Little Things

It's the little things that make me feel joy:

*It's spending a weekend with friends when you've all sent the kids off to the grandparents'. (We missed you, Sara!)

*It's being married to your best friend.

*It's receiving a phone call from one of your closest friends announcing the birth of her daughter. Congratulations Jack, Kelly & Owen! We loved getting the pictures of Silvia!

*It's your toddler keeping his undies dry all day and not being scared of public restrooms.

*It's a favorite summer pie - even if it's short a few nectarines and blueberries thanks to your son "helping."

*It's a picnic lunch of peanut butter and homemade (though not by me) blackberry jam accompanied with grapes and "bunny crackers" (Annie's Homegrown organic cheddar bunnies - sooo much yummier than Goldfish crackers - thanks for the addiction, Carrie!)

*It's sleeping with your windows open and being awakened in the night to the fragrance of a summer rain.

*It's a sunny day with a great breeze and open windows to feel the breeze.

*It's finding hints of what looks to be curly hair on an unexpected red-headed daughter.

*It's getting through a conversation without laughing with your son who has out of nowhere started stuttering (we were told this is common ans temporary for boys his age.)

*It's registering him for preschool and finding yourself crying as you realize this is the beginning of his school years.

*It's finding the "perfect" antique desk you've been looking for, offering them less than the asking price and having it accepted at $75 and then coming home to find it online for $3000 whie researching the history.

*It's getting a funny housewarming card in the mail.

It is all the moments that make you stop and realize this is what life is made of: the little daily "nothings" that add up to so much more.

Recognizing A Battle

I don't know if I have written about this before, and I don't have the energy to look back and find out, so if this is redundant...skip it or do what you will.
While growing up, I never really was taught the importance of fighting the spiritual fight besides the verses of putting on the armor of God. Demons, the devil, Satan...those were all just names to me, things in a realm that I was not part of. Oh, how I have learned the truth. The following may make me sound crazy, or you may be able to relate. Either way I find it very real.
Shortly after Noah was born there was a day when Tim had left for work and after feeding Noah his first bottle, I had put him down for a nap in his room and had laid down in my room across the hall for a nap as well. I remember waking up to him crying and when I tried to get out of bed I was met with paralysis. I couldn't move but felt a huge weight upon my chest. I freaked out for a moment and then started to pray. I remember that when I said, "Be gone in the name of Jesus" the weight was lifted and I was able to get up. That was my first physical experience with the battle. I never told many people about this because I thought it made me sound insane.
This happened again shortly after Eleanor's birth. It was the middle of the night and I woke up to her fussing in her bassinet that was in our room. I wasn't able to move or speak. I tried and tried to even move my hand two inches to nudge Tim's, who was sound asleep next to me, but couldn't. So I started to pray. Every time I said the name of Jesus, my body shook. Finally, after an intense tremble, the weight was lifted again. I am blessed to have a husband who does not find me crazy when I tell him these things, as well as some friends who - although they tend to slightly freak out - also take it seriously.
A couple weeks ago I received an email from my friend Renee. She told me she was reading the book "Captivating" by John and Staci Eldredge and that God kept telling her to tell me to read a certain chapter. She didn't know why, but I had to read it as soon as possible. I own the book (although I have yet to read the entire thing) and, being intrigued, grabbed it off the shelf immediately after reading her email. The chapter she told me to read was on spiritual battle. God spoke, Renee listened, and He delivered what I needed to know for the time being.
There are so many things in my life right now. There are so many things in the life of the Ross family as a whole that needs prayer. I believe in the seriousness and realness of satan and I also believe that I serve a God who is more powerful than the forces of evil. I know how the story ends and I know that we as Christians are victorious by the grace of God. Unfortunately, while on this earth, we still fight the battle for Truth...for Love...for people to have relationships with Him.
I hurt today and find myself in tears throughout the course of it. Yet I hope. As my friend, Rachel, reminded me earlier - there is ALWAYS hope. Please don't take lightly the power of evil in the world today. It's not just drugs, shootings, rapes...the situations you physically see. Sometimes it is the battle of a mind, the health of a marriage, fear of bad parenting, or lack of control...sometimes it is what you don't see that is more dangerous.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the deil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." - Ephesians 6:20
Thank You, Father, that we may come to You in any situation, in any frame of mind, to call on You for strength. Thank You for providing us with a set of armor that is the same today as it was hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Thank You that You fight alongside us and for us and that you have even gone before us. May we praise Your name always, even when the battle hurts. In Your name we pray, Amen.

When a Toddler Finds a Camera...

You can end up with some artsy pictures on your camera. This is what I found after discovering him with it the other day:

What's Going On??

There must be some funky moon alignment or something is in the air here because my morning has been out of a dream. Proof:

*Noah slept in until after 7:30.


*The main floor bathroom is clean.


*The kitchen is clean.


*The last load of laundry is in the washer and the other four loads have been folded and put away.


*The dishwasher has been run and I'm letting the dishes dry a bit before putting them away.


*Noah didn't put up any fights about naptime but practically put himself to sleep.


*I swept and cleaned the deck off.


*I'm kind of having a good hair day.


*The weather is PERFECT! Low to mid 70s and sunny. We're in pants and t-shirts and not hot or cold....but just right. The windows are open and there is fresh air around the house.


*After 3 weeks the garbage company finally remembered to drop off the container for us so now we have somewhere to put our full trash bags until trash day instead of just outside the side door.


I feel like there should be eerie music playing in the background. I might even get a nap in with the way this day has been going.



And now...more excitement....prepare yourselves....

Cloth diapers! We have decided to switch, I admit mostly for economic reasons (in the end you can save more than $2000), but it does feel good to be environmentally friendly as well. They arrived in the mail yesterday and I am washing them up right now to get ready to use. I'll probably start them tomorrow. Even if you're not a fan of cloth, you have to admit she looks pretty darn cute in that flower diaper cover. With her in cloth and Noah pretty potty trained at this point (he just wears EasyUps to bed at night now) we should be saving about $80/month.

And now...I think I will take a rest.

Part 2 - Clarification

OK, so I got to thinking about how I should clarify some of the things in the last post.
First of all, I don't judge anyone who uses the birth control pill. It is mine and Tim's decision not to, but if we based our friends on who has the same point of view on it as us, we would lose probably 95% of our friends. It is a personal decision for everyone, and as I said before, there are different factors that go into our decision. We like the method for prevention that we're using now and we'll stick with that (until Tim can get "the snip.")
Second, I don't believe that, outside of abstinence, any form of contraceptive is 100% effective. I have a niece who was conceived while her mom was on the pill. I have friends who have become pregnant while using birth control pills, condoms, and Natural Family Planning, as well as people who enter their middle ages and find themselves pregnant due to that little sperm who escaped the vasectomy fence. Those are the babies that I think God has really big plans for because they are made up of some pretty determined eggs and sperm.
Third, I should have clarified something the two doctors were discussing: how birth control pills work. A woman doesn't ovulate while using the pill because it manipulates her body into thinking it doesn't need to. SO, and here is where the difference in the doctors came in - one said that because there is a chance that the body can ovulate and and an egg can be released and meet the sperm and then be "aborted" due to the lining of the uterus not being a friendly environment to implant in (due to the pill), he will not prescribe the pill for anyone for any reason. The other doctor believes this scenario is so rare that he does not have a problem with prescribing the pill. And, yes, birth control pills can also be used to treat acne as well as other reproductive issues such as endometriosis or polycystic ovarian symdrome.
So that is when it becomes a personal decision. That is why I have all these swirling and twirling head thoughts! There is so much to think about as an adult when making decisions that I wish I was 3 months old again. =) But I don't condemn anyone's decision when it comes to this because who am I to judge? Just because Tim and I made a decision that we did doesn't mean it's the only decision or the "right decision." It's just what we picked because it works for us.

Ramblings Swirling and Twirling

My head has been so full lately. What I would give to sit and be able to just not think for a moment. This is a fault of mine...the struggle to just be silent and still. It is so valuable when I do it, and yet I don't very often. So here I am with a full head again of thoughts. I need a pensieve, like in the Harry Potter books where I can take my thoughts or memories out and stick them aside until later.
I read an interesting book lately. It was "The Year of Living Biblically" by AJ Jacobs. It was interesting, some parts were very funny and some were very thought-provoking. If you haven't read or heard of it, it was written by a man who tried to follow the Bible as literally as possible during the course of just over a year (he had to extend it due to the birth of his twins and not being able to accomplish some of the things he had been hoping to by that time.) He wears clothes that don't have mixed fibers, eats only certain foods, at one point he even attempts to stone an adulterer (that was a very funny part actually as he ends up tossing small pebbles at the guy's chest after the guy egged him on and taunted him.)
What was most interesting to me is that AJ Jacobs is Jewish and agnostic. There were so many parts in the book where you see him so close to accepting the Lord for everything He is...and then he would remember himself and let his "practical" side win. He ends his year agnostic still, but with more understanding and appreciation for certain things.
There is much in the book concerning the different "types" of Christians. There are some who do try to follow the Bible as literally as possible, there are some who are the Pat Robertson types, and there are others who we'll say are more like the Rob Bell types. He writes about how the majority of Christians just kind of pick and choose what parts of the Bible they want to follow. I think this is obvious to some extent when you look at it. There are some who say that when Jesus came to die for our sins he wiped out all the Old Testament laws and regulations. Does that mean we don't need to follow the Ten Commandments anymore?
Tim and I were discussing baptism last night. We have both been baptized. I was ten years old and there have been times where I wish I could do it again now that I have lived longer, through more hardships and can truly appreciate and be thankful for my salvation, for what God means to me, for what my faith in Him means to my life. I didn't know these things when I was ten. I just thought it was the next thing to do in the Christian life.
So we were talking about baptism and the importance of it, yet how some churches can go too far, in my opinion, with it. For example, let's say you have been baptized at a church - not by immersion (the dunking) but maybe by sprinkling. Later in life, if you attend a different church, I don't think you have to be baptized again if they do it by immersion. Baptism, in my belief, is an outward expression of an inward decision. It is a public declaration that says, "This is my decision and the journey I am choosing to take, to follow Christ." But I don't think baptism determines whether or not we go to Heaven and so I don't think the way you do it is what is important. I'm sure some of you might not agree and that's ok. Not even Tim and I agree on every Biblical issue, we just agree to not talk about it since they aren't the truly important issues.
I have listened to a couple days of "Family Life" on the radio this week. Since it is on during our lunch time here, I usually have it on while making and eating lunch with Noah. I really enjoy most broadcasts and have come across great resources and information while listening to it. This week they have been discussing contraceptives and forms of birth control. I was interested for two reasons: (1) Tim and I discussed this recently and (2) I don't want any more kids so contraceptives are often on my mind.
We don't use "the pill." We don't for a variety of reasons: (1) I don't like how it makes me feel (2) Tim and I don't like that I become quite mean while on it (3) We believe that life begins at the time the egg and sperm meet, not the time it is implanted. Based on this belief, the pill could be looked at as, at times, providing an abortive method since it is creating an environment that doesn't allow the fertilized egg to implant, thus causing a life to end - if you choose, like we do, to look at that fertilization moment as the time life begins. Even this causes division within Christians because not all believers believe the same details on this topic.
So then you start wondering what to use. Condoms? Natural Family Planning? Nothing? After a couple more months of regular cycles for me, we'll go back into the Natural Family Planning (I like to make sure I have about 4 months of regularity after pregnancy and delivery.) When done right, this is a very effective way. Many people just don't take the time to learn the correct way to do it and when they find themselves pregnant, they're confused as to what happened. Tim and I became pregnant all three times the first time we "tried."
Tim is on music team this week and picked out the songs. When I first saw his list, my comment was "You only have one upbeat song." He tried to argue that "Come Thou Fount", when sung in the way of David Crowder, could pass as upbeat, which would give him two songs. Later, though, I started thinking about my comment to him. Why did it matter? Are there rules and regulations in church that say how many of our songs should be upbeat, slow, loud or jazzy? No. Well, there shouldn't be. We should be soaking in and reflecting the lyrics, the heart of the songs. God doesn't care how we are singing them, but what we are saying in them, how we are worshipping Him. Sometimes I think He's just happy that we're worshipping.
So it looks like my head has been mostly full of religious, spiritual thoughts recently. As I journey along this Christian walk I am constantly growing, being stretched by the Lord, stumbling across new passages that question old ways of thinking. All I can do is pray and search the Word.

Trees, Kids & My New Favorite Website

My friend, Rachel, came over to help me do this mural. I love the color combination of blue and brown. I have for a few years now...before it was actually popular. I was pairing blue and brown when it wasn't "cool" to as I was nicely told by a former co-worker. I also love fun little birds, vintage birds, songbirds...again - and Tim is my witness - this was before they were even the trend (I'm starting to feel like if I was in Hollywood I could be a trendsetter.)

So, even though it looks like I'm following a trend, I have actually had this idea in my head for some time now and was just waiting until we had a house and a nursery to be able to do it. I especially like the little bird flying over to the tree. I painted the tree; Rachel painted her birds.

While we're in picture mode, let me throw in a couple recent ones of the kids.

More bird.Noah has not become Indian, or Buddhist, with the red dot on his forehead. Instead, he got excited to see Tim returning from work one day last week. Tim was holding a drill in his hand and before he could stop it from happening, Noah ran smack into the drill bit. We're glad he didn't hit it any harder, or that it didn't hit his eyeball. I'm also noticing he has my "crazy eyes" as I call them. When taking pictures, one eye becomes smaller than the other.

Why, yes, she does still have red hair. And we love it.

And, my new favorite website: www.moneysavingmom.com. LOVE IT! I went to Target and got some FREE items last night and plan on going to a few other places tomorrow and nabbing some more stuff. What is great about it, in my opinion, is that it hooks you up with a lot of really great deals on the things that usually cost our family more at the grocery store (i.e. toilet paper, shampoo, soaps, toothpaste, etc.) If I can get this stuff for free or close to it, I'm a happy woman! Check it out.

Butterflies

I think I might throw up.
With the encouragement of Tim and my mom, I sent an essay in to RealSimple's Life Lessons essay contest. I just finished pressing the send button and checking my email to receive an automated "thanks for your submission" reply from them.
Now I just have to wait until after January 3rd, 2009 to find out whether or not it was chosen.
I've never done anything like this because I'm so afraid of rejection. When I'm writing, I'm putting myself out there...I'm exposing my feelings, thoughts, emotions, and experiences. It's one thing to do it for all you who read this.
It's another thing to do it for a contest where they're picking a "best."
This is why I now feel like I have butterflies in my stomach so strong that they are going to just fly away with it.
Pray for me that I may make it through the next 6 months and maybe even forget that I did this so I don't think about it all the time.

Happy

I just saw this video for the first time today and it made me feel happy just watching it. Dancing is something I love to do (for fun around the house or at weddings) and it is a "universal language" so to speak.

What a Grandview!

Grandview is the name of the street we just bought a house on! Our closing was yesterday and I hadn't mentioned anything on here before because I wanted to wait until it was officially our's (well, our's and the bank's) in case anything fell through. But it all went off without a hitch and we are now in home ownership mode again. It's amazing how in this market you can own a house with a mortgage payment cheaper than paying rent. Anyways...

Our new residence is in Spring Lake. It is a 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bathroom cape cod with a somewhat finished basement (half is storage area, half is finished although we need to do our own thing to it to make it into a playroom for the kids.) It is on a half acre lot and most of the yard is fenced in (yea!) We love it and plan on being here for a loooooong time. Although we took boxes over last night and plan on taking more tonight and tomorrow during the day, our "big" move is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday) night. (Anyone in the area looking for something to do tomorrow night?) We went over to clean last night and Stephani came to help. While there, our friends Justin & Carrie (Justin & I have known each other for years and they have a house right around the corner from where our's now is) stopped by to see if we were there and ended up helping out as well. I'm so thankful for friends who are willing to get dirty to help you out! They all did a great job and we're ready to go. Tim is going to be painting the kids' room tonight so that can be done by the time we spend our first night there. Rachel is coming out to help me paint a mural on their wall this weekend that I am very excited about. I would say I can have pictures of all that, but I forgot my camera at my cousin's wedding and it is now in the possession of my aunt. However, we do have pictures of the house that we took after our offer was accepted so I can at least share those.

Welcome to our new home:

Hello! I'm Noah and I will be your tour guide today. This is our entryway. Mom and Dad are suckers for arched doorways, alcove ceilings and hardwood floors.This is where our guests will stay for a few years. The other 2 bedrooms are upstairs, but this is on the main floor. Because they're not comfortable with us sleeping on a separate floor at our ages, Ellie and I will be sharing sleeping quarters upstairs and they will be in the other upstairs bedroom. The main floor will be for our lovely visitors.This is our full bathroom. You can't see the toilet or shower but they're in there!Mom will cook lots of meals in our new kitchen. The stove is hidden on the right.Ellie and I are going to be able to play with our friends in this room in the basement. Mom and Dad are going to put carpet down and paint some fun colors in here.Mom loves this large closet and shelving/drawer system in the upstairs hallway.

Ellie and I will share this room. There are hardwood floors underneath the carpet in the upstairs bedrooms that Dad is going to eventually rip up and refinish.The half bathroom is in Mom and Dad's room.Come on outside with me! We have to go through the laundry room that Mom will enjoy having on the main floor.
This is my backyard!

Thank you for seeing our house! Let us know if you would like to visit us in it!

Blessings

There are the moments as a mom where I go crazy and wonder how such tiny little beings can be so aggravating. Then there are the other moments like one I had yesterday.
After dinner Tim was taking a shower while I cleaned up dishes. Right as I was finishing, Ellie - who hadn't napped well throughout the day - started to cry. I picked her up, sat on the couch and swayed/sushed/rocked her and she was almost instantly asleep. Noah, who had been playing with trucks, watched me and then disappeared out of the room. A moment later he returned with a blanket and his favorite stuffed animal - a dinosaur appropriately named "Dinosaur'' - and climbed on to the couch mumbling quietly to himself. It took me a second to realize he was quietly talking to Dinosaur. He wrapped the blanket around Dinosaur and started patting its back and soothing him, "It's ok, Dinosaur. Go to sleep." He laid Dinosaur down next to him on the couch and covered them both with the blanket.
"Close your eyes, Dinosaur."
He (Noah) looked at me and put his finger to his lips. "Shhhhh," he whispered. "Dinosaur's sleeping." He then closed his eyes and pretended to sleep as well.
I looked at him, this little faking sleeper with rosy cheeks and boyish charm, and then looked down at Eleanor who was still heavily asleep in my arms with her smooth baby cheeks and button nose.
I am so blessed, I thought.