The Intentional Life

Back in March a picture was taken of the six baby girls who were born to houseparents at Gateway all within an 8 month time span. It's 7 months later and we did another 'photo shoot.' The last time Maddie was 1 month old and slept through the whole thing. This time we were contending with 6 girls who could crawl or walk and wanted to eat the leaves :) But a sprinkling of cheerios and tossing leaves helped us get a few good shots. Thanks to Stef Beer for taking the pictures.

All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. I Corinthians 9:25-27 So the race we had been training since April for finally came and went. Paul and I ran the Columbus Marathon (he the full, me the half) this past weekend. The kids stayed with the grandparents (thank you!) and we headed down to Columbus to take a shot at reaching our desired goals. We had gorgeous running weather. The race started at 7:30, just before the sunrise hit downtown, with a cool, crisp high 40's morning. By the end of the race it was mid 60's and sunny. Paul started our morning with a prayer and verse (can you guess which one?) and I was reminded of it as I was running later that morning. Training for a big race has quite the correlation of running the race of life spiritually speaking. Both take d...

Four years ago today, Owen made his very quick arrival into this world by a (surprise!) c-section in the early hours of the morning. Today he delights us with his morning smile, asking for his daily oatmeal (yes, he eats oatmeal every morning...he loves it :) He moves through the day constantly asking questions, and having a remarkable ability to remember every answer. He has a sensitive heart that often leads him to hurt when others hurt. Our sweet Owen, 4 years old! We love you, Owen, and we are so glad that God chose us to love you and raise you up to know Him. Happy Birthday!

So, a few months back I mentioned something about needing to challenge myself to try tough stuff. So, from a non-spiritual direction, I tried my hand at some handsewing. I found this craft book that had patterns for making stuffed animals. One pattern was for an elephant I decided to try my hand at. For the material I used old baby clothes of Hannah's that she had ruined with all her puking. I couldn't just throw them away so i cut up the less stained parts and used them to piece together the elephant. Here is the finished product, minus a few details that I need my mom's help instructing (french knots? blanket stitch? yikes!) Owen wants a monkey so that is next on my list. And the elephant's name? Mommy. Thanks, Hannah :)

Ever since our camping experience over Labor Day, Owen and Hannah have camping in their blood. Thankfully, a Steffen campout was quickly put together and Owen and Hannah got to enjoy another night in the pop-up camping with Grandpa and Grandma. We've also attempted a few campfires in our firepit. We had one great evening, roasting marshmallows and collecting sticks. Another night we got rained out so the kids and Paul built a "tent" in the living room with blankets and kid furniture. Maddie loved everyone crawling around on the floor with her. She could hardly contain herself :) We did smores in the oven instead of the fire (it seemed to work out alright!) And just yesterday we pulled out a tee pee Owen received as a birthday gift. Owen and Hannah played outside with it during the day. Then when we brought it in at night, Paul read them some books in it before bed. Looking back over my pictures I took in the month of September, almost all of them are of camping/cam...

This past Labor Day weekend we took 4 days off and headed to Illinois to camp with some friends. The place we stayed at was down by the Mackinaw River, surrounded by conservation land. The weather was perfect and the area was gorgeous. There were paths to walk around on and the river was ankle deep so the kids were able to play in it. The kids took Jeep rides, horseback rides, and long walks on the paths. I think their favorite part was throwing rocks in the river and sleeping in the camper. We had great food and company. And did i mention this was all in someone's backyard? Pretty amazing. I hope to go next year :)

This past weekend we were able to get together with the whole Suvar family. Since we were all there, we decided to try for a family group photo. The only person not looking or smiling is Maddie, so i think it turned out pretty good. After the "photo shoot" the kids had a great time running and splashing in puddles. And that night Owen and Hannah camped out in the backyard with Grandpa - something they ALL enjoyed :)