Additionally, we’ve discovered Sean is a pretty talented photographer. Our friend Em passed along her old Nikon SLR last September and Sean has put it to good use. Here’s a slideshow he created of his favorites:

I have to say I love that he used Best of What’s around- one of my favorite songs! It turns out Sean and I have lots in common :)

Caleb– May, 2011

Caleb loves to read and Caleb loves to write. The wheels of his imagination are constantly turning! This afternoon he sat down at the computer and cranked out the beginning of a brand new book. This will be the 3rd book he has authored (I’ll have to post some of his earlier stuff too). When Cam got home tonight, Caleb read us what he wrote this afternoon and frankly, I’m super impressed with what he’s got so far. This is exactly as he typed it today, without any editing:

Chapter One

Jake Moneke awoke on a Tuesday morning to the sound of his alarm. He reached for the snooze button but in his attempt fell out of bed. Now fully awake Jake stood up and turned the alarm off. He looked at the clock. 8.00 a.m. He was going to be late. Jake rushed out of the room and into his Kitchen. He looked around franticly then ran back into his bedroom. He went to his closet and opened it. He threw on the first thing he saw, and ran back into the Kitchen. He grabbed a leftover piece of steak from the night before and shoved it into his mouth and ran out of his apartment and into an elevator. He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the elevator to reach its destination. Finally he arrived at the bottom of the apartment complex and ran out the door. He leaped the stairway outside and landed on the sidewalk. He whistled for a cab and waited. A couple minutes later a taxi pulled up next to him. He jumped in and gave the taxi driver the directions. “Thirty Sixth Street, please.” Jake said. For the next few minutes they drove in silence then the cab came to a sudden stop. “Thirty Sixth Street” The cab driver said gruffly. “Thank you” Jake said as he stepped out of the car and onto the sidewalk. “I owe you a million” Jake then turned and ran into a large building with a large sign on it that read: Archeology and Mythology. Jake stepped inside the building. Inside there was a lobby with chairs and tables, and at the end of the room was an elevator. He walked across the room quickly and into the elevator. He waited only a few seconds and then finally the elevator doors opened. Jake stepped out and walked hurriedly to a desk where a secretary sat “You can go right in” She said. Jake kept walking until he came upon a door. He straitened himself out, and then entered. Inside there was a conference going on “sorry I’m late” he said apologetically as he sat down. “Jake, Can I talk to you.” His boss asked. “let’s go into my office.” They both sat down and his then boss begin to speak “Jake, You’ve been coming in late and not being able to work lately.”  “Only the past few weeks” Jake said.  “But how can I know that it won’t happen forever?” His boss said. “Look, Jake, there are a lot of better workers out there, and I don’t think it’s in the company’s best interest to keep you here.” “You’re firing me?” Jake asked.  “Well…” he waited for a moment then nodded. “Well,” Jake stood up “It’s been good working for you… I’ll go get my things” then Jake stepped out of the room.

. . . . .

Check back for more!

Motherhood should come with… Faith. A great partner. A manual? Lots of patience and an extra measure of grace. Motherhood definitely brings a whole lot of perspective to one’s life. It should come with a good play dough recipe, imagination and creativity. Motherhood should be shared with friends. It should come with a sewing machine and patterns to make her children’s favorite costumes. It should come with a way to save, store and remember all the little everyday sweetness that so quickly fades. Motherhood should come with lots of bins and shelves to organize all the special treasures that her little ones create and store. Motherhood should come with a strong heart to bear all the joy, pain, hope, disappointment, fear, and uncertainty.

He will see an orthopedic surgeon tomorrow to have it set and put in a cast. Hopefully he will be all healed and cast-free before summer starts!

This song was recorded using GarageBand. They wrote all the music and lyrics, recorded each individual track and learned how to burn it onto a CD all on their own. There’s a lot going on in this song and they have lots still to learn but I am such a proud mom!!!

Here’s a little game I created for our CTK Women’s Christmas, Coffee and Carols night. Feel free to download and play with your friends and family!

As the dew falls on the blade
You have touched all this fragile frame
And as a mother knows her baby’s face
You know me
As the Summer air within my chest
I have breathed You deep down into my breast
And as You know the hairs upon my head
Every thought and every word I’ve said

Savior, You have known me as I am
Healer, You have known me as I was
As I will be
In the morning in the evening
You have known me
Yeah, You know me

And as the exhilaration of Autumn’s bite
Oh, You have brought these tired bones to brilliant life
And as the swallow knows, she knows the sky
This is how it is with You and I

From the fall of my heart to the resurrection of my soul
You know me, God
And You know my ways
In my rising and my sitting down
You see me as I am
Oh, see me as I am

And as a lover knows His beloved’s heart
All the shapes and curves of her, even in the dark
Oh, You have formed one in my inward parts
And You know me

You have always known me
You know me
You have always known my heart

Known:: Audrey Assad - preview it here

“The way God ordained it, we don’t just need our vertical relationship with Him to make it in life and marriage. We need one another. We need Hebrews 10:24-25 kind of people. We need folks around us to cheer us on and even to question us and hold us accountable. We need people who will not only pray for us but laugh with us and cry with us. Eat Mexican food with us. Live life with us! We need more than Facebook and blogs and tweets, as much as I enjoy them. We need real people and real face-to-face, life-to-life relationships.”

I have been thinking about this concept a lot lately. I am hesitant to be as transparent as I probably need to be when it comes to these thoughts. It seems silly to me to verbalize this but I don’t think I have ever felt quite this lonely before. I have spent more time alone in the last year than I think I ever have in my life. As I say this I realize that probably sounds ridiculous. Cam and I are in a great place in our relationship and truthfully, I am not really ever alone because I always have the boys with me. I also have sisters (of whom I am incredibly thankful for) but being the “big sister” presents some challenges for me in terms of accepting a reciprocal relationship (my issue, not theirs). I also have lots of acquaintances, people who I know a little and who know me a little or know me a lot (I tend to be a pretty open book). All of those relationships are a blessing and I am thankful but what I am specifically talking about is a friendship- like someone to hang out with, to go to coffee with, to go for a walk with, to hang out at the beach with, someone to call when things are going well and when things are difficult. Someone who knows me, loves me, challenges me and who knows my family and loves them too. Like Beth says above, someone to “live life with” and I want to be that kind of friend for someone too.

Over the last year I have tried to spiritualize it, believing that maybe God has me in this season for a reason, that I am supposed to learn that He is that kind of friend and so much more but honestly I am still just lonely! I know God is that kind of friend and we spend time together and I do feel loved and known by Him and I wouldn’t trade that for anything but I would like to have a buddy too! God created us to need people, to desire community and to live life with others. I know that it is my responsibility to do something if I want things to change but right now it just feels so scary! The more isolated I feel the less likely I am to reach out or make a phone call. My head swarms with warnings and fears of rejection. As Holly and I were talking the other day, we had an epiphany, for an extrovert (I’m like 99.9% extrovert) being alone is just as exhausting as it is for an introvert to be with people constantly. Being alone drains me.

For me, writing this is hard. It feels like an want ad for friendship or like I am looking for sympathy! It’s not either. I am a verbal processor and often work stuff out with words. Writing this is an attempt to fight my pride and just be honest about where I am at. Another thing that makes writing this awkward is that I am not sure what my “next step” is yet. So for now, I’ll just end with these verses from Hebrews:

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV)

A wedding and an anniversary! Yesterday Cam officiated the wedding of our friends Thomas and Jess Haymaker. We are happy to share our anniversary with such a sweet couple! Their wedding was lovely and their vows were beautiful and sincere. You could feel the love and sense the excitement they felt about starting their married life together. They reminded me of how Cam and I felt on the day of our wedding (12 years ago). We wanted to be married more than anything and to begin living life together.

Each year on our anniversary, we look back and say to each other, “This was the best year yet!” This year represents so much growth and new levels of trust and respect for each other. We have watched each other push ourselves beyond our assumed limits and have cheered and encouraged one another in doing so. I feel the most vulnerable I have ever felt and yet so safe and secure. For all the wonderful aspects of our relationship, there are definitely challenges and struggles. We are just two broken sinners trying to figure this thing out together! The security and peace that I feel at this point in our marriage is a direct result of the fact that Cam and I desire to seek God first and what’s in each others best interest second. God alone is our security and our strength. We are confident that without His love poured into us, we would not have what we need to love each other well.

I pray that year after year we will continue to say, “This was the best year yet!”