New Wheels

Since beginning the blog I've gotten sick and have been too tired to think of something coherent to say.  That hardly means that exciting life moments haven't been happening all around me.  And though I've certainly lost my temper and become frustrated, the motivation to remain joyful has been strong.  Perhaps because my continual exhortation to my 3 year old, Ane, has been, "Have a happy heart."  More than anything else, listening to her whine about something sends me over the edge with impatience.  Then her feelings get hurt and she whines more.  So we're working on having a good attitude together.  I'm thankful for a tip from some of my fantastic mom friends to have a jelly bean jar to encourage and reward good attitudes.  On the agenda for tomorrow: buy jelly beans.  Just the idea of gaining and losing jelly beans was a strong motivator for Ane today.  I'll be sure to update regarding the success of this new system.

Now to the really exciting things going on over the past few days.  My husband and I have been talking for months, maybe even years about getting a minivan.  We're only 26, so this may seem premature, but with two kids, a new puppy, and a strong desire to continue growing our family, we're ready to trade in coolness for practicality.  Our recent vacation to visit my family solidified our desire for more space NOW. 

With a limited budget, we casually began our search on Craigslist.  The sixth posting from the top was for a Windstar at the perfect price.  Wonder of wonders, we were the first the reply.  Today was the day to go take it for a test drive.  The owner lived about an hour away, so we tried to be on the ball getting out the door on time.  Right.  Like that would actually happen.  Stuff got spilled.  Directions were forgotten.  Baby Juniper even pooed right after being put in her carseat and needed a last minute change.  It was chaos, but my heart was prepared.  When I got up this morning I read through Psalm 37.  God spoke to my heart about his sole ability to uphold and provide for all who trust in him.  Even if we were running late, even if the van wasn't road worthy, even if our price was rejected, God was on our side, ever and always lovingly working for our good.

The van was better than we expected.  The seller was so kind and instantly smitten with our little girls.  Emerson goes to pick it up tomorrow.  He even just told me that he found a friend to ride out to get it with him so that the girls and I don't have to make the trip again.  What faithful provision from our loving Father?

This is certainly just the first step of what I know will be a CRAZY adventure of growing our little family, but what a way to begin!  With hearts swelling with joy and love.

Finally A Name

So I've been contemplating beginning a blog for months. I've found so much creative instruction and inspiration from other blogs and have thought that I, too, would enjoy the creative outlet of sharing my thoughts, aspirations and creations. And yet I've been reluctant to actually begin my own blog. Sure, a part of me feels intimidated to write for anyone to read, but I'll be honest, the biggest deterrent to beginning this blog has been coming up with a name. Silly, I know, but I figured that the name is what people read first and I wanted it to be something that was reflective of me and the content of my blog. Then tonight I was on the phone with my mom. We had just spent over a week visiting my parents, and Mom was telling me that whenever someone asked her how it was having everyone home to visit her reply was, "Joyful chaos."

And there it was. A name for my blog. Joyful Chaos is as much of a description as it is a challenge for me. As much as I try to organize and manage my life, the fact is that living life to the fullest entails quite a bit of chaos. It is the attitude of the heart that matters. And so my prayer is that the theme of joyful chaos would challenge me to check the attitude of my heart in all circumstances and to live with true joy.

So I'll do my best to be real here; knowing that happiness is fleeting, but true joy flows from the heart.