Thankful For...

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

I had planned to write a whole post about all that God has taught me about thankfulness this past year as we entered this season where we focus especially on thanksgiving, but in all of the busyness I ran out of time. I just wanted to share quickly that while our circumstances may not be ideal or things may not be easy or comfortable still for us in many ways, we have learned first hand what it means to be thankful in it ALL and for the many things that God has done in our life. In particular, we have seen God's provision through the hands of His people. We have been blessed in countless ways this past year (even in the midst of trials) and my heart is overflowing with gratitude. Maybe I will have a chance to write more on this when we are back in town, but we are headed out in a matter of minutes to visit family for Thanksgiving. 

But I did want to share one thing that we are so very thankful for this Thanksgiving...

(The iron-on shirt that we made to announce baby #2 to our families that held up just long enough to get the job done. We learned that you can't find Big Brother shirts anywhere with all the holiday stuff out in stores!)

We are expecting baby # 2 in June!! I am 11 weeks pregnant and will post more about this pregnancy later, but I am overwhelmed with thankfulness that God would allow me to mother another precious child. James is beyond ecstatic to be a big brother and already loves "his baby in Mama's tummy!" 

The Fourth!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)

In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and He answered by setting me free. (Psalm 118:5)

I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.

(Psalm 34:4)

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)

Easter 2012

Another Fun First: Egg Decorating

Egg Drop!

This morning we attended an Egg Drop outreach hosted by several churches in the area at our favorite park. There were multiple egg drops for each age group by helicopter throughout the morning (much to the delight of our 2 year old transportation lover!), and James' age group was the very first drop. Unfortunately, the first drop was also the most chaotic and by the time we were able to get him through the crowd and out on the field, all the eggs were gone. There were lots of little children all around us crying because they didn't find a single egg. James, thankfully, didn't cry but kept saying, "I find an egg and put it in my basket?" over and over because we had been talking it up all week. The helicopter itself was the highlight for him but still we knew that we couldn't leave without at least one egg so we stuck around the for the next drop and a very determined Daddy helped him find four eggs the second time around. James was thrilled to find a few eggs and enjoyed the candy inside too! The pictures of James finding some eggs really make me laugh because Stephen basically had to lower him head first towards the eggs to find a couple in all of the crowded franticness. It was crazy but we all had a lot of fun!

We thought our egg hunting fun was over but decided to stay at the park for a while longer and enjoy the nice day before heading home, and about an hour later we were on the opposite side of the park looking for geese when James heard a final helicopter. He took off running in a full sprint after the helicopter. When I realized he wasn't going to stop, I took off after him. Much to our surprise he actually made it all the way back to the field as the final egg hunt was starting, and because we were coming from the opposite side of the park he was able to run right onto the field without a crowd and find lots of eggs in the last hunt. He was so proud and laughed and hopped back to Stephen with his basket full of eggs (who was waiting for us while capturing the whole "helicopter chase" on video camera.) It was a fun day!

James' Second Birthday Weekend (Part 2)

Sunday, Feb. 5th: Birthday Breakfast, Train Cake, Birthday Presents and other fun!