by Parla Sonifrank

mid april our little family of four took a nice little vacation to va :)

it was so good to spend time w/ family again!

it was also good to get in some barefoot and short sleeve weather!

the above pics i took w/ my good camera

the pics that follow were taken w/ my iPhone

quality sure isn't there, but sometimes you just can't beat convenience!

Brighton lovvvvved this penguin in the airport and was very excited to get her picture taken w/ it :)

one of the highlights of our trip was a quick trip dave, asher, and i took to Washington DC to visit some old friends of mine

we so enjoyed the good conversation, the best eggs benedict i have ever had, and a fun little tour to some of the DC monuments

thank you so much for the wonderful time lem and jess!

our main reason for going to va and another highlight of the trip was the wedding of sam horst and sheri helmuth

the day was beautiful

the wedding was so incredibly God-honoring

the couple was perfectly in love

it was a blessing to be a part of their long-awaited day!

we also bought a gorgeous piece of land

10.5 acres in Augusta County

moving back to va is still a ways off…at least another 3 yrs, but it's exciting to have a place to plan and dream about!

hangin' in the airport on the way home...

and this is what we returned to… :/

life has been pretty crazy lately.

march 2nd we handed over the keys of our little green house and made the permanent move to our new house which dave began building this past fall.

it's beautiful and we are loving the extra space, all the natural light, and making it our own!

there are some odds and ends that need to be finished up, but hopefully before too long i can do a blog post w/ a little house tour

for now, here's my o so sweet (and sometimes rotten) kiddos!

somebody got into my mascara!

she has become a serious mess lately…so deliberately disobedient!

who knew parenting would be such a difficult job?

i have been so blessed here in Red Lake to be surround by many supportive and encouraging mamas.

i never realized the world of parenting would be such a judgemental place!

(i should probably stop reading so many of the articles that pop up on my Facebook newsfeed)

it seems that no matter how you choose to parent your children, somebody thinks you are doing it wrong and probably ruining your kids for life

if i vaccinate my kids i am playing into a greedy system which obviously cares nothing about the health of my kids and cares greatly about my money

if i don't vaccinate my kids i'm putting my kids at a huge risk, and if they die of some rare disease i'll have no one to blame but myself

if i spank my kids, i care nothing about their hearts, and they will likely grow up to be violent

if i don't spank my kids they will be able to run all over me and won't learn to respect authority

if i let my baby cry it out at night, i'm just being lazy and i should treasure those 2 am feedings because one day i'll wish my baby needed me again

if i don't teach my baby to self-soothe, they will never learn to be independent

and the list goes on…and on…and on!

the thing that get me most about those articles is the hateful comments that follow

it's unbelievable the way parents verbally abuse other parents

it's as if all parents are out there to do what's the worst for their kids

but i think that in reality, most parents truly want to do the very best for their kids

it's kind of crazy how God gives us this huge job to carry out w/ absolutely no experience

no practice run…

it can be so very overwhelming to think about the impact and implications that my parenting will have on these little souls that i have been given to take care of

perhaps He does it to keep us on our knees

and to remind us that ultimately our kids are His kids

and He loves them so much more than we will ever be able to

it is my job to point my children to Christ

to raise them up to be lovers of God and of those around them

i will mess up

i will make the wrong choices sometimes

i will wound my kids

i will cause them hurt

but i believe that my God is a Redeemer

and He brings perfection out of imperfection

my prayer for my kiddos is that they will know the love of God

that they will surrender their hearts to Him while they are young

and my prayer for Dave and i is the same

that we will know the love of God and live our lives ever and always heading His gentle voice

i just read this on a blog today:

“We fear men so much, because we fear God so little.”
― William Gurnall
How true this is. It's so easy to care more about what people think than what God thinks.

i know i would do better to look more to Jesus and less to those around me

Jesus promises to lead His own

I am His own

and His promises never fail