preparing for Easter

I tried a pre Easter scripture/bible story and activity plan this year.  We did not get to all of them but the ones we did do were a lot of fun and a very cool way to make the stories tangible.  

Three of the stories we did were Jesus Feeding the 5000 and after reading it the boys got 2 swedish fish and 5 crackers and had to try to give each of us as much as we wanted and still have leftovers.  It didn't take them long to realize it was pretty much impossible :)

Another we did was Jesus calming the storm.  I let them make 'storms' in the bathtub and then try to calm it immediately by saying HUSH (a la Jesus Storybook Bible)  They spent about 20+ minutes soaking themselves and the bathroom!

Micah's favorite was the story of Jesus healing the blind man with mud.  We played Blind Hide N' Seek.  Connor liked being seeked but hated being the seeker.  Being 'blind' totally freaked him out!

We also dyed Easter eggs which has nothing to do with a bible story about Jesus but it's fun and artistic and makes pretty egg salad when you're done.  Micah actually asked why people talk about bunnies and eggs and stuff because it doesn't have anything to do with Jesus.  It led to an interesting conversation where I imparted brilliant gospel wisdom...seriously though we chatted a bit about it and it was cool.

If you notice the huge yellow puddle on the paper, that was Logan's contribution.  About 30 seconds after this next picture Connor knocked over the blue one.  

joy

I'm kind of going to put my self out there and share something I wrote to a friend not too long ago.  It was meant to encourage them and I was thinking today about transparency and thankfulness and all sorts of other things and felt maybe it was the right decision to share this on here in the hopes that there was someone else in the world (a.k.a the 20ish people who read my blog) who might need/want to hear it as well.  So here ya go...

There have been many times in my life where I have struggled with finding joy. I wouldn't call it depression but they were just times when I didn't feel right, just not quite myself. At some point in my early/mid twenties I feel like God started opening my eyes to the circumstances around it so that I could begin to pinpoint when it might happen or at least when it did happen what the cause might be. It usually comes along side times where I'm (1) exhausted (2) have a lot of things on my plate/in my brain and get overwhelmed (3) haven't been able to spend time with friends who encourage me (4) letting the lives others make me feel discontent with where I am in my own life. I"m pretty sure it's not a coincidence either that when any or all of these four things are going on that the amount of time I spend in prayer or reading my bible is pretty pitiful.

I started feeling these oh so familiar feelings a couple weeks ago when Logan was sleeping horribly because he was teething and Zach was really busy and gone a lot of nights and we were having lots of conversations about different decisions we needed to make. I felt the need to look up verses about JOY so that they would be ready for me to read when I needed them. Knowing my joy does not come from me or my surroundings but only because I am a child of God and that I have an amazing Savior who sacrificed himself so that I could not only have everlasting life BUT that I may also enjoy the life he has placed me in here on Earth despite the circumstances I am in. Don't ask me why I didn't think of this years ago. I guess its just reason one million that I need the Holy Spirit's guide or I'd just keep trying to fix it on my own and failing 

btw I know it's weird but I looked them up starting at the end of the NT and working my way forward. Not sure why but here ya go 

1 Peter 1:8 ...rejoice w/ JOY that is inexpressible and filled with glory

1 John 1:4 And we are writing these things so our JOY may be complete

James 1:2 Count It all JOY (He is sovereign and knows my whole story!)

Hebrews 13:17 (obey with joy not groaning)

! Thessalonians 1:6 w/ the joy of the Holy Spirit (just knowing Him and what He did feels us w/ joy)

Philippians 4:1 my JOY and crown stand firm thus in the Lord (nothing/no one can steal a joy fixed in Christ)

Philippians 2:2 Complete my JOY by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and one mind

Galatians 5:22 The fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self Control

John 16:22 no one will take your JOY (JOY=Christ's sacrifice, God's forgiveness, our Righteousness through HIM)

John 15:11 ...my joy may be in you and your joy may be full

Habakkuk 3:18 YET I will rejoice in the Lord. I will take Joy in the God of my salvation.

Isaiah 55:12 For you shall go out in JOY...

Isiaiah 35:10 ...they shall obtain gladness and JOY. and sorrow and sighing shall flee away

Proverbs 10:28 The hope of the righteous brings joy

Psalms 119:111 Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart

Psalm 92:4 For you Lord have made me glad by your work; at the works of you hand I sing for joy

**Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit**

Psalm 30:5 ...joy come sin the morning

Nehemiah 8:10 ...the JOY of the Lord is your strength

If nothing else I hope it makes you feel good to know that you're not alone. It always makes me feel good to know that other people struggle with stuff too. no one is perfect...no one has it altogether. Even the people who pretend they do 

sunday song on a tuesday

I am absolutely in love with All Sons and Daughters right now and loved this song for Holy Week for I thought I'd share.  Even if it is a Tuesday :)

We Are Blessed

All Sons and Daughters 

We are loved at the end of our rope
When we're less there is more of the Lord
In the fight for our souls we must learn to let go
And abandon who we are

We are loved when we feel all is lost
When the shadows are cast on the cross
Only then can we know the embrace of the one
Who's carried us along

We are blessed, we are blessed [x2]

We are loved when we feel most content
With who we are, nothing more nothing less
We'll inherit the earth declaring Your worth
Bring glory to Your name

We are blessed, we are blessed [x4]

We're blessed, we're loved
Our hearts, our souls
We now rejoice, rejoice
[x4]

Oh oh oh oh...

romania

Zach and I along with 9 other people from our church are going to Oradea, Romania for 10 days this summer.  This is the third year a team from our church has gone to Romania to work with an awesome ministry Belief In Motion.  

Belief in Motion outlines 8 weeks of topics for the summer, this summer is the Beatitudes, and different groups that come over take a week and plan the story, craft, snack and games and we spend the week traveling to different gypsy villages, minor centers and orphanages and share our lesson, visit, and love them with the unconditional love of Christ which is something most of them do not see on a regular basis.  We will also be helping with cleaning, construction, organizing, and anything else to help the Bruski family maintain, build and expand their ministry in Romania and to help the people there see the love of Christ through us.

This is my first mission's trip and I am nervously excited.  I technically went on one to Charleston as a senior in high school but I don't know if it really counts.  I have wanted to go since our team got back last year and mentioned it to Zach a few times and asked if he thought this was something ok for me to do alone or was it something he thought we should experience together.  He right away answered together but wasn't ready to jump on board and I wasn't prepared for it to be my idea that he just came along with.  Too much pressure! ;)  So after him praying about it and talking to some other people about he began to get excited and we made the commitment to go. 

 Of course I immediately started panicking that we would both be on a plane and it might crash and we would leave our children orphans.  Much like I do every time we go anywhere.  But I feel extremely certain that God placed this desire to go on my heart for a reason and am praying that those sinful doubts and anxieties stay away so that they don't mask the purpose of the trip and what God has in store for us there.

Our plan is to do group fundraising with the rest of our mission team, make some different spending choices for the next few months and Zach is going to try and raise personal funds by doing as many photo shoots as he can in order for us to supplement our own trip.  This means we will not be sending out letters or anything like that, however if you just feel a desire to send us money we sure won't send it back ;-)

Ways you can help though are...

*  PRAY!  Pray for us, our team, our babies as we leave them for 10 days, my heart as I leave my babies for 10 days, the people we will encounter and anything else you can think of that might be needed to be prayed for :)

*  Book a photo shoot with my oh so talented husband.  Here's his website if you want to check out his stuff!  Zach May Photography

*  Gather, collect, find. purchase any of the following items for us to take over and share with the different villages.

games or sports equipment (i.e. balls, frisbees, balloons, bubbles, jump ropes, etc.)
school supplies (i.e. crayons, markers, glue, paper, etc.)
cereal bars/protein bars
sunscreen

bug spray

personal hygiene items (i.e. washcloths, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, brushes, hair ties, etc.)

vitamins (adult, child and prenatal)

flip flops

ibuprofen (adult and children's)

cough meds, cold meds, stomach meds and any over the counter drugs

small toys, stuffed animals or dollar store items

non chocolate candy

baby supplies (i.e. diapers, food, formula, clothes, wipes, etc.)

Please let me know if you are able to help with anything or if you just want to know more about the trip or if you just want to say hey :)

sarah.ann.may@gmail.com

opening day

While Micah has been having practice for over a month now he finally got to play the first game of the season last Saturday.  Opening Day is always fun.  Seeing him so excited and getting in his uniform for the first time is just the cutest.  I've always been a sucker for a guy in a baseball uniform!

He is on the Cubs this year but he has the same coach as last year which we were really excited about.  His coach is a nice Christian guy who goes to church with some friends of ours.  He has 5 kids, two of which are on the team and is super encouraging and chill with the kids.  While he coaches softball on the middle school level, he's not the most organized guy when it comes to running practice ( I assume because 5 year olds are way different than teens) BUT he's really knowledgeable and has two great assistant coaches to help out this year as well.  One of which I"m pretty partial too ;)

We also have another group of great encouraging parents on the team again too.  I"m so thankful for two years in a row of a fun, encouraging, and positive environment.  It's amazing how many over the top, stressed out yelling coaches and parents there are out there.  We have been blessed with this team for sure!

We played the Mets for the first game this year and they ended up having to forfeit because only 6 players showed up.  They pulled a couple guys from other teams that I had already played and we scrimmaged them  so all the kids could play and won 11-1.  It took us 8 games before we got our first win last year so this was super exciting!!  Nana and Poppy were able to come for the game too which just makes it more fun.

Micah plays short stop and you can tell he has experience now with one year under his belt.  He picked number 5 this year like Freddie Freeman from the Braves and even has batting gloves to make him look really official.   Watching your baby love something they do is such an awesome parent experience!

Connor and Logan got a little antsy half way through so Linda and I took them to the playground.  It was right next to the field Micah was playing on so we didn't miss anything.

Last night they had their second game and second win.  Micah went 3-3 and all three were doubles.  Much clapping and videoing ensued :)

spy game

Micah has been very into spies lately and spent part of an afternoon "spying" on Connor, Logan and I.  

Can you spot him?

teeth

One thing I forgot to share in Logan's update was how much he LOVES brushing his teeth. It's kind of ridiculous. 

He will stand there for however long you let him to keep sticking his toothbrush under the water and back in his mouth.  We are working on putting it back in the cup after an allotted amount of time but usually this is what happens when I take it away...

talent show

Our church had a talent/no talent show last weekend and three of my fellas did the song Always together.  Zach played guitar, Connor sang with some help, and Micah played guitar. 

It was so sweet and so cute.  Micah was SUPER nervous to have people staring at him and spent a lot of time maneuvering himself behind music stands while playing so no one could see him.  He did really good but I know he did more in practice when he was relaxed.  His highlight was jumping on the kick drum to get it to make a sound and having his little head bop up and down.  Connor was a comedian and added some extra stuff in his voice when he was hitting some notes.  Leslie got it on video and Magda held Logan for me so I could get a few pictures.  I didn't get a close up of Micah because he was already nervous and I didn't want to add to it!

look closely for Micah in the background :)

16 months

Happy 16 months old to my Logi Bear!  I haven't done an official update of Logan since his first birthday.  Poor forgotten 3rd child or he is so attached to me at all times it's hard to have a moment away just to think, I'll let you decide which it is.

Lots of growing has been taking place the last four months.  Mostly in mischievousness but lots of positives too.  He's definitely developed a stubborn opinionated streak now that he's a mature toddler and knows exactly what he wants and when he wants it.  Oh how the parenting begins.  In other newness...

*first word was mommy and second word was daisy.  While those two seem to remain his favorites he also says daddy, Conner (nonner), Evie (weevie), hi, hello, bye bye, ball, baseball, bat, hat, milk, shoes (shhhh), read, ba ba, duck, dog, bath, eat, drink, let's go, no, stop, please, thank you, more, bite, play, outside, slide, swing (weee), cheese, water, uh oh, bar, nigh night and repeats a lot of other ones if he is in the mood to repeat them.
*can point to his eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, hands, feet, toes head and hair when asked.
*likes to throw things.  I prefer him to throw a ball but he prefers to throw whatever might be in his hand.
*loves taking a bath and knows it's bath time when he's finished eating dinner.  He hates getting his hair washed though.
*likes pushing cars on the floor and makes a car noise when he does it.
*eats a lot more things now but still will not eat pizza or spaghetti or anything with a red sauce or ground beef.
*LOVES marshmallows.  I had to hide the bag from first sight in the pantry so he would not ask for one every time I opened it.
*would stay outside all the live long day if he could.
*has all four of his one year molars which all came in at the exact same time causing a few rough nights.
*thinks Evie (weevie) is the best thing ever and yells her name if he hears it come up in any conversation and/or if he sees a baby girl and/or if he just feels like saying it at a certain moment.
*favorite current book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar and he makes munching sounds as soon as I open it to read.
*his second favorite book is Where's Spot that I bought for $.50 at a consignment sale when Micah was one.
*can make a duck sound, a lion sound and a dog sound but pretty much has no interest in any other animal.
*learned how to hold a play gun and make shooting noises from his big brothers.
*still climbs like a champ and can not be left unmonitored for even a moment outside or else he will climb the ladder or rock wall on our play set with no spotting.
*likes yelling hello to anyone on the phone whether they are real or imaginary.
*enjoys making messes and is allowed to some times when I really need to accomplish something.  It seems somewhat counterproductive to let him destroy one area while I do something in another but if it helps me be productive I'll take it.

All in all this little fella is an adorable lovable mess!!