Easter 2010

(While you can find past Easter pictures from 2007, 2008 and again,  2009 by clicking those dates, you can also find posts about Easter here, here, and here)

This was Abby's first Easter!  We attempted a quick family picture on the way out the door to church (Scott was already gone), and managed these quick pics... immediately after which, Caleb let go of Abby to see the picture on the camera screen!  :)  Luckily, she caught herself on the concrete without a single facial scrape!  Whew!  (In front of our neighbor who was mowing, I might add!)

That evening, we enjoyed dinner at Mimi and Pawpaw's along with Lee, Alicia, Nick, and Andrea, who are couples in Mimi and Pawpaw's lifegroup.  It was all great fun and fellowship!

(I have no clue how we didn't snap pics of Nick and Andrea, especially when somehow one tackled the other... Ha!)

Welcome to the Ool... aka Swimming Trip with Friends

There's this neato-mosquito water park in a nearby community. My friend Sharla and her three boys invited us to go along. It was great fun!
Let the fun commence! Caleb loves playing with Braeden and Carsten!

Couldn't you just pinch her cheeks?

I must admit that I did not yet own a maternity swimsuit at the time, so that gave me motivation to wade in the shallow pool taking pictures instead (with my maternity capri pants rolled up above the knee, of course).

As promised to my friend, there are no pictures of me or her, though we were most certainly in the pool the whole time! :D

This is one of my favorites of Anna.

This is another of my favorites.

Anna spent nearly the whole time pouring water.

The only downer was that a coming thunder-shower caused the lifeguards to sound the all-out alarm, so our time to leave came while we were awaiting the all-clear.

I'm with ya, Dallen. SO with ya.

The next time we went back, I saw to it that I was appropriately attired to join in the fun. Who cares if I was a very large 7.5 mo. preggo in the pool?

February/March in a flash!

This is my shameless attempt to get caught up on posting so that I'm not in some limbo-stage between past and present! Bear with me!

In early February, we journeyed to good ole Springfield MO for the wedding of two great friends of ours. Scott performed the ceremony, and Anna was the flower girl. Caleb helped with favors at the reception, and I did my best to keep things running for our family so that we did our roles smoothly and without a hitch. :) We treasured time with friends after the rehearsal dinner and were blessed by the hospitality of dear friends Harold and Jane. Would you believe that with all the reunions of that weekend, the ONLY picture I managed to snap was one (a fuzzy one at that) of the groom's face while seeing the bride come down the aisle? Here it is!
Ok, I confess that there was more than one, but they were all of this scene. I laughed, though, because Betsy's brother (on the right) was taking pictures with his camera phone while she was coming down the aisle! This was the only one without that taking place. I'll point you to their website and to some pics (when they're available) so you can see how cute Anna ended up! I am so proud of Betsy and Barron and the way they sought to bring God glory in the way they dated, the structure of the wedding ceremony, and in so many other ways!



Then came Valentine's day. We had a fun, lazy day to celebrate, and I made a whoppingly huge breakfast for everyone. Waffles, eggs, bacon, fruit. Mmmmm. And excessive, but cute plates/napkin arrangements.




A good friend at church had a birthday, and we celebrated by surprising her at On the Border. Happy Birthday Miss Quel!

By the way, thanks, Tyler, for teaching Anna to do this...

The staff wives at our church came together to throw a shower for Kati in anticipation of baby Layton. Here are some pics. (Kati, I didn't post all of the ones with funny facial expressions. You owe me. Hee hee)

Made by Theresa... the cake genius.

That's February and March in a flash! I have one more post for March, and then we should be caught up! Wahoo!

Celebrate!

On the forefront of my mind right now is sharing in the joy of friends for a common reason: Adoption!

Recently, our pastor's family adopted and brought home a precious son from Ghana. We have several dear friends who were, themselves, blessed by being adopted or adopting children into their families.

Also, our very dear friends we served with back in Missouri are at this very moment PACKING -- for they have received word that after months and months and months of waiting, they are cleared to book flights and prepare to traverse the globe to bring home baby Micah!

Below is the video Alisa made showing all they've had to hold on to for the time being: pictures of precious baby Micah and their faith in Sovereign God and His plans for them and for Micah.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Most of you know me as someone who doesn't get overly emotional, but I will tell you that I cry tears of joy EVERY time I watch this. Check their blog for ways you can pray for their journey!

It's a wonderful thing, and it is also a wonderful example of just what God desires for us! Russell Moore has great points about Names and Adoption. Al Mohler also puts it eloquently:

In the New Testament, adoption serves as a primary analogy of salvation. The sinner, who prior to faith in Christ is a rebel headed for destruction, is now adopted as a child of God. This new status is further defined as that of a joint-heir with Christ. By grace, the rebel child of the enemy is adopted as a child of the King. The former slave to sin is now a son or daughter of the heavenly Father.

As the Apostle Paul explains:

In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. [Galatians 4:3-7, esv]

Mohler closed his post with this comment: "For Christians, this is thus a matter of adoption by the adopted. Such is the Kingdom of God."

Celebrate with me -- for friends, for families everywhere, and for what God has made possible for us by sending His Son for the purpose of paying the price for our sin (which separates us from God), allowing us to be reconciled to God when we believe, and bringing us all into one family -- His own!

His grace has planned it all,
'Tis mine but to believe,

And recognize His work of love and Christ receive.
read this week at desiringgod.org

Makin' a splash

We spent a great summer evening over at the Lewters' new home. Lana Kate and Caleb and Anna had a blast in the little pool!

From Summer 2008

From Summer 2008

Screaming contests

From Summer 2008

More screams... all in good fun.

From Summer 2008

The BigMacs and small fries and a dollar deal

Mid July brought a visit from Nanny, Dandy, Drew, Debbie, Ashley, and Mandy! We had so much fun with them! We traveled to the beach, ate some Snoopy's, and had an all-around good time.


I also found a live sand dollar! That's right, a live one. I had never seen anything but portions of a sand dollar on the beach before. They're bleached white, and they're difficult to find whole. But as I was standing in the waves, I felt something in the sand under my feet. I trapped it and dug it up. Here's what I found:


Notice the dark green color and the hairy fringe (phalanges?) around the edge.

The underside was purple, and covered all over with waving phalanges! They tickled! (Was it trying to eat my hand???) Unfortunately, it didn't live long out of the salty water. Travis informed me that I could soak it in bleach and it would become white like the parts we so often find scattered along the beach. Cool, huh?

Early July Homecoming, or Veggies in Iraq

A couple of years ago, a guy walked into the church here for the first time. My mom just happened to be the one to greet him, and the next week she and Dad invited him to lunch after church. We just happened to be visiting from Springfield at the time, so we got to meet him, snazzy pinstriped slacks and all. :)

Fastforward to this past February. Lots of dinners at Mom and Dad's, game nights, a new-found friendship with my out-of-town sister, dating my sister, proposing to said sister, and lots and lots of flirting from Anna all comprise events that have happened over that time period. Then, Travis, being a civilian engineer for the Army, deployed voluntarily for the second time to Iraq. We knew that the months would be long for him and my sister until he returned in July. Then July came. We were so glad to see T back in the states!

Cheesy pose to show we were waiting anxiously, which was true, but the reality was that we spent a lot of time walking the kids around...

Licia wouldn't let us join her upstairs to meet him (why? Hmmmm... :) ), so we caught him as they came downstairs.

Caleb showed off his sign. Anna had been saying she was going to give T a "beeeeg hug." But she clammed up. I guess she had gone way too long without flirting with Travis.

But he hadn't gone alone! He had two stow-aways, mainly for Caleb and Anna's benefit. We were so excited that Travis took the time to bring a little piece of Iraq back for them. Check these Veggietales out. So brave...

Preparing for the long flight that would eventually end up in the Fertile Crescent, aka area of Ur, aka Babylon.

Hard at work and ready for anything...

Local wildlife.

Heavy Duty set of wheels...

Stylish transport, for sure.

Thanks, "Trav", for taking the time to do something special for our kiddos.

Also, it's T minus 7 days until you officially become Uncle Travis! We can't wait! :)

Some may boast of prowess bold

of the school they think so grand,
but there's a spirit that ne'er be told,
it's the Spirit of Aggieland.We packed the car and went on a road trip in early June. It was a trip of nostalgia, visiting friends, taking family photos, and staying with Aunt Sheesha (according to Anna).

I never understood why Dad and Mom had to take us sight-seeing as kids around the Texas A&M campus, but when we found ourselves doing the same to Caleb and Anna, it suddenly made sense. Seeing places that held dear memories for us brought the desire to share them with our kids.

Bryan/College Station has changed in so many ways in the decade or so since we've been in classes there. The southern edge of town is nearly the middle now. There are more restaurants than you can shake a stick at. (?) New construction of homes and shopping areas are springing up everywhere. Even in the summer, the campus was active with new student conferences, and traffic was still a consideration. Yet several places remain and flourish that we absolutely have to visit when given the chance.

One is Double Dave's Pizzaworks. Oh, the peproni rolls (yes, that's how they're spelled)...


Another is Freebird's World Burrito. Caleb and Scott shared a son/dad experience -- a half bird for C and a Monster for S.

We visited with our friends Kyle and Christine, who are about to leave Texas to plant a church in Virginia. Since we saw them and spent time with Will, Reese, and Luke, their house has sold. Praise the Lord! Check out their blog for information and updates.

Our friend Liz took some great family pics of us on the University's West Campus. If you're just that curious, I may be able to email you a link to the proofs. They turned out great.

We spent a great few days with Licia at her house during this time. If we'd had a little more time, we would have gone to Sunday services at Central and hugged the necks of several friends while there.

The Lord really grew us and blessed us during our years there. It's so much fun to go back and visit. Thank you Lord for using that time in so many ways, bringing Scott and me together, and placing people in our lives to invest in us so that we'd be prepared to invest in others!