Small

Steven went away on business - for 2 weeks. No small ordeal. :-( So we've busied ourselves with every known activity - and it didn't include blogging - in case you were wondering where I've been. Story time at the library, church hunting, Bible studies, pool time, play dates, a birthday party, walks around Wal Mart, Sam's Club, {Thanks, Tammy!} Target, the Mall, etc. Anything to keep us busy and out of the house!

We threw a mom/daughter slumber party in the mix and it was craziness and great fun all rolled into one!


Would you believe our tiny little apartment can hold 3 moms and 6 kiddos - all 3 and under?!!!


I was proud of our little home holding up so well!

{Faith}

{Shiloh}

{Abbie}

Admit it...your jealous of Shiloh's morning look. ;-)
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For breakfast, I mixed up the batter for some Blueberry pancakes and Ricki cooked them to perfection while I fed baby Keller...

{Rachel feeding her little boy - Israel.}

They turned out delicious and fit within my new sugar parameters so I'll have to share the recipe here with you very soon! {Check out my new "Recipes" tab up top where I've put links to the recipes I've shared on here.}

{Delicious fruit salad made by Rachel.}

We all had such a good time and made some wonderful memories. Thank you both for the looong girl talks, pedicures and manicures, and the movie. We'll do it again sometime!

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Hospitality is one of my insecurities. I'm afraid the bathroom won't be clean enough. Or I won't have enough serving spoons. Or I'll not have the food all timed correctly. Or I'll say something dumb during the dinner conversation. My absolute worst fear is that I'll make something one of the guests won't like and then they'll have to fake that they do like it. Ahhh! I usually end up feeling like I should make a Thanksgiving feast so there will be plenty of options to choose from. Oh how I stress myself out.

I'm discovering that practice, practice, practice is so key! Sorry for those of you reading this who I've practiced on!

You don't know how much I wanted to use that house in SC to get over my insecurities and begin learning how to host. I even prayed when we got the house, "Lord, if we end up buying this, please help me give it back to you." My idea of giving back was to have people over and maybe host missionaries overnight when we got the house in some kind of order. I had no idea His idea was to literally give it back.

There was this one time we had a family over and my friend snagged her shirt on a nail jutting out of the doorway. I felt so terrible and begrudged to God about my living conditions. Why couldn't we have a perfect house with everything actually working and fulfilling its' function? No 2x4's gaping. No nails jutting out. No exposed flooring. No windows with cardboard-stuffed panes. No construction equipment permanently living in my kitchen. No paint rollers in my refrigerator. No endless dust from sheet rock covering everything I owned.

So here we find ourselves in a 2-bedroom apartment with three kids and I still find myself praying, "God, when we get a house..."

My house will never be big enough, new enough, remodeled enough, perfect enough. I'll never have enough closets, cabinets, or counter top space. Shame on me! It doesn't matter...

So my new prayer is, "Lord, help me to use what I have, for You."

Help me to be organized enough so that it doesn't feel like we live in an 1100 square foot, 2-bedroom apartment. Help me to be thankful that less space means less to clean. Help me to be thankful for my running water and a pool within walking distance. Help me to be thankful for the dump trucks and lawn workers that wake me up early in the morning, reminding me to pray. Thank you for the neighbors we hear piddling around upstairs, and the opportunities to be a witness for You. Thank you for all the dogs the girls can watch out our window without us having to take care of them ourselves. Thank you for the parking spaces that are sometimes available and sometimes far away, giving us exercise. Thank you for no yard which frees our weekends for family outings. Give me a grateful spirit for the good and the bad. I never know how "the bad" can be used for Your glory.

And that's what I want. I do Lord. I promise. Even though I complain, even though I pray selfish prayers, even though I want what I think I want. Help me to want Your glory to overshadow everything that seems unfair and...well...small.

And help me not to act as if I'm a walking sacrifice.

Please let me to allow Your joy, oh Lord, to pulse through my veins, come out the cracks of my smile, and flow from my spirit. Let there not be a sigh, but a prayer of thankfulness. For YOU are the ONE to be praised. Let Your name be glorified by my life Lord. Privilege me enough to use me in whatever way You can.

Even if it's small.