i am proud of him..

mark is running his second marathon this saturday through the amazing city of DC.  he has spent the last 6 months diligently training for this event.  anyone, who loves someone, who is committed to sport of marathon, knows that BOTH parties are making HUGE sacrifices. with this knowledge in hand, mark does an excellent job checking in with me about his running schedule to make sure that, first and foremost, it fits into our family routine. because of his sensitivity to the situation i have only had to ask him to step down from running on one occasion.  there were LOTS of occasions that i didn't want him to go run, but that was a pure, self serving reason.  i enjoy watching mark accomplish his runs. i LOVE the energy that he has after he runs. i love knowing that he is ultimately taking care of his body for our family. that makes saying ,"YES!" a lot easier.

i am SO proud mark. i am SO proud of his determination and his diligence. i am proud of the sacrifices he has made to meet another goal. ladies, if you have not figured this out yet, men need goals. men then need to accomplish those goals for personal satisfaction and affirmation. i can tell mark he is a great runner, but finishing a marathon builds a confidence in mark, which is encouraged and grows by my words of affirmation. the opposite is true, if i spend the whole training season grumbling and complaining about his goals, then the marathon is far less encouraging and promotes less growth in mark.

one of my favorite roles as wife, is cheerleader! i am mark's biggest fan. i can not wait to watch him cross the finish line yet again. fully knowing what it has taken to get him there. i am proud of him. i am proud of myself too, for not having had complete meltdowns and temper tantrums ( too many times that is :).

if you think of it, PLEASE, PLEASE pray for mark (and jonathan and bethany franklin) as he runs on saturday at 7AM. pray for protection, strength, determination, and a strong finish.

~here is to my sweet, sweet husband!!

first marathon!

~s

a sibling no, no!

if you have been hanging around lj life and literature long you know that i am completely in love with my siblings!! not a day passes that i am not in contact with one of the four.. via phone, text, email. i pride myself on having a pretty solid relationship with all four of my siblings. i'd like to think after nearly 30 years i know them. i know parts of their lives that no one else will ever get to share with them. it's like this forever relationship.. one that goes way back, and the promise of it never ending. there is something incredibly special about having siblings. so incredible in fact, that i believe the GREATEST gift i have ever given my children is the gift of each other. my parents did an amazing job instilling relationship amongst our family. family ALWAYS came first. so much so that my dad did not lead a christmas eve service b/c the my mom's side of the family had a long standing tradition of being together on christmas eve. my dad took that seriously. i forever cherish that decision. there was never ANY question about who came first for my mom and dad. it was ALWAYS family.. work or family? church or family? sports or family? comfort or family? convenience or family? elders meetings or family? money or family? the answer was ALWAYS family. being together and sharing with one another was never optional for us. i remember zach and andrew fighting over cd's and sweater vests, but it ended as quick as it began. i remember dumping baby oil all over my sisters clothes and ruining them b/c she was dating some guy, and i felt extremely left out. i remember arguing over who got to sit shot gun, and what music we were going to listen too.. but again, these matters were never allowed to linger long. the older i got the rule was, "you can do anything you want as long as you are with one of your siblings!" you better believe i longed to be in my siblings presence! and to this day i LONG to be in the presence of my siblings.

after julia was born i was terrified of raising two girls who were so close in age. my sister and i were seven years apart, so we HARDLY ever fought. there was never competition between us, she really took me under her wing and raised me. as i expressed to mark my concerns he said, "strife amongst our children is not going to be an option, it won't be allowed under our roof!"   and since then, that has been the rule of thumb when it comes to our children interacting with one another. sibling rivalry, hateful speech, hateful actions, are met with the most severe of consequences and punishment. sibling rivalry begins when the second child comes home from the hospital. from the time we brought julia home from the hospital the message to katie was, "love her. encourage her. be her best friend. nothing else is acceptable." so when the "my's, the me's, the gimme's" began to emerge, the fire was swiftly put out. everyday, all day long, we encourage our kids, "to think of their siblings more highly then themselves!"(romans 12:10) putting feet on that means julia letting lucy go first; katie letting julia borrow her most prized possession; lucy giving anderson her last sweet tart; mama giving daddy the softer towel, or the biggest piece of steak; daddy letting mama rest and taking over the bed time routine. there are endless opportunities to apply this verse. and when even a hint of strife, hatefulness, ugliness, disrespect, selfishness, rears it's head.... mama and daddy have the opportunity to reinforce the Littlejohn rule of thumb. we tell the kids ALL the time, the reason you have to share with each other, stand up for each other, watch out for each other, protect each other, encourage each other, is because you are called to do it for the REST of your lives. these formative concepts spill over into other relationships. if katie can't share with julia, who is her very flesh and blood, how in the world is she going to learn to share with her room mate, her husband, a stranger, or even her children? if julia refuses to protect lucy in public situations, how is julia going to learn what loyalty and conviction looks like in any other relationship? if we can't celebrate each others successes as a family, how are my children going to learn how to be genuinely excited for others? relationship 101 is being taught in our home day in and day out. no, it's not perfect. yes, the kids argue and fight. yes, i realize that someday i will have a 16,14, 12, and 10 year old in my home and things will come up. but, no, no, no, it will not be tolerated for one second.

they WILL love each other, and they WILL have fun! :)

i know without a doubt that i can call on any of my siblings at ANY time and they will do whatever i need. without question, without hesitation. if i told them all i needed them here tomorrow, they would be here. i have no doubt that my siblings would go to the end of the earth for me, and that is the most special feeling in the WHOLE entire world!

i just pray that my kids receive as many blessings from each other as i have received from jonathan, joanna, andrew, and zach!

here's to a CD and sweater vest sharing kind of day,
~s

suggestive praying..

if you have visited our house lately you would know that lucy is adamant about saying meal time prayers.  her sweet little voice offers prayers of thanksgiving for the food, for everyone present at the table, and everyone in the whole world.  recently, she has taken to doing something that i call "suggestive praying." example: today before lunch she asked me, "mama, can we go on a walk after nap time?" i said, "we will see how the afternoon looks luce. katie has a lot of school to finish up."  fast forward to lunch time.. lucy's prayer, "dear God, thank you for this day, thank you for the food, thank you for mama, daddy, katie, julia, anderson, and lucy. thank you for the sunshine outside and that we get to go on a walk after nap time if mama will let us!*extended pause, glance up at mama to see if mama heard me*  amen." i almost snorted i was laughing so hard.

but like all things when interacting with children, you have to ask the standard val hall question, "how does this relate to my relationship with God?" oh, there is application. MUCH application. many times we come before the MOST holy God with our grocery store list of requests. and as we go down our lists, our minds and hearts are often VERY far from the words we are speaking. other times, we feel like prayer is a tool of persuasion. if i pray just right, with just enough persuasive phrases and beautiful accolades then God will hear me and i will get what i want. prayer is neither a place for grocery lists of persuasive speeches. rather, it's an intimate time to HEAR from the Lord. to beg Him to reveal Himself to us that we might KNOW Him, and that He might show us what and how to pray. we have made prayer so normal and so everyday, that sometimes we forget whom we are communing with. sometimes we forget with whom we are speaking. He is HOLY, so Holy in fact that no one has ever seen His face. and those that have come even slightly close to seeing Him have fallen to their faces. He is to be revered and high and lifted up. not a genie in a bottle that has to be rubbed the right way. not a judge who needs persuasion from well spoken lawyers in expensive suits. He needs a humble heart and a contrite spirit.

enjoy pics of my suggestive prayer and her partner in crime.
~s
no joke, this is how her face looks when she prays.

it's flip flop time!

no words for the cuteness level :) ~s
happy flip-flopping,
~s

i wouldn't trade a thing..

i wouldn't trade a thing getting to wake up next to this face every morning...

i wouldn't trade a thing getting to teach this little brain-monster...

i wouldn't trade a thing getting to hug these curls...

i wouldn't trade a thing getting to kiss this bald head..

and i wouldn't trade a thing to squeeze this chunky monkey..

friends,

we have SO much to be grateful for! we have so much to live for. love your spouse without reservation. hug your children and tell them, "yes!" instead of  "no!" stop cleaning your house and read your children a book. touch them. hold them. look at them in the eyes when you speak to them. call your mom. send your dad a letter. ask for forgiveness. forgive. let wounds heal and bitterness go. smile instead of frown. say,  "thank you". stop complaining about the weather and enjoy it. live your day with a purpose, not just the goal to survive it. be life giving, not life sucking.  build each other up with your words, stop tearing each other to shreds. BE THANKFUL for what you have, and stop wanting what your neighbor has... and be still and know that HE is God. you aren't and you never will be.
~s 

Post Spring Break Blues...

we had SUCH a wonderful week with our MS family here.
the kids cried and cried when they left yesterday.

here are just few pics from the week and from AJ's bday party.  he loves to share his bday ice cream with his sisters. he was also WAY more interested in the fire on the ice cream then the ice cream itself. also, on his birthday he tried to blow the house up by microwaving light bulbs... let the good times rolls :)