Embracing Reality

The reality of it all is....

• I am now a mom of 3 BEAUTIFUL girls...under the age of 4...who I am PASSIONATELY in love with and devote myself to them knowing the love of God, the call he has for His kingdom, and the part that they will play in that
• I am the wife of a youth pastor with whom I share a HUGE passion for youth and for others to know the love of Christ
• I am an assistant cross country coach to over 40 runners with whom I share a passion for running
• I am a lab instructor to over 60 students with whom I share a passion for the body and for science
• I am a passionate person
• I don't shower everyday...don't have time
• I don't sleep as much as I should
• My house is a disaster 4/5 days of the week
• I don't take time to sit and be but rather pray as I multi-task and cry out to God often for strength and mercy
• I don't know how to say no very well
• I fall short
• I CANNOT BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PPL...was recently very reminded of this ;)
• I am becoming a LITTLE bit more of a morning person
• I cannot catch up on the blog...I just need to embrace it and move forward-now would be a good time right?
• I am thankful for each and everyday...God grant me the strength to meet every situation with strength, grace and positivity...give me your eyes Lord, give me your eyes

Swinging with Bailey (6/17)

Between all of our vacations and trips we really tried to spend as much time with friends as we could. it was a beautiful afternoon for the park and Bailey was just really starting to get into swinging. The girls LovE pushing her...we had to watch so she didn't get going to high but we really enjoyed spending some QT with Ang and Bailey...Bailey girl loving the swing!!! Look at that sweet smileGracie takes a turn pushing Bailey...Karys is all smiles for her chance...Addy even got a chance to try the swing out...she was obviously not as thrilled as Bailey was ;) Everyone loves a GREAT day to swing and play at the park!

What do I know of Holy...Addison Road

These words have really been speaking to me lately...I can't get enough of listening to this song! It is just so convicting for me and evokes emotion in my spirit...I had to share it =)


I made You promises a thousand times
I tried to hear from Heaven
But I talked the whole time
I think I made You too small
I never feared You at all No
If You touched my face would I know You?
Looked into my eyes could I behold You?

(CHORUS)What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured You out
I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about
How You were mighty to save
Those were only empty words on a page
Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be
The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees

(CHORUS)What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

(CHORUS 2)What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?
And a God who gave life "its" name?
What do I know of Holy?
Of the One who the angels praise?
All creation knows Your name
On earth and heaven above
What do I know of this love?

(CHORUS)What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of Holy?

A Woman of Noble Character- Who can find?

This summer has been quite an adventure for our family to say the least. Looking at little lady number 3 arriving, vacation, mission trip(s), school, and throw in an unexpected funeral!

Through all of this and still to come, I have been and will be gone from my family for 25 days and nights. This all in the midst of welcoming Addyson Grace back on May 28, having a 2 ½ yr. old, and a 4 yr. old.

Basically, I've left my wife high and dry for these 25 days as she allows me to do ministry in my work context as well as continue my education for the ministry that I love. All the while taking care of our 3 little ladies, herself, and a dog! J Which brings me to the words from Solomon in Proverbs 31 that she has truly lived out and continues to live out!

I give thanks for my woman of noble character that I have truly found! Thanks God!

10 A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.

11 Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value.

12 She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life.

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.

26 She speaks with wisdom,

and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

27 She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

29 "Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all."

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

31 Give her the reward she has earned,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

three months ago already....

So for all of you who follow our blog you haven't had much to follow the past two months ;) Things have been so busy and crazy that I am just not organized enough to keep it going. However, I am hoping to bring you all up to speed a little bit and get back on top of it, b/c as good as it is for you it is also so good for me. It causes me to be reflective and gets me thinking about the days and capturing the things that happen throughout them that I don't want to lose track of...those moments you write on your heart.

So thought I would just start off with this...found this draft in my posts folder...must have uploaded the pics and just never finished it from there. Since they were already in there thought I would post them seeing as it has already been three months since Addy's birth...wow! I can hardly think of our family without her in it! What a blessing and a joy she is to us and hopefully you will get to see that throughout the posts to come...Gracie holding Addyson when she was just a day oldIt was hard word and she worked up an appetite ;)Good thing Addy is too little to be jealous ;) It was a cookie party!Look mom...no hands!Cousin Leah takes a turn with AddysonThen the nurse came in to give her a good going over and just make sure all was good. The girls loved watching this!Daddy actually gets a turn, while Karys gets excited to have Addyson grab her fingerQuite the crowd for the diaper change...hope he is doing it right ;)SO BLESSED! to have my friends Rachel and Ang drive all the way up to Sioux Falls to see me! Look at all those babies....we went from three bellies to three babies ;)
Meg Mulder gets to spend sometime with all three little ladies

Addyson Grace Arrives!

Addyson made her way into the world at 7:29 pm on May 28th...originally I was hoping for the 29th b/c then she and Rob would be the 29th, Karys and I the 4th of the month...but Addyson has done things on her own time frame in an original way throughout this entire pregnancy! I wonder if this trend will be part of her personality as she grows!?! So for lack of time in life these days I am just posting these with captions...sorry not enough hours in the day lately to dialogue more about this...maybe in the future, but no promises ;)

Addyson Grace within her first few minutes in the world! She was pretty quiet just like the other girls. None of them have cried much after birth, usually don't hear it until they get their first shot ;) Look at those long fingers! She was quite a cheesy baby ;)Proud Daddy overseeing the nurse as Addy gets all checked outQuite the pouty face! Look at that lipYou have an AMAZING Daddy Addyson! Love this moment in the delivery room...LOVE IT!Sarah did a great job of journaling and keeping a log of the events of the day. Super nice to be able to look back and try to grasp time, when you are in it you have no concept of it at all!Proud Auntie Megan...Megan did great! She told me afterward, "Erin, I actually watched this time!" I love you Meg...thanks for being a cheerleader and encourager for me!The phone calls begin!Proud Auntie Sarah...You are BEAUTIFUL my dear (both of you ;) You have found a field that you are AMAZING at! I loved having you at my side More content now...what a precious little girl! She did look like she got in a fight a little bit...she had a broken blood vessel in her right eye, bruises on her cheek bones, and little broken blood vessels all over her face. Poor girl was more beat up than I was!Mommy and Daddy with our newest addition! After this I have now heard Rob tell me multiple times, "Babe, you were made to have babies!" Umm yeah, we do good work...but it is all too fresh to even think about another on right now!yay! Grandma Sally was there to eagerly welcome you into the world! Quite the thing to have her right there in the room...specialYou know there had to be a crazy picture of my crazy husband! He did a great job of keeping things light when I was ready to quit. This is a birthing chair I was maybe going to try, no time for that though...barely made it to the bedThe girls have arrived! Leah leads the charge to go meet baby AddysonThe girls were excited, although at the last minute Gracie was pretty tentative to go into the roomBoth of the girls meeting Addyson for the first timeHere, Baby...wanna play with my bear?Papa holding Gracie and supporting her a little til she warmed up to mom in a bed still and the baby in Daddy's armsOne of the first things that Karys asked was "Can I hold her?"It didn't take Gracie long until she wanted to have a turn too!What a proud big sister!Papa gets his own turn...another little girl to hold

A legacy of love...Papa and Grandma with all their girls...another little one will join them in October though and HE will be a blessing to our family as well ;)I finally stopped shaking enough to have my turn...oh sweet girl, what a journey we have been on already and it has only just begun!I am so blessed with three beautiful little ladies...thank you, God for entrusting me with them--and yeah, HELP me and HOLD my hand!I LOVE THEM!!! All of the girls together...it was an act of congress to get a picture that was even remotely good ;) gotta love all our forced smiles that say, "Plz just take the picture...don't look away just keep smiling!"

First picture as a family of 5!Mommy with all her girls

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's House

I am so thankful for my parents willingness to watch the girls while Rob and I were in the hospital with Addyson. I have just been thinking about it more in the days since we have been home and yeah words just can't even be used to describe what it means to me. They totally not only gave of their time, but just really spent that time loving on my girls so well during this big transition time for them. The day after Addyson was born I was talking to my mom on the phone that morning and I heard her ask the girls if they wanted to get ready and come visit. "Well, maybe after we are done playing play-doh" That was just it...they loved everything that Grandma Sally did with them (and Papa and the zoo the day before). One of their favorite things was the morning they got to play outside in their jammies and Grandma and Grandpa found our old horse out in the shed for them to ride...Kenneth-oh the memories I have with my sisters of Kenneth. The girls loved it, they spent so much time riding together and taking their own turns! Thanks mom and dad for entertaining, caring for and loving my girls so well this past weekend! They had a BLAST!Both of the girls all smiles as they pose for a pic atop KennethGiddy up horsey! Grandma he goes REALLY fast!Bouncing down the trail...all smiles....hair blowing in the wind!
This picture is PRICELESS! Facial expressions and all remind me of Sarah and I back in the day not just on Kenneth but riding together on real horses....