Travelin' Fools!

*again, lots of pics! :)*

We have been travelin' fools the last 2 days (and we're not done yet!). Friday evening we drove down to Wichita to see our friends and their new baby in the NICU (please pray for Ryan, Christie and baby Caleb), and then went to Jamie & Cassie's to have supper with them and Papa & Binga. It was a quick trip, but Jacob had a lot of fun chasing the dogs around. Poor dogs didn't know how to get away from him!! This morning, Papa & Binga came here and we went out west to see Grandma Betty and then out to the farm to see Grandpa Elmer & Grandma Mary. The kids had a lot of fun playing, and at the farm they were cutting corn, so Anna was excited to see the combine and tractor up close!

I really wish I could download the pictures in my head sometimes. On the drive out west, the colors of fall were everywhere! This is my favorite season. I love Kansas in the fall. Perfect weather and beautiful colors. There was the bright green of the winter wheat peeking through the ground, the deep rust of the milo ripe for harvesting, the golden brown of the corn stalks, and the contrast of dark green hay being picked up and rolled into huge golden bales. And then the trees! They are turning more out there than they are here at home. The golds, reds, yellows, greens, browns...so beautiful! What a wonderful world God created for us to enjoy!!

Anna found the dominoes, so Daddy set them up for her. He started on a card table in the living room, but after several times of the table getting bumped he moved to the dining room table...

He finally got them all set up (Grandma even knocked them over once!! :)). Anna was so excited!

One, two, three!!!!

That was fun! Let's do it again!!!

This is the country church I grew up in (side view). It eventually closed when I was in college. Never was really big, but I loved it. It's less than 1/4 mile from my grandparents' house and used to be a school house, too, where my Dad and his siblings went to school for a time. It's sad to see it sitting empty and deteriorating but such is life. That is also where Aaron proposed to me (he said he knew I'd always wanted to get married there (that's also where my parents got married), but since that couldn't happen, he figured proposing there was the next best thing). There used to be a great big swingset on this side--with a teeter toter, bar, swings, rings, and ladder. And then there was a really tall slide in the back. Lots of wonderful memories in that building!

Watching the combine in the corn field right behind Great Grandpa & Grandma's house. We had to go through a "forest" to see the combine (there's a tree line of evergreens between their house and the field) :)

A flower Mom! She had so much fun being outside. She even picked a couple of pears off the pear tree!

A girl full of contradictions--tractors, pears, and flowers, wearing overalls and sparkly dress shoes!!!

Daddy! Daddy! We saw a combine and a trater and gain caht (grain cart) and I found a plower (flower) and I picked some pears!! Two was wipe (ripe) and the west (rest) weren't so we threw them out fow (for) the buhds! (birds) She was super excited to tell everyone all about what we'd seen and done! :)

Then she helped Papa & Grandpa work. I made her change her sparkly "church shoes".

Not sure why this one is blurry, but she loved being right next to Great Grandpa and watching what they were doing.

Again--contradictions! She is so girly, and yet she doesn't mind one bit to get her hands dirty playing in the dirt or helping work :)

After listening to Papa & Grandpa discuss what they thought needed to be done, she added her 2 cents worth!

And add she did!! :)

They have a cat who recently had kittens. Anna remembers the last time we were out there and she got to hold one of the kittens. So we went on a search to find the kittens.
Here kitty! Mom, I don't know where she is!

*gasp* I tink I hear it!!!!!!

(it was Papa on the other side of the trees meow-ing)

Shhhhh!! I hear it! *gasp* What's dat?!

(Papa was now meow-ing and rustling around in the trees)

So she runs around the trees to see if she can find the kitty. And she finds...

Papa! He growled and tried to scare her, but she was FOCUSED!

Anna: Shhhh!!!! Papa, we hear da kitty!! Over dare!

Papa: Did it sound like this? MEOW!!

Anna: YES!! Shhhh!! We gotta pind da kitty!!

It was too funny! She really had no clue that it was Papa all along making the kitty noise!!


Jacob found his favorite toy at Great Grandpa Frank and Grandma Betty's house. I don't even know what it's called, but he sat and played with it all afternoon!

And chewed on his bottom lip while he was at it :)

In the car, Jacob is king and his carseat is his throne (evidently). He's watching Veggie Tales.

Anna is just Anna and she tends to crash... :)

And the king likes to chew on his toe. How royal of him.

Because we all need a laugh!

Okay, I had a whole post done with the videos "embedded" like Jenn (thank you!!) told me to do, but I got an error, so I probably did something wrong!
So I'll just put in a link for now b/c I can't wait! :) Please go watch them! They're so funny.

This is a "Top 3" clip.

And this is Baby #3 in the above clip. Seriously? That's funny! And if you don't laugh at any of these, well there might be something wrong with you!!

This some of you may have seen, but it's pretty stinkin' funny too :)

And this just proves that sometimes the oddest things make babies laugh!

So please click on the links and watch them. They're hilarious!!

Help!

How do you post a video (like from YouTube) on here??? It says I have to attach a file of the video, but I can't find anywhere on YouTube where I can save the video!

Quickly

Just quickly wanted to share something as I'm reading through this week's lesson for my Bible study (which is on pride and selfishness...ouch!)
There are several different types of pride that the author addresses. One of which is "pride of achievement". At first I was thinking, I don't really think I have trouble with that one, and then he points out the parent angle! How many times has someone complimented me on how well-behaved Anna is, or how beautiful my children are, or how easy-going they are? And of those times, how many did I say or think "Thank the Lord for His gift of that in her/him"?? I certainly realize that God had a lot more to do with how my children look than anything I did, but don't we, as parents, take "pride" in how well our children behave in public????? As I'm learning (or being reminded, really), that success came from God. Not to say that I haven't put diligent effort into training my children and teaching them manners, but who gave me that instinct, that ability and desire to so? GOD! Bridges gives the example of a Christmas letter, telling "Our son graduated summa cum laude from Yale". As he points out, there's nothing wrong with telling friends and family that news. The sin of pride comes in not giving God the glory for that accomplishment! Am I getting my point across?
Okay, I really need to finish up so I can go to bed! But that really hit me close to home and I wanted to share it while I had time and, quite frankly, while I remembered it!!

Muffins, tea parties, and driving

We had a visit from Grandpa & Grandma last week! Anna had a lot of fun having tea parties with her three tea sets (yes, she really does have 3 tea sets!!)

Yet another picture to prove that tongue biting really IS in the genes!

Evidently making blue berry muffins is serious work! :)

While I reinstalled the car seats, the kids played "drive the van". Jacob's not a big fan of the horn!

I can't believe they're actually letting me play with this thing that has such BIG wheels!!!

Yesterday it rained ALL DAY LONG. When Anna and I came home from the store, she saw a rainbow. She was sooooooo excited!! So we ran inside (okay, she ran I walked) and told Daddy. Then she kept running to the back door to look at it again. One time she yelled "It's GROWING!!!" She was right--at one point we could see all the colors!

Not a great picture of it, but a picture of it none-the-less!

He's decided to start "cruising" again! Yippeee! And now he'll even walk on the wood floors. I really hope he starts walking on his own VERY SOON!

This is an early birthday present for me :) This cabinet was returned or something, so Aaron got it very cheap. It's my new scrapbooking cabinet!!! The drawers are really long and there's quite a bit of space between the drawers, so I can fit a LOT in there. And actually, the top of it is big enough that I could scrapbook on there (at least put my pages together--there's not enough room to have everything out on there). One of these days I WILL have a craft room for my scrapbooking and sewing machine! And when that day comes, I'll have a great cabinet for the room :)

We also had Bruce and Shirley visit this weekend for a big party (Ben got engaged!!). Aaron got the genius idea to go to the football game IN OKLAHOMA...after a night of precious little sleep. I think that's why I agreed to go--b/c I was so sleep deprived. We skipped out on the pumpkin patch b/c I knew the kids would have melt downs half way thru things. I figured since we had a 3 hr. drive down to the game, they would probably sleep most of the way. Oh no. Jacob slept for maybe an hour total. Anna didn't sleep at all. They were pretty good. But then we got to the game and it was HOT and WINDY and the sun was BLAZING. I was not prepared for that weather! And of course, there was NO shade for most of the game. 2nd half there was a teeny bit of shade, so we claimed it. I had to run to the store and get sunscreen (a rip off b/c the only store I could find was a gas station). Naturally by the time I got back, the kids were both asleep and didn't need it!! And to top it all off, we lost big time :( But it was fun riding with the Swiharts! :) We even managed to keep the kids awake all the way home (Anyone want to sing Zaccheus or hot dogs?!?)!

I also found out why Anna hasn't been sleeping at night-she's got tonsillitis, probably strep! She NEVER complained about her throat hurting, so I had no idea. But they both had nasty coughs that just weren't going away. Jacob's throat was okay, but I have no doubt that he'll end up with it too. At least the medicine tastes good for it! So we're laying low and Mama is trying to function on this little sleep :(

PS-Thanks Jenn for posting that song. I have more to post about that Bible study, but that will have to wait for later when the kids are in bed and I don't get interrupted a million times :)

Respectable Sins

I've mentioned a few times about the women's Bible study I'm currently doing at a local church...I wanted to talk a little more about it. It's called "Respectable Sins" by Jerry Bridges. It is very good! The title itself is very interesting, and catches your attention. Here is a quote from the book:

"The very word, sin, which seems to have disappeared, was once a
proud word. It was once a strong word, an ominous and serious word...But the
word went away. It has almost disappeared--the word, along with the notion. Why? Doesn't anyone sin anymore? Doesn't anyone believe in sin? Karl Menninger "Whatever Became of Sin"

It's an 8 week study and these are the "respectable" sins Bridges covers (there are more than one in each week's session)

1. Ungodliness
2. Unthankfulness
3. Anxiety
4. Frustration
5. Discontentment
6. Pride
7. Selfishness
8. Impatience
9. Irritability
10. Anger
11. Judgementalism
12. Sins of the Tongue
13. Lack of Self-Control
14. Envy
15. Jealousy

YIKES!!! How many of us have many, if not all, of these sins daily/weekly? Bridges points out that sin is sin to God. We are quick to let ourselves off the hook for our impatience b/c it's not as bad as adultery or murder, so it's not as big of a deal to God. But as he points out "God has not given us the authority to establish values for different sins" (p. 20). Did Christ die on the cross only for the murderers, adulterers, and theifs? "All sin is serious because all sin is a breaking God's law" (p. 20). He warns that these subtle sins are scary because we trick ourselves into thinking that they're not that bad, or worse, not even thinking about them. Think about Isaiah 53:6

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all"

Bridges says "Shall we presume on God's grace by tolerating in ourselves the very sin that nailed Christ to the cross?" (p. 29). Wow! Putting in that perspective--that my anger at someone cutting me off is sin and THAT sin nailed Christ to the cross. God cannot look on sin--any sin. Big or small, it is still heinous in the sight of God! Something that he says he "preaches" to himself every day is the Gospel. When I started reading that chapter, I thought I don't need to preach the Gospel to myself every day. I know that Christ died on the cross to save me from eternal separation. I've been taught that for as long as I can remember. But he points out that without the Gospel, we have no hope of dealing with these subtle sins. Through the Gospel, we have hope-hope that God knows and will forgive and cares and wants us to overcome these sins. And hope that He is there to help us overcome them. Bridges uses several verses to "preach" the Gospel to himself every day.

• Psalm 103:12; 130:3-4
• Isaiah 43:25; 53:6; 1:18; 38:17
• Romans 4:7-8; 8:1
• Micah 7:19
• Ephesians 1:7
• Colossians 2:13-14
• Hebrews 8:12; 10:17-18

They are all verses that assure us of God's forgiveness. How many times do we hear people say "How can God allow such things to happen?" God does not tempt us (read James 1:13-14). "...he does bring or allow circumstances to come into our lives that give us the opportunity to put to death the particular subtle sins that are characteristic of our individual lives." (p. 44) It never fails! If we start trying to work on something in our lives (spiritual or otherwise), Satan will work hard against us! Last week the study was on frustration. Last week was FULL of frustrations for me with the kids!!! Anna was just out-right naughty (which rarely happens!) and Jacob was just into E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. and decided to scream practically all day every day! You can bet your hat that Satan was trying his hardest to make me sin (which I did) and discourage me from working on my sin of frustration.

Bridges believes that all of those other subtle sins stem from a root sin of ungodliness. Does it offend you when I say that you're ungodly? It did me when I read it! But I thought ungodliness was the same as unrighteousness. It's not. Unrighteousness "refers to sinful actions in thought, word, or deed....Ungodliness describes an attitude toward God." (p. 53) Ungodliness can be going throughout a day giving little or no thought of God. How many days have I done exactly that? We have an accountability to God, as believers. Our prayers have become ME centered instead of GOD centered. We forget our dependence on God for everything--our very breath!

Okay, I think that's enough for now :) I'll try to post some more later. It has been a very humbling study, but a good one!

My baby's FIRST haircut!!

Okay, first of all our wireless is FINALLY working (thanks to a computer genius friend who works here). So I'm sitting quite comfortably in my recliner with the tunes playing on the TV blogging. Oh wait, I mean I'm working...ahem.
On to my baby's haircut! Anna has never had her hair cut...EVER (nor does she have any desire to try it out), so this was my first baby haircut too :) He did really good. He wiggled a lot (hello? The boy never sits still unless he's passed out sleeping.) but she did a good job of snipping quickly!

Here's his mini mullet before the haircut (I don't know what's up with Daddy's face--scary!)

And the after shot...no more mullet!! He looks so grown up now!

Another before shot with big sister. And it's just a precious picture :)

He was such a big boy--sat in the chair (on a booster seat) all by himself! He liked the cape (mostly liked to chew on it).

He was hammin' it up before she got started snipping.

But then she started messin' with his hair and he turned his head as if to say "Who are YOU and what exactly do you think you're doing?!"

Dingy Mama forgot to bring ANYTHING to distract him with. Good grief. Luckily there was one children's book there, so I read it to him, flipped the pages at him, fanned him with it...anything short of letting him eat it or rip it to keep him distracted from the fact that someone was messing with his hair!

Another "after" shot from the side. I wish the top was just a tad bit shorter, too but at least the mini mullet is gone now! :)

I got my hair cut today too. Of course after Jacob's so Daddy could take the hooligans (what was with them today?! Holy cow) home and I could have some blissful peace and quiet--except for the chatty lady getting her nails done; I don't think she stopped talking the entire time she was there! Seriously, what is better than having someone else wash your hair (why is that so relaxing??) and fix your hair? I pretty much doze during my haircuts. I always worry that the hairdresser will think I'm totally rude, but I can't help it! Anyway, the reason I got another haircut: what a story this is. While visiting the parents, I decided to go to a chain place (okay, it was the hair place in WalMart!) and get about an inch cut off. I've been to some of those chain places before while up there (not this one) and they've done good. Anyway, Cassie and I walk in and the lady in there looks good...until she turns around! Not to be mean, but she was scary looking! And I'm quite certain that she was NOT sober!!!!! She had a nice haircut/style, so I figured surely she couldn't do too much harm (I'm stupid, I know). Her eyes were completely bloodshot, her movements were very slow and deliberate, and she got seriously like 6" from my face when she was cutting my hair! Yikes. Well, she didn't do a horrible job--at least it was a fixable bad cut! Next time, I'll either go to the place that Mom goes or just be patient and wait til I get home!! There are no before and afters for me (I don't like my picture being taken, in case you haven't noticed). I really should though b/c I'll never be able to style it as cute/good as she does.

Okay, enough procrastinating! I have to clean up some more and GO TO BED! Bible study tomorrow. I need to write a post about that sometime. It's a very convicting, humbling, awesome study called "Respectable Sins" by Jerry Bridges. I highly recommend it, even just as a personal study.