Easter and Other Highlights

It's been over a week since my last post so I've got A TON of pictures to share with y'all! Here's the highlights of the last week or so, most of which have pictures:

1. Every week we go to Toddler Time at the Library downtown. Ms. Vivian leads songs, dances, and activities that circle around different themes. Last Wednesday she threw an Easter party so we got some snacks before Toddler Time began! This of course meant that this week Levi asked for food as soon as we sat down. Bah!

2. Last week we all did fingerprinting for the first time together. Levi had done it a few times before by himself, but Lincoln got to paint this time too. Their different personalities shined through when we did this because Levi, who has always been hesitant about fingerprinting, kept his colors pretty well separated, while Lincoln went for it without question and made a big rainbow swirl. Levi also preferred to use popsicle sticks, while Lincoln was all about the fingers (and toes...and legs...).

3. Levi woke up with some stubborn sleep hair the other day. I thought it was funny so I took a picture. Haha! This was around lunch time...

4. Later in the week, the three of us went on a walk together through the neighborhood. It was a little chilly so Levi requested a jacket and a hat, but insisted on wearing shorts.  

5. Over the weekend, the whole family went on the annual Easter Retreat with Hope Fellowship. They hold it at Three Mountain Retreat in Clifton and it was really beautiful. The weekend was a good time for us to relax, despite getting little sleep (all four of us were sleeping in one room...), and a great way for us to get to know a lot of the people at Hope since it's pretty much the entire community that attends. I came home feeling confident that Hope Fellowship is the right church for us, though it's not really a church. Justin and I talked about this the other day; it's less of a church and more of a community. Very informal, very tight-knit, but not exclusive at all. On Sunday morning, after an Easter service and brunch, there was an Easter egg hunt for the kiddos. This was Levi's first egg hunt and he was pumped!!

Levi, full of pre-hunt jitters!

Look at that face! So excited!

6. After we got back from the retreat we had a game night with the Tylers. It had been a while since we'd had them over for a little Settlers and we had a really good time. So good in fact, that we invited them to come with us to the zoo the next day with the boys. Haha! We didn't get any pictures from the zoo, partly because I didn't think about it, and partly because even if I had, it would have been difficult to get one of Levi when he wasn't whining. Poor kid was still tired from Easter Retreat and was acting accordingly. It was good to spend some more time with Joel and Alexis despite the wrath of a tired two-year-old. Yay for good friends!

7. Today (I'm finally catching up to the present!!), we went to Toddler Time again and Ms. Vivian had a special surprise! Someone from the zoo came and brought 4 animals for the kids to see and pet. So fun! Levi, per the usual, was hesitant and didn't end up petting the first three animals. But when he agreed to touch the last one he did it with confidence and a smile and I was so proud of him for overcoming his hesitancy while he still had the chance. We got to see/pet a Possum, a Texas Tortoise, a Blue-Tongued Skink, and a Guinea Pig (which is what you see Levi petting below). Lincoln was super into it and he also got to pet the guinea pig (though I didn't get a picture since I was trying to keep him from pulling the little things fur). 

8. Last but not least, I have an herb garden update! After a few days under the germination sheet that came with the kit, my little soil squares started to mold (ugh! gross!), perhaps from over-watering, so I took the tray outside with the intent of throwing it out and starting over, but low and behold, the mold dissipated and some of the herbs started to sprout! YAY! You can see in the picture below the different columns, each of which contains a different herb. The super-hearty column on the left is cilantro. Next to that is thyme. Then the next two columns are still sprout-less...not sure why. Then the final column on the right is basil. This is so exciting!! I'm hoping to start some veggie seeds soon, and then maybe some fruits (berries and figs maybe?) and flowers after that. I'm also starting to research canning, so y'all may be getting some canned yummies from us in the future. 

Finally, just so y'all know, I've decided to open an Etsy store at the urging of my sweet and supportive husband. It's called RockAndPetalHome and it's not open yet, but it will have handmade home decor items. I've made 3 things for the store so far and plan on making close to 10 before opening. I'll let y'all know when it's up and running so you can check it out. I'm super excited because it means I can make stuff that I think of, even if we don't have a place for it in our house. Yay for hobbies!!

Palm Sunday Etc.

Justin literally just looked at me and said, "I love Hope Fellowship. Like...ya." Agreed.

This morning was challenging. Considering the fact that Justin had never participated in a Palm Sunday processional and I only had once in high school, I was a little nervous. All I could think about was how silly I thought that processional had been back then, plus the fact that Hope Fellowship is different anyway, so who knows what's going to happen. We met at the Meeting House, grabbed a palm branch, and walked about the neighborhood singing songs, half of which were in Spanish (per Hope's intentionally-bilingual style), and waving our branches in the air. At one point, I looked over and saw a man just standing and watching us walk by, almost like he was watching a parade. I then leaned over to Justin and said, "I'm intensely uncomfortable right now." I eventually got over it, but I've been thinking about the processional and my feelings about it for the rest of the day (which I guess is a good thing!).

Why was I so uncomfortable? It wasn't the fact that I was doing something different. Let's be real, that doesn't usually bother me. It was the fact that this different-ness (yep...it's a word) was so public and the people around me were so devoid of shame about it. It wasn't like the majority of the people were kind of clustered together in small groups, chatting about other things and giggling because they felt silly. There was actually none of that. People were singing boldly with smiles on their faces. It was so refreshing that I think it sort of shocked me. Justin and I were talking about how the people at Hope are normal people, but at the same time, they're super not. I would say that you can usually tell just by looking at them that there's something different about them, which I love.

I think the reason I was able to get over my pride and feel more comfortable by the end of the processional was because of the attitude of those around me. They weren't too proud to sing and maybe look a little silly. Their confidence in their faith drew me in until I stopped thinking about being embarrassed and started singing without reservations (unless the song was in Spanish because it's rather difficult to read a language you don't speak, singing it to a tune you don't know, while walking on a lumpy/grassy sidewalk-ish path with a baby strapped to your chest). I'm so excited about going to Hope Fellowship! I know Christ lives in their community and I can see their counter-cultural attitudes already helping to shape me into the Christian I want to be.

In other news...

The boys and I played with ice in the backyard the other day and had lots of fun. Levi's main focus is to eat the ice, while Lincoln's is to eat the toys, but both of them explored the cold and watched ice melt in their hands, which was pretty awesome.

Also, this happened...

Don't worry. Levi wasn't putting too much weight on him, other than on Lincoln's bottom, and as soon as he shifted I took him off. Not sure why he decided to do this though. 

I also finally started our herb garden!! YAY! I thought it might be fun for me to document the progress of our little sprouts on the blog as well. Hopefully that doesn't mean that I end up documenting the death of several plants, but we'll see. I started with an eco-friendly green house kit that I found at Target (literally everything in the kit is compostable and made from sustainable/renewable resources...so cool!). I've got 5 little pots of each of the following: Basil, Thyme, Rosemary, Parsley, and Cilantro. I use these fresh herbs the most so I thought I'd start with them. Hopefully these do really well so I don't get discouraged and second-guess my plan to have a veggie patch as well. Positive green-thumb thoughts!

Reflections and Catching Up

It's been a while since I've written a blog post because life has been pretty crazy lately. What with Levi going to the hospital and our dishwasher being a pain, I've had a lot of non-blog things on my mind. Things are finally calming down, so I thought I'd reflect on Levi's hospital stay and then catch everyone up on all things House Hardegree:

Justin and I had been worried about Levi for several days before the hospital stay, but when we were told that he had already been admitted to the Children's Hospital in Temple and that we needed to head that way after stopping home to pack, it was a shock. Just like a teenager is willing to drive like a crazy person because they can't fathom anything bad happening to them, I couldn't believe that my child, MY child, was sick enough to warrant a 3-day stay in a hospital. It was like everything I had been taking for granted slapped me in the face. Throughout the whole experience, seeing Levi hooked up to machines, having to hold him down while he was poked and prodded and cried for me to pick him up, settling into the uncertainty of whether or not he actually had atypical Kawasaki Disease, I realized how precious every moment with my children truly is. I know that sounds like a cliche, but it's truly apt. 

I realized that I'm not guaranteed another second with them, nor are they guaranteed any more time with me or Justin. We only have the time that we are living through at this moment, and I was reminded of the importance of taking advantage of this moment. Not only to be fully present, but to use whatever time I have, whatever opportunities I'm given, to make sure that my sons know God and know what it's like to truly love Him. What that means, what that looks like, and why it's so important. As hard as this experience has been, I'm thankful that I was reminded and awakened to what my main job as a parent really is.

Here are some pictures of Levi in the hospital receiving treatment for Kawasaki Disease and then watching the Minion movie for the first of four times during his stay...

He called his IV his mummy hand, and when I asked him about his hospital stay days after the fact, that was the first thing he mentioned.

As far as other stuff going on with the Hardegrees, I mentioned that our dishwasher has been a point of frustration. In a previous post, I included pictures of our new dishwasher in its new location in our kitchen, but when I tried to use it for the second time (!!) it wouldn't work, and then eventually wouldn't turn on at all. After a visit from an appliance guy and two visits for an electrician, we had all the wiring in the wall behind the dishwasher replaced. But it works now! YAY!

In the aforementioned post, I also talked about being motivated to get going on our cabinets again, and slowly but surely I am. Here's a sneak peek of things to come...

(The suspense is killing you I'm sure.)

The boys have also recently discovered the ultimate playing power of big cardboard boxes thanks to Justin's mad fort building skills. I don't have any pictures of the big fort he built based around the dishwasher box (aka the castle), but I do have some super cute pictures of some subsequent box interest. Levi actually invited Lincoln to join him in the box, so there was a lot of brotherly love happening here.

Um...can I just say this last picture is awesome? Look at that face!

With all of the craziness going on lately, I decided to make some comfort-food for dinner the other night...NACHOS! I actually just made up a nacho cheese recipe and it was EPIC. This is by no means a cooking blog, but this cheese sauce was too good not to share, so if you're super not interested in this, skip down the page a little bit: 

Yummy Nacho Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef

1tbsp taco seasoning

2tbsp butter

2tbsp flour

2c half-and-half

1 can Rotel, drained

16oz shredded cheddar cheese

1. Cook beef in large skillet with taco seasoning until browned. 

2. In a medium/large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking continuously for 1 minute. Slowly add half-and-half, whisking continuously to maintain a smooth texture. Bring to a simmer. Add Rotel. Reduce heat to Low. Slowly add cheese, a little bit at a time, stirring until combined after each addition.

3. Drain ground beef. Add to cheese sauce. Enjoy!

Seriously...so good. Levi took one bite and said, "Mmmm! This cheese sauce is SO good!" His emphasis, not mine. Poor Lincoln had to watch on while he ate peas (whomp whomp), but I guess he didn't mind too much.

Can we all stop for a second and notice that it looks like Lincoln took this as a selfie. Ha!

Finally, as proof that Levi is feeling much much better, and as a special delight to the part of me that wants my kids to enjoy dressing up for pretend play as much as I did growing up, I have a quick story to end this post. This evening, I was cooking dinner, and I hadn't heard Levi making any noise, which typically means he's doing something he shouldn't. Here's the conversation:

Me: Levi? 

Levi: Ya?

Me: Whatcha doin'?

Levi: Wearing a hat.

Me: You're wearing a hat?

Levi: Ya.

Me: Can you come show me?

In walks Levi wearing a slime cap and carrying a baseball bat.

Me: Oh! Cool!

Levi: You (referring to himself) looking for you baseball.

Me: You're looking for your baseball?

Levi: Ya.

Me: Maybe it's in the kitchen. Why don't you come look in here? (So that I can take a picture of you without you knowing what I'm doing...)

Levi: You need you baseball.

Me: Are you being a baseball player?

Levi: (smiling at me) Yep!

It was the best, and I'm sure it is a dream come true for Justin.

Inadvertent Kitchen Remodel

Levi's sick today (last night he had a fever of 104.6 at one point!!), so we're having a PJ day. I let him eat a bowl of dry cereal for breakfast while watching Clifford and it reminded me of many a Saturday morning growing up. Oh nostalgia!

So our new dishwasher was finally delivered (yay!), the lengthy process making me think that bad customer service may just be inherent in the system, but when Justin went to install it, the pipes coming out of the wall wouldn't allow us to push it in all the way (bah!). After two plumber visits and many comments of, "that's weird...I wonder why that's there...this is going to be a lot of work," we ended up moving our dishwasher to the other side of the kitchen. It turns out, this is the actual original location of the dishwasher, which the previous owners, for reasons unknown, moved to the other side of the kitchen, (defying logic because they moved it farther away from the sink), where the washer and dryer used to be back in the day. Who knows. Anyway, so we now have a new dishwasher in a really good spot and a cabinet project eagerly waiting Justin's woodworking skills.

(check out that original linoleum!)

With all this new stuff going on in our kitchen, it makes me think that I really need to get on painting the cabinets...

Justin was anchoring the dishwasher last night and Levi decided to help out. It was probably the cutest thing ever. You can't really see it, but he's sticking a screw driver under the dishwasher and waving it around.

In other news, Lincoln rode in the grocery cart for the first time yesterday! I was afraid he'd be flopping around all over the place, but his sitting skills are apparently better than I thought cause he did great! And, bonus, Levi only hit Lincoln once the whole time they were sitting next to each other. He didn't even get mad when Lincoln became fixated with the drawstring on his pants and was essentially digging in his crotch for a good 5 minutes. Yay for brotherly grace/tolerance.

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.