The Love of a Daughter

These are my favorite pictures. And I thought I would repost them after I had photoshopped them a bit.

A Typical Sunday Afternoon

I don't think our family really has a "typical" anything, especially time. Usually Sundays we're visiting Grandparents, or doing something, or doing chores....or.... Goodness, "typical" is a word that doesn't really relate to our family.

However, if we had a "typical" this is what I'd want it to look like.

Grace and Justice love to read their books. Justice spent at least 1/2 hour reading Where's Spot? while sitting on this little table and chairs. He played, looked at the pages, and even tried to "read" the book!

But if that wasn't enough, Justice and Grace, LOVE to be read to. They always seem to be coming towards me with a book. Justice might not sit through the whole thing, but he does enjoy them.

You'll notice he's wearing shoes in this picture. Grace put on her shoes, and Brian said Justice INSISTED that he wore some shoes too. He wasn't happy until Brian strapped them on his feet. 

It was a lazy afternoon. We all were able to take naps, eat BBQ Chicken and Black Bean pizza accompanied with Vanilla Milkshakes... We played and read. We finally got a digital converter box for our TV so that we can receive digital channels over the air... but from our 3 stations, we much preferred it to stay off.

It was a great afternoon, even if I was sick, Brian was dead tired, and the kids were crazy! But, it was family time. 

10 Weeks Today

Awesome: inspiring great admiration 

It is so exciting to be pregnant. 

Again.

2 weeks ago Brian and I went to the first doctor's appointment. We got to see our little one via ultrasound. The features are not defined... but it simply AMAZES me how beautiful an 8 week old baby is. 

At barely an inch, this baby has grown to have moving arm and leg buds. There was a very strong heart beat. And then we got good look at the baby's spinal cord.

Spinal Cord. It was phenomenal. It was a tiny curved white line on the screen, but it was beautiful and AWESOME.  How far our little one has come, by the first appointment! I am sure there are plenty of people reading this thinking, "okay, she's gone off the deep end..." or "um, I don't get it." But neither do I! The blessedness and amazing thing of seeing our child on a screen, seeing a creation in the making, knowing that my body is providing a safe environment while the Father knits him or her together through no effort of my own.......

It can be none other that mystifying... incomprehensible... 

Awesome.

Our doctor gave us a roll of pictures. And two special ones for Grace and Justice so that they would also have a picture of their sibling.

The Story of the Dinosaurs

I have told this story to numerous others. It's one of the joys of having children... to see how they play and grow, even apart from parental influence!

The Story of the Dinosaurs

according to Grace

We have a puzzle. A dinosaur puzzle.

 The pieces are each a different dinosaur, brightly colored, and I must say...VERY FUN. Not only can you play with the puzzle, the dinosaurs are REAL and stand and do whatever you want them to do.

Grace, being 2, is very imaginative. And lately, we just celebrated at least 4 birthdays. She's had her share of singing, presents, and cake for birthday's sake.

So, playing out real life, I caught her playing...Birthday!

She had her dinosaurs around a "table" with a Little People's apple coin in the center as a birthday cake.

"Momma, sing me!....Happy Birthday to you......" And I sang with her the "Happy Birthday" song. This picture is of her clapping after the song. It was adorable.

The Story of the Dinosaurs

according to Justice

Justice's imagination is blossoming, even for 1 year old. I think he tries to keep up with Grace and watches how she plays and imitates play imagination play (yeah, try to figure that sentence out).

He is mischievous. Not naughty. In fact, he listens quite well. He just likes to push his limits, and he loves to tease his sister. His lips curl up into a devilish smile as he sees her unprotected blanket. He will pounce and walk away... the whole time giggling and looking at her for a reaction.

Anyway, it is HIS dinosaur puzzle after all. So, once in a while, when he actually gets to play with the pieces, he has a lot of fun.

"Justice, what does a dinosaur say?"

"GGGGGRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrAAaar!"

Anyway, he grabs one of the dinosaurs... "Grraar!" The dinosaur is looking for something....

Justice picks up a zebra puzzle piece from another puzzle. The hungry dinosaur promptly "gggrrraar"s and devours the zebra! Then Justice throws the pieces across the room. And he smiles at me.

The End

Just Today

Amazed.

I'm always amazed by her. She's sweet and so smart. I can't believe how much she can figure out and is learning every day. 

I am also learning that these days move too fast. I try to cherish everything, but it's so hard to remember everything!  I am used to absolutely cute chatter right now, but later, I know I'll miss it as her words become more pronounced and sentences more complicated.

So. Today. Just today. This is what I noticed about her.

She tries to say more than she can get out! She will talk so fast, as fast as she's thinking, that her words come out jumbled. It usually results in people looking at me totally puzzled, asking for her to say it again... and after a few attempts saying, "Oh really?!"

Ms. Independent! She is learning to climb up, climb down, and with confidence.

Reader. If I can side-track her into anything, it's into reading books. Whenever I'm reading to Justice, she comes over to listen and look (same for him, too). Currently her favorites are:

The Hungry Caterpillar

I Can Read With My Eyes Shut

Old Hat, New Hat

She's become a picky eater. She's all of a sudden has an opinion on what she eats. When I put supper in front of her, sometimes I hear: "Um...how 'bout cheese?" or "Um...how 'bout cake?" Justice will eat anything for supper; Grace will pick everything apart. She doesn't like her foods together (like in a casserole), but would much rather have them separated (like vegetables, potatoes, and meat). 

She likes green beans, peas, broccoli, cheese, meat, and pasta.

"How 'bout juice?" I hear that about 40 times a day.

She's starting to push Justice around. Literally. Justice gets much more in her fact, and now she wants her space and her toys. 

Grace loves movies. In fact, whenever anybody talks to her on the phone, that sounds like all she's done that day. "All Dogs Go Heaven all done." She gets to watch a movie while Justice takes his morning nap. She really likes that time, and tells Justice that it's time for him to take a nap! Currently her favorite movies are:

Horton Hears a Who

All Dogs Go To Heaven

and most recently Ninja Turtles.

So far, she doesn't care about potty-training. She's content and is moving at her own pace. Hey...whatever works. 

Grace has a sweet tooth. She likes candy. What child doesn't? When she gets Smarties or Pez she lights up.

An artist! She likes any art project I put in front of her. Coloring, painting, using chalk. She likes art and making things.

She's a night-owl. Go figure. Just like us. She'll lay down...and stay in bed for an hour, awake. We won't even know that she's awake until she comes and knocks on her bedroom door so we open it.  Usually she just needs a hug and to be laid down again. Sometimes we crawl beside her and hold her until she falls asleep....

I think she likes that.

Lion Chasers

God has been showing me amazing things; through dedicated time to think, meditate, and read, he has been stirring my heart. The Holy Spirit moves within me and I cry out to Him, "Use me! Change me!"

I am reading a book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, by Mark Batterson.  I know, what a title, huh?  But he talks a lot about living life on offense, taking risks, and focusing on God rather than life, a 500 lb. lion that's coming after you. You'll have to read the book to fully understand.

In Chapter Six, "Playing It Safe is Risky," I have to share some of his thoughts. It stirred my heart to action.

"Is anyone else tired of the church playing defense? Why is it that the church is known more for what we're against than what we're for? Why does it seem like the church is always in a defensive posture? Maybe it's time for Christ followers to put on crash helmets and play offense.

"God is raising up a generation of lion chasers that don't just run away from evil. God is raising up a generation of lion chasers that have the courage to compete for the kingdom....

"...Lion chasers don't retreat. They attack. Lion chasers aren't reactors. They are creators. Lion chasers refuse to live their lives in a defensive posture. They are actively looking for ways to make a difference.

"In his book Roaring Lambs, Bob Briner reflects on missionary conventions he went to as a kid where children were challenged to commit themselves to missions. And that's an awesome thing. Missionaries are heroes. But I agree with Briner when he says that the same spirit needs to prevail in sending our children into culture-shaping professions like entertainment, journalism, education, and politics.

"Why not believe that one day the most critically acclaimed director in Holleywood could be an active Christian layman in his church? Why not hope that the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting could go to a Christian journalist on staff at a major daily newspaper? Is it really too much of a stretch to think that a major exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art could feature the works of an artist on staff at one of our fine Christian colleges? Am I out of my ind to suggest that your son or daughter could be the principle dancer for the Joffrey Ballet Company, leading a weekly Bible study for other dancers in what was once considered a profession that was morally bankrupt? (Briner, Robert. Roaring Lambs, (Nashville: Zondervan, 2000), 5.)

"We need to stop criticizing culture and start creating it.

"Paul didn't boycott the Aeropagus. He didn't stand outside with a picket sign: 'Athenian Idolators Are Going To Hell in a Hand Basket.' Paul wasn't playing not to lose. Paul was playing to win, so he went toe-to-toe with some of the greatest philosophical minds in the ancient world. Paul competed for the truth on their turf.

"Instead of complaining about the current state of affairs, we need to offer better alternatives. We need to make better movies and better music. We need to write better books. We need to start better schools and better businesses.

"As the old aphorism suggests, we need to stop cursing the darkness and start lighting some candles!

"In the words of Michelangelo, we need to criticize by creating. And you can't create without taking some calculated risks." (Batterson, pg 120-122) 

16 Things

I have tried to do another blog post, but I have been so busy and tired that I didn't have enough ambition to finish! So here we go. Inspired by Ali Edwards blog, I finally have a blog post, and hopefully more will follow. So Here we go, 16 Things about me:

1. My New Year's resolution was to read at least 12 books this year and read through the Bible in one year. So far, so good! I'm on a Bible Reading Plan and have completed one book Church Marketing 101 by Richard L Reising, and currently reading Running with the Bulls without getting trampled by Tim Irwin.

2. I heart design. I like to make pretty photos, scrapbook pages, and documents that look cool, edgy, and put together. Fonts, .abr files, trendy colors, and new layouts and formats really peak my interest.

3. Leaving my brain on. When I look through a magazine, watch television, or walk down the streets, I am a student of the color, design, and the motive behind it. What are people selling me? Why is this this way? Why does this work? What's the worldview? I know, dorky, but I have learned a lot.

4. Coffee. I love coffee. I love stuff in my coffee. 2 tsp sugar and 1 tablespoon Coffee-Mate. Right now it's Gingerbread flavored creamer with Vanilla Almond Coffee... yeah the taste is interesting, but I'll drink it.

5. 45lbs lost with Weight Watchers.com. Woot woot! I loved learning about calories, fiber, balanced diet, and portion control. Through this I have also learned to make a meal menu and plan plan plan.

6. I have watched All Dogs Go to Heaven, Frosty the Snowman, and Fox and the Hound and gagillion times with my daughter. I love holding her and spending that time together.

7. I love to scrapbook. Go figure, it has a lot to do with color and design. My favorites are Ali Edwards because of her down to earth personality and scrapbooking. Nothing frilly, it tells a story about life.

8. I really want a Canon Rebel XSI. My cousin has one very similar. I loved just holding it! I want to take my photography to a whole new level, but I must wait. Sadly. 

9. Adobe Photoshop. It's fun and there are a billion things you can do with it. I don't even have the most updated version and I still can waste tons of time on it.

10. Chocolate. I love chocolate. The darker, the better. I hate Hershey's (sorry Hershey fans, but you are believing in a fantasy, better chocolate IS out there). Foreign, Godiva, and Dark Bittersweet. That's the good stuff.

11. Beyond Yourself. I think it is soooo important to know that living for yourself does not bring happiness or fulfillment. It brings misery. But, living beyond yourself, FOR something, that will bring life meaning. I live for Christ, the measure of all things, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. There is nothing bigger I could live for. I live for Him.

12. Selflessness. This kind of goes with 11. Selfishness is a pet peeve of mine. Being selfish grates on my nerves (even when it's myself!); selfish over the environment, stuff, ideas. Companies being selfish and people being selfish. Let's give each other some room and think of others before ourselves and how to better our OWN way of life. Let's care about each other.

13. Happily married for 4 1/2 years and counting. I couldn't believe that my 5 year wedding anniversary is coming up! My...how much I have learned about life, love, relationships, money, and motivation in that last 4 1/2 years.

14. Culture watcher. Having majored in InterCultural Studies....it's nice to know that my interests are still there. I like to watch how things change and ideas change on how culture and generations live.

15. I am not a winner. Okay. I mean this in the total superficial way. I don't win at games (only occasionally when my husband lets me), I don't win at drawings. I don't win anything.....hardly. But the weirdest thing happened when I won a Nintendo Wii from a random drawing. WEIRD. 

16. I love Jesus.