A look inside: August 2008

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

My Kind of Weekend

This last weekend we went camping with some good friends of ours, and had such a fun, relaxing time.

Lucky for us, our friends brought their boat and we all enjoyed hanging out on the lake as much as possible.

Daniel getting ready for take off...

And he's off!

He kept yelling, "measy, measy!" A word he made up for in between easy and medium

And Sarah kept yelling, "faster, faster!"

My friend Arminda and I getting ready to be whipped around the lake. Her husband, Will, DID NOT take it easy on us. My neck and shoulders are still sore!

Even Olivia got to go for a ride!

She was a little traumatized after her 1st tubing experience. Luckily her good friend Dewey was there to comfort her afterwards.

Jon showed off his moves!

And he was also quite proud of his flame-broiling bacon skills. He is now referred to as "The Wilderness Man"

We all had such a wonderful time. I absolutely love being in the outdoors! On the top of my "most favorite things list" is diving off a boat in the middle of a lake. Oh man, there's nothing better! Jon and I had so much fun jumping off the boat with the kids and swimming around. It took a while to convince Daniel there were no sharks or pirhanas prowling around in the dark, deep water. After we threw him in a few times, he eventually got over it and enjoyed swimming around.

The funniest part was when we were out in the middle of the lake and Daniel had to go to the bathroom. Jon and I were like, "just pee in the lake." Daniel FREAKED out in disbelief..."What? Ewww gross! It will get on my swim trunks!" Finally, when he realized we weren't going to drive the boat back to the dock so he could use the bathroom, he swam far away from us and let loose. And oh boy, after that both him and Sarah thought that was the coolest thing ever! They couldn't believe we would let them do such a thing! I swear every 10 minutes, one of them was happily exclaiming, "I'm peeing right now!" I guess that's what happens when you take city kids camping :)

Good times!

It definitely was a perfect weekend...Spending the day on the water, soaking in the sun, sitting around the campfire, making smores, all 5 of us sandwiched in a tent, and spending time with good friends. And of course their dog Dewey was the highlight of the whole weekend.

Ahhh...good memories! I'm ready to do it all over again.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Finally!

Do you remember when Olivia cut her own hair a few months ago? Well, when her hair is down this is what it looks like:

The other side of her head is shoulder length hair. It was only the left side that got completely chopped off. So thanks to Nikki, aka the miracle worker, now it's a cute and EVEN chin length bob!

I think it turned out pretty darn cute

Words to Remember

"Christ's followers cannot expect better treatment in the world than their Master had. Let them not promise themselves more honor or pleasure in the world than Christ had. Let each live a life of labor and self-denial as his Master, and make himself a servant of all; let him stoop, and let him toil, and do all the good he can, and then he will be a complete disciple."
~Matthew Henry,
English Pastor 1662-1714

"I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess."
~Martin Luther King

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
~Jim Elliot

"I am a missionary, heart and soul. God Himself had an only Son, and He was a missionary and a physician. A poor, poor imitation I am, or wish to be, but in this service I hope to live. In it I wish to die. I still prefer poverty and missions service to riches and ease. This is my choice."
~David Livingstone

"I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others do the same. "
~C.S. Lewis

"I want Thy plan, O God, for my life. May I be happy and contented whether in the homeland or on the foreign field; whether married or alone, in happiness or sorrow, health or sickness, prosperity or adversity - I want Thy plan, O God, for my life."
~Oswald J. Smith

songs with meaning

If you hear one of these songs playing while visiting my blog, here is why it is so special to me:

I Will Be Here by Steven Curtis Chapman: I would listen to this song as a young teenager and dream about finding a love like this song describes. Guess what? God gave more then I ever dreamed.

Any Song by Keith Green!!! I first heard Keith Green as a young child and knew all his songs by heart. As a teenager, I loved his music because he is so honest and authentic. I also read his autobiography when I was in my teens. He is one of my all-time heroes! I remember my friends laughing at me when they were in my car, wondering why I would be listening to songs from the 70's. Yes, the music is cheesy, but the lyrics are simply amazing!

How Could I Ask For More by Cindy Morgan: My senior year of high school I was on homecoming court with four other girls, who were all good friends of mine. We all picked this song to be played during our ceremony. I still love this song!

Have I Told You Lately by Rod Stewart: The song Jon and I danced to at our wedding. I smile every time I hear it.

I Can Only Imagine by Mercy Me: This song was played at Brian Ditchen's memorial service. Brian was Jon's cousin who he grew up with, and who I went to school with, and he was a dear friend. He passed away in March of 2004 in a tragic plane accident, he was only 28. It shook the core of our faith. The only comfort came from knowing, without a shadow of a doubt, who Brian lived his life for: Jesus Christ. He was a dedicated believer, and we can't wait to see him again. Every time we would hear this song, it touched us deeply, it still does. Heaven has become very real to us.

The Scientist by Coldplay: My younger brother, Ben, sang and played this song on the piano at my brother Jeremy's memorial service. Jeremy passed away suddenly in September of 2004, he was only 31. Once again our faith was shaken (see next song)....

Cry Out To Jesus by Third Day: Whenever I hear this song I am reminded of my brother Jeremy...."To everyone who's lost someone they loved, long before it was their time, you feel like the days you had were not enough, when you said goodbye....cry out to Jesus" I am reminded to turn to God in the midst of my pain and loss, and it's OK to go to Him with my questions

We Will Dance by Steven Curtis Chapman: My current love song. It so beautifully describes mine and Jon's relationship.

I'm Not Cool by Scott Krippane: This is Daniel's song.Not in a mean way. He absolutely loves this song and sings along with it every time. The funny thing is, it describes him perfectly.

She's a Dancer by Phil Keaggy: This is Sarah's song! It so sweetly reminds me of Sarah...."she's a dancer, she loves to dance, she's a singer, she loves to sing, she's a lady, walkin' round in mama's shoes, standin' tall in mama's shoes" Sarah has also been caught singing into the bathroom mirror. And when she was younger she put on many "dance performances" for us in our living room.

Olivia by Phil Keaggy: Obviously Olivia's song! I've sang this song to her since she was a tiny newborn. She knows the words and sings along now. Whenever I put this song on, she stops what she's doing and gets a big smile on her face, and says "my song!"

Beautiful by Bethany Dillon: OK I'm 32 now. And sometimes when I look in the mirror, the depression creeps in. I don't look like I did ten years ago, I don't see a beautiful young woman looking back at me. And that can get you down sometimes. This song reminds me that true beauty is who I am in God's eyes. I could be perfect in every way on the outside and yet not be beautiful in the eyes of God, and when it's all said and done, my life would have been lived only for myself. I want to be beautiful in God's eyes, I want Him to look inside my heart and smile, and most importantly, be pleased.

Who Am I?, The Voice of Truth, and Praise You In The Storm by Casting Crowns: All three of these songs are very special to Jon. These are three of his all-time favorites. These songs brought him close to God when he was going through a hard time in his life.

I Am by Nicole Nordeman: The first time I heard this song was at a Women of Faith conference. She played it live on the piano. It was so beautiful and moved me so deeply. God is truly my "I Am", He has been my one firm anchor through every season of my life.