Easter Sunday

What a great day! We celebrated Easter with lots and lots of friends today. A wonderful couple from our home group invited us all over for brunch and an Easter egg hunt. They have a beautiful home with an amazing 1.5 acre backyard. Perfect for 8 children, all under the age of 7!
This was Josiah's first "real" Easter egg hunt. I'm not certain he has the concept yet but he sure was cute...


I even managed to capture one more picture before the batteries in my camera ran out. This is Josiah's cutie-patutie friend, Elise.

Family Video

Usually Seth posts our family movies but since he has decided to spread his posts out, oh like a couple months apart, I am going to go ahead and post it on my blog. This last year's turned out really cute. Hope you enjoy!

Still At It

Apparently our feathered friend has not taken the hint. As I type this, I hear "Plink, Plink, Plink". What happens to a bird's ability to think when its head is thrown up against a hard window over and over again? I mean, it's not like he had much to begin with!

Looking Back and Walking Forward

Yesterday I had to hunt through my old journals to find an entry I wrote a few years ago. As I read through my writings from 2004, I was just amazed at what we had to walk through that year to get here to Kansas City. It was so difficult yet it was so full of the Lord's grace. We walked step by step while instruction was given only one direction at a time. Circumstances with family and friends drove us, not away from the Lord but straight into His heart. Desperate not to walk in unforgiveness. Determined not to let bitterness take hold. As we received nourishment every day from His Word, His beautiful and kind Word, it strengthened our resolve to follow His will.

3 years later and I am still amazed by our story. Only because it was written by a Hand who always knows the very best. Moments of bewilderment of why the Lord moved us here to Kansas City are becoming less frequent. Because we are beginning to see. We are being established in friendships. We are being given glimpses of our destiny. And it looks so much different than we pictured it 3 years ago, 5 years ago. As we grow in Him, this view will undoubtedly change again and again. Because our destiny is less about us and so much more about a stunning King who will have His Bride. An utterly abandoned Bride who thinks nothing of what man can do to Her. A Bride with a focused gaze, listening only to His Words and walking in His will.

We have so much to look forward to because we have looked back and recognized His goodness and His faithfulness. He never changes. And that is just so comforting!

He May Not be a Smart Bird...

but he knows what love is.

This last week we have heard a strange "Plink, Plink" sound every day, all day. It starts early in the morning and lasts until late afternoon. At first I thought it was the construction from the new houses being built across the street. But I realized quickly it was not construction. Then I thought it might be some birds tapping the drain gutters outside. After 4 days, Seth announced that he discovered the reason to the constant noise. He was working in the basement and heard the sound. He looked up at the very small window in our basement and saw a bird. This bird stood innocently outside of the window until "Plink", he flew straight at the window! I had to see this for myself so this morning I crept into the basement and watched our new little friend just fling himself at the window, splat against it, and then jump up again for round 250. Seth thought he was a male fighting another "male" but when I saw him, he had a clump of straw in his beak. Like he was trying to build a nest. The lover boy thinks he is romancin' a lady! Apparently his reflection is one hot birdie. He is so persistent, it's almost sad there won't be any of his offspring flying around this year. Maybe that's a good thing...survival of the fittest and all that...

The Macchis go to the Zoo

The Kansas City Zoo is pretty great. It's huge! Parts of it need some major updating. It's always difficult to see large tigers and monkeys in cages that look like they were built in the 1920's. But signs did say that they are making changes soon. We had a great time, minus all the Springtime animal hanky-panky. And that's all I am going to say about that.

There are elephants, kangaroos, giraffes, zebras...just to name a few. We happened to just take pictures at the chimp house because of the camera/battery fun. The boys enjoyed the close encounters with their distant relatives =)

Resemblance? I'm just saying...

Blogging

I have officially become one of those boring, once-a-month bloggers. I will attempt to step it up a bit. Unfortunately I am working with a digital camera that has decided to completely drain 2 batteries every time I pick up the camera. It's quite annoying. I sit down to upload new pictures and I have to replace the batteries. I take 5 pictures and must replace the batteries.

I love technology...

Can Someone Please 'Splain?

I think the next time Grandad comes to visit, he and Eli need to have a talk about police business. Elijah put on his police outfit this morning and ran out of his room to "go catch those bank robbers". He shot most of them with this tinker toy gun but he did arrest one of them. He brought the suspect back in his bedroom where I was and asked me what we should do with the criminal. "Mom, what should we do? Should I slap his cheeks or something?" Sure sounds like justice to a 5 year old!
Later, he ran out and caught a whole group of criminals. The process again became a little skewed when he proceeded to "throw them in the books". Literally. No due process around here. Just 10-15 years reading classics such as "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" and anything Richard Scarry.

I Live Where!?!?

Yesterday it reached 72 degrees in the afternoon. Today, I look out the window and there are little snowflakes floating in the wind.

Go figure!

What do you Want?

This is a question I have heard deep in my heart in the last week. It's amazing how one question can rock your world to the point of speechless. For years now, Seth and I have sought the will of God. We can honestly say that we believe we have heard Him many times and have obeyed even in the midst of hardship. The Lord's hand has been very heavy on us. We have given up on any planning because it seems to us that whatever road we think we are to walk on, God screeches us to a halt and sends us on a totally different path. The longer we walk His road, the more we see His goodness and His mercy in sending us His direction and not our direction. But a 5 year plan? Yeah, right! I am so amazed at how some people can, from a very young age, say they are going to be such-and-such. 20 years later and that's exactly what they are doing. They say "I want to be director of this or leader of that" and that's exactly what happens. It leaves people like Seth and me wondering what in the world we are doing wrong.
But I know we really are not doing anything wrong. We are walking our own journey, our own destiny written before the beginning of Time. Isn't that amazing to think about?
The year 2007 has been a specific time for us. The Lord gave us a specific invitation for fasting certain things this year. Giving us specific direction to Simplify and Focus. It was exciting when we heard from Him and it's actually exciting to be walking in it because we are already seeing some results.
But this one question, "What do you Want?" has resonated in me like nothing has before. It's like this year, after years of preparation, He has brought us to a place where when we come to a conclusive answer...it's going to sound a lot like what the Lord wants for us.

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

I have this hunch that we have entered a "turning point" year. One where we might look back and remember when we were asked a Question that turned our lives completely inside out. Yeehaw!

I am so Outnumbered!

Elijah has been attending preschool now for 2 years. Occasionally I have asked his teachers about his behavior in class and both teachers have just gushed about how polite and well behaved he is. Until Friday. Eli's teacher, Ms. Jessica, walked him to the car and mentioned that I might want to have a talk with Eli because he had spent the day hitting and elbowing another little boy after he was told not to. I was a little embarassed for him but Elijah, upon hearing his teacher, tried to melt into my side. We had a talk and when it all came out, my conclusion was...Elijah is a boy. There was no undercurrent of emotional issues, no crazy reason for his behavior. He simply acted like a boy and disobeyed his teachers. I think Elijah learned his lesson. When I picked him up from school today, Ms. Jessica gave a glowing report on his behavior. Good boy!


"Mommy?" "Yes, Josiah". "Mommy?" "Yes, Josiah". "Mommy?" "What, Josiah?" "Bla Bla".

This, my friends, is a sample conversation I have had every day for about a month now. "Bla Bla" could mean absolutely anything. It's the all-purpose word that fills the holes in a small vocabulary. The boy's vocabulary is expanding slowly but surely. Hey, I'm just thankful there is a regular usage of the word "please", pronounced "peeeaaa". I still can't believe that in a couple of months Josiah is going to be 2 years old. Elijah scrambled out of baby-world so quickly, it's actually kind of nice to have Josiah take his time. Even when there are days where I am completely exasperated, it's a blessing to slow down and cuddle with the "Baby"!

Le Artiste

I walked into my room today and found the little J-man with a forbidden pen. I've gotta hand it to the boy- I could have an orginal work of art on my walls as I type this but Josiah went for the more "personal" approach. And for that I am truly thankful!
As I walked up to him, he just melted to the ground. He knew he was in for it. I took the pen away and told him "No". He waited the appropriate 3 seconds, looked up at me while lifting his shirt and just said, "Woh".

Weekly Update

Allrighty, well apparently nothing can be done short of deleting my whole entire blog and starting over again to get Macchiville and Sarah Does Smile to separate. What God has joined together, let no man put assunder.
Plan B- at least get a picture going of the both of us and change up the profile a bit. I have to confess, I'm a little tired of seeing Seth's big face on my blog!

In other news, I have had quite the crummy weekend. Seth came home from his D.C. trip on Friday. The boys and I were very excited to see him. I swear there is nothing cuter in this world than seeing a couple of boys see their daddy for the first time in a week. Huge smiles, big hugs, and munchkin voices saying, "Daddy!". All's right with the world...
Friday morning, I woke up feeling a bit unusual but didn't really think much of it. Until the big wham-mo pain-o hit Friday afternoon and lasted into Friday night. Where did I end up Friday night? Yep, you guessed it- our friendly neighborhood ER. We had no idea what was going on. The pain was literally nauseating. A bit much for this girl who can take a bit of pain.
So the Dr. did an exam and declared an ovarian cyst. Never had one of these before. So I ended up in bed all weekend totally drugged out. The pain still has not gone away so I will be going to see my lucky GYN doctor tomorrow.

These strange and out of the ordinary assaults have happened to me quite a bit over the last few years. I'm not quite sure why. But this time, I have had such a sense of peace. Yes, it could be the high dosage of Vicodin. But it goes beyond that with a full thought of "God is good." He's always good. And He loves me. I haven't experienced a miracle of instant healing yet but I do keep an eye out for His hand in these things. Like Friday, for example. Seth came home and was able to take care of me and the boys. If the attack had happened a day earlier, it would have been a whole 'nother story! For some reason, I have the voice of an older Jamaican man in my head saying, "God is good. When is He good? Always."
Amen and amen.

Technical Difficulties

Okay, so being married for almost 10 years to the same man DOES NOT change one's appearance this much. I thought I would be brave tonight and switch over to the new blogger which wasn't supposed to change anything about my blog. Apparently, I used the same email address and password to hook up to google accounts that Seth did so it's putting my account with his. Thus explaining why all of a sudden, you're looking at his Italian mug instead of my Filipina mutt mug =)
Hopefully we'll have this fixed soon....

T-Rex

"When I first saw the big T-rex, I was like, 'woh don't eat my family'", says the 5 year old boy, sitting in a booth with sticky fingers from the s'mores he and his whole family are enjoying together (that's right, good ol' fashioned s'mores complete with a small butane fire to roast the marshmallows with). Occasional dinosaur roars blare across the room while a little 2 year old tries to imitate it by throwing back his head and saying, "raaahhhh". "Where did these perfect little boys come from and how can I remember this moment forever?"thinks the mother as she reaches over to pull out a wet and mushy marshmallow out of her 2 year old's mouth before he begins to gag. "Okay, perfect but fleeting!"

Seth leaves tomorrow morning for Washington DC for a week so we decided to have "family night" out on the freezing town. I know I've been complaining quite a bit about the frigid weather we have been having recently but when your little one is in your arms as you are crossing the parking lot saying "Ow, ow, ow" from the biting wind tearing across his rosy little cheeks, you begin to question what the heck you're doing here in the midwest...

We began the evening by eating here. Then we suprised Elijah by taking him here. We didn't think that Josiah would be very interested but he enjoyed it just as much as his big brother. Anyway, Elijah got to Build-a-Dino. He was so cute about it. He asked very politely if he could do one and when he was given the green light, he thought long and hard about which dinosaur he should choose. He ended up choosing a T-Rex who he named Jumbo. Jumbo the TRex...pretty catchy, don't you think? It's run by the same company who does Build-a-Bear. This one is just cooler for a little boy.
After that, we all sat down in the restaurant section and had our s'mores dessert. We couldn't have asked for a better evening. The boys had fun and were in great moods and the parents were relaxed enough to enjoy themselves.
good times, good times.

Prayers of a Child

"God, I super-dee-duper love you!"

This is what moves the heart of God. A child coming to Him in his own language and declaring his love for his Lord. Can you imagine what heaven sounds like when these prayers reach their ears? There are no patronizing, "that's-just-cute" responses. I believe Heaven responds with a symphonic roar to these prayers, adding their own words of love and affection to their Maker. Oh for just a glimpse of this, just a taste of this pure worship. Maybe we are given a taste of it, if we open our ears to our own children? Definitely something to think about?!

C-U-T-E

The boys and I had a little "photo shoot" this afternoon. It's always great when they actually cooperate!

Redefining (works very closely with Refining)

This weekend has been one FULL HOUSE! Let's see, it all started Friday evening when we spent a little time with Grammy and Papa for dinner. Then last night, our good friends Tim and Emily came over for dinner and a movie. The movie was about Mother Theresa and her life ministry to the poor and broken. Oh my goodness, her story has really "messed up" our hearts. Still processing that one!
After Tim and Emily went home, our friends Dan and Misty came over for some good ol' fashioned hot chocolate. Not the packet kind, but homemade. MmmmMmmm! It was snowing outside and toasty warm inside.
Tonight, we invited a great family we have become close with to have dinner with us. They have 3 children so add our 2 and you got it...pure fun chaos! The kids all played great together so the adults actually got in some meaningful conversation.

So here's the deal. The Lord has slowly chipped away at our ingrained, traditional view of "church". I definitely still believe in going on Sundays for teaching (which is the absolute best here in KC) and for corporate worship (in my biased opinion, also the best at FCF!). But I believe this weekend, Seth and I practiced "church" in a way that the Lord has always intended. Building the relationships, blessing each other, laughing and enjoying the time. Many months ago, I posted something about feeling a shift in what the Lord was teaching us. Community. That is exactly what He has been doing. He has formed a small community of friends around us. I just feel so blessed to be apart of it all. Because I know they are strategic relationships. For not only now, but also definitely for the future!

Keeping Busy

So I thought I would post a couple of pictures of our living room and sitting room. I've had fun finding good deals on decorative stuff. Here and this place are the best! Oh, and when you have a gift card for this store, that's just plain fun...

Here is our finished living room

And this is what we did to the little side room off of our kitchen. It has been empty these last couple of years because I couldn't figure out what to do with it. So I made it a little sitting room.

What's that White Stuff?

I just talked with a friend who moved here from California almost 2 years ago. We were saying how much of an adjustment it is to have our lives temporarily dictated by weather. 2 weeks ago we had a couple of ice storms. It took forever for the ice to start melting and then last night we were the reluctant receivers of about 6 inches of snow. I'm not sure if I could ever get used to this. I am thankful we live in a place where the winter temperatures do actually go up. And that we don't live in an area where it stays like this all winter long.
But the boys LOVE the snow. In fact, as I type this, they are all out there playing in it. I decided to forego the pleasure...




I think if I had a snowsuit like Josiah's, I would reconsider. He looks pretty darn comfortable, don't you think?

I Believe...

...that you haven't experienced life until you have walked out in single digit degree weather or until you have driven on inches of pure ice.
That's all.

This California girl is ready for some Spring!

This Week in Macchiville

What began as a windy, blustery week ended in back-to-back ice storms. Winter is finally upon us. I have not put my face in fresh air for 2 whole days now. Why, you ask? Because if I tried, it would freeze and fall off of my head. Anyway, here are a few photos that highlight this last week...

Here are the boys pretending it is warm enough to climb up an actual playground set. What can I say? When it's this cold, you end up a bit desperate.

Here is our fearless wonder.

Who, by the way, got a real haircut this week by a very sweet woman from IHOP. It was a perfect introduction to the "real haircut" world because it was done in the safety of her kitchen with me holding him. He behaved brilliantly!

I know there have been quite a few blogs concerning Josiah's hair. I would apologize, but I think it has become its own entity. We could actually name it if we felt so inclined. Here is a pre-cut photo to back me up on this...

Final exciting news around here. Today we began a much-desired project of painting the living room. It would have been done years ago but the sky-high ceilings have been quite intimidating. Well, we tackled it today with the help of our super-duper friends. Here is a little preview of the color. We will finish it tomorrow and then I get to do some decorating. Yahoo!!

The Year of the Blog

Okay, so I just realized last night that I have been blogging for a full year (crazy because a little over a year ago, I had NO idea what a blog was!). A whole year's worth of information, personal and not-so-personal. I can honestly say that it has been fun. I just wish there was some cool way of archiving these things because it would be really fun to go back in 15 years and read all our shenanigans. Is there any technology out there doing this thing?
Anyway, here are some of my favorites, funny and serious...

1.A Serious Beginning

2.Peanut Butter

3.Crazy hair

4.Josiah's birthday

5.Spanish Lessons

So, for all my 3 daily readers...do you have a favorite? I would love to know!

Happy Boys

I do believe I have a couple of very happy children. They eat well and laugh often. What more could a mother ask for? Hmmm, good question...more sleep, more quiet time, more sanity...but I digress.
We have really enjoyed the boys the last couple of months. Josiah is really coming into his own now that he's walking and attempting to talk. Elijah's mind is in constant motion always ready to include us in his little world at any time. Seth and I are constantly praying for wisdom (I can't imagine doing this whole family thing without the Lord, for real!). Some days feeling like we are on top of all of it, other days ready to crawl in the hole where all impatient parents go.
As I look at these 2, something in me rises. Hope, expectancy, and faith that these 2 will make it. These 2 could very well usher in the second coming of Jesus. This generation will see more than I ever thought possible. But the greatest hope I have for them? That they will love Jesus with all of who they are and they will know His intense love for them. That these 2 will see themselves as the "Bride" for whom the Bridegroom is coming back for. And that their highest purpose in life will be to have the deepest relationship possible with their Creator, their Father, and their Friend. I pray they will never feel pressure from me to pursue these things but that even by my life and the way I pursue my Beloved, they will want to do the same. Amen and Amen.

Who knew...

...that a garden tub could also be used as a playpen?

We support "child containment" around here. Especially when you HAVE to take a shower and you run out of options. You just hope they don't turn the faucet on =)

I just gotta say...

Aren't they just the cutest little boys in the whole wide world?

They both travel really well, for the most part. Give Josiah his "passy" and a crib and he's out like a light. Elijah will do the same. Hotel rooms, unfamiliar bedrooms, you name it...Who knows, we might be brave enough to take them on a real trip someday!

....and She's Back

Hi all! My month-long hiatus is now officially over. Saying "no" to the computer was as difficult as I thought it would be. Hopefully, I have learned how to better use my time instead of being sucked into the world of the internet!
So, many things have happened this last month. Our oldest son, Elijah, turned 5 years old at the end of October. Yesterday he was a little raisin in my arms who just wanted to eat and sleep. Today he is tall enough to grab onto my shoulders with his feet flat on the ground. I know I will have many more of these "moments" but they do seem to be coming more and more frequently. He had his very first real birthday party, complete with 7 other children. We reserved a party at the coolest place. Eli had so much fun and I think the other kids did, too. The best part about it? We packed up and left the facility and didn't have to worry about all the clean-up.
Anyway, here are some pictures of this momentous occasion...



Elijah was thrilled with the motorcycle bike that he got for his birthday. Of course, Josiah couldn't be left out of the fun so he inherited one of Eli's old bikes.



More of this last month's happenings in the following posts....

So Very Thankful

We ate turkey in Florida. It was beautiful and sunny and we enjoyed every bit of it. Methinks food and family and a big huge yard go together perfectly!This Thanksgiving was so different from the years gone by because of all the screaming children running around. Kids really do know how to fill a room.
Major highlight of the day...We finally got to meet our new little niece, Lana. She was born October 27th and she is a doll! She let me hold her for a very long time.

How can you not fall in love with this little face??


Gianna will be 2 years old in January. She is full of toddler energy, that one. She adores Elijah and tolerates Josiah. She and Josiah are only 3 months apart so there were quite a few tiffs between the two. Hilarious!


Dinner was at Seth's Grandad's house. He lives on 4 1/2 acres with a good size citrus grove in the backyard. Heaven on earth for a 5 year old little boy. We actually got to eat citrus for the first time in years. When I first moved here to Missouri, I tried a couple of oranges from the grocery store. I'll just say, "Eww!"

Good times. Good times.

10 Whole Years

Brace yourselves, people. Now I may look super young but I'm really not. Oh who am I kidding? When I was in high school, I always got the comments that I looked older than I was. When I was in my early 20's, I heard comments of me looking younger. Here I am, now 28 years old, and I get nothing when I tell people how old I am. I guess I finally caught up to myself.
One of the main events of our visit to Florida, besides all the great visiting with family, was our 10 year class reunion. If I sit and think about it too long, it just blows my mind how quickly those 10 years flew by!! To give you a little history, Seth and I were high school sweethearts (insert awwww here). We were in the same class and started dating our junior year. We got engaged the night before graduation and married a little over a year later. Our class was so small due to the tiny Christian school we attended. Our graduating class had like 15 students.
So on Saturday, over 10 years later, we reunited. We couldn't believe how many people actually came. It was a great turnout. What a trippy experience to remember these people when we were teenagers and then fast forward through life to grownups who now have spouses and children and real jobs. It was truly great seeing everyone.
My friend said something that rang very true in me. It was wonderful to see everyone but it was even nicer to realize how grateful we are that we are no longer that same person we once were. I really had quite the battle the week before the reunion. The enemy attacked me with all the old insecurities and self-hatred that I dealt with on a daily basis while I went through high school. The night before we flew down to Orlando, I had such a sweet experience with the Lord. He knew I needed to be rescued from the very intense battle I was facing. And He did it in such a kind and tenderhearted way. He showed me who I am now in Him. My heart is ruined forever because of His love and mercy. He has changed me completely and know He will never stop perfecting that which He has begun.
Seth and I left the party content with each other and with ourselves. We have a good life and we know it is just going to get better and better as long as we are in full pursuit of the One we love!

It's a Small World After All

On Tuesday of our trip, we got to take the boys to Disneyworld. Seth's cousin's husband works for the fire department at Disney so he met us down there and let us in for free. We even parked for free! What a blessing, especially when you see the normal costs of that place.
The boys loved it! Seth and I had such a great time just watching their faces. It brought back many memories of when we went as children. The awe and wonder of that place is just fantastic. As "off" as Disney has become (we have turned off more Disney movies in the last couple of years because of all the junk they throw in!), it helped give us a day of memories that we will never forget.

Cold Reality

So after a week in sunny Florida, we came home to an intense snowstorm. Very, very beautiful to look at from the comfort of your cozy living room. Not so much when you are driving in it!
Friday morning, Elijah woke up and did the snow dance all morning. He was so excited to get out there. We all bundled up and played. The best part? Coming back in from the freezing cold and having a nice cup of hot chocolate.

I would like to do a small comparison. Here are Seth and the boys on Tuesday.

Here are Seth and the boys on Friday. Notice the difference??

Elijah loves him some snow!

Josiah wasn't very sure about it. But he sure stayed toasty in his full body snowsuit =)