Happy Birthday Lukas!

As I sit here typing, I can so easily recall what I was doing exactly six years ago at this moment. I was watching the movie Sweet Home Alabama. And timing contractions. Then, at about 3:30 the next morning this little guy came into the world:Lukas Daniel ~ 8lbs. 3oz. 21 inches. When I look at that picture my mind goes crazy. Has time really gone this fast? I cannot believe what that precious little baby has turned into. I have been blessed. Thank you Lord for children.

Lukas' first birthday.Another year older. Our Lukas at 3.Turning 4 and proud of it!Oh Lukas, how you remind me of your papa Dennis. This is Lukas turning 5.
And this is our oldest boy just yesterday. Celebrating his 6th birthday at The Villages Water Park (more pictures of that coming soon!). Lukas' aunt Jess made a very valid point today: She told Lukas that he hit a major milestone when he turned 6. Because that means now when he tells people how old he is he has to use two hands. Not just one. Wow. Dear Lukas, please don't hurry up and get older. The thought of you not being able to show people how old you are on two hands makes me sad. Thanks for understanding. Love, mama.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUKAS. YOU ARE SO LOVED!

"Don't you see that children are God's best gift? The fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior's fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children! Your enemies don't stand a chance against you; you'll sweep them right off your doorstep." Psalm 127:3-5 (The Message)

Sleeping Patterns

Lukas has always been a..., shall we say, 'active' sleeper. Those who have had the privilege of sharing a night in the same bed with Lukas might lean towards another, stronger, term like 'aggressive'. Dude moves around. A lot. And at night when we check on him we always ask each other "how do ya think he's sleeping?" And there have been times where I have run out of his room seeking my loving husband and making him drop whatever he is doing just to come and see what crazy position Lukas has managed to get himself into while sleeping. Like this:Logan is about to follow in his big Bu Bu's footsteps. This looks peaceful enough, doesn't it?Well, last night I sure was wishing my loving husband didn't work the schedule he does, because I woulda been a running out of Logan's room looking for said husband. Why, you ask? Because when I went to check on this little guy, here's what I saw:Yeah, I know exactly what your are thinking - "what in the world??" I know. I need a closer look too, perhaps a better angle like this one:Um, Logan? How in the world did you manage to get yourself in this position? Notice his right arm - twisted under his back...and the fact that he is laying the wrong direction - and his head is, well, it's...I don't know. It just all looks weird and uncomfortable. But who am I to judge? As long as my boys get their sleep, it's all good. No matter in what position they do it. As long as they do it. And hopefully these two boys will never have to share a bed, cuz then we are gonna have a real problem.

A Very Heavy Heart

I just learned that my very good friend has breast cancer. It all happened so fast; regular mammogram last Thursday, biopsy Tuesday, diagnosis today.

Exactly one week later.

She is young. Beautiful. Faithful. Strong. Funny. Loving. Caring. She is a daughter. Sister. Aunt. Friend. She is a wife. She is a mom. Perhaps most importantly she is a lover of Christ. Her faith is strong and her love for the Lord is deep. I know He has a plan. I know He knew this would happen. I also know that He knows what is to come. I pray for her strength. I pray for her husband. I pray for her children. Her precious, precious children. I pray that they have comfort.

And I remember this:
No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it. 1 Cor 10:13

Come Along With Us on Our Journey

Across the big wide open land of the....couch.

You see this guy? This guy loves to be on the couch. More than anything. Rough day? Just put put him up on the couch and all his cares disappear. Kinda like us adults, I suppose. Who doesn't love a good moment on the couch? But when you're a little one, the couch is a land all itself. A land just begging to be explored. So, come along with us on our journey across the couch.

Almost there...

A quick look at Pioneer Woman's recipe for today...

Momma! Come here! You gotta see this yummy looking dish she has posted today! That side explored. Lets go see what's on the other side...Ya coming? Everything looks good over here, mom! Whew! What a journey. I think I'll just sit here and rest a moment. Did you happen to notice Logan's busted lip? He suffered a little boo boo yesterday after a fall. He bit his lip pretty good. But I think it will heal nicely. Little boys tend to be pretty resilient. Especially if they work out and lift heavy weights. Like this:

Sorry about your lip Logan. I hope it's not bothering you too much. Speaking of resiliency:

This guy overcame this little boo boo from a bicycle-ride-gone-bad-moment.See, I told ya, resilient! And if ya need more proof, just ask our oldest about his little accident that resulted in him getting 'a hole in his head'. Nary a scar is left of that moment in his young life. Thank you Lord for healing.

Good Friday

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”- Romans 5:6-8

Today I continued my LBC study deep in Romans. What timing. Last night and today I thought a lot about what Passover and Good Friday represents. And then when I had a few moments to myself, I dove in. To Romans. We are finishing up our semester and so I went back and read the book. Again. And chapter 5:6-8 stood out to me today. I read it over and over. And it makes me sad when I think about what God gave up for us. But I know it's all gonna be okay...because on Sunday we can all look each other in the eyes and shout "Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!"

And this kinda makes my tears dry up too:

We, or rather they, dyed eggs today. You can imagine the fun...and blue fingers that came about.Lukas was very interested in the little band thingies...I tried to explain and show him how they work, but he insisted they were for decorations and not for propping the eggs up to display them. This is Lukas' friend Jackson. He comes over every Good Friday and dyes Easter eggs with us. It's kinda become a tradition. But I think that this may be the last time we do the egg dying thing. They seemed to be a little too mature for it. Or maybe it was the impending bike ride that had them in a hurry to get the dying done. I bet Lukas will be wayyyy more excited about his little eggs come Sunday after we get a visit from the bunny! Yeah. We'll just see how happy he is about his eggs then...

Logan was curious about the shiny white things rolling around the table, so he got one of his own. Un-dyed and peeled, of course.And he wasn't real excited about the egg:To say he didn't like the egg is an understatement.

He wanted it gone. Removed from his tray. Immediately. I am surprised he wasn't gagging. If it had been Lukas there would have been gagging. And then probably throwing up. But lucky for us Logan doesn't seem to have that 'reflex' as they call it.

And I still can't figure out what eggs have to do with Easter. And why we dye them. And hide them. And eat lots of candy. And fill baskets. Where am I going with this? I have no idea. Just some questions I have. Don't get me wrong. Watching an egg change color is amazing. And I love the look on Lukas' face as he hunts the eggs the bunny has hid. And I love to eat lots of candy. Especially the chocolate kind. Bring it on Easter Bunny! We're ready for ya!

Brothers

What else can I say? Our boys. Precious gifts.

Camera Problems

OK - so something happened to my camera. Right after Papaw and Gammie arrived, I ran to grab my camera. And I immediately noticed on one of the lower corners of my most prized and precious belongings (my camera, of course), ..... gasp! a chip and scratch. Yes - there was a chip in the corner, an actual little chunk missing. Albeit a small one, a scar none the less. An indication that something horrible had happened to my camera. Yet, I have no idea what. I don't recall dropping it. My loving husband and oldest child don't recall dropping it. I just don't know. Only the camera knows what really happened. I do know that the battery compartment doesn't hold the battery in the way it used too- however, closing the door to the compartment holds the battery in place, so the camera does function. However, this is the final product: Nice, huh? I have manipulated the camera over and over. Trying. Praying. Hoping. Wishing. That it would just work. And work nicely. I have been able to get some minor improvements. Still a little fuzzy and the color is way off. But hey, it is an improvement. A step in the right direction. Speaking of direction, can anyone tell us which way to go? Every which way we turned took us to another dead end in this Fort Worth Cow Town human maze.Ahhhhh...That's better! Now we can see just which way to turn next. And the turn after that. And the one after that...and the one...oh, never mind. It was hopeless. We did manage to find our way out...without cheating. And it only took us 21 minutes.

And it only took Logan 21 seconds to polish off his very own miniature ice cream cone! Would you just look at that look of anticipation on that babies precious face!? I imagine that would be the look on my face if someone placed one of these in front of me on my high chair tray: ohhhhh baby! I can only imagine how much fun that would be to play with! Sigh. Maybe someday. Until then:

There will just be lots more pictures like this. Fuzzy. Off color. Almost glowing. Glowing is good, isn't it?