treasure in heaven

May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other--- each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other.  Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  -- Romans 15.5, NLT

Today, this verse made me feel satisfied that ALL of us ~ souls on earth and those already in heaven, together with the heavenly host, lift one voice praising the only Worthy One! 

Saturday night I had a dream about my friend Angel who died nearly 12 years ago.  The dream itself was kind of unexplainable, as dreams can be, but I awoke with the overwhelming feeling that I would do ANYTHING to see my friend again.  The way human life goes, all feelings left on their own weaken with time.  Memories become blurred, and the sharp pain of losing a loved one thankfully fades.  However, this dream dramatically and unexpectedly propelled me to feel that same intsense urge to be with Angel that I felt for most of 1999.  That was the year I met him, and that was the year he died.  I had to cry some after waking up, just to let that feeling go somewhere.  I don't remember ever crying in the morning before now.  It was good.  God lovingly reminds me that I have more than one reason to joyfully anticipate heaven!

Gone but not forgotten ~

Jace is 3!

We were exuberant to celebrate Jaci's 3rd Birthday last week! Adrian and I have said many times that if we had a choice, we would keep a 2 year old version of Jaci around the house permanently! Age two has been her cutest, funniest, sweetest age yet. So for the first time ever, I felt the feeling of wishing my child were not growing older.

But now I can see, at three, Jaci is still full of fun and not going to stop filling us with joy each day! She is the most "unique" child we have, with a personality that is downright impossible to pinpoint. She is both extroverted (loves to go places, be around people), and shy (it has been 1 whole year of having her cry, or run away anytime a group sings, following the trauma of having "happy birthday" sung to her last year). She is both sweet and sassy. She is both a clan member (feels most secure when our family is all together) and independent (will wander more easily than her sisters). She is a very quiet child, with few demands, but also can be heard screaming the loudest of anybody if she deems the situation appropriate. She is both bold and sensitive. She repeats herself often, always beginning with "Hey Mommy..." which means she has sometimes been lost in the shuffle as the 3rd child, and I need to listen better. She is daring at the swimming pool, but wants to be held close ("uppie") in new situations. She stands up for herself with her sisters and parents in a way that proves she has no idea how small she is. She is small. We have no idea how her huge personality can fit inside her tiny little frame. She is complicated to discipline, because she can be very willful, but also runs and hides if she is told she "no". While hiding behind a closed door, she will often announce, "I need some quiet time". She likes to be spoken to gently, she follows in her sisters' footsteps very closely, and she keeps us all laughing.

Saturday night, I let her play with the flashlight in the dark for a minute before sleep. When I told her it was time to turn it off, she was glad to use her little fingers to control the switch. Once the flashlight was off, she complained about the dark. I reminded her that she could talk to me or talk to God until she fell asleep. She immediately launched into prayer, "Lord, please help me turn this light on!" She and I laughed and laughed, and then she fell asleep quickly.

Wow, what an amazing little girl our Jaci Claire is! I cannot imagine what plans the Lord has for her unique personality and talents yet, but it really doesn't matter to me. Now, and when she's all grown up, she will be my daughter, and for that, I'm so very blessed!

This year, Jaci requested a "black cake with black frosting and horses on top". So this is what we came up with ~ a chocolate sheet cake with the girls' figurines galloping across. Like my sister-in-law often says, the third birthday is the first a child is really able to anticipate, understand, and enjoy. Jaci was so very patient waiting to celebrate her birthday (18 days after watching Tessa's), and she shined like a little jewel when the spotlight was on her!

To help celebrate, we had Uncle Darryl, Gramma Mary, Logan and Elissa, Coy & Bentley on hand!

Since Uncle Darryl's birthday was 3 days later, we gave him a candle to blow out as well!

FARKLE!PRESENTS!

Little mr. casual, not trying to steal the show or anything...

Tessa Turned Five!

Here's a short pictorial journey of Tessa's 5th birthday. Despite being a super busy day, we had a wonderful celebration with her! We are so very blessed to have this precious child. Not only is she beautiful, she has a beautiful heart as well. She is generous with her sisters, and ultra- affectionate to her brother. She is happiest when helping mommy with cooking, cleaning, or laundry. She prefers to wear dresses every single day, and can often be found dancing ballet-style around the house, her long blonde curls following her twirls. She is horse crazy, often asking when it is that we can have one of our own ("next week, mom?"). She is at the stage of saying funny things that crack us all up, and she loves to explain why God made things the way he did.

Happy Birthday to a true Princess!The gifts just waiting to be torn apart...

My first sewing machine!

A stallion figurine from Ella
Drawing by an original artist!
Clothes and headbands! (All 3 girls are planning to use these!)

A floral arrangement sent by G.G'ma A ~ a watering can filled with flowers, complete with a purse filled with chocolate kisses and a cuddly teddy bear!
Off on a birthday date with Dad and Mom. Tessa wanted to do the same thing as Ella did in February, so we headed to Fairmont to swim and ride the 25 cent horse. Unfortunately the swimming was cut short as Tessa had some intense fears about sharks being in the water. Hope that fear is short lived, and that it is soon left to only be a funny memory...

Giddy-Up Cowgirl!

The Best 10 Years!

This year, Adrian and I are celebrating 10 years! May 14, 2001 was the day we met. We both had extended family in Skagway, Alaska, and had secured summer jobs there. I wanted to drive my brand new yellow XTerra to AK, rather than fly. So our family members, knowing we had an identical destination, suggested that we could make the drive up north together.

We emailed and IM'd a few times, and agreed to begin the journey in Oregon. We met at Adrian's sisters' place in Boring, OR on the day that we embarked on this 2,000 mile road trip ~ complete strangers, other than knowing some of one anothers' family. Here we are on the day we met

(Why was this picture taken? None of us are quite sure, but I am so very thankful to have it now!)

...and again 10 years later, striking a similar pose!

On that day in 2001, niether of us had any idea, hope or desire that our acquaintance would turn into a happy marraige. But now we can say with 100% honesty, these have been the very best 10 years of our lives!

Mother's Day!

For Mother's Day 2011, my favorite gifts are these kids ~
they are so very precious, adorable, entertaining and lovable!

I actually got my present from them about 10 days ago; Adrian brought it home from a road trip, and knew I could begin using it right away!

Even though I researched it and picked it out, they wrapped it up just for fun:

And I just love my new little vacuum! I recommend it to absolutely anyone looking for a lightweight tool for bare floors. I used to complain about the need to sweep our kitchen floor about 5 x per day. Now we are all discussing WHO gets to use the new vacuum! I love that I can do it one-handed (while holding a child), and that the kids can do it too since they were never any help with sweeping! :) There's a product description & good video here !

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms! May your children rise to call you blessed (Proverbs 31)!

Risen Christ Celebration

Easter was a good excuse for baking sugar cookies with the new Wheat Montana recipe I found:

My "helpers" get quite creative at times ~

In the week leading up to Easter, we found many fun ways to celebrate our Risen King! I wanted our remembrance of the cross and resurrection to be "special" to me this year, so sought out ways to make it be. And let me tell you, God is good, and when you ask, you receive! I had a few ideas out of a Focus on the Family magazine, and all these little projects centered around talking about the cross, the tomb, our sins, betrayal, the atonement for our sins, the resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ our Lord, our Hope, our All ~

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." --Galatians 2.20

They also did an egg decorating project with Daddy:

Adrian, Ella and I also attended a play about the last days of Jesus' life. It brought tears to my eyes many times, imagining this man loving me that much. His personal message to me this year? Even though everything seemed to be spinning out of control when Jesus was beaten and killed on the cross, God was still in control. His disciples and best friends had scattered; the Romans were getting their way; the sky went dark; there was an earthquake, Jesus was buried. But the resurrection proved that there were no surprises for God, and that he won in the end. Death has no sting; the grave has no victory. That's true in my life too. When I start to believe that God is distant or not intimately involved in my life, I'm wrong. He is in control, and ALL THINGS are working together for good!

Saturday afternoon I spotted these dresses and found I could buy one in each of the girls' sizes ~ so now they have cute matching dresses for any warm weather we come across this year!

With Friends on Resurrection Day! Imagine the excitement as the believers ran around shouting the news: He is Alive! He is Risen! He Lives!

With more good friends ~

Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." --Isaiah 1.18

More Travel

After our week in Portland, we were home for 2 weeks. Then we packed up again to tag along with Adrian during a 2 week business trip to Kalispell!

Jaci doing some yoga at the hotel in Kalispell

Aaron meeting Jeana's dog before we went out to dinner!

Almost every night of a stay in Kalispell, we take the children swimming. Unfortunately the pool water is really cold, so we have to jump back & forth from the pool to the hot tub. The kids have really improved with all the practice & instruction from Daddy! Ella and Tessa can swim independently; Jaci still jumps in at her leisure, and trusts someone to catch her; Aaron prefers the hot tub!

We got to have one night with our friends the Harris' -- we met sweet Melita for the first time, Alison served an amazing meal, and we all had fun. In fact, there was great disappointment and tears when it was time to go, so next time hopefully we can get together on a summer vacation day!

The weekend in between our 2 weeks in Kalispell, we drove to Plains to hang out with our good friends, the Grants. We really, really miss having them in Anaconda, but are happy for them in their new spot. We got to explore their property, home and community. Here, the girls are discovering the season's first wildflowers!

Any time with Taylor is a good time!

We love Taylor! And her dog, Buddy!

You wouldn't believe that morning we woke up to snow covering all the hills. By the afternoon, it was sunny again!

Oops, out of order. On our way to Kalispell, we stayed two nights with Logan & Elissa's! They have some miniature horse neighbors, which were a great delight to our girls. We continue to hear every day that they would like one of their own!

trying to get all the kids in one frame ~ Elissa has better photos here!

We also stayed one night at Gramma Mary's on our way up: