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!