Saturday, January 25, 2014

Hmmm... Food, Rest, Faith and HGTV

These short winter days just make me want to sit down with a warm drink and indulge in HGTV.   Though whenever I really feel that way I don't like the shows that are on.

My littlest peanut is cutting more teeth so we are up quite frequently during the night and have late nights and early mornings.  Not the best recipe for rest.  Learning to continue to navigate a life of extreme exhaustion.  Lack of sleep used to drive me to the brink of an asylum but God literally has giving me the grace to operate in joy (most of the time haha).

Lately I have been meditating on faith and trust.  It seems as though God is bringing me into a new level of understanding.  This spiritually dark, New England spiritual scape provides a distract contrast to the power of the Word of God.  It really excites me.  To know that My Creator, the world's Creator can easily cut through the facade of intellectualism, liberalism, extreme Yankee independence and the thin layer of happiness that is displayed as a front to mask the war you know must be battling in the soul.  I tell myself these things as I walk around the beautiful aesthetic of the YMCA in a beautiful coastal town with beautiful people who seem to have it all.  So many masks.  The raw broken lives of the poor and drug addicted is not as intriguing as those who have built the beautiful fortress to encapsulate their desperate insatiable souls.  I used to be afraid (I am sure I would be on some days now) and insecure and insufficient.   And I know I am all of those things in my flesh.  But God.  God loves the arrogant agnostic. The distant deist who dabbles in humanitarian causes.  The Word of God can slice through those walls like soft butter.

So I am learning to believe God on a new level.   Rest when the body is exhausted and anxieties want to run high.

Henry has been taking swim lessons.  The world is opening around him like a person who has suddenly gaining more and more eye sight.  I love it.  He has so many things he loves and wants to do.  He is so excited about life.  My little romantic and lover of life.  I have to remind myself to stop and see the world through his eyes because his constant chatter can become unbearable at times.  But I love seeing things through his eyes.

Hudson is a little maniac.  He's all boy.  Very rough.  He loves to dance.  Loves to get into everything and destroy things.  He isn't afraid of anything except separation from his mother.   He's very observant and wants to do everything Henry is doing but wants to take over and have Henry stop.

Henry does torture his brother but wants him around at all times.  And is the more agreeable one between the two.

Hudson has a will of steel and a temper to match it.  We are working on his all out tantrums, hitting and back arching.  But his charm is equally as strong.  He seems to bewitch all of those around him.  A crowd favorite.  Could be that he still looks so much like a baby for being 19 months old.

Henry went to his first movie.  I took him.  I was more madly in love with him after watching him watch the movie.  He was so cute.

I am still working my Melaleuca business though a bit slower going than in the beginning.  So trusting God for direction in that area.




Monday, January 13, 2014

A Dog or No Dog?

That is the question...




The dog is a REALLY good dog.  Just still unsure if ready to make the dog commitment with two small kids.  Am in constant referee mode since having the dog for a week.



Friday, January 10, 2014

Play Date





So Cute - Hudson & Dog


Morning


This kid ends up wearing the bowl and most of the food in the morning.


What a good dog!





Chilly morning devotionals.


No dogs on couch!

Christmas decorations still up...


Husband just unloaded more wood.


my favorite chair we never sit in haha.

Henry is still sleeping.


We are trying to come up with a new name for Loki.  Any suggestions?

My favorite scripture from this morning.  Psalm 19 (the whole thing but this part in particular)

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.


Thursday, January 9, 2014

Perfect Fit

At least it seems that way.

Wednesday Dave is home from work.  As he is on Tuesdays.  But they are both work days for me.  Fit everything in days.  We had plans to go to a bulk shopping club... not my idea of fun but suddenly I got the urge to go pick up June from the shelter.  We visited her and the 300 pound pig last week in a snow storm.  So after working out and a trip to Walmart sans children, I stopped in at the shelter to take June on a slumber party.  But I left with Loki.  After what seemed like getting through the line at the department of motor vehicles... they don't work at lightning speed at the shelter (with the exception of one lady).  I almost walked out without him because it was taking SO long.

I am glad I didn't because Loki is amazing.  We are not thrilled about his name but we are in complete shock that we have a dog at our house that isn't a complete nutcase.  It's a first.

Loki was dropped off on the road near one of the local shelters when he was 8 months old (4 months ago).  He was super hyper.  Not shocking because he is half walker hound (what Maggie was).  We think he might be half golden retriever.  He's very pretty.  The shelter works with the local prison and some of the dogs go through and intense training program.  Whatever they did worked.  This dog is still a puppy but for the most part is the most amazing dog I have ever been around.  He listens and has the best nature.

Hudson has already grabbed and pulled almost every inch of him and he doesn't flinch.

So the next step is naming him... if we keep him.  Been one night and one full day so far.  So far soooooooooooo good.



When we were leaving this morning.  Hudson visiting with Loki before we left.



Henry with the dog tonight before bed.  The little monster is beside me right now because he couldn't sleep.  Love my little man.




My wild little man with the dog tonight.  Kept sitting on Loki.

I got to go to Henry's swim lessons alone this week.  Hudson got to spend some time with Aunt Steph, Teagan, and Christopher.  It was so much fun.  He did a great job and told everyone he was the teacher.


Thursday, January 2, 2014

Happy New Year from the Umsteads!!







Our boys on New Year's Eve.

We went to church and came home well before midnight.

Love this quote:

Fear is a thief. It erodes our faith, plunders our hope, steals our freedom, and takes away our joy of living the abundant life in Christ. Phobias are like coils of a snake - the more we give in to them, the tighter they squeeze. Tired of fighting, we succumb to the temptation and surrender to our fears. But what seemed like an easy way out becomes, in reality, a prison of unbelief - a fortress that holds us captive. Dr. David Jeremiah in the book What Are You Afraid Of? quoting Neil T. Anderson, author and educator. Here's to living like we believe in 2014!!

I finished Kisses from Katie and now am working on this book.

It's been extremely cold and snowy the last few weeks in Maine.  Loving our wood stove.  Today we ventured out to the YMCA.  Henry and Hudson go to a program called Prime Time while I work out.  It's basically babysitting which is awesome.  The facility is getting remodeled so they had it in the basketball gym today.  Hudson tried to make a basket with the basketball the ENTIRE time I was gone.  The teachers were pretty impressed.  This kid is MADLY in love with balls.

It's been snowing pretty lightly all day.  Last night when I couldn't sleep I happened to look on the humane society's website and noticed a walker hound and blue tick mix that's available.  Two of my favorite dogs but MAJOR drawbacks with both.  Major.  After the gym, I decided to take the kids over there since we were already out in the sub-artic blizzard.  It was quite a blast.  The facility was teeming with cats just roaming around freely.  Hudson loved it.  Henry was fascinated with photos of the small animals and kept asking it they sold hamsters and rabbits.  The lady responded that did have rabbits and Henry turned to me and asked what I thought about that.  This kid kills me.  Such a talker.  Such a lover. Such a salesman.  He told Bobbie Jo she is part of our family and went through on how she could sleep at our house and that we had lots of food for her to eat.  So sweet.  So after looking at the dog - very pretty but it was extremely loud in the room with all dogs barking.  We decided to see the 300 pound big they had just rescued.  And the two rats - one with a neurological disorder.  And the extra large bunny and small bunny.  Quite the filed trip in snowy Maine in January. 

Not sure if we will try out the dog.  We might.  She is beautiful.  Just not sure about the jumping issue with hounds and the food stealing with little kids.

When we got home, I was dreaming of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, but our oven is broken.  



Then the oven came to life for but a moment.  So I resorted to trying to cook them on the wood stove.  It worked.  Not the soft cookies I was dreaming of.  But they were edible.  Not sure they are worth the calories but Henry thought it was really cool.

Tomorrow we get our oven fixed.  Hopefully.  If the repair man can make it in the snow.



Here's Henry painting the truck Aunt Desi and Uncle Glenn got him for Christmas (sorry I haven't posted more photos - our internet is pretty bad so it's so much easier to upload to facebook from my phone).

Our two boys are so different.  Henry wants constant conversation, attention and human interaction.  He is independent on some levels but I would say more typical boy when it comes to independence and a major people person so NEVER likes to be alone.

Hudson on the other hand wants to do EVERYTHING by himself.  He throws a fit if I try to feed him something.  He even feeds himself yogurt with a spoon.  Tonight he climbed up on the couch and propped his little head on a pillow.  I covered him with a blanket and then tried to cuddle him.  He does like to cuddle but tonight he was mister independent and just wanted to be cool on the couch by himself watching TV.  He is a riot.

He is almost as obsessed with hats as he is with balls.  Just loves them.  Talks about them all the time.

David's job is going fine and he might be starting a Bible study in a town about an hour away.  He got a pair of snow shoes for Christmas and now can't imagine walking in the woods behind our house without them.

I rearranged our bedroom furniture yesterday.  Not that I had formally set anything up.  Was kind of thrown in there.  But now I love it.