Happily Ever After...

5 Things

2012-01-27T13:58:00.000-06:00

In no particular order, these things are running through my head today...

1. I'm a ministry widow for the next couple of days while Travis is on his annual winter retreat with the junior highers. There was a day when I always went on those retreats but it's just so much work to bring the kids along, especially for a mostly outdoor retreat in winter and equally as much work to leave them with someone. So, when it's just a short weekend event, it's just easier for me to stay back with them. Ava told Travis she was "so sad" all morning while he was packing. She wanted to go on a "twip" with him too :) Thankfully she rebounded when I told her about some things we could do together. A few more years and we'll probably be tagging along again. It's interesting to watch her process these things as she gets older. Sometimes I think the reality of sharing her Daddy is beginning to sink in but I'm grateful that it's still over her head and we're able to distract her pretty easily. I'm thinking we'll do a netflix movie tonight just to shake things up! Ha ha.

2. I am happy to say that I spent some time last night going through my scrapbook stuff yesterday and I'm really feeling like I'm getting back in the groove again! yay! However, as I was organizing pictures from my sister's wedding 3.5 years ago, I found myself lamenting over the fact that I do not look like I once did...Aging has a bizarre way of creeping up on you when you least expect it and causing some serious self-esteem issues. Fighting to stay grounded in truth and remember (as only one cause) the two precious people who are a worthy exchange for some extra pounds. It's amazing how those triggers of insecurity can be buried deep within and all of a sudden, they come screaming to the surface and take you by surprise. At different times I've battled seasons of low self-esteem stuff and gratefully, I come from a background of being loved and affirmed and praised. I can't imagine how crippling it might be without that yet, no matter our background, the Lord is the only One who can speak directly to those issues and stop them from becoming our master. Sometimes that stuff comes on the heels of me counseling a student about that very topic, prompting me to consider what I'm saying and reminding me to take my own advice. I just think the enemy is all over those kinds of situations when you are in some kind of leadership or counseling role. He loves to try and make a hyprocrite out of us or tell us that we are in no position to help someone else...Realizing I need to tear down some lies today and replace them with God's Word...

3. As I type this, I'm looking outside at the snow globe that we currently live in and I love it!! We've had almost no snow this winter, which is CRAZY, and everytime we get a little dusting, I realize how much I've missed it. Today it is snowing big, huge flakes that are coming down in a whirlwind. If I had to be out and about, I might not love it, but because I can hunker down with the kids it seems very magical.

Plus this is great timing for Trav's retreat. It will make the 75 students who are going very excited to spend the weekend tubing and playing! Thankfully they are going somewhere with several inches on the ground, and they just bought some extra double and triple tubes to add to the arsenal, so the kids will have a blast. So will Travis. I always wonder if there will be a day when he starts to feel restless about student ministry or starts to dread these retreats, but if so, it hasn't happened yet. He loves these kind of weekends. Which makes his absences a lot easier to take. I'm glad he's doing what he loves!

4. If you are a facebook friend of mine (and sorry if you're not, I try to keep that list to people I actually know in real life) you have seen some of the recipes I posted this week. I can't take much credit, other than finding some things that sounded good and then following directions, but I can tell you that I added two amazing recipes to our world!

The first one is this: Smoky Ham and Bean soup with Bacon. Um, yes. Can you say super bowl menu?? It was very, very good and had a pretty distinct smokiness to it, so don't think the title is a lie. If you don't love smoky things, you could control that and do some substitutions, but if you do like that stuff you will love it. I served mine with some crusty bread and topped it with some smoked gouda and a few more bacon pieces. Yum. The recipe for that soup is right here: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/02/smokey-bean-soup-with-ham-and-bacon/

The second thing was this French Dip sandwich. It was the French Dip OF MY LIFE. And I am not exaggerating one bit!! My sister first made this at Christmas and I loved it, so I tried it and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT. My advice is to follow the directions exactly and cook it in your crockpot low and slow, all day. I cooked it for about 9 hours and it was so tender that if you even glanced at it, it immediately fell apart. SO GOOD. Trav and I ate like fools for two nights on this and so did Ava. She loved it and she especially loved dipping her sandwich in the au jous! It was one of the easiest roasts I have ever made (EVER) and so yummy. If you never make a recipe I post, just make this one. It will be totally worth it and then some. I promise. And get some crusty bread and some swiss cheese to serve with it. The directions said to broil it, but actually I baked it for a few minutes the second night and the cheese was more melty and the bread less burned. But still crispy. Just typing this almost makes me want to go straight to the store and do it all over again. Almost.

Here is this recipe:

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/03/french-dip-sandwiches/

5. Have you been watching American Idol?? Didn't you love the worship pastor last night who was born without ears?? Did his sweet Dad not bring you to tears?? AND he sang Chris Tomlin's Amazing Grace, with the refrain, which just make me praise the Lord because all of America heard those incredible words. Plus, I love that Steven Tyler picked up on that. I recently watched a 2 hour interview with him and Oprah and man was it good. He is a complicated guy, who has many regrets in his life and yet, is searching like everyone else for meaning and purpose and ultimately, the Lord. I really like him. I don't love all the choices he's made or the things that come out of his mouth sometimes, but I have really remembered to pray for him when I see him. He needs Jesus to heal those broken places and give him some purpose. He has some very insightful things to say about his life and lest we all get on our soapboxes and condemn him, who are we to throw the first stone? Just throwing that out there...So easy to judge celebrities and all the dysfunction they bring to the table but how quickly we forget that we are all sinners who need the grace of God. Would love to see him surrender to the Lord! Who knows?? So far, I'm watching, but this is part of the show I like. I like the auditions, and Hollywood week, but I despise when they start inviting artists to perform on the results shows. There were far too many AWFUL performances last year and by awful I mean, totally innappropriate. Katy Perry, Lady Ga Ga, etc, etc, etc. Here's hoping for a more family friendly format this year...

Happy Friday friends! Hope you have a blessed weekend ahead of you!

Digging Deep

2012-01-26T15:01:00.005-06:00

So I found myself in a familiar place yesterday, realizing that it's been an entire YEAR since I've touched my scrapbooking stuff. Insert "sad face" here. I'm going to chalk these last few years of scrapbook failure on having babies back to back and no time to do hobbies. I can't believe there was a day when I was always caught up and current on my memory keeping. How was that possible?? It's been a quick spiral into the abyss of falling behind. Way, way behind. The only thing that makes me feel a little bit better about it, is that I've now joined the ranks of many Moms who also feel my pain.

But, my annual scrapbook retreat is fast approaching and I've already spent the last week talking myself off the ledge of just giving up on all of it entirely. It's just impossible for it not to be overwhelming but yesterday I decided to embrace the overwhelming and start somewhere. Anywhere.

So I got all of my bins and took everything out. I purged quite a few things and organized it all generally which was an immediate relief. I still need to do a thorough sort, but at least I know where things are now and have seen once again, how much stuff I already have.

These two were happy to revel in my empty bin joy, too.

The sweetest part of my day however, was pulling out the baby book that I've been working on (for 2 years) for Ava's first year. It's not finished but I have a lot done and it covers so much of her baby days. I've never showed it to Ava, but after Carter went down for a nap, I pulled it out and asked her if she wanted to see a suprise I had for her. Well let me tell you, she ate that book up like it was a new toy! We looked long and hard on every page and she took it all in. I explained most of what was happening on each page and she took great joy in recognizing lots of familiar faces who were holding "baby Ava." I have a picture of her when she was about 2 minutes old, on the scale, all covered in "stuff" from the delivery and everytime we came to that page she looked intently on that picture and then said, "Ava's all dirty. You need to clean me up, Mama." It was hilarious :) She also recognized some of her stuffed animals that don't hold much interest for her now, but when she was tiny, they appear in quite a few pictures. So she ran around her room and found them all and she slept with them last night.

When it was time for bed last night, she told Travis she wanted to see "her book" and it was precious to see her walk through it with him. As I watched them I realized that I needed to keep this up for them, faithfully recording our memories. It's so time consuming, it can be expensive and it's one of those projects that is never ending...BUT, it's also so worth the time and effort and I just hope that someday they will appreicate knowing what we were thinking when they were little, as they see how they spent some of their days. I'm changing some things up as I move forward, I'd like to convert from a traditional book to a digital one in the future, but I don't think I'm totally ready to give up the handmade aspect either. I like the artistry of that.

So, while dealing with the everyday stuff of life, I'm also buried over here in the scrapbooks while I still have a week to prep and plan. It always takes me awhile to get back in the groove but I'm hoping to make some serious progress in the next week!

It's this kind of thinking that looms long in my head...

Who knows, maybe Ava will turn 1 and Carter will actually be born this year??

I can dream people, I can dream.

New Year, New Traditions

2012-01-19T22:01:00.001-06:00

We spent the end of our Christmas vacation, ringing in the New Year at my parents house. While that may seem insignificant or unexciting to you, it was *wonderful* to us! This is the first year in 6 years that we haven't hosted or attended a student event on New Year's Eve and the first time we've been able to just relax and enjoy ourselves.

We didn't do anything wild or crazy, but we did make a bunch of appetizers and after the kiddos went to bed, hilarity ensued. Or something like that :)

The next generation took over the kitchen duties.

Don't you LOVE my new apron?? Sometime I'll show you a full body picture of it because it is spectacular!! And I wear it pretty much every night. And yes, everyone makes fun of me for it :) I don't care! I feel like I'm channeling my inner June Cleaver/Betty Crocker when I've got it on. I think it was the best purchase I made in the month of December.

There was some scrabble going down...

...and Jesse was schmoozing his Mom and Mother-in-law...

...while we flipped back and forth between some seriously lame NYE coverage. Honestly, someone needs to totally revamp the programming on NYE. It's boring, it's full of celebrities no one cares about (or knows) and it's the same old thing it's been for the last 25 years. Time to pass the baton, Dick Clark. And I say that respectfully. Ryan Seacrest (is that how you spell his name??) you can do better than that, I just know it. As long as the Kardashians are not involved, I think you'll be golden! It can only go up from here.

Our cute little family on the eve of a new year! Wonder what the Lord has in store for us in 2012?? Exciting to think about!

The old folks were putting us to shame with their excitement about a kiss at midnight! Ha ha! My Dad just broke into a nervous sweat reading that online :)

Once we got those babies to bed, we were excited!! For about 5 minutes :) Then we debated about whether or not we could possibly stay awake till midnight. Not to mention if it was really worth it??

It was.

I was still giddy that we weren't sharing the night with hundreds of teenagers!

Whoops, forgot to give Travis the "no t-shirt" memo :) At least he was smart enough to wear an Iowa shirt. All was forgiven with that choice.

Although we were all groggy from our late night fun, we got our rear ends out of bed and went to Church on New Year's Day. Which just might be my favorite way to spend that day actually. Can't really think of a better way to kick off a new year. Carter was bright eyed and happy because he got plenty of sleep!

Aunt Stacie and Uncle Jesse were soaking up all the time they had left with our kids. We were happy to sit back and let them do everything for a final 24 hours :)

What a fun week at Grammy and Grampy's house!

We had a great break, full of family and a low-key schedule. Just what we all needed.

Thanks for letting me play catch-up this week with my holiday posts. Now I can take a deep breath and embrace January. All 11 days that are left of it!

Christmas 2011 -Part 2

2012-01-17T22:58:00.001-06:00

We instituted a new thing this year and I think it was a win/win for everyone! I got the idea for a Pie Night on facebook, after I saw some friends do the same thing with their Mom, sisters and Grandma. In our family, pie reigns supreme as the dessert of choice when we get together. My Dad's very favorite thing in the world is my Mom's Rhubarb pie and in his words, "No one makes it better than your Mother!" So, I thought it would be fun for my sisters and I to learn how to make her famous pie crusts/pies and try some of our favorites out on our husbands (Believe me, none of them were complaining!). My Grandma Ferguson was the pie maker who taught my Mom how to make a great pie and it makes me a little sad that I never learned how to make some of the things she always made for us. That's one of the reasons we decided to do this, so that we could pass down those family recipes and learn from the best! I think it's best to warn you about the serious "cheese factor" in the following photos. After we hit the day-after-Christmas sales, we found matching pjs at Old Navy for $5 and we thought it would be fun to buy them and wear them over the break. It was a great deal and I'm still wearing them now that we're home again, but you're about to get an eye-full of PINK! Fifteen years ago you couldn't have paid us to wear matching pjs, but here we are today, wearing them like nerds and loving it! Ha ha! I did try for matching aprons, but the pjs won out.

Welcome to our 1st Annual Pie Night!

The cast of bakers

Besides my Dad, Stacie is the biggest rhubarb fan in the family! Her favorite is Raspberry Rhubarb, which is what we made 2 of.

Jennie and I aren't huge pie eaters but we can appreciate the art of making one from scratch. We decided to make a custard pie and a pumpkin pie. We grew up on both and as soon as I took a bite of the custard pie, I knew that was a good choice!

Reading from the 35 year old cook book that has been a tried and true friend to my Mom all these years.

Ava got busy playing in Aunt Jennie's jewelry while we were busy baking and came to us looking like the Queen of Sheba in her pearl head dress!

Pouring the custard filling into the crust

Love em :)

It didn't take Miss Ava long to realize what we were doing and want to join in the fun too.

She told us she wanted to "do cooking" and of course, we couldn't say no to that!

Someday I'll tell her that I basically enticed her Daddy with my cooking skills while we were dating!

I cooked and baked my way to that ring on my finger :)

My Mom passed those secrets on to me...

...and when the time is right, I'll be passing them on to her as well!

Getting ready to put the pumpkin pie in the oven...

Love my Mom.

Not a visit goes past that we aren't in public together and at least one person assumes that we are sisters! People NEVER believe she is my Mom because she looks too young :) Of course she never tires of hearing that and we always die laughing, but seriously, you wouldn't believe how often it happens! Just happened this weekend when she was at Church with me in fact! I'm hoping her ageless-ness wears off on me someday too!

Who loved pie night???

We did!

And so did my Dad and all 3 of our husbands! 4 pies to choose from, I'm thinking they are also hoping this becomes an annual event :)

My favorite, custard pie. I have so many memories of my Grandma making custard or custard pie. The smell alone brought me back to being in her kitchen and hearing her ask me if I wanted some. Today is her birthday. I bet she would have LOVED to have seen her granddaughters in the kitchen making some of her recipes! We miss her and for the life of us, we cannot figure out the secrets to some of her best dishes...Maybe we'll get a cooking demo in Heaven??

Look out Betty Crocker!!

Aren't they cute in their jammies and matching Christmas mugs??

Pumpkin, fresh out of the oven.

One of the happy customers!

Working on those double crusts.

We made a serious mess but it sure was worth it.

Jennie was the rhubarb girl with my Mom.

And she did great! That is one pretty pie...that was quickly devoured :)

Two Raspberry Rhubarb pies and some cinnamon/sugar pie crust strips that Grandma always made for us when we were kids. We didn't like pie then, but we loved those! She always had a pan ready for us :)

Our master teacher and her biggest fan. It's such a funny joke to us whenever my Dad has pie from anyone (or anywhere) else. He just cannot take a bite without telling us that our Mom makes the best pie in the world, EVERYTHING else is just second class in comparison :) No wonder she keeps making him pies after all these years! They're a lot of work, but if that's the praise you get in return, I get it.

It was such a fun night and I'm proud to say that Jennie is the first one to have already made two pies at home without my Mom to help!

Clearly I've got some ground to cover...maybe this weekend, Travy :)

AFTER my new dishwasher is installed of course. Let's not get crazy. Ha!

Just curious, do you make pies and if so, what are your favorites or your specialties??

Christmas 2011- Part 1

2012-01-17T16:37:00.000-06:00

You're going to have to forgive me today. I've got several things working against me. I'm typing with 2 fingers that are out of commision on my right hand (after I accidently cut them deeply this afternoon) and while I was uploading pictures to show you, they posted in an order that makes no sense. SO it's not great, but I'm going to go with it anyway and get these up before Valentine's Day :) Here are some pictures of our Christmas vacation in Iowa, with my side of the family. It's the first post of several, so be forewarned now...lots of pictures to come!

My Christmas boy in his new sweater vest and plaid shirt. Nothing says "merry christmas" like red and plaid, right??

Last year he was all snuggled up in a blanket and slept most of the day away, but not this year! He was a busy boy who was happily taking in all the excitement of the day :)

In case you've missed him on the blog, here is my first baby boy, Ryley!

Our 9th Christmas together. Hard to believe all those years have come and gone already. In every way they just get better and better!

Stacie and Jesse

Jennie and Dave

Trav and Stacie?? Whoops, wrong sister :)

My parents

The girls

My Dad and his girls

Our little family

We had a little "Happy Birthday Jesus" dessert party again this year.

I didn't make cookies this year, I enjoyed myself instead and we got some amazing cupcakes from Scratch Bakery. Such a GOOD decision!

Travis attempted to read the Christmas story to the kids and while it appears that Carter is intently listening, he's really just trying to get his hands on the book so he can throw it! Ha ha! Not our year for attentive listening :)

But they were all about the singing...

...and the eating.

Either way, I think the Lord was able to receive some praise from these little people and from all the big people too! I'm looking forward to this tradition unfolding over the years and remembering these funny "little" years.

We had two happy kids who got spoiled by their aunts, uncles and grandparents!

Ava's big present of the year was her "Loving Family Grand Dollhouse"

She was mesmorized by it and had the best time playing with her "flammee" all day long. It was a big hit, I know she'll love playing with it for a long time to come!

Carter loved his gifts too, but mostly he just loved running around the house and being with everyone who loves him!

We all loved watching the kids open their gifts with our coffee in hand, who needs entertainment when you've got kids??

The Knappsters, all snuggled in :)

Carter loved Uncle Jesse's lap...

...in between opening more gifts!

Ava loves those "Snowmen at Night" books and she was happy to add another to her collection! Although I do have to tell you this funny story...She's been asking to read this book almost every night before bed but there have been several nights that she's woken up crying in the middle of the night and when we ask her what's wrong, she tells us she's scared of the snowmen! Ha ha! Might have to stop reading about these "scary" snowmen!!

This is how these two sat and opened most of their presents! Back to back :)

Don't you love their new stockings?? They were a gift from Travis and I, but I also stuffed them with little presents to open too :)

Our annual "Christmas morning in our jammies" picture!

One of the highlights of Ava's vacation was doing "projects" with Stacie. She brought some of her leftover preschool crafts home to do with Ava and it was a HUGE hit! She loved it!

Working hard on her reindeer!

She loved the projects so much that she recently prayed at dinner and thanked God for Stacie and the projects!! So cute :)

Looking for the snow on Christmas morning...that never came. Kind of a bummer, but what are you going to do??

Merry Christmas from the Armstrongs!!

After Stacie and Jesse flew in to MSP, we all drove down together to Iowa and stopped at Jennie and Dave's house on the way! Happy to be "off" and together for the holidays.

The kids LOVED being with their aunts and uncles too!

We are so thankful to have Stace and Jesse back in the midwest where they belong :)

Jen, the hostess with the mostest!

My favorite women ever!

For those of us who have left the great state of Iowa, I think we could all agree, it's SO GOOD TO BE HOME!!!

Instagram Life

2012-01-12T16:15:00.001-06:00

Hi! Long time, no chat :) I haven't been staying silent on purpose but life seems to have gotten away from me over the course of the last week. Carter has been keeping me busy round the clock. He came home from Christmas break a new kid. Partially because he's been sick with a double ear infection but also because he seemed to make the leap from early walker to wild runner/climber/explorer while we were gone. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that unless Carter is sound asleep, we've reached the stage where we cannot take our eyes of him for even a second! If we do, disaster follows. I swear that kid has bumped his head, fallen off furniture, and hit his mouth

more in the last week than all of Ava's 2.5 years combined! He is ALL boy.

So honestly I've had my hands full and not much time to sit down and blog. Thankfully after a trip to Urgent Care on Saturday, his antibiotics are making him feel much, much better and the last 2 days have been much easier with him. He's back to eating twice as much as Ava and taking good naps again. And not a minute too soon!! I was barely hanging on for a few days there :) And of course, as life often goes, our dishwasher broke in the middle of the madness. So I've also been spending a little more time in the kitchen than normal. But I'm grateful that we are able to get a new one, we just haven't had time to get out and pick one out yet! Crossing my fingers that we'll have one this weekend.

Anyway, the other thing that has been SUPER fun about the last week is that Travis got me an iphone for Christmas and I've been having a great time with it! I think one of my favorite things about the phone is the Instagram app. It's no secret that I LOVE pictures and of course, I've got two little subjects that are always giving me an excuse to take a picture. My new phone takes great pictures and this app is so fun because you can easily edit them to look like a vintage photo. So, if you follow me on twitter, you've seen these before but I thought I'd show you what we've been up to in the last week and some of my thoughts about them. Yes, this is a riveting post I know and I'm sure you're disappointed by now that this is what you've been waiting to read after a week of silence :) Sorry! I do have some posts coming about our Christmas break, but I'm a little overwhelmed with the number of photos I have to sort through!

So, for today, here's an Instagram look at life in our house this week...Enjoy!

I had to wake this little lovebug up from a nap this morning but I couldn't help myself without taking his picture first. Especially when he was all cuddled up on his sweet dreams pillow! Can you see his fat lip here? He took a nosedive into the (empty) bathtub yesterday and got a bloody, swollen lip :) Welcome to the world of Carter!

I posted this last night because winter finally blew in, after a balmy start to January (it was 50 this week!!) and we had to get the coats and the hats out. I don't always enjoy the time it takes to bundle everybody up, but I do LOVE to see their little faces peeking out behind all those layers! And yes, that is a green sucker in her hand, which is always the color she requests when we have multi-colored candy. Isn't that funny? And weird? How many kids love green candy?

And then there is this little guy. Couldn't you just eat him up with a spoon in that hat??? Pure sugar, he is!!

I caught him gazing out the window, yesterday, while driving around the house in his car. He loves looking out the windows and watching all the commotion outside. It was also spitting some snow which he found fascinating.

A girl and her babies.

My Ava is just such a little mother and she spends all day long taking care of her many little children. I'm so thankful for that nurturing heart in her and mostly, that I get to be at home to watch it and encourage it. I just love her and those eyes that tell a thousand stories.

This picture is a special one for me because it's a day I've waited for! FINALLY, I can put on a movie or a little show and BOTH of them will sit and watch it for awhile. Carter only lasts 10 minutes or so on the couch but he will stay in the living room and watch most of it while he plays, but Ava will sit mesmorized for a good hour or so. I don't let them watch tv all day but I do let them watch one thing most days. It's becoming a wonderful little break for them and for me.

We went to Home Depot looking for a dishwasher and Ava remembered that they had this "race car" cart, but she was one sad girl when we couldn't find it and had to settle for a regular cart. However, as we were on our way out, she spotted it and with MUCH excitement in her heart she begged us to get in it and drive it, ha ha. So we took a wild lap around the store while these two giggled and squealed and loved every minute of it. Such a sweet, simple thing but they thought it was as much fun as anything we've done with them. I do love that about this age. It just doesn't take much to thrill little people :)

I spent some time over the weekend getting our Christmas stuff put away and now it feels so big and empty and clean in our living room. I love that feeling. I knew I wanted to have a little special place for our new rocking chair and I thought it would be fun to have a little reading corner for the kiddos. I've got some ideas for this little corner, but this is what it looks like right now.

And it made me smile to see that Ava had the same thought I did :)

I've picked back up in my chronological reading plan through the Bible. I am in the Old Testament, reading about the history of Israel and the kings who led them (or didn't). Reading the Bible this way has been one of the BEST decisions of the past year. It's made the Word come alive again, to read it like a story and just ask the Lord to show me more about who He is. You Version is a WONDERFUL website for these reading plans (there are so many and you can customize your own too!) and I use their app to keep me on track, but you can also print a plan out or just use the website too. What a great use of technology!

I'm in my annual post-Christmas, clean out/reorganize/redecorate phase and in a quest to have a place to set a cup of coffee and our lamp, I found this little treasure. It was $10 on Craig's list! Ha ha! Someday I'm going to do a post about all of my Craig's list finds because there are many. I was originally looking for a small, round, black table but then I saw this and thought that cupboard would be a great place to hide toys and we'd still get plenty of room for our coffee mugs and some books too. Plus, $10 is hard to turn down when my goal was $50 or less! It's no fine piece of furniture but it looks cute by that chair and I won't care if the kids "distress" it further :)

I took this while putting all of my Christmas stuff away. There is something still magical about having decorations we get out, only once a year. My Mom always made our house so special for Christmas (and other holidays) and I hope I pass that down to our kids too. Nothing fancy or expensive, just simple and sweet. I always get sad putting it away but I enjoy thinking about what life will be like next year, when we pull them out again.

And speaking of that, I saw this stocking and told Travis that I hoped there would be at least one more Christmas we would need it again :) That's no announcement, but I do hope this stocking has a future in our family!

I showed you this picture in my Passion 2012 post but I still love it. Ava was imitating the worship she saw all those students enjoying and singing along with me. She is at such a fun age, taking in everything she sees and imitating it or remembering it. We love to hear her version of what she's learned at Church or how she's learning to pray and talk to Jesus on her own. To know that they are this impressionable so early on, is a staggering thought.

Here's my little guy, at the height of his fussy and painful couple of days. He only wanted squeezable applesauce to eat and we went through lots of it! But how could you say no to those big eyes??

This was my very first picture I took with my new phone and unfortunately, it was also Trav's first day back to work. I hate that his car has to stay outside in the winter and on this day we realized he needed a new battery, but he is a real trooper about it and he never complains. Someday, when we have a two car garage, I will take great delight in watching him leave for work in a warm car!

That's just a little slice of life from the last week. Hope it's been a great week for you, I'm eager to get back in a blogging groove and to catch up with some of you! Can't believe it's almost mid January either. Happy Thursday friends, better get some dinner going for my family :)

The Hope of a Generation

2012-01-05T22:02:00.001-06:00

When Christmas vacation is over, I typically fall into a week of depression. Not so much due to a "back to reality" reality, but mostly due to a "I miss my family terribly" reality. I don't have the perfect family but I do have an incredible family. By the grace of God alone, I have parents that I love and adore, sisters that I can't get enough of, and brother in laws that I wouldn't trade for the world. I (we) love them, each one of them, and they love me (us) just as much. I don't know if it's because we all live in different states now, but when we get to spend time together at Christmas each year, we guard it fiercely and make the most of it. And this year was no different. We had a blast! I've got hundreds of pictures to comb through and post from our visit, but that's not what this post is about tonight.

Tonight I want to tell you about what I've been doing all week and why I've had an unbelievable week, a week of hope, instead of sadness. We got home on Monday morning and after an eventful final 15 minutes of our drive, I was cleaning up vomit and trying to get ready to take my sister and brother in law to the airport. We got them there on time and I brought the kids back home for naps, which they didn't take, until Travis got home. It was Monday and I was spiraling into my typical "I can't believe Christmas is over" mentality. I assumed it would be a long week. But thankfully, I assumed wrong.

On Tuesday night I caught wind of a live web stream on twitter for the Passion 2012 Conference and after we got the kids to bed, we were able to access it. Trav and I have been following the Passion movement for years and have listened to many of the podcasts from Louie Giglio and his team. When we lived in NC we were able to catch a night of their tour when they were at Duke University. If you've never heard of it, here's what they say their purpose is on their website:

Passion exists to glorify God-uniting students in worship and prayer for spiritual awakening in this generation.

Every year they hold an annual conference for 18-25 year olds during winter break and this year it was being held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. It sold out with 44,000+ students and thanks to a generous donor, the 4 days worth of sessions were being broadcast live via webstream. It's an incredible movement that attracts some of our favorite speakers, Pastors, authors and our very favorite bands. The teaching is amazing, the worship is incredible and what could be more inspiring than to watch 44,000 young adults come together in the name of Jesus???

Which brings me to the title of my post, hope. I had no idea what the theme of the conference would be and I really had no idea that I'd be able to participate in it all week. But I'm so grateful that the Lord gave me this week I typically hate and cleared my schedule with nothing more for me to do than unpack, clean up, and take care of my kids. I was able to tune into most of the sessions and watch them from my laptop in my kitchen.

In fact, Miss Ava even tuned in with me most mornings. This is her, imitating the worship she witnessed from the students and singing along to the songs she knew. I can't tell you how this Mom's heart was melted these last few days, watching her take in what I was also taking in. "From the mouths of babes, He ordains praise!!" To say that it was a blessing would be a massive understatement. My kitchen became a sanctuary every day and I was flat out rocked to my core from the teaching of God's Word. I heard powerful testimonies, listened to the book of Ephesians be read aloud word for word, and got flat on my face before the Lord in my pjs and slippers. Honestly, I didn't accomplish much this week but my heart was refreshed in so many ways. I watched the Lord move among a generation of students and my eyes were opened to a horrific truth.

(The mayor of Atlanta receiving a very generous gift for the city, on behalf of the students who gave at Passion 2012)

What I love about Passion is that it would be easy (and still great) to just bring students in for inspiring teaching and moving worship and then send them all back to their dorms and homes. But that's not what Passion does. They know that this is a chance to change the world through a generation of 18-25 year olds and they know that we live in a world that needs Jesus in a desperate way. The horrific truth that I learned this week is that right now there are 27 million people who are enslaved around the globe. Most of them are bound up in sex trafficking or in countries without free trade. Regardless of what it looks like, it is the highest number of people enslaved in the history of our world. And it's happening under our watch. So what can a generation of 18-25 year olds do?? They can't change the world overnight but we do know who can. And that's one of the reasons Passion brings them together. To hear from the One who gave His life for them, for the whole world, so that none of us would be in bondage anymore. He came to set us free and bring us back to Him. But these 18-25 year olds also came to give. Not because they have much to give, but because Jesus called us to proclaim the truth of the Gospel and to love the least of the least in His name. So what can 44,000 poor college students do collectively?

They can give an astonishing $2.5 million dollars.

And with the generous gift of an anonymous donor, they can put $3 million dollars in the hands of ministries and organizations world-wide to stop, prevent and restore those who are caught in the trap of slavery. I watched it happen over the course of 4 days right before my eyes and I am in awe of our God.

So why hope? Because you tell me that our God isn't greater than the darkness in our world. You tell me that He can't take the willing hearts and sacrifices of YOUNG adults and make it reach across the globe to set many, many people free. Not only does HE give us ultimate hope, but so do they. In light of an election year when we are going to hear all kinds of things about the direction of our nation and the way that each candidate is ruining it, I think there are two great things to remember:

1. "The King's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes." Proverbs 21:1

-Our God is Sovereign over every King, every government, every President and He does whatever He pleases for His glory and His people's good. So no matter who ends up in the White House or has some degree of "power or control" in our world, it's all temporary and all given as a gift from the Lord that can be taken at any time. That very thought keeps me from losing sleep at night. Should we still engage in politics and get involved, standing for what is right? YES. But we would also be wise to remember that every one of these days is already ordained by God and He is in control, not us.

2. Movements like Passion remind me that there is still a remnant of believers who bend the knee to Jesus and will continue to proclaim the Gospel for generations to come. We live in a day filled with hopelessness and darkness and sin. It's not hard to find and there are plenty of 18-25 year olds caught in its' grip. However, when I see 44,000 students who are seeking the Lord and committed to making a difference in their lifetime and are willing to put their money and their time where their mouths are, I am inspired and filled with hope for the future. Some 2000 years later and the name of Jesus is still making waves across the globe and the person of Christ is still changing lives. I saw it this week.

I am so grateful for men like Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin and the many others who have a desire to see generations know Christ and make Him known. This movement stands in stark contrast to the other movement of young people in our nation, the Occupy Wall Street (or whatever they choose to boycott) movement. While they also have plenty of passion and some points of validity, they have invaded towns across America and destroyed parks and land at the tax payer's expense, they have created nightmares for local law enforcement, they've been irresponsible for their actions and they've simply expected everyone else to serve and accomodate them, all because they disagree with the direction of the country and want to make a point about it. Everyone knows it's not hard to rally young adults behind something, but the difference is always found in the motivation behind it. Passion invaded the city of Atlanta for the last 4 days but what they left in their place was nothing but blessing and generosity. I watched as they gave the Mayor of Atlanta, $100, 000 of their own money to start a brand new Special Victims Unit that will fight the battle of sex trafficking IN ATLANTA. They gave hundreds of thousands of new socks and towels to the homeless shelters in the area and they prayed for the city and it's leaders. You tell me who made the greater impact??

This has been a sweet week for me because I've been able to witness the Lord moving and have heard Him prompt my heart to action too. I can't think of a better way to get over my own self and any sadness I might be feeling, than to focus on Him and start my new year boldly and fearlessly proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which has the power to change the world.

So thank you Passion, for what you do and for what you make possible. And thank you to the 44,000, some of whom are from our own group of students at Grace. You inspired me and motivated me to be courageous and generous, like you have been this week. We are grateful that the Lord has called us to serve you and we believe that He can do mighty things in our nation and our world through you and through the rest of us who bend the knee to Jesus.

May we be doers of the Word and not just hearers only!

"Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts." Isaiah 26:8

The Year of the Shepherd

2012-01-03T15:59:00.000-06:00

I wanted to take some time to reflect about the new year, but as I was thinking about that, I realized I really needed to first take some time to reflect about the past year. In my slightly perfectionistic head, order is usually paramount. It's hard for me to move on and set goals and change directions when I don't feel that I've properly wrapped something previous, up. My Mom can attest to this because we have this conversation everytime she comes to my house and we cook together. If I'm making a meal, with several dishes involved, I like to make something then clean it up, then move to the next thing, then clean it up, etc., etc.   My mom however, can just make everything at once, in the midst of a giant mess :) She has no problem moving on in the chaos but I start to twitch when the dishes are rapidly piling up! We laugh about it and she shakes her head at me with a smile, but it's a great example of how differently we operate.

In a similar way, entering a new year is always daunting for me. My type A self gets all worked up about resolutions and goals, all the while dreading the feeling of imminent failure and disappointment. I know, I've never been accused of being an optimist :) It's a lot of crazy going on in my head, but if I'm honest with you, January can be such a paralyzing month for someone like me.  But today, I'm not focusing on the fact that we're 3 days in to a new year and I haven't thought much about it. Today I want to just look back a little bit and trace the ways the Lord has led me through 2011...

As I flash back to January of last year, I am struck by the memories of feeling completely overwhelmed and exhausted. Ava was 20 months, Carter was 2 months and I was drowning in all things baby-related. My body was still recovering from my c-section, my emotions were all over the board, and we had 35+ inches of snow on the ground with one blizzard-filled weekend after another. It was a draining season of simply meeting everyone's needs and yet, it was also a simple season of stripping everything away if it didn't need to be done. I was in survival mode on one hand, confined to my little house in an effort to keep everyone healthy and warm, and yet filled with an overwhelming sense of joy on the other. Life in that slice of time was intense, but simple. By the grace of God he had previously impressed on me the need to back out of just about every commitment in my life, other than my husband and my kids. I emptied my plate in anticipation of it feeling very, very full and I'm grateful that I did. In that very simple way He made life easier for me by providing for me, months prior.  He saw what I didn't know was ahead and He told me to simplify my life so that I could not only survive it, but enjoy it too. Thankfully, when I sensed Him telling me that, this time I obeyed.

I didn't always respond so faithfully in 2011. He went to great lengths to show me some other areas that needed to be dealt with over the year, but obedience in response to Him was not always my first choice. I learned some things the hard way this year and I disappointed myself and others I loved along the way. So I'd hate to go on and leave you with the impression that it was a year of gravy for me, void of mistakes and regrets and sin. It wasn't. But rather than focus on me and my flawed journey, there is something I wanted share that I learned and experienced about the Lord this year. An aspect of who He is that sticks out to me and that ministered to me...

When I was a new Mom to Ava, a sweet friend of mine encouraged me with a verse that has become a favorite of mine. As a busy Mom herself, she knew some challenges I might face in the new season ahead and she took the time to share with me a verse that someone had shared with her when she was struggling through motherhood and juggling all that's required. She led me to Isaiah 40:11 and reminded me of who our God says He is, our Shepherd...

"He tends His flock like a Shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40:11

I've encouraged several new Moms after me with this verse, but in so many ways it has been the theme of 2009, 2010 and 2011 for me. In a brand new season, full of brand new ups and downs, He has helped me see that all along the way, He's been my Shepherd and I have been His lamb. He has tended me, held me, carried me and gently led me. On the days I didn't have an ounce of energy, he gave me just enough to get through the day. When I stumbled again and again, convinced I'd never be able to get this "mothering thing" right, He scooped me up and pulled me close until I felt His embrace and remembered whose arms I was in. As my strength wavered and doubt crept in over one circumstance after another, He pressed me close until I could feel His heartbeat and know that He was greater than I and He was Sovereign over all. And when I failed Him again and again, crawling into bed feeling defeated and full of regret, He gently washed away the lies that I was believing with the truth of His Word and then poured His grace out and over me, healing those hurting places and restoring my mind with what was true and right. I saw as only a lamb can see this year. I focused on the temporary and the immediate, on my own needs, on the peril ahead and on the fear I felt. As a lamb I was hopeless and head strong and foolish, often settling for less than the best and fending for myself, as if I had no Shepherd.

But in His love and grace and patience, my Shepherd came to my rescue time and time again. He knew what I had ahead, He saw what I couldn't see, He anticipated my needs before I could and as only a Shepherd can, He took care of me in the way that was best for me. I didn't love everything about this past year. There were hard days. He had to correct me, discipline me and remove some things that were harmful to me. He didn't fix every problem (although He could have) and He didn't take away every ache (although He could have). In fact, there are still some hopeless circumstances that I'd love to see change, but regardless of whether I always liked it or not, I grew closer to my Shepherd this year and I learned more about Him than I ever knew. I learned to look for Him first, before I look to myself or to others for a solution. I learned to trust Him more, after all, why shouldn't I trust the One who has so faithfully provided for me before? I learned to press into Him, drawing on His strength for my own, and I learned to love His Word as never before. To hunger for it and spend time in it, not just so that I can hear it or explain it, but so that I can live it. Embrace it. Become it.

With 2 kids under 2 and a busy Pastor for a husband, this year could have been one that I hoped to quickly get through. It could have been a season I would rather forget and not repeat. It could have been a year I survived but didn't enjoy. It could have been all of those things and a few more analogies too. It could have been...

But now, in the dawn of a new year and a new season, I'm praising the Lord, that it wasn't any of those things. Because of my Shepherd and His tender care, 2011 was a year I will cherish. I "grew up" this year in many ways and often as a result of learning a lesson the hard way. I can honestly say that I know my Shepherd more today than I did last year and that He alone made all the difference in how I see and remember and appreciated this last year. He gave me a gift in these trying years of raising little ones and that is to remember that I'm still his little one too. He's never opened the door of the pen and kicked me out, He's never left me to fend for myself and He never hesitates to scoop me up and love me when I'm "good" and when I'm "bad." He doesn't work that way. He's my Shepherd and He loves me simply because I'm His sheep, forever in His care. He always does what is best for me and for His name and reputation as the Good Shepherd. As a mother who tends for little ones and meets all of their needs whether they realize it or not, I get that. I can appreciate and relate to my Savior as a Shepherd.

So as I look back and laugh or wince with regret over all that unfolded this past year, I do so with a grateful heart for the One who loves me and was gracious to me, no matter what.

The Lord is my Shepherd and I've never been more thankful. I don't know where you are in your journey or if you've thought about this new year and what you'd like it to hold. But I do know that there is a Shepherd who is longing to take you under His care and to lead you into life everlasting. He is greater than any goal or resolution, He alone is life and freedom and the salvation we all long for and need. He will meet every need you have and satisfy your hunger and thirst with something you can't buy or earn. I know that because He's my Shepherd and that's what He's done for me.

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27

2011, A Year in Pictures

2012-01-01T00:38:00.003-06:00

I was scrolling through some old pictures a few days ago, reminiscing about this past year, and thought it might be fun to take a quick walk through 2011 in pictures from each month. From my perspective, 2011 was a wonderful year. There wasn't any spectacular event that sets it apart from previous years and yet, it was a year filled with many unforgettable things. I think we spent the year becoming a family of four, getting our "sea legs" so to speak, as we learned to do life with another little person under our roof. I'm so grateful to the Lord for the little gifts He's given Travis and I, and for this sweet sliver of time we had to experience with a sweet little girl and a brand new little boy. It was a year full of the mundane, everyday stuff of life, but I've never enjoyed (or been more challenged by) the mundane more!

So, it's nothing too exciting, but I hope you enjoy this little calendar year in review.

Oh, how time flies when you're having fun!!

January

Back in the days when we could sit the two of them together and know that at least one of them wouldn't move!

A year ago right now, this was Miss Ava. Wow, what a little peanut

And this was sweet Carter last year! Still living in his bouncy seat most of the time, but I'm laughing now realizing he was almost too long for that seat at 3 months! Look at that wild hair :)

February

Our two cute valentines!

One of our first nights out together, but not quite alone :) We took Carter with us for our date night, I was still nursing and it just seemed a lot easier. I'm pretty thankful we can go out without some tag alongs now! A year ago, I felt like that day would never come, but now it seems like an eternity ago.

March

We flew to Texas in March for the first time as a family of four!

It was Carter's first flight and he did pretty well. Unfortunately we had 3 stops, which was torture, but this little guy hung in there.

Sweet baby.

And this busy little bee did pretty well, but we spent a lot of time walking around the plane keeping her entertained!

Our first vacation as a family of four!

April

Happy 2nd Birthday to Ava!

We hosted our first "friend" birthday party...

...and had a great time! Ava was definitely into all the celebrating :)

May

Carter got his first haircut from me. Our black haired baby was quickly become a blonde haired, blue eyed boy and those ends definitely needed a good trim! Thankfully he had no idea what I was doing, so at 7 months this guy has his first cut. Not too bad for an amateur!

We also dedicated Carter at our Church, with my parents and cousins there. Such a sweet morning for Travis and I.

At the end of the month, Travis took Ava with him on a last minute trip to Texas for a funeral. It was a special memory for the two of them, especially Ava. She talks about going on the airplane with Daddy pretty frequently!

Travis officiated the service for his Paw Paw and I learned later that Ava got carsick in the limo, on the way to the cemetary, throwing up all over her dress and Trav's suit coat :) He wore his shirt and tie the rest of the day and Ava changed into shorts and a t-shirt. Probably a good thing I wasn't there!

June

We took a week of vacation in Wisconsin with my side of the family in June.

We took some family pictures while we were there and some 8 month photos of Carter.

Mostly we just relaxed and played outside.

July

We spent a week at Camp with Daddy and the Junior High kids in July. It was a 3 ring circus getting there and maintaining any sense of normalcy, but the kids loved it and we had a fun week together!

A few weeks later we said goodbye to Travis and sent him to Peru on a mission's trip with our church.

He was gone for 10 days so I took the kids to my parents house.

We were very thankful to get him back again!

August

Trav and I celebrated 8 years of marriage in August. Best 8 years of my life :)

We bought a minivan to celebrate, ha ha! Oh, how life has changed!

Carter became mobile and the adventures really began!

Life got a lot more exciting this month for all of us :)

We attempted our first family camping trip...

...which is one of my favorite memories of the year.

We had some ups and downs but it was definitely something we'll do again! Camping. I can't believe I agreed to it and even more than that, I can't believe I liked it :)

September

The majority of our month was spent cheering on Travis and his high school soccer team. We loved it and they had a great season! They finished their conference play as Conference Champs!

October

We took the kids to our favorite apple orchard to celebrate the start of Fall!

It was a picture perfect day and one of those I'll cherish forever!

Happy 1st birthday Carter!!!

We had a fun day throwing a birthday party with family for our little guy.

And just like that, we left the baby years behind.

Two toddlers in our family...hard to believe!

After Carter turned one, he got a double ear infection and then...

...staples in his head! He fell and we experienced our first traumatic injury :) Thankfully it wasn't too horrible, but tears were shed all around!

On the heels of all that fun, we discovered that Ava brought home a good, old fashioned case of head lice. And we met the Minnesota Lice Lady for the first (and let's hope, only) time! I thought staples in Carter's head was traumatic, but nothing was as traumatic as the threat of lice.

And that's all I'm going to say about that :)

We closed out a crazy month with some cute little animals in our house!

We found a cute, pink leopard...

...and a darling cow. It was a fun-filled night of candy and costumes!

November

We had some family pictures taken that captured this stage of life perfectly.

Next year I know I'll look at these and marvel at how tiny they were.

What a crazy, couple of years we've had! From no kids to 2 back to back, it's been a whirlwind of joy and exhaustion. So glad to be experiencing it together.

We took a roadtrip to Texas for 2 weeks and made some incredible memories together.

It was a sweet, sweet couple of weeks together and one of the biggest blessings of our year!

December

We wrapped up a fun month celebrating Jesus' birthday together at my parent's house with lots of family.

2011 was a wonderful year for us...

...and we are looking forward to all the Lord is going to do in 2012.

Happy New Year from the Armstrongs!

We wish you a year filled with more of Jesus.

After knowing Him, everything else pales in comparison...

Merry Christmas to our Kids!

2011-12-30T14:05:00.000-06:00

***This is the post that we'll appreciate next year, when we realize how much our kids have grown and when we remember the toys they loved at these ages. Nothing too profound here, mostly just pictures, but feel free to peek in and enjoy the night we gave gifts to our kids, before we left for Christmas in Iowa!***

The stash waiting for one cute little girl and one handsome little boy.

We decided to do gifts at home with the kids so that we wouldn't have to bring them all to Iowa. They don't really have any idea about Christmas traditions yet or when most families open presents so it was fun to just surprise them one night after their baths and let them enjoy the things we picked out for them. They were quite thrilled to wander into the living room and find some piles waiting for each of them :)

Green gifts for Carty...

...and red gifts for Ava.

Once she realized these were for her and we weren't going to stop her from opening them, she took all of 2 seconds to dig right in!

She chose her first gift well...

...a new baby Stella! She had a baby Stella already that she loves, so we now refer to this doll as "big girl Stella" because she has longer hair :) I thought she'd like her but it was so cute to see how excited she was about it! She kept telling us, "This is great!" "She's so cute!!"

Carty watched Ava tear into one gift then decided he could do that too.

A new truck, part 1 of another gift to come...

And a new "finding" book for Ava!

Carter got his first pair of Nike's :)

And Ava got some cute boots, which she thought were pretty cool too.

Ava has a leapfrog Violet dog that Carter loves, so we got him Scout! In true Christmas form, after he opened this one, we quickly realized it was defective. Lots of fun. Thankfully Daddy made a quick trip to the store to exchange it for a new one.

This lion was a last minute purchase when I felt guilty and thought Carter's pile was a little smaller than Ava's :) But it must have been a good choice because it drew the first smile from him!

A floor puzzle for Carter to race his cars on...which of course Ava decided she LOVED and couldn't live without :)

Ava got the CUTEST little sweater with her name monogrammed on it from Aunt Katy...

...and an alphabet "alphie" from her Aunt Shaye!

(Which she loved so much she tucked in bed that night, ha ha!)

Gotta love when your presents are as tall as you are!

Our first "real" boy toy!

So in awe of the awesome presents their parents gave???

Mostly just excited to start playing, I think!

The Stella doll was a big hit for Miss Ava, I think her favorite of the night...

And the last minute lion won Carter's heart :)

Christmas is never about presents or how much money you do or do not spend, but I think delighting your kids with gifts is one of the joys of parenting. Every year it makes me think of the verse about the Father delighting to give good gifts to His children (Matt. 7:11) too. It was a fun little night for all of us!

O Christmas Tree...

2011-12-27T16:39:00.000-06:00