Up to Something

These girls make me smile!

Mady says, "Hi, I'm 8 months old today."

It was a gorgeous day. It said 68 degrees. In Jan. really.

Mady is growing so fast! She is getting into everything. She is in a size 3 diaper.

She still doesn't have a tooth. She doesn't sleep through the night, but at 8 months I am used to it. She has the cutest smile. She loves to "talk". She loves playing with her toys. She loves getting into MK's stuff.

She and her sister are blessings!

Funny

I have gotten to know Becky through blogging. I know she is real because I work next door to her cousin. It is so fun when you find connections like that. She has a gift of writing. She posted about a fun activity that her husband had recently. It brought back the funniest memories of my brother Blake. My brother's death was one of the main reasons I started this blog. Looking back at my older posts, I was so deeply saddened by the events surrounding his passing, that I didn't spend a whole lot of time talking about him without sadness. My heart was broken. Still is, but now I can really laugh at some things and celebrate his life. He was a mess. A good mess though. He loved to pester. I don't want to offend anyone, but the type of pest who might try to to pin you down and fart on your head. He loved to play practical jobs. He lurved to cook. Family was really important to him.

Becky's latest post reminded me of a funny memory of my Dad and Blake. They loved to duck call. They had these little wooden things that you put to your lips and blow in. The sound that comes out is supposed to sound like a duck. They sounded awful. They even had tapes to listen to so they could mock the duck call. They would pull up there chairs together and quack. It was horrible at the time trying to get my homework done listening to this chatter. Yet now I have sat and laughed my head off. First of all some people don't know about tapes. That's funny. I have laughed about that. Some people have probably never heard of a duck call. What's funny is that I know exactly what one is.

Thanks Becky for helping me get to a place where I can laugh. I really needed it!

We Have Talent

Mady loves her exer-saucer

Who knew MK could do this?

She said, "Mommy, show all of your students this tomorrow."

Mady's face says it all. "Move me, now!"

Can't believe my girl is almost 5!

I haven't posted a whole lot lately. MK and Mady have been sick. Mady had her first ear infection. The doctor said it was mild. If it was, I would hate to see what major is. She stopped eating and sleeping. It was awful. I took her back Monday to have her ears checked and she is all better! Yes!

Here and Now, There and Then

Back in September I started a Beth Moore study on the Book of Revelation. It was fabulous. I finished the class in December and wanted to comment on a few things.
First of all it was a commitment. It was an hour and a half study ever Sunday afternoon for 11 weeks. We had a lot of women begin the study with us and by the end, not so many. I know it perceived to be scary. Not going to lie, parts of it are. You know how things are going to end. That is triumphant. So I felt so good to start the study and finish it. You know there is a commitment problem in our world. I didn't want to quit when times got tough or had other things to do on Sunday afternoons.

One of the first things we were asked to do was ask God to disclose himself to us. We had to keep a journal of how he showed himself to us. We were asked to share it in class. So many times I woke up to a particular hymn in my head. Also when I was up in the middle of the night with Mady, I would turn on the tv and hear preaching about the Jewish people today. I also at times felt like a vessel that God was using. (Just being a listener to a friend instead of the talker.)

I have read Revelation many times. I have heard the book preached in its entirety growing up. I don't know if you have ever heard a hellfire brimstone sermon, but I have. Yet as an adult attending this study, I learned even more.

One thing that was so cool was this:
The transmission of this book.
God told Christ. Christ told his angel. His angel told John. John told the 7 churches. Have you ever thought about Christ having his own personal angel? How cool is that! How do you get that job? Wow.
We discussed why John was the best person to tell us about Revelation.
We took tons of notes and studied the Old and New Testaments. I am not even scratching the surface of what I learned. This is just an intro.

We also discussed how God's throne is movable. Have you ever thought of that before?
Read Ezekiel 1:5 and Isaiah 6:2. God doesn't have to leave his throne. Something is carrying him on it. We learn about God through the description of things around him.

If you haven't read Revelation in a while, read it. If you have never read it, please do. God says you will be blessed if you do. With how our world is today, it is important for you to read it and be prepared, not be scared. Get your heart right with God.

Snow Day 2011

When the snow started to fall on Sunday, MK couldn't wait to get out in it. It really started snowing hard that afternoon. School got cancelled for Monday. I was really happy about this. Mady had a high fever that I was having trouble breaking. She just cried and cried. We needed Monday to recoup.

We finished some projects. I got caught up on laundry and cleaning. My husband and I work as a great team. I am very lucky. He and MK got out in the snow on Monday. They had a ball.

I haven't posted as many pictures lately because my camera is broken. The lens won't retract and isn't focusing well. This happened at Christmas and I was really bummed about it. I thought I would just use my video camera to finish taking pictures and video and I was out of discs. Couldn't believe it. I am a media specialist. I don't ever not have these things. I was even more bummed out that it was Mady's first Christmas and I was missing it.

Here are a few out of focus pictures I took anyway to capture the snow day.

MK dressed herself and was in too big a hurry to match! Ha!

I love that Mady sleeps like this. It is so precious! She hasn't been sleeping well lately. I get maybe 3 hours of sleep at night. Her teeth are trying to come in, but she doesn't have any yet. You remember how the pain was worse at night. Mady woke up at 3 AM with over a hundred degree fever on Friday. She has a mild ear infection. Hopefully she will feel better soon.

The saying "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy doesn't apply here." Substitute Mady's name for mine. And it is true. I know I shouldn't pray for the snow day that they are calling for, but I need one. We need the rest.

Mary-Kate is learning to write a little. She leaves little notes on her board that she loves me. It will say "MOM ILU." So cute.

Hope you are having a good weekend!

LPM

I am so proud of Mary-Kate. She is learning so much in Awana this year! I have enjoyed helping her memorize scripture. I really don't think there is anything more precious than a child saying God's Word out loud.

I started thinking. I don't want to ask her to do something, I am not willing to do myself.

Beth Moore has a challenge for 2011. On the 1st and 15th of each month, she asks to post a scripture verse on her blog. You have 2 weeks to memorize each verse. That way by the end of the year, you have memorized 24 verses. It is fun to read what other people are memorizing, too. If anyone is interested in doing this, go here. Please let me know if you end up doing this too!

Project Revealed

Remember this


Now we have this


This was Mary-Kate's main gift this year for Christmas! She has had a ball. It came on a freight truck, board by board. We didn't put it together ourselves. We had help. Otherwise it would still be in the box. Thara is good at putting things together, but doesn't have a lot of time.

There are some attachments we can buy so Mady can swing, too. It is really for both of them.

I will need to plant some trees along the back for privacy next summer.

Hope you all are having fun on the first day of 2011!