The Ultimate Report Card

Yesterday afternoon, I sat down with my Bible and notebook. For some time now, I have felt God calling me to come further in and higher up with Him. What a wonderful thing! The Almighty God wants a closer relationship with me! And how have I responded? Primarily with laziness and self-centeredness. Yuck. I hate when those two traits rear their ugly heads in my life. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

You have to give time, energy, and self in order to have relationship with someone. And having a relationship with Jesus Christ is no different. It takes hard work. It takes time. It takes a willingness to give over your selfish desires and seek the desires of Someone else.

As I prayed through this matter, these thoughts came into my mind: If I was getting a grade…one that would appear on a report card or transcript…I would be more diligent in my pursuit of Christ. Is it not enough that the Heavenly Father is my teacher and my very deeds are recorded in His book for eternity? Lord, forgive me.

You see, I have always been a hardworking pupil. From kindergarten to my graduate degree work, I have rarely given less than my best. But when it comes to the most important relationship of my life, why would I often settle for mediocre effort? I am frustrated with myself. Praise the Lord that His mercies are new every morning. And today is the beginning of Lent. A time for denying self and preparing for the Lord. What better time to turn over a new leaf?

My Bible reading yesterday just happened to be the passage below. Christ will be the One who gives our final grade. Our salvation does not rest on diligence or works, but these things will determine our reward. So I ask myself...Don't you want to end this class of life knowing that you held nothing back..that you did your very best? And don't you want close communion with God here in this life? My answer is a resounding YES! Lord, help me!

I Corinthians 3:10-15
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

Sugar cookies

On Valentine's Day, I wanted to make a special sweet treat for Daniel. Due to his milk, egg, and peanut allergy, he cannot have most store-bought candy or most baked goods. What I really wanted to make him were heart-shaped sugar cookies, so I began searching for a good allergen free recipe. And let me tell you, I hit the jackpot! I highly recommend the Food Allergy Mama's website. Highly recommend. Her recipes look excellent, and the the two I have tried (pancakes and sugar cookies) were awesome. She has a cookbook too, and I am definitely buying it. All her recipes are milk, egg, and nut free.
Here are some photos of Daniel and I making the cookies. He likes helping me bake, and he especially likes getting little nibbles along the way. He probably ate 3 or 4 cookies worth of dough before we were done.

Happy Valentine's Day

At this point, you are probably laughing or feeling deep sympathy for the little boy whose parents put him in this get-up. Or perhaps you are doing both!

Well, let me explain. We did not set out to dress Daniel as cupid and photograph him. It all began when I got an offer for 12 free photo cards from Shutterfly. I had to use the offer before January 31st, and the only upcoming occasion that could possibly warrant photo cards was Valentine's Day. So, I set about creating Valentine's photo cards. I planned to use a photo that I had already taken, but nothing seemed just right. Then, I had the bright idea to dress Daniel in his new red sweater, maybe even have him hold a heart, and snap his photo. As I discussed this plan with Brian, he came up with a better idea: "Let's dress him as cupid!" And so the madness began. Brian carefully crafted the wings from an old cardboard box and wrapped them with aluminum foil. I cut the heart out of paper and glued it together. I found an old pair of white cheerleading tights from high school, and we used those to cover his diaper. We used hair ribbon (another relic from my cheerleading days) to hook the wings on his arms, and there you have it. Cupid. And isn't he just adorable?

As we were putting the wings on him, Brian said, "When he gets older, he will not be happy about these photos." Oh, I imagine that is quite the understatement. Can't you see us showing them to his first girlfriend? Oh glory! At least this blog is private now. Instead of everyone on the world wide web having access to these photos, now just our closest friends and family do. Hehehe.

The Birthday Boy

This past weekend we celebrated Daniel's 2nd birthday! He enjoyed his party very much. As family began arriving, Daniel would lead them down to our basement to see his turtle sandbox. And guess what Daddy and Mama had put inside the sandbox? Beans, of course!

The birthday lunch consisted of walking tacos, fruit skewers, and veggies. I think Daniel mainly ate grapes and Fritos. Hohum.

Daniel was looking pretty sleepy after lunch, so we went straight to opening gifts. My, oh, my, did he wake up then! He loved each present so much that he could hardly pull himself away to open the next gift. He opened his new Cars book, and immediately went over to his Great-Grandpa Johnnie to have him read it. We finally had to put it away so that he would keep opening presents.

Daniel also loved his new tractor that makes all sorts of noises and even plays the chicken dance. I've been trying to teach Daniel the actions to that song, but no luck so far. I think he feels himself to be too mature for such things. Daniel was also mighty excited about his new cozy coupe. He loves to be pushed around in that thing! The photo below shows him clutching his tractor while simultaneously getting into the cozy coupe. He wants it all, folks!
One of the most hilarious moments was watching Daniel stand in the back of his wagon and sing into the handle. He looked very serious about it too, like he was crooning some sort of love song. Every time I think about it, I start laughing!
We finished the afternoon with yummy cake and ice cream. My first cake attempt was a complete flop (don't use plastic baking pans!), but thankfully, my mom made the one below and saved the day!
We are so thankful to have our family to celebrate with us. And we praise the Lord for this precious boy. He brings such joy to all of us. Happy birthday, little man!

Beans, beans, and more beans!

Daniel's absolute favorite activity right now is playing with dried beans. We filled a container with five pounds of beans, gave him some spoons and cups, and let him play! It is like an indoor sandbox. Several times each day, Daniel will say, "Beans, beans," and I will pull out the container. Beans often get spread all over the kitchen, but it keeps little man occupied, so is definitely worth it. On Saturday morning, Daniel got Daddy to play "Beans" with him.
The beans were soon flying everywhere...notice the shower coming down on Daniel's head.
Daddy said, "You want beans on your head? I'll give you beans on your head!"

Yesterday, I pulled the beans out again, this time to occupy Daniel while I cleaned up the kitchen. I turned my back to wash some dishes, and the next thing I knew Daniel had stripped down to his t-shirt and diaper and was sitting in the beans.

He was particularly interested in how they stuck to his feet.
But, walking with beans underfoot is not very comfortable!
About two minutes after this last photo, I had gone back to washing dishes. When I glanced at him again, the diaper was lying on the floor and Daniel was sitting in the beans again. We called it quits after that...I didn't want the bean box to become a litter box.

Happy Winter

You know, I really like winter until about the middle of January. And then I start longing for spring. Oh, to go outdoors without wearing fourteen layers! We received several seed catalogs in the mail this week, as well as the February/March issue of Birds and Blooms. I felt deep longing for the beautiful flowers in those pictures. I found myself huddled on the heat vent dreaming of the lovely spring sunshine.

It seems this winter has been particularly wearing (yet simultaneously beautiful, I must add). Last week was so dreadfully cold that we hardly left the house. I literally heard this phrase come from my mouth… “Brian, we are going to have a warm snap tomorrow. It will be in the 20s!” Since when is 20 degrees considered a warm snap? Daniel and I are both tired of being trapped indoors. CABIN FEVER!!!!

Today has been better though. We started off the morning reading the book, Happy Winter, by Karen Gundersheimer. It is a delightful children’s book for a winter day. The book follows two sisters who enjoy their winter activities to the fullest. They bake a fudge cake with their mother, and that spurred Daniel and me on toward some baking of our own. We made eggless, milkless, nutless banana bread. Despite all its missing ingredients, it tasted delicious and made the house smell wonderful. Yum! The weather is warmer today too, so we are planning an outdoor adventure for the afternoon followed by a trip to see Great-Grandma Ruth and Grandma Linda. Life is feeling pretty good again. Winter, I have decided you can stay for awhile longer. I am not so sure about two more months though. Oh dear. Maybe we should read Happy Winter again.

I will leave you with a photo of our new little friend. This squirrel has been a frequent visitor on our deck this winter. He loves the sunflower seeds we put out for the birds. Here he is digging down in the snow for them and popping up to eat them.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and more!

We had several lovely Christmas celebrations with our family during the last few weeks. Here are some (actually a lot!) of our snapshots. We pray you and yours had a blessed Christmas as well.

Daniel with Grandpa Roger

I love the look on Daniel's face as he opens the present above.
He LOVED opening presents this year!

Daniel with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Sara

Here is the little man with one of his favorite presents...
a battery powered John Deere tractor and trailer.
Now if only the weather would cooperate so we could get back outside and ride it.

Here I am with my new polka dot mud boots from Brian.
I love them!

My brother and Brian in their new deer hunting masks.

Daniel helping Uncle Jonathan unwrap his present.

Daniel's Great-Grandma "Ru" and Grandma Linda

Daniel shooting his first basket on his new goal.

Too cute

Daniel opening Grandpa John's bear trap for him.
Yes, I said bear trap.

Daniel and his new lawnmower, which he is very, very attached to.

Sisters, sisters, there never were such devoted sisters!
(Or sisters-in-law as the case may be.)
Name that movie...

Daniel wearing the same outfit as his new mouse!

Three generations...Brian, Grandma Missi, and little man

And last of all, our family photo from our Christmas card.

Merry Christmas!
(Two weeks late, but it's the thought that counts...right?)