No way...

People often comment about how much Sarah looks like me. This pic from last Sunday proves, without a doubt, she's trying her hardest to look like her daddy! It's all in those smiling eyes, I tell you! She has the darkest brown eyes, like Brent...and she even squints them up when she smiles...No way...she's more like her daddy than her mommy! But that will only serve her well in life. Unfortunately she acts more like me, which will be to her detriment, I'm afraid! :-)

Six month update

Brent and I have been diligently working to lose weight by participating in Northland's Fit for Service wellness plan. We've just finished our second quarter, and we both achieved gold level again this quarter. As of our weigh-in for the end of July, I've lost 47 pounds and Brent's lost right around 60. (When I asked him how much this morning, he said he'd have to look it up, but it was around 60) We're not on a diet, but have rather changed our lifestyle to eat less and exercise more. Brent's doctor gave him some great advice at the beginning of the program--"The best exercise we can do is to push away from the table!" We don't deprive ourselves of our favorite things, but eat much less of them when we do have them and weigh (ha-ha!) the choices more carefully. We both marvel at how slow the treadmill seems when we warm up at 3.5 miles an hour which used to be the max we could do! Now that speed doesn't even get our heart rates up! I tease Brent about being the "poster child" for the program because he has changed so drastically. One guy on campus walked by him the other day and jokingly asked Brent if he'd seen Brent Griffin because he needed to talk to him! It's encouraging to actually weigh less than we did when we got married. While it's been really nice to see the pounds come off, we both still have more to lose. I'll keep you updated--probably again at the end of the third quarter.

Adorable Sarah!

I picked up this dress at a friend's yardsale on Friday. I don't think it could have looked cuter on Sarah! She wouldn't leave the hat alone, but she loved having it on. Everytime I'd call her name she'd give me her cheasy grin because she knew I had the camera. She'd stop playing, flash me the "happy face" and then be off to play again. She's definitely the ham of the family!

This one is my favorite I think! She's on her way to the "happy face" but not quite there!


And thought I'd leave you with one last "happy face!"

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/david_gallo_shows_underwater_astonishments.html


This is an amazing video my husband showed to the kids and me. It's totally amazing to see how the Lord has made animals so well...amazing! Unfortunately, this company does not give the Lord His due honor for making all things. However, it's still fascinating to watch and easy to see there's no other explanation than an all powerful and all wise Creator. The deep sea part at the beginning is interesting, but stay with it, because once they start showing the video of the octopi (pl for octopus?) it's incredible!

I'm a blubbering idiot at times, I tell you!

I managed to do it again! I totally lost any sense of composure in church this morning when we sang this song that is relatively knew to me. I was surprised to see that the writers are from the late 1800's-early 1900's because I had not sung it until recently. It is one of those songs that is so easy to sing. The melody is rich and tuneful so it's very simple to focus on the words since you don't have to stumble through the notes. I know it shouldn't be true, but if a song is hard to sing I usually end up thinking more about trying to figure out the notes and where it's headed. This is definitely not that way...It's been stuck in my head a good chunk of the day. The tune that we sang in church today is an alternate melody by Ben Nyce that's on the Northland recording, "Complete in Thee." (I think I've got that right!)

I love the thought that my salvation is complete in the Lord. His blood has given me pardon and the power to live a victorious life! As one who is complete in Him, it's not just my needs that He supplies, but as our gracious heavenly Father, He gives us so many of our wants, too! The last verse is when I started blubbering...just picturing the awe and wonder as all the chosen ones from every tribe and tongue stand before the Lord knowing that we are complete in Him. It's truly unfathomable...the utter joy of knowing that I will be allowed to spend eternity with my Lord because of His work on the cross...yeah...I wasn't the only one touched by the song in church today...there were lots of tears on lots of faces. Great song, but an even greater truth!


Complete in Thee! no work of mine
May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And I am now complete in Thee.

Refrain:
Yea, justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And glorified, I too, shall be!

Complete in Thee! no more shall sin,
Thy grace hath conquered, reign within;
Thy voice shall bid the tempter flee,
And I shall stand complete in Thee.

Complete in Thee— each want supplied,
And no good thing to me denied;
Since Thou my portion, Lord, wilt be,
I ask no more, complete in Thee.

Dear Saviour! when before Thy bar
All tribes and tongues assembled are,
Among Thy chosen will I be,
At Thy right hand, complete in Thee.

Is it any wonder...

...that Sarah gets a bath after just about every meal?!? At least she enjoys her food!

Sarah's loving the swing, Great Grandma!

Sarah loves to swing...today I remembered to send Daniel in for his camera so we could post some pics for the family! Thanks for the swing, Great Grandma--It's a favorite! She didn't want Daniel and Hannah to stop it for the picture though!

Leave it to a boy to find a different way to use every part of the swingset other than what is intended!

Sarah was a bit tired this afternoon while she was swinging and was almost lulled to sleep by the back and forth motion.

Hannah lost her other front tooth the other day. She actually pulled it out herself. Any hints anyone for growing bangs out gracefully?!?

Can you believe we still have a tree in bloom?!? I have no idea what kind it is, but I thought it would make a pretty background for this picture...Next time, we'll try it before we let Sarah swing so she'll cooperate a bit better!

My little mommy

I went looking for Sarah the other day quite afraid because it was so quiet. I found her playing with the other kids in Hannah's bedroom. Each one was doing their own thing. Hannah was coloring, Daniel was on his gameboy and Sarah had taken her baby doll, put her in the doll highchair and was feeding the doll her sippy cup. I thought for sure Hannah must have put the doll in the chair for her, but Sarah did it on her own. It's interesting to me to see the maternal instincts kick in so early. I think she might be starting this even earlier than Hannah did. Sarah was fussing the other day because she didn't want to finish her breakfast and wanted down to play. In an effort to appease her, Hanah gave Sarah her babydoll to play with. When I went to get Sarah down from her chair, I noticed she had fed the rest of her breakfast to the babydoll...resourceful, too...messy, but resourceful!

Sarah's latest shenanigans...

One of Sarah's favorite things to do lately is sneak into the pantry (which the kids always manage to leave open) and sneak the cereal out. I often find her carrying the bag around eating it by the handfuls...she doesn't need the box, no...she leaves the box...I guess the bag is easier to carry? Today I found her camped out in the hallway helping herself. When I asked her what she was doing, this is the look she gave me...it's her fake smile...it's what she does if you ask her to smile...and she does it often to try to get out of trouble, too! Did I mention she's turning into twice the handful that Daniel and Hannah were combined?!? We're in some serious trouble. She's much brighter, more observant, and catches on much more quickly than even Daniel did...did I mention we're in trouble?!?
Sarah's also got a huge independant streak. She really wants to feed herself now with silverware. However, she hasn't quite got the hang of using a fork yet. She tried and tried to get the scalloped potatoes onto her fork AND into her mouth, but to no avail. So she gave up and stuffed the food in her mouth while holding her fork with her other hand...don't try to take the fork away no matter how little she's using it! I guess it makes her feel better to hold it and pretend to be able to use it while she smooshes the food all over her face...some days we are just so proud of our kiddos!

The day we've all been waiting for!

Hannah has been adamant about growing her hair out for a very long time because she wants to be able to have curls. Last night I decided to give the good ol' sponge curlers a try. She loved every second of it...especially when I took them out this morning and she saw all her curls! Her hair is so thick that many of the curls were still wet this morning so I had to curl them with the curling iron. She was so patient, too! She loved it so much and everyone's reaction to them at church I'm afraid we may have started a new thing!


I took several pictures, and her eyes were goofy in every one. So I told her to try to smile with her eyes open more, and this is what I got! I guess she can't open her eyes without sticking her tongue out or something! BTW...her other front tooth is so loose it'll be out in the next couple of days. I love it when kids lose both of their front teeth at the same time! As if she could get any cuter! :-)

Some things I've discovered...

My kids have been with my in-laws for the last 2 weeks so I've been able to sneak away for some bike rides on my own in the evenings, and I'm loving it! The other day I road 6 miles! I know that's not really that far in the grand scheme of things, but realizing how out of shape I am...well, let's just say, I thought it was really, really far!

Riding by one's self on the back roads around here is great because it's totally quiet and gives you a lot of time to think and ponder. I've put together a list of just a few of the things I've discovered while on these get aways of mine:

1. It’s really a great thing to hear the clicking of your bike as you coast down the hills with the wind blowing through your hair…it’s not such a good thing to have to ride your bike back up said hills!
2. It’s really a great thing to have back country roads to ride on with nary a car around…it’s also a good thing to have wide open roads to swerve all over as your bike wobbles from side to side as you struggle up those hills!
3. It’s really a great thing to be able to get a few steps even while riding your bike on back country roads…it’s a better thing to get even more steps as you walk your bike up those back country hills!
4. It’s really a great thing to have wide open country roads to ride your bike on and take in the different aspects of nature…it’s not such a great thing to have a bear cross right in front of you and be so winded from riding up the afore mentioned hills that you can only utter a slight gasp!
5. It’s really a great thing to get extra protein in your diet while riding your bike on the back country roads…it’s not such a great thing to pick bugs out of your teeth for days!

I'll be sure to add more as my experiences broaden my perspective...right now I'm just trying to get over the fact that we're close to the middle of June, and I was really wishing I had remembered my jacket before I left for my ride tonight! Who would have guessed?!?

Some reflections on heaven

We received word today that a dear, kind, godly man from our church in Chicago went home to be with the Lord recently. His health has been failing so his death wasn't necessarily a surprise, but it provided an opportunity to really reflect on heaven.

Wednesday night at church we sang the old hymn, The Sands of Time are Sinking. I love so many of the new songs we have started singing, but there's something about the words to the old hymns that are so sweet and meditative if one takes the time to notice them. I was struck by the last stanza Wednesday night as we sang it, and then again today while I was thinking about Mr. Johnson being in heaven.

We often think about going to heaven and the joy we will have as we "explore" all the wonderful things that await us. I like to imagine talking with all the different Bible characters and many of the saints who have earned a place in history for their walk with the Lord, but I have to agree with the hymnwriter that we will be so taken with our dear Bridegroom that we won't even be aware of other things. Can you imagine the compassion and love we will feel for our precious Savior as we gaze upon his nail-pierced hands? Oh that I would live for the Lord with just a touch of that passion that we will feel when we view Chrsit for the first time and our heavenly life begins!

Here are the words to the last verse:
The bride eyes not her garment,
But her dear Bridegroom's face;
I will not gaze at glory,
But on my King of grace.
Not at the crown He giveth,
But on His pierced hand,
The Lamb is all the glory
Of Immanuel's land.

We're way too into this fitness thing!

The treadmill we have is great, but it gets old really fast! Especially after a long winter of that being our only form of exercise for 30 minutes every stinkin' day! Brent's been wanting to get bikes for us so that we could ride around as a family. Can you believe I actually agreed?!? We took some of the economic stimulus check and bought bikes and a baby trailer for Sarah today. We're still smiling in this picture because we had only ridden the bikes up and down our driveway a couple of times. I guarantee we would not have had the energy to smile after our half hour workout on the bikes. And we're definitely not smiling now as we try to climb the stairs to get upstairs in our house! I don't remember riding a bike being this hard as a kid...but somehow these fancy shmancy new fangled bikes use a lot more muscles than the basic 3 speed I was so proud of as a 10 year old. I'm sure it's the bike that's causing me to be so sore...that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

And just a quick update on the fitness program...Brent and I both made the gold level for the first quarter! We've both lost quite a bit of weight, too, which is the best part of it all. Now if I could only walk like a thinner person instead of holding my back and moaning because every part of my lower body hurts! What was I thinking?!?

Hannah's first date

Brent surprised me by getting 2 tickets to the Spring Concert on campus (it's one of the artist series) so we could go together, but we weren't able to get a sitter, plus Sarah was sick. We decided it would be a fun thing for a Daddy/Hannah date. Hannah was so giddy--she could hardly stop giggling. I fixed her hair and put her fancy dress on, but she didn't want Daddy to see her until she had her high healed white shoes on, too, and the package was complete. The whole time I was doing her hair, she kept asking me, "What do you think Daddy will say?!?" And of course he oohed and ahhhed. I was thankful to hear her say, "It's not how you look that's important, but what your heart's like." Just about every time I am doing her hair and watch her primp and fuss, I try to emphasize godly beauty is being like Christ. It was a great thing to hear her say it first!


Brent even got the door for her...after he dug her car seat out of the back! There's something wrong about your date needing a car seat, but I'm sure you understand! :-)
She was thrilled about the whole idea of going on a date with Brent, but the frosting on the cake was being able to sit up front!
And they're off! I mentioned how special it would be if they went to the Grind (the campus coffee shop) before coming home. I'm only a tad bit jealous...after all, I get to stay home and have a special time with Daniel and Sarah. Daniel's already hovering over my shoulder wondering when I'm going to be off the computer so he can play, and Sarah has a messy diaper...okay...I'm more than a tad bit jealous! :-)

Hannah graduates from Kindergarten!

She's into EVERYTHING!!!

Sarah's pretty much walking now...she's pretty unstable, but will take about 6-7 steps at a time. She has recently started to explore new things that she's never shown an interest in before--like the dishwasher! I was loading it the other day and went to throw something away. I turned back around to find her standing here! She was so proud of herself...and less than happy when I made her get down. It's a whole new world opening up for us...one I'd rather keep closed for now! :-)

I love that man!

We ran into some friends from Northland while we were in town today, and we were talking about how our husbands are both so quiet and reserved in public, but really let down at home. It got me to thinking about Brent and how much I absolutely adore him! He is so reserved and will often just sit and listen, while I tend to ramble on and throw myself "out there!" But he really listens and forms opinions and comes away from conversations with such insight, and I on the other hand leave conversations with about 12 sentences started and not a single complete thought! We truly are opposites of each other, but that's what drew me to him. He's the smart, intellectual one who analyzes every situation and comes up with really good thoughts that most people (insert "Debbie" here) would never think of in a million years. I'm so thankful I can go to him with a concern and know that he's not going to throw a knee-jerk response out that will get me in trouble. In fact, his thorough examination of the situation usually keeps me from getting in trouble. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to him and said, "Honey...I need your input..." And he's put everything in a completely different light. He always does the right thing, too...no matter how hard it is or what will come of it...no fudging on his part! And the best part of it all...he chose me! I know I've said it before, but I still marvel that he chose ME from the group of single girls at our church! There were some really good girls that were so much better than me, but he chose ME!!! I hope I never get over that fact!

Hannah gets a new bike!

Grandma and Grandpa Kelley gave Hannah money to get a new bike since she's been riding Daniel's little 16 incher. She's just started riding without training wheels, so she's very happy to have her own "Girly" bike. And she's really good at riding it, too...except that it's only 40 degrees out today!
We added the tassles, horn, and basket...every girl's bike has to have a basket! What was the first thing she put in the basket? Her play cell phone of course!
We have a very long driveway so the kids are able to ride to their hearts' content. Daniel has proven to be a protective big brother for Hannah. If she falls and hurts herself, he comes tearing into the house screaming louder than Hannah (which is loud...trust me!) And she always manages to leave her bike at the end of the driveway when she comes hobbling into the house. Like a trooper...Daniel goes and brings her bike up for her. I finally told her she had to bring her bike up to the house when she comes in for medical attention!
While I love Daniel and think he looks adorable in this picture, I had to post it because Hannah's running into the blazer in the background! I couldn't resist!

Hannah's loses a tooth...

What in the world is that?!?

I walked by the window the other day in our basement (We have a walk out basement so I was at ground level) and something caught my eye. I was holding Sarah (actually carrying her kicking and screaming out of Brent's office and away from his computer--sorry, Love!) when I saw something that looked really strange. I was distracted so I didn't get a good look. I thought about it again and decided it must have been some strange animal of sorts so I went back to get a better look. I laughed out loud at myself and realized how long the winter has truly been when I realized it was a patch of grass peeking through the snow! How sad is it that I didn't even recognize grass!?!

It has been in the mid to upper 50's here the last day or two (which is really nice after the 7 inches of snow plus a ton of rain mixed in that we got on April 1!) so there are quite a few bits of grass showing now. Hannah was getting dressed this morning and she stopped and got a strange look on her face..."Mommy, is that...IT IS!!! THOSE ARE BIRDS I HEAR CHIRPING!!!" She was so excited! I feel a bit like the characters from Narnia when they meet Father Christmas and realize that the spell is being broken and perhaps...just perhaps winter might finally be coming to an end! But it is early yet, so they tell me...I'm not putting the boots and down parkas away quite yet!