Author Archives: Chayli

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“He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs in His arms and carry them in His bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young.”

My little boy hates going to bed. Almost since the day he was born, naptime has been an ever-changing scene of lullabies and rockings and swayings and shushings. Sometimes with all the lights on, sometimes with all the lights off. Sometimes when he’s only been up for an hour, sometimes when he’s been up for three. What worked last week doesn’t necessarily work this week.

These days he goes to sleep to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me” and “The Birds Upon the Treetops” while I pace the floor with him, and it’s almost like clockwork the way he fights it kicking and screaming and then suddenly is done and quietly sucks his binky till his eyelids fall shut. Then I sit in the rocker with him and feel the heavy breaths that move him in my arms and look down at his relaxed face and his little open mouth and think of how many more times I’ll have to do this . . . and how many more times I’ll wish I could. ...continue reading →

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He wakes up looking for his mommy. Sometimes with a wail, sometimes with a whimper, sometimes with a cry so loud he sounds pained or scared or both. But always looking for his mommy.

I hear him over the baby monitor, and I go running, and I throw the door open with a “Mommy’s here!”, and I see his little head bobbing around in his bed, up and looking for his mommy.

Today he wasn’t bobbing. He was crying and trying to find the binky that had fallen out of his mouth. He was crying, and I picked him up, and I put his binky in, and he closed his eyes and went back to sleep for as long as I would hold him. ...continue reading →

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It seems like something profound should come with returning from a long blog absence, but I don't have anything profound. Just a bit of advice.

If you're not sure if the fireplace flue is open or closed, by all means, don't start a roaring fire in order to find out. You might find yourself yelling at your husband to evict himself from his YOU-imposed exile in another room to come help you remedy the smoke rapidly filling your house.

And when you're trying to pair iced coffee, a fancy little cake, and a romantic fire to make a nice surprise for him, hollering at him to come put out the fire/open the jammed flue/heroically carry burning pieces of wood out of the house with a paper towel is the last thing you want to have to do. ...continue reading →

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You'd think after getting to go somewhere I've wanted to go for a very long time that I would have posted pictures and blog posts about it a long time ago. After all, we've been home for over a month.

But there's something I've been wanting far more, waiting for far longer, than a trip to New Zealand, amazing as that was. And now a certain little boy is making that dream come true, and he's also making our house a busier place, and things like blog posts and pictures just aren't quite as important right now.

The trip really was an amazing privilege and blessing though, and this blog was supposed to stay at least somewhat up to date with it. According to it though, we still haven't even come home. Thank God we have. 🙂

So here's just a few pictures from one of the most amazing places I've ever seen. New Zealand doesn't disappoint, not even when you're hoping for snow-capped mountains like you've seen in pictures but happen to be there toward the end of summer when the snow is at its lowest. ...continue reading →

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I’m one of those Oregonians who has grown up thinking they live in one of the prettiest places in the world. I still think that. But since we’ve been married, we’ve been in two (and soon three) other places that might rank even higher.

Kaua’ii, Hawaii, fully lived up to its name as the Garden Isle. Killarney, Australia, was as breathtaking as I’d imagine its predecessor in Ireland to be. And while we haven’t yet been to New Zealand, I’m assuming it will soon trump all the rest—we’ll find out here shortly. 🙂

We have one week and two days left here at Jazam, two weeks and two days till we go home. That’s part of the beauty of traveling—looking forward so much to finally going home.

Another part is sharing bits and pieces of those travels with the friends and family who wish they could’ve come, too.

But maybe the biggest part is reveling in the beauty each place has to offer and glorifying the Hands and the Spirit and the Voice Who made it. So here’s a bit of His beauty that we’ve enjoyed in the past two weeks . . . ...continue reading →