easter weekend 2014

The moon and stars they wept
The morning sun was dead
The Savior of the world was fallen
His body on the cross
His blood poured out for us
The weight of every curse was broken

 
One final breath He gave

As Heaven looked away
The Son of God was laid in darkness
A battle in the grave
The war on death was waged
The power of hell forever broken

 The ground began to shake

The stone was rolled away
His perfect love could not be overcome
Now death where is your sting
Our resurrected King has rendered you defeated

Forever, He is glorified

Forever, He is lifted high
Forever, He is risen
He is alive
He is alive

stuck.

i haven't been writing here very often lately.
i just feel like i've run out words.
there's nothing left to say.
{nothing important, my mind says}
but that's not why i write here.
i write here so that i can remember.
and these days are so worth remembering.
God's grace is astounding and abounding.
there's joy and laughter and love and mistakes and HARD.
but i do want to remember.
because one day {all too soon} my boys won't give me slobbery kisses or sit on my lap to watch a show. one day {maybe} we won't be in this house or doing this job or in this place. one day i'm going to want to look back and see how faithful God was at blowing my mind in understanding for his faithfulness and HOPE.
so here's to remembering and writing it down.

these brothers. 

they make each other laugh.

they make each other cry. 

{i think it will be like that forever}

 they're starting to play more. 

asher laughs at joshua more than anyone in the world. 

asher also thinks joshua's food is the perfect snack and that his cup is much better than any other object in the room. 

joshua sometimes kicks asher in the stomach. also gives him lots of hugs. and says "asher, don't cry. i'm here."

 joshua. it's like you're almost a teenager. i bought jeans for you for the first time and you talk ALL.THE.TIME. and you wear your flip flops to bed. and you LOVE kaci, tyler, jocelyn, and ella. 

 asher. you have a stuffy nose ALL.THE.TIME. you fed yourself eggs for the first time yesterday and we all cheered. your cheeks are so kissable.

 

manny. i beat you in real scrabble for the FIRST.TIME.EVER. it was thrilling. i am just so stinking thankful that i am walking this life with YOU. i love staying up too late and talking it out. i love doing auctions with YOU. i love breakfast and dinner with YOU. i love putting away clean clothes with YOU. i love YOU too much.

i'm thankful for the spring warmth and the sunny days and new sunglasses. i'm thankful for a boy who challenges me and one who cuddles with me. i'm thankful for a yard to work in and house to plan for. i'm thankful for HOPE. that i know the HOPE and live in the FREEDOM of Christ. 

i am so thankful for that. 

so remembering... April 2014... this is life.

Asher Gray: 10 months

 Hey Big Boy,

10 months. That seems far too old. You are just a BABY. You say- No way mom! I can crawl everywhere, pull up on everything, & I have 4 teeth now! This month, you officially moved from 3 naps to 2. You gained 3 new teeth, 1 on the bottom & the 2 upper "lateral incisors" and the upper middle left is not far behind! You're starting to eat more (kind of). You really like anything made with white flour. Really awesome... Not so much for this food controlling mother... God is telling me to GIVE.IT.UP! So I'm working on that & you eat lots of bread, sweet potatoes, and instant oatmeal. The weather is warming up some & then it snows a lot. But every chance we get we play outside or go for a walk. You like the swings at the park and are always content on a walk. Your brother is still the coolest dude around in your eyes. Now that you can crawl to his toys and cup we are working on sharing and speaking in a kind voice (for Josh), but we are all learning :)

I love seeing what intrigues you- usually paper & balls. You also can play with a toy car like a big, big boy. You love sleeping with your blankie & only suck your thumb when going to sleep. Unfortunately, you got your first major sickness- a double ear infection. The running nose and a cough are still kind of lingering and I would be very happy if they went away sometime soon! But you are so happy most of the time no one would ever know you were sick.

 You are a joy. You love to hang upside down and giggle. You think Blitz is very interesting. You fit on my hip like you were made to sit there. You kind of say dada and when you are sad kind of say mama. But I'm not calling any first words just yet. You sleep every night 6:45pm to 7:30am. Your hair is getting longer and you love pulling off your socks. Sometimes you do the funniest things and we all just think, I can't wait to see what this kid is like!
Asher, we love you way too much! 
 love always, your momma & daddy