girls night out

Candid didn't work so we thought we would pose a "candid" shot.

I love the times I get to have a girls night out...food, fun and laughter! A bunch of us got together to celebrate a birthday and say good-bye to a good friend. As I was sitting their last night with these ladies from my church, I was thinking about how good God is to give me such great friends in a place so far from everything I know. I love that it's a mixture of ladies of different ages, different stages and different walks of life.

hanging out with friends

We met up at the playground with our friends, the Powers and I was trying to get some pictures of all the kiddo's while they were running around and playing together. Most of them turned out blurry but I did catch a few good ones...except I didn't get any of Lily (their oldest). We are going to miss our friends and are trying to get in as much time with them as we can. We hope their plans work out to move back here in a few years because we will miss them terribly.

big accomplishment

The "E" looks a little feathered but you get the idea.

It's weird to think that I have a child that is old enough to start writing his letters. Ever since Ethan hung out with his cousin Kyle (who loves writing "letters" and putting them in envelopes to give out), Ethan has enjoyed learning how to spell his name and his cousins name and now my name (MOM). But just today he actually spelled every letter in his name without me helping. So I wanted to share his great accomplishment.

My cute little 3 year old.

happy father's day!

To my wonderful husband and father of our boys...we love you!

no personal space

It's funny how the every day things turn into the biggest ordeals with small children. Jude likes to be wherever I am...at all times...bathroom, doing dishes, e-mailing, etc. He's become a little needy lately. So while I thought that it wouldn't be a big deal to catch a shower really quick (while the boys were both awake)...it turned into Jude trying to figure out how to climb into the shower with me...getting completely soaked. So after I got out of the shower he followed me around, still wanting me to pick him up (which is what he wanted all along)...and then when I pulled out the camera to take a picture of how wet he was, he decided he had enough and started crying. It's so hard being a 1 year old.

day at the zoo

We had a fun day at the zoo with our friends. The Honolulu zoo is great because it's small and yet has every animal you would want to see...and even then we still didn't make it to half of the animals before we get hot, tired and hungry. This was Jude's first trip to the zoo here in Hawaii. Now that he doesn't take his morning nap...adventures to the other side of the island are possible. And in Hawaii many tourist places have kamaina (Hawaii residents) rates which make things very affordable...it's nice to have a price break when it comes to anything in Hawaii.

This is the great big banyan tree outside the zoo that has little pathways through the roots growing down from the branches....such a fun place for kids and a great place for shade.

These are the giraffes that Ethan and I got to feed last time we were at the zoo. It was a special program you could go to where you go behind the scenes and feed the animals apples. We also got up close to a Rhino...it's truly amazing how big these animals are and yet we were able to feed them from our hands.

weird picture

I was having a control-freak moment and spot cleaning our rug in the family room...which gets quite the wear and tear. When I went to hang up the towel to dry out I noticed that the dirt marks made a face like picture (at least I thought so). Now I'm not one of those people that sends the picture into the news and says it's mother Mary, but it's more like a man in the moon type thing to me. Just thought it was weird that the dirt marks made a picture...and a little embarrassed that there was that much dirt on my rug.

new look

You probably noticed my blog looks different. I decided to "customize" it but I didn't know how to really change anything. So it's basically the same thing with a different layout. I hope it didn't throw any of you off.

visiting with family

We're back! What a whirl-wind trip it was. So I will give you the highlights...
While Jason was here for his short vacation time, his family came up to St. Louis to visit us while we were in town. We were so glad that they were able to come up and look forward to their visit with us later this summer.

I got to meet my one and only niece, Anna...and Tara got to finally meet Jude. It was so fun getting together and having all the cousins play together. Ethan asked every day when Tyler and Kyle and baby Anna were coming over.

Here is the infamous trio. Tyler and Kyle's Papa Joe took them to the pond down the street to throw rocks...every boys dream...anytime they all got together they were usually covered from head to toe in dirt, chalk or water. Ethan was very sad to leave his cousins behind.

We made a trip up to Omaha for a few days with my mom. We got to see the Gigi's (great grandmas) and a bunch of our extended family. We had a great time and were so glad we were able to see everyone.

I was trying to figure out how a managed to miss getting the rest of my family in pictures but then I remembered that my mom has our whole month documented well with her new camera. So I can get the copies from her. We heard many times while we were there, quote: "I just love my new camera".

We're all adjusting to the new schedule of being home. I got really used to having everyone around all the time...making dinner together, going shopping together, having girls nights in with my mom and sister, tee-peeing with my little sister and mom (long story, if you want to hear about it just ask me and I would be glad to fill you in), taking road trips, going to Target (way to many times...yet not enough) and hanging out with my sister and her boys. Fun times...

visiting with friends

Ethan had fun meeting his new friend Cade, Scott's girlfriends son. They had fun going to the zoo, the arch and running around with the cousins too.

I had a roommate reunion while we were there. Everyone met up in St. Louis and stayed at Stephanie's parents house. It was fun catching up, laughing and even making a Krispy Kreme run at midnight...like the good ole days. It was so fun to see everyone again and meet all the kiddo's. I think our next reunion will be here in Hawaii....without the kids this time.

My good friends Jocelyn and Ryan came up from Chattanooga and we hung out for a weekend. It was so fun to catch up and pick up right where we left off. I miss them.

I also got to catch up with my friend Amy and family. It happened to be her 30th birthday while I was there so it was fun being able to celebrate with her.

I am so thankful for the friendships God has blessed me with over the years. I know there were other friends that I wanted to see while I was home too but ran out of time...you would think a month would be plenty of time to get everything squeezed in, but it went by way too quickly.

snow in may

Yes, it is actually real snow. My mom saved some snowballs for the boys from a snow they had this past winter, since neither of my boys has seen actual snow yet. They weren't really snow balls anymore but more like ice balls. But none-the-less the boys had a blast throwing them on the ground, making a small snowman and eating it.

my nieces birthday

Happy Birthday Anna! We were so glad to celebrate your 1st birthday with you. We had so much fun.

we survived

For all of those friends in Hawaii, I just wanted to let you know we made it. The plane ride actually went really well (thanks for your prayers) but the adjusting to the 5 hour time change has been horrible. But 4 days later the kids are going to bed around 8:30 and we are feeling a bit more adjusted....all in time for Jason to get here and miss all of the fun we've been having around 2 in the morning when no one seems to be tired.

great quote

I was reading today for my Bible Study tonight out of a book called Feminine Appeal (yes I procrastinated reading until the day of) and I came across this great quote that I wanted to share. It's by a man named John Blanchard:

"Surely we only have to be realistic and honest with ourselves to know how regularly we need to turn to the Bible. How often do we face problems, temptation and pressure? EVERY DAY! Then how often do we need instruction, guidance and greater encouragement? EVERY DAY! To catch all these felt needs up into an even greater issue, how often do we need to see God's face, hear his voice, feel his touch, know his power? The answer to all these questions is the same: EVERY DAY!"

What a great reminder and what a challenge. I hate to admit that I don't read Scripture every day...but how true is that, that when we read Scripture we are instructed, guided, encouraged, comforted. The book goes on to say that:

"...we find peace in the midst of trying circumstances, an eternal perspective where we have lost sight of the truth, and power to fight our battle against sin."

The laziness in my heart would rather fill that time with selfishness...how sad is that. Thank you God for your grace...your love is amazing.

holding on with all his might

This is Jude's new hang-out....holding onto my pants. I've gotten so used to it that sometimes I go to walk away and forget that he is holding onto my pants....hence the title of my post. Usually he is wanting the food that I am eating and sometimes he just wants to be picked up. But I must say he holds on with everything he's got because I could probably drag him along with me without him ever letting go of his grip.

a sewing urge

Every once in a while I get this urge to sew something. I'm not sure what triggers it but I always think it will bring this overwhelming sense of accomplishment because I created it myself. But it usually creates this sense that the project took way too long, it didn't turn out like I thought it would and wanting to put the sewing machine away for a long, long time. So this is my latest sewing project. This is Ethan's room and while it's not quite done, we're going for the beach themed look. I made a very light weight comforter (since you don't really need anything more than a sheet in Hawaii) and curtains (try to ignore the shade that is falling off the window in the background...Ethan thought it would be fun to shread it one day during nap time).

the countdown begins

This is a countdown for my trip to visit family and friends. It's been a year and a half since I've been to see everyone on the mainland...and once we adjust from the 10 hour plane ride and the 5 hour time change it will be so great to be there...I'm just trying to focus on the part of being there.

Titus 2

Women mentoring women....this idea has come up a lot over the past year...especially since I've been involved with the WIC ministry in our church and more recently the women's retreat we just had at our church. Titus 2: 4-5 says:

"Then they (older women) can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

God gave us and has blessed us with friendships with fellow believers...to give encouragement, to be challenged and to be pointed to Christ. Not that long ago I approached a friend of mine at church and asked if we could get together for lunch sometime...I asked if she could be a mentor to me. She has been married a little longer than I have, her kids are a little older than mine and she is someone I truly admire. It's not because I think she has the perfect marriage or the perfect life, but it's because she has always been completely honest to me about her life and has encouraged me in more ways than she probably knows. As nervous as I was about asking her to be my mentor (the whole fear of rejection thing), the times that I have been able to meet with her have brought so much joy and encouragement to me. As we laugh, cry, share our stories and remind each other of the gospel - I leave so encouraged and so thankful to God for my friend.

I would encourage anyone that is reading this to pray for and find that person (it may not even be someone you know well) to be completely open and honest about your sin (because sometimes my sin doesn't seem real until I say it out loud to someone). She has challenged me to love my husband and children, to be self-controlled, to be kind, to be subject to my husband... not necessarily by saying those exact words but by the way she desires and strives to be obedient to God.

"Godly women who have embraced the truth of God's creation design and redemptive calling for women are called to train women to think and live according to biblical principles of womanhood. This is the kind of life-on-life discipleship that guides and nurtures to maturity." (Women's Ministry in the Local Church, p. 124)

walking, walking, walking

Jude has entered the new stage of walking. I think he is really enjoying his new independence. It's still a little weird for us since he's been crawling now for over 9 months...but I am enjoying the fact that I can set him down other places and not worry about the dirty knees and hands.

my name is erin and I'm a control freak

If you have ever dropped by my house unannounced you would know that my life is far from spotless or perfect. I would love to be super organized and have a place for everything...but in all reality it doesn't happen. I do get that random urge every once in a while to get a toothpick and old toothbrush to really clean the bathroom well, but normally I feel like I'm doing well if the laundry gets done. So it's weird for me to have to admit that I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to raising my children. I am a huge fan of schedules and routines. I organize the toy bins every week or so (cars, blocks, balls, play food, animals, etc.). I like to write out charts and check lists. Hand sanitizer is my friend. I stain stick my childrens clothes when they get a spot on it. And I'm not a fan of the "learning to feed yourself" stage. I can give them peas, cut up carrots or cut up bananas but I am not the parent that can give their kids a bowl of spaghetti and sauce and say go at it. But I also realize that Jude is at the age where he is able to start feeding himself with a spoon. So Gerber has this spoon that has little holes on it and a curved handle to make this process less messy...so they say. As you can see Jude absolutely loved feeding himself and although the holes helped the food to stay on it longer, he still managed to get yogurt all over the place...I just have to keep telling myself - this is teaching him fine motor skills, this is helping him developmentally, this is teaching him fine motor skills....

splish, splash

It's fun to think that not that long ago Ethan was splashing around in the water table by himself because Jude was just a little baby....and now they are playing together having a great old time splashing and getting each other wet. It's great too that Ethan is such a great entertainer for Jude. They both played in the water for quite a while....which Ethan never did by himself at that age. As you can see in the picture we had to have a clothes change because of drippy wet clothes....which they then went back out and got wet all over again.

peacemaking women

I was trying to figure out how to start this post off or where to begin. So I apologize if this is random and not a complete thought....I'm still processing everything from our women's retreat this weekend....I guess more of a "reflecting and applying" processing. This is my first chance to have some time to reflect.

I first want to start by saying God is good! This retreat idea started off with excitement and a sense of being overwhelmed because if you know me I am not a public speaker or a leader...in the sense of a taking charge kind of person. I am a behind the scenes, tell me what to do kind of personality. Although this past year God has continually called me to the former...with trembling. So I first had to ask God for the 1) courage to plan a women's retreat and the 2) time to plan one. My prayer from the beginning was that God would be glorified not only by the retreat but also through the process...God is faithful in answering prayer.

All that to say God brought so many wonderful ladies from my church to help with the planning and an absolutely wonderful speaker, Tara Barthel.

So on to the retreat itself. If you have not read Tara Barthel's book on Peacemaking Women, I would highly recommend reading it. If you ever get a chance to hear her speak...go. I don't want to bring the glory to her in any way because by God's grace is she able to teach at all...but God has gifted her with teaching...the gospel and God's grace, mercy and redemption have such a greater and deeper meaning when you can see all of the areas of your heart that are selfish and dark. I must say that learning about the sin of my heart is overwhelming and depressing at times but at the same time the greatest sense of peace....because God's love and grace is abounding even more than the sin in my heart.

So to leave you with a few quotes from the retreat that challenged me in so many ways:

"How you live shows what you love...How we live reveals our hearts." (on idols of our heart)

"The law does not change our hearts, the gospel does." (it's not about us but about what Christ did for us)

"Conflict is a way of being sanctified" (so I can't ignore it but I have to face it to grow)

"Circumstances are not the cause of the ugliness in our hearts. The ugliness is there to begin with. So we must deal with the sin in our hearts and not blame it on the circumstances." (that way we are able to truly repent and be reconciled)

"Loving enemies (or those hard to love) is a reflection of our Christian life."

"People don't need fixing, they need growing" (God changes a persons heart...we can love them and come along side them)

sleeping like a baby

I usually go in and check on the boys after they've gone to bed just to make sure they're okay. I love watching them sleep. I think the most peaceful thing is a sleeping baby or child. It makes me miss the days when I could sleep so soundly and for so long...actually I don't remember the last time I actually "slept like a baby".

So this past week I've gone in to check on Jude and found him in some not so comfortable positions....which didn't seem to disrupt his sleep one bit...I on the other hand would wake up with a kink in my neck and legs falling asleep.

happy easter

We dyed Easter eggs the day before Easter with our friends Sarah and Lily. We were watching the girls while my friend Malia and her husband Beau were at the hospital having baby Luke. We are so excited for them and their new little blessing. He's quite the cutie.

Since I don't have any girls I had to get the boys matching shirts for Easter morning service. It was their first matching outfit besides pj's. Our church had a potluck brunch together which I love having...since family is so far away it reminded me of being with family on Easter and enjoying breakfast together. We enjoyed our church service that morning...celebrating our Risen Savior....and being reminded of the great sacrifice and gift Jesus made for us sinners. That love is so amazing!

We had an Easter egg hunt in our backyard which Ethan got really into this year. We had to do it quickly before the chocolate inside the eggs melted. He's way better at the hiding and seeking thing this year. It was really fun to see his excitement.

our two new additions

No I'm not pregnant. Our two new additions are Ethan's new little fish which he named Big T...he got the name from the big X on the outside of the bag that the fish came in which he thought looked like a T. When I asked what the fish's name was he looked at the bag and told me "Big T".


And Jason was given a "new" car...which has air-conditioning and doesn't have an odor that follows you even after you are out of the car. So we're saying farewell to The Bradley (Jason's white chevrolet wagon), which is a little sad...but I got over it pretty fast...and will now be sold to a college student who needs wheels to get around and doesn't care what it looks like...perfect match.

...I forgot to mention that Ethan has informed us that the white car is daddy's, the gold car is mommy's and the new green car is Ethan's...I think he's just as excited as Jason about the new addition. We're trying to explain to him that he's too little to drive though.

beach, fun, friends...

....it can't get any better than that. We met up with our friends, the Powers, at the beach and had fun playing in the water, sand and sun. Then the guys (Jason and Beau) took a kayak out to the Moke's (I'm not sure if that is how you spell it) and had fun looking at the sea life and exploring around the island. We're sad our friends are moving this summer and will miss having these times to hang out with them and enjoying their company.