what you've been missing

well i tried it

the gluten free bread

there we were one Sunday

watching as everyone went down for communion

it seems to be a weekly event at churches here

which, personally, I'm all for

anyway, so there we were

watching people form several lines

and there stood the gluten free line, empty

a couple people had come and gone

but no line

so we went for it

and it was

DELICIOUS

I so badly wanted to take a picture

but there is absolutely no discreet or respectful way of doing that during communion

or after for that matter

so I am picture-less, with my dignity in-tact

in addition to the non-gluten goodness

this particular church served their coffee in real mugs

and they even let you bring them into the sanctuary

I know, these people live on the edge right?

take notes California churches, they're on to something big here!

Last week we visited the church right next to us

we literally walked up the stairs and were in the parking lot

and I had been hearing people refer to this particular church as The Castle

they weren't lying

awesome right?

they even had a trumpet player in the worship team

let me tell you, there's something special about worshipping the King of Kings when you're in a castle

Other than church adventures on Sundays 

things have been pretty quiet around here

that calendar that used to be full of activities stands pretty empty these days

and I am trying to savor every minute of it

so here's some snapshots from the last two weeks

we unpacked Aidan's soccer cleats last week

so of course, she HAD to wear them that day

and practice her soccer skills

I was feeling creative one day

so I began to create a little puppet theater from one of our moving boxes

Aidan helped

Haley tried

and by the grace of God I managed to keep my patience

but once it was all done

we had a great time performing our puppet show

performances are $3 dollars

we're booked solid through December

And, I really have no caption for this picture

except that I love this kid, and God made her beautiful

I pray for her salvation every day

She's made a new friend here

bet you can't guess why they get along so well

He's a total gentleman

And sweetly invited Aidan to the Oregon Zoo last week

I got to go too

and its now my favorite zoo on the west coast

its just beautiful

and the animals look pretty happy

I participated in

remember my fail?

i still get sad about it anyhoo, I got matched up with Olive Oyl  she's a sweetie we just met and I already know it she likes Disney, so obviously I knew how to fix the situation

and I totally stole this picture from her blog, 

because the disney store website decided to shut down on me today

then last week I got this

I was so excited 

check out the loot!!!

Thank you so  much Handbags*N*Pigtails

I love it!

I tried to tell you as much in a comment on your blog

but my computer's giving me major issues

so I sure hope you see this!

one of those days

yesterday was one of those days

the kind Alexander wrote about

In fact I'm going to apologize for my tone right now

because I might be a little annoyed

oh don't worry I wasn't annoyed when I was woken up at 4 a.m.

by the warm sensation of my daughter's pee on back

and I wasn't annoyed when she began screaming at me 

to get her food

I also wasn't annoyed when she got upset that she couldn't watch Mickey Mouse clubhouse

because Xfinity on demand decided to make me pay for that now

and unfortunately the D-channel doesn't air Mickey at 4am

Oh and I wasn't annoyed that I only had $1 left on my laundry card so I

had to walk to the school to go put more money on it

so I could finally clean my soiled sheets and pillowcase

And I'm not at all annoyed that I have to keep telling Haley not to drink the rain water on the slide

OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER

ok, maybe just a bit

All this to say, there have been a couple days like this

and that's why I haven't written for a while

But despite my day, God is so good to me

because its these days where I get the opportunity to show grace to my toddler when she screams

its these days when I get the opportunity to to actually exercise patience instead of just thinking about it

and its these kinds of days that I'm reminded that i fail 

in all of these areas and that is exactly why I need a Savior

And my Savior is good

because He does turn mourning into dancing

He takes sad times

like the death of my husband's grandpa

to a joyous occasion 

because he's now with Jesus

He takes an impossible amount of money, like $25,000

and provides it in mere weeks

PRAISE GOD

I haven't been a faithful blogger, so I haven't said much about it since July

but know this

prayers from a little church began to go out in early summer

giving for this mission began in mid summer

and the guys left last week

OUR GOD IS INCREDIBLE!

And I love Him

 even when I wake up at 4 in the morning

PinterTest Kitchen: cause a move ain't gonna stop me

Welcome to my PinterTest kitchen adventure for the last month

i had two

PROJECT #1

i chose crafting this month

because well, I had to pack all my baking supplies

and before the move, one of the only craft items I had available

was a sharpie, which we all know is a packing staple

but this didn't stop me

I got creative

actually, I had been hoping to try this

especially since I was participating in

anyhoo, I found these cute little stackable mugs at Target

so, using a fine-point sharpie I began to write 

Psalm 23

looks cute right?

so I then proceeded to do Psalm 1 on the next one

then came time for the baking

350 degree for 30 minutes

to let the sharpie set

and one awesome silhouette in the oven

TEST TIME

scrubbing under water to see if the sharpie actually stuck

and...

FAIL

Unfortunately this was done on the Sunday before the move

and so, shopping for, packaging, and getting to the post office was kind of

out of the question at this point, so I ended up ordering one online instead

which honestly, ended up being WAY cuter than anything I would have made

PROJECT #2

I saw a cute pin for a head-band holder

using a candle holder and quaker oatmeal container

and I had both of those!

So last Sunday after church

I grabbed the two items, plus some scrapbook paper

just ignore the Mod Podge on the left, it wasn't used

I ended up just cutting the scrapbook paper,

and taping it to the oatmeal canister

and then flipping the canister upside down and slipping the candle holder inside the can

so its open on the bottom

and then I just set the plastic cover on top

so simple

I began to add Aidan's headbands...

which is when I realized she only owns two

I guess, I need to build up that department

so we put her other accessories on it instead

and i think its kind of awesome-looking

Happy pinning

Happy crafting

Happy Thursday!

liking up with Jessica

all in a week

I did it

its all unpacked. 

unpacked that last box

...and only box of towels yesterday

already, last week was pretty full

went to church on Sunday

and I'm pretty sure the pastor is the hippie from Freaks and Geeks

...maybe not,  but doppelganger for sure

had communion

with a gluten-free bread option

Jason started classes on Monday

my job interview was on Tuesday...still no word

and both girls got the flu

it started with Haley

and I know its a terrible thing to say

but having her veg out on the couch all day

was a huge break for me

I just had to try to forget the fact that her temp was 103

and i totally did at times

next day she was fine and super hungry from not eating all day

and we thought we were clear

and then 

it hit again

and it got really gross

picture taken before just before the mess

but by Friday things were clear

so we celebrated and got doughnuts for dessert

a Portland must

a Haley favorite

Saturday was spent as a family

with a trip to IKEA

family time in the front yard

and birthday chats with one of our besties back home

Sunday came again

with a new church to try

and more gluten-free bread

at least I know there's one thing I can count on every Sunday

and me, I'm doing much better this week

I think unpacking does a lot for emotions

things finally feel like home

I feel like I'm really connecting with people around me

and this city is really starting to grow on me