July 4th | Celebrating our Freedom

July 4th...the day America celebrates her freedom.  I am so thankful for those who serve our country, and for the freedoms we have, but that isn't really what this post is about.  I could totally just talk about the pictures below, and paint a perfect, fun-filled day for you.  You would all appreciate it and go on with your days.  But, that wouldn't be the whole story.  I believe God wants us to share our stories, because it's then that you can truly see HIS glory, HIS rescue, and the freedom that a life with HIM gives us.

You see, July 4th in our house started like most days, Tom worked, the boys and I had breakfast, I tested out a new lens on my favorite subjects, and then I had work to do.  The boys played well for a bit, but then there was the need for movie time.  And then the lies began to bombard me, and I forgot God's truth, and I started to believe them.  Believe that I was stealing July 4th from my kids, believe that since we didn't do parades, and events and, and, and. That somehow we weren't a family and our kids weren't getting to be kids.  I believed that because I have been in a rough spot, and have to take supplements everyday, to regulate how my body and mind work that I am sick, and somehow a burden to my family.  I suddenly forgot about vacations we have taken and we will take, I forgot about the days I spend completely devoted to them, the dinners we share, the words we read together, I forgot the things that we do as a family...this all happened before lunch!

I let the enemy in and he attempted to steal my joy and my day.  But thankfully I have a husband, who cares, who listens, and who is faithful in pointing out to me when I am listening to lies.  Telling me to read God's words to me, and to remember HIS truths.  And as much as I don't like it at the time, pointing out when the words I am speaking contain ABSOLUTELY NO TRUTH in them.  

I sat on my bed and cried, and prayed.  I wanted to hole up in my room and be by myself in my misery.  But thankfully that whisper, soft and steady from a GOD who loves me too much to let me sit in that place said, "Don't waste this day, see what I can do." So I grabbed my camera, and headed with my boys to our neighbors pool.  And slowly it happened...I could feel the freedom within, the freedom to be who I am, who God has made me.  I could feel Him lifting my eyes to see HIS goodness to see the beauty in our life, the blessings I have before me. And I captured that with my lens, with my eyes, with my heart.

So yes today was about freedom, the freedom we enjoy because of the country we were born in or now live.  But for me and my family today was a reminder of a different freedom.  The freedom we have in Christ, the freedom to be exactly where HE has us, to understand that HIS works are MARVELOUS, that we are FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made. In Christ we are free from our sin, free from this world, and free to live and love, fully as God intends.  I am so thankful for this journey HE has me on, for the doors HE has opened and the ones HE has closed.

I encourage you to remember the words of Jesus in John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Now I invite as you look at the pictures below, to see them for what they are...a reminder of God's love, His promises, His grace and mercy, the freedom found with Him, but most of all His GLORY.

These are the lens testing shots:-)  Did you know you should ALWAYS test the sharpness of your lenses, it's true, sometimes you get a lemon, and WHAT.A.BUMMER to find it out with a client, or on a super special day!

These show you the differences in the boys personalities, they look a lot a like but they are SOOO different.  Even though Daniel is our more volatile one, he is generally the sweetest kid you will know, sensitive in nature, but can be SUPER grumpy too!

 Holden on the other hand is FULL of personality but generally even tempered agreeable, and calm...until you point the camera at him:-)

Their daddy, strong and steady, lover of a nap:-)

This, this warms my heart...some days it is constant fighting, bickering, and I spend my entire day as referee, and telling them to separate!  BUT then these moments come, and they work side by side, loving, and patient...and I try to imprint these moments on my heart, so I can remember when the days are long.

Water, the elixir of life, the washer of dirt, the symbol we use of cleansing our sins away.  Somedays it washes away the fighting, the depression, and fills up the empty with joy, laughter and fun!

Daniel suddenly remembered he could swim!  Now he is diving for darts, and we can't get him out of the water, even when his lips are blue!

This kid is a fish! The first one to jump in and the last one to get out.  He swims, dives, jumps, and today he encouraged his brother like I have never seen.  Super positive, helping him place the rings...encouraging him each time, such a sweet moment!

Synchronized jumping:-)

After swimming we had family jumping time on our neighbors trampoline (they were out of town, we had the run of the place...)  I am not sure I have laughed that hard, or acted like such a kid in a LONG time!  It was definitely medicine for my soul, and I am SO grateful for those moments!

Holden asked for fireworks, we realized we have NEVER taken the kids to show, then we looked up the info, and we knew why.  The show doesn't start until 9:40PM....um...thats 2hrs and 10 minutes past their bedtime!  SO with all the swimming and jumping, we didn't have dinner until 7:30, and by the time we were done and ready to leave it was 8:45! So we headed downtown, got some frozen yogurt and started to look for a place to view the fireworks...as we drove by the high school we saw a big crowd of people so we figured they must know what they were doing and parked and waited on the bleachers...

For 30 minutes before they started...the longest 30 minutes of our lives!  Holden was simply talking to keep himself awake, I am sure of it as he didn't even take a breath for the entire 30 minutes, peppering us with questions and observations, I wonder where he gets that???:-)  Daniel on the other hand was just moving constantly so he wouldn't fall asleep...

When the fireworks started we could hear them but not see them!  Everyone in the bleachers jumped up to find a better view! Luckily it could be seen within just a few steps...it was not the greatest view but the kids didn't care.  We watched and Holden kept saying, "This is awesome!  Thank you so much for bringing me!" While Daniel kept making exploding sounds with the fireworks, and declared, "I like the lights, but not the boom" :-)

Next year I will take my tripod and hopefully catch some cool shots, this year, this was the most interesting one I caught.

To God be the glory for saving this awesome, fun-filled day of freedom!

Holden the Brave

Over the last week, Holden had to have 3 baby teeth pulled.  He was amazingly brave.  You love your kids, and you know they are amazing, but sometimes, they still make you say, "wow, he is really amazing, and brave." Holden's heart is so kind, but mostly it is so aware of God's presence and His power.

When we got to the dentist, he admitted he was nervous and a bit anxious, so in the car we prayed before we went out.  We asked for peace, comfort, and God's provision.  Instantly Holden's demeanor changed, I mean he was still "nervous talking", you know the constant no breath uttering of anything and everything, but he was noticeably calmer.

In the office the staff all commented on how calm and happy he was, how he was always smiling and ready.  How he didn't seem nervous at all.  He really did great, I had no idea how they got those teeth out, now that I do...Let's just say I hope we are done with teeth pulling. 

Afterwords he was smiley, and after the first appt, he was ready to go back for the second!  He especially loved all the prizes and attention he got, as well as the movie they let him watch, and the ice cream and smoothies we had after:-)  The second round was a little harder on him, but he did say he was disappointed no more teeth pulled for a while.  The Smile Gallery really knows how to give kids an experience that makes them LOVE the dentist!

It's amazing to me how strong kids are.  I was SO nervous for him I felt sick to my stomach...Oh the difficulties of being a parent.

Date with our oldest:-)

A local theater was having a performance of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe this weekend, so Saturday we took Holden.  He reread the book so it would be fresh and he could compare and contrast the performance with the book:-)  I think he has read them all at least 3 times.

Anyway, we invited Beth and Josh and Makenna to join us.  So we took the little ones to the grands, and then headed out in the rain to dinner. After dinner we headed to the theater, it was SO fun to watch Holden's excitement, to hear him telling Beth who the characters were and what parts were coming up next.  The kids in the performance we extremely talented, and I totally appreciated the "small country theater" feel:-)

Holden thoroughly enjoyed the show and talked on the way home about how the story was different, and why were some of the boy parts played by girls? Why were there more girls in the performance than boys?  He thinks maybe someday he could play Peter! SO fun!

Heard in Our House | 7 year old style.

The boys like to join for parts of cardio P90X, the yoga and kenpo mostly:-)

I had some time just me and Holden in the car today, he said a couple things that made me smile:

He had received/picked a prize for homework today, and had chosen an art thing.

H says: "Ages 4 to 104"

Me: "That's funny"

H: "I guess when I am 105 I won't be able to do this"

When we got to the place of our errand I said, "Come on in we won't be that long"

H: "How many minutes"

Me: "5"

H: "I have learned that sometimes 5 minutes feels like a long time."

Me: "what do you mean?"

H: "well when you are having fun it goes by quick, and when you are not it seems like a LONG time"

:-)  Love that kid!

Happy New Year! Better Late than Never!

I printed and cut these props out for New Year's Eve, but we never got to use them! I have been holding on with them in hopes of using them:-)  Other than not having any shots with me I am quite happy with how they turned out:-)

Love that he can be silly:-)

The Boys:-)

And of course the New Year's KISS:-)

Ice Skating!

When Beth asked if we wanted to go Ice Skating up at Northstar, we knew we did, we knew it would be fun, and we knew it would be good to get away from the "work" that seems never ending at home:-)

It also helps to feel a little more like winter to see some (very little) snow.

We have never taken the boys ice skating so I didn't know what to expect with how the would do or how long they would want to do it.

These kids LOVE being together!  They can't get enough and it's super cute.  MJ likes to "help" me keep the boys in line:-)

We parked...rode the bus to the main area, then got right to getting skates.  It was a long line, but Beth and I got to talk while waiting:-)  It's a bonus to get to chat while in line!  Daniel was sure he didn't want to even try skating, but thankfully we ignored him and got him skates because well he's 4, and changes his mind a lot.

Once we got everyone skates we started the huge task of getting everyone laced up and ready to go.  Beth's technique was quite funny:-)  MJ and I had fun with it!

Once Holden went around a few times he was good to go.  AND he didn't mind falling...all good things when you are learning to ice skate!

This guy had to fuel up first.  He still wasn't sure if he wanted to go, so we hung around and I took pictures:-)

Meanwhile everyone else was skating away.  It's actually A LOT of work skating with kids who have never gone!  Slow steady work, but fun too!

MJ picked it up fast and was off to try different techniques.

There was LOTS of time to chat as we went round and round.

Once Daniel went out, he didn't want to stop, unless of course for a snack!  He never really got the skating part, but he loved being pushed around by us!

There were some falls...

When it was time to go there were tears, everyone was over tired and worn out, they skated for almost 4 hours! They keep asking if we can go again tomorrow:-)

As the end of the day approached and the sun went down, it got REALLY cold for us Californians!

We headed to dinner on the way home, stopping at Fifty Fifty Brewery.  I am not sure if its just getting my appetite and my taste buds back but the food was DELISH!

It was a SUPER fun day with these crazy boys and the Peterson family!  Thanks for the idea Beth!