A Trip Shoe Shopping and to the Grocery Store with Three Kids under Four

How does God answer the prayer "Dear God, I think I am about to lose my mind."?

Nothing in particular

Yes, this is a post about nothing in particular. I just feel like journaling. Page family life is going pretty well. We have been having lots of fun with the kids and are just in awe at how quickly they grow and change. We pulled down some of Joshua's baby clothes from the attic this morning and it pained me to go through them. What is that feeling? Why am I sad to go through my son's baby clothes? Time lost? Not really, we thoroughly enjoyed those years. The fact that he will never be that little again? Maybe. But, I am really enjoying this stage, too, and look forward to the future. Gosh, I sit here right now and look over at the bin and tears well up in my eyes. There are these little insy teensy diapers in there that don't look like they could have ever fit my 45lb 3 year old. Too bad I didn't get them down about 4 months ago.. Emily could have used them! As I peek over at the old Huggies box filled with memories, I see Joshua's first Halloween costume spilling out over the sides. A Superman bunting made of blue and red felt. I distinctly remember rushing to Party City the day of our church's Trunk or Treat in search of a costume for our 3 month old. The size on the outfit was six months and I could barely squeeze our chunky monkey into the costume. Who knew that our overstuffed Superman would one day be convinced he was Spiderman? I am thinking of who I can pass the clothes down... But, it is so hard to let them go. They are clothes for goodness sakes! Let 'em go. Unfortunately, Baby Canon has probably outgrown them... maybe Janet and Uncle Josh's future offspring? Yes, I think that is where the clothes will go. Ok, really... moving on from Joshua's baby clothes.... moving on... really, let them go Jennifer.

Emily's sleeping has regressed. I thought I had it made when she was sleeping through the night (like 7pm til 7am) around two months. Joke is on me. She has been getting up 4x a night recently. I told Freddie yesterday that I totally understand why sleep deprivation has been used as a torture method. I feel like I am being tortured as the cries wake me from a deep slumber approximately every two hours. Nevertheless, when I walk into her nursery I am always happy to see her... squirming around on her belly (and sometimes having flipped over to her back looking like a little beetle bug). Every night before she goes to bed I have a little talk with her about tonight being the night she sleeps til dawn. Maybe... just maybe.. tonight is the night!

Sophia is my little fire ball. That kid has so much personality wrapped up in a compact little 24lb shell. Her Uncle Jason says she looks like you should just be able to pick her up and put her in your pocket. Our neighbor was over here yesterday helping me get the kids ready as I nursed Emily. While changing shirts, Sophia pointed out that she has an "outie" belly button and then proceeded to tell Adrianna that the rest of us have "innies". Adrianna asked her where she got her "outie" from. I was ready for Sophia to come back with some deep theological answer like "from God". No. Sophia thinks her "outie" belly button came from the grocery store. :)

Charlotte Mason

"What is worth beginning is worth finishing, and what is worth doing is worth doing well."

Easter 2008

We had a fabulous Easter weekend with Freddie's side of the family in Columbia. We could not have asked for better weather.. it was beautiful and the kids had a fabulous time coloring and hunting Easter eggs. We attended an awesome service at Radius Church Columbia Sunday morning then ate a delicious Easter dinner afterwards. Here are a few pics of our weekend:

Beautiful day for an Easter egg hunt!

Wow, today is such a beautiful day!!!! It is almost 70 degrees and sunny with little to no wind. I just love days like this. I could never live in the NW where it is rainy the majority of the time. A friend of ours had an Easter egg hunt for our old playgroup and some new friends and it was a blast! The kids had so much fun. It was Sophia's first real egg hunt and she found true joy cracking open the plastic eggs and finding M&Ms and Tootsie Rolls. They played on the swing set and played chase and kicked the soccer ball around. Emily even took a nice little nap and enjoyed the abundant sunshine. Everyone was having so much fun.. lots of laughter with good friends. On this Good Friday, we thank you Jesus for the sacrifice you made for us, for your beautiful creation and good friends.

Philippians 4:6-7

"(6)Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (7)And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus"

I had the opportunity to share this verse with someone today and was reminded myself of what an awesome God we serve. It is so easy to get bogged down in day to day circumstances.. some good and some not so good.. and totally lose sight of the Lord. Well, maybe not for you, but it is for me. I go through seasons of attempting to live up to the standard of "praying without ceasing" and ,when I do just that, Philippians 4:6-7 really comes alive to me - as it is the truth. Anxiety and worry lessen and I truly do feel the peace of the Lord.. it is almost like I feel like I can take on anything.. it is like you are on a "God High". Then, for whatever reason, I delve into a loss of perspective and little trials seem huge and I start depending on myself or others to give me peace and improve circumstances. How silly is that? I mean, really. We are sinners... all of us. So, this verse offered me renewed encouragement that we serve a BIG God. And, regardless of our circumstances He is in control and can get us through them and not only JUST get us through them but offer us peace through the muck. The McGowans, whose story is in my first blog, are living out this truth. Faced with incredibly difficult circumstances, you can sense their peace and joy and trust in the Lord just as clearly as you can see the hand of God working in their little one's life. Praise the Lord for His living Word that is alive and active and for the miracle of Cohen McGowan... he is growing stronger every day! :)

Our menu options have changed.

Have you ever noticed that every businesses' voice mail recording always starts with "Please listen as our menu options have changed". As soon as they make one change they forever will have to say that. So, regardless of how many times you have called this # and think you know what option you want to press you still have to listen to a long recording over again every single time you call.. just in case it is your option that has changed. You may think I am crazy for even making note of such a trivial thing. You see, to avoid many many interruptions which results in me losing all train of thought and sounding like a ding dong, I can only make phone calls when it is nap time and it is important to maximize that time. And, time maximization doesn't occur when I have to listen to voice recordings when a real person would be soo much faster. I could be doing, like, 5000 other things during my precious nap time... you know, like washing dishes, folding clothes, or - better yet - the elusive nap. I guess I should be thankful that it allows me to sit and relax and think about such unimportant things (and gets me out of cleaning the dishes). Yay!

The Page Fam

Miracles Do Occur

I have been following a story about a family in our church whose son was born last night with a usually fatal condition. He is still very much alive and doing very well. He was not expected to live past birth - if even through it. Since hearing their story my faith has certainly grown stronger. Through their trials, I have seen a miracle occur and God has shown his glory and strength and it is truly awesome. It has been so humbling to hear of what they have been through. With this condition most mothers are given the option to terminate the pregnancy early on and many take that route. However, this family chose life. They knew that God gave them this child and that He is in control and they wanted to be able to meet their son and looked forward to whatever time God gave them with him. They earnestly prayed and celebrated his life before he was born and God showed up. He is doing very well... very much so exceeding any of his doctors' expectations.. the medical staff is baffled. This has shown me that there definitely is power in prayer. All the glory goes to the Lord... he is SO good!

http://www.cortmcgowan.blogspot.com/