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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Our Sweet Nest

Look what we found! The kids and I were both terribly excited to discover this nest perched atop of the speaker that hangs in the corner of our back porch. I have been repainting the porch so the nest had to come down. We enjoyed getting to admire nature.
I am terribly sad to report that I don't think momma bird has been back. I haven't told the kids that but I think we got a little too close (and they were so careful to not touch). I am feeling a little guilty, but sure did love the chance to share this beautiful glimpse of God's creation with my kids.
This is a random picture that Trace took of Aidan. Aidan was sulking and Trace thought it would be funny to get out the camera and take his picture. Sure looks like it turned his spirits around.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

A glimpse into my head

Random thoughts in my head recently:

1. Running 6 miles after not running in weeks is not a good idea, for any reason, especially in a hilly neighborhood. I am sure I will feel that even more strongly tomorrow.

2. Someone should follow me around with a video camera when I run. I am awfully jumpy and I am sure it would make for some great TV viewing. If someone honks their horn when they pass by I am totally and visibly startled. Today I literally screamed for my life when a dog ran up behind me, from out of nowhere, with no warning, and tried to smell my feet. I looked back to see the owner bent over with her mouth covered, not sure if she was laughing at me or not but I sure found the humor in it pretty quickly (at least after I realized I was in no danger).

3. I heard some very disturbing news announcements on the radio today. The first is that the morning after pill is available to anyone 17 years or older who would like to use it with no prescription at any drug store. Seriously...17? Most 17 year olds haven't even graduated form High School yet. I knew about the morning after pill but I had no idea it was so readily available. The second is that there has been a law proposed in the State of Texas to limit the punishment of a mother who suffers from postpartum depression and murders her baby during the first year of their life to a maximum of 2 years in prison. You can read more about it here. This article does discount the likelihood of this happening, but it is still disgusting to see that lack of value placed on our babies. It is truly disappointing to think that a mother would barely get a slap on the wrist for such a heinous crime. I realize postpartum depression is real and very difficult, but it does not remove all responsibility for actions taken. This is appalling to me.

4. I have been thinking a lot about repentance today. I have thought about the negative connotations that we place on the word repentance. That people often don't want to or like to repent, but I have been realizing what a loving thing this is. The Lord is gracious with us and oh so patient. It is His kindness that leads to repentance. We have been called out of darkness into light. We are no longer slaves to sin and in His mercy He allows us to repent and turn from sin and live in Christ Jesus. How is this a bad thing? The Lord has been showing me some areas of pride and a lack of humility. He has been nudging me to come to Him with a repentant spirit and turn from those things, to return to Him. What greater gift is there?

5. Rebecca, Andrew, and I spent some time looking for invitations and gathering supplies for Rebecca's Birthday in a few weeks. I can't believe she will be 4 and soon after that Andrew will be 2. It is simply crazy. I have no better words than that. I can still vividly remember coming home from the hospital with my fist baby and now I have 3 and the youngest is really more of a toddler than a baby! Sometimes it breaks my heart, sometimes I eagerly await the future, and sometimes I am able to just rejoice in the moment.

6. Aidan is almost done with Kindergarten. Enough said!

7. God moves through prayer in powerful ways. A few weeks ago I was able to spend some time in prayer with another woman, praying about her marriage, and her kids, and just life in general. It was a powerful time of prayer and I knew the spirit was with us. That time was amazing, but the more amazing part is the way the Lord responded. I can't go into details, but man is He good. What a privilege to see the hand of God move in anothers life in such clear ways.

8. Sometimes rainy days are good. The rain can force us to slow down and be together. I am loving this rainy afternoon!

9. Rebecca said the cutest thing the other day. I was in the other room and I heard her say "gross, Andrew bless youed on me" I thought that was simply precious!

10. Aidan told me that he wrote a song to God in his journal at school the other day and he told his class about it at share time. It was pretty deep. It went something like this..."I love you, God". Not sure he will be getting any contracts based on his unique song writing abilities but, it just melts my heart. I pray daily he grows into a man who loves God with all his heart. Childlike faith is such a beautiful thing! I love that he wrote this and that he was willing to share it with his class.

10. Our mission trip to Mexico this summer got canceled due to the violence that is occurring around the border and I am terribly bummed. I do want to make wise, safe decisions, but I am still sad that we won't be going back this year. I was looking forward to the trip for so many reasons. I was so confident that the Lord had this trip for us but I guess He has other plans. I am looking forward to discovering what those are.

Our Visit with Bob and Gran

I mentioned that we were able to spend some time with Trace's parents over Spring Break. It was such a wonderful treat for us to get to have both Trace mom and dad here with us and to invite them into our home and our life for a few days. This was the first time that Trace's dad has been able to make the trip to Tyler. I know it took a lot of effort to get here but we sure enjoyed having them and the kids loved the extra attention. Most of the time we just sort of hung out around the house. Rebecca loved having Gran here to push her on the swing, Aidan got to show off his bike riding skills, and Andrew played hard like always. We played some games, ate out several times, and we got to take Trace's parents to church with us. I think they liked it. Here are a few pictures from their visit:


And our special trip to Chucky Cheese:
They played some games

Aidan was the only one brave enough to take a picture with Chucky
Riding some rides

And doing a bit of dancing.


Thanks Bob and Gran for a fantastic visit! You are welcome anytime! We LOVED having you here.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Breaking the Silence

WOW! This has to be the absolute longest I have ever gone without posting. I don't know if I can even call myself a blogger anymore? I don't even have a good excuse. We have done a few projects around the house, hosted my in-laws for a few days, and have just felt busy, but more than anything I just haven't had much to say. And once I got out of the habit of making time for this blog it has been super hard to pick it back up. I guess writing is just like anything else for me and if I don't do it for a while I loose my momentum. So this is my attempt to break the silence and jump back in. I hope to become more regular again.

We have lots of potential changes that I would love to share with you and I have many things on my mind...if I can just gather the words to write about them. The kids are good. Aidan is starting up soccer again and LOVES to spend time outside riding his bike. Rebecca is into drawing and writing random letters all over the pages and Andrew is...well, Andrew is into everything! We very rarely have a dull moment around here and there are many emotions felt during the course of a day. Well, the silence is broken. I plan to post again soon.

Oh ya, Happy St. Patrick's Day. Cheers to you all!


Here are the kids with Green Milk in honor of St. Patrick's day.