Take me out to the ballgame.

Eating hot dogs while lying down...

may look dangerous, but really added to the leisure of the night.

We were supposed to go camping over the weekend, but the rain put an end to that. We improvised and had a cookout and the rest of the family slept in the tent. I slept in our sleep number bed. I was thinking of the baby of course.

Tomorrow is our first baseball game of the season! Am I a baseball fan? Not really. Am I a brat fan? Yes.

Book recommendation!

I'm so excited about this book. One of the character qualities I want to possess, and pass on to our girls, is to be faithful in all areas of life to God and His calling. When I saw this title and author, I knew it would be encouraging and good to pass on. The book is "Faithful Women & Their Extraordinary God" by Noel Piper. It's an easy, light, end of the day kind of read, but so encouraging to finish the race well. Hope you'll take time to check it out.

The 'monster' in the basement.

Love it or hate it?

I was wanting a little more funky and can't tell if this is a stroke of art or a stroke of Nickelodean (think Double Dare). I really can't tell. Andy loves it and I'm hating it. So... Help.

Ode to blog

I will blog consistently again... continue the mantra. I fully blame 'Wuthering Heights' and napping for the lack of motivation in this department. I'll be back soon. Sunshine is always followed by bursts of energy and inspiration, right? Oh, I sure hope so.

Easter Extravaganza

That's a nice way of putting, "You're going to be getting more pictures than you're actually interested in." We have all kinds of fun things coming up in our family. Andy turning 30, the sonogram of our next baby, our 7th anniversary and Mother's Day. Today is extra special though, and I wanted to give some time to this celebration, or as our pastor said, 'The Believer's Independence Day." I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Helter-skelter

Not too much too report from here, as of late. Remember the 91 year-old who came to dinner? She had 2 pieces of pizza, which I found impressive. Life is good and quiet... Spring has been teasing us, and winter is hanging on for dear life. I finished up 'Jane Eyre' and enjoyed it so much that I checked out 'Wuthering Heights' today. I didn't read these classics growing up, and they are such a treat to be discovering now. We are trying to make the Easter season really special with lots of fun, but hopefully purposeful activities that include; daily readings from Luke covering 'The Triumphal Entry' to the 'Resurrection' on Sunday morning and a Friday night worship concert at a local church. Eggs will be colored and found, hot cross buns will be had and a lamb cake to boot. Anyone know how to make a good lamb cake? I have also started work on my thesis which God took in a different direction than I had originally thought. I am making a mentorship packet for young women, and I'm so excited! God is really giving me more hours in the day, creativity and energy to finish this journey. I am so grateful and excited to see it be used.

In the great words of our librarian (who I love) today at story time, 'Easter is all about bunnies and eggs.' This was a needed reminder to me that if we're not teaching our kids the real meaning of life and holidays don't be surprised when they're 20 and not getting it.

The phone has been ringing off the hook.

It is an unusually full (full for me) day of all good things. We are dog sitting starting in about 10 minutes, babysitting tomorrow for a few hours and having a 91 year-old widow for pizza and movies tonight. Life is so good, and full of opportunities to show Jesus. My 80 year-old Grandpa decided to bless us with benches he made for our dining room table unexpectedly. This is an enormous blessing considering we are currently sitting on outdoor chairs that give splinters if you move in the wrong way. Did I mention that my Grandma and Grandpa came to know Jesus just last year? Life certainly is full of blessings and surprises, just have to be open to the possibilities along the way. Here are just some pictures of life with a 2 year-old.

Have I mentioned...

how much I love, love, love, 'Anne of Green Gables?' Well when Lily was freshly 4 I became a little ambitious and decided I would read it to her and then we would watch it in perfect mother/daughter harmony on some rainy Saturday. 3 pages in the questions started, 'Where's the pictures?', 'What are they talking about?', 'Is this almost over?' Well, I have found the perfect blend of pictures and literature in these great books. Embarrassing as it is, I still teared up when Matthew died, hope that wasn't a spoiler. We just finished it, and it's cold and rainy outside. Dreams do come true!