A Tree Planted by Streams of Water

Psalm 1:3

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither.

Our pastor preached on Psalm 1 at the beginning of January and this verse has stuck with me the last few weeks. It creates a mental image for me of the woman I want to be. A woman of quiet, peaceful and enduring strength whose source of life is in Him.

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Most days between our schedule, the kids, keeping the house from looking like a bomb just went off, and not seeing the sun for days on end with this winter weather, I often feel like I am running around in circles. Crazy would be a good word to describe how I feel on some days. I am not like that tree whose leaves never wither. I feel kind of like my house plants look - dried up, half dead and in need of a good drink.

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I've been meditating on this verse. Considering the source of the stream. Thinking about those roots that go deep, the strength of the branches and the yield of the fruit.

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I love this picture of Mirielle. I am that tree. I imagine my kids swinging from my branches - like on the days when I try walking through the kitchen with Kellan hanging on to my leg, or Mirielle pulling on my arm as we walk through the grocery store. Or on the days when Kellan falls and needs a hug or I spin Mirielle around while we are dancing. On those days they are literally swinging from my branches. I so long to be big strong branches, realizing in a new way that it only happens by being planted by the stream.

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So I am praying that I would be that tree, dependent upon that stream of water, yielding fruit, whose leaf does not wither.

Happy 2009

Last night we had a special family dinner to usher in 2009. It was basically an excuse to splurge in few things that we normally do not indulge in eating. I mean, how many times can you walk by all of that amazing food at Costco without giving in? Mmmm!

While we were sitting around the table we put together a list of 2009 goals/predictions. Here they are for your public enjoyment:

-Mirielle will learn to read and write
-Kellan will finally stop using diapers (I am afraid this one is going to happen against his will) and will start feeding himself at the dinner table (or starve)
-Jason will teach Kellan how to really throw a ball
-Mirielle will lose her first tooth
-We will go camping together as a family (hopefully we will make it past camping in our backyard)
-Jason will bike to the 49 degrees ski area and back (in the summer, which means it will either happen in July or August)
-Kellan will give up using sippy cups and move on to what we refer to in our house as 'big boy cups'
-Jen will take a photography class
-A 6 month 'spending fast' (this one has me nervous already) will occur in our household
-Jen will finish decorating the house (which should be interesting considering the spending fast)
-Jason will conquer the slopes at 49 degrees and Schweitzer
-Mirielle and Kellan will learn to swim
-Jason and Jen will have a proper 9th anniversary celebration

Hope your 2009 holds lots of promise for you!

Arizona Birthday

The kids and I were able to travel to Arizona for 11 days at the end of September for my cousin's wedding. Mirielle was a beautiful flowergirl and had so much fu geing in the wedding. More details and pictures on my blog here. Jason was able to join us for the weekend of the wedding and we were so thankful to be able to be together.

We arrived on a Friday afternoon (and man was it hot!). Saturday, Jason's brother and his wife took the kids to the zoo and to a splash park while I hit the mall with my parents to try and find something to wear to the wedding. That night we had a party for Kellan with all of the AZ aunts and uncles.

I had grand plans to make a fancy John Deere cake for the birthday party, but after walking through the mall all day I wasn't much in the mood for cake decorating. So I cheated! My parents had bought this scraper for Kellan's birthday party, so I chopped up my chocolate cake and chunked up some Recees peanut butter cups, mixed it all together and made a dirt cake. I guess you can decide for yourself if it was super creative or super lazy! It was pretty delicious and Kellan thought it was great, so I guess in the end my dirt cake was a winner.

Happy 3rd birthday Kellan!

Moody Student and Staff Retreat

Mid September, we had the chance to attend a Moody student and staff retreat at a beautiful camp about an hour away. It was a good reminder that I really am not even close to being a college student any more and I give Jason a pat on the back for working with them every day. Really, I love college students and all of Jason's students I have met are amazing, but get them together in a big group and the are LOUD! There were a couple hundred students from both the Moody Northwest campus and Moody Aviation.

The student retreat was Friday and Saturday and then the staff had a chance to connect Saturday night through Sunday. It was such fun being by the lake and the kids had a blast. We were so glad that we were able to go.

The students during one of the speaking sessions

The aviation staff being introduced

The kids loved being in the water

Jason was the main source of power on the row boats, but the kids took turns too

Jason and Kellan took a go at the canoe. I was a little nervous about Kellan being up in the front, not strapped in, all by himself, but he did a great job
He just sat back and enjoyed the ride