Baby Boy is 2!

Calvin turned 2 yesterday. We had his family birthday party today so he got a cupcake last night on his actual birthday. He loved his Larry balloon. He kept trying to kiss it and give it a hug. I did another Veggie Tale cake. I've enjoyed learning how to do special cakes for all of the birthdays in the family. I think he likes the cupcakes better. We are so thankful for this precious boy who brings so much joy to our lives! Happy Birthday Sugar Baby!

Summer Salsa Recipe

Now, I’m not Betty Crocker by any means. I didn’t even know how to cook when we got married. But in the last few years I have been working to increase my knowledge and performance in this area. Since we’ve been married, my husband has put on about 30 pounds so I guess I’m learning a little bit! Anyway, here is a great salsa recipe that I got a couple of years ago – try it out. Very refreshing in this heat!

2 cans of diced tomatoes (or fresh ones if you have those and the time)
½ green pepper, chopped
½ red (or yellow) pepper, chopped
*3 green onions, chopped
*2 garlic cloves, minced (or whatever you call it that you do to garlic cloves)
*3-4 jalapeno slices (I just keep a jar in the frig), cut up
*½ tsp cumin
*1-2 pinches cilantro, chopped (when I 1st got the recipe, I had not idea what cilantro was - it took me about 20 minutes to find it in the veggies at the store! Sad, I know.)
*1 tbsp brown sugar
(everything with the * - just make it more or less depending on the taste you like)

Blend it ever so slightly in the blender and enjoy with some tostito chips!

Still Going

OK. So the duct tape thing didn't work. Oh well.

The Gate

This morning I listened to a sermon by Paul Washer for the second time. I was challenged as I thought about “American Christianity”. Many Americans say they are Christians, but their lives don’t show it. I’m not being judgmental. After being saved by Christ, a Christian should be different. Holy living is not about legalism, it’s about the evidence of a saving encounter with Christ. I was reminded this morning that narrow is the gate, but the path is narrow as well. That means that we are going to be different than the world. Many people may look at us and think we’re crazy for some of the decisions we make on how we live, but that’s alright. I pray that we are different and that the decisions we make will honor Christ and not the world. Check out this sermon and be challenged!

Our Little Chipmunk

His crib is that way all around the entire bed. And yes, that rail is almost gone. I hope it lasts a little longer until we move him to his “big boy” bed! I have since put duct tape on some of the rails – hopefully that will deter him for a little while.

Matters of the Heart

Obedience. We desire this for our children. But why? Sometimes it’s easy to forget the ‘why’ of obedience. When I am out with our children, I can easily become prideful when others say ‘what well-behaved children you have.’ I have to remind myself about the heart of the matter. Outward obedience means nothing if there isn’t change in the heart. It is our prayer as parents that our children’s hearts will be changed and made sensitive to the Lord as we teach them to obey. We don’t want them to obey so that others can pat us on the back (although that is tempting at times). We desire for them to obey so that their lives will bring glory to Christ. We pray that their little hearts will understand that God gave them Mommy and Daddy as the authority in their lives. We pray they will see that obedience to God brings glory to Christ (that is a lesson for Mommy too). It’s easy to focus on the outward behavior and get consumed with that but I pray we will also focus on their hearts as well!

Rest Time

It’s taken me a while to post since I am having trouble logging on to my start page with our filter. I know all of you reading this blog (all 3 of you) are waiting for me to update you on my life. So, here goes.

Last week, being the kind of wife that I am, I decided to help out my husband. We had gotten behind on the yard because of all the rain we had that week. I decided to run outside during naptime and mow the back and side yards so there wouldn’t be much to do when he got home. Our oldest (and most responsible) was playing with his trains in the playroom. I told him to step out on the deck if he needed me. Our middle girl was resting in her room and the baby (well, the ‘baby’ will be 2 in a couple of weeks, guess I should say ‘toddler’ now) was taking a nap. So, I was good to go.

Did I mention that it was 95 degrees outside and the humidity was around 200%? I decided to come inside after about 40 minutes so I wouldn't pass out on the ground from heat exhaustion. As I did, I saw the oven smoking and immediately remembered the cookies that I had put in there before I decided to cut the grass! Then my oldest comes in the kitchen crying. My first thought was that he had tried to rescue his beloved chocolate chip cookies from the smoking oven. As I look at his hands, they aren’t burned, but his thumbnail is black. He told me he had slammed it in his bedroom door. Poor thing. I tried to comfort him and then I got the charcoaled cookies out of the oven, which had turned to ash. Alright. What else can happen?

Well, I go to get the baby out of his crib for snack time, and he had started playing in his dirty diaper again. (See post below about The Process of Sanctification). Could all of this really happen in such a short period of time? I just have to laugh - what else can I do? I’m just thankful that the kitchen didn’t catch on fire!

Family Pictures

Family Pics! We took some family pictures this past weekend. The kids did great and we had alot of fun. If you need a good place to go, go to Portrait Innovations.