My Little Laundry Helper!

Rylie thought she would help me fold the laundry! You can see what a big help she was!

Our baby is now an inch long! I have been so tired. I guess because my body is making a baby and a placenta right now. I haven't really been having any consistent cravings. However, I have been wanting smores. We are going camping with our church Thursday through Sunday, so I should be getting plenty of smores!

My daughter just ran into the bathroom, slammed the door, and told me she needs her "pricy", which translates into "privacy". Oh goodness!

High Ambitions

Rylie: I'm growing up.
Daddy: No, I think you should stay little forever.
Rylie: I can't Daddy, I have to grow up.
Mommy: What do you want to do when you grow up?
Rylie: Play with toys, eat dinner, and be a Mama!
Daddy: When you're a Mama you have to make the dinner.
Rylie: No, I'm just gonna eat it.

Mt. Rainier

I know I have said it before, but I am so blessed to live in the Pacific Northwest! In one week we have seen the Ocean and the Mountain. Some states don't have either one of those. I will post a picture of Mt. Rainier, but I took several others. If you'd like to see them you can go here:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2542035590101365773lAuJoO?vhost=outdoors

We had a great time hiking and observing God's beauty.

Wordless Wednesday!

Zoo Fun

We are blessed to live only about ten miles from a zoo and aquarium, and today we decided we needed some zoo fun! Rylie enjoyed all of the animals, especially the Walrus. We ate lunch while we watched a show with wild birds. At one point I thought the Macaw might fly right at me! We were able to get up close to a lot of different animals, but at the end Rylie said her favorite animal we saw was the reindeer. This cracked me up, because the reindeer were very far away and we couldn't see them that well. But, at the end of the day, it was the shark that she decided she wanted to take home (it's as tall as she is.)

Tomorrow we are going to have a picnic at the mountain. I love living in the Northwest. Today we had a great view of the Sound and tomorrow we'll be at the mountain!

Thursday is painting day. Ryan has been working so hard to get the upstairs ready for that point! I am so thankful for all of his work. Friday we are planning on doing the wallpaper.

Our vacation has included a lot of hard work, but we've managed to fit some fun in too. Right now though, my baby is making me crave Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby ice cream!

Dry

I've been feeling spiritually dry lately. I know it's my fault, I haven't been consistent in spending time with the Lord in His Word or in prayer. I have plenty of excuses, I haven't been feeling good, I'm tired, Rylie distracts me, etc. But, I know that these excuses don't fly. I need to make my time with the Lord a priority. It's amazing how much better I feel when I am walking closely with the Lord. Ryan has been noticing lately that I have been feeling a bit moody. Yesterday, as I was hurrying Rylie to the car she said, "Remember the patience song Mom, be patient". That was very humbling and convicting. She was exactly right.
Have any of you experienced feeling spiritually dry? What have you done to jump start your spiritual hunger? I'd love it if you would leave comments and we could have a little discussion.

Gid the Kid

Tonight we had the opportunity to get a copy of a great book: Gid The Kid and The Black Bean Bandits by the Miller Brothers (otherwise known as our friends, Chris and Allen). We are so proud of them! They have written and illustrated this book and have three others following it. They are also in talks with different publishers for a novel trilogy for "tweens" and a four book series for preschoolers. They have all kinds of things in progress for the Heroes of Promise series (of which Gid the Kid is the first), like an audio CD and a DVD series. All very exciting!

Chris and Allen and their families go to our church. Chris and I go back to sixth grade. Rylie and their sons are friends, especially Keegan. If you would like your own copy of this book (that Rylie said was "great!"), you check out the web site: http://www.heroesofpromise.com/

I highly recommend it!

Random updates on our life. . .

I am 6.5 weeks along now. I'm feeling pregnant sooner than I did with Rylie. I've been feeling nauseous at times and really tired. I finally remembered that I feel much better if I eat several small meals throughout the day instead of three big meals. Abby my two year old niece thinks it's a boy baby. We'll see!
We had a lot of fun Wednesday night at the Mariners game with our friends, Dan and Sara. It was great spending fun time with them (as opposed to ministry time, Dan is an assistant Pastor with Ryan), and the game was very exciting. We played the Baltimore Orioles and it was tied until the bottom of the eighth inning. Of course the Mariners ended up winning!
My daughter enjoys teasing me by saying "Go Yankees!" and "The Yankees are my favorite team" (thanks a lot Dad and Eric)! She thinks this is hilarious (for those of you who don't know, I think of the Yankees as the antichrist of baseball!).
We are officially on vacation but we haven't gone anywhere. We decided to stay home and do some remodeling. When we moved in to our house, we painted the stairway and the landing upstairs. Unfortunately, the paint we used has since peeled off. Ryan has spent the last two days scraping the old paint off the walls. Today he has been sanding the walls down to get rid of the oil based paint that was underneath our paint. Then we will repaint the bottom half of the walls and then wallpaper the top half of the walls. We are going to turn the landing into a reading nook. We (read Ryan) will also put in a ceiling fan/light in. I'm so thankful for all of the work Ryan has done. I haven't been helping because the paint underneath ours quite possibly is lead based, we don't want our baby breathing that in through me. Today Rylie and I got out of the house while he was sanding so Rylie didn't breathe it in either. We went shopping all day and then spent time with my parents. My parents had Rylie's cousins, Abby and Luke over today, so Rylie had a blast with them. I took some cute pictures of all three of them in the bath.
I had fun shopping today because I had two gift certificates to use, which amounts to free stuff! I got a new duvet cover for our bed. We've been wanting to change our bedroom decor to more earth tones, so I was really excited when I found a duvet cover in earth tones that was normally $99 on sale for $25! I also was able to get four new maternity shirts for when I start showing!
I'm off to find a dress for Rylie to wear tomorrow, we're getting our pictures taken with Ryan's side of the family!

Thursday Thoughts - Valley of Vision

Fullness In Christ

O God,

Thou has taught me that Christ has all fullness and

so all plenitude of the Spirit,

that all fullness I lack in myself is in him,

for his people, not for himself alone,

he having perfect knowledge, grace,

righteousness,

to make me see,

to make me righteous,

to give me fullness;

that it is my duty, out of a sense of emptiness,

to go to Christ, possess, enjoy his fullness

as mine,

as if I had it in myself, because it is

for me in him;

that when I do this I am full of the Spirit,

as a fish that has got from the shore to the sea

and has all fullness of waters to move in,

for when faith fills me, then I am full;

that this is the way to be filled with the Spirit,

like Stephen, first faith, then fullness,

for this way makes me most empty,

ans so most fit for the Spirit to fill.

Thou hast taught me that the finding of

this treasure of all grace in the field of Christ

begets strength, joy, glory,

and renders all graces alive.

Help me to delight more in what I receive

from Christ,

more in that fullness which is in him,

the fountain of all his glory.

Let me not think to receive the Spirit from him

as a 'thing'

apart from finding, drinking, being filled

with him.

To this end, O God,

do thou establish me in Christ,

settle me, give me a being there,

assure me with certainty that all this is mine,

for this only will fill my heart with joy

and peace.

Wordless Wednesday!

VBS Pictures

A few people have been asking to see the pictures from Vacation Bible School, so here is a link if you would like to view them. There are also a couple from my birthday party with my parents as well. If you haven't read yesterdays post, be sure to read about our exciting news!
http://community.webshots.com/album/559912008DQYRHf

Exciting News!

Did you read Rylie's shirt? Yes, she is going to be a big sister! I am 6 weeks pregnant! I took two tests last Saturday night, then went to the Doctor on Wednesday to confirm it. We told our family and our church so now I can tell you all!

When we told Rylie, she said, "where's the baby's bottle?". Ryan said the baby is eating from Mommy and Rylie said, "Oh, Mommy the baby's food is in your neck!" When we asked her if she wanted a brother or sister, she said, "a boy sister". She's since changed her mind and decided that "boys are yucky". She likes to talk to the baby and tries to look through my belly button to see the baby.

We told our family by putting the big sister shirt on Rylie and waiting until they noticed. My Dad and sister-in-law, Pam noticed immediately. It took my Mom and brother a little bit longer. We couldn't find a time to get together with Ryan's side of the family so we just told them over the phone. Everyone was very excited!

As I mentioned, I had my Doctor's appt. on Wednesday. I really liked my OB that I had with Rylie, but he has since retired from OB so I had to find a new one. I was really nervous to go to a new OB that I didn't' know at all, but I really liked him. His practice is a fairly new one, so he doesn't have very many patients yet, he has lots of time to spend with us. He made me feel very comfortable. He already did an ultrasound, he has one in his office. We couldn't see much yet, since it's so small, but we go back in on August 1 for another ultrasound. Right now, he's estimating the due date to be March 7th, but we'll know more definitely after the ultrasound. Rylie's birthday is March 11, I just don't want them to be born on the same day!

I have been exhausted and feeling nauseous on and off, especially when I get overheated.

So, there you have it, our exciting news!

Tired, Tired, Tired

As you have noticed I've been slacking in my blogging duties! I didn't do my Wordless Wed. post or my Thursday Thoughts post. The reason is I have come home from VBS and fallen asleep! I'm very tired this week. But, I promise I will be up to blogging form soon and will be back with some exciting news!

VBS

Well, it's Vacation Bible School time in our neck of the woods. My Mom has written all of our VBS curriculum for the past 20 (?) years. This year the theme is "Following in the footsteps of Jesus". We have 5 different "cities" that Jesus walked in. Ryan and I are co-teaching at the city of Nazareth. Each city has it's own tent that we have decorated to look like you just stepped back into Bible times. All of the teachers and helpers dress in Biblical garb as well. Each grade of children visits a different city every day.
Yesterday we started off with second graders, and today we moved up to sixth graders. There's quite a difference. And let me tell you, in 85 degree weather, sixth grade boys don't smell the most pleasant!
We have a penny drive every year to benefit a different missionary. It is always a big rivalry between the girls and boys. If the girls win (which they have for the past five years), then Mrs. Galle will put a pie in my lovely husband's face! If the boys win, the opposite will happen. Rylie thinks this is quite funny and wants to see a pie in Daddy's face!
Since Rylie is only two, she doesn't have a "real" class to go to, but the workers get to put their children in the nursery. Rylie's Sunday School teacher, Edi, is in charge of it. She has done a great job to make sure they have a great VBS too. She has them participating in as much as she can and they have their own lessons and crafts. But, for Rylie, the most exciting part of the day has been when Edi pulls out the wading pool! She is loving it! She calls it "our pond" and has spent the better part of two days in it. Today I wised up and brought her swimsuit and a change of clothes. Yesterday we had to borrow a shirt!
Rylie's other favorite part of VBS is the puppet skits. She is unaware that this mysterious green puppet with an oddly familiar voice (albeit the southern accent) is her Daddy. He does a great job writing and performing the puppet skits every year. The kids absolutely love it!
I would appreciate your prayers for the salvation of these children, we have several who come from non church backgrounds. And for safety with the heat. It is supposed to be 100 degrees tomorrow! I think I might melt! I'll post pictures later.

A sampling of Rylie quotes from the day!

"Are there Garage Sales in Heaven?"
"Can I have a real bird to put in my seat belt, for it's safety?"
"I like teddy bears, but NOT scary bears." (in a very dramatic voice)
"Itsy Bitsy Spider is my song!"
"I'm 6!"
"I'm 9!"
"Mama, you're old!"
"I'm a duck."

My fun day!

We had a wonderful day today! Don't tell anyone, but I'm one year older now! My hair apparently got the message and sprouted gray this morning (not that I'm complaining, I remember my post yesterday!) For my Birthday present, we got professional pictures taken of our little family and of Rylie. They turned out so cute and we ended up buying more of them than we had planned. Rylie was a very good girl and did everything the photographer told her to do. After we had our pictures taken we had a nice lunch together. Then, my Mom took Rylie and I shopping. She bought me some new clothes for my Birthday present! After that, Ryan and I went to dinner at my favorite restaurant, Olive Garden (thanks partly to my secret sister, whomever you are!) While we were at dinner my Mom told me that Rylie said a few funny things. She told my parents, "My Mom doesn't say no, but my Dad says no". I guess I might need to work on that. She also told them that "It's Mommy's Birthday, she's really growing up"! Today she has been a spider, a turtle, a pirate, a ballerina, a baseball player, a Mommy, and a Daddy! She cracks me up! When she gave me her card for me I asked her what she wrote on it, and she said, "love Mama". She is the best present!

Thursday Thoughts

Lately, Rylie has been asking me "who bought me this?" about everything. So, I tell her where all of the various things she's referring to have come from. When she asks, "Who bought me this nose?", I get to tell her that God made her nose and everything else. I have the privilege of teaching her about God's creative abilities. His gifts to us.
The next on our list of things to praise God for (from Ps.33) is the fact that He created everything! If you've grown up in a Christian home, this may seem like a no-brainer, "Of course He created everything, I've known that since Sunday School. " But, how often do we think about it, or give Him credit for it, or give Him the praise and glory that He deserves? How many times do we say, "Oh look at the garden I made?" or "I did a good job on my hair today" (OK, I don't say that one very often!), or, "We made such a great child", etc. We so often, without thinking about it, take credit for various aspects of God's creation.
We also take it for granted. We merely glance at the mountain because we see it everyday. We expect there to be sun and grass and trees. We don't stop to thank Him for His creation. We don't pause to praise Him and reflect on what the creation tells us about Him.
So, often we complain about His creation. We complain about our bodies (guilty!), or about the weather, or the birds that are making a nest in our eves. We need to be grateful for all of these things. We need to tell Him that we are grateful. You can't complain about something if, at the same time, you are thanking God for it!
Over and over in Scripture we read how the creation shows us the glory of God. It reflects His power, His beauty, His creativeness, His originality, His love for us. God created this world, He called it "good"! He created us in His very image! (That is another topic for another day, but think about how amazing that fact is!)
This week, join me in taking time to reflect on His creation. Try to discern what it tells us about Him. Give Him thanks, praise and glory for His wonderful works! This is my Father's world!

4th of July

We had so much fun yesterday! We went to the church's old fashioned family picnic. It was very hot, but very enjoyable. We ate yummy food, raced in potato sacks, ate lots of watermelon . . . After that, we went to Ryan's Mom's house and had a BBQ and watched fireworks. It was great fun! I took so many pictures, they wouldn't all fit in a slideshow, so here's a link so you can see all of our fun!
http://family.webshots.com/album/559763523UyWLlK?vhost=family&track_pagetag=/page/photo/family/holidays&track_action=/Owner/ViewActions/FullAlbum

Wordless Wednesday! (Happy Birthday America!)

Valley of Vision - Christ is All

O Lover to the uttermost,
May I read the melting of thy heart to me
in the manger of thy birth
in the garden of thy agony,
in the cross of thy suffering,
in the tomb of thy resurrection,
in the heaven of thy intercession.
Bold in this thought I defy my adversary,
tread down his temptations,
resist his schemings,
renounce the world,
am valiant for truth.
Deepen in me a sense of my holy relationship
to thee,
as spiritual Bridegroom,
as Jehovah's Fellow,
as sinner's Friend.
I think of thy glory and my vileness,
thy majesty and my meanness,
thy beauty and my deformity,
thy purity and my filth,
thy righteousness and my iniquity.
Thou hast loved me everlastingly, unmanageably,
may I love thee as I am loved;
Thou hast given thyself for me,
may I give myself to thee;
Thou hast died for me,
may I live to thee,
in every moment of my time,
in every movement of my mind,
in every pulse of my heart.
May I never dally with the world
and its allurements,
but walk by thy side,
listen to thy voice,
be clothed with thy graces,
and adorned with thy righteousness.

"Just Like Daddy" and other Rylieisms

When Rylie saw this lawnmower at a garage sale, she said, "Can we take this home? I can help Daddy and be like Daddy!". She was excited when we got home and Daddy was ready to mow the lawn. She went right out there to help him. Ryan thought it was pretty special!
On Saturday, I took her and her cousin, Abby, to the park. When they were swinging, she said, "I'm higher than the sky and faster than a car!".
The other day, she and Ryan were sitting in the car waiting for me and they saw a man walk by. Rylie asked Ryan who the man was and what his name was. Ryan said he didn't know, and Rylie replied, "I know his name." Ryan asked what it was, and Rylie said, "Ummm, Macoroni!" Everyonce in awhile since then, she has asked us, "where is Macoroni?"
She asked me, "When can I be bigger?"
Today, she said, "I'm not a little girl anymore." I asked her what she was and she said, "I'm a big girl now."
Not yet sweetpea! Stay little for awhile!