Snow Days!

We have had a crazy couple of days!!

Who would of thought in mid April we would be stranded due to a blizzard??

Church was cancelled on Sunday and we postponed our Premier Design Jewelry party fundraiser so Ryan and I settled in for a cozy, lazy day at home.

I took advantage of the extra time to focus on school. I set a timer and didn't come out of our bedroom for 3 hours. It practically killed me!! I hate hearing the laughter and comotion in the other room and not being able to be a part of it, but with only a couple weeks left before I graduate, I knew I had to focus. School seems even less appealing when your baby is pounding on the door because he knows your inside though.

Okay so maybe I snuck out a couple times to capture some memories :)

Quality time with papa

Ryan put his hat on him so he looked like an artist :)

After I finished with school we decided to break out the snowpants and embark on an adventure!

The plan was to put Landon down and get some beautiful pictures, but he screamed the second he wasn't in my arms.

We're not going anywhere for a while!

 Good adventure! Time to go in, make brownies, snuggle on the couch and watch movies.

We declared yesterday as another snowday in the Maxwell home. The daycare was closed and Ryan decided driving to work wasn't worth the hassle and the risk so we soaked in another blessed day of family focused fun.

Landon had much more fun outside today since the wind wasn't blowing snow in his face.

I played with Landon while Ryan shoveled out our car.
 

 We looked up from our snow wall every now and then to cheer him on!!

In April!!

My mind is blown :D I told Ryan that these pictures are priceless. We will always remember and talk about the Bismarck blizzard in April 2013.

Thumbs up!! Way to go babe!!

Landon played hard and by the time we brought him in, laid him down, and got our snow gear off, we looked over and he was out :)

 The past two days have been so beautiful. We've not really accomplished much, but I've been reminded of what life is all about.

It's the little things...

It's not watching the clock and just laying on the floor playing together.

It's having no where to go and being completely present right where you are at.

It's taking the time to help your neighbor.

It's being in awe of God's creation and astounded at the power and beauty He displays. It's always there to behold, but usually we're to busy rushing around to stop and take it in.

I look at these pictures and my heart is overflowed with joy. I see my son experiencing the world for the first time. I see him exploring and taking everything in, but the thing that is the most beautiful to me is that he knows he is safe to do these things.

The wind blows and he cries and nestles himself into his father.

He plays in the snow with his truck, but looks up every couple of seconds to make sure mama is nearby.

He knows in our love he is safe to explore and grow.

This is the kind of life that every child deserves.

My heart breaks when I realize that our Ivan and Levi have never had anyone to show them how beautiful the world is. By the time we get to them, they will have spent six years in a crib.
 Jesus said that He was sent to set the captives free (Luke 4:18). So why do we think that he's okay with us living our comfortable lives while little children are wasting away in their prisons? How can we be okay with that?

Sorry, it's pretty impossible for me to write a post without letting my passion for the oppressed show through in some form or another.

Our life is good now.... oh it's so good!

I know there are many people that think we are really going to screw up our life by bringing Ivan and Levi into our home and family.

I will not deny for a second that our life will get more difficult. Any family that goes from three to five is going to face hard challenges, but no amount of difficulty seems harder to me than children not knowing love and never having the chance to experience a family and what it feels like to belong.

So to all of the blinded people out there, I lovingly say... "You'll see."

I pray someday you'll truly see and you're eyes will be opened to what love truly looks like. I pray someday a light will come on for you when you look at our pictures and you see hope ignite in Ivan and Levi's eyes. I pray you will begin to understand why we are choosing them when you watch their healing happen through this blog.

And to my boys, my precious boys I say, Hold on lovies! We have more than enough love for you in our family.

I can't wait for all of the adventures that we will have together.

You belong here.

Papa and I made you blankies this past weekend. We hope you like them! You're still growing hearts my loves. When you are finally home we will take a picture of you two sitting on your beds with all of the hearts that helped bring you home in the background.

It will be beyond beautiful!!

 Quick update!

Our USCIS application has been sent so we should be getting our fingerprinting dates soon. We have already had our fingerprints done, but this time we will need to go all the way to Fargo to get them done again. Once they have our more extensive background check results, we will receive our approval soon after :)

I just sent our $7,000 grant check to Reece's Rainbow so our FSP should be taking a jump soon :)

We will be launching a giveaway on our blog hopefully sometime this week!

I am in the throws of finals and would appreciate all the prayers I can get. I need to receive good grades in the 4 classes I am taking right now in order to graduate and receive my degree this coming May!!!

As always, life is crazy, but OH so beautiful!!

Thank you for sharing in our journey :)