I Heart Stepping Stones!

I just love Luke's little day care and had some fun pictures to share! This summer, they have weekly themes- olympics week they brought in flips for fun, this week they are bringing in a Creature Teacher, next week is dinosaur week... it is so great knowing Luke is having fun every day when we are apart. Luke made a chef's hat one day when they were creating jello animals

Luke had a really good day at school and Miss Vanessa bought him a Lightening McQueen car as a prize! I love her!

When they were fixing all of the girl's hair at the end of the day (Luke is in a class with 8 girls!), Luke asked if they would fix his hair...

Speaking of all the girls, here they are surrounding Luke as I put sunscreen on him for their water day!

Yay for Stepping Stones!

T Minus 3 days

I leave to go on a mission trip to Romania with 9 other people from my church this Thursday-- I haven't blogged about it because I really don't know where to begin! This is my first mission trip and I am going without Brent or Luke, so you can imagine the roller coaster of emotions I have swirling in my head... I am choosing to focus on the fact that I will have 10 strait days of undistracted ministry... no meal planning, no "root cause analysis", no dirty diapers- just me, my Bible, and 9 other like-minded believers aiming to spread the hope to which we are called!

I can't believe how many people I passed in the church hallways yesterday, the phone calls, and emails from friends and family with promises to pray us through this trip-what a blessing! So if you need specifics on how to pray, please pray for these things:

1. The gospel is plainly shared and recieved
2. That our team encourages Romanian believers
3. Our safety during travel
4. That I learn more about God and other cultures
5. That my sweet boys back home are safe and sound

That should keep us on our knees for awhile, huh?!! Thanks for praying.

Turtle Hour

We took Luke to a wildlife refuge close by our house this weekend for Turtle Hour... this little guy is camera shy :)

It took Luke a few minutes to build up to touching one:

Yay!

Bee Hives:

For Pops :)

Luke drove us to our wetland destination after a short hike- CLOUD 9!!!

We walked on the boardwalk to the marshlands

And saw turtles swimming below... Brent asked Luke what turtles eat-- Luke said pretzels. Shhhh, don't tell the Park Ranger!

I was there too :)

Happy Father's Day!

Luke gave Daddy some Rudy's BBQ and a candy card this year... Daddy liked it...

He even shared some with Luke...

Luke has the best Daddy in the world-- he has so many things he is juggling right now and Luke would never know it... they even have time to make burgers...

And Fries...

Time to Check Pockets

This collection of rocks and foil came out of my washer this past week...

Big Boy

Luke is growing up so fast- he is so perceptive for 2.5 and I have to document a few conversations!

1. On the way to Tyler, my sister asked Luke if Didi was a boy or a girl... Luke said "This one with the tag is a boy, that other one is a girl".

2. Luke slept in a twin bed at Honey's house and I slept on the trundle bed next to him. This was our first attempt at a big bed, so I laid in there with him until he fell asleep. Later, I changed clothes and went to bed. At 2:00 in the morning, Luke started coughing, so I went to go get him water. After he drank a sip, he popped up in the bed and sleepily said, "Momma, you changed clothes?" Melt my heart!

3. The next morning Luke woke up unusually early to which I sleepily said, "It's not time to get up Honey, go back to bed". Luke matter of factly replied "I'm not Honey, I Luke". My baby.

So, this week, we are also transitioning Luke to his big boy bed-- he was SO excited, I didn't think he would ever close his eyes! He did.
He wasn't much help putting everything together...

But he sure was cute when it was all ready!

Everything's Sweeter With A Tyler Rose!

Ahhh, East Texas, where the pine trees grow tall, the coffee pot never goes dry and our Honey remains sweeter than ever!

This was a huge treat to be back together again with Melody, after her return from Italy. We went to the Tyler zoo with Luke.. .still the best zoo I have ever been to...




Petting the goats with Aunt Melody:

Hand wash stations fully stocked with paper towels! A mother's dream!

Granna thought they were water fountains... I have never laughed so hard!


Back at Honey's house, Luke enjoyed scarring us with the "Sneaky Snake" that Honey bought him at the Zoo:

Sleeping in a big boy bed:

Singing "Jesus Loves Me" at the piano with Granna

And after Luke's bedtime, we all enjoyed steaks with all the fixings- this was deemed the standard Honey fare henceforth!

What a sweet treat! We loved every minute.

Granna Knows The Way to This Boy's Heart!

Translation: I will smile for this picture, but I will devour this ice cream.

Translation: Here I go... let me make it look sweet

Translation: Granna got me a cone... the parents never do that... they say I get too sticky

Translation: I clean up my mess... look no bowl!

Random Things Post

I realize I have been slacking in the blogging department... so here are some random pictures off of my camera (from the times I remember to have it with me!) Luke is doing great potty training... he hit his half way point on his potty chart and got a small prize to keep him motivated ;)


His Momma holds the high scorer record of 1290 for the household... give up boys!

Luke and I made Amish Friendship bread for 10 days- it was fun to squish the bag and watch it ferment, then feed it, bake it, and share it!

Brent brought the Bible story of Joshua to life :)

They marched around the city wall 7 times, blew the horn:

They yelled:

And then the wall came tumbling down!

I do realize this is gross, but this is my kitchen floor 4 days after the house keepers came-- I just want to remember everything. Even the mess. I love our mess.

Luke started singing this song in the bath tub tonight... anybody know what song this is??? I'll have to ask his chapel teacher tomorrow!

Prayers for Darcie

Melody's sister-in-law (Justin's sister), was diagnosed with Colon Cancer last week... please pray for the sweet Clark and Milsow families as they firm up treatment plans and get a grip on what their new lives look like.

If you are praying, I know it would encourage them to hear from you... the website for Darcie's updates is:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/prayingfordarcie

Why Share the Gospel?

I came across this article about biblical motivations for witnessing... wherever we (Christians) are, we are called to be a whiteness... WHY?

1) For the glory of God – God is worthy of worship and praise, and evangelism will bring Him what He has earned on the cross.
See Psalm 96
2) To evangelize is to fight evil with the most effective weapon for doing so.
See Jonah 1:2
3) The lost world around us needs our witness, and waits for it in the storms of life, so that they may be spared God’s wrath—our witness being the means by which God has chosen to set them free.
See Jonah 1:7-11
4) Because even though you’ve failed in the past, you’re still called.
See Jonah 3:1-3a
5) Because sometimes a great harvest is awaiting you among the “least likely.”
See Jonah 3:5-10
6) To walk with God means to put aside our needs and share His sacrificial concerns for the lost.
See Jonah 4:10-11
7) Because of eternal reward He offers
See Luke 19:11-26
8) Because of the needs you see and the compassion He gives you.
See Matthew 9:35-38
9) Because somehow, somewhere, you will have success.
See Mark 4:8; and Gal. 6:9
10) Because He protects you.
See Acts 26:16-18
11) Because He compels you.
See 1 Cor. 9:16; and Acts 4:18-20
12) Because He chooses, calls, and sends you.
See Acts 26:16-18
13) Because of all that the lost will receive after you proclaim Christ to them –
a) open eyes
b) a turning from darkness to light
c) deliverance from Satan to God
d) forgiveness of sins
e) a place among us who are already His
f) sanctification
g) saving faith in Him-a relationship
See Acts 26:16-18
14) Because it is a matter of obedience.
See Luke 5:5-6 –What God needs from us in evangelism isn’t our opinion or viewpoint; just our obedience to fish when and where He says, just because He says so.

I really liked this article... can I get a witness!!! Ha!

Boo Boo Bunny

One of my friends told me that when her kids got bumps and bruises, she would bring out Boo Boo Bunny... to which I said "huh?"

She said it was a washcloth folded so you could slip a piece of ice in its belly to hold on the boo boo... so, without delay, I thought I would try to make one... here is my version (minus the pom pom for the tail which will be added after my next trip to W Mart)


I look forward to our next bump to try it out :) Kidding! I am sure it will be in use within days judging by the accident rate my house experiences!

Memorial Day 2011

We had a water-filled holiday that left us ready for summer time! We went to the lake on Saturday with my coworkers- Luke was jumpping on a bed, fell off and bumpped his head, without going into detail which makes me teary to think about it, he was bleeding a lot, but is a tough little guy bounced back for water fun on Monday with his friend, Savannah.




After we left the lake (I forgot my camera obviously!) they had a bonfire using the table Luke hit his head on for wood... aren't my coworkers awesome!!!