a hiatus

i will be taking a couple of weeks off from the blog because we are taking a two week vacation to one of our favorites places in the world. we are so excited to see our family and our friends!

 upon on return, i will be able to fill you in on the fun stories and numerous adventures these next two weeks will hold.

i hope that you have a fantastic couple of weeks!!

toodles,

~s

light and grace...

our lucy kharis turns FIVE YEARS old tomorrow *tear*.

lucy's name means light and grace. i am unsure if any other child fulfills their name more than lu-lu.
she is light.
she is grace.

her dimples can melt the hardest heart. her laugh is totally contagious. she has this unaware, unaffected air about her that can drive you crazy.. or drive you to her.

i have said it before, i'll say it again. we are still figuring lucy out. she is a puzzle for us. this past year more than ever she if reflecting more of katie's "i've got a preference about everything" side. but then she can pull the julia, "i am so competitive you better watch your self" side.
i have no desire to put her in a "katie" box or a "julia" box. she is her own little, pocket size, spit-fire of fun box.

this past year many people have asked if lucy and anderson are twins. that cracks me up but i can clearly see the confusion.

per one of the latest updates, lucy has grown a significant amount of hair this year. this is also the first year in lucy's whole life that mark is unable to reach around her waist..fingers touching. she might be petite, but her light and her grace are dwarfed by no one.

lucy, thanks for keeping it light/lite around here. thanks for it keeping silly, and fun, and sweet. thanks for keeping us on our toes as we continue to unwrap the great gift God has given us in YOU! we love you SO MUCH, lucy goosey!

~Mama and Daddy!

Living In The Storm: A father who loves...

if you don't know already i am abundantly blessed by so many amazing men in my life! first and foremost,  my dad, who undoubtedly was the first and only man in my life for SO many years! and he, he loved me first. second, my brothers who thru word and deed encouraged me to believe my true value and not allow myself to settle for a life time of heart ache. they never would allow my ego to grow too big, and they never allowed my self loathing to last too long. third, a gracious, kind, and very gentle father-in-law who raised, guided, and befriended the wonderful man who now i claim as my own beloved! these men deserve to be celebrated each and every day all year long!

but this year i can't get my daddy off my mind. i can't help but feeling totally overwhelmed when i think of the deep, deep, well of appreciation, admiration, respect, and the unmoving-undivided love that as his daughter, will live on into eternity.

for as far back as i can remember i have been drawn to my dad. there has never been a time in my life that i didn't want to be with him. there was this really special season when all the other kids had grown up and moved on, and mom and dad had nothing better to do than follow me around from sports event to sports event, from school event to school event. :) endless hours i spent with him singing funny songs from 98.1 KUDL, talking sports, discussing theology, arguing worship styles, practicing sermon illustrations, divulging youth group woes and best of all.... drinking in gallons of love. he was, and is a CONSTANT source of life giving love!

even with the fierce temptation of our culture to have an adulterous love affair with the church in the name of "full time ministry", dad drew his line in the sand and repeatedly told us through his actions and in his words, "i choose YOU! i choose this family!"  he was a child of God first, husband second, a father third, and a shepherd of the church last.

i first fell in love with my Savior by seeing Him lived out in the daily life of my daddy!

there is no exaggerating the influence my dad has had on my heart, my life, my marriage, and most importantly on my personal walk with Jesus!

even in the most painful storm of his life my daddy, without hesitation, exudes the type of love that most people will never experience on this earth. an out of this world kind of love!

i guess that's why i just can't get him off my mind.

happy father's day daddy!
~s

the post man made me cry...

ok, so really it wasn't the post man pr-say. it was the us post office sending me an official notice stating that on july 19th their one year guarantee of forwarding our mail from our VA address to our KS address would be fulfilled. that's the part that got me. the ONE YEAR part.

the ache began in my tummy and inched its way up into the corners of my eyes where the tears spilled over. one year! really? how is that possible? one year ago we let go of a lot of somethings and a lot of someones that we desperately love and miss. all in all, we said goodbye to a life that had become so much a part of who we were, who our family had become.  missing our former life is no indication that we aren't totally thrilled with the life we now live in kansas. comparing the two is impossible. they were never meant to be opposing factors. we have NO regrets about moving to KS! every time i look at my mom and dad, hug my nieces, have living room chats with my siblings, or soak up every moment with our dear, dear, friends i don't flinch about our decision to move here.

it's just sometimes the all too familiar longing for what was comes sneaking up on me and it hurts. really hurts. so much of what was still lingers in our hearts. no doubt the verse from esther rings truer than ever, "for such a time as this!" but as we fondly think back on our time in VA we now say, "for such a time as what once was!"

and what an incredibly, unforgettable time it was!

VA, we miss you. some kind of bad!

~s

Life Is A Riverboat...

for the last few days i have caught myself stopping and grabbing the life being lived out in front of me and tucking it away in the my heart. i told my sweet Mama-in-law just the other day what a fantastic and FUN season of life this is right now with our kids. everyone seems, *sigh* so old. i stand at the kitchen sink and listen to the four of them chatter away over lunch. from my lazy, lounging, life guard chair i can peer over my juicy novel and watch them splash themselves silly in the pool for hours. and every night without fail i can walk into their rooms while they are passed out from the summer sun and gently kiss all over their super grown up faces. i am not sure what has me super reflective and emotional these days, (no zach i am NOT pregnant!) i guess more than ever i realize how quickly these days, months, and years are slipping through my fingers.

i desperately desire, and am full out determined to ENJOY my kids. not just in a long suffering, sticking it out kind of way (although, those days DO happen) but i want to look back at this season without regret knowing i have poured my very being into my kids.

at the top of my "what i want for my kids" list is..
i want them to appreciate words. whether it's reading them, writing them, expressing themselves verbally with them, or a super great ability to listen to someone else's words and value them. this year in particular i have seen katie's love for words take flight to a whole other level. the girl reads like mad... but recently she has been writing, and obviously coming from a heart that LOVES to write i just eat up everything the girl produces. this week i found this wonderfully, original quote with an added picture, by none other than katie.

 

for those who can't read it, it says, "life is a riverboat, don't tip it because you don't get another riverboat."

first of all, what i just adore about this quote is the fact that at 8 years old katie knows that life is a gift. we are guaranteed nothing! the promise of another day here on earth is not a luxury we own. we appreciate that b/c from the beginning of our parenthood journey mark and i knew we had no desire to down play the suffering and realities of this life. we talk openly and honestly about illnesses, death, miscarriages, abortion, murder, cancer, alzheimer's, kidnapping, divorce,  etc..etc.. some might think that's cruel and unkind, but we think it's just another step in preparing our kids for real life, with real broken people, with real hurt, real circumstances that should cause us to respond with real love.

second of all, i love that katie understands personal responsibility and the seriousness and finality of the decisions we make and the consequences we receive. not because we are victims, or we've been overlooked, or our luck ran out, simply she understands, "to every action there is always an equal and

opposite reaction" (newton's third law of motion...*snort, snort, an engineers wife*).

we live in a generation of people who are tipping their riverboats and blaming everyone but themselves. we live in a generation of people covering up the holes in their boats that are full of hurt, heart ache, depression, and hopelessness, and plugging it with anything and everything they think will stop the drainage of sadness. we live in a generation of people who don't even realize they are on a riverboat! ;)

people you have bee given ONE riverboat... stop tipping it and get to paddling!!
~s

a bubble bath on steroids...

on a lighter note.
a little less serious.
a little less controversial.
just pure summer and sunshine.

we took a carriage ride on the plaza thursday night. it was in honor of my darling niece, megan's, 6th birthday (and katie's super delayed 8th birthday celebration) WAY FUN!

a  miracle occurred when lucy was able to put her hair in pig tails after 5 years of anticipation. for those who have journeyed with us along the hair growing process you KNOW this was H.U.G.E. for her. look at that
smile.

we are enjoying our ginormous bath tub before we part ways. last night the kids had a bubble bath on steroids.

tomorrow will mark 13 years since this incredible man took me on our first date and stole my heart forever... i mean is he totally sexy or what?

we hope you have a fantastic week!
~s

the post in which i talk about the nude statue...

if you live in kansas city you have probably already heard about the controversy regarding the statue at the overland park arboretum. surprise, surprise, i have something to say about this issue :)

here is my beef with the outrage.

if we are going to use our energy to try and have the statue removed because it's inappropriate, pornographic, outrageous, harmful, distasteful, etc..etc.. then may i suggest a few other petitions we get all pumped up about also? why aren't we picketing over at the oak park mall where half dressed women plague you at every turn. if we think simply b/c their private areas are covered with smaller pieces of clothe then a kleenex, makes it "ok" ...we are sorely mistaken.  why not a petition to remove those photos, why no outrage there?

moving on. why aren't we standing outside of every gas station that has pornographic magazines all over their shelves? why no outrage regarding these issues?

why aren't we all writing our television providers and asking them to remove movie trailers with demeaning and degrading scenes of women scattered every where we look. if we are that passionate about inappropriate things we would all do well to never watch another NFL football game again. where women are used over and over again to tickle the eyes of men through cheerleaders and commercials.

why aren't we at every pool demanding that women of all ages cover up their flirtatious buns and busting breasts?

you see, my beef is the inconsistency. the AFA or some other "christian" organization picks ONE thing to get all jazzed about. we spend hours spreading the word... for what? to prove our "point". that we are a annoying and inconsistent force to reckoned with?

don't hear what i am not saying, i DO think the statue is inappropriate, but i also think LOTS of things in this city, in this state, in this nation, and in this world are inappropriate. and forgive me if i don't sign petitions that come my way regarding these things. i will not throw pearls to pigs. why in the world would we be shocked that people who don't think like we do or agree with what we believe, would think twice about placing this statue? seems to me like a bad case of false expectations.

is it our job as christians to right every wrong? to rid our world of every inappropriate thing? GOOD LUCK, if it is. i don't think that is what our calling is. rather, i am determined to spend my precious time in this life purposely and directly teaching my children how to combat these things. insisting they learn how to respond to a culture full of men and women who are obsessed and oppressed by pornography. where EVERYTHING is overly sexual. is removing the naked statue at the arboretum going to ensure my children never see another naked thing.... NO WAY! so, why not spend the time preparing them for battle. filling their minds with scripture and prayer. why aren't our churches using this outrage to demand that their leaders and teachers aggressively and unashamedly address these areas that have been taboo for so long?  we are foolish to think we are going to some how convince a sick and needy world that they need Jesus by signing petitions and removing a nude statue.

my fear is the statue is removed and the conversation ends. somehow we think we have "won" one for the kingdom. we have won nothing until fathers persistently and persuasively teach their sons to protect their eyes and hearts from lust that lurks around EVERY corner. instead of a one stop shop when it comes to these intimate issues, it's a life long conversation. when mothers and daughters openly and consistently talk about guarding our bodies, our hearts, and our minds. together standing up as an army of men and women and realizing that our battle ground is not the overland park arboretum. the battle ground is the hearts and minds of each and every person on this planet who claims to love Jesus. our battle plan shouldn't be petitions. our battle plan should be a full out ground war on protecting our thought life, our heart life, the words we say, the materials we read, the shows we watch, the music we listen to, the conversation we participate in. then and only then will we be able to claim any type of victory. 

if you are upset about the statue, i get it. but don't stop there. get passionate about things inappropriate all across the boards. get pumped up and jazzed about talking to and arming your kids, your spouse, your friends, your family about struggles they will encounter until the day the die.

nude statue or no nude statue... the war will still go on!

~s