just throwing it out there....

Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God. Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens — they have their savings account. They don’t need God to help them — they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live — they have life figured and mapped out. They don’t depend on God on a daily basis — their refrigerators are full and , for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God. {Francis Chan, Crazy Love, p. 77-78}

more preciousness

I asked him to hold his bottle by himself while I put in a movie.

He didn't like that idea...

But after a minute he gave in and started smiling again. :)

That's my sweet boy. :)

a little bit of happy

I needed some "happy" today.

I found it on the side of the road.



I mean, can you look at that gorgeous pink creation (not the bouquet - His creation) and not smile?

I can't.

They were just too wonderful to leave on the side of the road.

And just what I needed.

Thank you Lord.

Sunday

'Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world.' ~William Booth

Silas (10 months)

Silas is 10 months old today. He has changed so much in the past month adding even more activeness and curiosity to his repertoire.

This month:
*He weighs over 20lbs - but just barely. Still in the 25% for weight and the 75-80% for height.

*He decided to start crawling for real. He's known how for a couple of months but just recently decided to put that skill to good use.

*He is walking with his little push walker and on rare occasions lets go and tries to stand on his own. That lasts for about half a second. :)

*He is still obsessed with taking things out of their containers...toys, diapers, wipes, burp cloths, and of course, the trash bags.

*He found the toilet and the water inside and can open the lid on his own. This results in some smashed fingers because when he tries to close it he forgets to move his hand first.

*He is still talking all the time and is now starting to speak in "jibberish sentences." By that I mean that he is picking up on the fact that we talk in sentences and our tones change and he is trying to imitate us. It doesn't make any sense as far as the actual sounds go (no words), but his tone and intonation are advancing. It's cute.

*He went swimming in both his little pool and the lake for the first time. He LOVED both of them. He's my little water bug. :)

*He flew in his first airplane (and Momma survived!). We traveled to LA via plane last week and on the flight there is slept the entire time which was great because he was sick and it was a horribly bumpy flight. Momma was a nervous wreck the whole time and it literally took me a day or two to completely relax. The flight home was a completely different story. He would not sleep for anything and you would have thought I shot him up with Speed he was so hyper. Happy, but hyper. He wanted to be everywhere all at the same time. He went to visit the ladies across the aisle, our seat mate, and played peek-a-boo with the people behind. He climbed on my head. He tried to bite the stewardess and then yelled at her when she wouldn't let him. But he smiled his cute smile and flirted and everyone loved him. I was exhausted from trying to keep him relatively contained, and thankfully it was a very smooth flight. I would still be recouping if he had been that hyper AND the flight was rocky.

*He rode on the tractor and the 4-wheeler and loved them both. I was worried the noise would freak him out (since the sound of the miter saw nearly does him in) but he didn't mind it at all.

*He has started eating more table food and comes to "beg" when he sees us eating anything.

*He got to meet MY pediatrician, Dr. Michael Manual. When we got to LA he was still sick and coughing so the next day I decided to take him to see the man who was my doctor from birth until I got married. :) He got an antibiotic and some Claritan and was back to normal in two days.

{SIDE STORY}

While we were in the waiting room, my mom looked at me and said, "What's that sound?" I listened and we determined that it was, in fact, a typewriter. The Office Manager, Brenda, was using it. She's been there my whole life too. We laughed...because who uses typewriters these days besides old school writers? THEN, when I went to pay for the office visit with our Health Savings Plan card, she informed me that they weren't set up to take any credit cards. My brain refused to compute what that meant and I just stood there looking at her. She finally clarified that it was cash or check only and thankfully my mom had ONE check left. I had no cash and I don't carry our checkbook on a regular basis. I don't know what I would have done if momma didn't have hers -- gone to an ATM somewhere in the hospital I guess. Isn't that crazy?? A typewriter and no credit cards!!!

*He is starting to give hugs and kisses. Granted, most of the time his kisses turn into bites, but I think he is trying.

*He bites. It hurts. I am not a fan.

Once again, here are some of my favorite pictures from this past month:

Shower time with Daddy. He wasn't totally sold on this at first, but he came around after a couple of minutes.

Bath time with Momma - this is one of his favorite things. How 'bout that hair?!
(I debated on whether or not this picture was inappropriate for the blog, but Justin said it was fine and then I remembered that I have already put pictures from his birth on here so I figured it was all good. Plus, it's my blog. :P )

Plumber!!

Swimming and splashing in his little pool

The day he found the toilet water :)

After he pulled out all of the trash bags (again), he climbed into the cabinet. So cute.

Little country boy. :)

This was at Bella's birthday. It was a Tinkerbell themed party and all of the boys got swords and pirate patches.

I just love this picture.

Can't wait to see what the next month has in store!

Louisiana

Here's some pictures from our week in Louisiana:

Riding the tractor with Pops

The BIG tractor!

Splashing in the lake for the first time. :)

And the next few are spinning and splashing with Momma:

And...the sunset.

water bug

Here's a sampling of what we've been up to this week:


More to come!

sounds

Sometimes I forget how loud the "country" can be.

Silas and I are at my parents house in Louisiana this week and at the moment we are here alone because Mom and Dad are both at work.

More than that, I am alone because Silas is napping.

I have the doors and windows open because it is absolutely gorgeous outside and it is 62 degrees according to the thermostat on the back porch.

You would think that it might be quiet since there is no one here. Au contraire my friends.

The fountains in the pond just off the back porch are flowing and the sound of the water rippling is soothing to my soul.

There's a soft breeze and the chimes are ringing just enough to let me know that they are there.

There's a symphony of birds...

The doves are cooing. There are lots of doves.

The Blue Jays (what bullies they are!) are squawking at the Red Headed Woodpeckers and fighting over the sunflower seeds.

Two Mallard drakes are chasing a Mallard hen and she is loudly voicing her displeasure. Bless her heart. :)

Somewhere there is a Mockingbird giving it's best impression of I don't know what...but it's loud.

There's a boat motor in the distance.

The waves are gently lapping on the shore and I can't wait to swim this afternoon.

Somewhere a rooster crows...it may be across the cove.

All of these sounds are so familiar - I grew up with them - and yet they seem so foreign compared to the rumble of trucks, cars, and motorcycles, barking of yippie dogs, and the voices of neighbor kids that we hear at our house. We have birds too - and they sing and chirp and fuss at each other - but often times they are drowned out by all the other sounds.

That doesn't happen here. It is wonderful. It is peaceful.

I love it.