"Day Do"

Justus has been saying and doing so many cute new things this week. His new favorite word is "day do", which means "There ya go." (You have to say it phonetically.) All day long he will hand toys or food to me and say, "day do." Actually, usually he just wants to pretend to give them to me. The first few times I made the mistake of actually taking them from him. Then he cried. Oops.

Another new favorite game of his is holding his food up towards my mouth and say, "Ah!" He thinks it is SO funny when I eat food out of his fingers. He just laughs and laughs and then does it again, of course.

This week he also picked up the phone and put it to his ear and started "talking", he found one of Audra's hairbows and put it on his head, and later he found Scott's baseball cap and put it on his head. I had no idea he was paying attention to any of these things, but he has been watching all this time and knows what they are suppose to be used for. It is so fascinating to watch a baby discover new things.

Bowling

Scott got home last night after a week-long business trip visiting his clients in Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee. We are SO happy he is home! To celebrate, we thought it would be fun to go have a family night out. We decided to try taking the kids bowling and they had a blast! I was actually surprised how much fun they thought it was and that they were able to do it.

Initially, Titus was very concerned about winning and thought that he needed to get a "strike" in order to win. I tried to explain that any time you hit any pins down that is great! (Guard rails automatically come up for the kids now when it is their turn, which keeps their bowling balls out of the gutter. Thay way, they knock at least one pin over.) So, once we got past that and started to bowl the kids were so excited: This was their reaction after Titus' first turn. They were hilarious jumping up and down and hugging and cheering for each other!
Everytime someone knocked a pin over, Audra would jump up and down and scream and cheer, "You won! You won!" while giving the person hugs. She never tired of this the entire game...and was happy to cheer for and "high-5" the college kids on either side of us when they did a good job, too! I had no idea bowling could be so thrilling!
More celebrating!
Justus didn't want to be left out of the celebrating, either. Everytime we cheered, he would clap and cheer, too. Mostly, he was content to hang out and eat french fries! (How things have changed! I'm pretty sure Titus never ate a french fry before he was 3.)
Daddy helping Audra.
Titus working on his bowling skills. He really wanted to do it like Mommy and Daddy. Speaking of Mommy and Daddy's bowling, I started off really strong with a strike and two spares. Unfortunately, things went crashing downhill from there. I could have used those guard rails. Scott, on the other hand, grew up bowling with his StepDad and StepGrandpa and use to compete in a league when he was younger. Apparently, he hasn't forgotten anything because he was doing all these fancy schmancy curve balls and got 5-6 strikes. (He also grew up as a left-handed pitcher in baseball and loves to analyze the anatomy of sport techniques, so I'm sure this helped him, too.) His score more than doubled mine. Kindof takes the wind out of my competitive sails.

On a side note, for any of you with small kids, there were lots of families with young children there. It was a very family-friendly environment and the kids all seemed to be having lots of fun. It is smoke-free now, which really helps. The burgers are really yummy, too.

The girls' self-portrait!

Bittersweet Good-byes

It seems like there is often good news and bad news. The good news is that last night we celebrated Elsa Lee's 1st birthday. The bad news is that the party was also a going-away party for her family. They are moving to California in a week and we are so, so sad...for us. I assumed the day would inevitably come. I just hoped it would be later, rather than sooner. We love Alex and Becky and they will be missed by so many people here. They are a unique couple (I've written about her several times on my blog) that serves in such extravagant ways and are just so "down-to-Earth" and fun. I'm sad for us, but thrilled for them. Alex has been offered a great job in marketing for Gallo Winery and they will be within driving distance from both their families. It will be a great set-up for them. Becky has often joked that she is "Les Mis" in Arkansas--"On My Own" with no family and two little girls.

Favorite Memories:
Meeting Becky at Gulley Park. Her fun, outgoing personality. Late nights at Rhea Lana's Consignment Sale. Being Consignment Soul Sisters. Pregnant together at the Women's Retreat--another late night. Community Group. Our Spontaneous Memorial Day BBQ. Audra's Birthday Party. Their Labor Day BBQ on the new deck! Her fabulous cooking! Garage Sale for Qiana. Qiana's Baby Shower. Their unique ways of loving people so practically and sacrificially. We love you guys and will miss you SO much!

Fayetteville Public Library

I took the kids to the library this morning for storytime. The librarian was as sweet and bubbly as she appears in the pictures. She read stories about wombats today. The kids, especially Titus, loved it. Justus and I enjoyed the rocking chair as we listened! We saw our friend Delaney there (sitting next to Titus) and got quite a few books on tadpoles and frogs. They're all doing well, by the way. Our little runt, Yoda, is actually beginning to catch up with the other tadpoles in size.

We've needed some inside excursions. It is freezing cold here this week. Brrrrrr!

Ancient Paths

Ancient Paths is not for wimps.

Ancient Paths was Awesome. Intense. Exhausting. Convicting. Healing. Powerful. Life-changing. There were tears...and forgiveness...and incredible peace. To say that we experienced a "gloriously intense encounter with God" would be putting it mildly. (Did I really just pray about that four days ago?)

I really believe EVERY Christian should go to an Ancient Paths (www.familyfoundations.com) seminar. It is unlike anything I've ever experienced. I thought I was the one encouraging Scott to go (because of wounds from his childhood), but I think God was using that as a decoy to get me there. I thought I was in a pretty healthy place emotionally and spiritually, but apparently He needed to work on me first. (Although, God later did an incredible work in Scott's heart, too.) One of the things I love about Ancient Paths is that it is like the "anti-band aid." (My newly created word.) There is no time or need for a surface cover-up. They didn't give us their own opinions or 3-step programs, but helped us pray and ask God to reveal to us the root of deep issues and then to come in and heal those places. Places we didn't even realize needed healing. Then afterwards I wondered..."Why didn't I see that all along? It's so simple." After all, the gospel is so simple. Why do we make things so complicated?

Another thing I discovered through watching God work in other peoples' lives and mine is how much power there is in forgiveness. Realizing that I need forgiveness. God's forgiveness. Other people's forgiveness. Then forgiving. That may sound obvious, but it really is not a small thing. I saw it before my own eyes. (I've heard that the counselor at our church said that if Christians could get a grip on forgiveness, he'd be out of a job.) I think many of us don't even realize we're carrying it around or the havoc it is creating in our lives.

It was very sobering to get calls and emails from so many of you to tell me that you prayed for us and to ask how the weekend went. (Keek even said that she woke up in the middle of the night Friday night and felt prompted to pray for us!) Thank you for loving us and for taking my prayer request seriously. I had no idea when I sent that out just how much we were going to need prayer the following 36 hours. Once again Heaven heard. Once again God loved us so lavishly. Once again God set us free. Once again I am amazed. Once again He's captured my heart. I'll never be the same.

Our worship team played this song at church this morning and I thought it was very appropriate:

Salvation Is Here -- Hillsong

God above all the world in motion
God above all my hopes and fears
And I don't care what the world throws at me now
I'm gonna be alright

Hear the sound of the generations
Making loud our freedom song
All in all that the world would know Your name
It's gonna be alright

Cause I know my God saved the day
And I know His word never fails
And I know my God made a way for me
Salvation is here...

Quote of the Day

Titus: "Mom, when Daddy sleeps he sounds like Darth Vadar."
"Why are you laughing?"

Justus is Walking!

Scott and I were talking in the living room this evening and Justus was playing in the kitchen. All of a sudden, over Scott's shoulder I saw Justus put his arms straight out, stand up, and take 5 steps across the kithchen! The boy went from not walking at all to 5 steps!!! He was so surprised and proud of himself that he continued trying it out all evening! Unfortunately, I could not get a good picture of it. I'll keep working on that.

In the meantime, Titus and Audra were happily playing back in their rooms. When I went to find them to get them ready for bed, this is where I found them...

They were flying a spaceship from their command post in the bathroom sinks!
Flying the spaceship again the next morning.

Has anyone else noticed that Audra is wearing this pink ballerina dress in every picture taken inside our house? She actually does have other clothes...but this one seems to end up on her at some point every day. It seems like I remember a similar story about my niece, Leah, when she was this age. Now she's a teenager and has outgrown her love for pink tu-tus. I don't think Audra will anytime soon. She calls it "the little pink dress with sprinkles." (I think she means "sparkles.") And she always uses both hands to show me "little" like she's holding a spec of dust between her thumbs and pointer fingers.

Encounters With God

This is Madeliene Gray! Is she adorable, or what? (I think I'll go ahead and arrange her marriage to Justus.) She is the 4-month-old daughter of my dear friend, Kristin. I gave this bow to her at her baby shower and she had it on Tuesday morning at Bible study. Kristin sent me pictures later. The way I see it, every little girl should have a big bow...especially one with four older brothers. Kristin said that the boys put a bow in her hair every day. I'm sure it is such a novelty to them!

Speaking of Bible study, it was really good. We've had a 6 week break because all the college girls who watch our kids have been on break. It was so good to be back. This week we are studying Daniel 6:10-28 There were three things that spoke to me the most during Beth Moore's video portion:

1) From Daniel 6:10-16. She said that there are three ways we can react in an emergency: 1) we can panic, 2) we can become paralyzed, 3) we can pray."Heaven IS going to move...Everything can be affected by prayer...There is power in the spoken word...You DO NOT have the one situation that God cannot change!" I love that. Do you believe it, friend?

2) From Daniel 6:17-28. The reality is that we are living in a modern-day Babylon (a culture of decadence, self-absorption, and over-indulgence) and we ARE in the lion's den. We have an Enemy who prowls around like a lion desiring to devour us...our marriages...our children. (See I Peter 5:8-9). Beth said, however, that we need to "consider the wonderful side of life in Babylon and the lion's den." She said, "we have opportunities to experience gloriously intense encounters with God" like Daniel did. Daniel would "not have experienced this if God had delivered him from trials or the lion's den." Often times, it is in the lion's den that we encounter his presence.

I long to "to experience gloriously intense encounters with God." I want my life to be characterized by it. I've often said that there is nothing I love more than seeing God do radical things in people's lives.

3) She also commented on Daniel's influence in Babylon. "We can be used of God to have great influence," she stated, "As long as we are here, we've got a job to do. In Babylon." God has put me in this culture, in this moment of time and I do not want to waste this life on things that do not matter. I do not want to hold on to things and get distracted by them. I don't want to miss out on "experiencing gloriously intense encounters with God" because I'm distracted by shopping for the next bargain on a cute outfit for my kids or clinging to living in this house. And I certainly don't want to model that to my children...or have them miss out on experiencing God.

Tadpole Update

For those of you who have been concerned about my little runt tadpole (affectionately known as Yoda), he is actually looking much better today. I decided to put some extra food in last night and dropped it right on top of him. I don't know if the food made a difference but he wasn't floating upside down this morning when I woke up. I did make the water cloudy by doing that, though, so I changed it again this morning and he seems to be happy about that. They're all looking pretty good today. I'm so thankful. I really expected to wake up to a dead, floating tadpole. Then I was going to have to decide what to do with him and what to tell the kids.

Audra's observation this morning: "Two 'tackles' are sleeping and two 'tackles' are awake."

Tadpoles

A couple days ago as we were changing the water in our little acquarium, I asked the kids to make some "observations" about the tadpoles. Here is what Titus observed:

1) They have two eyes.
2) They are brown.
3) "They are red on the bottom...kindof like a diaper rash."

LOL! Isn't that hysterical?!?! But he is right. ;)

I am feeling sad tonight because I think we are about to lose one of our tadpoles. I've been a little concerned about him for a week or so because the other three have really thrived and grown and he is about half their size now. I thought he was probably just the runt and would eventually catch up, but today he's floating upside down and not moving very much. Those aren't good signs. Their skin is transparent and his "belly" looks kindof like it is full of air bubbles or something. I called Petco tonight to see if they had any suggestions and to see if I was doing something wrong. (I've really been trying to follow all the instructions.) He said that he's probably not going to live and it sounds like he's just a "bad tadpole" and that some just don't make it. :( He encouraged me that it sounds like I've been doing everything right...feeding them three times a week, changing the water once a week, etc. I still feel sad, though, that I couldn't keep him alive. This thought crossed my mind tonight, "What will I do with him when he dies?" It seems a little inhumane to throw him in the trash...or to flush him down the toilet with sewage. What do you do with a dead tadpole?

(Why does this bother me, but it doesn't bother me to throw chicken bones in the trash when I'm cooking?)

I could never be a hunter or a fisherman, I've decided. Even the thought of "throwing a fish back" seems cruel to me after you've put a gaping hole in his cheek. Hunting animals for sport just seems a little cruel. I guess I'm a product of the Bambi generation. Scott asked me if that meant I wasn't going to eat meat anymore. I understand his point, but he doesn't hunt or fish, either...so I think he secretly agrees.

Sorry for the morbid post. On a lighter note, the other three are doing well and growing so big! We're having fun watching them grow. I think it would be fascinating to get a microscope and make closer observations.

DON'T FORGET to read the next post and suggest a good book for 2008!