Liam's Birthday

Liam is two! We are praising God for two years of life for our little guy. Pray that this next year we will be diligent to instruct him in the ways of Christ.

Start off the morning with a special Thomas punching balloon and some time with Momma =)

Cake and present table, waiting for the party to begin!

Dad starting the grill up!

Perfect weather for the party thank the Lord =)

Ady and Liam testing out the bounce house, not doing too much bouncing =)

I am so thankful for our green grass =)

Let the party begin!

Let the party begin for the adults...beer brats and cheeseburgers =) My mouth is watering just looking at this picture.

Ummmm......notice the Whole Hog caddy Arkansas people!

Opening his present from Babu and Bibi

Opening his present from Uncle Michael and Auntie Nay-Nay

Yeah...nothing blame the camera man but I do have a funny video of him eating his breakfast with the shovel it came with =) He really loves it and took it to his crib, I heard him keep breaking apart the lego truck and saying, "help, help" he wanted us to come build it back for him =)

Opening his present from Dad and Mom =)

God's Word.....

Sorry...no pictures or videos but my camera is lost AGAIN. But I have been feeling guilty about my lack of blogging so here goes....

First off, we have had our first Safe Family placement in our house for almost two weeks now. Safe Families is an alternative to the Foster program. It is faith based and the placements are generally on the shorter side. Anyhow we have had a little 3 year old girl with us. Scott and I really felt the Lord leading in this area of ministry when it was presented. It seemed like a wonderful way to use our home that the Lord has graciously provided us with to serve others rather than ourselves. It also seemed like a wonderful way to make relationships for the sake of the gospel.

As of late I have been trying to wake up and really assess my day, what needs I might have (what sin might arise that day and need fought off) and what needs others in my household may have that I will need to meet. Here are some of the nuggets I have been reflecting on:

John 13:14-15 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you and example that you should do as I have done for you.

Matt 25:35-36 I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

Titus 3:14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.

I read these verses after my normal bible reading and often throughout the day. I have also realized that waking up early to do my devotions before the kids are up is a necessity. I used to leisurely enjoy a cup of tea and curl up on the couch and read my bible as Liam played with his toys in the morning (comfort). This morning it took me almost two hours to make it through my bible reading with a ridiculous amount of interruptions (non-comfort). I am incredibly thankful to be knocked out of my comfort zone, it is not without a bit of pain. Already our marriage and day to day life has been morphed by an awareness of issues that are springing forth from our hearts. Issues that we might not have seen if this little girl had not been placed in our home. God has been gracious to us all .

Some videos......

I am happy to report the warm weather has arrived, it got up into the 90's this week and I enjoyed every second =) We will see how long that lasts, but for now I am enjoying our ceiling fans, open windows, and milkshakes with Scott (after Liam goes to bed =). Whoo hoo summer!

Playing cars while daddy tries to nap

Thinks he is pretty funny....

I have noticed Liam really loving on his daddy lately, he loves to "work" with him in the yard, play chase through the house, so it was very sweet when Scott came home from work and he put on his shoes =)

Walking in daddy's shoes....

Busy bees.....

Well it was another sick week in our household. Scott and I had to head out early from church on Sunday because a dump truck with "good soil" was coming to dump dirt off in our driveway. Anyhow, as we entered the nursery we saw a good friend Julie Doden rocking our sleeping Liam. WARNING!!!! Liam never sleeps during nursery, I don't even think he sits down. Sure enough another fever that lasted about 4 days, but praise the Lord that was all.

The backyard is our new project. So far we have fixed the sprinkler system, rototilled the soil, added good soil, and rototilled again. This next month, Lord willing, we hope to put in a new paver patio and lay down sod. I am so excited and so thankful for Scott's hard work.

Here is a cute picture of daddy and son with their lawn mowers =)

Liam and I have toast and tea/milk /bible time in the morning. Liam really likes toast and butter can't you tell? =)

I love this video, our boy is learning to count =) Kinda....

Porch Swing

I think that the houses in our neighborhood scream for porch swings and I finally got one =) Here it is.....

My Girly Loot =)

So here are a few girly things I have since we are having a girl =) I am so excited!

I think I will bring her home in this...

To keep her cool in hot August =) This is my favorite.

Frist gift from her Nana

First little hair bow for her (most likely) bald little head.

Scott's birthday

Last Friday was Scott's 26th birthday. Scott took that day off and it was a beautiful sunny day. He got to sleep in and wake up to a lovingly made french toast breakfast with chunky peach syrup. Of course his had a special birthday candle in it =). Later that day we decided to have a family outing to Tilden park near Berkeley. It has lots of hiking trails, a fabulous little petting zoo, steam train museum (closed), train rides (closed), and carousel (closed).

At the petting zoo.

Such a nice day!

Liam was a bit scared of the cows =)

Other recent happenings....

Enjoying flip flops and the warm weather =)

Liam crawled right into the warm dryer with Cheeky and his milk, he sat in there for at least 10 minutes=)

Exploring the dryer....