It has been awhile since I have shared a family update with you all, so I thought it was high time. Spring has been gradually peaking through the clouds here in the Northwest. We have had a few days of glorious sunshine which is a blessing after months of indoor cold rain weather. Spring brings beautiful colors and allergies all in one. The springtime has included celebrating my son Titus’ third birthday, hosting a baptism at our home in our backyard hot tub, hosting Easter dinner with family and friends, celebrating Lent and Easter in our home with passover and other fun readings and activities, starting some flower and veggie gardening in our backyard, spring walks, and a weekend getaway to the Oregon Coast to rest, walk on the beach, play games, and simply be together as a family.
We are in the final stages of launching my husband’s new business, but I believe the end is in sight. We can finally tell you all what he has been working on! The business is called Bourbon and the mission is to provide mobile websites for small businesses – restaurants, retail stores, etc. Aaron has set up the launch page for the business, which you can view here. We are super excited and praying fervently that it would take off over the next few weeks. Our prayer is that it would be able to financially support us and give our family more freedom to start serving more actively in our church and missions. It has been an intense 4+ month period as he has been working days and most nights. It has certainly been taking its tole on our family, but by God’s grace I am holding on and trying to enjoy the ride.
We have been prioritizing our family and keeping our schedule pretty free and simple. My blogging has been minimal as you might have noticed. 
I have felt bad for all the times I have had to say “no” to various invitations, but I know it is paying off in the long run.
During this transition, I have really been seeing the value of just being a helper to my hubby. As wives we play such an important role in keeping our men going strong. We can tear them down through discouraging words, or we can help them flourish and succeed through loving support and cheering them on in our words and actions. Guys seem to be pretty simple. They need us to believe in them. I have been amazed at how just a simple text message or email expressing my love or telling him how proud I am of him sometime during the day can make a world of difference on his spirits. It’s easy to forget about our men while taking care of the little ones around us…but honestly, when we plant those seeds of expressing love and admiration, our love will only grow and flourish all the more. Write him a note, make a love message board that you can update regularly, plant post it love notes in his car, on his desk, or wherever he visits frequently. Let him know you are behind him…and you might just be surprised at the results. Care to join me in striving to just write or speak one little message each day to encourage our men?
Enjoying our first passover meal
My sister, Christa, and her fiancé Dan
My younger sister got engaged in early February so we are in the preparation process for a wedding in mid-June. I’m so excited! We are all involved in the wedding, so I have been searching high and low finding appropriate attire for all of us. In my spare time, I’m planning a shower and will also be hosting the rehearsal dinner. It has been a joy doing some spring cleaning here and passing on some household items to help my sister get started well.
Eden girl has an awesome army crawl mastered and is cruising around all over the place at 9 months of age now. Karis is starting Kindergarten work, and my Titus man is my sweet helper watching out for his sisters (amidst some challenges with his potty training 
). They all keep busy taking walks with Daddy, unloading the dishwasher, reading lots of books, playing dress up, and romping around outside as sunny days start peeking through the clouds. We are looking forward to a full summer with my Karis girl turning 5 this week (which we are celebrating with a small mommy/daughter tea party), Aaron and I celebrating our 6th anniversary this month (which will include a day outing to the Columbia Gorge – yah!), my sister’s wedding, summer outreach projects in our community, and a family vacation to the beach! Praise the Lord. He is good.
Springtime Reading
What have I been reading lately?
Books on my nightstand over the last few months have included: Jane Eyre, The Scarlet Letter, and Madam Bovary (which I am currently reading) as I continue in my goal of reading more classics to further my own personal education (thanks to inspiration from The Well Educated Mind). I have also been inspired to more intentional generous living through the life and testimony of Katie Davis in her book, Kisses From Katie and her adventures in her early twenties adopting and caring for children in Uganda. I want to be active in the care of orphans and children around the world. I want to be able to live a radical life of generosity in all that I do. Such an inspiring story!
I also have been reading off and on Comforts From the Cross and Overcoming Fear, Worry and Anxiety, which are both by one of my favorite authors, Elyse Fitzpatrick. She has such a powerful way of turning my heart and mind back to the truths of the gospel. Highly recommend her books! Aaron and I are reading The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller and this book is by far the best marriage book we have ever read. It is so rich, meaty, thought-provoking, and challenging us in the truth of the beauty of God’s design for marriage.
The Thankfulness List continues…
I am continually working on my thankfulness list…one by one God is continuing to draw my eyes to focus on the beauty around me. I forget about it here and there, but each time I come back to it, my soul is encouraged and lifted up to rejoice in the goodness of the awesome God that I serve. Here is a sneak peak at some of my recent blessings…
1151. The delicious meals concocted from leftover ham
1156. The delight of bare feet on sunny days
1158. The warmth of socks on freezing toes
1162. Diapers drying in the sun
1164. Overflowing laundry baskets displaying we are well clothed
1165. The blessing of one stop shopping at consignment sales to cloth all the kids for the next season
1167. Baby girl sleeping in my arms
1169. Daddy cuddled up with kiddos reading the Bible
1170. My daughter’s delight in reading The Boxcar Children together
1172. Tickling fest with little underarms, feet, and bellies
1176. A good classic movie to enjoy with the kids
1178. Creating a garden space for my little ones
1180. Spring robin birds created from sweet foot prints
1186. The simple joys of making new friends through hospitality
1188. Buttoning up three little jackets
Thank you so much for all your continual support of this blog! I want to give a hearty thanks to our faithful sponsors – Paula’s Breads, Sweet Bottoms Babys Boutique, The Fertility Flower, Savvy Teas and Herbs, and the Willow Store. These companies have supported us for multiple months at a time and it has been such a blessing working with these awesome people! Check them out!
May the Lord richly bless you all!