Running on Goldfish

Table Fun

2012-02-13T05:00:00.000-05:00

Riverbanks Zoo

2012-02-10T05:00:00.000-05:00

My Mom's sweet friend is a member at the zoo and was able to get us in for free and we were able to do everything there. This was Julie's first time at the zoo and we had a great time!

Claire finally moved from riding on the bench on the merry go round to an animal. She said that she wanted to try an animal that goes up and down next time! We are making progress.

We had a great time riding on this train. Julie enjoyed it also even though she isn't happy in the picture.

We really enjoyed feeding the giraffes. This giraffe is the bully of the feeding area. Chrissy, the giraffe, stands there and gets all of the food. Most of the other giraffes have given up trying to get food and were out in the field. Claire enjoyed feeding her some lettuce leaves.

Mimi and Papa

2012-02-08T05:00:00.000-05:00

We are so thankful that Wayne's parents live so close to my parents. We enjoyed spending some time with them!

They made this fun tire swing. Claire wouldn't try it out...hopefully next time!

Cooking with Claire

2012-02-06T05:00:00.000-05:00

Running down to collect water with Gracie.

Filling up her cup (she only had to do this a million times to fill up her huge bucket).

Carrying it very carefully so the water wouldn't all spill out.

Dumping it into the bucket...to start the whole process again.

Enjoying cooking with Claire on a beautiful afternoon!

She has taken off!

2012-02-03T20:11:00.002-05:00

We went to South Carolina for about a week. Julie took off walking while we were there and was quite proud of herself. We all enjoyed chasing her and seeing her explore her new world.

Some moments you just have to laugh

2012-01-24T20:13:00.000-05:00

If you don't really care about my girls bowel movements (I don't blame you if you don't) stop reading now and you can scroll down and enjoy the pictures. I thought it would be fun to record this story so that in a few years we could look back and remember what things were like with a 1 and 3 year old. Wayne was working so I was giving these sweet girls a bath.

Julie's smile looks like she is up to something and Claire looks like she knows that something is about to happen. The tub seems to relax Julie and she pooped in the bathtub. This isn't a huge problem when Wayne is home because I can just hand Julie to Wayne while I clean the tub. Since he wasn't home I got both girls out. Claire obediently stood where I asked her to while I cleaned up. Julie, on the other hand, started running (yes she can run now) naked around the house. I kept trying to keep her away from the carpet because I had a feeling that she was going to use the bathroom again. Sure enough she used the bathroom all over the floor in her room. Thankfully it wasn't on the carpet and I was able to clean that up. Finally I had everything cleaned up and was able to throw the girls back in the bath to get them clean. So for those moms out there...what do you do with a 15 month old in this situation? Thankfully God gave me the grace to just laugh and enjoy these sweet girls.

Washing Claire's hair has gotten a little bit better. Julie loves when I wash it and we always spike it up. Julie thinks that this is hilarious and always starts laughing. As soon as I get Claire's shampoo she looks up to watch me fix Claire's hair!

They are taking over...

2012-01-23T20:54:00.001-05:00

Wayne shared these pictures on Facebook but I thought I would also post them on the blog. Thankfully we did have things under control (kind of). I wish that we could share their volume level with you also!

Who knew being in the car could make them so happy? I am definitely remembering this one in case we need a distraction!

Loves her Daddy!

2012-01-19T07:04:00.000-05:00

We love having a pecan tree in our backyard. Wayne and Claire enjoy going outside to spend time together. They find pecans and then Wayne cracks some of them open for them to enjoy.

Purses!

2012-01-18T07:27:00.000-05:00

Julie's ready to go with her monkey and her purse!

Julie holds the purse the same way Claire did (with her arms up in the air unless she is holding monkey). I think that this is one of my all time favorite pictures of Claire! It captures her personality and it hasn't changed much at all!

She's walking more!

2012-01-16T07:22:00.000-05:00

Julie's main mode of transportation is her knees. She is really fast on her knees and because of that most of her pants are worn out. We have encouraged her to walk but like the rest of her family she is pretty stubborn. For the past couple of weeks she has started to walk more and more. If she is is in a comfortable situation she will walk a lot. She's pretty cute when she is walking around!

Sometimes she carries around a pillow to help cushion her fall.

The items that she likes to carry don't really help her walk well but she still perseveres!

My attempt at an indoor game

2012-01-14T08:05:00.000-05:00

I grew up watching a show that had Bozo the clown on it. I can't remember the name of the show but I remember the game at the end where you got a chance to throw a ball into several buckets. You would get a prize for each bucket that you could throw the ball in. One day after nap I decided to create a game for Claire. It wasn't successful for a variety of reasons but it was still fun!

The balls were too heavy for the bowls and Claire did not understand that she had to stay behind the line. She kept stepping forward so that she could just place the ball in the bowl (smart strategy).

Julie thought the bowls were really fun and started picking them up. Of course this upset Claire so she started picking up the bowls so there weren't any bowls to try to throw the balls into.

I relinquished my dreams of recreating Bozo's ball game and prevented the girls from fighting over the bowls and the balls. We all had a good time and I will have a better plan the next time I want to implement a game like this!

Julie's Favorite Part of Christmas

2012-01-12T07:55:00.000-05:00

Christmas Trees!

One of Claire's Favorite Gifts

2012-01-10T19:55:00.000-05:00

Claire loves long hair and can't wait to have longer hair. My family thought it would be fun to get her this long hair. She thought it was pretty neat!

My Dad got in on the fun!

Nola is still young enough for us to put it on her!

Exciting News

2012-01-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

What does the Democratic Republic of the Congo

have to do with...

our family?

We have begun the process of adopting a child—and not justone child, we hope to bring two children into our family by way of adoption! This is something that Wayne and I have talkedabout for quite a while and, Lord willing, about a year from now we’ll expandour family by two.

And don’t worry. We’ll have plenty of posts in the coming weeks and months to bring youalong on our journey.

Reading Time

2011-12-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

Claire and I have reading time most mornings. Julie is in the process of dropping her morning nap so she joined us for reading time. She doesn't stay in one spot like Claire does but it is so much fun to hear her "read" her books!

A couple of mornings later I caught Julie reading to her monkey in her room!

Splish Splash We were taking a bath...

2011-12-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

Sweet Visit

2011-12-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

Charlie, Stephanie, Nola and Paisley came to visit us on their way to Columbia. It was such a treat to be able to spend time with them. We had a great time loving on Nola and playing together. I am so thankful for them!

Julie and Nola liked each other a lot. Nola especially liked Julie when she was eating crackers.

We all loaded up into the Pilot and went to Flat Rock Park. (I think that we could have been on a commercial to show how much you can fit into the Pilot.) Wayne and Charlie had fun playing frisbee golf and the girls enjoyed walking around the park.

We enjoyed having Paisley around. Claire loved to take Paisley outside with Charlie and Julie had a great time watching Paisley. Paisley thought that Julie was pretty neat also because of the amount of food that she dropped on the floor!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

We hope that you have a great day celebrating the birth of our Savior and King!

I try to get a picture of the girls to give to our parents. I didn't think that Julie would do well bringing her to a store so we ventured out to our backyard to try to get a picture. Needless to say, it is difficult to get both girls smiling and happy at the same time.

(This was how Claire felt about the whole experience! Julie had her moments also and it was really hard to keep her still so that I could take a picture.)

How I love their personalities!!!

Our Funny Cookie Story

2011-12-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

These cookies are my favorite cookies to eat at Christmas time. Last year Claire and I made them and she burned her arm when she was putting the Hershey kisses on the cookie. I made these cookies for a White Elephant exchange so I thought I would get Claire to help me in another way. I asked her to unwrap all of the Hershey kisses. She did a great job and we were able to make a couple of pans before Julie woke up from her nap. I had to go change Julie's diaper and help her so I left Claire to unwrap the rest of the kisses. I went to get the bowl of kisses and started putting them on the cookies. I then realized that most all of the tops of the kisses were missing. Claire had taken a little bite of each one as she unwrapped them. We had a great laugh and I was thankful that I had already made enough to bring as my gift! I might have to come up with another job for her or supervise the unwrapping a little bit better!

Wayne's Birthday

2011-12-23T14:40:00.001-05:00

We had a great time celebrating Wayne's birthday Monday. We love him so much! On Tuesday we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. Our sweet friends watched our girls so that we could go out. I am so thankful that God has blessed us with such a wonderful husband and dad!

Building Blocks

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

She can fold!

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

I love when Wayne folds our clothes because he does a great job! I usually fold them really fast and they aren't as neat and nice. Claire has started to help me fold the towels and wash cloths. As you can tell from the pictures she takes after Wayne and does a great job! Now I just need to teach her how to fold our other clothes!

Julie's Backhand

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

Awesome Amy

2011-12-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

I am so thankful for Charlie and Amy! I am so thankful that God has worked in all of our lives and we have grown closer to each other because of him. There was a big age difference between Amy and I growing up so we weren't that close. Over the past year we have gotten a lot closer and I am so thankful for her friendship! She is also so great aunt and Claire and Julie absolutely adore her. Thank you for being such a blessing in our lives Amy!

Big Bob

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Claire calls gorillas Bob. My parents got this gorilla a couple years ago after enjoying the gorillas at the zoo. Most children who come over and meet Big Bob are not very excited to see him. We were wondering what Julie would think of him... She LOVED him!

My View while making dinner

2011-12-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

What I can't capture is the noise coming from my sweet girls. Julie has learned that I will get her cup of milk if she comes to the gate and screams. We are working on that and hopefully she will learn how to say milk soon!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

2011-12-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Julie is starting to copy everything that Claire does. I pray that Claire will continue to be a great example for Julie to follow!

Julie has started to read a lot of books like Claire and play with these cards.

Claire and Julie's favorite Pastime

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

The tale of Mr. Lizard

2011-12-07T09:23:00.001-05:00

To start off this post I have to say that I handled this situation in a very stereotypical female way. I went to get Julie some milk from the refrigerator and screamed (softly) when I saw Mr. Lizard hanging out right by the fridge. I backed away and got my phone and called Wayne. He told me that Mr. Lizard could bite me but he doesn't have teeth so it would hurt. We decided that it wasn't worth him coming home (Mr. Lizard would probably run away before he got there) and that I should handle the situation. He did ask me to keep him on speakerphone while I tried to catch Mr. Lizard. Thankfully I had some clear bowls that served as a perfect contained for him. I put the bowl over him but it landed on his tail. I didn't want to hurt his tail so I lifted it up a little bit and then it landed on his body. Still not wanting to hurt him I put the other bowl on top of him and then we were able to enjoy him. (My biggest fear was that I didn't want Mr. Lizard to run into Claire's room (it is right off the kitchen).)

The girls thought that it was pretty awesome! I need to work on my toughness so that I can be a better example for the girls!

After enjoying Mr. Lizard (probably traumatizing him) for a little while I slid the bowl to the door and we let him go. Hopefully he learned not to venture into our house again!

Sailor in Training

2011-12-06T12:30:00.000-05:00

Pots' Sailboat

2011-12-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

Claire has always loved playing on my Dad's sailboat except when it is moving. Julie enjoyed crawling on the boat for the first time. I hope that she might enjoy actually sailing on the boat.

Mirror mirror on the wall who is the cutest baby of all?

2011-12-05T05:00:00.000-05:00

Guess what we have in our backyard...

2011-12-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

a pecan tree!

Sweet Claire

2011-12-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Claire decided that she wanted to start praying. We have talked to her about it, modeled it for her and encouraged her in it but she never wanted to pray. I pray that this is the beginning of her talking to God and that she continues throughout her life!

We love our cousins!

2011-12-02T05:30:00.000-05:00

Julie wasn't happy about taking this pictures. She upset Nola in the process. Hopefully we can get a picture of everyone happy at some point.

Shealy Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Robnett Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

Greensboro Pictures

2011-11-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

We were really excited that we finally got to meet Nola. She is precious and we all love her a whole bunch! Claire had a blast going upstairs to wake Nola up.

I am so glad that we were able to be with our cousins and family during this tough time. Claire really likes to play with long hair and loved playing with April's hair.

(Sidenote- She thinks that long hair is prettier than short hair and is pretty obsessed with long hair. We read her the Jesus Storybook Bible and one of the stories is about Rachel and Leah. Leah is the uglier sister and they illustrated her with short hair. Claire's hair grows very slowly so this has been a great teaching opportunity about true beauty (she doesn't quite get it yet).)

We were also able to love on each other. There isn't anything better than our sweet girls climbing in our laps.

Our Papa

2011-11-28T19:37:00.001-05:00

I love my Papa! He unexpectedly died two Saturdays ago. We were able to go to Greensboro to be with our family. I have so many great memories of Papa and miss him greatly! Pou (my grandmother) was able to come back to Columbia with us and we had a great time with her. As I encounter death, it is a great reminder that our time on earth is fleeting and I need to be living every moment to bring glory to God.

Just to Document

2011-11-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Julie and I were hanging out in her room last Wednesday morning waiting for Claire to wake up. She took several steps several times. It was pretty exciting! In my excitement I took her to Wayne's office to show him. She unfortunately fell on her face and the walking has stopped. Her favorite way to travel is to walk on her knees. She will also push herself around on her bottom (unless she is eating a hanger or other object). It is a pretty funny sight to watch!

Sweet Sisters

2011-11-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

She's starting to get it!

2011-11-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

Julie is finally starting to let us read to her! She has also stopped putting everything in her mouth long enough to look at books.

Shopping

2011-11-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

We had a great time shopping with my Mom. Claire is starting to LOVE shopping. She had a great time trying on and modeling the clothes for us. Thank you DeeDee for the cute outfits!

(Such a funny picture...she wasn't actually licking my face.)

I love my sweet girls!

Maybe one day we will have a family picture where we are all smiling???

DeeDee Came!

2011-11-14T05:00:00.000-05:00

My sweet Mom came to visit us for a couple of days. It was a treat to be able to spend some time with her!

She brought a gift from my sister Amy. Thank you Amy- she loved it!

We spent about thirty minutes practicing how to get a gift out of the bag. Claire also enjoyed taking several turns. Julie got the hang of it and should be ready for Christmas.

Saturday Dance Party

2011-11-12T19:49:00.001-05:00

We call her The Destroyer!

2011-11-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Bathtime Fun

2011-11-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

Kitchen Fun

2011-11-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

A week late...

2011-11-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Our friends Mark and Jessica let us come over and go trick or treating with them. Claire had a great time walking around with their daughter. Mark gave us a break and carried Julie all throughout the neighborhood. We had a great time visiting with them!

Julie was pretty excited about the candy. She would be even more excited about it if she knew what was in the wrappers.

Baseball 101...maybe?

2011-11-05T06:00:00.000-04:00

We taught Claire how to run around the baseball field today. I guess that she would have to learn how to hit the baseball before she has the opportunity to do this.

Julie sliding home.

Swinging

2011-11-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

Fun at the Park

2011-11-03T06:00:00.001-04:00

We enjoyed going to the park this past weekend! It is fun now that Julie can enjoy playing on the equipment.

The Cat and the Hat

2011-11-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

I am amazed by Claire's memory! We have read The Cat and the Hat several times to her and now she can read over half of the book. It is a good reminder to take advantage of this time when she can memorize things easily. Julie still isn't interested in reading books...just eating them.

Pushing Claire

2011-11-01T05:30:00.000-04:00

Pumpkin Cookies

2011-10-31T06:00:00.000-04:00

I remember my mom making these pumpkin cookies when we were little. We went over to a friend's house on Friday so it was the perfect excuse to make them!

Sweet Julie

2011-10-29T06:00:00.002-04:00

She loves to push anything she can around the house. The toy chest is also something else that she pushes back and forth.

She has made the switch over to loving Wayne. I am so thankful that my girls have such a great Dad!

Just a few pictures

2011-10-29T06:00:00.001-04:00

We love our sweet Claire!

And our Julie! She missed out on the rock pictures but enjoyed her ride in the stroller.

Visit with Friends

2011-10-28T06:00:00.000-04:00

Susan and Ryan came to visit us this past weekend! I taught with Susan and then last year Ryan starting going to church with us. We have enjoyed their friendship and really appreciate them coming to see us!

The first time Ryan came over to our house in Louisville he read the book Biscuit to Claire. Claire held onto the book all morning in anticipation of their arrival.

Julie jumped in and loved having both of them to play with!

Our Princess and Little Lamb

2011-10-27T06:00:00.000-04:00

Julie's 1 Year Old Checkup

2011-10-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

I know that everybody says this and I am going to say it again...time sure does fly. I can't believe that Julie is already a year old. We had her appointment on Monday and here are her stats.

Weight- 21 pounds

Height- 28.5 inches

(Claire was 22 pounds 6 ounces and 28.5 inches.)

She is starting to eat all of the food that we eat. She only walks while pushing something but will stand up for a little while without holding onto anything. She is starting to be a lot more vocal and has perfected a monkey noise. She tries to get our attention a lot more by doing silly things to make us all laugh. We are still having major separation anxiety (experienced a lot of that at the doctor's office!) but is making it through the church nursery. Claire and Julie are starting to play a lot more. What a joy she is and we are so thankful for her.

Claire at a year.

I'm the Birthday Girl

2011-10-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

My sweet sister in law, Stephanie, got Julie this precious shirt. I completely forgot about it so she wore it the day after her birthday! Thank you Stephanie!

Since it is her birthday...she can cry if she wants to??? She did a lot of that today at her doctor's appointment...more on that tomorrow.

She is mainly like this unless she is hungry or tired. We love our sweet Julie!

Loving Pots!

2011-10-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

Their affections for one another are growing!

2011-10-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

Riverwalk

2011-10-21T06:00:00.000-04:00

This was my Dad's first visit to Columbus. We had a good time showing him our church and we went down to the Riverwalk.

Pots and DeeDee

2011-10-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

My parents made a detour on their way to Charlie and Stephanie's house. We were so thankful for them to come and see us! Claire and Julie were pretty excited also!

My parents were going to stay at a hotel with Claire. They offered for us to stay at the hotel and they would stay with the girls. It was such a treat to be able to have a night away (Thank you!)! Claire had a blast and Julie did great without me being there.

Claire's Haircut

2011-10-19T06:00:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday we took Claire to get her haircut for the first time! We are thankful that her hair has grown slowly because we weren't sure how she would act when she got her hair cut. We all went and I came prepared with a lollipop. As soon as she sat on my lap she started screaming. Thankfully the lollipop did its trick and the rest of the haircut was pretty uneventful!

Julie's New Friend

2011-10-18T06:00:00.000-04:00

We went to Target the other day to get Julie's birthday present. Claire and I were looking at some clothes while Wayne and Julie went to check out the toys. When we found them Julie was holding Cookie Monster and wasn't going to let him go.

She watches how Claire loves Doggy and does the same thing with her animals.

And of course she eats him!

And brings him everywhere she goes.

Julie's Birthday

2011-10-17T20:00:00.000-04:00

Our sweet Julie turned a year today! It is hard to believe that she is already a year old...it seems like yesterday we were here.

We were running a little bit late for dinner so Julie wasn't very happy. We thought that looking at the cakes might distract her. It worked as long as she was eating the icing off the cakes.

I'm not sure why she has her hand on her throat. She was pretty excited about eating the cake. She didn't hesitate at all to dig into it.

We had to keep reminding Claire that it was Julie's birthday...not hers.

Claire helped me decorate our kitchen while Julie was taking a nap. Julie LOVED the streamers and smiled every time we went into the kitchen.

We are so thankful for our Julie!

The Wrap

2011-10-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

We were having one of those morning with Julie so I put her in the wrap. Thankfully it calmed her down enough and Claire wanted a turn. I didn't have the wrap for Claire but we tried it out. She liked it but I don't think that I could carry her around in for very long!

Future Nurse or Doctor???

2011-10-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

Does life get any better?

2011-10-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

Claire loves Dora! Julie really enjoyed watching some of it also. Sadly this picture doesn't capture Julie's squeals of excitement while watching it.

Claire Faces

2011-10-10T06:00:00.000-04:00

"I can't believe that you are taking a picture of me."

"Are you really going to keep taking pictures?"

"I guess that I will smile to humor you!"

Who knew a laundry basket could be so much fun?

2011-10-07T06:00:00.001-04:00

Claire really wanted Julie to push her in the basket. Julie was able to push her a little bit.

Why would I read books when I can throw them all down?

2011-10-06T06:00:00.000-04:00

Uncle Kenny and Aunt Betty

2011-10-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

My Uncle Kenny and Aunt Betty let us stay when them when we visited the Cowart's. We had a great time visiting with them and they got to meet Julie!

Claire really enjoyed playing with Uncle Kenny!

The last time we had seen Uncle Kenny and Aunt Betty was in September 2009. Claire has changed a lot since then! Thank you so much for letting us stay with you!

Audrey and Julie

2011-10-03T06:00:00.000-04:00

Julie is about a month older than Audrey. Now that they are both mobile they enjoyed playing with each other!

(I was ready to catch Audrey!)

Some More Pictures...

2011-10-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

I appreciate how Kevin and Lauren love Claire and Julie! Claire LOVES Mr. Kevin and we are so thankful we were able to give him some hugs!

(They only fought over pushing him a little bit...)

Lauren's two sisters were there also. We had a great time eating lunch and visiting with them! (Maybe all the babies were looking at each other?)

Claire and Judah

2011-10-01T06:00:00.000-04:00

Claire and Judah love each other so it was fun for them to be able to play together!

We ate lunch in the courtyard at Kevin's rehab place. They had a great time running up and down the steps and all over the place!

(Claire is smiling goofy in this picture because she was still "savoring" a piece of cookie we gave her.)

Meet the Cowarts

2011-09-30T20:10:00.000-04:00

We just got back from visiting the Cowart's in Nashville. I don't think that this blog post is long enough to express how much Kevin and Lauren have taught us and encouraged us in our walk with God. They took us into their community group in Louisville and modeled Christian community. Kevin had to have his leg amputated on the 20th so we went up to see them. They continue to live a life that reflects how much they love Christ even through this difficult time. Claire had a great time playing with Judah (more pictures to come) and Wayne and I enjoyed getting to visit with them. Please continue to join us in praying for Kevin's recovery! We love you guys!

It's sometimes tough being little!

2011-09-30T05:00:00.000-04:00

I think that we might have a problem

2011-09-28T06:00:00.000-04:00

(That is a total of 4 pacifiers! And we often can't find a single one. Julie loves to have one in her mouth and carry one around. She saw the others on the bookshelf and climbed up to get all of them. I'm pretty sure that I am supposed to be weaning her of these soon but they help all of us sleep better!)

Enjoying some macaroni and cheese!

2011-09-27T06:00:00.000-04:00

It's starting...

2011-09-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

Julie is starting to walk using anything she can find to push. I'm not sure if I am ready for this yet! Thankfully she is still dependent on different objects to keep her up.

Claire-mart

2011-09-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

Doggy, Purse, Shopping Cart...Ready to shop!

Wouldn't you love some Hamburger Helper and sardines?

Ready to check out! (I was the cashier for a while before she took over.)

Groceries bagged up and ready to go.

Would you like to come shopping with us?

School

2011-09-23T06:00:00.000-04:00

We aren't sure what school with look like for Claire yet but we are enjoying our activities again. We are working through Letter of the week curriculum.

I am always surprised what she knows and then what doesn't make sense yet. We will continue to have fun with it and hopefully she will pick up what she needs to know!

Sweet Girls

2011-09-22T05:00:00.000-04:00

Claire and Julie have some beautiful dresses thanks to my mom and her friends. I tried to get a picture of them after church the other day. It is starting to be a challenge to get Julie to sit still long enough to take her picture.

Claire was pretty cooperative but I had to keep putting the camera down so that Julie wouldn't fall off of the couch!

Something a little different

2011-09-21T20:00:00.000-04:00

I love to read.

As a little girl I had a dream one night that I had a huge stack of books. We have a lot of books now that we enjoy reading. I have read a lot of good books lately so I thought that I would share through some book reviews. It was a great exercise for me to think through what I read in the book (comprehension is not my long suit) and then write it down. Wayne helped by editing (he was very gracious) and I hope that through reading my brief review your heart is encouraged and pushed closer to Christ!

A Praying LIfe by Paul E. Miller

It is sometimes overwhelming to wade through all of the "Christian" books to find books that are God-centered and true to the Bible. In particular, the topic of prayer has been written on extensively. I recently picked up a refreshing and challenging book on prayer called A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller.

Millerbegins by discussing how prayer is all about a relationship. Because of that we can‘t work on prayer as anisolated part of life. He says that weshould not hunt for a feeling when we pray; instead, in prayer, we get to knowGod, submit to him and enjoy him (21). Because it is a relationship, learning to pray is a journey of alifetime.

Millerchallenges Christians by exposing that many of us believe in God but we havebecome “functional deists living with God at a distance”(23). “By spending time with our Father in prayer,we integrate our lives with his, with what he is doing in us” (23).

Themajor theme throughout the book is that we need to come to God as ourFather. We can and should come to him aswe are, constantly and without pretense. “In bringing your real self to Jesus, you give him the opportunity towork on the real you, and you will slowly change”(33). We are to ask like a little child and believelike a child.

Hediscusses how the opposite of a childlike spirit is a cynical spirit. Cynicism, he believes, is increasingly thedominant spirit of our age. It questionsthe active goodness of God on our behalf and left unchallenged it opens thedoor for bigger doubt. In order to combatthat cynical spirit we need a childlike spirit that moves toward our heavenlyFather.

Byweaving personal stories of his family, life events and God’s Word, Millerchallenges the reader to stop looking at himself and look to God when we pray. Personally, I was convicted in several waysand I hope that God will continue to work in my life in these areas.

(1) Come toGod in my helplessness. Prayer mirrorsthe gospel because our Father receives us as we are because of Jesus and givesus his gift of help. “We look at theinadequacy of our praying and give up, thinking something is wrong withus. God looks at the adequacy of his Sonand delights in our sloppy, meandering prayers” (55).

(2) Use anxiety as a springboard to bend my heartto God.

“Instead oftrying to suppress anxiety, manage it, or smother it with pleasure, we can turnour anxiety toward God. When we do that,we’ll discover that we’ve slipped into continuous praying” (69).

(3) Respond to “unanswered prayer” in the contextof know that God is sovereign and I am apart of the story that he is writing.

“God takeseveryone he loves through a desert. Itis his cure for our wandering heart” (184).

Instead ofbeing bitter I need to wait. Instead ofbeing angry I need to watch. Instead ofbeing cynical I need to pray. Instead ofbeing controlling I need to submit. Instead of being hopeless I need to hope. Instead of being thankless I need to bethankful. Instead of blaming I need torepent (198). I can only do these thingswith God’s help and in response to all that he has done for me in Christ.

(4) Encourage prayer by keeping 3” x 5” cards ofScripture and prayer requests of people around me and a prayer journal.

What is Georgia's legal driving age?

2011-09-21T06:00:00.000-04:00

Our Little Goat

2011-09-19T06:42:00.000-04:00

I have mentioned before how Julie eats everything (I just had to take my shoe out of her mouth). If you look carefully at the picture you see little white dots everywhere. I went in to get her the other day from her nap and noticed the white flakes all over her face and realized that she was chewing on the crib. Needless to say we went out that afternoon and got some covers for her crib. Unfortunately I think that they are more fun to chew on but I am glad she isn't eating paint anymore!

My Sweet Girls

2011-09-17T06:40:00.000-04:00

How I love my Claire! The other night I took her to see Winnie the Pooh. It was her first time going to the movie theater. I know next time to go a little late so we miss all the previews. (She kept asking if the movie was over after each preview.) She stayed somewhat interested in the movie but I was thankful we had some popcorn to keep her occupied.

Julie snuggles with us so much! I am so thankful for the snuggling and hope that it continues! If she isn't snuggling with us she is all over the place. So thankful for my sweet girls!

New shopping cart

2011-09-16T06:30:00.000-04:00

We gave Claire a shopping cart so that she could continue her shopping around our house.

We are still trying to teach Julie to not pull it over (while teaching Claire patience).

Julie really just enjoys eating all of the cardboard box play food.

We decided that it is never to early...

2011-09-15T20:16:00.000-04:00

"Wow I can lift up a 5 pound weight!"

Do you look this good while lifting weights?

"Moving up but this one might be a little too heavy!"

"I will just eat them instead!"

Quick peek into our evenings

2011-09-14T06:16:00.000-04:00

All clean after a bath in new pajamas.

(Thanks DD!)

Running around in underwear.

She still hasn't figured out the right way to put them on.

Chasing Julie around and probably telling her what to do.

Afternoons

2011-09-12T06:02:00.000-04:00

Eating snacks.

Looking precious.

Talking on the phone.

Learning to share.

Eating everything!

Looking forward to Daddy coming home!

Working at our house = Lots of "help"

2011-09-11T06:34:00.000-04:00

Where's Julie?

2011-09-10T06:53:00.000-04:00

There she is!

(We don't put her in every box that we get!)

"Can I go play too?"

2011-09-08T06:48:00.000-04:00

Julie's New Favorite Thing

2011-09-06T19:44:00.000-04:00

Life in Columbus

2011-09-02T06:49:00.000-04:00

We are so thankful that God has brought us to Columbus! We are settled in and learning the city. I am not as dependent on the GPS anymore and can find my way around to most places. We are really enjoying being at CrossPointe and everyone has been so welcoming and kind.

Claire is doing much better and Julie is still unfazed by the move. We love Claire's room/the playroom and spend a lot of time playing.

Doggy

2011-09-01T06:46:00.000-04:00

Julie loves Doggy! For a while we didn't let Julie touch Doggy but we are working with Claire on sharing and loving her sister well. Time will tell if Julie really loves Doggy or if she is just excited that she can finally play with him.