Houston Zoo

After a good afternoon with Gma, we scurried to Houston in time to visit the Zoo before closing time.

 

No dilly dallying, now!

Tiger, Lion, Monkey skulls.



Elephants! (verrrry stinky)



Daddy and Abby



cousin to Giraffe, makes up for lack of neck with length of tongue?  Ick. :)



The lions were active and roaring!



beautiful.



I ignored my germ-instinct because of the great photo op. Ick again.







Loved the pretend bald eagle nest!





scurrying like prairie dogs



petting zoo, no kid-ding.



Anna L.O.V.E.D. the petting zoo.



Caleb brushed a few goats.  (but not for long)





Anna would brush one while looking for the next to find.  There was no goat left un-groomed!

Posing outside the Reptile Room 
(after the uber-creepy Rattlesnake that was prowling along the window and looking us all in the eyes... and the teachable moment that mama maybe took a little too far, since Caleb had snake nightmares several days later)

All in all, it was a grrreat zoo visit!

Gma and Gpa

We had a week of school break coming up, so when it came in April, we took a trip to visit my maternal grandparents.  My kids call them G-ma and G-pa.  It was such a treat to see them both!  Gpa wasn't feeling well, so we told him hi and let him rest.  We got to have a good visit with Gma that afternoon, and even saw Uncle Barry and Mama's cousin Bill.  We love you Gma and Gpa!

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!)

Not wasted.

I certainly plan on posting more of our goings-on soon. For now, though, I want to post this video.

The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

You can find Zac Smith's blog here. He has some of his "favorite" posts (or ones that best describe him) here and has three insightful posts on handling suffering here: 1, 2, 3. You might take a little time to read through the rest of his journey as well.

Zac's blog has a new post today. Zac gets to see what has until now been unseen, to see Jesus face to face, who forgave his sin and replaced it with His righteousness so that he could live with Hope and can now be eternally in His presence.

My heart hurts for what the effects of a fallen world have on us and those around us. I'm just in my thirties, and I'm so aware lately of the brevity of life. I'm thankful for Zac's witness and that he gave God all the glory throughout. (Please pray for his wife and three kids.) I'm thankful and grateful that I know the One who can fix and restore everything to what it was intended to be! You can know Him too... please don't wait...

When you're ready, you're just ready.

Given that we haven't had much chance for Caleb to learn to ride his bike without training wheels, we didn't expect the learning process to be anything but arduous. Caleb finally expressed interest about 3 wks ago, and Scott removed the training wheels. Caleb was so tentative that Scott had to grip the bike seat tightly the entire time.

About a week and a half later, Caleb wanted to try again, but the timing wasn't great for Scott to be able (or willing) to help. Yet, Scott decided to set him up on his bike across the street and let him give it a go. His plan (funny enough) was to avoid walking alongside by just giving him one good push, let him fall into the grass and get frustrated, and Scott would call it a day.

So he did. And I was ready with my camera.

McFavorites

I mentioned one of our favorite kids' CDs here, and I just discovered it's on SALE!  That's right, discounted from its normal $16, you can now purchase it for $12.  I have NO idea how long the sale will last, but head on over to Sovereign Grace Music's site and check it out!  (There are other titles on sale as well.)  I believe iTunes carries it, but I don't know if the sale applies there.





As always on McFavorites, I have not been asked to post, nor have I been compensated  for, this review or recommendation.

If Butler Watches This, They'll Win Tonight

As the crazy Madness of March comes to a close tonight with the NCAA Men's Championship game, I thought that I'd re-post Justin Taylor's prognostication:

The only question is, which player will start the "slow clap":

Quite possibly the best basketball movie of all time, with a good chance at being one of the top 3 sports movies of all time!

Celebrate!

I hope you're ready to scroll down...


because as of now, I'm officially caught up!  There have been 9 posts in the last 2 days, and lots of great pictures!

Don't miss any of them! 

Prepare to scroll down.  Preparing to scroll down. Scroll down!  Scrolling down, Sir!

Buttercups and Bluebonnets, aka Hooray for Spring!

Seven

Seven - (n.)  1. a cardinal number following 6.  2.  a symbolic number in Judaism and Christianity that indicates completion or the infusion of Godliness into creation  3.  numerical cannibal Why was six scared?  Because seven [ate] nine!  4.  a scary movie with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman  5.  the perfect first name according to George Costanza   6.How old Abby turned this month!

See Ree Uhl.

Ah, it has begun.  The relative ease of only nursing has given way to the somewhat tedious, but exciting process of solid food feedings.  Abby had an appetite switch that got flipped somewhere around the 6 month mark.  She was already very interested in everything we were doing at mealtimes.  She would watch so intently and with wonder as we would repeatedly raise food to our mouths and it would disappear.

Hmm.  This could be good.

Ummm

wait

a

minute

Stop

the weirdness

get it away

look cute and she'll forget the cereal

it's working...

Do we have to keep going?

But you told me...

Up until her 6 month appointment, Abby had not tried any cereal or baby food.  I wasn't withholding this from her, but the doctor was amazed enough at her rate of growth by 4 months and the nourishment she was already receiving that she told me that unless her appetite increased, there was no real reason to introduce those foods unless I just wanted to.  I told her that I might just wait, then. 

So, a few days before the 6 month appointment, I introduced rice cereal.  I'll post those pics shortly.  During the preliminary developmental check by the nurse in the doctor's office, she asked if she was on Stage 2 (not so soupy) foods yet.  "No," I replied, "we just tried cereal this week."  The nurse was shocked.  "Why?" she exclaimed.  I told her that the doc said we could wait.  She started to argue, but kindly (albeit quickly) finished the checklist instead. 

Even the doctor, when she arrived for the remainder of the checkup, expressed surprise that I hadn't begun the solid food journey yet!

So weird!

Half Birthday!

Six Months

17 pounds, 27 inches (65%ile, 85%ile)

Cute as can be and ready to go places

Happy Half Birthday, sweet Abigail Grace!

Gitcher Boots! It's Time!

Something in me gets excited during the beginning of January.  No, it's not the dawn of the new year, and it's definitely not the dreary, cold, and rainy weather that inevitably comes during the second week of January. 

It's the thought of pulling on some cowboy boots with a destination in mind, and in a weird sort of way, it's also the memories of a specific smell.  Etched in my mind's nose (?) is a combination bovine, porcine, ovine, galline, caprine, equine aroma complete with their feed and other (generally unpleasant yet strangely comforting) smells.

It's time for the Junior Livestock Show!!!

Having raised lambs for show and sale in middle school, I can't help but get excited about taking my own kiddos to experience the sights, sounds, and smells up close.  While there's part of me that loves the city, I don't ever want to lose my country roots! 

McTionary

If you've spent much time around me, you know that I love puns, and words intrigue me.  I often find myself wondering where words come from and insisting that words mean something  (e.g. specific words chosen in Scripture) and shouldn't be redefined easily (e.g. in politics for deceiving people).

So.... to satisfy my wordy-nerd urges, I'll occasionally be highlighting some words in the McDonaldSpot McTionary.  Will you tolerate a little basic etymology?  (that's the origin of words)

A word I like: from Wordnik.com
Adroit -- / (ə-droitˈ) /

1. adjective Dexterous; deft.
2. adjective Skillful and adept under pressing conditions. See Synonyms at dexterous.

Interesting Etymology: from wordorigins.org
Scot-free

No, this term is not related to the supposed penurious [stingy] nature of those living in the north of Britain. Rather, it derives from scot meaning a payment or tax. So to get off scot free is literally to get away without paying taxes. The word appears during the Middle English period and is related to the Old English sceot, a type of coin, but the exact relationship is uncertain. The Middle English word may be the same word, from the Old Norse skot, or it may be a cognate borrowed from the Old French escot.

What a great phrase for this time of year... Ha!

Lots and lots of dribble

(betcha thought I'd be talking about the incessant drool from our sweet baby girl)

Our strapping young boy didn't opt to play spring soccer this year, although he still talks about playing again sometime. No, this time he decided to branch out.

The best opportunity for that in our town is to participate in a local Upward basketball program. It's an instructional league and also seeks to provide spiritual enrichment and instruction as well.

Caleb got to learn the basics of Mama's sport, basketball, and also got to hear weekly devotionals and learn some Bible verses. We were pleased with how it turned out!  Caleb is a good shooter, but this season played more of the role (by choice) of point guard.  He had more steals than I can count on one hand, and got much better at staying with his "man" defensively.  (The matching colored wristbands sure helped!)  We're proud of you, Caleb!

be warned, there will be some blurred shots from my point-and-shoot camera and due to the lighting

Through a different lens...

...or from a different perspective...

Here's what happened when my camera disappeared over our Christmas vacation to see Nanny and Dandy...

we figured out afterward that it must have gone on a scenic tour with a certain three year old...

McFavorites

One of the sites I follow for current events is The Big Picture by The Boston Globe.

This is a compilation site of many high resolution licensed and public domain photos from photojournalists around the world.

While discernment may be necessary on some of the topics (cultural festivals can be immodest and disasters and war are brutal) and captions (every once in a while some of the photographers have an evident social/political agenda), most of the images from all sorts of events and occasions are excellent and moving.  Many are beautiful, many are gritty, and, though some are initially blacked out (earthquake victims, etc.) for the squeamish, they are generally really good depictions of the state of things.

Because I don't have rights to the pictures and don't want to violate copyrights, I won't post the photos (rats!), but I have linked to the original post topic, and each caption links separately to the individual picture being described. I highly recommend clicking on the two small captions... these are strikingly great photos!

Scenes from Afghanistan

U.S. Marines from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, protect an Afghan man and his child after Taliban fighters opened fire in the town of Marjah, in Nad Ali district, Helmand province, February 13, 2010. (REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic)

Vancouver Olympics

Megan Sweeney of The United States descends the track during the Luge Women's Singles on day 5 of the 2010 Winter Olympics at Whistler Sliding Centre on February 16, 2010 in Whistler, Canada. (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

If you use a feed reader (like Google Reader or Feed Burner, for example), you can subscribe to this site and get new posts via the web or email.  I love being able to see past my own little community and culture, and prayerfully reflect on happenings and the realization that it's "not all about me" and that even in the midst of hurt, our God is sovereign and completely in control.