Author name: hill

they came to visit.part one

if you hung around these parts last year,
you’ll remember when the Ws came to visit us.

and, if you’re fairly new, you’ll probably remember
that Auntie L recently came to visit 
without her munchkins. 

well, all three of them made the trek again this summer
and we could not have been more delighted.
both the boys and girls are so close in age.


Auntie L, 
(as my children refer to her)
was my college roomie.

she spurs me on with her incredible dependence on God. 
she most certainly is a woman of incredible faith,
a woman who’s biggest desire 
is to strive after God’s will for her life.
it’s so inspiring to be around her.

Auntie L is so super talented as she 
owns her own handmade baby goods shop.
the cutest blankets, bibs, burp cloths, and diaper clutches.
check out her fruit


J is six months older than D


and is at least ten inches taller.
(notice D on his tippy toes!)


we made a trip to the 
natural history museum
to check out the dinos.
this photo was when we were on our way in,
explaining the rules to the kiddos.
(and yes, the girls asked that their hair be matching.)


i was there, too!


D and K stood for the camera
while E and J showed us 
their kung-fu moves


we loved the new exhibit 
that just opened a few weeks ago.


i mean, who doesn’t love dinosaur bones 
hanging over their heads?


we saw nearly every inch of that museum,


even the ginormous whale-like dino.


plenty of bear hugs were given


and the microscopes were a big hit.


i think D may want one for his next birthday.


sweet, sweet E absolutely loved the children’s area.


and K was cute, 
even if she was looking 
the wrong way in the telescope.


and this little man?
he was on his best behavior,
as usual.

more to come of their visit… tomorrow!

1356. good, good friends
1357. built-in playmates for my kids
1358. sweet Auntie L who gave me so much of her time
1359. sunday night movie night
1360. tj’s onion rings. 
oh. my. goodness.

for the boys (and girls).

i am
completely and 
totally 
smitten
with 


these bow ties
(or used as hair clips for girlies).

*i have not received anything in return for posting about this cute etsy shop

1351. the weekend
1352. an awesome report from a PT
1353. lunch with my love in the backyard
1354. a fun night out
1355. connecting with a sweet mom 
who completely and totally relates 
to having a kid with SN 
and having two other children

to the beach.

we have been to the beach twice
in the last three days.

how awesome is that?
so awesome.
it is definitely feeling like summer around here.


and little L stuck his feet in the water 
for the first time, post-surgery.


and he loved it
nearly as much as he loves me.


and nearly as much as he loves the camera.


i think it’s one of his favorite new things.
(lovely artistic shot by my sweet friend, L.)


and, the beach trip included a cold dr. p
(no lime though).
more photos from this past week coming soon.

1346. a friend who can’t stop serving
1347. being able to leave the bigs at home, a lot
1348. encouraging words from a doctor 
(i know, not the norm, right?)
1349. watching L work hard
1350. when L smiles before we make eye contact

picture me {im}perfectly.recognizing His blessings

someone sweet that i know
emailed me last week
because it bothers her 
when i talk about my imperfections 
on my blog. 


which is all fine and dandy 
but i know that she doesn’t blog hop.
and she doesn’t see
perfect life after perfect life 
being cultivated and broadcast over the internet. 
when i read those perfect life blogs,
i immediately compare my life to theirs.
and then i feel like my life is lacking.


but do you want to know something?
when i read what Ann has experienced 
in her incredible 1,000 Gifts book
and her response to the life she has been given,
i was moved, 
i was encouraged, 
i was charged 
to find those blessings in my life, too. 
those blessing everywhere around me.
those blessings just perfect for me.
Ann was so relatable 
because she proudly proclaimed her imperfections
and the trials that she has endured in this life.
because the truth is,
we are all imperfect.

for all have sinned 
and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 3:23


my intent is not to be self-deprecating 
but to reveal to all of you lovelies 
that my life is not perfect and neither am i. 
nor do i try to make it perfect
or make it look like it’s perfect
(my husband is really good at 
reminding me about that one). 


B and i had some really 
great, deep conversations 
with some dear friends over the weekend 
(which was a blessing in itself 
because there were five children, 
five and under demanding our attention).

one thing that we talked about was
recognizing God’s blessings in our lives. 


sometimes it’s easy for me 
to look at my life and see 
trial 
after trial 
after trial 
instead of 
blessing 
after blessing 
after blessing.

but just recently, 
i have started to clearly see 
the measureless blessings 
that have been poured upon us.
and i am choosing to recognize them as
pure gifts from Jesus.

i am so undeserving of any of these gifts
but God has redeemed my life
from what it used to be.
as one of my favorite verses says:
I will repay you 
for the years 
the locusts have eaten
Joel 2:25


i will not let satan steal God’s joy.
steal His perfect gifts.
i will only give credit to the Lord.

what would my life be like?
what would my walk be like?
if i recognized every gift as a blessing.
gifts only from God.

If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, 

Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
Psalm 130:3-4


and holy moly,
did you check out 
how many lovely ladies linked up last week?
it’s blowing my mind.
you really ought to visit each and every blog
of those brave women who linked up.


it was so hard to pick just one to feature 
but here it is:
Kara’s blog

really touched a nerve with me. 
i, too have been humbled by the love of my children
when i have been oh-so undeserving of it. 


just like the love of my Savior.

picture me {im}perfectly
is a weekly project to reveal that we don’t have it all together.

i will post a 
picture me {im}perfectly
blog post every wednesday 
where you will be able to link up to your blog
revealing that:

you are not picture perfect,
your kids are not picture perfect,
your house is not picture perfect,
your crafts are not always picture perfect,

let’s 
encourage, 
inspire and 
remind 
other women 
that none of us have it all together.  

add my button to your blog post
and link up to your direct posting
and feel encouraged. 

1341. berry shortcake
1342. fresh pineapple
1343. ice cream in a cone
1344. rich conversations
1345. hearing about where God is working in people’s lives

not one but three.

well, what we thought was just 


turns out to have been 


three breakthrough seizures. 


L’s recent neuro appointment revealed this new news. 
but, the seizures seem to be under control
yet again, through L’s blessed medication.
(we do know that they were always under God’s control.)


so for that, we are thankful.
and we 
totally and completely 
recognize that as a gift from the Lord.
a wonderfully, 
huge, 
peace-bringing 
blessing.
from the Lord.


over the weekend, 
B and i decided to take the kids to the beach.


nine minutes after the decision was made,
we were all loaded up in the car.



i think that breaks 
any and all records
that we’ve ever held before.


but now that B knows we can hustle like that,
we should 
never, ever
leave late for church.


L really enjoyed moving sand from
over here to over there.
and back again.


he told me how he felt about it
the entire time
(a super new thing for L). 
and he has a delicious little voice.


as you can see, his foot is nearly healed.
he didn’t even have to wear
those dreaded socks 
to be in the sand!
what a lucky duck.


i had a great time not getting in the water
but searching for sweet little sea shells 
while L talked to me. 


and these three ocean-lovers
were doused in the salty water
the entire time. 

for your Father 
knows what you need 
before you ask him.
Matthew 6:8

1336. late night visits from Aunt WW
1337. beach days
1338. L’s fussiness remedied
1339. clean (albeit unfolded) laundry
1340. that He knows

summery summer.

with wilder than wild weekdays surrounding us,
finally,
we are enjoying our summer.
and i mean really, really enjoying our summer.


this weekend was so much fun. 
(side note: 
doesn’t L look simply smashing in these old/new shoes? 
they used to be D’s.)


it was filled to the gills with family time.
and B even brought home a 
box
of oranges.


yum.
yum.
yum.


1331. really enjoying summer
1332. being shielded by the sun
1333. bbq dinners
1334. friends visiting
1335. finishing books

punch of color.

i received something new
from this lovely lady. 


and i can’t stop wearing it.

isn’t is just so lovely?
so simple and perfect with that little punch of color.
one of my favorite colors.

she got it from this beautiful etsy shop
and it was a custom necklace 
(based upon a bracelet she was selling).
go check her shop out!

A friend loves at all times, 
and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
Proverbs 17:17


1326. driving with the windows down
1327. understanding kiddos when plans change
1328. firefighters
1329. sweet new friendships for L
1330. finding meds for L 
that consistently come from the same manufacturer

was sandy.

we have this old sand table
that can’t be a sand table any more
because its top is broken.



so, B had the great idea 

to turn the old sand table
into a new water table.
hoorah.
everybody
loves it.

including L.
and mommy.


oh, he is certainly my delicious boy.

1321. new and old shoes for L
1322. new shoes D picked out all on his own
1323. good little errand buddies
1324. an old table that is now our new coffee table
1325. the icky-sticky bubblegum song

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