pictures

My brother-in-law got a super-fancy new camera over the weekend, and with this super-fancy new camera he took some pictures of my kiddos. Here's the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thetoddblog/sets/72157605292864350/

a near celebrity sighting

This is from people.com:

The next night, [Kate] Hudson, 29, and [Lance] Armstrong, 36, ate at the casual Hula Hut with the athlete's three children and a group of friends. "They came in with the kids and a large group of people," says another restaurant source. "They ordered dinner – tacos, burgers and fries and that sort of stuff."

I've been to the Hula Hut! My parents took us there when my sister and I and my kids went down to Austin in April. Apparently, we'll have to go there my often when we find ourselves in the heart of Texas.

need some new tunes

Hubby bought me an iTunes card for Mother's Day. My iPod is on almost all day long and I'm getting a little tired of my music. So do you peeps have suggestions?

My current favorites are Jenny Lewis/Rilo Kiley, Belle and Sebastian, and A Fine Frenzy. Although I did just buy that new Relient K song and I make Hubby listen to it 'This is it! This is it! This is soooo us.' He appreciates my dorkiness.

Send me what you got!

good friends and happy times

So on yesterday's post when I said I had to get some laundry done just in case another playdate suddenly came up I was really just joking. But then another playdate did come up! And it hit me how great God is. When we first moved back to Wichita I was so lonely because Hubby was working lots and lots of hours and my friends had left me by moving to Kansas City and marrying local-to-Kansas-City boys (or semi-local), which means my girls aren't coming back (darn that Dave and Dave! Even if I do think they're swell guys). So I asked that God lead Hubby and I to a church where we'd meet wonderful believers and that He would place friends in our path. And He did it. I know God doesn't always answer prayers exactly the way we're looking for Him to answer them, but in this case He provided just what I needed. More than I was expecting. And now, thru our church and Jason's Deli and MOPS I have these beautiful women in my life with children I am thrilled for my children to be around. God gives me my daily needs, and I am filled with joy because of my amazing husband, my children, my family, and my friends are the icing on top.

God is so good.

so I'm supposed to take care of this, too, huh?

G, Little Missy and I have been enjoying our week so much playing with friends and being outside that I haven't done laundry in a very long time. The beds got made on Tuesday, dishes are barely getting done every day, but the laundry has been sitting untouched. Usually I do one to two loads of laundry each day, but as I said, we've been having lots of fun going to MOPS, going to the zoo and the Castle Park and having Auntie Leelee and Uncle Todd over for dinner that I have not done laundry IN A WEEK. Yes, for an entire week the laundry has laughed at me from the basement, taunting me each time I walked by the stairs to the basement wherein the laundry lies.

So this afternoon, after a trip to the Castle Park with our precious friends, I decided it was time to tackle the problem. Little Missy went down armed with her make-up, G went down armed with his Duncan train, and I spent 15 minutes sorting the mountain of laundry into the different piles. Hubby's laundry is of course getting taken care of first, because he needs clean jeans and socks and t-shirts for work. Just in case we get called away for another playdate, at least Hubby will look presentable for the airplanes he's building.

love languages

Little Missy's love language (http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/learn.html) is obvious: physical touch. When her brother is crying she hurries over to give him a hug. Sometimes when I'm sitting on the floor she'll run up behind me and hug my neck. When her daddy comes home she screams and runs to him to give him a big hug. And when she's quiet she'll give me long hugs with her cheek pressed against mine and her hands playing with my hair.

G's love language is different and more difficult for Hubby and I to figure out. G shows his love by giving gifts. When Hubby comes home G does not run to the door and give a hug, but instead brings his daddy a toy that G has specially picked out. Yesterday I was in the shower when G came in: 'Which one do you want, Mommy?' He had three tractors and was doling them out to me and to his sister. For a few weeks I was babysitting my friend's son, and when Brandon would cry G would give him a toy to make him feel better. When we started taking walks this spring G would pick up sticks 'This one is for you. This one is for Little Missy. This one is for Daddy and this one is for me.'

But it's interesting because although my children are still young - 3 1/2 and just under 2 - they already know how to read other's love languages. G will sometimes give me a big hug 'Because you loooove hugs, don't you, Mommy.' And Little Missy knows that her daddy and I both love getting hugs from her, so when she's feeling ornery she'll smile and turn away when we ask her for one.

I'm still trying to figure this out

My plan as a Christian was to be good, to be one that God would want as His own, to prove myself to Him. The times I wasn't good, where I blatantly did not behave in a manner pleasing to Him, I watched the rope that I desperately clung to slipping away. In those times I relaxed my grip, slowly letting the rope slip from my hands, quietly giving up, walking away and fearing the next time I might not make it back.

But that is not what He has planned for us. All those times of scratching and clawing and the frustration in never being good enough for Him, that is not the plan He had for me, not the plan He has for any of us. Because like the father of the prodigal son, the father who at his time, in his country, should not have allowed the embarrassment of the son's life to be brought back into his home; or if he did allow him in, the son should have fallen on his knees and kissed the feet of an expressionless and unbending father. But no, the father ran to the son who still smelled of pigs, kissed him and brought him home and threw him a celebration.

As Philip Yancey said: "In one of His last acts before death, Jesus forgave a thief dangling on a cross, knowing full well the thief had converted out of plain fear. That thief would never study the Bible, never attend synagogue or church, and never make amends to all those he had wronged. He simply said 'Jesus, remember me,' and Jesus promised, 'Today you will be with me in paradise.' It was another shocking reminder that grace does not depend on what we have done for God but rather what God has done for us."

pics

These are my little punks on Easter. Usually they love having their pictures taken as it involves having all eyes on them, but on this day they were going the too-cool-for-school route. Even grumpiness can't hide how cute they are.

Here's Little Missy, showing off her style after she picked out her accessories for the day. Also showing how she usually does enjoy having her picture taken.







And here is G, who after seeing Little Missy get her picture taken, decided he wanted the world to see him and his train. Please ignore the dust beneath the bookcase.