Grateful Acres

Josh and I visited a church downtown tonight called Solid Rock. We've been watching their podcasts, and our Sunday evening was open tonight, so we decided to go in-person. The Solid Rock community is very Portland-hipster-trendy, which if you know me is... so... NOT me :) BUT we've been hearing from God through JohnMark's teaching, and enjoyed sitting together through the service (after me mis-directing us with Josh's iphone-google-directions, hunting for parking, paying for parking, and remembering why we don't spend much time downtown ;) ). The service was non-coincidentally tailored for us. God had orchestrated the teaching, the music, and the timing of it to greatly touch my husband's heart. God has been doing that lately! He's been weaving messages to my husband through the teaching of multiple teachers from completely separate churches, and bringing specific songs to the surface that deeply connect with the movements of Josh's heart. God has b...

Our little family loves music. A couple nights ago we all went upstairs and cranked up some Irish worship music ((LOVE it- check out Rend  Collective )). Henry stood on a chair with a piece of pipe he imagined to be a microphone, and waved one hand over his head, singing along wholeheartedly. Jonathan turned a bucket over and drummed along with his hands, fully engaged. Josh strummed the boys' guitar per their request (...it has been so loved that it only has one string left...), and I had little Roo on my lap. The music was rather anthemic: Build Your kingdom here Let the darkness fear Show Your mighty hand Heal our streets and land Set Your church on fire Win this nation back Change the atmosphere Build Your kingdom here We pray My attention roamed from one family member to the next... Josh singing and "strumming", Henry leading the imaginary crowd, Jonathan fully engulfed in his drumming... and then I settled into watching little Roo. I was bouncing her a...

This is a drawing that one of my boys did this week that I promptly whisked away and stuck to my fridge. I wanted to keep it because it so closely resembles how I often feel as a Mom :) Let me describe to you an example... On Saturday afternoon I got the bright idea that I would (shhh!) *scrapbook* during the kids' nap. I love to scrapbook, but a  handful of kids later I don't often get the time (or have the leftover energy when I DO have the time). It was a really full week, and I was truthfully a bit giddy about the possibility of taking my coffee up to my cozy little space, spreading creativity all over the floor, and most of all enjoying each sweet moment of quiet :) I had just gotten settled when baby Roo cried. I snuggled her, rocked her, nursed a bit, and settled her back into her bed. Back to my little haven. I pulled out a stack of photos, and began spreading sheets of vintage-colored printed papers... 8 1/2 minutes later, a bedroom door opened and out came t...