In the Word

As parents our biggest prayer for our kids is that they would believe in Jesus as their savior so that they can have a personal relationship with Him. We try to incorporate God's word, prayer, and just walking the Christian life into our lives as much as possible so that our kids can see it. We desire for them to see in us an authentic relationship with the God of the universe that affects everything that we do. So, when we start to see fruit in Elizabeth's life it is a huge blessing. While there is still much that she doesn't understand, she is starting to understand God's Word a little bit better. Yesterday she was looking through one of her Bibles (The Right Choices Bible, thanks to Christy for the recommendation). She was looking at the pictures trying to find the hidden grasshopper in each story. She came to the picture of the burning bush and she said, "is that God talking in that burning bush?" She then came to the picture of where Moses' staff turns into a snake and she said, "did that snake come from a stick?" Wow, what joy it brought to my heart that she has heard these stories and is remembering them. She also was playing church yesterday with her stuffed dogs and told me she wasn't sure what she was going to preach on. :)
While we are far from living the perfect Christian life, I am thankful that our kids are seeing God at work in our lives and the people around us and are hearing God's word on a consisten basis. Praise the Lord!

Walking and Talking

So, last night James stayed up very late because he took a late nap due to school. He got a litte bit delirious and all of a sudden started walking. He had gotten to where he was taking 2-3 steps and actually choosing to walk more often before last night, but last night, he just all of a sudden decided he was ready. He was walking back and forth from Steph to me to Dave and he just kept doing it. He was being silly sometimes and purposefully falling, but overall he was walking really well.

He has also gotten really into pointing to things and "talking" about them. When we drive now, he spends a good part of his time pointing at things outside the car and babbling about them. It's really cute. He also now says "ba" when he sees a balloon.

Here's a video of James walking last night.

Wii Fit

I've been looking for the wii fit since it first came out back in May (I think). Well, I finally found one last week and bought it. It's actually a fun little game. I'm not expecting it to make me look like a body builder or anything, but I figure if I can use it consistently then that's better than what I'm doing now, which is nothing.
An added bonus is that Elizabeth loves to play it. Her favorite thing to do is the running. You are supposed to put the wii remote in your pocket and run in place. Elizabeth didn't have pockets so she had us put the remote in her apron and then she ran around the living room. She carried her puppy, Rowdy, with her while she ran.

Trip to the Park

James, hamming it up for the camera. Elizabeth
James was so excited about going down the slide.

Playing Outside

Granmama & Beto gave Elizabeth some 3-D chalk for her birthday. So, last week we decided that we needed to try it out. See if it was really 3-D. It was ok. I wasn't overly impressed, but there were some of the designs that looked kinda 3-D through the glasses.
James
Stephanie wearing the 3-D glasses and Elizabeth
James using the chalk
Stephanie and James
Elizabeth making a river so she could be a fish in it and we could go fishing for her.
Stephanie, James, and Elizabeth Elizabeth - that blue chalk got all over EVERYTHINGStephanie & James

James and the Dishwasher

James loves playing in the dishwasher. We pretty much can't have it open when he is awake. He sees it open and starts crawling for it right away. We usually don't let him get this far in, but this time he made it all the way into the dishwasher.

Happy

I was doing my Bible study today, which was pretty interesting. It was talking about how in Christian circles we've kind of gotten rid of the word happy. We use blessed and joyful, but we're afraid of the word happy. Beth Moore was saying that sometimes God just makes her happy. She did clarify that blessed and joyful are despite circumstances, different from happiness, but she said God still likes to make us happy - not all the time, but sometimes. I thought it was a good point. One I obviously like since I'm a fan of being happy. :)
One of the questions was "what is a recent situation where God has give you happiness" or something like that. Now, I'm an optimistic person and overall my life is good, so I'm generally happy. But, one thing I thought about is something kind of new so I thought I'd share it. My answer was "spending time with Steph." There are lots of other instances where I've been happy recently, but I have been having so much fun with my new friend, Stephanie.
Stephanie and I met a little over 8 weeks ago at church. It was her first time and so we talked for a few minutes. From the first day, God gave me a heart for her. If you've ever experienced that, you know that it can't really be explained. I just, out of the blue, loved this girl that I barely knew. It's been so neat to see our friendship develop. God has knit our hearts together and I am truly blessed to have her in my life. She's a college student, so her schedule is pretty flexible and we've been spending a lot of time together. Dave has appreciated it too, b/c he has been REALLY busy at work lately and he knows that's hard for me. So, when he is having to work or go out of town, I've been spending more time with Steph, which makes it easier for Dave.
It has been such a blessing to have Steph in our lives - loving on her, watching her love on our kids, hanging out, doing puzzles together, helping her answer some questions she has about her Christian walk, Dave's been teaching her guitar, and just having fun together.
Dave said this weekend, "I think your life is fuller since Stephanie's been it and therefore it makes all our lives fuller." And I agree.
What a great God we serve to give us friends that touch our heart, help us learn, help us grow closer to God, and make us happy.

Hooded Towel

Here's a picture of a towel that I embroidered for a Tiny Tot customer. The baby's name is Amrit which means "shares his meal with God." The link to Tiny Tot's is a blog I have started to keep up to date with my business. It is in the very beginning stages. I have so many pictures that I need to put up and just haven't had time to do it.

James' Quilt

Both kids were at school today so I spent about an hour doing sewing projects. I got all of James' quilt squares cut out. Now, all I have to do is embroider them, sew them all together, sew on the border, then quilt it. No big deal. Yikes!

Anyway, here's a picture of the quilt squares laid out like they are going to be. It's exciting to start to see what it's going to look like.

Happy 40th Anniversary

Saturday my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. Quite an accomplishment. I feel so incredibly blessed to have parents that have trusted in God and allowed him to work in their marriage to make it last for 40 years.
We had a little lunch for them yesterday with my brother and sister-in-law and my parents' best friends - Richard & Lynn. It was very nice. We all said a few words about what their marriage means to us, since all of us have been greatly impacted by it.
So, here's what I said, then followed by what Dave said.

Dear Mama & Daddy,
Wow, 40 years. What an amazing accomplishment. Congratulations!

I wonder if 40 years ago you had any idea where you would be today. Living in San Antonio, 2 PhDs, both working for the federal government, the owners of several houses and only 1 “trailer” that you don’t have to live in, an elder couple in a 10,000 member church, 4 kids who love the Lord, 2 grandkids and God willing more on the way, and happier with your marriage than maybe you ever thought possible.

You have accomplished a lot. Gained a lot of worldly knowledge along the way – formal & informal. But, where would we all be if you had decided that that knowledge made more sense than God’s wisdom? If you hadn’t been committed to the institution of marriage? If you had decided that God didn’t want you to suffer during the tough times?

So, thank you for choosing God’s way. Thank you for choosing to stick it out even when one or both of you didn’t want to. Thank you for trusting God’s plan over your own.

Thank you for knowing that his wisdom is far more important than worldly knowledge.

Thank you for teaching me about Jesus.

Thank you for teaching me to be committed to the institute of marriage, not just to Dave.

Thank you for teaching me that fights are going to happen in marriage, but through God’s power and by His grace, they can be resolved and you can be closer because of it.

Thank you for loving each other more than you loved Evan and me. Thank you for giving us the security that comes from knowing that.

Thank you for teaching me God’s plan and the importance of sex. Why it should be withheld before marriage and NEVER withheld within.

Thank you for loving me unconditionally amongst all the hustle, bustle, and craziness of our lives.

Mama – Thank you for showing me what it looks like to have a strong personality but to willingly submit to your husband.
Thank you for having a passion for Jesus like no one else I know.

Daddy – Thank you for loving me so that I didn’t have to seek that love in unhealthy relationships.
Thank you for modeling what a Christ-like husband looks like, so I knew what to look for when it came time to choosing mine.

Thank you, both, for showing me a marriage that isn’t perfect, but is amazing, because you love and trust God and each other.

Thank you for leaving Evan, Amy, Dave, and me, and our children the legacy of a godly marriage.

Thank you most of all for loving Jesus first, each other second, and us kids third.

I love you both.

Happy 40th Anniversary.

And, here's what Dave said:

Dear John and Judy,

I sit here at the keyboard with Page’s ode to your marriage still resounding in my ears. I agree with all of her statements, and cannot begin to think I could add any real meat to it. She is the detail person in our marriage, and I am the right-brainer. If we were parts of a painting, Page would be the razor edged perfection in the details of the treeline, and I would stand behind her, a random mixture of colors which give the treeline its context. One without the other is incomplete, mere points of friendly debate between connoisseurs of abstract art.

So, instead of adding to the list, I will try to paint of picture of what I have witnessed in your marriage these last few years, in keeping with the nature God has given me.

I find few families who cherish their time together as much as you do. Page has continued your legacy, and she has helped me understand that my family has first priority, even when work or church feels more important.

Your openness and candidness about the successes and failures you have experienced together have given me a foothold in marriage; I have a better idea how tall the mountain is, where and when to set my safety lines, how steep the crags and cliffs can be, and how beautiful and majestic is the grassy plateau at 7000 feet.

Your love for the Lord has given me courage to believe what He says about marriage. The biblical viewpoint of love and marriage is completely and wholly opposed to what our culture says about these topics.

Seeing the result of his work in your marriage picture gives me confidence that my canvas will one day hold a similar masterpiece. He is truly the author and finisher of our faith, and I see this verse personified in your lives.

I love you both, and am sincerely thankful for the wonderful masterpiece of marriage the Savior has constructed in you.

Dave

Crack that eye!

Elizabeth has taken on this new role with James. If we are driving home close to when James is supposed to go to sleep, we usually don't want him to fall asleep in the car. Because if he falls asleep in the car, then sometimes he won't go back to sleep when we get home.
So, Elizabeth has started trying to keep him awake by talking to him or playing with him.
Tonight, she was trying to keep him awake and she said, "Keep an eye cracked, James." We do not know where she got that from, but Dave and I were laughing hysterically.
So, next time you're out driving around - remember to keep an eye cracked. :)

Aggieland

Well, my brother sent me this video which I loved.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6Vp_3Tlc1w

It also reminded me that I have been wanting to blog about our trip to the Bonfire Memorial recently. Dave and I drove over to College Station in June while Grandma & Poppy watched the kids. We had a good time just hanging out the two of us. We went to Wings n More, so yummy. And then went to the Bonfire Memorial. It's something that I had really wanted to do. It's definitely not a "fun" experience but moving and special. If you ever went to a bonfire or were involved with it at all, I would suggest going. It's worth it.

The entrance:

This wall has "The Last Corps Trip" on it. I know it's not Biblically sound, but it's one of my favorite poems. I still get a lump in my throat when I read it.Each "doorway" has one of the students that died. Tim Kerlee was a friend of my roommate. Bonfire fall was an emotional time for all of us, but especially the ones who knew the 12 that died.This is the marker that sits where the centerpole of bonfire sat before it fell. It has the date and time that it fell.

Playset

We worked most of the day on Sunday building the playset. I don't have a final picture from Sunday because the camera got dropped in the baby pool. :)
Our friend Nova came over and helped us. He is a very hard worker and really helped us a lot.Elizabeth hanging out on the frame. Nova's wife and our friend Karen came over with their little boy Aidan. Aidan helped keeps James and Elizabeth entertained.
Elizabeth pushing Aidan on the swing.

Elizabeth made sure the deck was level.
Stache seemed to like this little spot. Too bad it's now filled with a sandbox.
Our friend Stephanie came over and helped too.
Thankfully she knows about rock walls because my mom and I didn't know where to put the rocks, but Steph got it all figured out.
Aidan and Elizabeth sitting up on the deck.
James and Aidan sitting in the tractor.