A few Tidbits

- I love it when Godly woman use sarcasm to express righteous anger. Please read.

- Nick and I went to Portland, Oregon today and it was so fun! He's going to Western Seminary starting this fall (on Mondays and over the internet) so I got to see his school, his favorite bookstore - Powells, and quite possibly the greatest thrift store in the world. I got a beautiful designer dress for Mere's rehearsal dinner (SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS WEDDING!) for $13.00!

- I really did love seeing Portland. It is definitely the kind of place I really enjoyed visiting, but I don't think I'd want to live there. I told Nick that I felt better as a person for having seen people and a place like that, so committed to social change and the health of our world. I want to always be intentional to let Christ do that work in me, that wants health for the environment, the world, and God's people. Please do picture me getting accosted by a greenpeace worker. Normally I would feel a little perturbed to be stopped in the middle of the street when I was in a hurry, but something about working for a nonprofit makes my heart a little more inclined to hear people out about stuff like that now. He was a cute little greenpeace worker too, and by cute I meet fumbly and nervous.... and I quote, "they've cut down like like like four whole france's or something of forest". Cutey.

- Speaking of Merry, my sweet best friend from college is getting married on September 20th and I am so excited. She, along with rest of my fabulous bridesmaids, made my wedding day so incredibly amazing. I am really so ready to be there for her, to make her feel as special as she is, and to honor her and Craig as they start this new little adventure. ALSO, I'm going to be taking my first trip sans-babies. I'm excited, sad, thrilled, scared, and confident in Nick all at once. Today was good preparation since it was the first time I'd left Glory for more than like 4 hours, but 4 days is going to be a whole other story!

- While we were gone today, Lauren had an amazing time with the kids. I can tell they had an amazing time with her too! She even took a little video with both of them for my (and your) viewing pleasure!

straight up Elias blogging.

Stories/tips/questions:

- Elias is growing in leaps and bounds. Not so much physically but mentally. Here are his words of late:
tsshhhh YOU: thank you (my favorite by far!)
na: milk
more: more (taught by none other than ms. marilee)
ptsshnce: patience
twak: truck or car or plane or boat
wok: rocking chair or to rock
poopoo: you guessed it
diba: diaper

He has started to imitate me when I discipline him. So if I speak in even a slightly louder tone than normal - he screams and points his finger at me. Just all the more reminder that I need to speak in a normal voice when correcting him. And stop pointing my darn finger.

We could tell he was ready to cut out his morning nap, but it was so quality and by the afternoon he was quite crazy if we went cold turkey. So we started putting him in his crib with the lights on and door cracked with a stack of books. He still sort of reclines and get his passy, but he actually will look at books for like an hour and a half! I came in today to get him and he was just very calmly "reading". By the afternoon he's ready for a quality nap, but not a wild & tired banshee.

What in the world do you feed 18 month olds? I'm at a loss. We've had two stand-offs trying to get him to eat veggies & both nights he went to bed with no dinner. Ugh, it was painful. I'll tell you from the get-go, I don't like tricking him into eating things because I think it defeats the point of obedience and learning to love healthy food. We did, however, resort to putting sweat potato chunks in his mac & cheese and that little stinker picked them all out. His favorites are cheese sandwiches, mac & cheese, string cheese, sliced cheese, waffles, yogurt, and pb&j with granola. He is NOT allergic to dairy.

Thank God for wellies. Elias got two pair for birthday/christmas & he's never been able to quite walk in them. This weekend while cleaning we found them in his closet and he is OBSESSED. Before I get him out of his crib in the morning, he starts saying "shoe! shoe!" and as soon as he gets out, finds them and puts them on himself. They make his day.

I'm at a crossroads where it is really time to put Glory in the nursery with him and it's almost time to put him in a big boy bed. Currently Glor sleeps in a pack and play in our guestbedroom/office but she is growing tired of her unglamorous settings. Any advice to helping these two crazies sleep together? I'm a little afraid they're going to talk all night. PLUS Glory still wakes up about an hour earlier than Elias.

Okay - that's all I've got for now.
love love.

day in the life for mom

For our sweet Nonny - pictures of what we are doing today, just an ordinary Saturday.

(11:40am Glory just up from morning nap)


(11:45am Glory crawling practice)


(12:05pm Glory has crawled backwards & is stuck under bed)


(12:10pm Getting Elias up from 'rest' time where he reads in his crib)


(12:15pm Start of lunch time - fairly clean)


(12:18pm Glory in awe of Elias)


(12:23pm Elias feeding himself for the first time)


(12:45pm Glory after a fight with her yogurt)


(1:28pm Elias stair practice)


(2:05pm Glory naptime begins)


Okay so it isn't ALL day, but it's a start.
Love you Nonny!

update on Enid

Apparently, she got wind of my blog and did not like my prognosis!

Enid is alive and well, moved to a private room at the hospital.

Nick said now she is going to outlive to show me what's what.

no fear in death

Ya'll can be praying for my sweet aunt Enid.

First, I should correct myself by saying - she isn't my aunt. She is my great, great Aunt. And until I was around 20, I thought she was married to my "uncle E.B.", who is actually my great uncle - her nephew. There's nothing weird going on there, he just always took care of her and we didn't talk about Enid without saying E.B, so of course my ignorant little mind assumed they were married.

Anyhow - she's in the hospital and is probably dying, which is what I surmised from my mom's email. I have to tell you - it is sad because death in the human realm is always a little sad, but in a lot of ways - it's pretty sweet. She's a vivacious little cougar who has done such a good job lying about her age, no one really knows how old she is. At her surprise 90th birthday party (who throws a surprise party for a 90 year old? us. ), we found out from one of her contemporaries that she had begun fibbing about her age around 60 years earlier and she was not in fact turning the big 9-0, but was really 94. Seriously - that's awesome.

So pray she goes peacefully and pray that her last moments here are filled with excitement of what is to come.

Lately, I've felt so ready for heaven. I want to be here for my babes, but ooooohhhh.... I want to be with Jesus too. I always think I don't want to live to 94, or 95, or 98 (however old sweet Enid is) - but I'll tell you the truth, after datenights like tonight - I would do it. Just to be with him. Tonight Nick let me read him some writing, unload a few burdens, and share some unexpected laughs. We talked about the major differences between us and how beautiful they are and how we pray they'll benefit our kids. And oh, did we talk about our kids.... about dating and how involved we want to be, about how transparent we want to be with them, about what they will grow into. About how much they mean to us.

We talked about our favorite words: Mine was contemporaries (see above), he doesn't have one just hates the word "colleagues" and all that it stands for. We talked about the past and tried not to focus on the future. We talked about goals and growth and changes we need to make. We talked about learning to love each other better and how that is really both of our biggest goals right now.

So - pray for Enid, pray for E.B. who didn't love her like a husband - but was still just an amazing companion. Pray that she'd have no fear in death. Then maybe thank Jesus for the people who make you glad to be on earth.

New Beginnings Explanation

So - I think that often my friends, family, and loving blog readers don't quite understand what New Beginnings is all about, what we do here & how we are run. Soooooo..... let me enlighten you.

Nick and I function as house parents at a maternity home, meaning that we can have up to six pregnant women living with us at all times. These girls range in age from twelve (which we haven't had, but are sure is very sad) to twenty-three. When I turn 25, we will be able to have 24 year olds, but for now - we keep them all under my age so there isn't confusion about authority. YWAM started the ministry, not us, and it has been running for 26 years. The directors of our ministry are also the founders and are also our next-door neighbors. They've been the houseparents for the bulk of the time New Beginnings has been established, so they always have tons of wisdom for us.

Our house is split up into three sections. The downstairs is all shared. We have a large kitchen, living room, TV room (lovingly referred to as the dungeon), two porches, and an office. There are also three bedrooms for girls to live in and two bathrooms for them to share. The upstairs is set up into two different sections that are detached - our house & Lauren's house. Our house has bedrooms, bathrooms, & an office/guest room for Nick to study in or for us to house guests. Lauren's suite is over near the girl's rooms and it has two bedrooms and like 16 closets, but no bathroom. Kind of silly:)

Our job as houseparents is to set the tone of the house and to help guide the girls through their pregnancy. Make sure they have medical care, counseling, a schedule, plan meals, oversee dating, and help them in ways a mother or father would. Lauren functions as the house assistant - taking the girls places such as appointments or fun activities and helping out with our family when we need to focus on ministry.

We stay totally neutral about what the girls do with their children as far as placing for adoption or parenting and for the most part we just try to provide a place of peace for them while they grow their babes and plan their next step. We get all types of women - homeless, teenagers who've been kicked out of their homes, and often times missionaries who have made a mistake and need a safe place to decide what to do next.

We also live off of support. We get a lot donated and certain things covered by the ministry, but every penny we spend ourselves is raised by us. Our monthly budget is $2,000/month and we currently receive around $1,300/month. Lauren's monthly budget is $1,000/month and she currently receives $200/month. It costs about $20/day for us to provide a place to stay, food, & utilities for the girls and the actually ministry isn't at half of what it needs to operate on a consistent budget. If you'd be interested in partnering with us in ministry by providing financial support, please email me and I'd love to give you more information: jessiconnolly@gmail.com

If you're in the area & are interested in volunteering/participating - there are also SEVERAL other areas we could use help. The girls love people teaching them certain skills or crafts (knitting, sewing, budgeting, manners). We can always use old maternity clothes, baby clothing, or baby equipment for the girls that choose to parent their babies. The girls could also use outside mentors or friends that would be a positive, Christ-like influence in their lives since sometimes they end up not wanting to always get guidance from us, or talk to us 100% of the time - which makes total sense.

Most of all, we'd really appreciate your prayers. Most of the girls that live with us have lives that are filled with turmoil or conflict and they are usually trying to break that cycle for their unborn children. Most of them face a lot of tough decisions concerning what to do next, who should raise their children, and where they should live after leaving New Beginnings. Lastly, our main priority is that all of them come to have a lasting relationship with Christ, and prayers of the saints never hurts that cause.

We love our job and we feel really blessed to be here during this season of our life.

just a word from a wise one, not me.

Today Nick was encouraging me about something or other and I was just flooded with gratefulness for him. There have been some dark days around our place lately - whether due to real situations or just plain old attack. Starting the day of my birthday, not because I was celebrating myself, but because I really felt a very pure celebration of joy in my heart - there was a lifting of that yuck & it was really, really sweet.

Like most days when you feel relief from something, you fear it is going to creep back in - or worst case scenario, it does and so I was feeling vulnerable again. To fear, to backsliding, to ceasing growth, & to being too much and never enough.

He reminded me that the gospel is beautiful and only beautiful in its completion. Sometimes we almost want the sin, want the dark side, and refuse to celebrate in the light. It can almost become comfortable to wallow in the yuck, feeling human and incapable and powerless - rather than truly appreciating the grace we are blessed to walk in, the power of Christ at work within us, and without claiming the promises He has given.

This had me thinking again about Glory and tonight I stumbled upon blogs & website about women who had lost their babies and I just felt incredibly in awe of God and His mercy. These women all seemed more Christ-like, more intelligent, more beautiful & more worthy. The sheer grace God has given me in sparing Glory - in giving me two kids made me want to hide under a rock... They are so precious it seems like their mere existence screams at my inadequacy. But I CANNOT run, cannot escape His blessings and I really don't want to. I also cannot discount the steadfast and faithful nature of His character despite circumstances. The women I was reading about know that no matter what the details of life look like, God is good. And that is always something to celebrate.

We have to live in the full power of Christ at work within us, have to let Him complete His full plan - no matter how mucky or horrible we are, because it is what He has purposed. I love how in the ESV, Paul calls us partakers of grace and tells us, "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ".

So if you're scared of change, scared of the light, or confused about what's ahead - let's encourage one another with that sweet word, "completion" and all that it offers.

...oh taste & see....

Get ready - super serious blog coming up.

It's the end of my birthday - it's been a great day, but it's been an even better year. In recap, this time last year I was just telling people I was pregnant with Glory... I was hesitant about having another baby, but completely in love with Elias so I knew it could only get better. Nick and I were at Mosaic, entrenched in student ministry - with him speaking once a month, leading meetings all the time, and stretching himself really thin. We had over-comitted ourselves and were beginning to feel the brunt of it. He was in seminary, I was working at Circa, the youth ministry was growing and we were barely seeing one another. God was really tugging at my heart, showing me how much I longed to be at home with Elias - how beautiful the calling of mother truly was, not just another life-phase, but an awesome responsibility and gift.

To drive his point home, shortly after the fall had started, we went through our whole Trisomy episode in October of 2007. I reread my blog posts from that month a few weeks ago, and to tell you the truth - I'm still utterly in awe that God gave us such peace and such a beautiful, wonderful miracle in Glory. We spent so much of October in prayer and in the midst of that struggle, hanging between not knowing whether we'd lose our sweet baby girl. We visited Puyallup & the Seattle area to try and make a decision about whether or not we'd move here. While we were out here, I told Nick that it all felt so crazy - to move to an area just to attend a church, but the first morning I went to Mars Hill Eastside on our little vacation last October - it made so much more sense. We went home still unsure of what would become of Gloriana & where we would be next.

Soon our Father made it perfectly clear through medical tests, prayer, and lots of guidance that Glory would be just fine and that we would in fact be moving to Puyallup to work at New Beginnings and to attend Mars Hill. All of November and most of December were spent quickly packing up, saying goodbye, and trying to answer questions that we didn't truly understand ourselves. So now here we are - seven and a half months in, Glory is five months old, and we have a little life built up.

I got a tattoo on vacation that says 'talitha koum', meaning "little girl, get up" in Aramaic. Jesus says it when he raises Jairus' daughter in Mark and I've always been crazy drawn to it. I decided it was time to get in permanently implanted on my body when I thought about the implication of the possible death sentence we received for Glory and for the work Jesus has done in my heart in this year. I've told Nick a few times that I feel like I'm just now understanding what it means to be a christian and that sounds absolutely nutty since we've been in ministry for several years now. But tonight I felt that familiar wave rush through me and I just knew that this place of waiting is so right and He has made me so alive by letting me know Him more each day. Nick is in school, we are in a ministry that we know is not permanent, I'm away from family and wondering if I'll ever live near them again, and all the while God is just opening my little girl eyes wider and wider to who He is.

I could just cry my eyes out thinking about how beautiful He is, how richly He has blessed me, how indebted I am to His grace, and how vast He has stretched my heart this year. I have so much to learn, so much more to say, so much farther to grow, but I could not be more excited. I feel like I have become more of myself this year because He has made me want to be more like Him and I have to say - I can tolerate myself far more when He's working in me.

So - I've gotten to celebrate my birthday in a few different ways this weekend and more blogs will tell about how loved the people in my life made me feel, but I'll tell you I'm ending it out baking a cake from scratch with Lauren. I've never made a cake from scratch that is successful and I'm hoping this one is scrumptious. Nick tried to get Lauren & I to buy a mix but he didn't understand my real desire was to celebrate what God has done in me this year. He has taught me about intentionality and doing things the right way for His sake & not mine. He's taught me that when I choose faith, love, and purpose - it is wonderfully delicious for my little soul. So even though it's taken about 3 hours and 2 Fred Meyer runs, I'm making this cake and I can't wait to taste it.

a new favorite

A new favorite place of mine is etsy.com.
It's a really wonderfully set up website that allows merchants of hand-made goods to sell their stuff for a wonderful low price which allows them to keep their prices really inexpensive.

I love having handmade stuff for the kids, but just can't spend boutique prices. This necklace is my absolute favorite right now. I've looked for personalized mama tags for a long time and haven't found anything near reasonable. This is from the dealer "mamabethbling".

Here are a few other favorites:
cutey cute shoes
hand made hooter hider
purple pretty diaper bag


ENJOY!

sweet day

Today Elias, Glory, Marilee, Silas and I embarked on our first attempt to do a beach day with three babes, two hot moms, some weight-watcher approved goodies, & plenty of diapers. Silas was sweet - AS ALWAYS. Elias was into just about everything there was, but it was so cute to watch him marvel at the great big "baaaaaah" (bath). I know some East Coasters are confused about the term beach, but seriously - there are TONS of beaches out here. They're little - they don't span for miles like ours but there are a bunch on Lake Washington, and ones all over the sound. Anyhow - the best part of the day was seeing Glor & Si continue in their little love adventure. I swear - it's not just our hopeful wishing, the following pictures are NOT staged.




As if that wasn't enough of a day to tucker us out - we came home and had a little barbeque with Debi & Miles, the directors of our ministry - who conveniently live next door. (Also - it is silly to say 'came home' as if it was an easy ordeal. Traffic was UNBEARABLE and it took Elias, Glory, and I and hour and a half and a whole lot of patience to get home).

Some word pictures for you from our ride:
- Once I turned around to catch Elias looking intently at me with passy ("sass") in his mouth. Totally normal - except he had my ear piece for my cell phone stuck perfectly in his ear as if he was on an important call.
- When traffic was especially bad during one stand still, John Mayer's version of Tom Petty's "free-falling" came on the van radio and Elias and I danced with our hands in the air, both singing terribly off key.
- As we approached our street and that big ole mountain came into view, I began to shake my fists in victory and I caught Elias doing the same thing! I'm sure sis was too, but I could only see those petite little legs shaking midair.

After dinner, the sky actually looked on fire so I went and took some amazing pics of our backyard/front of the house. I did some work on the exposures but most of the color is UNEDITED so this is truly what a beautiful night we saw. I hate living in the country but I don't hate the view on nights like tonight.




More pics on Picasa, enjoy your Friday! I'm getting morning off to go to spin class and then sit & write with some coffee at Starbucks. Thank you Jesus & my husband!

silly day

This has been one of those weirdo days. Nick is just starting his school-study schedule so I'm functioning as a semi-stay-at-home-mom-by-myself. That is if you don't count our sweet little preggo, Kaylee, and my awesome "assistant/bff" Lauren, here to always help me unload the groceries when I need help. And oh, the groceries. Today was the first time I went major grocery shopping with both kids by myself, I felt like I was watching myself on stage at a 4 yr. old dance recital - I was so proud.

But here's a thought... I think I'm willing to say something crazy. Sort of. I feel like Jesus has asked me to pray for something really crazy - really nutty. I was telling Nick how excited I am and how thrilling it is and how it must be Jesus because this thing He has sort of started in my heart is so crazy and so against everything that I am, it must be real. But for real - don't ask. I'm just not ready to talk about it. Some clues for you - it's something we've NEVER done before, it may actually be humanly impossible, and it could take years to accomplish. If I was really brave I'd name it here, but I'm only going half of the way so that when Jesus accomplishes it in our life - I'll put up a backlink and say - ha! this is what it is!

Anyhow - trying to love the weirdo day for what it is. Some random blog updates - I tried to put adsense on my blog to make a little fun money off of it, but it put ads of related items I'd written about. "babes" and "scientology" were the first two up so I had to take them off. Sad day. If I can work it out in the future, there may be some fun amusing ads for the future. Also - two posts coming up "our schedule" and "new beginnings goodness".

love ya'll.

love me some lauren

my girl, lo, just let me read some writing and I had to share these lines with the world:

how can i ever feel comfortable, all the while knowing the capacity for pain?

there's nothing worse than being loved--but as someone very different from yourself.

i am full to the top--things to say--fears to speak out loud, and vanish into whatever place spoken insecurities go to die.

we have issues

Lauren and I have found a new HORRIBLE way to pass the time.
She taught me a game called "google-whack" where you see how quickly you can google something so obscure that only one result comes back. If no results come back, you LOSE.

Here is our latest:
molasses carob cookbook slack's kerrie lining is clorox hallmark firefox 100000 fit fresh flux carol dictionaries probe linux carnivorous photographie organic kerouac slackware skunk distilled kermit sphinx pyramid

Nick's reply to our latest winning, "I'm glad I live here." Unfortunately, I think he was being sarcastic.

video blog

obedience & rebellion

For weeks and months - I've been drawn to Proverbs 31 and in the past few days, my feeble little heart has been ripped open by it's truth.

This year I've been challenged by things like getting up early to shower and have a quiet time, being a better steward of my money and items, being seen as honorable in the community, and all of the other great and wonderful things the p woman does and is. I've thought about how I should probably bake my own bread, may even homeschool my kids, could eventually be challenged to sew most of their clothing, and how I should respect my husband at all times.

In this challenging week, however, God opened my eyes to the most simplest of terms - the most bold of all challenges. The passage begins with questioning who can find a wife of noble character. As the words from my bible reflected off of my eyes - it was as if a mirror reflected off my heart and I was finally able to see: I am not a woman of noble character. I'm far from it.

Certainly parts of my life have been cleaned up and swept tidy by the Lord - but at the heart of it, my nature is not noble. My desires aren't pure. I am not where I need to be - as a woman of God, as a friend, as a wife, mother, or minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Rather than depression or defeat, I'm trying to find freedom and offer it to others. Owning what we are and what we are not in Jesus' name is the beginning to becoming what we must be. There are some jokes, some words, some activities that are going to slowly be weeded from my life - but the cost is worth it. My mouth, eyes, ears, and hands need to be more than "cleaned up", they must be replaced by those of Christ. "Just my personality" is codeword for "just my sinful stupid nature" and it's time that I begin to see things in black and white.

There are tiny seeds of rebellion everywhere in my life that could cannonball into disgusting avalanches. Some are smaller than my own heart can see, some I've been hiding well for years.

My husband is going to be a pastor someday - it has been prophecied to us and we know it in our hearts to be true. I have a great deal to live up to as his wife, a long way to go. My kids are going to keep growing, this is a fact of life. I have even more to live up to as their mama. It took a hard look for me to remember that the most devastating thing in my life would be getting in the way of their lives because I lack the desire needed to choose the righteous thing all the time.

Thankfully, the enemy has already been defeated.
The perfect lamb has already set the example for me to follow.

curious curious little kitties

Okay - I've gotten enough comments and emails today about my theory to post some FACTS. You can put it all together if you like.

1. Katie Holmes is married to Tom Cruise
2. Tom Cruise is a confirmed scientologist
3. Scientology is rumored to have a major foothold in Hollywood with many of it's members holding a lot of power
4. Katie Holmes was booted from the new batman movie
5. Heath Ledger, the star of The Dark Knight, died of an overdose that was seemingly inexplicable to his friends & family
6. Christian Bale, also a star of the movie, was arrested the night of the premier for allegedly assaulting his sister & mother
7. Morgan Freeman, another star of the movie, was in a near-fatal car wreck that they have no real reason for - other than he simply ran off the road.

I'm just saying, it freaks me out. I saw an interview with Tom Cruise where he said it genuinely hurt his feelings when people implied sinister things about his life & family. I actually don't want to add to that feeling if he & scientology are harmless. However - I know Scientology is not centered on Christ, therefore I know it is not of God. I'm half kidding about the conspiracy theory - but it just makes me question.

So I hope this blog comes off this way: I am not calling Tom Cruise or Scientologists worldwide killers or murderers. I am saying the entire religion freaks me out & it is not just a denomination of Christianity. If I'm taking a stand on anything I'm saying - pray for Hollywood & the scientologists, ya'll.

I'm an actual wuss.

I just wrote an incredibly serious/light-hearted blog. I know, I know...that's a juxtaposition. But I prefaced the blog with "I don't normally write preachy-opiniony blogs but I am going to now". It was up for a total of 4 minutes and I had to take it off. I felt bad. Part of it I will definitely repost because it was about something Jesus changed in my heart tonight concerning beauty. Wait - I'll just tell you now.

I've been quite worried about my weight/dieting for a while now. Tonight I just prayed about it for a long time. Not that God would miraculously make me skinny or rev up my metabolism, but that He would create in me a clean heart & I could be an encouraging voice to the women in my life. I'm a mom to a sweet girl, a housemom to pregnant girls, and a friend to women.... I want them to be encouraged by the way I love Christ in me and in them. I do not want to spur them to further vanity or negative introspection.

The other half of the blog was about a current theory that I'm working on concerning Hollywood, scientologists, & celebrities. If you REALLY want to hear it - email me & I'll tell you. I actually don't want to offend anyone or sound trivial about celebrities lives.

hahaha... taking my crazy mind to bed now.

cheat day so far & pics

For the curious ones:
(breakfast)
grande americano (normal for me)
top pot apple fritter from Starbucks

(lunch)
BIG chicken burrito with chips from a mexicana place
big bowl of vanilla ice cream & chocolate syrup

(snack)
reeses 100 calorie pack - no reason to be stupid

(dinner)
I'm projecting here....
probably pizza & candy from the movie theater.


Here are some pics from this weekend:

in the middle...

In the middle of a busy weekend but stay tune for more pictures and fun stories of this weekend with my dad & reconnecting with Northwest friendlies. Today we're off to Seafair - the boys are going on the boat to watch the blue angels fly over (fight pilots, I think?) & Kelly and I are staying and having a water day with the kids! Will be a blast!

Blogs coming up:
- "swords are sharp" an ode to community
- "whackamole 2" what mexican night looks like with FIVE babies
- "new girl" about the new girl coming to live with us on Tuesday and how excited we are!

Love, friends!