God's Magnificence

Monday evening we got a thunderstorm with very hard rain, just as it was time to go my doctor appointment (with the kids). But totally worth it...when we got home, this was the view from our front porch. The girls had never seen a real-life rainbow before and they were just giddy and full of questions. Avery was right beside me snapping pictures, too.

Every time I read the Noah's Ark story to the kids, I just get stuck on the part where Noah and his family were on one boat with ALL of the animals, x2. How could they even stand it after the first 24 hours?? The logistics of it is just mind-boggling. I guess jumping ship was not a better option, but I have a feeling Noah's wife at least considered it a time or two.

One of the reasons our witness to God's reality is minimal is that our understanding of God's reality is minimal. In the name of quick and relevant impact we minimize the very greatness that would be his renown. Without this, we will not boldly and graciously reassert his rightful place in all of life.

What we need is a big picture of a great God who is utterly committed to joyfully demonstrating his greatness in doing us good. That is, we need to see the majesty of God and know the splendor of God overflowing toward us with exuberant omnipotence. It is not enough to believe that God is big and strong and fearsome--which he is. We must experience this magnificence as the explosion of God's uncontainable zeal to satisfy his creatures by showing them himself.

-John Piper

Whirly Twirly Wednesday

I debated keeping you in suspense until Saturday, but these are the only pictures I have from dance class today. They got their costumes and photos taken. (Amanda is the cutest one you can find...just kidding...well, not really).

Because she has seen Avery do this before, she completely understands what her "brecital" is going to be and is so excited that she gets to be the one on stage that her family is coming to see. I'm so happy for her that she is going to get her moment, especially since she is so into it.

Couple quotes from Amanda:

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Mom, I was talking...you inter-up-ed me.

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I am so upset! (usually accompanied by a heavy sigh and a big shoulder shrug...I'm trying to get a video of it...hilarious!)

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God says you have to share (said to me when I denied her a sip from my water bottle)

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And last week a lady came up to me at a softball game and said, "Amanda is your little one, right?" As I slowly nodded, I was thinking oh boy, this ought to be good. She told me that at the previous game Amanda was trying to convince the big kids of something and they weren't really paying attention to her so she finally said, "God said you have to listen to me"....I guess we'll have to start working more on actual scripture memory. Although I think there is a scripture very similar to that, only the "me" is "Me", as in I the Lord, not me, as in Amanda.

Scripture Memory #10

I just did a verse on refuge last month, but God is still speaking it to me. Last month was "Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress." Ps 71:3. Isn't that such a cool verse??

Just that word refuge has brought such a peace to me. I looked up the definition:

1.shelter or protection from danger, trouble, etc.: to take refuge from a storm.
2.a place of shelter, protection, or safety.
3.anything to which one has recourse for aid, relief, or escape.

Other words for refuge are security, safety, retreat, sanctuary, haven, stronghold

That's my God. He is big and powerful enough to be my refuge and can give the command to save me, yet He knows my name and lovingly speaks to me that He is my sanctuary, my haven. When I'm feeling overwhelmed or inadequate, he is my retreat. When I'm feeling afraid, He is my safety. Awesome!

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1

I Don't Have a Title

I'm feeling more desperate to check things off my "to-do" list before Baby. A very minor one that wasn't even on my list until I thought of it in that instant was to get a "kissing cousins" (the babies) picture. Here they are, just two months apart.

We had a burial service for Shaun's grandmother, who passed away in February. I chickened out on explaining the whole cremation thing to the girls, so instead they got to go to my moms. They swam in very cold lake water and had a blast. When I went to pick them up they were both half asleep on my mom's lap, sipping chocolate milk watching Veggies.

Shaun was very anxious to spend time with his family but still had work to do, so he thought it would be a good idea if his two and three-year-old daughters and very pregnant wife went to help him for a couple hours, then we'd all be together and could do something fun after.

So Avery got right to work cleaning...one of her favorite things to do...

...and sanding, which was something new and not too much fun.

Amanda carried a tape measure around and threw some little pieces of garbage away and got in Shaun's way. I took a couple pictures and raided the water and peanut M&M's in the refrigerator. And then Avery slipped on the floor she'd been washing and it started to become clear that our "help" was not as helpful as Shaun had first envisioned.

So, I packed up the girls and headed over to the grocery store down the street. They spent a while looking at the lobsters and asking me questions about them that I didn't know the answers to. Then we went over to the book aisle and read several stories together.


Then we headed back to the apartment and the girls found some fun in the driveway.

Finally Daddy was ready to go and he brought us to the long-awaited surprise...Chuck E.'s.

We walked out with a bag full of junk and some happy girls....all's well that ends well, as they say.

Project 365, Week 24

June 7
The girls have seen very little of Daddy over these last couple weeks, so when he is home, this is about as far from him as they want to get. They are working on letters here...typical second-born treatment I guess...before Avery was two she could identify all the letters, Amanda's been two for months now and still doesn't have a complete handle on them...totally our fault for dropping the ball with her.

June 8
They stopped in front of my "decks" (desk) and asked me to take a picture.


June 9
Avery took this picture after Amanda had applied chapstick by herself.

June 10
My sister Bethany dropped by and brought over a couple things for my girls that her girls had loved but were done with. This princess castle was one of the things, along with a barbie for each of them. They escaped to their room for the rest of the day. They call the barbies princesses because they live in a castle...makes sense to me.

June 11

After leaving the house at 7 AM, this is the time Shaun rolled in (PM). He's been doing this pace for several weeks now, trying to get an apartment ready to be moved in to, and its wearing us all down. Its all part of being a landlord, and though I'm thankful for God's provision and for Shaun's abilities, its tough being in the middle of it. But...it will be over...soon.

June 12

Avery greeting me first thing in the morning. This doll has gone with her everywhere lately. Kinda cool because it was one of my favorites when I was little.

June 13

Avery and I went to my niece Madison's dance recital. She was in five different numbers and she was also honored for 5 years of dancing, all at this studio. Here she is the leader for the little ones.

Later, Shaun's mom had us over for dinner, complete with brownie sundaes and the girls got to play with Cousin Jared.

You can click over to Sara's place to see more projects!

Pregnancy-36 weeks

The "When are you due??" and "How much longer do you have??" questions have started to increase greatly, so I thought I'd finish out the last few weeks of this pregnancy posting weekly instead of monthly 'cause a month from now I'm really hoping to be holding my sweet little guy in my arms.

I am 36 weeks today. A friend asked me if it feels like its gone by fast and I really don’t think it has. I’ve tried to deliberately enjoy each part of it, because I think this will be my last pregnancy.

We are beginning to feel the usual buzz that comes with the end of a pregnancy. Shaun and I chat about our mental checklists and occasionally throw around names. Not sure why we have always struggled so much with that part of it. I guess the finality of the decision is a bit intimidating…at any rate, it has always taken us a long time to decide.

The girls seem to sense something is coming, too, although its hard to miss the baby. He’s so big now that when we are sitting on the couch together reading stories and he moves, everyone sees it and feels it. Last night when this happened, Avery spent some time playing with him and trying to identify body parts.

Avery was so young when I was pregnant with Amanda, there was really no way for her to understand. This time around, its been fun to share the experience with both of them. We told them at Christmas, so I can’t imagine how long this wait has seemed to them. We very rarely tell them things more than a couple hours in advance, simply to preserve our own sanity.

Shaun thinks I am “nesting” and after he pointed it out, I had to agree. I feel a desperate need to organize everything in sight, including stuff that hasn’t been touched in years (like my photos). I’ve also started hunting for some items for the guest room/nursery because I've decided the girly decor that's been in there for guest purposes is really not fair.

The weather has made it challenging but the girls and the dog and I are still getting out to do our three miles 6-7 days a week. I've also added 10-15 minutes of the elliptical most days because I know the strength and endurance that will be required of me in the next couple weeks and I want to be prepared.

It'll be here soon!

(sorry about the lack of paragraphs...not sure why its doing that, but I've messed with it as much as I'm going to)

Whirly Twirly Wednesday

It's that time again. I'm really going to have to get clever and creative over the summer when we are on break from dance class. One more week and then its recital time. Judging by how the rehersals have gone during class, it promises to be an...interesting performance.