april 24, 2013

today is that day when i finally remembered to buy+download a "kids praise" kind of album to listen to with the kids i nanny, eliza+antonio.

recently we have been going through THE JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLE, specifically the story on zacchaeus. every day between morning and naptime, we sit together and begin with a song and then our story. i have been teaching them "Jesus Loves Me" and since eliza has been requesting to hear zacchaeus's story everyday, i decided to teach them the song about him, too.

these kids LOVE music. they are always requesting songs by artist and title and they are always down to dance (my kind of littles, if you ask me). for these reasons i keep telling myself: you need to get a [tolerable] kids praise cd to jam to with these littles!

so, fast forward to today: i'm making breakfast for them and eliza is talking about singing "zacchaeus" in the car "by herself" and then asks, "do you want to sing wit me?" i tell you, my heart skipped and of course we began singing, and of course we began getting sillier and sillier being filled by the joy that comes with loving and worshiping The Lord. as king david became undignified, so we too wiggled and giggled and danced for our Rescuer and King, Jesus. swiftly thereafter, i was on my phone searching itunes. i found an album. i docked my phone into the speakers and eliza lit up!

"They're singing about Jesus! Shall we dance!?" (i love that in her mind when she thinks of Jesus, her first inclination is to dance! Glory, i tell you, GLORY!!!) and so we danced--duh! and when "Jesus Loves Me" and "zacchaeus" came on, this little 3yo stinker looked like she just shot the moon!

Jesus is alive. the bible is holy, and real, and true, and living. He has rescued us and we, here at this house, are going to dance and sing in thankful joy of all these truths!

i, personally, was blessed to see the evidence of seeds planted and Jesus' loving faithfulness never to return void. HE IS FAITHFUL. despite my wretched unfaithfulness to Him and my shameful impatience with these littles. His love abounds and gives us abundant life.

oh what grace!
oh what love!
oh what a SAVIOR!

xoxo. grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.[eph. 6:24]

one year + one week later.

i am more in love + more devoted to peter lowell broberg, than ever before.

i praise the Lord, from whom all blessings flow.

h.o.m.e....

is wherever i’m with you...and food.

there are not many things i enjoy more than home. for me home can be rather subjective. mostly it means where i feel the most comfortable--mainly loved--and it means that my husband is usually there and preferably he’s holding my hand. 

{griffin james + unclepete}

i love being at home. i love the smells; activities; security; i love home cooked meals. however difficult or easy they are. semi-homemade, too. i love the taste of food that had thoughtful consideration put into preparing it. i love personally preparing it and sharing that thoughtfulness and love [and devotion] with others. my mom has always said that cooking is cheaper than therapy and food is medicine...how great is that, when you really think about it?! the Lord has prepared a way to decompress from the world around, become selfless, and revel in His glorious bounty of blessing while chopping, rinsing, steaming, paring,...cooking for others as well as yourself. 

i always feel so defeated when we go out to eat. yes, it is a treat, and yes it is a blessing...but there's something about eating out that makes me feel like i'm living life wrong. recently peter and i made the best nachos! we made the chips from scratch and we used leftover taco meat from the night before...i loved it! we got to be creative, thrifty, and we got to cook together! as i was eating i felt so proud, like "this is the life. we sure are doing it right...i love home."

i am so thankful for a mother who enjoys cooking and enjoys creating healthy fun meals. i am even more grateful to her for bestowing that joy to me. i am thankful for knowing the key to making a house a home and the worth and love of a home-cooked meal...what a charm!

chip recipe::

  ingredients:

  -raw corn tortillas [we use white but i'm sure yellow would work/taste just as well].

  -canola/vegetable oil.

  -salt.

  directions:

  -preheat your oven to 350*

  -cut your tortillas in quarters and assemble on baking sheet. try to avoid too many overlaps.

  -lightly--so the salt will stick--oil both sides of the tortilla quarters [we use a hand-pump sprayer but haven't always].

  -sprinkle salt to both sides

  -bake. i don't actually set the timer because each batch takes different amounts of time...i just watch them periodically and rustle them up as well as turn the sheet around and switch bottom to top [if using more than one]

  -this rarely takes more than 10mins

  -cool on a rack or eat hot.

*these are a broberg household staple. peter and i both get bummed when we are forced to use store-bought at home.

9 months ago, sunday....

i became a wife! the Lord has surely blessed me. He has given me a life long friend + battle partner. He has given me a house + home + so much more!

in these past nine months i have learned. learned more about the nature of God + His saving graces through Jesus, + how He daily redeems me from my wicked self. learned more about my husband: what truly peeves him, what brings him joy...+ i have learned more about myself: my wretchedness, impatience, +stubbornness have all come to a brilliantly embarrassing light, so i have been learning to be content + thankful.

i am learning how to: cook balanced meals; grocery shop; clean up (+not just after myself); be vulnerable + honest.

here's to a lifetime of months married to my best friend, seeking His kingdom together.

{welcome to the world griffin james stone! april 16, 2012}

{making himself one happy t.t.}

{...+one very nervous uncle}

{griffin + his biggest big brother, jude}

{griffin + gavin: a new big brother!}

{t.t. + her pebbles}

i don't know about you, but 3weeks early never looked so good! Praise the Lord that labor and delivery were safe + sound. griffin + mom {dad, +the two big brothers} are as happy {+tired} as can be!