Toes

Luke looking all handsome for church.

Last weekend we went to a baby shower. I told the girls to put on a nice dress. They decided to pull out their old flower girl dresses from Aunt Rebecca's wedding and get all dressed up!

This is how the kids spent their morning with a friend! Putting on their bathing suits and showing their toesies :)

I am so excited for tonight, one of my favorite nights of the entire year! It's the annual women's retreat for our church and we all get to spend an entire night away from the kids. There is always yummy food, fun friends, and great talks by a speaker. It lasts for less than 24 hours but somehow it feels a lot longer. And of course the kids will have a lot of fun with just Daddy - I think I heard plans for a sleepover? Will Joel sleep the entire night on the floor of the girls' bedroom? Or will he try to sneak back to his bed?

"Between a Rock and a Grace Place"

I recently finished reading "Between a Rock and a Grace Place" by Carol Kent. This is the third book I've read by her, each one chronicles her experiences with her son (JP) who is in prison for life without the possibility of parole. He was found guilty for committing a serious crime over 10 years ago (you can find out more details by reading "When I Lay my Isaac Down" and "A New Kind of Normal").

My favorite part of the book was the story she shared about a woman named Tammy and an inmate named Matt. Matt had been convicted of a serious crime against Tammy's mother and was in prison. Tammy went to a women's conference years later and heard Carol Kent speak about her experiences with JP. Tammy wrote Carol a letter, thanking her for her honesty and saying that she thought JP was in the same prison as Matt, the person responsible for her mother's death. Tammy had been trying for years to forgive Matt and wanted a way to get in touch with him. Carol asked JP if he happened to know Matt, and of course, in God's sovereign plan, they were close friends at the prison. More than that, JP(a Christian) knew that Matt had also become a Christian while in prison. Carol was able to connect Matt with Tammy and it eventually led to letters, meeting in person, and most importantly, forgiveness.

What an amazing God we serve! Both men were guilty of their crimes and yet God had mercy on them and allowed them to experience not only His forgiveness, but the forgiveness of others as well. I love how His sovereign hand placed both men in the same prison, at the same time, and allowed them to become friends. Carol's books do give details about the tragedy of having a son imprisoned for life - but they are also full of God's goodness in the midst of adversity. Her words are so encouraging to me and they are full of hope - as in Ephesians 1:18 where Paul says, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints". Both Matt and JP may never walk in freedom in this lifetime, but they have placed their hope in something unseen and eternal. And that is the true definition of freedom.

This Week

I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted on my blog! Here are some pictures from the last 7 days at our house:

Emma loves to play the piano! She practices every day for at least 15 minutes and is often found playing many other times throughout the day. I'm so glad she picked the one instrument that I know how to play!

I took this picture as proof that

schoolwork does happen at our house. At least for the 30 seconds it took to

take the picture!

Amelia loves to carry around smaller

children! She loves Rosie.

The kids all decorated t-shirts this week using fabric markers. Here is Emma's creation - a CC shirt with all of her classmates' names on it.

Luke got in a fight with his sister's head. A nice lady asked him at BSF what happened to his eye, and he responded, "I got in a knife fight". You should see the other guy (gal).

What do we do all day?

At the end of each day, I often wonder, what in the world did we do today? The hours can fly by so fast and it often seems like not too much is accomplished. Well, today I decided to document how we spent our time:

Emmy

She spent her time dressing up like Amelia. Here they are dressed as twins for a day.

Luke

Luke used bananas to practice weight lifting. We're pretty sure he will be the next World Champion.

Amelia

How Mims loves to clean! This picture was taken when she decided today to vacuum the school room - without me asking. She also loves to dust, sweep the floor, organize bookshelves, and clean her room. She definitely did not inherit these genes from me!

Natalie

Natalie's Nursery

This weekend I got to visit my niece, Natalie Marie.

She is such a sweet, cuddly baby!

Rebecca with her darling girl

New Bed

Luke recently got a new bed from some great friends! He was especially excited about the bookshelf and 3 drawers underneath the bed. It is also very HIGH. He feels like a king :) And so far he hasn't fallen out.

I post these pictures to show that their rooms can be clean! I spent 3 hours yesterday cleaning the girls' room about an hour and a half on Luke's room. I realized that it's best to clean them when the kids aren't actually home because then there is no one to yell at :) I promise to post pictures the next time their rooms are messy (which should be later today!).

We're Camping!

¹ For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ² Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, ³ because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Corinthians 5:1-5

This morning at BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) we were discussing the book of 2 Corinthians and how in chapter 5 Paul compares our physical bodies to tents. Our time on earth is temporary. We long for our heavenly dwelling and for our new bodies which will be empowered by the Spirit and not by flesh and blood. So while we are waiting - it is just like we are camping. No one expects to be perfectly comfortable and content while camping - they are "roughing it". It is the same with this life on earth. We are "roughing it", simply waiting for our eternal home with God where we will be content, comfortable, happy, and with Jesus.