oh a hunting we will go.

mom, i found a "bwoo egg!"  mylie was so excited, but still a little slow.  as she leaned down to grab an egg, an older friend would swoop in and snag it.  her sweet friend, sarah beth, would snag an egg that mylie was going for and say "here you go, mylie!" as she dropped it in mylie's basket.

here is sarah beth leading mylie into egg territory.  sarah beth would scope it out before the other 12 kids would steal 'their eggs'.

we all need a little love...

who can resist a little daddy love?!

we were at sarah beth's birthday party and mylie stopped long enough to give me a kiss!

"you look like you pulled an all-nighter, mom. how come?" :) a kiss to make up for his all-night shananigans!

outside of the butterfly house, we stopped to give our little man a little love.

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Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 john 4:7

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Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another, deeply from the heart. 1 peter 1:22

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Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 peter 4:8

a son

back in june, i had a car accident.  i was "alone" but 16 weeks pregnant and as my car spun around, my concern was for my baby.  

my car was totaled, but a car is a car.  i went immediately to my ob to have an ultrasound to check on our baby.

and that was the day, we found out that we were going to have our first son.  

as time wore on, i felt worried.  "what do i do with a boy?!" they are so different.  i know how to nurture a lip-gloss, tutu wearing twirler.  but what do i do with a little warrior?  with one whose first instinct is to create a sword rather than give a hug?

but now that he's here, i sure do love him.  he is quite a boy.  he has two modes: sleeping and full-throttle. and you don't want to cross him--take his paci and he gets mad.

but i'm so glad to have him. and my twirler loves to hug and kiss him.  we wouldn't trade him for the world.

know Him better

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." (eph 1:17)

Paul had a very specific prayer.  one that he said that he KEEPS ASKING.  it was so  important that he was not going to give up. what was the end result he was hoping for?  he wanted the people in the church at ephesus to know Him better.  what was there to know better?

1. the hope to which we were called (v.18)

2. the riches of his glorious inheritance (v. 18)

3. his incomparably great power for us who believe (v.19)

Paul wanted this church to really understand--we have hope, riches, and power that doesn't and can't compare to anything else.  Paul goes on to say that this power is the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him at the right hand of God.  

and, that power is available to us.  the only criteria is that we believe.  we can utilize that power.  if God used that power to raise Christ from the dead, think of all the things we can do.

so...let's keep asking for wisdom and revelation to know him better.  then we'll understand the hope, the riches, and the power that already belong to us.

to the praise of His glory-eph 1

listen to this language...

blessed us (v.3), chose us (v.4), predestined us to be adopted (v.5), in accordance with his pleasure (v.5), freely given us (v.6), he lavished on us (v.8), made known to us (v.9), in him we were chosen (v.11), you were marked in him (v.13)

God loves us.  he deeply cares about us.  when you sit and can meditate on these words, you can see the amazing love God has for each of us.

think about it...

we got a christmas gift...

well, we are thrilled!  on christmas day, our baby boy arrived in our lives.  and, by his birth and birthdate alone, showed us the sovereignty of God.  

i prayed with all the faith i could muster that i would not be in the hospital on christmas day--mostly because i wanted to spend it with our mylie.  in the weeks prior, i knew that God would answer my prayers.  as my due date approached and passed, i became a little less sure and wondered if we were meant to have a little christmas gift.

and, at 3am, i realized that's what we were going to get as i discovered that my water had broken. 

although God did not answer my selfish prayer, He exceeded my hopes for the labor and delivery.

charlie arrived with ease and laughter (charles and i laughed the entire morning while going through labor) at 1:01pm after 15 minutes of pushing.  i actually had to hold the baby back from being born because the doctor was not there yet.

God showed me his faithfulness through our son's arrival and it continues as i learn the many lessons of "transition."  

may you experience God's goodness and grace as He continues to reign sovereignly in our lives!