"boppy" and chapstick...

Yesterday morning Molly kept telling me "boppy".

She was being very intentional when she said it and was obviously saying something she thought I should understand. When she realized I wasn't getting it, she got off of my lap, went over to Bruce, pointed at his cup from Starbucks and said again, "boppy".

How do they learn things like coffee before they learn water, especially when water is what she drinks all the time and she hasn't yet had coffee?


She LOVES chapstick too. (She can't say that though).
While we walked the boys to school one day last week, she used up a whole stick.

She likes to put it on like she sees us put it on:

And then when it gets too low to put on the traditional way, dig it out with her fingers and put it on using her fingers:

And the tube is pretty good to suck on every now and then as well:

Can you see the chunks of chapstick on her face?

Once I cleaned the chunks off, she was very proud to show me her nicely protected, unchapped lips:

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Happy Birthday Brittani!!!

Yesterday was our friend Brittani's 14th birthday.
She is a busy girl, so we didn't get to celebrate much,
But we did get the privilege of seeing her in action as a cheerleader.

Brandi, my friend, your baby girl is 14!

Here is how my baby girl kept herself busy...

We ended up having to leave before the game was over
because Molly was overly tired and just plain done.
Sorry we didn't get to tell you how awesome you were after the game Brittani.
You rock!!!
We hope your birthday was special and we love you!

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Crazy Love

I am currently reading this book. (If you have time when you click on the link. Go to the videos link and watch the awe factor of God. God is HUGE and this video is a pretty awesome representation of that fact.)
I am about 1/2 way through and can't recommend it enough.
I was drawn to purchase it because I really like the pastor who wrote it.
I look forward to reading it again, but this time with friends so I have someone to discuss it with.
(What do you think my accountability girls?)

Here is a quote from today's reading that I have been pondering...
"The very fact that a holy, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, merciful, fair, and just God loves you and me is nothing short of astonishing.

The wildest part is that Jesus doesn't have to love us. His being is utterly complete and perfect, apart from humanity. He doesn't need me or you. yet He wants us, chooses us, even considers us His inheritance (Eph. 1:18). The greatest knowledge we can ever have is knowing God treasures us.

That really is amazing beyond description. The holy Creator sees you as His "glorious inheritance."

The irony is that while God doesn't need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don't really want Him most of the time. He treasures us and anticipates our departure from this earth to be with Him - and we wonder, indifferently, how much we have to do for Him to get by."

It's that last sentence that gets me. I DO want God, but my actions don't always line up with that. And I think about that last sentence and realize that sometimes that is the attitude I have when it comes to things like quiet time. And, as Francis Chan points out, God didn't command a quiet time from us. What He did say was "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matt 22:37-38) Shouldn't that result in me wanting to spend time with God? With me having to fit other things in my schedule around God instead of me having to schedule quiet time in? I am challenged by this.

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A legacy

Even though, we had just visited, it was so nice to see my family in CO again.
My brother and sister were both able to fly in for the funeral as well.
It is really sad that we all had to go to CO from CA for a funeral to get to spend some quality time together. My aunt took this picture of us while we were there.

The funeral was such a nice memorial to who my grandmother was.
My grandmother loved Jesus.
She was passionate about others knowing Jesus too, especially her family.
I think my biggest loss when my grandma died, was the prayer that will no longer be lifted up for me from her hospital bed.
My grandma loved to pray.
She once told me, when it was getting harder for her to get out and around, that she didn't feel like her job was done yet. And she was realizing that her new ministry was going to have to happen from her house. It was time for her to start praying more.

My grandma didn't have much. She raised 5 boys, mostly as a single mom.


I remember her working at Woolworth's for awhile. But that's not much for a single mom of 5. God provided for her every need though - and she would argue you to the ground if you said she made it any other way. There was a story told at her memorial service about her not having medical insurance because she didn't have the money to both tithe and pay for insurance. She chose to trust God and obey Him. She gave her tithe and God provided for her needs, including the health of her family.

She left a God-filled legacy. I am truly blessed to have been given a godly grandmother.

In the evening after the memorial service, we had the privilege of taking my cousing to college. She missed her first day of classes for the memorial service. Here are a few pictures of the campus. Isn't it beautiful?

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Pictures

Here are some of the pictures I promised to post...

Walking to school on the first day of school.
We walk most days, but sometimes we ride scooters and skateboards.

This is Merritt's classroom and where his desk was on the first day. All of the desks are slightly organized differently now.

This is Mason with his teacher. We didn't get one of Merritt with his teacher on the first day. We will definitely get one before the year is over.

Mason LOVES kindergarten. And he LOVES showing his big brother all the cool stuff in his classroom. This is his cubby where he puts his backpack when he gets there in the morning.

Here are a few pictures of Molly. She is almost 16 months old now. These should give you a small picture of who she is these days...

Trying to ride Bullseye

She managed to get on the table all by herself in the time it took me to go to my bedroom and put a book away. (Since I took this picture, she has learned how to get on the kitchen counter as well.)

I LOVE this. She is such a girl.

I DON'T love how NO has become one of her favorite words - only second to goggie (translated doggie). I look forward to her ever-expanding vocabulary taking the place of, no, more often.

I'll try to post pictures from my trip for my grandma's funeral later today.

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