Modeling For The Camera

Our good friend, Ashley Mogford, came over and took some photos of Israel back in April. And I am just now posting them. Let's just blame it on having two kids yeah? Also, I really need to get to work on his birth announcements. Who was the brilliant person who decided to make their own birth announcements? Hey, don't look at me...

  

Selfie by Eden

  

There are so many more I could post, but a baby is asking for my attention. That kid loves to squeal and talk and giggle and I just cannot resist it!! 

Also, I love my little family. Like a ridiculous amount. 

Blessed Beyond Measure

Music has always had a great impact on my life. If you were to look at what I'm listening to you could pretty much gather where I am at in life. Music moves me. It inspires me.

One song meant more to me yesterday than it ever has. 

I have heard Laura Story's "Blessings" many times before, but I never FELT it. It is a beautiful song, but it just did not have that strong impact on my life like so many other songs do. Yesterday, it came on and I was a weeping mess. I heard it was a song to cry to, but it takes a lot to move me to tears. I like to think I am strong (I am not). Anyway, if you need to remember the love God has for you and the blessings He has given you, listen. It is a beautiful song. 

After listening I pray you will be inspired to start a blessings jar. I had one sitting out, but had not done much with it until yesterday. A blessings jar is simply that...a jar that you can fill with your blessings. I have little pieces of paper next to the jar for us to write the great things God has done for us. I saw an idea like this on Pinterest and the idea there is to read them at the end of the year. I think we will probably read them more often, as needed. On those days where I am having trouble seeing the blessings. It is such a great reminder of the things God is doing in our lives. Trust me, if you are having trouble seeing the light through the darkness today, start writing down all the things you are grateful for and all the blessings that God has given you. It may take awhile to think of things, but once you start, they will keep flowing. Our God is gracious and has blessed you much more than you can ever imagine. Let Him bless you today. 

"Blessings"

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
And all the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your word is not enough
And all the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not,
This is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near

What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

Bright Hope For Tomorrow

This stage in our lives has me reflecting a lot. Reflecting on all that God has done and all that God will do in our lives. To say that we have dealt with our fair share of struggles financially is an understatement, but oh how He has always blessed us. We have had so many people say things like, "that must be so hard," "I can't imagine going through what you do." But you know what? We feel like we have more than we ever have. It sounds crazy. I know. I never would have believed it myself. We may not have fancy cars (actually it's not even plural for us as we have sold all but our minivan), a house, pretty decor, nice clothes...but wow do we have a lot. We have a lot of love and devotion for each other and in turn a greater appreciation for others. 

As we have gone through all of our financial struggles we actually have found it very therapeutic to rid ourselves of the excess. This seems so counterproductive, but wow does it feel good. For the first time we are starting to feel free. Free of the burden of carrying around stuff. The stuff wasn't doing anything for us. It was taking up space, annoying to move, and didn't make us feel good. So, we have been purging our stuff for months. I told Josh, despite the fact that we have donated or sold so much I still feel like we have too much. 

A lot of times we take moments to reflect on Africa. Africa is a place our heart is broken for as we have mentioned many times before. It's a place we hope to spend time in sometime in the future (sometime soon hopefully!). It's the place we feel lead to bring home our babies from. God put that place on our hearts and man, it won't leave. I think of how many people there live in small huts with only the clothes they have on their backs. And yet, many of them will tell you they are blessed. Something we want to stay convicted of is not letting the idea of excess keep us from ministry. 

Our next move will be to a small place...I can guarantee that. In fact, even if we became millionaires tomorrow, we still want a modest house. I can't explain it, but we just don't want what we don't need. Do we really need a home with 5 bedrooms? Nope. When we were moving out o four house and talking about our next apartment we kept saying we NEED 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. There was no negotiation. Then one day Josh and I looked at each other and realized our motivation was totally off. We wanted three bedrooms because we thought more space would make it all better. And the 2nd bathroom? Because we didn't want to share a bathroom with kids and guests. REALLY?! That's not to say it's wrong to have more bedrooms and bathrooms, but for us our motivation was wrong. We want to live small so that we can give big. That's our goal. No matter what our financial situation looks like, this won't change. I love living radically. It definitely makes us a little "weird," but wasn't Jesus considered "weird" to many? We don't want to be the same as everyone else. 

All this to say, I have had the words "strength for today, bright hope for tomorrow," playing in my head repeatedly so I decided to make to make this little reminder that I can print out and have on our wall. Trust me, I am not perfect. I need strength daily to live radically. It's not easy, I don't want you to get the impression it is. But boy, does it rock your world in the best way. Try it..I guarantee you'll like it. 

Great is thy faithfulness!

My Word For The Year

Today is the start of a new year. 2013. The year that will probably bring about many more changes for our family (it's just what we are good at). Last year was overwhelming at times and yet so full of blessings. We said goodbye to the house we had owned for 2.5 years which obviously was a little hard in some ways, and yet so freeing. God pushed us and changed us a whole lot in the last year and we are so thankful. There were tears, lots and lots of tears, but there were also moments of rejoicing...even during a crazy move and all of the phone calls we had to endure. Seriously, we feel so blessed. Obviously, the best news of the year was finding out we were pregnant with our second baby, only by the grace of God, and we found out it was a boy! We never planned to have two kids of our own before adopting, we just were open to it if God wanted that to be our story, and He did. 

So, here we are entering a new year. It will be a year of moving again most likely (although nothing is guaranteed that's for sure and that is fine). It will be the year that we bring home our baby boy and navigate life with two kids. It'll be another year of us asking God to push us and stretch us no matter how hard it may be. 

This year I wanted to choose a word that would help me to define what I want to see in myself and my family. The word instantly came to me as I prayed for something great for our family this year. Intentional. I want to be intentional in 2013. Intentional means to be done on purpose or deliberately. I want each choice I make to be thought out. As I parent two kids I want to know that I am choosing to live my day for God and in turn making sure that my time is dedicated to loving my babies, playing with them, and showing them that they are important. This is also true for Josh. I want to be intentional in loving him. Our time together is much more limited these days with his work schedule so I want to ensure that I am loving to him when he is around. Most importantly, I want our family to be intentional with our lives. The way we live each day. How we spend our money. Not living beyond our means or even within our means, but below our means. Our prayer is that we learn to live with less this year. I am hoping to share our journey that we have already begun...one of purging the STUFF that was taking up space in our home, the STUFF that was not helping our family, the STUFF that was taking over our lives and making us feel overwhelmed and pressured. Our goal is to have a home that is devoted to only things that we love and that are helpful to our family. We are also praying that by living this way it will get us much closer to missionary work and of course, adoption. These two things have been on our hearts for some time so we are working hard to be ready when God calls us to action.

Intentional. I love it. I am ready for whatever challenges it may bring. 

Happy New Year my friends! Excited to see what a new year will bring for all of you! 

Project 52:23 | Marriage (And Our Love Story)

5 years. That's how long it's been since I walked down the aisle and became a wife. 5 years of bliss and utter craziness. Some days have been so hard, but most days have been absolutely wonderful. Josh and I are the first to tell you marriage hasn't been easy. As always we try to stay open and honest in hopes that it may just help someone else out there.

5 years ago we literally jumped into marriage. We met in August 2006 in our first class of our junior year of college. We had an instant connection. A couple weeks later I went to watch one of his soccer games (he played for the school) and was walking over to tell him how awesome he did when I saw another girl jump into his arms. I was defeated. Thankfully I had a friend there to remind me he and I were just friends...hardly even that, we had JUST met. I had no idea how much I cared for him until that moment. I had told myself over and over that I wasn't going to let it go anywhere...I didn't want a boyfriend and I most certainly didn't want to even think of having a SERIOUS relationship with anyone. I had been hurt, very badly, by a boy a couple years prior and I had decided that marriage and relationships weren't for me (sidenote: that boy is a great guy, it's just the two of us together were a disaster).

Oh how wrong I was.

On October 31 we became a couple (don't worry Josh had broken up with his girlfriend shortly after that game...I'm not a boyfriend stealer!). We watched scary movies, carved pumpkins, and were quite attached to each other. It was moving so fast,  but I just couldn't help it, I knew he was the one for me.

On November 6 we both had written letters (unbeknownst to one another) stating that we loved each other. 

Within a few days we both saw those letters and said it for real.

On December 21 (after a loooooooong flight back from Europe where I had been with friends) Josh took me to a dock on Capitol Lake in Olympia and got down on one knee.

I said YES! 

On June 6, 2007 we were MARRIED. 

Then life started. I had gone through some counseling to work through my past issues. I wanted to be proactive before we got married knowing that my past relationship was still very much a part of me. It wasn't enough. God needed us to work through it together and break those barriers. The first year and a half was the hardest and worst time of my life in some ways. I'm so thankful it was Josh I was going through it with, but I was scared, hurt, and a complete mess. I said words I never thought I would say, I did things I never thought I would do...I didn't even know who I was anymore. All of my past bubbled up into someone who was so hurt and confused that she couldn't even let her own husband in. I was in my own dark world. 

The good news is, this story has a happy beginning (we have many more years before I can say ending). After years of tears, counseling, reading, and lots and lots of prayer...we broke through the barriers. We started to understand our differences. We embraced them. The most important thing for us was that Josh never quit on me. I tried quitting..I wanted out (or so I thought). I just didn't want to deal with the hard stuff. HE NEVER LEFT.

Our biggest advice to our friends as they get ready to walk down the aisle is always to stick it out. Don't run. Don't leave each other. Your marriage is sacred and needs to stay between you. And please, please, please don't go back to your parents (unless of course there is a safety issue, but for that I think you'll need even more help). We are asked to "leave and cleave" and honestly it hinders your relationship with your spouse and your family. I'm not trying to preach here, just telling you what we have learned so far. 

If you are more of a reading type...we had great success with the Love Dare. It is hard, but we learned a lot. 

Don't feel bad if you have to go to counseling. Even if it's the day after your wedding. Marriage isn't easy. You are bringing two lives together. 

Some of you may not have had a hard time adjusting to marriage and that's awesome! I know those couples and love them dearly and am so thankful for great examples of what marriage can be like when we let go of our expectations and just enjoy the greatest bond we have on this earth. 

If you want to chat more with me about our story or anything please don't hesitate. thecrainsnest[at]gmail[dot]com. I am more than willing to share more...just not right here on the blog :)

We are a success story and want everyone else to be too. We believe so fully in marriage. Some days we wake up, look at one another, and just shake our heads in disbelief at how far we have come. Josh is a wonderful man, husband, and father...happy 5 years babe!

For more Project 52 goodness, check out these fine blogs:

styleberry BLOG, Lucas and Mahina, Wicked Kate, The Mog Blog, Dana Moran Photography

Let me know if you want to join in on the fun! It's never too late to start your Project 52 :)

Four Fantastically Fantastic Years

Today marks our FOURTH year of marriage. Time sure does fly. Since I gave you a sneak peek of our wedding on our last anniversary, I thought I would do something a little different this time around. See, four years ago we planned a wedding that fit us perfectly. It was quite traditional, our colors were red/black/white, we were married in a church and had a reception at a golf course...definitely everything I had thought my wedding would look like. Ironically enough only four years later my taste has changed drastically. 


If you look around my house you will find I am not really all that traditional. While red, black, and white were my favorite colors (and I still love them...GO BLAZERS!), I definitely lean more towards a spring/summer palette. In fact I would probably go with gray/yellow, blue/yellow, or even go with something way different...whites/creams and a hint of green (think succulents). Also, my venues would be totally different..well, except I am still really happy that we got married at our church. For fun I found a few images on Pinterest (where else?!) that reflect what I would envision my wedding to look like if it were today.

The Dress

Bridesmaids

The Decor

So, uh, honey...wanna go ahead and renew our vows for our 4 year wedding anniversary? You don't mind right?


Well fine. It's fun to dream anyway. Happy anniversary to the bestest friend and partner in crime ever. You are such a great husband and a fantastic daddy. Bella, Eden, and I love you with all our hearts!


Oh and just because I know you are curious...to celebrate our anniversary we went on our first date (well besides our dates that consisted of grocery shopping and Target runs) in a year. We watched went up to Bridgeport Village, watched Kung Fu Panda (Josh cried), ate at Pastini, and browsed through a bunch of shops. Sadly, this was the first movie we had been to together in a VERY LONG TIME. At least a year if not more. Seriously it was so much fun to have a date night with just the two of us...but really we couldn't wait to get back to Eden, we just enjoy her way too much. Thanks mom and dad for letting us get away for a few hours!




{P.S.}
If you are on Pinterest feel free to follow me! My user name is Mallory Crain. I love seeing what inspires everyone. 


Also, I still have a few invites left so if you want to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon (you know you do!) let me know...all I need is your email address and I can hook.you.up. Yeah baby.

Three Years and Still Loving You

Three years ago today a man and a woman set out on a new journey together as best friends and partners.

June 8, 2007 is a day that means so much to Josh and I. While there have been many hard days in our marriage, we wouldn't trade them for anything. I know we both can say that we are best friends and that, to us, has been the biggest part of our marriage. We are quite inseparable. Even when we are having "one of those days" we still cannot go too far from one another. Our wedding day was not perfect, but it was exactly what we wanted. We are so thankful for the family and friends who had stood by us even though our relationship was less than ordinary. We met the first day of our junior year at Corban College (now University!) in Theology and pretty much never were apart after that. Four out of our six classes were together, it was virtually impossible to not be together. I can't imagine what life would be like if I had not listened to God when he guided me back to Corban. Thank you Josh for asking me to be your wife!

In dedication to our third year of marriage, here are some photos from our big day.

A big thank you to all of our family and friends who have supported us through our journey! We love you all!