As long as we're sharing pictures...

Some crazy pics of a crazy son on a crazy trampoline...

And just because they're beautiful...

Andrew is our resident photographer. Whether it's capturing the beauty of people or nature-he loves finding just the right way to portray God's creation.

Ken's eyes were closed for this one....

...but I like it anyway. I'm putting together some scrap book pages and we needed a recent pic of us-isn't it funny how hard it is to find a pic of the mom and dad together?

The crew....including Emma this time...

Information overload...

Just coming off of a women's conference~ which was most timely and very encouraging and challenging. I am hard pressed to be able to put to words all that swirls in my heart and mind, but these words keep ringing in my ears:

"Give yourself away!" To the Lord, and the people He puts in your path.

"It's not about you!" It's about Him and His purpose for your life.

"Give extravagantly, give your all!"

"God gives us everything we need to live a Godly life!" 2 Peter

"The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world!" Which is a poem- I never knew that!

"When God made woman, he said it was VERY good. And then He rested." :>)

I come away with a new sense of dearness to the One who created me...He loves us women.

The Be Boys...

Matthew has joined the ranks with a new hair cut to match the others...

Just because they're so cute...

We had fun with our friends, Adriana and Elena the other day. Though Adriana looks as though she's not too sure about us.

I love this pic of Elena and Daniel on the horse. They had really settled into some pretend play. Too precious.

Pressures

An excerpt from my devotional this morning....by Ruth Bell Graham.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:

but this one thing I do,

forgetting those things which are behind,

and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

I press toward the mark for the prize

of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Phillipians 3: 13-14

There are pressures and pressures. This is about necessary, even creative pressure; not pressure that destroys and debilitates. Capstones, not compactors.

Have you ever studied an old stone arch? The capstone supports the weight of the whole: it bears the pressure.

We appreciate the value of pressure when we see a tourniquet stopping the flow of blood and thus saving a life.

J. Hudson Taylor, that great pioneer missionary to China, used to say we should not mind how great the pressure is-only where the pressure lies. If we make sure it never comes between us and our Lord, then the greater the pressure, the more it presses us to Him.

It may be one more request than we think we can fulfill, one more responsibility than we think we can manage, one more phone call, one more pile of dishes to wash, one more bed to make, one more room to clean, one more complaint to listen to, one more interruption.

Interruptions never distracted Jesus. He accepted them as opportunities of a richer service.

I'm trying...

to listen more, yell less...

say yes more, say no less...

lean on Him more and me less...

The pressures are truly great sometimes...may they press me ever closer to Him.

A man and his wallet

The other day my 8 yo son found his spider man wallet and decided it was time to put it to some real life use. He put his gift card to a video game store in it, along with a few dollars from his chore money, and a picture...of Emma, his younger sister! He commented on how cute she looked and proudly showed everyone, flipping his wallet open in a very grown-up fashion. Today as he and I were driving to the mall for some shopping (video games for him, hopefully some much needed items of clothing for me) I asked him why he put a pictue of Emma in there. He said, "I wanted to put a picture of someone I love in there." He explained that his Uncle John told him the three things a man puts in his wallet are a picture of the one you love, a band-aid, and some money. It seems all he needs is a band-aid and he's good to go, then!

In case you're curious how the shopping went...true to his masculine nature, Jon entered the mall, bee lined to the store he wanted, found the game he needed, paid and we were out the door in no time. And me? True to my feminine nature, after window shopping a bit, I found a store I wanted to browse in. Found about 10 items I wanted to try on. Disliked every last item for one reason or another as I gazed in the fitting room mirror. Left the store without anything I set out to buy. I did, however, manage to stop in a different store and walk out with several items for Emma that were not on my shopping list. :>)

A shift of cosmic proportions...

I am going to read and see all of the Jane Austen stories in their entirety.

There.. I said it. :>)

Ken and I watched the last couple hours of Pride and Prejudice the other night (the new version). He fell asleep...but I was glued to the set. I will be picking up the books at the local library. I just can't imagine how I've gone so long without giving them my full attention. But I'd like to read the books before I watch the rest of the movies. Which one should I read first?