Back in Iowa!

We're back from the wedding. And there is no shortage of wedding pictures.

You can check out my pictures here.

Amy's pictures here.

And the chapel has pictures up too. (Along with the wedding video).

It was fun playing photographer. Though I imagine it's easier to play photographer when you are not also personal attendant, moh, baby sitter, make up artist, etc, etc. ;)

We had a great week. R had a great birthday. And soon I'm sure I'll have tons of pictures posted from it all. For now, we're recovering on the couch. Happy Weekend!

Happy Birthday, R!!

My best friend turns 32 today. I remember giving him such a hard time at 27 because he was so 'old.' I just don't even have anything to say about 32! ;)

We'll celebrate the big 3-2 in Vegas this year. What a great birthday present I'm giving him! ;)

Happy Birthday, R. Thanks for everything you do for us. I love you!

Ugly.

So this week we'll be on an airplane with a 3 year old. It's his very first flight ever. (By the time you read this, we'll have already had the big day.) I think he will probably be excited and very well behaved.

However.... I could be wrong.

So just in case... I'm packing some special things just for him in my carry on. (Yes, I know he's not my child but everyone's favorite aunt has goodies in their bag for them.)

1.) The Stinky Cheese Man and other fairly stupid tales.

Maddox loves this one. It's fairly long to read and he'll sit through the entire book again and again. And again. It's a special book that he only gets to read at Aunt H's house since he doesn't have it at home. Make that Aunt H's house and the airplane.

2.) Crayons and paper.

3.) A special way to store the crayons and paper.

Enter: Ugly. Mr. Ugly. I've been wanting to make an Ugly doll for quite sometime. I have plans to make an Ugly Princess as my niece just turned 5 and she may need a pillow to start storing lost teeth in. But in the meantime, a Mr. Ugly can make a great crayon/paper holder for a 3 year old boy.

Mr. Ugly is really easy and really cheap.

Start with a pile of scraps and crafting junk that have been laying around waiting for an organized home. Ahem.

Try not to get distracted by the other 10 things on the crafting to do list (ie. making wedding coordinated hair flowers).

Scrap together some pieces of fabric into the shape of rectangles. Add eyes, nose, and a mouth to the front. Add a pocket to the back. Take four leftover scraps from camera strap covers and stuff them with cotton.
Stitch the arms and legs along the side (or tops and bottoms). Stitch Xs across the top that will serve as hair and will be a game in themselves. (Stay tuned).
Lay the front along the back, right sides together. Stitch along the sides and top. Turn right side out. Stuff the bottom with stuffing. Stitch the bottom closed with a really ugly zig-zag stitch that looks like a scar (You'll be able to make up a great story about this scar on the butt later. Three year olds named Maddox love fighting stories and the word butt.)
See that lower left corner that somewhat looks like it doesn't belong? It's actually a letter D. If you look carefully, you can find all the letters in Maddox's name. It's a game. That's where the Xs as hair come in. (If you are stuck on finding the O, it's the eyes, back button, or polka dots. Any will be counted correct if you are 3 years old.)
Cut up some scrap paper so it fits the pocket. Tie it together with ribbon.
It's actually a double pocket- paper in the inside pocket, crayons on the outside pocket that buttons closed.
Ta da. Mr. Ugly is really ugly and ready for his first airplane ride.
1. Mr. Ugly is a great story tool (scars on butt).

2. Mr. Ugly supplies crayons/paper (that'll be entertainment for about 4 minutes).

3. Mr. Ugly provides neck support on the plane.

4. Mr. Ugly is hiding all the letters to Maddox's name and Maddox has to find them.

Then we'll read Stinky Cheese Man again.

Happy summer traveling!

This Life

This life. This life of excitement. Of good friends. Fun. Family. Abundant blessings.

This life is better than I deserve.

Today is a good day.

Orchestra

No. Not that orchestra. This orchestra. The Hickstionary Orchestra.

The one that's been pretty fun. Pretty crazy. Pretty exciting. Pretty unexpected. Sometimes pretty traumatic. At times pretty devastating. But always pretty darn good.

But some of those pretty traumatic times have taken their toll. We were talking about those times last week. And as we were, a trusted mentor asked me if I thought God orchestrated that [one particular] incident. The question caught me off guard but it's one I've heard before.

"Does God make bad things happen to His people?"

In a short, my answer is no. No, God doesn't do bad things. God is good all the time and all the time God is good.

But God is in control.

And sometimes He's opening doors for me and I do everything I can to ignore them. I run the other way. I close my eyes to them. I stay in my comfort zone. I ignore Him.

God knows I'm a slow learner. And He's good at rocking my comfort zone and making it less... well, comfortable. He's shut some doors on me and made it pretty clear as to where I'm not supposed to be. He's opened some doors to some other options. A few, actually. And He tells me it's okay. It's okay to trust in Him.

Just trust.

And let Him orchestrate.

Because all of the orchestra. The fun. The crazy. The exciting. The unexpected. The traumatic. The devastating. The good. It all works together for the good of His kingdom. And He's definitely leading it.

And it is good.

Pretty darn good, indeed.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose." -Romans 8:28

calendars

How does your calendar look? Is it jam packed with place after place that you need to run to?

Last week we went to our friends' church to hear the guest pastor. Between all the little boys around us (one singing Jingle Bells. ahem.), I was able to catch some of the message (but oh how I love those little boys!).

"It's easy to tell what your priorities are by looking at your checkbook and your calendar."

Ouch.

I'm not sure God would be impressed with the calendar at our house this summer.....

Found!

The lost pictures from Mo's party. :)

I told you about the amazing cake she and Maddox decorated.

And what a great photographer she is.

But I forgot to tell you how incredibly cute she is.

Especially when she had several false alarms and attempted to blow the candles out on her cake sooo many times during that long 'Happy Birthday' song. She'd catch herself and stop herself from doing it each time and was a little shy about it. But oh so happy when she finally got to blow them out at the (almost) end of the song. :)

I love this little girl soooo much.