I Feel Pretty, O So Pretty...

"What the...?!"

This is what happens when you have older sisters, folks.

So I'm in the kitchen and I hear this funny high voice say, "Hiyee Mommeeee!"  I turned around to see this...this...kid that seemed so familiar and yet...I couldn't place, uh, it.  I thought it was Morgen but wondered why she looked so...swollen?  Then I thought it was a neighbor kid and I'm racking my brain to think of all the neighbor kids and I couldn't remember this one.  So I just stood there wondering who this was!  Dave is just laughing, wondering why my jaw is still on the floor...

Oh, so proud of her work!  Ooo, la-la!

(Gruff man-voice:) "KISSY-KISSY!" (Swaaaaak!)

Really, have you SEEN anything sweeter?? (cough, cough)

Twins at last?  Maybe not.

Believe it or not, Morgen's not trying to be weird too.  She likes to wear that headband like that.  What stylish children I have!

100th Post

I wanted to do something special for my 100th post, but I'm having a hard time thinking it's really any kind of accomplishment. After all, it's taken me three and a quarter years to get to this point. I lack direction, struggle with purpose, and have no idea who my audience is.

Well, that's not entirely true. I like to talk about myself, purge the thoughts in my noggin, show off my funny kids, make you laugh and hopefully get a little writing practice in there while I'm at it. And this isn't the only place I'm writing. There's the recipe blog that seems to have lost interest in itself; there's my reading blog, wherein I talk about my book group for a project we're attempting, and there's my secret, anonymous blog where I live out the stuff that is too painful and misunderstood to tell just anybody. Then there's my journal -you know, where I write with a pen-- where I mainly just cuss out my husband, scribble crappy poetry and pray.

I recently realized I'm one of those crazy amazing moms with a house-full of boys.

If I don't take this very seriously, it's because there are just so many blessed responsibilities in my days that call for my seriousness (even serious silliness) that there just aren't enough hours in the day. And nowadays, everymom's got a blog, everymom's a writer, everymom's a photographer....I just don't have a lot of motivation at the end of the day to join the ranks and try to stand out. At the same time, I seriously love doing this! It's incredible how I can be (like many mamas) content with my busy mama stuff and at the same time have a deep longing to get smarter, dig deeper, reach higher, nurture the art and beauty inside me that has nothing to do with keeping children alive.

Ahhh... deep thoughts.

Here are a few stats from my blog, just for fun:

• I've posted 21 hand-painted greeting cards (and a few other paintings). I was surprised at this at first and thought, no wonder I ran out of materials! And I thought maybe I should start an Etsy shop like many kind friends have suggested. And then I realized...that's over the course of 3 years. Oh. The day I have time for Etsy is the day I have time for a dog...I'm just sayin'.
• I've done 5 book reviews just this year. This is a fact that impresses me because those things are hard, they hold so many expectations! I finally said screw-it, I don't know how to do a book review, I'm just gonna talk about how this book is meeting me where I'm at.
• I haven't really pegged the labeling system, but according to the labels, I mostly blog about myself and Micah.
• My favorite post is this one. I read it again and tears rolled down my cheeks remembering, remembering...this is what Jesus looks like to me.
• I got the most comments on Purging, Lent, and Donald Miller on Farming. I re-read it just now and I'm re-inspired to Purge! I'm also re-inspired to share more of what happened during that Lent season (we were too busy doing it to blog about it).

Which brings me to all the things hanging over my head that I said I would blog about but have instead walked away whistling, like my Dad used to do when us kids would break a toy in the store. So before I do too much more, I promise (gulp!) to tie up loose ends about the following subjects:

• Lent
• Art 365 Daily
• Our Anniversary
• My Birthday
• Korah's Birthday
• "What the...." Wednesday
• Fugly Friday

...even though the last 2 are ongoing, not really to be "tied up".

Now that's in writing, I have to do it, unless I flake out some more, which is likely. Raise your glasses with me, please...

"HERE'S TO THE NEXT 100! CHEERS!" (clink! clink!)

Photo credit: me (chalk counting by Taylor), Aaron Courter Photography, me again (at a Cirque du Soleil demonstration)

Giveaway Winners!

Woah! Where did the last three weeks go?!
I'll tell you where they went:

Korah had a birthday, resulting in rollerskating and epic sleepovers!

Dave got a new job! And when you have two jobs already and you get a new one, sometimes that means you will be working three jobs all at once, which means your wife will be working overtime as well. (But things are chilling out now, thanks for asking.)

David and Taylor were at the third grade farm trip all last week and they took the van, so I did a little commuting by bike and bus which is equally awesome and exhausting, and all my dreams of staying up past the kids' bedtime and blogging have been sacrificed to recuperation!

And all of that brings us to this, the last week of school! Awards, assemblies, field days and potlucks galore! Somehow in the midst of this I have managed to find time to snag another free trial of Netflix and enact a "movie-a-day-for-two-weeks" policy in celebration of...

...in celebration of...

...well, we just watched The Blind Side and I'm feelin' so good, I could be celebratin' anathing right now and you betcher britches it'd be with a Southern accent!

But now, enough gum-flappin'... it's time....for....THE GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

(drumroll......)

First, throw ALLL those names in a hat...

...my lovely assistant reaches into the hat...

...and the winner is...SARAH!

But WAIT! I have decided to give away my own copy as well (don't worry, I didn't dog-ear any pages).

My loverly assistant reaches into the hat-o'-names once again and....

...it's somebody we all know and love...

...CARMELL, all the way from Alaska!

(Does Korah come from her mama, or what?)

Congratulations, ladies! Please email your address to vonderhaus@gmail.com, unless of course you are Sarah, because I know where you live ;)

Life, In Spite of Me was a pretty quick read, so pick it up, finish it, and pass it on. I know to some people, Kristen's stories might seem a little like hokey Christian coincidences. But I've been there. I've taken the gut-wrenching leap of faith, weather it's about following an opportunity that looks like a guaranteed fail, forgiving the unforgivable, or making myself vulnerable to brutal self-examination. And I'm telling you, miracles occur. Friggin' MIRACLES. There's no other way to explain it. You just have to listen, and be willing to believe what you hear.

My hope is for everyone to experience the miracles that happen from trusting a bigger picture. God is so far outside our box, we have to be thinking there, or we're not really giving Him a chance.

By the way...all you readers, commenters and blog-stalkers alike: thanks for reading. It's very cool that you do and I appreciate it. Everyone say "hi" once in a while....

Peace out.