Sanctification through Motherhood

 

The past few days, today included, have been doozies.  I don’t think that’s a real world, but I imagine that is OK.  We’ve been taken hostage by some sort of summer cold-flu-yuck and it is really throwing me off.  I feel pulled in every direction – I am tired – I am tired of taking care of sick bodies when I’m trying to recover -  I miss my quality afternoon alone time when I just get to have a moment in silence (often accompanied by some yummy iced-coffee!).  I miss having my arms free when trying to change a load of sick-laundry.  Are you seeing a trend in these thoughts?

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I FULL well understand the tendency and temptation to take blogging and turn it into this “look how perfect and well rounded my life and thoughts are” situation – so I by no means want to do that.  There is some honest emotion in those thoughts – it is legitimate to be tired.  It is not wrong to be thankful for and savor alone time.  BUT…

When I dwell on those things – when I dwell on myself – I lose my thankful spirit.  I do not cultivate things which last.  I do not create peace and joy in my home.  I lose sight of that which is truly life.  You see I have MUCH to be thankful for.   I generally have a healthy household.  I am so thankful to be at home with my young ones and therefore even GET to have an hour of peace in the afternoon.  When I am just downright angry that baby boy has once again had a blow out and therefore needs a bath (when there is dairy in the car – and sister is just having one of those days and poor hubby is back in bed feeling miserable); well I am blessed with a home where cleaning my children with clean water, buying good food, and having multiple beds is a staple, something I just expect.  When my arms are tired?  Oh foolish me, what a blessing to have a sweet bundle who feels better when his momma holds him.  When I allow my joy and patience to be stolen from me so easily, I am choosing not to meditate on that which is joy-giving and life-sustaining.

 

So, with God’s grace I will try again.  Notice there is grace even now, because I’ve had 45 minutes of alone time to even meditate on these thoughts and sip a little bit o’ joe.  Oh my.  With grace I will not pretend not to have emotions, but choose that which is of Him and for Him.

 

(the pictures?  they’re random, but they make me smile – and I kind of needed to just smile!)

Sick

A sick house is no fun.  And we’re a bit bummed about it.  This summer, the sickness has won.  Boo to you, Mr. Sick.  Boo to you.

The Roadtrip {Week 2}

Alrighty – so here we are for week 2.  By now we had really settled into “road trip land.”  We had our organization system down / we knew the best places to stop (Starbucks, of course, for more than one reason!) to use the restroom / Abi knew what to expect / but Nate wasn’t digging it.  Sweet Nate.  He had his few roughest days this week.  Thankfully we never had more than 6 hours in the car the entire trip, but Nate had a few days where he just plain DID NOT appreciate being in his car seat.  We’re sorry, Nate.  Thankfully, he’s forgotten!  Thankfully, week 2 was also marked by being extremely relaxing.  We didn’t have as many places to be, or really much on our agenda.  We were settling – it felt glorious.  Vacation at its best!

Week 2 Itinerary: Drive to Joshua Tree National Park – Drive to San Diego

{Joshua Tree National Park}

We loved Joshua Tree!  I had visited the area in high school and somewhat remembered what to expect of the California desert – but this place just rocked!  We might classify this as Abi’s favorite place on the trip – she had so much energy climbing boulders, racing around, spotting wildlife.  Such a beautiful place for a kiddo.  The desert and the contrast of the amazing sky, the insane boulders, and the vegetation was crazy.  We just loved how a place could seem so desolate, yet life was literally all around us!  A very humbling and incredible place to spend some time.

 

{San Diego}

Ahh, San Diego.  The land of perfect climate.  What a place.  Donald & I had each been there separately; so it was such a joy to experience such a great city both together and with our kiddos!  San Diego was the first place that we just unpacked and existed for 4 days.  That felt heavenly.  We visited the grocery store, began and ended our days by overlooking the ocean, just had some simplicity that was so refreshing and became such a wonderful hallmark of our trip!

You know that I’d have an entire collage for the zoo :)  I couldn’t wait to go back to the zoo, and to visit it with Abi.  BUT, might I add that I was so pleased to see some features that I really preferred the good ol’ Dallas Zoo!  Nevertheless, the San Diego Zoo deserves every bragging right that it is given; it is a phenomenal place.  Donald & Abi were exhausted by the end of the day (but as Donald said, what was he thinking – if he is visiting a zoo with me, he will for sure see the entire thing, without missing an exhibit!).  Wouldn’t you know that I forgot my name badge from Dallas Zoo – and therefore “cost” my family $40!

Relaxin’ all cool…

The Abi Diet – Spiced Lentil Tacos

 

Me & my dandy little sous chef – isn’t he just the cutest?!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed
• 1 package (2.25 ounce) taco seasoning
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth *I would reduce this amount to only 2 cups, my mixture was too wet.
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely chopped (use half for less heat) *I omitted buying a whole can seemed silly to me– remember, I’m a northern girl, my mouth does not miss chipotle chile!
• 2 teaspoons adobo sauce *could never find this as just a sauce, so I just left out8 taco shells
• 1 1/4 cups shredded lettuce
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat (2 percent) cheddar

Preparation

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion, garlic and salt until onion begins to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add lentils and taco seasoning. Cook until spices are fragrant and lentils are dry, about 1 minute.

Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

Mix sour cream, chile and adobo sauce in a bowl. Uncover lentils and cook until mixture thickens, 6 to 8 minutes. Mash with a rubber spatula. Spoon 1/4 cup lentil mixture into each taco shell. Top with 2 heaping teaspoons sour cream mixture, lettuce, tomato and cheese. 

*Little tip – please buy organic or daisy sour cream – there are so many nasty ingredients in other sour creams…it’ll make your skin crawl and your tummy want to cry.

 

Wouldn’t you know that I forgot to get a picture of the finished product?!  OH well, silly me.

Nate decided that he was hungry too, and tired of being a patient little helper in the kitchen.

 

Oh, da fourth…

I just love the 4th of July!  I definitely like it better in Michigan than in Texas – but I like it regardless.  It’s just too dang hot here.  The 4th of July in Michigan – there are boats on the lake, a lovely breeze, maybe you need to grab a jacket to watch the fireworks because it is getting a bit chilly….I digress.  But, I do love the 4th.

Oh, Lake Highlands.  You put on a parade.  We were sweating and enjoying it…but I was still daydreaming about being on a lake…

My momma & I aka the candy grabb - abi & ry’s cups were overflowing…

I mean seriously, too cute.

Because you can’t call yourself a carnival these days without some really fun bounce houses!

Oh, yummy…

Watching fireworks with friends whom we’ll miss at night.  Overall, Abi was a huge fan – minus the “big noise.”

Sweet Nate was such a trooper…we woke him up, he stayed awake (and really focused on the fireworks!), and then he fell asleep on the way home.  Thanks, buddy.

Thankful for family, thankful for friends, thankful for freedoms.

Labor of Love of Limes

Ahhh, key lime pie.  Ahhh, how my hand aches…

The Roadtrip {Week 1}

So, I’m throwing chronological etiquette to the wind – here is where blogging is about being a personal scrapbook too, I suppose.

About 6 weeks ago we departed on what will always be such a unique and special time for our family.  We had some time between Donald’s graduation and his start date for work.  We prayed and discussed what this time would look like – and then on the fly with great thought decided to book this insane-o adventure of trekkin’ California (with some Nevada and Arizona thrown in for good measure) for three weeks with our two darling kiddos.  At the risk of sounding too dramatic and being overly “gooey” – these three weeks were amazing.  We were just able to exist and live with one another.  Literally, no agenda or place to be, except for what suited our fancy.  We were just able to pray that we’d be obedient to what the Lord had for us that day.  Unreal and so fantastic.  We are so totally and completely grateful.

Week 1 Itinerary: Fly to San Francisco – Drive to Yosemite National Park – Drive to Las Vegas – Drive to the Grand Canyon

{Yosemite}

This place was amazing beyond words.  Creation at its finest.  Beauty galore.  Donald’s favorite part of the trip (despite him getting a nasty GI bug and being sick for a good 3 days – and I mean really sick – like me crying in the hotel room sick).  Please go if you can, it was so wonderful!

{Vegas, baby}

Go ahead, say it.  Who in the world brings their kids to Vegas?  And that is a wise statement!  But, we would add that when your oldest is 2 and neither you or hubby have ever been…this is an acceptable time to take a family vacation, which happens to include a stop in Las Vegas.  Without a doubt the most unique city that I’ve ever been in (don’t mean that in a good or bad way, just a fact in my book – I’ve never been to a city like it).  Abi loved the lights (did NOT like the volcano outside of the Mirage, though!) – and we loved great hotel rooms at exceptional prices!  We’re glad we stopped through…they did have a great aquarium at Mandalay Bay!

 

We threw the Hoover Dam in for good measure…

{Grand Canyon}

This place is incredible.  We kind of felt as though we’d completed some sort of pilgrimage upon arriving here – visiting the Grand Canyon is like an American rite of passage.  Looks like we’ve finally made it!  Took us 28 years – our kiddos both made it here before they turned three.  We were both so excited to finally see the canyon – I just couldn’t stop smiling.  It is unbelievable.  Endless.  You feel so small.  We were very humbled.  Pictures do not do this place justice – it is captured in our memories. 

 

Week 2 coming soon…

The Good Life {Watching Wimbledon}

Yes ma’am, we Wallaces do love to watch Wimbledon.  Quite honestly, we waste quite a bit of time over the two weeks of the major championships in the morning/early afternoon watching tennis.  But, waste seems like such a harsh word…

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(we’re not too fancy, sangria in an Aggie cup tastes just as delicious)

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Quite a delight.  The beauty of this time, all hanging out in the main room with tennis on in the background was not lost on us.  We are so thankful for family time.  Undeserved goodness poured out.