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November 17, 2009

Vintage goodness

Filed under: Thoughts on..., General - Jess @ 8:28 pm

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Raggedy Anne & Andy dolls, made by my Great Grandma Bomen,
played with in my childhood days.

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Old kids books- I really love the wording and diverse
language you don’t often find in more recent books.

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Aprons~ the floral one made by my Grammy,
(Mum’s side of the family), the red polka dot one found in a
little shop in Seattle, worn by me when I remember to tie one on!

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Cookbooks dating back to 1901 (!) and 1939 and falling apart from use. These were my Grandma’s (Dad’s side) and have some hand written recipes, magazine clippings, and notes in them that make me feel like I’m getting a glimpse into her kitchen. I also just received a hand mixer that was my Great Great Grandma Windsor’s on my Mum’s side that has a red handle and a prized position in my kitchen! I like to think that between the recipes, aprons, and such I’ll be able to bring a little of the past wisdom and love into my world now.

In a time where fast food and instant gratification are the norm sometimes you just gotta tie an apron on, cook a meal that takes at least an hour, and linger over it with loved ones a little longer than normal! Cheers!

November 13, 2009

3 years old!!!

Filed under: The Kid, Thoughts on..., General - Jess @ 9:16 am

Our sweet Judo is 3 today!

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Hard to believe that 3 years ago Jude came into this world. We suspected from early on that he would be a smart little fellow with a strong will and we were right. At age 3 he can identify many letters, spell his name and write the first 2 letters, identify numbers 1-10, and has an incredible vocabulary and memory. He loves cars, trains, art, and stories. He loves to be on the go and explore new surroundings, especially outdoors. His is a total joy- strong will and all! We love you more than we could ever express Judo and we think you are so much fun!!!

November 10, 2009

Eating less, remembering more

Filed under: Thoughts on..., Get Involved! - Jess @ 9:25 am

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The picture above is the dressed up version of what is becoming a staple meal in our house- home cooked black beans and organic basmati rice (fairly traded, purchased in bulk from Costco). Sometimes we just have bowls of the rice and beans with a little soy sauce or salsa and sour cream. It doesn’t cost much, the rice and beans together form complete proteins in our body, and it reminds us that simple food is the norm for so many people in the world- while we in developed nations feast on more yummy and divers foods in the course of a day than many do in the course of a life time. In many places in South America and the Congo, for example, a typical meal would be a small bowl of rice and beans. As a family, you could commit to eating this meal once a week or month, and deciding as a family where to give the small amount saved to someone in poverty. Or you could donate time as a family in a soup kitchen, or learn together about the many other ways to help those in poverty. A good place to start is thankfulness, and taking a step back once in a while from the excess, to clear our heads of clutter and look outward.

Want to know if you are rich? Click HERE.

Need inspiration for a more outward focused life?
Read ‘The Hole in Our Gospel’ with me.

Want to actively help a child that lives in poverty?
World Vision is one place to look.

Our desire is to live simply so we can give generously!

“Preach the Gospel always. Use words if necessary.”
- St. Francis of Assisi

November 4, 2009

Eternal Perspective

Filed under: Thoughts on... - Foosh @ 11:08 am

It’s funny the things that you don’t remember. I don’t remember my parents getting up with me multiple times in the middle of the night when I was a baby/toddler. I don’t remember drawing on the walls, wetting my bed, or refusing to eat perfectly good food. I’m pretty sure all of those things happened though because now I’m in the spot my parents were in not too long ago.

Thanks to the time change Jude has been waking up at 5 AM (he woke up at 4:30 AM Sunday) saying he’s hungry and Jess has been trying to convince our voracious 7 month old that he doesn’t need to constantly eat through the night. All this equates to utter exhaustion. But like all things in life it’s your perspective that ultimately influences how you process things.

Sure, in the moment when sleep deprivation is at it’s worse and all communication comes out with emotional overtones or incoherent sentences - I can’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed. But if I’m able to step back and consider how quickly these moments will pass and in the story of my life be just a blip, it’s all worth it. When I take a step back and shift my perspective from the here and now to be implicational and long term instead - what seems so big, isn’t anymore. Faster than I care to think about my boys will be Men and the foundation of their life that is being established today will have far reaching impact. With this perspective in place my actions become less selfish and more purposeful.

For Jess and I the way that we live and love is rooted in an eternal perspective not just for our lives but for the generations of children, grandchidren, and great grandchildren after us. While every day brings with it a new obstacle that has the potential to make us focus back on ourselves, it’s our desire to live in a way that is selfless. We constantly fail, but we are confident that grace is there to cushion our fall, prop us back up and give us the vision to live. If this grace wasn’t present than our failings would have power over us. Power to make us give up and quit or to make us live selfish and purposeless lives.

Just as it was established in our lives, it’s our prayer that our children will grow up with an eternal perspective rooted in life giving grace!

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

October 25, 2009

Boys & Leaves

Filed under: The Kid, Thoughts on... - Jess @ 6:05 pm

A weekend full of fall~

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photo shoots with Jude enjoying throwing the leaves all over his brother,
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Owen trying to eat every leaf he could get a hold of,
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Jude and Papa raking up a yard full of leaves,
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…and of course, jumping in big piles of them over and over, and over!
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Andrew also took our Fusion group (our 6th and 7th grade youth group) to a fun corn maze and we enjoyed a big pot full of soup chock full of autumn veggies. Andrew and I have also had some really fun date nights in this past week- we’ve made dinner a little more special by feeding and getting the boys to bed and then enjoying our own meal over a movie, playing a game, or just sitting and talking. I think after you have kids your relationship changes so much and it can be easily drown out by life getting full and focused on the kiddos, so we’ve tried to be really purposeful about our time alone together. We started together as newlyweds and, after the kiddos are out of the house and on their own, we will be alone together- with a solid relationship that was fed and nurtured apart from raising children together. That’s our goal anyway!

What is your favorite date night in idea? How do you find time to connect with your spouse alone amidst the busyness of life?

October 22, 2009

Now Reading :: October

Filed under: Thoughts on..., General - Jess @ 6:22 pm

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Here’s what you’d find on our coffee table these days…

Irresistible Revolution: Living Life as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne
I’m over half way through and challenged to take the overwhelming feeling of wanting to sell everything and move to the slums of India and apply it to our life here in Otis Orchards, where we feel called to live and love. For now:).

Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper
(If you click on the title you’ll find a link to read it for FREE online!) I’m only in the 2nd chapter but intrigued to find out how the author has wrapped her faith and beliefs into meaningful family traditions. I long to throw off the weight of meaningless holiday clutter and celebrate the every day and the special day alike with purpose, beauty, and meaning- all while reflecting Who we live for.

The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
A childhood classic- the tale of a little duck on the Yangtze River, with his mother and father and sisters and brothers and 42 cousins!

Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
Funny little stories and great illustrations.

Jude has also been getting into Dr. Seuss books and listening to them on tape (from the library) during mealtimes, or before naps. He listens while staring off into space and when it’s over tries to make up his own rhymes. We’ve also been enjoying lots of books about fall: apples, pumpkins, leaves, etc.

What are you reading or listening to?

October 19, 2009

6 months old & using the potty!

Filed under: The Kid, Thoughts on..., General - Jess @ 9:27 am

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This is most likely one of those pictures that Owen will want to hide from any and all future lady friends!! But it’s also stinkin’ cute, and is evidence of at least ONE of our boys using the potty! I will not bore you with all the potty training methods and excitement I’ve tried that have not worked with our almost 3 year old. This is the kid who couldn’t asleep on his own or sleep through the night until this spring, at 2 1/2 years old. He’ll decide to use the potty (hopefully some day soon!!) when he’s ready just as he all of a sudden decided he would be able to sleep on his own, despite any earlier attempts to coax him sooner. Owen however, is a potty pro. I’ve tried elimination communication with both my babies- a fancy way of saying I take them to the potty when I think they need to go to save on diapers and in theory, avoid the potty training battle altogether. Obviously this didn’t work out so well with Jude who refused to use the potty after he was one year old, although it was still worth it from how much I saved on laundering my cloth diapers up until then. But I am already noticing that Owen let’s me know when he has to go much more clearly than Jude ever did and will pee just about every time I put him on the potty seat. (While smiling- it’s really cute! And at this point most of you are thinking I’m a little loopy, but that’s quite alright!:) He hasn’t pooped in his diaper since he was 6 weeks old, not because I tried really hard to train him not to, but it just happened- and I’m still amazed! This is a common practice in Asia, Africa, and other places and one of my favorite things in China (and most amusing) is seeing little ones bundled up for the dead of winter with their little bums peeking out of their split crotch pants- for easy peeing access of course! It’s not uncommon to see a mom hold her baby out over the floor of a subway or street and let the babe have at it- no one bats an eye! Of course there are more sanitary ways to practice this but over all I think it’s sad how diaper companies are convincing more and more people world wide to use diapers instead of their traditional way of pottying their children. Don’t even get me started on formula companies.

Any one else heard of this method or tried it themselves? Think I’m crazy?:) Have any funny pictures their kids will be embarrassed by in the future?!:)

Side note on our little Owie Bear- we had his 6 month check up last week and he’s in the 80% for height and weight! (Down from 95th) He was so still and quiet while the doctor checked him over and gave lots of smiles, sweet bear.

October 6, 2009

Bite your hand

Filed under: Thoughts on... - Foosh @ 2:39 pm

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘bite your tongue’ in relation to not saying something that really won’t help the situation anyways. Well, I’ve got a new one for you all…bite your hand. Here’s the scenario:

Wife, 2 year old, and 6 month old are feeling out of sorts - sick, having nightmares, and teething in that order. Wife is already run down having spent the day sick and taking care of two little dudes and goes to bed early. 6 month old wakes every 90 minutes crying and can’t be consoled. 2 year old has nightmares about an apparently very scary owl. At 4 AM for the sake of his wife’s sanity, Husband takes 6 month old downstairs to the guest bedroom to sleep. An hour of crying later, Husband - not blaming the 6 month old for crying, because there’s certain to be a legitimate, although unspoken reason for it - bites down on the palm of his hand instead of (your answer here).

The amazing thing about this story is - like some sort of weird horror movie - as soon as the sun comes up, both Wife and Husband awake to the two cutest, most amazing little boys the Lord God has ever created. Albeit one is still a little wary of owls.

To all you parents who have ever bit your own hand I salute you! To my own parents who probably did it many, many times, I value you now more than ever.

October 2, 2009

How He Loves You

Filed under: Thoughts on..., General - Jess @ 1:58 pm



Usually this blog is light and fun, the original intent was to share pictures and daily doings of our life with family and friends spread out over the world, but every once in a while I just have to share from my heart even though there are different personal beliefs represented by those that read this blog. Here’s the thing, in light of a recent tragedy in our church family I feel that I would not be true to myself if I didn’t say this to anyone and everyone reading: there is Hope. There is Life. There is a light even in the darkest of nights. There is something going on bigger than our little story. Eternity is real, and I believe that no matter what has been done in the name of Christianity the Bible is true, and Jesus really did love us so much that he died for us- in our place- that if we choose Him we choose Life and eternal hope with him. Christians have done all kinds of things to wrongly represent Jesus but the bottom line is He’s the only one that will be faithful when no one else is. He loves us. HE LOVES US!
There is hope. No matter what.

“Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy…

…We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking…

How he loves us, oh how he loves us.”

From How He Loves by John Mark McMillan

September 18, 2009

Autumn :: Purposeful days

Filed under: Thoughts on..., General, Home - Jess @ 7:48 pm

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The mornings are starting to be a little chilly around here and our schedule is growing full. In the midst of the day to day living I really desire to be purposeful about my time with our kiddos, as moments become hours, hours become days, and days slip by faster than you can say happy birthday! Jude is almost 3, with an excitement for cars, trains, the outdoors, and baby animals. (He cuddled a small plastic dolphin he named ‘Joey the baby dolphin’ to sleep last night and walked out of his room with it this morning!!:) He also has a growing curiosity about letters and numbers, so this month I’m starting some ABC activities- fun and simple little games and books. I’ll focus on one letter a month. I found a great book that goes through the alphabet with a scripture and little story/lesson for each letter that we have started using- the book is called My ABC Bible Verses by Susan Hunt. The devotions are a little over Jude’s head so I just make up one that goes with the verse. The first one is ‘A soft answer turns away wrath’ and I can’t tell you how appropriate that has been for Jude, who is learning not to scream ‘NO’ at people (especially me!) when he gets upset. I’ve also been using the library to check out books on leaves, seeds, China (Jude loves looking at the pictures of the dragon costumes and children) and ABC books. My Mum, who is a kindergarten teacher, (and an amazing one might I add!) has some great ideas for fun letter activities that I’ll share as we do them.

Resources:

*My ABC Bible Verses

*Free printable calendar pages