Time in Ojai

So the boys and I have really enjoyed spending more and more time in our home town. Finding new fun things to do in Ojai and enjoying some new unique activities.
Monday - instead of the park with our friends we decided to take some bread to the lake and feed the birds, then headed to the playground for some play time. After, we took some lunch to daddy and played on some of his toys:)









Tuesday - Taking the boys on a trolley ride to the Library for story time, then off to the park for a little lunch!















Friday - Taking another trolley ride for a burger and ice cream...trolley ride - 25cents, Cheeseburger-89 cents, ice cream-free! cheapest/funnest lunch ever!

camping

Decided to take the boys on their first official tent camping trip last month to get them prepped for our week long trip to Tahoe in the end of July! We just stayed Friday night but the boys did awesome! We ventured out to far off Carpenteria, pitched a tent, played baseball, played at the beach, had smores with friends, watched raccoons invade our campground, had breakfast, packed up and headed to the beach for the day, got a lil chilly so we made our way to the harbor for lunch and a carousel ride! Boys did great ....mommies allergies were not so cool. But all in all it was a super fun trip together the four of us! I cannot wait for many more camping trips to come!

new do

Caleb got a new do!

classic jack

So there have been things I have been preparing myself for as a mother, moments in time that it seems every mother can tell you about, an ER story when there little one shoved an eraser up their nose, when they youngest swallowed a bug, getting their head stuck in between the bars.... well lets just say Jack is my classic boy. He always has song to sing, always has a story to tell, colors his body with markers, shoves cheerios and play doh up his nose, takes his clothes off the first chance he gets, plays with his food, runs faster then his legs can carry him, longs to just sit and snuggle, asks to play soldiers all day, willing to make a complete fool of himself for a laugh, his imagination is unending. Im so grateful for my classic Jack!




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nap time at lunch

I think we had way too much fun in the morning:)

WE ARE BACK!

Wow! Praise God for the last two weeks. John and I left for Uganda and returned last Thursday. I cannot even explain the what went on. It was all too much to take in and I will be reflecting / processing for the next few months I am sure! So for now I will just update on this last weekend with the boys!
We returned home to our boys thursday afternoon and to such a sweet gift from my mom and friends! A friend came by and cut our grass for us which I am sure was a forest! The boys and my mom put up banners to celebrate daddy's bday and mothers day. Flowers, balloons, gifts and more flowers, and the best part a clean house! Such a sweet way to come home!
We tried to soak up this weekend with them as much as possible although jet lag got in the way quite a bit!
We all slept Thursday night and got up refreshed Friday morning....we took the boys to the park and had lunch downtown then put the boys down for a nap.


A friend stopped by to drop off one of the coolest gifts ever! We love it! Thanks Marshall's!

Friday night we had planned on making dinner and celebrating Johns Bday but jet lag caught up and I ended up napping at like 5pm and getting up about 8pm. So I got up and put both the boys to bed so john and I could crash. But the nap ended up catching up with me so I woke up at 1am and couldnt go back to bed till 6am.
Saturday we signed Caleb up for AYSO and headed to the beach with the boys!


such a sweet time with the boys but I have to be honest everyday I break down. There is a moment or two throughout each day that I have been home that Uganda floods my mind. It is actually always on my mind but there are moments that I just cannot stop thinking and praying for our family over there. The beach was one of those places that I just fell apart. We have the luxury of taking a day to relax and enjoy being a family. A day with no work and all play. They do not have days like this. Everyday consists of working their land, preparing something to eat for the day, washing clothes, fetching water. Life is work for the people of Uganda and the guilt sinks in. I am praying through all of my thought and feelings. Praying for God to reveal to me what He desires that I do. how to move forward. What is the next step for our future. Praying that I do not become cold and bitter towards America but that I use every opportunity I am given to further His Kingdom!
Ok sorry for the side note....like I said...still processing!
Came home from the beach and took a family nap....well john studied but I got a nap. Got up and headed to a friends for a BBQ and celebrate Johns Bday!





Sunday John made me breakfast and headed off to church. The boys and I went to the famers market and got some veggies and headed to church. John had the privilege of speaking that morning. Then they had a lunch for us to welcome us home, which was so sweet! We did a question and answer time to catch people up on the trip!


Then we came home and crashed for the rest of the afternoon. This jet lag is crazy! It is 5am and I have been up for two hours and I am wide awake!
Today will be hard as John goes back to work and I will be doing my best to process, pray, cry, reflect, and at the same time enjoy time with the boys! You can be praying for us! Culture Shock coming home has been difficult and it is hard to explain. These last two weeks have been life changing, it was not a time to go and teach but a time to be taught. My prayer is that as I begin to work through all of this that ultimately I wait on Gods plan and timing. That I do not move on my own accord but that I wait to hear from the Lord who directs my steps. I am truly OVERWHELMED and cannot put it into words! We look forward to what God has for our future as I know I will be returning to Uganda again, but until then I will make every effort to try and capture all that I took in, to teach my boys all that I have learned, to be on me knees, to depend on my Father for everything especially the future of our family.

Cheesy Mother / Faithful Father

Okay so we just got back from dropping off the boys and as I prayed the whole way there....I asked for the Lords confirmation that they would be OK and that He would confirm in me that this trip is about time away with my Lord. Time that I have been asking for but can't seem to find (poor excuse). Well He is giving me the time I need to reconnect, refocus and to invest in our relationship. That I may begin and learn to cultivate a genuinely intimate relationship with my Lord, My Abba Father!
AS we dropped off the boys and drove away not 2 miles into the trip the Lord displayed His Glory.
We were able to witness not one but two rainbows. Im not one to be presumptuous and take every little thing as a sign from the Lord but it was a Good reminder of Gods promise and as cheesy and cliche as it may sound I felt the confirmation that God had my two boys in His Hands. That they would be safe with HIM.
I'm not worried about leaving my boys with my mother. She is the greatest and even more cautious then I am ....but I needed that. I needed to know that God heard my prayer and I needed to be reminded that I don't have their life in my hands but He does!

OUR GIFT TO THE BOYS

We wanted to give the boys something they could look at and know where mommy and daddy were while we were in Uganda!
So we sat down and wrote a little book. Illustrated by daddy!
We will be sending this with them when they go to my moms tomorrow:)
MOMMY AND DADDY GO TO AFRICA

Risk

"Don't let mental lions keep you from experiencing everything God has to offer. The greatest breakthroughs in your life will happen when you push through the fear. The defining moments will double as the scariest decisions."

When John came back from Uganda last year he was so in love with the people, so at home in Uganda, so passionate for the ministry that he asked me to go on the next trip. Flippantly I said "yes" . Wanting to come alongside and understand this ministry and be his helper in what God was calling him to do. Also thinking it was such a long ways away that I had time to prepare myself and work through my fears. Well God has prepared me this year! Every book I have read, every study I have gone through, every conversation I have seemed to have had has in some way prepared me for this trip!
This trip is a HUGE RISK for me and I am not a risk taker usually. I am a cautious, over thinking cub scout (alway prepared). I like to prepare myself for every possible disaster so that Im not caught off guard. I tend to assume the worst and fear things like flying, illness, my kids being injured and I am too far to be there. I make excuses as to why I can't or shouldn't take a risk! But by Gods grace He has revealed some pretty amazing things this last year. He has reminded me time and time again that a life that TRULY LIVES for CHRIST is RISKY!! Every character in Gods Word took a risk...stepped outside their comfort zone and did something truly outrageous! Fought a Giant, confronted the King, gave birth to the son of God, denied the Queen, battled a lion and won, refused to worship an idol, stoned, beaten, thrown into prison!

I dont take enough Risks for Christ. I don't display my absolute, unconditional, unending Faith and devotion to my True King like I should. I don't tell Him "It's you and nothing else!" "All else aside Im in this for YOU! For your Glory, Your Honor, Your Kingdom!" " No more Excuses God...Im willing to risk it all!"

So here I am boys.....taking the biggest risk I have taken in my 27 years (i know seems lame but true)...packing up my bags, saying goodbye to my beautiful babies (scared), flying way too long (scared), taking pills to prevent illness (risk), speaking Gods Word in a dangerous part of the world(risk), ALL FOR CHRIST AND CHRIST ALONE (WORTH IT)!
I do not write this to say "hey, Look at me, Look at me! Look what I am doing!" But to confess that I have been too safe, too cautious, too unfaithful.

and it may seem strange to some cause this isn't risky enough for them....I mean lets be honest so many have gone before me...so many do not fear trips like this but see it as a fun filled adventure full of uncertainties and excitement!

I write this so that I , my boys and others may know that this trip is my Lion, it feels dangerous, uncertain, uncomfortable and risky to me. To be honest not a trip I have been looking forward to. But for no other reason than to proclaim....."You alone are Worthy! I risk all my silly fears, my anxious thoughts, my life for the sake of Christ! Be GLORIFIED!"


In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy day
by: Mark Batterson
"You have to face your fears or they will hold you back forever"

"Courage is doing what is right regardless of circumstance or consequence"

"I think our greatest regrets will be the God-ordained risks we didn't take"

"Our ultimate destiny is determined by whether or not we seize the God-ordained opportunities presented to us, if we seize those opportunities, the dominos continue to fall and create a chain reaction."

"I want to seize the opportunity the first time it is presented"

"Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning"

Preparing.....

Daddy and I are headed off to Uganda next week and as we have been preparing for our time away I am doing my best to stop and enjoy every moment with the boys. Oh how I will miss them but comforted knowing that they will be having such a sweet time with my mother and my sister. They are so excited about staying there and I could not be more grateful!
This week has been all about them for me....
walks to downtown, stopping at the candy store, parks, painting, trips to the mall (they love the mall), holding hands, singing songs, praying, mud pies, snuggling, reading, wrestling....everything I have been doing I am trying as best to do in slow motion.
Capturing it all, "soaking it all in":) , I will miss them so dearly but my prayer has been for me to be so overwhelmed with what God is doing in Uganda that I will not be dwelling on them, counting down the days, or wishing I could be near them....I want to be so focused on God's will and purpose in Uganda and not to miss out on any opportunity while I am there.
They are my greatest joy and I cannot wait for our reunion when we get back!!
I miss them already....is that possible?