Someone is Brilliant

I just noticed that Cutest Blog on the Block will make your blog into a book! Isn't that fantastic?!! Wish I would have thought of it first. One day I'm going to make books for my kids... could be a neat legacy thing. Hmm... makes me think a little bit differently about how I blog....

Stay-cation weekend

Jeremy didn't get any of the summer holidays that he requested so we decided that since we couldn't go away we would be purposeful about having lots of family days and enjoying some things that are close to home.

On Friday evening we went out for ice cream and then visited the park that is just down the street from our house.

Check out this garage sale find! Sam is so proud of his new car!

On Saturday we went to IKEA (I know... "IKEA... Swedish for crap", but it's sometimes a fun place to walk through). In the parking lot they had a safety fair going on. It was totally geared for kids. Sam loved the mascots and is still talking about them two days later. He was having "disneyland" kind of fun there!

After church on Sunday we headed into Langley. It was the grand opening of the new Golden Ears Bridge and it was open for people to walk across. Grandpa and Grandma were there too and thanks to the invention of the cell phone we were able to find them in the crowd.



What a fabulous weekend! I'm so thankful for this little family of ours!

Amazing...

Obviously all you teachers out there have known this for a long time, but I just got it...

STICKERS...

they're a powerful thing!

Enjoying the Backyard

The weather has been fantastic here lately so we've spent many mornings outside. The kids love the new playhouse from Grandpa and Grandma and are continually "making hotdogs" on the BBQ. It's really fun to see the kids start to play together. They get along really well.

Speak, Lord, For Your Servant is Listening?

The following conversation occured the other day between Sam and myself. I was in the kitchen and he was down the hall in his room. Sam (so smart) was doing his best to not have a nap.

Sam: "Mommy where is Jesus?"
Me: "He's everywhere"
Sam: "Where everywhere Mom?"
Me (getting exasperated): "He's lying right beside you and if you are very still and listen maybe you will hear Him talking to you." (He was named after the Samuel in the Bible after all...)
*about three minutes of quiet pass*
Sam: "Mommy, Jesus said he have to go pee potty!"

And Now She's One

I can hardly believe my little girl is one year old already. We had a little ladybug party for her. I was pretty happy to find this cute little ladybug outfit for her to wear to the party... it was the last one on a sale rack! Love it when that happens!





Reading the cards with Daddy.



All those nice presents and she loves the balloon the best. Typical.


The ladybug cake... you wouldn't believe how much food coloring it takes to make red icing!

Yum... notice the size of the bib... had to be done. Red food coloring + cute new outfit = not good!

Ladybug treat bags.

Sam... pooped after the party! I think this is the perfect way to relax after a busy day. Jeremy would rather take Uncle Chris's bike (in the background) for a spin.

Godstop

About a week ago I came across the idea of "Godstops" while reading something by Beth Moore. It has really been resonating with me so I wanted to share.

"We don't want to miss God when He make Himself observable! I am convinced that the more we learn to recognize and appreciate His interventions and revelations, the more we are likely to receive them! These encounters are called "Godstops". The 'stop' in GodStop comes from the acronym God gave me: Savoring the Observable Presence. When God makes Himself observable, we want to stop and take notice. I want to learn to say to myself, That's God! Stop and savor the moment! A Godstop is any means by which God seems to go out of his way during your day to make Himslef known to you."

Why I loved this idea so much is because it reminded me of the spring I spent in Africa. While there, every night before bed one of my very dear friend would ask me "What did God do for you today?". Every single day I had an answer for her, but had she not asked me and forced me to think about my day I wouldn't have even thought about it.

God is very active in our lives everyday, but unless we take a moment to think about it we miss it entirely.

Hope you'll take a moment to "savour the observable presence" today.