you.  There’s only one of you.  Only one person who does exactly what you do. Choose to be positive. Choose to put Christ first and others a close second. Choose to go the extra mile.  You might never get recognized, but your reward will be in heaven… 

Love all these strong women… and little ladies 

This is one of my favorite pictures of my girls… blurry and all.

Faith

Frazzled Friday

April/April 14, 2017/ Leave a comment Edit"Frazzled Friday"

“When we minimize the offensiveness of our sin, we are attempting to diminish the holiness of God.” -Gloria Furman in Glimpses of Grace

This Friday morning has already run the gambit of emotions: sweet snuggles in my lap with sippy cups of milk, quiet time and Easter egg devotions with my little ladies, shrills of happiness for leftover French toast and the coveted blueberries that I only buy once in a blue moon… then there’s the meltdowns and tantrums that occurred when L was told “NO” in regards to another show or game on the iPad. Or the scolding that came when E climbed up on top of her toddler table and played with the A/C remote. And it’s only 8:56am.

Through the words in this book I’m reading and the work of the Holy Spirit, I’m a little more aware of my sin today. The subtle frustrations of my entitlement to quiet or “me” time… the impatience that grows with the whines and interruptions I experience every few minutes, or the selfishness that lingers in my heart throughout the day.  Yes, it’s natural, and everyone experiences these feelings. But I’m reminded today that I do have sin in my life and in my heart. 

Sometimes I can trick myself into thinking that I don’t have sin in my life and I don’t need a Savior.  On those rare days I do exhibit self-control or seem to have things together, it’s easy to think it’s because of my own righteousness. It sounds silly as I type it out.

1 John 1:6-9 English Standard Version (ESV)

6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Today, my prayer is that God would keep me acutely aware of his presence–in perfect circumstances and in frustrating ones. 

HAPPY EASTER!  Thank God, that Jesus is ALIVE and death has been defeated.

Family Updates

Frazzled Friday

April/April 1, 2017/ Leave a comment Edit"Frazzled Friday"

#reallife

James 1:5-8

“5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

Wisdom is something I’m going to start asking God for more of… because I really need it.  And I’m going to ask in faith knowing that he’ll grant it to me. Will you pray this with me, and for me?

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Well, we made it!  I really am happy it’s the weekend.  

The girls are napping, the house is tidy, and I’m about to start making some pizza dough for dinner tonight.  We are having some friends over this afternoon who will be leaving the island soon. It’s always a sad time of year when families start getting their official PCS orders to other states for their next assignment.  A very sad time indeed. We will pray that God will surround them with a community wherever they’re headed that will ground them and come along side them to encourage them in their walk with Him.

Even though we’re not a military family, living here on Oahu (and being involved in MOMS Club especially) has really opened my eyes to military life and the sacrifices their families make on a regular basis. Lily will miss her first ever friend, Jonah. And I will surely miss one my first ever mommy friends as they start a new chapter on the East Coast. Best of luck and much love to your sweet family!!

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If you’re feeling frazzled this Friday, take heart! Enjoy the blessings God has so graciously granted us and rest in his goodness. 

Faith

When You’re Overwhelmed by Gratitude

April/March 29, 2017/ Leave a comment Edit"When You’re Overwhelmed by Gratitude"

Some days I just can’t seem to keep up.  When I get a moment of quiet to think (usually in the shower), my thoughts race ahead of my body and my abilities.  Projects, chores, making food, building relationships, working out, talking to God and reading His Word.  They’re all on my list of things to do. Things I want to do, but at the same time things I sometimes dread. 

I bob up and down, like someone drifting in the ocean of life.  Sometimes I get a burst of energy and paddle with all my might; other days I just want to go with the current because it’s easy that way.  I want to let the laundry pile up and the dust collect; I want to leave the mound of dishes in the sink and the toys scattered about.  But I don’t.

I don’t want to reach out to that person or make a plan to meet up.  I don’t feel like praying with my daughter or reading her another book… or making dinner and cleaning that high chair tray one more time.  But I do.

God gives me the strength to keep going. And I’m truly grateful for that.

I admit that I can’t do it on my own strength. Being a parent and pressing on is something supernatural. I’m thankful for moments like this, though, when I can simply be.  Think. Reflect. Journal.

Mostly when I get these moments to myself, my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude. 

I want to live like I don’t have much longer on this earth. I want to soak up time with family and friends. I want to be bold in proclaiming the gospel. I want to reach out to those who are hurting. I want to serve those in need. Be a difference-maker. I’m selfish though, and God is still refining me.

I just finished reading This Life I Live by Rory Feek. I gobbled it up in two days. Probably the fastest I’ve ever read a book. You can ask my husband. It’s an autobiography of an ordinary man God has used to touch the lives of so many through his story and his wife’s.  A love story, but also a life story.  How God refined him little by little, over the course of a lifetime, molding him for something bigger than himself or his family even. Read more on his blog: thislifeilive.com

It made me think about what other people would say about me once I’m gone. What kind of legacy will I leave? For my husband, my children, my neighbors, my friends? Do my roots go deep? Have a done my part to cultivate what I’ve been given? Did I love well, plant the right things? Am I keeping the weeds at bay, watering daily, and caring for those things entrusted to me? God does the miracle of making things grow, but I have to show up.

Will my story point to God’s? Will yours?  I hope so. Because it’s the most beautiful love story ever written.

Faith Family

Frazzled Friday

April/March 18, 2017/ 1 Comment Edit"Frazzled Friday"

Fridays get me excited. Excited for the weekend, excited to have hubby home, excited for adventure, excited to have a little bit of a break from dealing with the kids by myself all day, and excited about spending family time with my little pack.  I usually get more excited if we have some type of a plan and something to look forward to, but even if we don’t I’m still glad the weekend is here.  

Typically, we do something fun on Friday mornings to get us through to nap time, then we’re super stoked to see dad when he get’s off in the early afternoon. Today was a field trip to a horse rescue. I’ll have to post pics another day.

But if I’m honest… oftentimes by Friday, I feel pretty frazzled.  

Fridays used to be the night when we went out to dinner with our friends, or stayed up late watching a movie. Maybe talking story around a bonfire, or burning the midnight oil surrounded by friends.  Now, it’s the night we are the most exhausted.  When the burdens of the week seem to come to a head and we can finally breathe. And though we sometimes will stay up to watch a show together, more times than not, one or both of us will fall asleep on the couch in an attempt to make it past 9:30.  I guess that’s one sign of old age, and a reminder of a week in which we both worked hard.  Thank God for weekends and rest; for the mundane and the extraordinary. When we’re tired, it’s easy to be short with those we love.  Sally Clarkson said it best in a recent blog post: 

“I have always told my children that it is natural to be selfish, defensive, argumentative, full of pride, but it is supernatural to be mature, loving and patient, humble. Jesus disciplines us that we might conform to His image. He is the model for unconditional love, patience, self-sacrifice, forgiveness, encouragement, humility.”

That’s why I wanted to start a new weekly blog post:  Frazzled Friday

• I want to acknowledge God’s sovereignty in all things {even when I don’t feel him at work}
• I want to revel in the beauty of our blessings {even when I’m frazzled and frayed}  
• I want to focus on the positives of the week {even when the negatives could easily outweigh them}
• I want to beg for the Holy Spirit’s guidance as I attempt to walk in holiness {especially when I’m at my whit’s end}
• I want to serve–again and again–those whom God has placed in my life {even when I might feel justified in demanding ME time}

I just started reading this new book called Glimpses of Grace by Gloria Furman. I’m only a few chapters in, but whew… there are some awesome reminders within its pages. She talks about how we glorify God in the mundane areas of life–especially #momlife. Here’s a sample: 

“I already believed Scripture, as it extols the role of a homemaker as worth tremendous value. I had no problem seeing homemaking as meaningful in light of eternity. Eternal perspective? Got it. But what about today? How is today included in the scope of eternity? […]

Whether I ought to make my goal glorifying God in everything was not in question. I knew that living for his glory is to be my greatest joy. My problem was simply how? How can I fold laundry and settle sibling squabbles to God’s glory when I am so prone to failure because of my sin? Howdoes the gospel make me into a woman who scrubs toilets or wipes runny noses heartily as for the Lord? How does the gospel make me into a woman who cares about honoring God in the way I fold laundry and serve dinner? How does my citizenship in heaven (Phil. 3:20) change how I manage my home? […]

I can do all these things as unto the Lord as my heart is satisfied in God because his kindness to me in Christ leads me to repentance again and again.”

Frazzled Friday is meant to remind us (me and you) that we aren’t in this alone.  Our service doesn’t go unnoticed, if it’s done unto the Lord. You are doing kingdom work. So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:31)  Yes, there IS a future hope, but we’re called to more than simply waiting on Heaven. Let us live in light of eternity right where he’s placed us.  

Remember that truth as you make a plan for dinner tonight, as you serve your family and clean the kitchen.  As you fight the back-arch to get jammies on, as you brush those teeth one more time and read that bed time story AGAIN. As your tired body starts yet another load of laundry and picks up the scattered toys, or wakes every hour to the hungry or gassy cries of your newborn.

Don’t live in guilt or condemnation because you don’t measure up.  Christ was perfect for you.  And don’t let yourself revel in your own glory because you think you have it all together either.  Let the glory be God’s!

Happy Weekend Everyone

April 

Projects

DIY Busy Board

April/March 9, 2017/ Leave a comment Edit"DIY Busy Board"

DIY Projects.  I love them, yet I hate them.  I tend to get lazy when it comes to finishing stuff. I have about a dozen things on my “To-Do” list at any given time, and I’m currently reading about 5 books. Anyway, here I go getting side-tracked… and I wonder why it took me two days to write this post!

Back to DIY Projects.  

I had been thinking about doing one of these busy boards since Lily was little, but never really got around to it.  I also never really wanted to fork out the money either.  The other day, we were browsing the aisles of Home Depot on a family outing and I decided (on a whim) to buy some trinkets for this project that had been in my head for years.

My girls have an engineer for a father.  So their minds, like his, work a little differently than mine… especially my oldest.  Her mind needs constant stimulation and she gets very whiny when she’s not being challenged or “doing” something.  Lily in particular loves to know how stuff works.  Both the girls (like most kids I think) have a thing for lids, caps, zippers, knobs, doors and locks.  Mike already has Lily’s kindergarten project planned out… it involves rebuilding a motor.    

With that in mind, I picked up the cheapest latches and locks I could find while perusing the aisle at Home Depot.  I think I spent about $20 for all of the things on my board.  Keep in mind these are Hawaii prices.  I’m sure this same project could be made for much cheaper on the mainland. The board and paint were leftover from home renovations several years ago.  I got home and went right to work!  Here’s how it went down and what you’ll need if you want to make one.

Materials:

• 3/4 inch board or plywood, size of your choosing (mine was 13 x 20 inches)
• sander and sandpaper, 100 & 150 grit
• paint or stain of your choice
• various latches and locks or other interesting trinkets
• drill with Phillips bit
• Sharpie pen

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Step 1:  Arrange

Gather your selected materials and unwrap them to make sure they fit on the board you’ve chosen.  The board I had was about 20″ x 13″.  I ended up arranging them differently than this, but I just wanted to get an idea of spacing to make sure things at least fit.  Most things you buy should come with screws.

Step 2:  Sand

Sand the board using a rough grit, then a finer grit to smooth it out.  I used 100, then 150.  This is especially beneficial if you’re staining the wood.

Step 3:  Paint or Stain

At this point (after you wipe off the dust), stain the board–or paint it–any color you wish.  I went with white spray paint for two reasons. 1) Because this particular paint guaranteed a 15 minute dry time, and I was feeling lazy.  2) Because although I like the look of the stained wood, I already have too much of it downstairs.  I wanted to keep things lighter with the white paint.

Step 4:  Attach

Use the screws that come in the packages with the latches to attach them to the board using the drill and Phillips bit.  The wheel was the only piece that didn’t come with any screws, so I had to bum a few short ones off the hubby.  Then, I just used a Sharpie to write out a little heading for this busy board, but you could use your child’s name or a different title.  I decided to go with: “How Stuff Works”.

Step 5:  Mount

This board would be perfectly fine to play with on the ground, but I wanted it on the wall.  There’s something about having stuff of the wall that they’re actually allowed to play with that seemed appealing to me.  For this, I used our trusty nail gun and mounted it to a stud.  I wouldn’t trust hanging it any other way, especially since I expect it to continually get yanked on and pulled at. 

And there you have it!  A DIY Busy Board that was fairly simple to put together.  It may not be their favorite toy forever, but I’m sure it’ll get revisited each time we have friends over.  Funny how that works.  Let me know if you decide to make one!  I’d love to see pictures 

Aloha

April 

Food

Fig Bites

April/March 5, 2017/ Leave a comment Edit"Fig Bites"

If you read my last few posts, I talked about how I (mostly) cut out refined sugars for 30 days. During the last two weeks, I slowly allowed myself to have “dessert”.  I was trying to keep the Whole30 mindset of not creating substitutes for dessert, but after two weeks of being really strict with myself, I decided that “naturally” dried fruit would be ok. It was basically an experiment of willpower more than anything.  I found that I have some, but not a whole lot 

I did some Pinterest searching, but it seemed that most recipes I found called for Medjool dates.  While they’re really good, I wanted something with a little more texture.  I found this recipe, and I tweaked it just a bit using fig instead of dates.

These little guys really hit the spot.  I found myself snagging them all times of the day–right when I woke up, before a workout, and after dinner.  A batch will last me several days!  

They have unsweetened cocoa powder, and mixed with the natural sweetness of the figs, they sure did the trick for me!  As always, you can add in different ingredients to make it your own as long as you keep the ratios the same.  This last time I made them I did half figs, half raisins.  Surprisingly, they were easy to roll into balls.  They were not, however, very easy for my dinky food processor to mix.  I bought a Goodwill special a few years back and it doesn’t have much power!  Hopefully yours is better than mine.

Step 1:  Gather your ingredients.

• 1 cup dried figs
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup coconut
• 1/4 cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-2 tablespoons water

Step 2:

Remove the stems from the figs, put all ingredients except water into the food processor.  Pulse for 2-3 minutes until it starts becoming a fine pulp.

Step 3:

Add in one tablespoon of water and continue mixing. It should be a paste. Add more water if needed, mix once more.

Step 4:

Roll into one inch balls and refrigerate.

Let me know what you think.  These are currently my favorite treat!

Fig Bites

Yields 20

A fig version of healthy cocoa brownie bites!

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Prep Time

15 min

Total Time

15 min

Ingredients

1. 1 cup dried figs, stem removed
2. 1/2 cup almonds
3. 1/2 cup walnuts
4. 1/4 cup coconut
5. 1/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
6. 1 teaspoon vanilla
7. 1-2 tablespoons water

Instructions

1. After removing the stems from figs, put all ingredients except water into the food processor.
2. Pulse for 2-3 minutes until it starts becoming a fine pulp.
3. Add in one tablespoon of water and continue mixing. It should be a paste.
4. Add more water if needed, mix once more.
5. Roll into one inch balls and refrigerate.

Notes

1. This mixture can be very sticky, and my food processor didn't handle it well. I found that by cutting the figs into smaller pieces before putting them in helped a bit. Also, doing the figs first then adding the nuts helped as well.

By April Wolfe

Adapted from Healthy Liv