The Girl Who Hates Grass

So, if you've seen my photos on Facebook you'll know that Cora HATES grass. I mean, hates it! Even with shoes on. When we place her in the grass it's immediate complaining, crying, melting-down. We have taken to putting a blanket out in the yard when we're outside because I don't want her to be a recluse, and she stays in the middle of the blanket. The following photos are from the other day. David and his mom were working on the patio, and Cora and I went to investigate. She was getting heavy and David said to just put her down. I did and she kept a vice grip on me. I was able to slowly pry myself from her and slowly started distancing myself thinking she'd follow me. Um, no--and this is a girl who will NOT let me out of her sight these days!!! She stood in the same spot for 10-15 minutes not budging. I mean, refusing to budge. She finally realized we were all a good 10 feet away and threw a bit of a fit. I went over to her to take her hand in hopes she would walk with me. Nope. She wouldn't budge. Have you ever tried to move a stubborn dog who has planted her feet into the ground? That's just what Cora was doing. I was getting hot and finally picked her up and brought her in the house. Sigh....my goal this summer is to get her to willingly be in the grass. We'll see.

She got somewhat brave and bent down to touch the grass but got up quickly!

Can't you just hear her saying, "Nope, I refuse to move!"

This is the face I got when she was "telling" me she was done being in the grass and to please take her inside! :)

Why I Love to be a Stay-at-Home Mom...

I have always wanted to be a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom), but up until 3 weeks ago I wasn't sure when/how this was going to happen. I still don't know if this is a forever thing or if it's only temporary, but right now I'm loving it! Don't get me wrong, there are days when I think it'd be easier to sit behind a desk, but if I did that I would sure keep missing out on a lot of cute stuff! :) Below are some photos of Cora I've been taking over the last little bit. I love being able to photograph her as she's playing and just being her. I love having the time to do that! Enjoy!

Grandma let Cora play with a computer mouse. Cora pulled it around the house as though she were leading a dog around.

The other day we went to the grocery store and the florist gave Cora a balloon. She was in love with it and carried it around with her most of the rest of the day!

I love watching Cora and her daddy playing together and having fun. Apparently, she's not mad at him any longer as she's warmed back up to him! Phew!!

She still loves to touch all things electronic--computer, phones, iPod, remotes...

Yesterday I felt a little nudge on my leg. I look down and it's Molly, who is looking at Cora. There's Cora standing with Molly's bone. I truly believe Molly was telling me Cora had taken her bone. I asked Cora to please give it back and she did!

This was Sunday before church. Isn't she just adorable????

Who You Trying to Please?

It seems women are cursed with the impossible "need" to please everyone. You want to please your husband, your children, your in-laws, your parents, your friends, the dog, your boss, fellow church people. The list goes on and on and on. It seems endless. I can't figure out why we have this ridiculous curse and why do we pressure ourselves so much? It's ridiculous, like I've already said!

Since moving in with my MIL and her husband I have been struck anew with this feeling of wanting to please people. I mean, we're guests in this house and so we must act perfectly so as not to put any undo stress on them. My MIL said she felt like she was trying to please everyone too. Sigh...why do we do this? We're family for crying out loud!! (And, just so you know, things are going great living here! It's just this silliness we women feel.)

In any case, it got me to thinking. As a woman I want to please everyone, but as a Christian I'm only to please the Lord. And, if I'm doing all I can to please the Lord the result will more than likely be pleasing everyone else! Funny how that works, huh? And so, since that slight revelation, I have been doing my best to live my life in a way that's pleasing to the Lord and hope that's enough for everyone else. Who are you trying to please today?

Lovin' Blueberries!

Cora was eating blueberries the other day and I thought I would snap a few photos! She was fine for some and then became not so happy--which was pretty funny to me and encouraged me to only take MORE photos! :)

"Mom, I said that's ENOUGH!"

Adjustments

Today marks 3 weeks that we've been in Columbus. We love it here!!!! We have been going on long walks in the beautiful neighborhood where we're living. We've been having fun being with and near family and well, I think we just feel more at peace now. We have found a really great church and are moving forward with starting the membership process there. Though we've all made some adjustments to the way we're used to doing things the transition to living with family has gone quite well. Here's a short recap of what we're all doing individually:

DAVID: He's still looking for a job. Daily he's getting applications, applying on line and calling places. It's a long process and it gets aggravating, but God is good. David has been helping with yard work here at his mom's house, helping his mom hang stuff on the walls and is helping his step dad with the cleaning business. He is keeping busy!! David is adjusting to NOT being home alone all day with Cora. He's having to get used to me being home as well as his mom. I try to give him alone time when possible! :)

JENI: I am also keeping busy helping with keeping the house clean, cooking meals, doing yard work and caring for Cora. I have enjoyed being with my MIL and getting to know her even better. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about this transition, but it seems to be going well. We've had fun being MIL and DIL. It's also nice for me to have someone around to talk to. We're both adjusting to not being at work all day behind a desk! It's great not to have to "punch a clock," but it is an adjustment! :) I am relieved every day when I think about cleaning and stuff and know I don't have to cram it all in to the weekend. Our weekends have been that much more relaxed!

CORA: Cora will be 14 months on TH! How on earth is that happening????? It's hard to think she is quickly getting closer to being 2 than 1! She's growing like crazy, both physically and mentally and is just so smart! She knows several words: dog, toe (and knows where her toe is and LOVES to show you!), HI (which we here about 1000 times a day!), HEY (also hear 1000 times a day), Da-da (all men are "da-da" and I am either "dog" or "da-da"), Ma-ma (except only when Daddy is disciplining her, never to my face), ni-ni (for night-night) and something that sounds like "bye-bye." She will also say "yah, yah, yah" when you ask her if she wants her cup. She is a hoot! She's going through the I-only-want-Mommy stage so that's a bit taxing on me sometimes, but oh well! She has done a fantastic job adjusting to to life here in Columbus. Last week we eliminated a nap so she's down to 1 nap and goes to bed at 7 and falls asleep better now! It has been working very well and seems to have been the right move. Cora is also adjusting to having Mommy home and not just Daddy. With this adjustment it seems she's been mad at David due to this. Today was the first she let him hug and kiss her w/out her screaming. Not sure what that's about all we can think is she's somehow mad that she doesn't get Daddy to herself all day.

MOLLY: Molly, our dog, has been doing GREAT!!!!! My MIL's house has a nice fenced-in back yard, and Molly is LOVING it!!!! She is also loving the long walks we take almost daily and all the "city smells" she can sniff along the way! :) She has trimmed down and is back to her svelte self! :) She is adjusting to having the whole family home all day, every day! She can't seem to get a good, long nap in anymore! :)

All in all the Hardin's are doing well. We love our new, temporary home and we love our new church and love being closer to family. God is so good and we're thankful for this time of respite and healing!

A Little Photoshoot

So, I had fun taking photos of Cora in the yard today. She hates grass, so Grandma put out a quilt and we sat in the yard with the wind blowing and Daddy working hard! We were good supervisors! :) Anyway, I had a great time photographing Cora and Molly. Hope you like these too!

Let the Healing Begin...

If you have been a regular reader of my blog you know that the past 4 years, especially the last 2, have been full of trials, hard times, questioning and just plain not fun. You know some of the hurt we've been through with our previous ministry, the longing to do God's will, the relief of being released from that ministry and then the long time of waiting the last year and a 1/2 has been. You know the sorrows we've had and the joys we've been given as well. You know it's not been an easy time and you know we have needed to heal, a lot.

When we left our place of ministry we were hurting. We had been wounded by "family," brothers and sisters in Christ. Hurt in ministry is so hard to take. It gets you to the core of who you are and touches you in ways few things can. It's hard to get back into ministry after being burned like we were. Sadly, many folks do not. We knew that the initial healing would begin as soon as we left. We were able to "stop the bleeding" and let a "scab" form. (side note: Not trying to be gross, but I feel this is a very apt way to describe what we've been through). The scab was there, preventing further bleeding, but we knew the wound was still there, ready to come open at the slightest touch. A band-aid was not going to hold forever. We knew we needed to leave the area we were living to be able to fully heal. Liken it to soaking and lancing the disease out of a wound. We had to get to a healthier environment so our wounds could heal.

We made the decision to leave Hillsdale, MI and move to Columbus. You know why. We left not having a place of our own to live, no jobs, no health insurance, yet we knew we were to leave. Dear reader, can I tell you, the healing has begun. We're not just keeping a band-aid in place now. We're healing, deep, thorough healing. The lancing and soaking has started and our wounds are closing up and healing. We have been in our new (temporary) home now for over a week. We still don't know the answers to the above questions, but both my husband and I have said numerous times we feel such peace. I can't quite explain it, other than it's the Peace which passes all understanding. We are happier, more joyful, not on edge, the tension has left our marriage and family, the dog is even doing better! We know beyond doubt that we made the right decision, the necessary decision.

This past Sunday we went to church. To be honest we have not been going to church regularly for the past 1 1/2 years. It was hard to attend one of the churches in our area because we would get questioned about why we had left, etc. And, we were hurting. In any case, we have both yearned to be part of a healthy, vibrant, relevant-to-our-community church. We attended a church which is literally 2 minutes from our house. I'm not kidding when I say the moment we walked in we were greeted and helped by kind people. Nothing was expected of us, we didn't have to explain ourselves. We were just welcomed and made to feel like special guests. Though that was wonderful, the thing that really got me was the worship service and sermon. So full of the Holy Spirit. It was overwhelming at times. I felt the Spirit washing over me. and I could see the same was happening to my husband. All I could think during the entire service was "let the healing begin." Let the healing begin!!!!!!!!!!! Let's start cleaning out those wounds and be healed by the Great Physician!

We are so excited to get back to this church on Sunday. They have a lot happening and we are excited to see how God uses us to serve him in this church. The healing has begun, and I am a willing recipient. Praise the Lord for his healing touch.