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| Caught a butterfly |
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| Rolly pollies |
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| A frog |
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| and a gecko |
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| a turtle of course |
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| Fishing with Dad and a princess fishing pole |
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Bella and Invertebrates
My daughter loves to catch things. More specifically, invertebrates. Like my 4th grade science term coming out? She reminds me so much of her Daddy. They have that special "something" together that only they share. They love to look for bugs, frogs, geckos, turtles- anything they can get their hands on. Me? Nooooo thank you! We typically have several jars around the house with who knows what's in it. Anyone who knows Mark well knows he also loves birds. He knows pretty much any North American bird. A few of us refer to him as the "bird nerd". :-) He, inevitably, has passed this fascination with birds on to Bella. She now can identify more birds than me (which isn't saying much), but still. They are so cute to watch together. Kinda dorks, but they're my dorks. And I'll keep them. :-)
Monday, April 25, 2011
Easter
"Don't be alarmed," he said. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here." (Mark 16:6)
I can't help but wake up on Easter morning filled with great joy. Death did not hold our Savior. He lives!
Easter is a big deal in the Van Wart household, and we (as I think a lot us do) try to emphasis the true celebration of Easter while allowing for fun traditions at the same time. Bella loves loves loves any story that you are willing to tell her. As I type this, I hear Mark telling her a story in her room right now. She doesn't care if it's real or not, she just loves to hear stories. So, needless to say, she has enjoyed hearing the story of Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection. She listens to stories with great intensity, and every time I told her the Easter story her eyes would glisten with tears when I would get to the part where Jesus dies. About that time, she would interject, "But mom, Jesus died for those bad men too, didn't He?" It was so important to her to hold onto God's love, forgiveness, and grace for everyone, even the ones that hung him on the cross. That's something that makes Jesus special to her.
"I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." (Mark 10:15-16)
So, we began our fun traditions on Saturday with great friends. We ate a yummy breakfast together, and the kids dyed and decorated eggs. So much fun.
Easter morning, the kids found their Easter baskets waiting for them on the table when they woke up. There's nothing like chocolate bunnies and peeps for breakfast.
During breakfast, Mark read the Resurrection scriptures.
After our special morning, it was time to get pretty for church. Mark and I had woken up early to shower and get ready as much in advance as possible, since Sunday mornings can sometimes fall apart. And we were determined that that wouldn't happen on Easter! :-) All in all, it went pretty smooth, aside from Bella saying she didn't like her hair and Jack pulling his tie off.
Later that afternoon, the Easter bunny laid eggs in the backyard, and Bella and Jack had a blast. Once Jack realized there was candy inside the eggs, he stopped hunting and plopped down to eat his jelly beans.
We finished our day with loved ones and a scrumptious dinner of ribs and potatoes. Mmmmm! I hope your day was a blessed one!
I can't help but wake up on Easter morning filled with great joy. Death did not hold our Savior. He lives!
Easter is a big deal in the Van Wart household, and we (as I think a lot us do) try to emphasis the true celebration of Easter while allowing for fun traditions at the same time. Bella loves loves loves any story that you are willing to tell her. As I type this, I hear Mark telling her a story in her room right now. She doesn't care if it's real or not, she just loves to hear stories. So, needless to say, she has enjoyed hearing the story of Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection. She listens to stories with great intensity, and every time I told her the Easter story her eyes would glisten with tears when I would get to the part where Jesus dies. About that time, she would interject, "But mom, Jesus died for those bad men too, didn't He?" It was so important to her to hold onto God's love, forgiveness, and grace for everyone, even the ones that hung him on the cross. That's something that makes Jesus special to her.
"I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." (Mark 10:15-16)
So, we began our fun traditions on Saturday with great friends. We ate a yummy breakfast together, and the kids dyed and decorated eggs. So much fun.
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| Besties :) |
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| Beautiful eggs |
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| Can I eat this or what? |
Easter morning, the kids found their Easter baskets waiting for them on the table when they woke up. There's nothing like chocolate bunnies and peeps for breakfast.
During breakfast, Mark read the Resurrection scriptures.
After our special morning, it was time to get pretty for church. Mark and I had woken up early to shower and get ready as much in advance as possible, since Sunday mornings can sometimes fall apart. And we were determined that that wouldn't happen on Easter! :-) All in all, it went pretty smooth, aside from Bella saying she didn't like her hair and Jack pulling his tie off.
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| Beautiful Bella |
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| My handsome little man |
Later that afternoon, the Easter bunny laid eggs in the backyard, and Bella and Jack had a blast. Once Jack realized there was candy inside the eggs, he stopped hunting and plopped down to eat his jelly beans.
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| Scoping out the loot |
We finished our day with loved ones and a scrumptious dinner of ribs and potatoes. Mmmmm! I hope your day was a blessed one!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Kindred Spirits
"A bosom friend- an intimate friend, you know- a really kindred spirit to whom I can confide my inmost soul. I've dreamed of meeting her my whole life. I never really supposed I would, but so many of my loveliest dreams have come true all at once that perhaps this one will too."
So, I love Anne of Green Gables. She is a fictional character from a book, but I still love her. She is spunky, imaginative, eccentric, passionate, and very dramatic. I am reading this book to my 4th graders this year, and I am so proud because they have grown very close to her too. :-) Anne calls very dear people in her life, kindred spirits. I love her quote from the chapter I read to the kids today...
"Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world."
Kindred spirits make the world oh so sweet... here are some of mine.
So, I love Anne of Green Gables. She is a fictional character from a book, but I still love her. She is spunky, imaginative, eccentric, passionate, and very dramatic. I am reading this book to my 4th graders this year, and I am so proud because they have grown very close to her too. :-) Anne calls very dear people in her life, kindred spirits. I love her quote from the chapter I read to the kids today...
"Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world."
Kindred spirits make the world oh so sweet... here are some of mine.
Love you friends!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Moms
Away from everything,
Free from all the craziness
A mother's day can bring.
Three healthy meals a day,
Served up with love to finicky kids
Who throw most of it away.
Dirty laundry on the floor,
Driving everyone every place,
Sibling rivalry (It’s war!)
Getting mad if I forget,
Me giving up my very self—
I’m the family marionette.
(Or maybe the looney bin),
I get free time and three square meals;
With nothing to do, I win!
For freedom, time and such,
There’s just one obstacle for me:
I love my kids too much!
So, I found this poem on the Internet and thought it was funny and appropriate.
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| Found the mud = Trouble |
I love being a mom. It is more extraordinary than I could have ever imagined. It is also the hardest job I have ever been entrusted with. (hence the poem) I think as Moms, we are constantly trying to be the best and do the best for our children. Sometimes we have great days. Sometimes we mess up and feel guilty. We read books about parenting, and how to deal with our strong-willed children. Please tell me it's not just me. We go through trial and error with discipline. We try to instill values that we want to help shape our children as they grow. The list goes on and on and on. Is there a right or wrong way to be a mom? I don't think so. Just like every child is unique, I think every mom is unique and different in her own way. This is a good thing!
*Sidenote: I do not want to offend anyone by this post. It's just something I've thought a lot about and is a good reminder for me.
I recently decided that I am going to stay home with Bella and Jack. It is something I have thought about for a long time, and with the help of him, it has become a reality. This is a perfect change for our family, and it was something that I knew was right for me. I have had the pleasure of experiencing life as a working mom (during the school year) and life as a stay at home mom (during the summer). Both are hard. Am I right?
I recently decided that I am going to stay home with Bella and Jack. It is something I have thought about for a long time, and with the help of him, it has become a reality. This is a perfect change for our family, and it was something that I knew was right for me. I have had the pleasure of experiencing life as a working mom (during the school year) and life as a stay at home mom (during the summer). Both are hard. Am I right?
Working moms rise before the sun, get themselves ready, get their children up and into the car, drop them off, go to work, work a full day, pick kids up, get home and cook dinner, have "quality" time with their children, do baths and bed, get everything prepared for the next day, and then fall into bed exhausted. I'm still not sure when we clean and do laundry. (Mark does our laundry. He's awesome like that.)
Stay at home moms, often rise before the sun to have "me" time, and then hit the ground running from the moment the first child wakes up. All meals must be provided, play dates, cleaning time, nap time, do laundry while the kids are down, dinner time, more clean up, more play time, baths and bed, clean up some more, and then fall into bed exhausted. You may be wondering what my point is. My point is be careful. Be careful how you view others, how you judge others, what you say to others. Being a working mom, and now a soon-to-be stay at home mom, I have experienced encouraging and hurtful comments towards each of these decisions. Everyone has an opinion, but that's what it is. An opinion. Be sensitive to moms of all walks of life. I know as mothers, that we are all trying to do what's best for our children. We want to provide their every emotional, physical, financial, and spiritual need. And we do that in the best way we know how. We do it in a way that's right for us. So, working moms, give stay at home moms a break. They work really hard. And stay at home moms, give working moms a break. They work really hard too.
WE (moms) are all in this together. We love our children more than our own lives and would do anything for them. As moms, let us encourage one another. Have compassion for each other. Lend a hand. Pray for one another. And love each other.
This is dedicated to ALL moms everywhere in all walks of life.
You. Are. Awesome.
You. Are. Awesome.
"Her children rise up and call her blessed!" (Proverbs 31:28)
Btw, Happy (almost) Mother's Day!
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| My beautiful Mom |
Monday, April 18, 2011
What's in a name?
As I was trying to decide what to name this blog, I knew I wanted it to be a pretty accurate representation of our family.
Webster's dictionary: FAMILY- A group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head united by certain convictions.
Now being the non-creative person that I am, I went with The Van Wart Family. But I dug deeper with the description. Who is our head? What's important to us? What are our convictions?
Moments.
one thousand gifts is a book I am reading. The meat of the book deals with "eucharisteo" meaning "he gave thanks". Eucharisteo envelopes the word for grace, charis. It also holds its derivative, chara, meaning joy.
Grace, thanksgiving, joy. Eucharisteo
"He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God" (Psalm 50:23).
When we live in the moments given to us everyday, with thanksgiving, we unwrap the gift of joy. One of my favorite quotes from the author, Ann Voskamp, is "life change comes when we receive life with thanks and ask for nothing to change".
So our family lives in moments with thanksgiving. It means when you have a boiling pot of water on the stove, running water in the sink, and your phone is ringing, you still bend down, look your daughter in the eyes and listen to every word of the song she has been dying to sing to you. Those are the moments we don't get back. Ones we thank God for. Ones that give us our greatest joys.
Blessings.
"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:19)
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up" (James 3:10).
We.Are.Blessed. Our Father, sacrificed his only Son, for us. All of us. What greater blessing will we ever receive? And yet, daily, I feel unbelievably blessed. My Savior, my husband, my children, my family, my friends...my cup runneth over.
"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved" (Eph. 2:4-5).
Love.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perserveres. Love never fails" (1 Cor. 13:4-8).
This is what we want for our family. In our home, we talk about what love means. I want my children to be kind and humble. I want them to be generous and content. And know who loved them first.
"And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity" (Col. 3:14)
Moments. Blessings. Love.
Webster's dictionary: FAMILY- A group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head united by certain convictions.
Now being the non-creative person that I am, I went with The Van Wart Family. But I dug deeper with the description. Who is our head? What's important to us? What are our convictions?
Moments.
one thousand gifts is a book I am reading. The meat of the book deals with "eucharisteo" meaning "he gave thanks". Eucharisteo envelopes the word for grace, charis. It also holds its derivative, chara, meaning joy.
Grace, thanksgiving, joy. Eucharisteo
"He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God" (Psalm 50:23).
When we live in the moments given to us everyday, with thanksgiving, we unwrap the gift of joy. One of my favorite quotes from the author, Ann Voskamp, is "life change comes when we receive life with thanks and ask for nothing to change".
So our family lives in moments with thanksgiving. It means when you have a boiling pot of water on the stove, running water in the sink, and your phone is ringing, you still bend down, look your daughter in the eyes and listen to every word of the song she has been dying to sing to you. Those are the moments we don't get back. Ones we thank God for. Ones that give us our greatest joys.
Blessings.
"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:19)
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up" (James 3:10).
We.Are.Blessed. Our Father, sacrificed his only Son, for us. All of us. What greater blessing will we ever receive? And yet, daily, I feel unbelievably blessed. My Savior, my husband, my children, my family, my friends...my cup runneth over.
"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved" (Eph. 2:4-5).
Love.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perserveres. Love never fails" (1 Cor. 13:4-8).
This is what we want for our family. In our home, we talk about what love means. I want my children to be kind and humble. I want them to be generous and content. And know who loved them first.
"And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity" (Col. 3:14)
Moments. Blessings. Love.
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| Moments |
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| Blessings |
New to this...
Let me start out by saying that I am not a writer. Especially about my own life. It does not come natural for me talk about personal things. How I am feeling and why. I'm not sure why this is... maybe it's my own insecurities. But here I am... trying to open up a little more and be braver about expressing myself.
So, I love reading blogs (when I have the time) from so many interesting people. People I know, people I don't... it's just... fun. It really is amazing how nowadays, we can keep up to date with all our family and friends without even speaking. That sounds kind of bad, I know. But, it is nice to read and see how people are doing at the click of a mouse. I may not be helping my case here. So, I'll make it worse...
I used to be somewhat opposed to blogs. Like facebook, I felt like sometimes (not always) it gave people an excuse to vent, boast, tell TMI, gossip, etc. I would think, "Why do people think other people want to know that?" I feel bad even writing that... it's a bit hypocritical of me. I mean I was reading it, right? But the more blogs I started reading, the more I realized that some were actually funny, uplifting, and very inspirational. I found beautiful people writing beautiful things. And it was impacting me. It was encouraging me. Other people's joys and sorrows were giving me HOPE. Amazing people were opening up their lives and touching so many by their stories, ambitions, convictions, and passions.
I've actually been wanting to start a blog for some time, but life (and fears) got in the way. I typically have a lot on my mind about any number of things. I usually don't have time to talk to Mark about all my random musings. So, I guess he can just read about them now. (haha) But this is where it gets uncomfortable for me. What is my life that others would want to read about it? I do not say this out of pity for myself, but rather out of humility. I know I am nothing and have nothing apart from my Lord Jesus Christ. So my pray is that I can show God's great love in my life and reach others in need of that same love. I have good days and bad days, hopes and fears, loses and gains. Just like everyone else. Maybe by being myself and sharing a little about my experiences, I can give back by encouraging or inspiring someone else.
Mark has been telling me that I need a hobby. Right. I have a full-time job, I am a wife and mother of a 3 year old and a 1 year old, and I need a hobby?! I don't scrapbook, play tennis, sculpt pottery, or any such things. Unfortunately, I don't have the time or the resources for this. So.... maybe blogging will be my hobby. We shall see... I do have 2 more blogs already in mind that I want to write. It kind of feels good to have a conversation with myself. :-)
So, I love reading blogs (when I have the time) from so many interesting people. People I know, people I don't... it's just... fun. It really is amazing how nowadays, we can keep up to date with all our family and friends without even speaking. That sounds kind of bad, I know. But, it is nice to read and see how people are doing at the click of a mouse. I may not be helping my case here. So, I'll make it worse...
I used to be somewhat opposed to blogs. Like facebook, I felt like sometimes (not always) it gave people an excuse to vent, boast, tell TMI, gossip, etc. I would think, "Why do people think other people want to know that?" I feel bad even writing that... it's a bit hypocritical of me. I mean I was reading it, right? But the more blogs I started reading, the more I realized that some were actually funny, uplifting, and very inspirational. I found beautiful people writing beautiful things. And it was impacting me. It was encouraging me. Other people's joys and sorrows were giving me HOPE. Amazing people were opening up their lives and touching so many by their stories, ambitions, convictions, and passions.
I've actually been wanting to start a blog for some time, but life (and fears) got in the way. I typically have a lot on my mind about any number of things. I usually don't have time to talk to Mark about all my random musings. So, I guess he can just read about them now. (haha) But this is where it gets uncomfortable for me. What is my life that others would want to read about it? I do not say this out of pity for myself, but rather out of humility. I know I am nothing and have nothing apart from my Lord Jesus Christ. So my pray is that I can show God's great love in my life and reach others in need of that same love. I have good days and bad days, hopes and fears, loses and gains. Just like everyone else. Maybe by being myself and sharing a little about my experiences, I can give back by encouraging or inspiring someone else.
Mark has been telling me that I need a hobby. Right. I have a full-time job, I am a wife and mother of a 3 year old and a 1 year old, and I need a hobby?! I don't scrapbook, play tennis, sculpt pottery, or any such things. Unfortunately, I don't have the time or the resources for this. So.... maybe blogging will be my hobby. We shall see... I do have 2 more blogs already in mind that I want to write. It kind of feels good to have a conversation with myself. :-)
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