fro yo, baby birds and arabic...

This post is about as random as they come, but I want to capture these fun memories!

We got an app on our ipad that teaches some arabic basics. 

Z wrote his first arabic words/letters the other day.

Last night we went out on a family fun bomb with Mikayla.  She's about to get married, so our time with her is really getting short.  We have a really silly song on our computer left over from KidzZone days called "Disco Duck."  When the kids hear the music, they know it's fun bomb time.  The loud cheering and the RUNNING out of bed to get shoes on is one of my very favorite things!!

I'm super-excited to announce the newest members of our family...the BABY BIRDS!!! 

Catie said, "I'm so happy about the baby birds.  The mommy bird must be SO excited."

Hugs and love to you, friends!

a little bit of fun!

The boxes are packed!!  I'm super-happy to have that job done.

Here are a few things that have made the last week A LOT more fun!

My mom sent me these cute things in a package.  Lots of places to write all the lists I'm trying to keep up with right now!  They're making all the to-dos a lot more bearable!!

Zach-attack surprised me with a note on the kitchen floor one morning.

A mommy bird built a nest on our front porch wreath.

Can you see her sitting back behind there?

Check out her beautiful eggs!!

I hope your day is full of enjoying the little things!

Have a great day, friends!

our baby's not a baby anymore!

Our little guy turned 3 on Monday! 

If you couldn't tell from yesterday's post, I've been at my limit lately, so I was really happy that his birthday dinner request was pizza and strawberries.  (And race cars!) 

My mom sent Jacob a Cars cake pan.  The cakes turned out SO cute!  I didn't have the 14 hours to ice them perfectly, so I decided they were just right without icing! 

It was a wonderful family time!!  And a great chance to love and affirm our precious, fun, busy, hilarious, joyful, silly, adorable 3-year-old boy!  We love you, Jacob!!!

the rock in the midst of transition

Phew!  It feels so good to just sit in the quiet house tonight.  We're right in the midst of so much transition!  Packing up our house is taking my brain to the edge of keeping track of details!
 

John and I are pretty exhausted right now.  But we're also super-thankful.  There's a group of people from our community here heading to our new city.  They're taking 20 crates of our stuff with them!  I'm so thankful for each little touch of the familiar that I get to pack.  And I think of myself on the other side of the world in a few months unpacking these things and making our new place feel like home.  And I smile!  There's the first 12 in that picture.  Aren't they pretty?  Well, they are to me!  :-)  Crates 13 and 14 are almost done.  For some reason, they were the hardest.  Getting rid of things I love isn't always my favorite, but it's doable.  And the reason is so worth it.  Today I went through our kids' stuff, and it was way harder.  I even shed a couple tears.  A precious friend was over here helping me.  (By the way, look what she brought me for my table so that there is a touch of cheer in the midst of the boxes!)

As we worked through the kids' stuff together, she held up this rock...

Zach has had this rock in his treasures for a couple years but decided he could live without it about a week ago.  So I threw it out in the back yard.  Catie FOUND it one day and brought it back in.  So the next time no one was outside, I threw it in another direction.  But there it was inside again.  (John had found it.)  When I shared the undying rock story with my friend, she said, "Have you looked up the verse?"  NO!  I hadn't!  What a great idea!  So she got my Bible and read this to me...

...you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  I Peter 2:5

It just rocked my world today and changed my perspective.  As the kids have had meltdowns tonight, as we each deal with transition and the losses differently, this verse has been my rock.  Yes, we're tearing down our house right now.  But God is building us into a spirual house!

Our boxes need to be given to the friends who are taking them over by Friday, so we'd really appreciate your prayers during this time.  Thank you, friends, for reading and for walking with us!!