Backyardigans

I wish I was more disciplined and had more time to post. There are so many passing thoughts, moments I wish I could document and not forget, but it's often the choice between cleaning up a house that looks like it's been hit by a tornado or posting or laying down in my comfy bed watching mindless TV or posting.

We have been slowly adding to the backyard features. It has been such a treat to have a swing set in our backyard. Mike recently added a sandbox underneath the playground. The wooded, semi-private backyard is a perfect oasis. When we are out there on many early afternoons, it's very quiet except for the green interrupted by pink and white blossoms and the sound of the birds. I love the fact that we don't hear cars. I do feel closer to God outdoors. Karis has been more interested in learning names of flowers, trees, and have been asking for a bird feeder once she's figured out why birds would often land on our neighbor's fence. I love that she's learning to love the nature early. I love the fact that she will quickly go to touch a caterpillar, a frog, a worm without hesitation. It's often hard for me to hide the fact that I am grossed out. I can tell she sees beauty in nature that is deeper, more calming, and simpler than than what she will find in toys or other man made gadget. I've been frustrated that she's been showing so little interest or effort in learning to ride her bike or scooter that we purchased for her, but I have been much more accepting of the fact that she will naturally gravitate towards the things that she loves and to let her, in fact, support her in doing the things that she loves. Karis loves working with her hands and it's quite a sight to watch her maneuver a piece of ribbon, playdoh or any thing that is goopy or messy. Her little pudgy fingers move clumsily with purpose and determination. She can spend literally hours in the sandbox and come out exhausted from whatever imaginary games she has been playing in there. Mike gets sad for her sometimes, because her friendships in the neighborhood hasn't flourished as we had hoped, but I truly believe that this is in God's hand and I do think whatever He is doing is amazingly good for her and even me. I see how she's learning to appreciate and value the friendships she does have and this quality is so much more important than having a lot of friends to have fun with.
We love this house for how it serves us in providing us with a home that is perfectly sized for us that helps us to build beautiful, fun, and love-filled memories that we pray will be a foundation that will help the girls to grow up to be risk taking warriors for Christ in whatever context God has them in, but at times, we struggle with reconciling the reality of families around the world struggling for basic needs such as food and clean water while we live in a comfortable suburban home. We do feel that we were prayerful, searched our heart's motive, and did seek counsel as we were going in to purchasing this home, but the question that has been gnawing at us as we settle into our home is... Is God really okay with us living here while others are suffering without basic needs? We are both trying to grapple with this and understand God's heart, our role, and be willing to make changes if that's what's right for us. We don't want to be okay with an inconclusive answer to this question. It's a tough tough question to try and answer honestly.