from the kitchen sink

Dishes, dishes, and more dishes. After that, thrown in a few loads of laundry and a few dirty diapers. Don't forget the meals to be cooked, the dog to be fed, a baby who wants to "walk" all the time now. It's true -- this is my day these days. Somehow, I feel as though I spend all my time in the kitchen or in the laundry room. We only have 1 kid ... how is this happening already? These past few weeks have been a teeny bit strenuous in the Mondragon household. Add one husband insanely working at Sbux and at the new church with one pregnant, overtired, hormonal mom ... and you have a mess. Oh yeah, don't forget the ridiculously cute 9-month who is going through a "phase," which is the nice way of saying Juliana has become a bit more cranky at times, for some crazy reason.

We haven't posted in a while, so I thought why not be honest about what life is really like these days. Don't get me wrong -- I love this phase of our life. I love taking care of my family and our home. But, truth be told, some days are just tiring, lonesome, stressful, and way too emotional. I have been doing much meditating lately on my circumstances and my reactions -- pregnant or not pregnant, hormones or no hormones, plenty of sleep or lack of sleep -- I am still responsible for joyously and graciously submitting to God and the work of the Spirit in my life. I really do hate when people (chics, really) blame reactions on hormones. Sin is sin. So why do I allow my *feelings* to get the better of me at times? This is crunch time, and no matter how I feel, God does not change, nor does His sovereign calling on my life change. As a follower and soldier of Christ, I must be committed more to God's Word than to my circumstantial reactions.

I am currently reading Don't Waste Your Life by Piper (yes, somehow I have never read it), and every page seems to be challenging every area of my life. Funny how that works. I am just so incredibly thankful for a Lord who loves His own enough to not leave us as we are. God is stretching our family in so many areas, and it is so very exciting to trust Him. He is growing our church body at Providence, and the new building is an answer to prayer. To me, our new nursery area is the most exciting part! He has brought us very loving, kind, and dedicated people to shepherd and disciple. They love God, us, and each other. How cool is that when the Body works.

In closing, I leave you with some thoughts of our most adorable daughter (for some reason I can't get any pictures to post). I promise she gets cuter and cuter by the day. She will get up on all fours (from the sitting position) and rock, but hasn't quite figured out how to move forward. On the other hand, she loves to stand on her own and walk all around the house. Today she actually walked with one of those walk/push toys. She's getting too big for her britches!