Life is like a stagnate blurr to me now that we are back. We have been back for a month now. It feels like everything has changed. Friendships are different. Day to day is different. Ethan is so different. Being a mom feels different...harder. People's lives are too busy. It has been hard to write anything lately. I feel like i am a little disoriented as the American ways are slapping me in the face right now. As i look out my window of life, there is such a strive all around me for perfection. To be the perfect mother, to have the perfect body, house and even to have the perfect schedule in your day. Living and loving lost it's simplicity a long time ago as "convenience" became the goal as a life style. Now we add this new intensity for perfection. What if all we did in a day was love well? we lost our organizer, did not do all the perfect little arts and crafts lessons with our kids, house did not get clean or dinner made on time, we were late to car pool, forgot to check our calenders for birthdays that we should have sent a card out for, but we loved and we loved well!
I don't know if i can ever measure up as a perfect mom and be so impressive as those who were and are so successful at it. I think i will just have to go ahead and admit that i will fail at it miserably. That is OK with me. Life isn't perfect...it is messy. It is a false reality to put that image of myself and of life, in front of my kids all the time. Rather to say, here is me...a mess and in need of God's merciful hand at every turn. Here is life...an often hurtful mess, in need of God's merciful hand at every turn.
At the end of the day, at the end of all this, at the end of being at home with young ones...no matter how wacky my day was...I hope i loved well and that i was able to show them the perfection of Jesus and his marvelous love! God, just give me that and i will surrender all my needs to perfection. This is my prayer, teach me to love as you love!

Snow Man Walking!

Ethan Snow started his walking career on July 15, 2008, in Norway, but he didn't really take off till we were back in Nashville and jet lag had really set in. So, we went to Borders 2 days in a row and just let him walk the isles till he couldn't walk anymore. Which took so much longer than i thought was possible! I never realized how that babies really don't want to do anything else, once they have learned this skill! how much fun we had with him! It was the perfect medicine for being jet lagged and sad to end a beautiful summer vacation in Norway!