Father's Day Weekend

This past Saturday we visited Brian's dad. It rained on us the entire way there, but the skies cleared shortly after we arrived, leaving us a perfect afternoon to go to the zoo! It did open up and pour on us once at the zoo, but otherwise the weather was great. Here are some photos of our day.

At the petting zoo, we decided to feed the goats. They started getting pushy as soon as Brian walked toward the food machine.

They got REALLY pushy once we had the food in hand. Daniel was a little intimidated by them, and I wasn't too thrilled about them jumping up on us!

Daniel and his Grandpa Roger

Daniel was very interested in all the children we saw.
He wanted to play!

Daniel decided to give daddy an impromptu kiss in the herpetarium!
He is a very kissy boy these days. :)

On Sunday we celebrated Father's Day at my parent's house. My grandparents, parents, and brother were all in attendance. We had an awesome meal (thanks, Mom) and played cards afterward. We gave my dad a bag of dum-dum suckers, which both Dad and Daniel love. Daniel managed to eat two suckers before mommy said no more!

Showing his sucker to the camera.

Pointing at the sucker bag because he wants another one...now!

My grandma and grandpa

Brian and his little man

Silly photos

Here are some photos of Daniel that just make me laugh! I hope you enjoy them too!



I was getting ready to give Daniel a bath last night when he ran out of the bathroom, clad only in his diaper. I finished getting the tub ready, and then went to find him. He had gotten a book and crawled onto the futon. This little guy loves to look at books, and particularly likes this one he has in the photo below. The page he is looking at shows pictures of farm machines. He was saying, "Vrooooooom! Vroooooom!"

Oh mercy!

On Saturday afternoon, I was inside doing some chores while Brian and Daniel played outside. As I was going about my business, I thought I heard our lawnmower start. "Oh surely not," I thought. "Must be the neighbor's." Then, I heard a lawnmower go past the window. That was certainly too close to be the neighbor's lawnmower. I quickly went outside, and lo and behold, this is the sight that met my eyes. My little tiny baby boy was riding the lawnmower with his daddy!!!


Now, it is my opinion that a sixteen month old is too young to ride on a lawnmower. However, after being properly horrified, I realized Brian had done two very important things. 1) He had put ear protection on Daniel and 2) He was driving very slowly without running the blade.

So, I decided to make the most of this event and snap some photos. Notice how thoroughly delighted Daniel is. He smiled from ear to ear the whole time and kept trying to steer the thing himself. For hours after riding the mower, he kept going "Vrooooooom.... vroooooooom!" Now, when we go into the garage, he immediately gets the ear muffs, tries to put them on, and motions toward the lawnmower, saying "Vrooooom!" Oh my! What have we started!

Beauty from yucca

We have really been struggling with Daniel’s sleeping lately. As many of you know, sleep has been a constant issue around our house since Daniel was born. He is still not sleeping through the night, but sometimes he does better than others. Well, this is not one of those “better” times. He is teething. He is transitioning from two naps to one. He had a virus recently. I am not sure what else has contributed to this bump in the road, but to make a long story short, I am tired.

A few mornings ago, Daniel woke for the day just before 5 a.m. Needless to say, I was not ready to get out of bed. I grumpily drug myself through our morning routine, feeling kind of miffed at God. Doesn’t the Bible say that He gives his beloved rest? Doesn’t He love me? Doesn’t He notice I am about ready to collapse from exhaustion?

Later that morning, Daniel and I ventured outside. He had been begging to go, and I thought perhaps the fresh air would revive me. As we walked through the yard, we happened upon some stray morning glories. Have you ever noticed that morning glory leaves are perfect hearts? I felt God whispering, “I do love you. I do have your best interests in mind.”

I began feeling a little better. Then, Daniel and I came to our yucca plants. Now, Brian is the one who planted the yuccas, and I have never been exactly fond of them. They seem kind of southwestern…like something you might find in the Taco Bell parking lot. Anyway, this particular morning our yucca had broken forth with the most beautiful white blossoms. Daniel grabbed one in his little hand to admire it, and I found myself gently touching one too. They were beautiful. And then a snippet of scripture came to mind: “to give them beauty for ashes.” The Lord can take any situation and create beauty from it. Even beauty from yucca! Now, I fully realize that sleeplessness does not rank high on the list of hardships some people suffer. But, at this moment on this day, I felt the Lord bringing beauty into my relatively small hardship.

Later that evening, I looked up scriptures that contain “my strength” in them…because the Lord is really my strength…not 8 hours of uninterrupted rest…though I keep praying for that too. :) Here are some verses I am hoping to commit to memory. Maybe they will help those other sleep-deprived moms out there too.

Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

Isaiah 12:2
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."

Habakkuk 3:19
The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:19
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Proverbs 31 woman meets Mary

Several weeks ago I finished studying the book of Proverbs. I have been mulling that infamous last chapter over in my mind ever since. I think most women feel slightly discouraged after reading about the Proverbs 31 woman. Who can measure up to that? In my quest to answer that question, the Lord led me to a different Bible story, Luke 10:38-42. It is the story of two sisters: Mary, who sat at Jesus’ feet, and Martha, who was busy serving. Jesus said that Mary had chosen the good part…the better part. It almost seems like Proverbs 31 and Luke 10 contradict one another, doesn’t it? As I prayed, I felt the Lord showing me how these two stories coincide. We are to care for our families, to provide for our households, to work diligently. But, we are also to spend time sitting at Jesus’ feet. The way we balance these two behaviors is by abiding with and listening to the Lord. We must dedicate our schedules to Him…day by day…moment by moment…praying it through each morning and committing it to the Lord each night. Our ears must be tuned into the Lord’s still, small voice…those gentle promptings that guide us through each day. Our hearts must look to and lean on the Holy Spirit. Our minds must choose to trust that God will lead us if we are willing to follow.

I am horrible at doing the above. Dedicating my schedule (and my life) to the Lord does not come naturally to me. But then again, complete dependence on the Holy Spirit does not come naturally to any of us here on earth. However, I am realizing it is the only way to have life and to have it abundantly. And that is what my heart truly longs for…abundant, passionate, God-glorifying life.

Garage sale

On Saturday our little hometown had a city-wide garage sale. With oodles of help from our families, Brian and I hosted one at our house. We had items belonging to both of our grandmas, Brian's sister, Brian's mom, and a few things of our own. If you have ever done a garage sale, you know they are LOTS of work! Thankfully, our crew was very energetic and industrious. We brought in over $300 total, so I think that can be considered a success! Most importantly, everyone got rid of their old junk. Hurray!

Brian's sister and mom

Sara, my dad, and Daniel hanging out.

Daniel had fun "shopping" around and trying out the merchandise.

Brian and I managed to do a little garage saling of our own. I found some really cute clothes for Daniel, and Brian got a few coffee mugs. Everyone took turns babysitting Daniel. He wanted to put his little hands on everything! It was a fun, but exhausting day.

Saturday in photos

On Saturday, Daniel had quite the day. We had visits from family, fun in the water, and lots of playing. Here it is in photos!

Daniel feeding Grandpa Roger's new little dog. She is a cutie!

Three generations! Brian's dad (Roger), Brian, and Daniel

Daniel checking out the swimming pool for the first time. He was a little hesitant!

Brian and Daniel blowing bubbles.

Daniel LOVED playing in the sprinkler.

We also walked to the park, played on the equipment, and ate supper outside. It was a very full day, but the little man still didn't sleep through the night. Oh mercy, what are we going to do?!?