Feb 17, 2009






More pictures...

With Love from Minnesota






It's February. Valentines Month. But also, for we midwesterners, the month where winter starts to feel LOOONNNGGG and we are SOOOO excited for spring. Despite that, I am aware of God's beauty surrounding me during what still feels like very wintery weather. I can't necessarily say at this point that I am LOVING the weather, but in moments of clarity and sanity, I am thankful for a God who loves his creation, who is creative by nature, and who blesses us daily with beauty all around us!

Included in that beauty for me, of course, are my girls. They are fascinating and lovely creatures whom my heart delights in daily! Okay, so honestly? OF COURSE I have moments as a mother that are less than ideal, and I feel frantic or tired or... whatever. BUT with God's heart growing inside of me as a mom, I am SO very aware of how precious these little ones are. "The Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." I jokingly but in all sincerity tell people very frequently, that I feel quite often that I am both the teacher and the student as a mother. I am learning from them every bit as much as I am (hopefully) teaching them!

And then of course, there is my husband. My marriage continues to grow daily. Teaching both Jim and I (sometimes through trials and fire, sometimes through the simple things like love and laughter) what real love is. What it means to prefer one another. What it means to say "love conquers all". Its not always pretty, but it is always worth it. This month? On the lighter side of marriage? Jim taught me that REAL men grow up to be princesses... okay, let me explain. Jim grew up with all boys. And boys to the core. Boys that are rough and tumble and still like to wrestle to express love. So to watch the transformation that he has undergone as a daddy with two little girls who daily steal his heart in a new way has been SOOOOOOOO MUCH FUN FOR ME! There was a day and time I'm sure he wouldn't have been caught dead... but this past weekend, at Sophia's behest, he went to her bedroom where he had been invited especially by her to be her guest at a princess tea party. The catch? All participants were asked (by Princess Sophia) to dress up. Jim obliged out of love for her. Now that to me, is a real man! Not to mention that it gave he and I a good laugh when he, forgetting he was dressed as a princess, came downstairs and tried to engage me in a serious conversation. I started laughing histerically and explained that I could not take him seriously until he took off his earings and crown. But I also made sure that we snapped a few photos before that happened. And of course, they will be included for your viewing enjoyment!!! (Love ya babe!)

So here, from me, are some snapshots of the beauty surrounding us here in MN these past few weeks.

With Love from MN,
Kimberly Joy

Feb 16, 2009

The joys of having a big sister

Time wasted?

Daddy was having a frustrating day at work last Friday.  Sophia, at her mother's behest, called daddy on the phone to sing him a song to cheer him up.  I picked up the phone and Sophia said she wanted to sing me a song, so I stopped what I was doing.  "Go ahead bud."  Sophia sang her worship song to me.  She's getting very good at that.

"Was that a good one Daddy?"
"It sure was bud."
"Does that make your heart happy?"
"It sure does sweetheart, thank you." 
"Well, that's 3 minutes of my life I'll never get back."  (Kimberly blurts out laughing)

Turns out, she heard that line on her favorite veggie tales movie.  Still, how she manages to use these phrases she learns at just the right time is beyond me.