Fish and rainboots

Andrew got two new things yesterday. One was a fish that he named DIRT. Go figure....he's a boy. The other was a pair of rainboots passed down to him from the son of one of my college friends, Amy. He loves them. They were perfect for dancing in the puddles this afternoon after the storm passed. Luke enjoyed sitting outside today on Dad's favorite blanket (although it's upside down, you can still make out GEORGIA TECH).

Andr`ee Seu, writer

This article has spoken such truth to me. It rings true to my heart. Silly how someone else's burden can bring another to tears but it's my burden as well. The author of this essay/article, Andr`ee Seu, is one of my favorite writers. She writes for World Magazine, another favorite of mine. The Lord speaks through her and I always walk away from her articles with new knowledge and insight. In fact, I hope to purchase her new book which is a collection of some of her past essays. You'll probably enjoy reading her work as well. Justin Taylor (see link on right) shares some of Andr`ee's background on his blog. Click here to read his words. She is making an impact on the world for the sake of the gospel.

Happen to me? No, it couldn't.....

You think that it will never happen to you. Better yet, you think that you'll NEVER be the one to blame. You go along in life never worrying that it might even be a possibility. Yep, you know it.....I recorded over valuable home video on accident. In fact, not just a little bit but an entire year's worth; plus the hospital recording of my child's birth, etc. I'm sick to my stomach...ugh.

Favorite things

Andrew's favorite thing to do is explore. He found the lotion (I usually hide it well) and twisted the top off. In this picture, he's realized that he can make the lotion pop up by squeezing it hard. A few minutes after this picture was taken there was lotion everywhere so off to the laundry his clothes and blue cover went!



Another favorite is my friend Claire. She's a faithful friend. If she's within driving distance, she will come visit. She was in town overnight with her family and she brought her sister and brother with her to church this morning. It was so good to see her face. Love ya, Claire!

Lazy Saturday

I love Saturdays...at least this one. Sometimes they are full of "things to do" but this one was restful and fun. We slept late, ate cereal, watched Dad mow the yard, went to a birthday party, took naps, played in the crib, visited with friends, set up the swingset (thanks to the Wilcox family for giving it to us!), and just finished eating BBQ sandwiches for dinner. Luke is in bed for the night and Mitch and Andrew are at Lowe's picking up some nails. I am sitting here alone in the dark computer room....ahhhhhhh.

Playing in the crib


Watching Dad mow the yard


Caught Luke standing for the first time in his crib. He did it all by himself!

Changed it again

I've changed my template again. I don't like the fact that I'm on my third template within a short period of time but, for some reason, they keep messing up on me so I have to find a new one. Oh well...I like this one and will stick to it until something goes wrong. I'll be putting the links back up in the right margin soon. It's past midnight as I type this and I'm too tired to copy and paste this late.

Look what's blooming in our backyard!

These beautiful flowers are blooming in our backyard. I wanted to take a picture of them before they die, since I'm not the best gardner in the world.



Andrew jumped in his "flintstone mobile" (hence the feet for pedals) and was in such a hurry through traffic that the steering wheel broke off. Guess we need to buy him a second car already.....

All Aboard!

This is now Andrew's favorite place to visit on the computer. He is obsessed with trains!

Video of Andrew's hunt

Andrew loves to hunt for Roly Polies but he has to ask for my help when they roll up and fall between the blades of grass. Enjoy!

For the sake of the Gospel

I was in the midst of a discussion this past weekend. Up for debate was the topic of appropriate dress for corporate worship. From what I gathered, there was definitely a sense that some of us were gonna have to just agree to disagree regarding the issue. Personally, I tend to fall on the side of dressing casual, for various reasons....it's how my generation tends to dress, it's more comfortable, I feel God's not concerned with what I wear (as long as it's modest), and the majority of our congregation dresses on the casual side. Define casual? You will find me wearing skirts with sandals most of the time but I enjoy wearing loose fitting linen pants with a casual blouse as well. I have no hesitations about my casual dress, as long as it's modest. Some might say that I'm not being respectful of the Lord Almighty by dressing in such fashion. I will agree that there's validity to being respectful of the Lord in how I dress but is there any more respect in wearing a dress than there is in wearing linen pants or jeans, for that matter? Is there any more respect in wearing hose and heels than in wearing simple sandals on bare feet? It concerns me that, rather than the gospel being our focus, we allow the issue of "how dressed up or dressed down" we are to take precident in our minds (and hearts?). We need to be willing to do whatever it takes to win others to Christ. Randy Pope, pastor of Perimeter Church in Atlanta, says, "The gospel has to be elevated to its rightful position and we can't let our personal preferences stop us from elevating the very thing that is most precious".

Pope continues, "If our churches are going to lead than we have to become contemporary to the culture in which we've been placed. Am I concerned with being used to help win the lost? Do I do all things for the sake of the gospel so that I may become a fellow partaker of the gospel? Am I (we) willing to repent of idolatrous traditions? Traditions are beautiful, wonderful and should be embraced but not at the expense of losing the opportunity of reaching the lost."

• Define unbiblical traditions -- those who's love for a particular tradition dictates their interpretation of God's word leaving them unwilling to move from their tradition regardless of the impact on the lost.
• Define Biblical tradition - those who, in spite of loving and routinely utilizing traditions, will readily move from them for the sake of reaching the lost.

What a challenge. I pray that I will strive to become all things to all people, not just becoming some things to some people. See you in church Sunday.....I'll be the one in pants.

Fun Times

Grandchildren on Mitch's side (we have the boys and his sister has the girls).

Andrew in the big inflatable chair at Monkey Joe's during his cousin's birthday party.

Prune face! Luke eating prunes for the first time. He loved them!

Land Shark!

Searching for creative and effective ways to get your kid out of the bed in the morning? Read this for some insight. My favorite was the one about the LAND SHARK. I think I might try it one day!

Thinking back

I think about all sorts of stuff when up in the middle of the night feeding my infant son. Tonight, I thought back to my elementary days and tried to list my teacher's names in order of grade. Making a mental list at 2:00 a.m. helps me to stay awake while feeding the baby. HA! So, here's my list.....can you do it, too?

First grade - Mrs. Everett
Second grade -Mrs. Mann
Third grade - Mrs. NeSmith
Fourth grade - Mrs. Frantz
Fifth grade - Mrs. Johns and Mrs. Chester
Sixth grade - Mrs. Jones and Mrs. C (short for Cernogorsky)

I had way too many teachers from seventh grade on to remember all of them. However, a few stand out.

• I loved my ninth grade English teacher, Mrs. Watson. She was a hoot!
• Although he was a bit quirky and strange, Mr. Farrell was a cool chemistry and physics teacher.
• My ninth grade biology teacher, Ms. Scott, ended up marrying Mr. Farrell soon after I graduated. Weird.
• I always hated math, but I thought Mr. Christie was the best at explaining the formulas.
• Typing teacher, Mrs. Williams....she's the reason I type so well today; "All together now, class. Place your fingers on home base and let's begin. Ready, a a a a j j j j f f f f .....".
• I loved playing the flute in the band as well as leading the colorguard with my flag during football season. My band director, Mr. Mayhall (although he's at the "enemy school" now), was probably my favorite teacher of all.
• No, wait....my favorite teacher from high school was definitely Mrs. Stowers. I was in her class for Junior English and for AP English my senior year. She pushed me extremely hard. Her class was always a challenge!

What's weird is that I went on to become a teacher and might be on someone's mental list as they try to dig deep and remember my name. HA! That's a scary thought.

Good looking firemen

Fireman everywhere have the reputation of being some of the most handsome men on the planet. I've got two of my very own at home!

Uncomfortable

Mitch and I went to Six Flags today. It rained most of the morning but we had a good time, regardless, and it soon cleared up. We took advantage of the cool weather and rain by standing in a shorter line to ride the GOLIATH (which was a ride that took my breath away! We rode in the front car...I'll never do that again!). Like my friend Crissy, I made several observations during my time standing in line for the many roller coasters that Mitch and I love to ride. Most of these observations made me uncomfortable. You will probably have amusement park flashbacks, sigh, and then nod your head in agreement as you read my list.

1. body odor
2. dirty water being splashed about
3. walking barefoot in the public restroom
4. sticky wet people bumping into me
5. sticky wet people standing too close to me in the line
6. couples who seem to think the line is a hotel room (can't keep their hands off each other)
7. couples attached at the mouth look up confused as to why people in line are staring at them
8. teenagers who run you over trying to beat you to the end of the line
8. old gum stuck that's been spit out and disposed of improperly
9. handrails...especially wet handrails
10. wet hairy men

I'm starting to sound like my college roommate, Heather.....am I becoming a germ freak, too?

My feet hurt

My feet really hurt....mostly my left one since that's the side/hip where Luke usually sits. The pain runs from my foot up to the small of my back. My uncle, who is a chiropractor, would tell me that wearing flip flops all summer doesn't help the matter. I would agree but it's so easy to just slip them on and off rather than bending down to tie shoes. Boy, I'm lazy. Mitch and I are going to Six Flags tomorrow but you better believe I'm going to wear my tennis shoes......I certainly wouldn't want my flip flops flying off the roller coasters! HA!

Check this out. Andrew loves playing in the water....especially when it falls from the sky.

Handsome brothers

Clicked this one at just the right moment. Makes me proud to be their mom.

Back to the routine of things

Andrew started preschool today. The morning went well but not as planned. I had to go to the dentist for a much needed appointment that's been scheduled for a while so I missed out on the journey of "dropping him off at school"....Mitch got that pleasure. I like the fact that Andrew is in on the same campus as Mitch. Just two buildings apart on the same property. Mitch has quite the job description so he gets to peek in on Andrew during the day as he passes by his classroom, playground, and cafeteria.

Luke and I have been spending the day together at the grocery store, running errands, and getting some things done around the house until we leave to pick up Big Brother. Luke is growing up so fast and surprising me more everyday with his personality. He loves the camera...can't you tell?

Some of my favorites

Some of my favorite places to visit on the computer:

www.ruf.org
www.theologica.blogspot.com
www.reformation21.org
www.worldmag.com
www.blog.togetherforthegospel.org
www.keylife.org
www.allenlevi.com
www.saragroves.com
www.marannook.org
www.desiringgod.org
www.banneroftruth.org/pages/home.php
www.girltalk.blogs.com
www.cbmw.org/index.php

A Change of Scenery

You might have noticed that I've changed my blog template. I was having some trouble with the right side margin in my previous layout so I decided to find another template. I hope it hasn't thrown anyone off. I plan on staying with this one for a while, although I liked my last one better.

I'm back in my own house, in my own familiar territory, in my own bed, and in my husband's arms. Vacation is always fun but there's no place like home....

The Florida Springs

We have just returned from a five day get-away to Florida to visit my sister and her family. This was our first time at their new house so we took full advantage of it and played everyday. Being that she lives in Florida, it only made sense that we spent the majority of our time in the water. We took a two hour tube adventure down the crystal clear Ichetucknee River, swam in the swimming pool, and visited Blue Springs State Park, where I jumped off the huge dock (much to Andrew's delight). Since it was a natural spring, the water was freezing...but that didn't hinder Andrew from jumping right in with his floaties. We also took the boardwalk out to where the spring met the Santa Fe River. He truly is the God of wonders. What beautiful ideas God had when creating His world. I'm so glad He chooses to share it with us so we may enjoy Him. Here are just a few pictures I snapped during our visit to the springs.