Some Highlights and Stuff

It's been a few days, which in House Hardegree means that I've taken lots of pictures that no one has seen, so here's some of the highlights since my last post:

1. The boys and I were playing outside the other day and, because I thought it would be cute (and I was totally right), I put baseball hats on both of them. Despite the cuteness, I actually took this picture because I went inside at one point to get Levi's snack, and he walked over and sat next to Lincoln on his own. Brotherly love!

2. This is just a picture I took because it was sweet. All my guys playing games before bed.

3. Lincoln's really been enjoying his jumper now that he's big enough (aka he's strong enough to keep his head from flopping around). Now if only we could get him to crawl...

4. The other day I made some soap foam for the boys to play with. Lincoln had a crack at it by himself at first because Levi was still napping, but eventually big brother joined in. They both really liked smearing it on the floor. (And sorry about including a picture with my finger in it...his smile is just so cute!)

5. I've been working on circles with Levi, (see earlier posts for pictures), and thought I'd include Lincoln as well. I cut some circles out of paper and gave Levi some circle stickers to put on them (you know, the ones you can buy for garage sells and stuff...just solid colored circles). I also gathered a bunch of circular things and put them in a tub for them to explore. This is what Lincoln got to do with his brother. They had a good time (Lincoln really likes pulling things out of boxes), and did ok at sharing for the most part. Honestly, the only time that Lincoln lost it was because I took away the toilet paper roll...he was dissolving it with his drool and then eating it.

Ok, so I also have a few Annelise updates as well (nothing major...don't worry/get excited):

1. You may already know this, but Justin and I are planning on adopting (I hope 2) kids. I was doing some research a while back and was looking at adopting children from Haiti, but both parents have to be 30 to start the process, so I was a little bummed. However, the other day I was doing some research into domestic adoptions and apparently you only have to be 21 to adopt within the state of Texas (go figure...). Yay! Not that we were planning on adopting before I turned 30 (I mean hello! That's this year!), but maybe before Justin does. On top of that, I've really been feeling, despite warnings from a friend who works in CPS, that I want to look into going through the state to adopt instead of a private agency. I know these kids tend to have a more troubled background, but doesn't that mean that they need a solid family more than anything? I dunno...please pray for guidance!

2. Another thing I've been thinking about A LOT over the past couple of weeks is sponsoring a child through World Vision. It just seems like such a simple way to help families in poverty around the world. So I'm hoping to get that going...prayers for this as well please!

3. The Cousins are reading Cannery Row by Steinbeck for the upcoming book club meeting and I just finished it. It was on my list of books to read (mostly because it was listed on a Socialist reading list...I know, I know...), and I was surprised at how much I liked it. I was expecting it to be a little dry because it's written by Mr. Grapes of Wrath (which I also haven't read so I shouldn't have assumed anything), but it was really enjoyable! Here's why I'm sharing this...my favorite part of the book was chapter 16 (spoiler alert!!). It talks about how the people on Cannery Row helped one another when the flu came through. The main thing for me was that the prostitutes that worked in the brothel took shifts to go and sit with the families that were sick to keep them company. There was just something really cool about the image of what most would consider the lowest people in society, lovingly helping those in their community, but also the fact that the community welcomed it. It just stuck with me.

Ok. I can't think of a cute or catchy conclusion, so...That's all!

My Next Book

If you're one of my friends on Goodreads, then you know that I've been binge reading for at least 2 months now, and that the majority of that reading has been Christian books. Specifically, Christian books that take a more "radical" perspective, if you will, about truly living the counter-cultural lifestyle of Christ. Think Francis Chan and Shane Claiborne. Well, I'm super pumped to be starting yet another one of these books, David Platt's Follow Me: A Call to Die, A Call to Live. This is the same guy that wrote Radical, which I highly recommend. I've only made it through the introduction, written by the afore-mentioned Francis Chan (who I also highly recommend to any and all Christians), and I am, as Justin likes to say, jazzed. He writes things like, "we need to figure out how to make each day count for his purpose," "We miss out on seeing the Spirit's power when we refuse to live by faith. We miss out on experiencing Christ when we don't speak up for him," and "True followers are rising up who refuse to be spectators or consumers. Jesus told us to go and make disciples, so we refuse to sit and make excuses." Ugh...yes please!!

I'm looking at my list of life-changes, (You know, the one that I've mentioned in previous posts? I'm gonna just start referring to it as "The List.") and I'm already feeling motivated to shoot for more. I love the joy and peace I've been growing into the past few months. There's really nothing like it. It's so cool to be continually excited about living for Jesus while simultaneously breaking away from the constraints of worldly expectations. I've been seeing this verse a lot lately in different places and I think I'm really starting to get it: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" John 10:10 (ESV). I'm starting to understand what it's like to live abundantly in Christ.

This is simultaneous with a realization Justin and I had this morning that we're kind of weird. It hit us on our way back from a trip to Houston to visit some fam (what up Jeremy and Laura!). I told Justin that I wondered if some of the people sitting around us at church thought we were some sort of weirdo hippies or something. Let me paint a picture for you: There's me, eyebrow ring and tattoos showing in my typical, slightly abnormal, garb, holding a baby wearing a t-shirt and a cloth diaper. Before church started I changed his diaper on the pew (so much easier than finding a changing table and carrying all of my stuff around...don't hate), and later I fed him during the service like it ain't no thing but a chicken wing. Justin thought for a second and was like, "Ya...we're kind of weird aren't we? We use handkerchiefs." Haha! Yes we do. And it's awesome. This is a lot of superficial stuff, but it's kind of like a mini version of what I mean when I say that it feels good to break away from the constraints, aka man-made expectations, of society. It's freeing to just be you all the time, knowing that worldly expectations don't matter, and to feel confident that every day is forward motion towards Christ and eternal life with him.

Speaking of hanging out in Houston, we all went to the Houston Zoo and Levi rode a carousel for the first time. He LOVED it! My favorite part was when he passed me and I heard him exclaim, "Whoa!" with all the awe a little 2-year-old can muster. (And don't worry, he got the full experience. After we took this picture, they ended up relocating to a wolf that went up and down. And no, much to Justin's chagrin, I did not take a video...my bad.)

 

Prayer and Other Stuff

I just finished reading Praying Circles around Your Children by Mark Batterson, and while his writing style is not my favorite (hello clichés!), I really liked some of the stuff he had to say about prayer. This was especially true when I got to the section about forming prayer circles. He talks about the importance of not just praying for your kids, but also teaching them how to pray by letting them pray alongside you. I love this! I'm not the best at praying in general (translation: I'm really bad at it), but this section of the book inspired me to want to get better at it.

He talks about praying with his children, about having his kids lay their hands on him to pray, and about experiencing the full force of their child-like faith when he listens to them pray. I want this for my family. I want us to be a family that feels comfortable laying our hands on one another when prayers are needed. Heck, I want us to be a family that prays when prayers are needed. Out loud. Together. I imagine that would be life-changing. Let me rephrase...that would be life-changing. Partly because I don't pray often, and when I do, it's always in my head (with the exception being when I pray with Levi before bed). But also because that is a seriously deep level of intimacy that's full of God's power and faith in the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

On a completely unrelated note, the boys and I did a new activity outside today. This one isn't from a book, like most of our other fun things, but instead came up in conversation with a friend, and I thought it was genius in its simplicity and level of fun. Basically, you just put out a container of water and a big paint brush and let your kiddos paint the sidewalk with water. I added chalk to the mix so we could draw and then smudge and erase. Levi had the most fun with the water. I had the most fun with the chalk (heh-heh...the best activities are fun for mom too!), and Lincoln had the most fun with some leaves that he was sure were edible, if only I would let him prove it. Here are some pics:

And yes, it's February and my kids are wearing shorts/no pants. This weather is crazy and awesome.

Getting Back Some Mommy Focus

So with all of the changes I've been wanting to make (see previous post for why), and trust me there are a ton (like a whole page, single-spaced), I've been getting a little overwhelmed. A lot of the changes either demand more of my time, like hang-drying everything except for sheets and towels, or more self-discipline, like doing planned projects every day with the boys. The past couple of days I've been bogged down with what felt like my failure to do what I want to do, and as much as I hate to admit it, I was failing because I was trying to do too many things at once. So today I decided to scale back a little bit, give myself a little more grace, and focus on what's most important, and that's being the best mommy I can be to my little guys.

First, I made plans for the week. This is something I started doing a while ago, but with all of the new stuff on my plate/mind, I had let this slip. As you can see from the rogue highlights, Levi helped me out a little bit.

Then I did a few chores, cause sometimes you gotta do things that you don't wanna do. But Levi made it so much more fun. When I was sweeping the kitchen, he got out the little hand broom and dustpan and helped me sweep, and when I finished, he grabbed the big broom, announced, "Big boys use big brooms," and pushed it around the house. He's pretty awesome.

Next, Levi and I made circles (this is all while Lincoln is sleeping of course...he's not just sitting idly by while we have all the fun). This was the first time Levi sat down to draw with intention and he had a really good time. He wanted to come back to it later, after he'd finished. At one point, he drew a scribble next to some of his circles and claimed that he was making a "P" for poop. That's my boy.

As soon as Lincoln woke up we headed out to the museum. They have a travelling exhibit right now that's The Adventures of Mr. Potato Head and Tinker Toys. It's really great for both boys. They had a lot of fun!

(See his little cheeks? He's smiling at the bubbles! Haha!)

Lincoln still has a lentil dig in store for later today (it's just what you'd think...digging through a bunch of dry lentils), and we'll probably spend some time outside while I take the clothes off the clothesline. As far as how this lines up with things on my list, I'm planning a developmentally-appropriate activity for each of them (every day), we will spend some time outside (also every day), and I'm hang-drying our clothes. That's good for now I think.

Some Highlights and a Quick Thought

The boys and I have been doing some fun things over the past couple of days, and while my intention was to do a one-day highlight reel on the evening of the day the initial fun things occurred, I was wracked with a bad tension headache and basically got nothing done for about 24 hours. So, now that I'm headache free and since both the boys are asleep, here are some highlights from the past couple of days with pictures (for the most part!).

1. Lincoln tried baby oatmeal for the first time. Contrary to what this picture indicates, he was not a fan.

2. Levi asked to play with cloud dough while I was vacuuming, which meant I was in and out of the room he was in. When I came back into the room to check on him, I caught him pouring the dough into his hair...it's basically got the consistency of thick flour. So after I took off all his clothes, Levi had to walk around with white eyebrows and what looked like a powdered wig for about 30 minutes while I vacuumed up the mess. Then he took a shower with what he calls, the funny water. (I was too busy cleaning up the flour trail to get a picture of this one...)

3. Levi got all 10 dominoes in his jar (he puts a domino in the jar for doing something good, and takes one out when he has to sit in timeout), and therefore earned a trip to Barnes and Noble to play with the trains. He played while I read several Dr. Seuss books to him and Lincoln. He picked out his shirt by the way.

4. On the way home from Barnes and Noble, a ladybug hitched a ride inside the jeep right above Levi's head. It was all the rage.

5. The weather has been gorgeous lately, so we played in the backyard. Levi was super pumped to be able to take his tunnel outside for the first time (not sure why I haven't thought to do that before...) and Lincoln worked hard on his little puzzle. He also attempted another crawl pose (of course this was forced upon him by me.).

6. While I was cooking dinner, Levi got out my pots and pans and said he was making hot cocoa.

7. I started Serial (podcast) and have been plowing my way through season 1. TRUE CRIME!!

8. We went to the zoo where several people referred to Levi as Batman to their children (odd despite the outfit?) and where Levi felt the need to pose on every bronze animal available. Lincoln also seriously enjoyed the fish for the first time. It was super sweet, but sorry, no pictures.

Enough with the highlights (mostly because I'm typing this 2 hours after returning from said zoo trip). Here's my quick thought: Justin and I have been having A LOT of spiritual/religious discussions over the past several months. This is what predicated our leaving Robinson Church of Christ for the second time and what has motivated most of the major changes we've had in our lifestyle recently (political leanings, green living, financial plans, etc.). We've been visiting an intentional Christian community called Hope Fellowship lately, which I've been pretty excited about, but have felt that Justin wasn't as on board with it. Last night, we got an email that was sent out to the community that had membership reaffirmation information for current members (so not for us, but we looked at it anyway) and while we were looking at them together, Justin got excited too! I really think they are exactly what we are looking for!! Time will tell I guess, but we're both pumped (I think...right Justin?). On our way back from the zoo today, I was thinking about this and it really just hit home how much I love living in Waco. Our one problem with Waco has always been the church thing, but if Hope Fellowship works out, then it will be perfect. The more peaceful pace, all the cool local places to eat and shop, the passion of the Waco community to serve each other...I just love it here.

Finding Joy

With all the hurt I've been dealing with over the past few days, I've struggled to find the joy I had so easily experienced with my boys just last week. I've been reading my Bible with Justin at night to help keep me centered, and while it definitely helps, I thought I could use a simple, visual reminder that would help me throughout the day when reading my Bible isn't exactly feasible.

I was thinking about different things I could make for our house that could keep joy at the forefront, and while I was breaking down a Kleenex box for recycling, I got an idea. I could use the box to make a simple piece of art for our living room. I liked the pattern on the box (gray with white dots), so I used one side of the box as the background, and then cut out a small square of cardboard from the other side of the box to use as my mini canvas. I stamped "Be Joyful" on it, glued it together, and presto! It was finished! Here's a picture.

It's small, but it definitely serves it purpose. Plus, I feel good about eliminating more waste by re-using the box, and I get to add to the feeling of worship in our home. I love it! Levi saw me setting it up on the bookshelf and decided to help me decorate, so he added some pieces of trash from his doodad basket to the shelves. Haha!

Speaking of joy, another thing I've been trying to do is to actively think of things throughout my day that make me joyful. Things like hanging clothes out to dry on our clothesline (I know that sounds lame, but it's super peaceful.),eating healthy foods (yay Quinoa!), watching Lincoln eat his solid foods like a champ, and remembering what an awesome husband I have.

Over the weekend, Justin had Friday and Monday off so we decided to go to Schmaltz's and Brazos Books as a family. It was fun to spend time together, eat delicious sandwiches, and search through a perfectly crowded, used book store. It helped bring me back to center a little bit.

On Saturday I had an hour-and-a-half massage (hello!), which I HIGHLY recommend to everyone! The additional 30 minutes made a huge difference. Then, Justin surprised me with a date! We went out to Luigi's in McGregor, had some seriously amazing cheese pizza (who knew?), and then went to downtown Waco for some Pokey O's. Best dessert ever! I hadn't been to either of these places, so it was lots of fun getting to try some local gems for the first time, and of course, hanging out with just Justin for a night was really great. We're tring to make a point of going on dates regularly, so hopefully we'll keep this up and it will be the start of something awesome.

Overall, this past weekend has been healing for me. I really needed it and I feel like I'm getting back to where I want to be.