Lazy 5 Ranch

On Monday for Nick's day off, we headed up to Lazy 5 Ranch with Joe and Jeanie. We had a blast! It was as close as I've ever gotten to a Safari, minus the dangerous animals. We took an hour long hay ride through the habitats, with animals coming right up to us to be fed. My favorites included lots of ostriches, antelope, water buffalo, a Texas Longhorn, Bison, and Giraffes. And there were the cutest little baby pot bellied pigs running around (which goes to show, as Jeanie said, that anything can be cute when it's little!)

This picture is slightly deceiving, as Kathryn was more interested in trying to put rocks in her mouth than in looking at the goats. But there were lots of little baby goats that were quite cute. Again, proving our theory that anything can be cute when it's a baby.

"You should try the hay...it's quite good!"

Happy Girly

Look at all those teeth! Aren't they cute?

An Antelope, I think

Feeding a buffalo!

It was so cool to be this close to giraffes!

Fun at the Park

Yesterday our Playgroup met at the park...Kathryn's first time on a swing. As you can see by the pictures, she loved it! I just love her little laughs and smiles!

Our Playgroup (minus a few). At least we call it a playgroup...really it's just an excuse for the moms to have fun together. :)

A Conviction Quote

"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." Proverbs 10:19

"Hypocrisy and slander are not the only sins of the tongue. There is the sin of egotism. We love to hear ourselves talk and to present our own judgments intrusively...One meets with people in the world who never seem to have made the wise man's observation that 'there is a time to keep silence.' ...Since the sin is linked to many words, it is surely wise to hold our tongue- not in silence, but in caution; to weigh our words before uttering them; never speaking except when we have something to say; speaking only just enough; considering the time, the person, and the circumstances." Charles Bridges

How truly convicting, Mr. Bridges! So very often I find I have spoken many unhelpful words and am often guilty of the sin of egotism, as he puts it. (I am thankful for very forbearing friends and family!) May I grow by grace to pattern my life around Ephesians 4:29-

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

Once again, Kathryn's idea of "helping." :)
There is a picture in my baby book of me "playing" the piano at about age 2 or 3. My mom captioned it as "Never too young to Twinkle." I think the same heading could go for this picture. She was a little perplexed at the sounds that were coming out of the piano, but she seemed to enjoy making noise.

Aha!

I was wondering why Kathryn seemed more fussy than usual this week (which still is not very much!), ran a fever, got a cold, and didn't want to eat....I think I discovered the culprits this morning...4 teeth coming in on top! All at once! Poor girly. No wonder she was having a hard time.

6 Months...a little late

I took Kathryn in for her (belated) 6 month checkup last week. At 7 months, she weighs 17 lbs. 11 oz. (75th percentile) and is 26 3/4 inches (also 75th percentile). So our little kiddo is growing quickly! Her new favorite thing to do is feed herself...cheerios, peas, anything that she can try to pick up (including ANY little scrap of paper left on the floor!) She's getting around quite quickly now with her army crawl, and I think she was practicing crawling on all fours when she was supposed to be taking a nap this afternoon. That's what it looked like when I went to check on her, anyway. :)

The last two weeks have actually been a little harder for me, in that she has not been quite so predictable as she has been before. In the midst of dropping her last night feeding and dropping her 3rd nap, I feel like there is constant transition. I really feel like the Lord is using these circumstances to reveal my heart...my ever present idol of ease. Ah. And selfishness...life looks a little different with a crawler. :) I am reminded what several seasoned moms have said, that babies really are always changing. As soon as you think you've got them on a routine, something changes. Perhaps that is the Lord's way of increasing my dependence on Him. I so love having everything predictable, and the Lord is stretching that part of me a little bit these days. I'm thankful He never leaves me comfortable with relying on my own strength for very long!

Here are some recent pics:

"Pirate Kathryn" at Jake's Birthday Party

Just like her Dad, that tongue always sticks out when she's concentrating on something!

"Helping"

Waiting for Daddy to get home from work...she gets so excited when she sees him!

"...But He Gives Grace to the Humble."

"A humbling spirit, a deep conviction of utter nothingness, is a most adorning grace. Nor is it an ocassional or temporary feeling, the result of some unexpected disclosure, but a habit that clothes a person from head to toe. It combines the highest elevation of joy upon humble hearts. His sweet dews and showers of grace slide off the mountains of pride and fall on the low valleys of humble hearts and make them pleasant and fertile. But the soul that swells with pride has no room for God's humbling grace." Charles Bridges' commentary on Proverbs 3:34

How often my heart does swell with pride and self-righteousness. I would love to grow in humility, as Bridges describes it. That it would be my joy to be brought low, to rely utterly and completely on the Savior, not on my own wisdom and strength. Because only then will I truly experience God's enabling grace to walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel. This is my prayer!

On a different note, I'm hoping to go on a personal retreat later today (thank you, Jeanie, for offering to watch Kathryn!) I really haven't gone on one since before Kathryn was born, and I think it will be a helpful time to reevaluate my priorities. If you think of it, you can pray that my time will be fruitful. Also, Kathryn may be getting sick, in which case I may have to postpone. I'll keep you posted. You can also pray for Nick, Joe, John, and Mike as they're taking their ordination exam today and tomorrow.

A Close Call

The other day Nick and I closely avoided a potential accident that kind of sobered us both. We were driving towards an intersection with a green light, about to turn left. There was a car coming toward us...we were waiting until that car passed before turning left. Right as we reached the intersection, a car coming from our left ran his red light at about 40 mph. The amazing thing is that Nick said afterwards that he had thought about turning left before the oncoming car went through the intersection, but then decided he didn't have enough time to make the turn. If he had, he probably would have been killed by the car that ran the red light from our left. We were a little shaken at realizing how fragile life is, that God can choose to take us at any time.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of life today. May I use it for your glory and never take it for granted!

We start 'em young...

Here's Kathryn "helping" with chores...it's so fun to have a little buddy to hang out with all day!

A trip to the "Market"

This morning Jeanie and I took our girls to this cute little store that sells fresh produce. It was so fun! I got some locally made bottled rootbeer and we got lots of cute pictures of the girls. It really felt like we stepped back in time on entering this little place. I bought some homemade salsa, homemade bread, jam, and some locally-grown fruit. I will definitely go back again!

We think Alathea has a name for Kathryn- "Kee Kee." It's so cute!

"Let's see...I think I'll just help myself to one of these."

Bath Time

Thoughts on Worry

I'm reading through Iain Duguid's commentary on Esther and Ruth...actually, just the part on Ruth for now. I don't think I've ever really read a commentary before, and I'm surprised by how much I'm enjoying it. This morning I came upon a wonderful little nugget of truth in the chapter I was reading...I pray it inspires you as much as it did me. In the midst of writing about Naomi's bitterness as she returns back to her people, Duguid writes on worry...

"In the dark night of our souls, we imagine and worry about the worst possible scenario. In fact, we often conjure up contradictory worst case scenarios to worry about, events that cannot all happen to us. [this describes me to a T!] We persuade ourselves that God has abandoned us and that we have no prospects. How much unnecessary turmoil do we put ourselves through! God doesn't promise to give us the grace to survive all the scenarios we can dream up--but only to give us the grace to enable us to make it through whatever her actually brings into our lives. In fact, much of what we worry about turns out in the end not to be part of God's plan for us after all; our worry was wasted work! Of course, Jesus told us this himself when he said, 'Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?' "

I so often do what he describes in the opening sentence...I think back to when I was pregnant, worrying about what life would look like after a baby. Imagining the worst case scenario and fretting about that. Or even wondering if we would come back to Charlotte, worrying about how I would handle going somewhere else....fretting over it. And now looking back, I really see that all of my worrying was for nothing. How much wasted time and mental energy have I spent worrying over things that have not even come to pass? Let alone realizing that God WILL give me grace for whatever He has for me. I don't necessarily have grace to handle what He has given others or even what He will bring my way in 5 years from now. But He has promised Grace for today. What peace that brings to my soul!

Daily Grace

I've been slowly making my way through Jerry Bridges' book, Discipline of Grace. For those who have not read it, I highly recommend it. I have been enjoying some quiet time reading while Kathryn is down for her nap, and I thought I would share some from this book...

In talking of commitment to God and the pursuit of holiness, he writes:

"A loving response to God's grace and mercy is the only motive acceptable to God for commitment...And it is the continual reminding of ourselves of His grace and mercy that provides the only enduring motivation to sustain such a commitment and keep it from becoming oppressive. That is why we must preach the gospel to ourselves every day.

...An all-out, nothing-held-back commitment to the pursuit of holiness may be exhausting, but it will not be oppressive if it is grounded in grace. But to be grounded in grace, it must be continually referred back to the gospel. So don't just preach the gospel to yourself every day merely to experience the cleansing of your conscience. You certainly need to do so for that reason. But as you do so, reaffirm, as a response of love and gratitude to God, your commitment to Him. And do so in reliance on His Spirit that by His grace He will enable you to carry out your commitment."

I am so often tempted to pursue holiness in my own strength by taking on the mentality of pulling myself up by my "bootstraps." But that kind of commitment will always fail and lead to legalism. What a good reminder that my motivation to pursue holiness is a "loving response to God's grace and mercy."

Cookin'!

It's a hot week down here in Charlotte...Looks like we're breaking some records, getting up past 100 degrees. In fact, the heat index is supposed to get up to 108 tomorrow! Which basically means, don't go outside if you can help it. I am very grateful for the gift of air conditioning this week!

Almost Crawling!

Hard Run

Just got back from a 5 mile run that totally got the better of me....I've learned some lessons today:

1) 5 miles feels a lot longer than 3 miles
2) Hills are a lot harder than flat ground.
3) Pushing 30 pounds of stroller and baby is not very fun.
4) 9am is a LOT hotter than 7am.

Lesson learned.

:P

Lake Junaluska

Last weekend we headed out to Lake Junaluska for the Care Group Leader's Retreat. This is mainly a time to bless and refresh the Care Group Leaders at Crossway, who work so very hard during the year. I will say, it was a little different this year with Kathryn in tow....I learned that she does well on her routine. She got overtired from missing naps and staying up late, so she cried a lot more than usual when I would put her down to sleep. But all in all, we had a great time.

We took this picture with Joe and Jeanie and Alathea last year, while I was 3 months pregnant....


One year later...Same spot, same people, same pose, same shirt on Nick, different baby. :) And this year Jeanie is the one who is 3 months pregnant.




Jeanie, Kristin, and me


Hanging out in the town with friends.


Jeanie, Lizzy Honea, Emily Campbell, and me. Emily, why exactly is your hand on Lizzy's leg?

6 Months!

I could hardly get kathryn to stay still long enough to take these pictures...As you can see in the second one, she was much more interested in eating the "6 Months" sign than posing with it! At 6 months old, kathryn is a joy. She's sitting up, eating baby food, takes 3 naps a day (usually). She seems to love showing off her two little teeth...Nick and I have noticed that she seems to be even more smiley now than ever. How are we so blessed to have such a sweet little girl?







She never did get the hang of the pacifier...now it's one of her toys. :)

Playing

I have loved having 3 sets of neighbors who are friends from church. Lora Abernathy came over the other day--kathryn and Olivia seemed pretty happy together. It's fun thinking about who Kathryn will be friends with as she grows up.


We are so blessed with Kathryn's joyful countenance. She is really a happy baby...if you look closely, you can see her two little teeth that are coming in on the bottom(!)


She must be a publisher's granddaughter! She really does like looking at books and flipping the pages. It's so cute.


Hard at play

Phone Troubles

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to give you the heads up that our land line is not working at the moment...so we're not receiving any incoming calls. I think maybe our phone line got crossed with someone else's. Hopefully it will be cleared up by Tuesday. (although really hopefully before then!!) So email is the best way to get ahold of me for now. I may have Nick's cell phone tomorrow. Sorry I'm kind of out of contact for the moment.

Rebecca