the tenery family, the beach, and the family of God

the beautiful Tenery family came to visit this weekend. we took their daughter Shiloh to see the big ocean and amos got to run around fully clothed in the sand and waves.

i am so thankful for ones i have known for many years (i've known kyle for about 8, and ricky has known maria for 10!) and i have been able to watch them grow in God and remain steadfast by His grace. it's such an encouraging thing - the family of God! they are some of the most dedicated, brave, true and steady people i have encountered. they love the Word, God's people, and proclaim the gospel with such boldness.

and their daughter is just PURE joy and delight. such a honor to spend the time we did with them.

Shiloh is a little unsure about the big waves...

feeling sand for the first time

the beautiful tenery family. 

   

asleep on her momma...

amos finally comfortable in the ocean this season. takes a couple beach trips each summer for him to warm up to it.

big, fat, chubby, super cute baby amos videos.

so the main reason for the existence of this blog is to keep a little journal/scrapbook of sorts to remember the growing up of my little ones and the joys (trials, lessons, moments) of this season. i found some random video clips of amos before he turned 2... some before he even turned one.

it's crazy, really, i can't even remember him not being able to articulate his thoughts. rolling around on the ground all chubby, pre-crawling. sitting with his toys, pre-walking. and those one word moments. it seems ages ago.

i now have a little boy (who refers to himself as a very, very big boy) - and his babyness is long gone. have they told you it goes super fast? because, GUYS!, it GOES SO FAST. they are non-walkers for 8 or 9 months, to forever walk... forever move on their own and be dependent on themselves. they are non-talkers for a year or 2, to then enter full conversation and understand the words/sentences they overhear, forming their thoughts and ideas. they nurse for 1, 2, 3 years? they cuddle for who knows how long, to then become grown men, grown women cuddling their own. this is just CRAZY.

i want to freeze lucia and keep a baby version of her forever. but then still let the other version (i don't know, this is weird...) to also see her form her own personality, her own dreams, her own little journey. i want the baby and the girl. but the baby is just a quick little flash, here today, gone tomorrow.

this parenting thing is just nuts. nuts. the them growing up, inching further and further from you - NUTS NUTS NUTS. i can't handle it.

but for now, i'll reminisce on these ridiculously long clips of super fatso baby amos, and try not to cry.



Amos Various from Tiffany Valdez on Vimeo.

Amos as a fat baby from Tiffany Valdez on Vimeo.

nap time

yes, my child has some of lunch all over his face. hate it, but it's true...

i've been determined to take out my DSLR and take some more "non-phone" pictures for awhile now - just hadn't gotten around to it. thankfully, i had spent the day cleaning the house to find the bag hiding in a corner of my room. i took it out and snapped some photos just as everything was calming down and we went into nap time.

unfortunately, amos rarely naps these days - but we do have "quiet time" that is about 30-45 minutes (working up to an hour) of him sitting quietly in his room reading his books. he really enjoys this, and because of frequent library trips he has a great variety to choose from. 

lucia, on the other hand, has been having a harder time going to sleep and staying asleep due to some teeth that are cutting (i think!? i hope!) and has been a little uncomfortable and fussy - and can't stay asleep long. yesterday i put her in the ergo while i cleaned and sang her some songs. she finally fell asleep and i laid her down on my bed. i always bunch of blankets all around her (so safe, right???) so she feels secure. i just love her little sleeping face. though everyone tells me they look so alike, to me they look worlds a part. i become so familiar with every little curve of their face - the littlest things separate them so much. when they are asleep, however, they mold into one beautiful child. their eyes are closed and lucia looks like a little amos. 

amos getting tired of reading books, and sneaking off to his "toy basket"

bookshelf: ikea, cheese cloth and burlap curtain tutorial found here, baby carrier: ergo, bedroom curtains: ikea, amos' bedding: ikea, books from a million different places.

"the gospel in her home" (practical ways to honor God in our homes)

one of my deepest desires is to make my home a place that the presence of the Lord is loved and felt. a dwelling place. a little tabernacle made up of His people (myself, my husband, and our housemate - and by God's grace, eventually my children) where everyone can encounter Jesus.

sometimes the most lofty of dreams are achieved in the most practical of ways. okay, almost always achieved in this way. it's just making choices, daily choices, to honor the Lord and welcome Him.

here is a list of some of the easiest and most practical ways i've learned to honor God in my home. i'm not perfect at it. i don't do all these things, every single day - but i try to do some of them every day. it's the little movements of our heart that still make deep impact.

- turning off the TV. it makes room for so many wonderful things.
- turn on worship music. filling my home with this keeps my heart aware, and i honestly believe changes the atmosphere for my children too.
- taking snack times (we have 2 set snack times at 10:30 and 2:30) and praying for something specific. we pray for our family at the first snack time, and our life group/church in the second snack time.
- praying before your major meals. finding something unique to add to each prayer. "thank you for that baseball game last night. etc."
- reading from our "Jesus Storybook Bible" every night, and adding biblical principles into story time. After reading I tell Amos a story - and it's a great time to teach him lessons or about the character of Jesus.
- teaching Amos to sit and wait on the Lord. reminding him that God speaks, and Amos can hear him. also God can show him things in his minds eye.
- family devotionals once a week. we have started using the little take home sheet from Amos' church class. it's super simple, and doesn't need to be made complicated - especially with younger ones. explain something about God's character and relate it to a story in the Bible or something God says in His word. pray from it. "thank you God for giving your children power to heal the sick! help me to pray for healing for my friends!" and then if you are musical, bang on your instrument and sing to Jesus - and if you aren't, put on a worship song (Will Matthews stuff is great for family time) and dance around your living room.
- apologize for your sin, and acknowledge it to your children as sin. ask them for forgiveness and let them know God, through Christ, has extended us forgiveness.
- before we go to sleep, we list things we are thankful for. it's been the make up of Amos' first sincere prayers. "thank you for my mommy, thank you for my daddy, thank you for Lucia, thank you for that ice cream cone, thank you for my friend Preston..." Amos' little additions are the sweetest things, showing me the true highlights of his day.
- have a mission statement for your home that is visible. i haven't rewrote or hung one up in our new house, and am just now realizing it. in our apartment i had things we were believing God for that month listed, our seasonal prophetic Word from the Lord for our family, our family mission statement (super simple, one sentence) and i like to have up the meanings/verses connected to Amos, and now Lucia's, names.
- when i read the Word during the day, read it out loud if Amos' asks me too - or encourage him to sit with me and read His bible. same with journaling - giving him his own art form (painting, drawing, etc.)

in what ways have you found it easy to let the gospel saturate your home? i would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear. i am always open to adding/changing how our family does things... if it means we dwell on His goodness that much longer.

that they may grow up in a home that the Lord and His Word are honored and enjoyed!

check out the posts over at After His Smile HERE and Mike + Brit HERE.

we would love to hear your stories on how the Lord is revealing His gospel in your home. either leave a link below to your personal post, or share a photograph on instagram with a few sentences how the Lord has been teaching them about the gospel in your home. make sure to use the hashtag #thegospelinherhome

hooray!!! [amos' vision of jesus and other happy things]

tonight, after we read a story about Jesus letting all the children come and sit with Him - I reminded Amos that Jesus loves him and wants to talk to him and show him things. I said, "Let's close our eyes and ask Jesus to show us something. Sometimes we have to wait for a little bit, but Jesus' promises to reveal Himself to those who ask!" 

and so we did, him and i lying in his little toddler bed, huddled close - we closed our eyes and asked Jesus to show us things. 

Amos was quiet for a bit, eyes shut tight. I finally asked him, "Did you see anything" and i waited for him to answer.

He opened his eyes wide and said, "Yes! I saw Jesus cleaning up my toys!" 

"You did?" I asked in wonderment at the sweet and simple revelation of Jesus, "You know, Jesus is a servant. If He came over, I'm sure He would joyfully pick up your toys!" 

and then he said... 

"I saw Him vacuuming too!"

---

- LOVE the app "vine" on iphone. my name is above (@tiffany__dawn) and i take an unruly amount of little snippets of amos and lucia. amos' crack me up, because his little conversations are so endearing. they are just 6 second clips of our little lives. you should check out the app!!!

- i'm also doing a giveaway over on the instagram (@tiffany__Dawn). follow me to learn how you can win a pair of earrings for both you and a friend from burdees etsy shop.

- enjoying designing for the Giving Keys. check out the founder Caitlin Crosby's Ted Talk where she talks (and sings!) about the journey of the company.

- bbq grill was a greattttt home purchase, especially in san diego where the weather is bar-b-queable (a word?) 98% of the time.


off to sleep, and back to the week.
may you feel the Lord's servant heart for you over the coming days. ;)

this is love.

our God is love. yes, love. a love so unchanging, so unrelenting, so jealous, so clear, so beautiful.
and our tastes are small. so small. flashes, so fast, it leaves us in longing.

we do not understand the passion that would lead a God to die. lead a God to walk in the dirt, embrace the leper, wash our fickle feet and lock the cage of the human frame - forever embodied as a man like us. so He could love us fully. so He could love us well. so He could suffer and rise to give us entrance into forever.

His love reaches the man without a home. the women ashamed. the fatherless. the motherless. the lonely. the prideful. the angry and the lost.

His love reaches the homosexual. the intellect. the down syndrome daughter. the autistic son. the artist. the "enlightened". the perfectionist. the weary mother. the workaholic father. the socially awkward. the democrat. the republican. the orphan and the kings.

His love can find us when we are hiding, when we are shaking our fists at a Creator, when we are killing and wounding and destroying.

He is a Redeemer. He is living, roaring, singing, and dancing wildly while being so deeply involved in humanities destiny - in it's great and small dealings. He is King. He is King. He is God.

and so today, remember, He loves you. He loves you and all that comes with you. Your oddities, your secrets, your dreams, and your pain. Though you cannot see Him, He is there - beckoning Your heart to call on His name, to ask Him to save you - because He will. He's like that, never turning away a soul, making all things beautiful. He's just that good.

lucia mercy @ 3 months old (almost!)

my beautiful baby girl is almost 3 months old. she's very vocal, and let's me know when she wants me to slow down and hold her. she loves to be swaddled, rocked with her pacifier for naps. and nurses in the bed to sleep for the night. she smiles, giggles, and loves watching her brother play. she's endured some amos rowdy play rather well, and i think she's going to be a tough cookie.

she immediately naps when put in the ergo, and still hates the carseat/car rides - unless i'm singing. and she will go down for naps by the end of the song if i sing "part of this world" (no joke - not sure how i discovered this) from the little mermaid. it's her magical tune. that and "Hosanna, to the Lamb that was slain," and old Hillsong classic i've been singing to both my kids since they were born.

she can hold toys, kind of unintentionally - and grab her hanging toys. she eats her blanket and the bottom of her dress if she has one on. she sometimes catches glances of her hands or feet and stares at them in wonder.

she loves tummy town on her dad's chest, and the mirror on her play gym. she's strong! and she is such a sweet delight to me. i'm so overjoyed to be a mother to a daughter.

 

sleeps sometimes in swing, sometimes in bed, sometimes in moses basket, and sometimes swaddled. pretty versatile

a new trick. ;)

carseat entertainment because she's certainly not a fan.

out to eat.

amos at 3 months old.