Happy Easter

"He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." - Isaiah 53: 3-6

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." - 1 Peter 1: 3-5

Wishing you a very Happy Easter as you celebrate the Lord's death and resurrection. May he be at the center of all that we do, especially on Easter day.

"Maglifinding"

Claire received a new toy the other day - a magnifying glass, which she calls a "maglifinding" glass. She loves to take it with her when we go to the store, look at all of the pictures in her books with it, and basically just walk around the house "maglifinding" things. It is so cute!

(Inspecting her water for bacteria???)

Middle Creek

Every March for the past few years, we have gone with my parents to Middle Creek, where the snow geese and tundra swans stop to feed during their migration north. There were approximately 25,000 snow geese and 3,600 tundra swans this weekend (we didn't count them, and I don't know how they come up with these numbers!). Although there were less than we have seen in other years, it was still absolutely breathtaking. We have an amazing creator!

A friendly snow goose coming up close to the birdwatchers:



Fields covered with snow geese:







A few tundra swans flying over the water (these make a beautiful sound):



A cute little birdwatcher:







We also spent some time in the visitors center, which has all kinds of interesting things to look at. Here is Claire feeling the animal fur:



Claire, Gram Gram, and Pap:







Claire & Mimi:



We had a wonderful day birdwatching. In addition to the snow geese and tundra swans, we also saw Canada geese, ring-necked ducks, mergansers, pintails, bluebirds and a belted kingfisher. I am so thankful for my parents who share these awesome experiences with us and teach us all about birdwatching! Thanks Mom & Dad!

Sale!

Sovereign Grace Ministries is having a sale for the month of February. Click the picture above for some great deals on some great resources!

Time with Laura

Our friend Laura was in PA last week for a few days, and we were so blessed to spend some time with her on Friday! Friday morning, we put together a Gingerbread Tree kit that Stacy gave us at Christmas time. We put Claire in charge of the candy, since we figured she could handle that job. :) Laura was in charge of piping the icing, which was good because she is extremely knowledgeable and experienced with gingerbread building. I was in charge of spreading the icing and taking pictures, of course.









Laura suggested dusting our tree with powdered sugar, which I thought added a really nice touch. We had a lot of fun building our tree, and Claire enjoyed a few (or more) pieces of candy and a few (or more) licks of icing.

In the afternoon, we made our way to Chocolate World to ride the Chocolate Tour ride and enjoy some extremely scrumptious cookies! We had a great time with you, Laura! And as always, we look forward to the next time we see you. :)

Bathtub Tea Party

Tonight, while I was preparing to give Claire her bath, she came up with the idea to have a tea party in the bathtub. We have a lot of different bath toys, but occasionally, Claire likes to choose unconventional bath toys by asking to put regular toys from her room in the tub. She has gotten smart enough to figure out which toys work and which toys don't work in the bathtub. For instance, she doesn't ask to put her stuffed animals in the tub. Tonight, she asked if she could play with a few plastic tea cups. I said sure, and she proceeded to gather two tea cups, two bowls, a teapot, and a tray (to carry it all on) from her kitchen set. While being bathed, she even made a cup of "tea" for me. I asked her if she had Earl Grey, and she replied, "No, but we do have 'tea-caf'." I had to giggle...I think she hears us talking about "decaf" coffee and thinks we are saying "tea-caf," which, in her mind, must be some type of tea!

Frere Jacques...Claire's Version

This video shows Claire singing her version of the song, "Frere Jacques." I sincerely hope that her version doesn't mean anything offensive in French (or any other language). Enjoy!

Settled?

Someone recently asked me if I was feeling more settled in life than I was two plus years ago when I was faced with a difficult trial in my life. I understand why the question was asked, because it is probably what most people would expect. It is said that "time is a healer." However, I'm not convinced this is true after walking down the road I've been on.

I regularly follow a blog that was originally set up after a young man was in a tragic car accident on September 30, 2006. The blog was set up to let people know how to pray for this man who came extremely close to losing his life altogether. He is still not back to his pre-accident brain and bodily function, yet many continue to pray for Ian Murphy. His good friend, Larissa, writes:

"Time does nothing to grief but make it deeper and more wearying. Two years has not erased any grief. It hasn't made it easier. Time has only made the grief deeper as each day we live one more day without Ian the way he used to be. To re-use one of Steve's illustrations, instead of an intense grief, it now is always lingering, always over our shoulder, always ready to manifest itself.

"Ian's progress doesn't change my grief. It encourages me, but it doesn't even touch the grief that I know. Even if Ian were to be healed completely today, I would still grieve for what he has suffered and endured. I would still grieve for what happened to Ian September 30.

"There is much to say about grief, but this is it for now. For those who encounter significant suffering in their lives, maybe the grieving never ends, until meeting Jesus.

"'Sorrowful yet always rejoicing.'"



To check out Ian Murphy's blog, click here: prayforian.com.

2008 Reflections

I often catch myself thinking, "I hope 2009 is better than 2008." When I really think about it, I am hoping that the circumstances of my life are better, easier, more pleasant, etc. than those I faced this past year. First of all, I too often forget all of God's blessings. He has been SO GOOD to me! I am a HUGE sinner (those who know me best can testify!). Yet I stand forgiven before the throne of grace. More than that, I am surrounded by blessings that come in the form of a wonderful daughter, loving family and friends, a comfortable home to live in, and needs that are continually being met. Even more than that, the difficult circumstances that I do face are being used for good. This truth never ceases to amaze me..."And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). When you look at the picture posted above, it is the clouds that make the blue sky and sun's rays even more radiant. Given blue skies and sunshine, we will never truly appreciate their value and beauty without the clouds and the rain.

While I don't believe it is wrong to hope for better circumstances in my life, I ultimately want my hope to be in God for whatever comes my way. "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). My life certainly hasn't gone as I expected it to, but I can stand on this truth...God's love will never be taken away from me. Here's to God's glory in 2009!

"My Heart is Beating for a Gumdrop!"

Kids tend to say some pretty funny things, but tonight I couldn't believe my ears... With hopes of building a gingerbread house during the Christmas season, I bought a bag of gumdrops from our favorite candy store, Zimmerman's. The gingerbread house didn't happen, but now we have a bag of gumdrops, which probably makes Claire just as happy. After dinner tonight, she exclaimed, "Mommy, I really want a gumdrop! My heart is beating for a gumdrop!" I have no idea where she would have heard an expression like that, but it gives you an idea of how intensely fond of gumdrops Claire is!

Dancing...again

Last weekend, we went to a family Christmas party. I took this video of Claire dancing. I think at some point I am going to need to take her to dance class. The girl just LOVES to dance!! (Sorry, Cait, for getting you eating in the background.)

TAGGED...A Walk Down Memory Lane

I've been tagged. The rules are as follows:

*Go to your sixth picture folder and pick the sixth picture.

*Pray that you remember the details.

*Post it on your blog.

*Tag 5 others, leaving them a note letting them know they've been tagged.

Unfortunately, I only have 4 items in my 6th folder, and they are all videos. Fortunately, I'm going to post the 4th video for your entertainment. I posted a similar video a while ago. Claire was reading a book to her "students." She also included a little lesson on words that start with "S." In case you can't hear her very well, the words are "Skittle" and "Snake." Enjoy!

I tag Donna, Emily, Darla, and Laura.

Mercy

There is a line in a song we sing in church that says, "And if you judged my sin, I'd never stand again. But I see mercy in your hands." This line especially hits home after this weekend because I spent some time with people who were a big part of my life before Christ. My 10 year reunion was Saturday night, and I came away with such gratitude to God for how he has transformed my life. I don't mean to criticize or judge the people I was with, but after spending time with some of them, so many memories came flooding back of how I lived my life before God extended his mercy to me. I lived my life for me, and not at all for God. I even went to church and proclaimed to be a Christian, but that makes it all the worse because I was a hypocrite. This morning, I was reminded of what Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians, which is what I will leave you with...

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." -Ephesians 2:1-9

First Snow and a Happy Birthday

It's hard to believe it's this time of year already, but as we celebrated my mom's birthday yesterday, we also enjoyed some white wintery weather. Claire has been talking about playing in the snow for weeks, so of course we went out to do some of that.

All geared up...





Our baby snowman...





Last night, some of us took my mom out to dinner for her birthday. As you can see, we had a good time! :) Happy Birthday, Mom!!














We only wish that Stacy and Jimmy could have made it up, but Jimmy is in the midst of college wrestling season, and Stacy had to sit in 3 hours of traffic to get home from work. We missed you both!

Flies, Turkeys, and Underwear

I know it's a strange title, but it gives you an idea of what we've been up two the last two weeks. First, I dressed up as a fly for a costume party:



Then, Claire dressed her pumpkin up as a turkey:



She also likes to act like a turkey:



And our last piece of news has to do with underwear. Sorry, no pictures here. :) But the good news is that Claire has successfully been wearing "big girl underwear" and using the potty (No. 1 AND No. 2) for a little over a week!! I am so proud of how well she is doing. She even does a good job in public. I think it's like when she took her first steps. She waited a long time to do it, but when she finally decided to do it, she was running!

I will leave you now with a picture of my wonderful brother- and sister-in-law, Mr. Corn and Mrs. Loofah. I think their costumes are quite fitting to their personalities. Benny can be corny and Caitlin loves keeping things clean. I love you guys!!

Trick or Treat

Last night our neighborhood had Trick or Treat night for the kids. Claire is really getting into dressing up in costume. Here are some pictures from the festivities...

Cinderella (Isabella), Jack-O-Lantern (Claire), and Tinkerbell (Gabi)...



Hitchin' A Ride...



Looking for a treat...



Emily, Gram Gram, and Claire (from a visit earlier in the day)...

Dreary Day

Today was a particularly difficult day for me. It was a battle for joy in many ways. As the psalmist writes, "My soul melts away for sorrow." Though I felt surrounded by darkness at times, God's Word was my comfort and my light. I was reminded that rather than dwelling on what's been lost to me in this life, God would have me "seek first the kingdom of heaven and righteousness." "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." What God took away from me was not eternal, and I am to long for that which is eternal. "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces."

Pumpkin Picking

I love this time of year...the cool weather, the glowing colors of the autumn leaves, the smell of apples, and, of course, picking pumpkins! Claire and I went with Mimi and Pap to Strite's Orchard this past week to pick our pumpkins. Here are a few snapshots of our trip to Strite's...








(Dancing...as usual)