Anna hasn't been in any hurry to walk since she turned one. Yesterday I looked up to find her stand up on her own and take 3-4 steps. I grabbed the camera and caught her in her second try. The video is a little embarrassing because I was so shocked I yelled pretty loud right into the camera, so if your speakers are turned up you may want to turn them down! :0 Sorry!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Christmas in May?
I found these pictures and thought they were pretty funny. This was my attempt at a Christmas card picture for 2007! Not as easy as I thought it would be to get a quick picture!! Especially when you figure in the delay on my camera, the age of my children and.....Jacob. :) I had to be on my toes with that little sweetie! So if anyone wondered why they didn't get a picture this year, now you know why!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Our Oldest is SEVEN!
Caleb turned 7 years old yesterday. I don't know why that sounds so old to me. He just seems to have gotten big overnight.
He is crazy about baseball right now (since it's baseball season). He loves the Cubs and is SO excited to play 'machine pitch' this summer. (He is the youngest boy on his team, so we'll see how that goes)!
I am thankful that he enjoys practicing and working hard at sports because that is such a great object lesson for his spiritual walk. Paul especially makes it easy to show how our Christian life is like a race or an athletic event. I'm surprised I just wrote that because Chuck has been trying to convince me for years that football has so many life lessons!! :) I guess I'm starting to understand when I watch Caleb and how much of himself he throws in to every activity he does. I long for him to be that passionate for the Lord!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Prince Caspian
Prince Caspian finally came out in the theaters! Our family has been waiting since The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe came out! We have so enjoyed reading those two books and were pleased that Disney created such great movies.
I think our favorite chapter book we've read as a family is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. What a great story for all ages. I grew up on The Chronicles of Narnia and am enjoying sharing them again with my children. We were so excited for the movies to come out in the theatre. We bought the L,W&W right away and have loved watching it. Soooo of course we couldn't wait for Caspian to come to the theaters as well. Caleb was especially excited. He asked to go watch the movie for his birthday. So last night we took Caleb, Aly and a friend of Caleb's to see Prince Caspian. It was very well done as far as the movie goes! Very exciting and beautiful! But, I wish I would have watched it before I took Aly (4 yrs old) and Caleb's 5 yr old friend. (Very scary at times)!I knew the book was a bit darker than L,W&W but it had a good message. The message I got from the book (which was harder to catch in the movie) was that Narnia went on after the children left and forgot about Aslan. A new race of people took over and "old Narnians" were killed off or forced to hide. The new race was commanded not to share the stories of "old Narnia." Even the children (minus Lucy)forgot their faith in Aslan and could not see him. It was a great parallel to me how easily we lose sight of the Lord in our world 'taken over' by new philosophies.
I felt like they really changed things up this time and strayed away from Lewis's original work. I know it may have been less 'cinema friendly' than book 1, but they changed the main plot. They added a lot of fighting...practically the whole movie. Even so, they did leave in my favorite lines from the book. When Lucy was talking to Aslan for the first time, (I love their relationship - she is so in love with him) she said "Aslan, you have grown!" and Aslan replied "Every year you grow, I become bigger." I do like it better in the book:
"Aslan," said Lucy, "you're bigger."
"That is because you are older, little one," answered he.
"Not because you are?"
"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."
I think that's such a beautiful picture of our relationship with God!
Another line in the book that was similar in the movie was toward the end when Aslan was honoring the kings and queens and welcoming Prince Caspian.
"Welcome, Prince," said Aslan. "Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the kingship of Narnia?"
"I-I don't think I do, Sir," said Caspian. "I'm only a kid."
"Good," said Aslan. "If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been proof that you were not." I'm so thankful for C.S. Lewis's work and for how it helps to encourage me in the walk with my Lord.
I think our favorite chapter book we've read as a family is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. What a great story for all ages. I grew up on The Chronicles of Narnia and am enjoying sharing them again with my children. We were so excited for the movies to come out in the theatre. We bought the L,W&W right away and have loved watching it. Soooo of course we couldn't wait for Caspian to come to the theaters as well. Caleb was especially excited. He asked to go watch the movie for his birthday. So last night we took Caleb, Aly and a friend of Caleb's to see Prince Caspian. It was very well done as far as the movie goes! Very exciting and beautiful! But, I wish I would have watched it before I took Aly (4 yrs old) and Caleb's 5 yr old friend. (Very scary at times)!I knew the book was a bit darker than L,W&W but it had a good message. The message I got from the book (which was harder to catch in the movie) was that Narnia went on after the children left and forgot about Aslan. A new race of people took over and "old Narnians" were killed off or forced to hide. The new race was commanded not to share the stories of "old Narnia." Even the children (minus Lucy)forgot their faith in Aslan and could not see him. It was a great parallel to me how easily we lose sight of the Lord in our world 'taken over' by new philosophies.
I felt like they really changed things up this time and strayed away from Lewis's original work. I know it may have been less 'cinema friendly' than book 1, but they changed the main plot. They added a lot of fighting...practically the whole movie. Even so, they did leave in my favorite lines from the book. When Lucy was talking to Aslan for the first time, (I love their relationship - she is so in love with him) she said "Aslan, you have grown!" and Aslan replied "Every year you grow, I become bigger." I do like it better in the book:
"Aslan," said Lucy, "you're bigger."
"That is because you are older, little one," answered he.
"Not because you are?"
"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."
I think that's such a beautiful picture of our relationship with God!
Another line in the book that was similar in the movie was toward the end when Aslan was honoring the kings and queens and welcoming Prince Caspian.
"Welcome, Prince," said Aslan. "Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the kingship of Narnia?"
"I-I don't think I do, Sir," said Caspian. "I'm only a kid."
"Good," said Aslan. "If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been proof that you were not." I'm so thankful for C.S. Lewis's work and for how it helps to encourage me in the walk with my Lord.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Anna's First Birthday
Hard to believe our youngest turned ONE on April 30. I'm a bit late posting these pictures, but I thought they were cute (and I finally figured out how to post a slideshow).
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Bella
Chuck and I actually sat down and watched a DVD last night. It has been so long since I've watched a whole movie (meant for people over the age of six)! I rented Bella because it was so highly recommended. It was good...a great message and very clean. I would recommend it too. There are some people I'm related to though, that will need to have kleenexes handy. :)
I watched a video clip on the movie that showed the passion behind it. The clip showed the movie's producer/lead actor speaking about a personal story that took place during the filming of the movie - really good. Click here to see the clip.
I watched a video clip on the movie that showed the passion behind it. The clip showed the movie's producer/lead actor speaking about a personal story that took place during the filming of the movie - really good. Click here to see the clip.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Savor Each Minute
Mother's day caused me to reflect a bit on the great privilege God has given me in allowing me to mother the precious ones He created in me. I can't imagine any job I could love any more than being a mother. I also can't imagine any job more difficult, scary, serious and more exhausting than motherhood! I don't think I have failed more at any one thing in my life (other than maybe at being a daughter and a wife)...but in God's grace, the success is up to Him!
As Caleb is turning SEVEN in a week, I have really been trying to savor his "lasts." The last time he says 'weally' instead of really, the last time he needs help tying his shoes, the last time he buttons his shirt crooked (that one may take a while). He has truly been a gift from the Lord and I am so grateful for the chance to mother him!
Our little social butterfly stretches me almost daily with how friendly, loving and kind she is with anyone she knows (and even doesn't know)! She looks for someone to talk to everywhere we go and is able to strike up some kind of conversation with everyone. I wish I had that gift. :)
Jacob Ray is, well, he's two!!! He changes like the wind...when he's happy, he is such a joy. His smile melts my heart. But when things aren't quite right, we all pay. We just really try to concentrate on the happy times!
Our sweet baby girl...just might be our last. I'm again trying to savor every minute we have in 'baby stages.' A lady came up to me yesterday in church with tears in her eyes saying how much she misses the young years of her children's lives. She urged me to treasure this time in my life because so soon it will be gone. I have heard that many times but it is so true. Where has this last year gone?? And do I truly savor this time? The two sets of diapers, the children arguing, the messes, the spills, the runny noses, the fingerprints, the kisses, the cuddles, the smiles, the drawings, the 'I love you Mommy'...I sure hope I do!
Friday, May 9, 2008
Good Friends
We had a great trip to Missouri. It was so good to be with our dear friends again...even for a short time! It's such a blessing to be able to be able to pick up right where we left off even though so much has changed in all of our lives. I don't think we even realized how rich we were to have such good friends. This picture was taken at our hotel in St. James. The flowering trees in Missouri were so beautiful. We sure do miss that pretty country!
Getting Started
Wow! This is new to me! I'm not sure what I can find to write about that will be interesting to anyone else, but this will be a place that I can record some things that are going on in our lives. It is also a great place to organize resources and articles I have found helpful. I will try not to talk about my own children too much :0 But since they are a HUGE source of learning, stretching and growing for me - they are sure to be the topic from time to time!
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