One Big Ponytail

Today Catherine decided that she wanted to wear her hair in "one big ponytail in the back". We've never tried it before because the pigtails have worked so well. I think she was inspired by her friend Abby's ponytail though :) and she really likes it when I have my hair in a ponytail. So here's the result:

Such a cute little head of hair! She liked it so much that she already declared she wants to wear a ponytail to school tomorrow. She thinks her teachers will like it very much.

It makes the front of her face look so naked though! She looks much older to me. (and as you can see, the bruise is healing. It's now green and yellow.)

Will's First Day

One of the reasons Catherine is going to preschool is so that I have some one-on-one time with Will each week. So today Will and I went to Bouncing Babies at the library for the first time. I used to take Catherine faithfully every week from the time she was 4 or 5 months old. Poor Will, he's 11 months old and today's the first time we made it there. He loved the stories and music, and I loved watching him in a new environment.

Will, ready for story time. Don't you love that sweet smile?

Enjoying a book during bubble time

He was very happy to crawl up and down this ramp during play time

Will loves having Mommy all to himself!

Catherine's First Day

Today was Catherine's first day of preschool at Aldersgate. She'll be going on Mondays and Thursdays this year. She has been so excited about it, so I was hoping today met her expectations. When I went to pick her up, she said, "I had a great day at school, Mommy!" They painted, made a glitter fish, read stories, listened to music and danced, sang songs, and played dress up. It reminds me that it's good for her to go because I wouldn't have been able to do all of those things with her today. She also met some new friends and enjoyed seeing her friends from last year again. I can't believe she's such a big girl!

Today was "blue" day, so Catherine wore a blue dress, even though she cried because she really wanted to wear her pink dress. But the blue dress at least matches the nice bruise on her forehead! (She fell off the recliner onto the brick fireplace....lovely)

Catherine with her new teachers, Ms. Kimberly and Ms. Shaney

Starting the day with some play-doh

Just for comparison, this is her picture from her first day of school last year. She was just a baby! And she didn't have much hair at all. I can't believe it's already been a year.

The best part of the day, for me though, was how excited she and Will were to see each other. They were hugging and crawling all over each other and she kept saying, "I missed you Baby Will." It's so much fun to watch them interact with each other.

The Truth #15

Truth #15 from Lies Women Believe is The pathway to true joy is to relinquish control. We attempt to be in control of others and our environment. But no matter how hard we try, we are not in control. When we try to control everything, we are really trying to be God. Why is it so hard to let God be God? The truth is, He is in control. Freedom comes from relinquishing control of our own lives, our families, and our circumstances. Then we will see Him do what only He can do.

We can trust God to be in control and not be anxious about it. 1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." This is always very hard for me. I like to be in control. I like to know exactly what is going to happen and I try to manipulate and control the circumstances to be sure they fit in exactly as I think things should go. My prayer for many years has been that God will change my heart to be like Mary's and that I will simply reply "I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." (Luke 1:38)

It is hard to let go of our control. We fight so hard for it. But it has never been ours to control in the first place. We're fighting so hard for something we can never hold onto. If we just let go of that and trust God to be God, life becomes much more peaceful. Relinquishing control doesn't bring about slavery or bondage, it really brings about freedom. I am now free to do the work God has given me to do and I can quit wasting my time trying to do things I was never intended to do. So I will just keep praying that my response will be "I am the Lord's servant...May it be to me as you have said."

The Truth #14

Truth #14 from Lies Women Believe is I will reap whatever I sow. The choices I make today will have consequences down the road in my life and in the lives of others for generations to come. Every sinful, selfish choice is sowing a seed that will reap a multiplied harvest. Every act of obedience, however, is a seed that will produce a multiplied harvest of blessing in my life and in the lives of those I love. The harvest may take a while, but it will come.

Galatians 6:7-9 "Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest is we do not give up."

This is one of those truths that we like to say, "sure, that's how it works" but we don't really like to think through it. To really think about how my selfishness and my disobedience will affect not only myself, but my husband, my children, my grandchildren, and others around me puts a huge responsibility on my shoulders. We prefer to think that we can just live in our own little bubble and that our obedience and disobedience only affects ourselves (if we even acknoweldge that our disobedience affects us at all). But I have seen this played out too many times. I have had consequences in my life of the generations before me. And conversely, I have had blessings in my life because of generations before me.

I'm just now getting to be old enough, I think, to really start seeing how my own obedience and disobedience is creating a harvest in my life. It does take time, and we tend not to be very patient. We live in an "I want it now" society where any type of delayed gratification or delayed blessings are not deemed worthy of the wait. But they are. There is something very sweet and very precious about seeing blessings in your life that have come about through long periods of trials, suffering, prayers, and the pursuit of holiness. To walk with God through those times and then see His fruit in your life makes it all worth it.

My friend Eddie

Jill and I took Eddie and Will with us to Kentucky. (Catherine stayed at home with Jay.) The boys thought it was fabulous and were very on the go all weekend. So what do you do in Georgetown, Kentucky to entertain 2 little boys?

First, you ride in the wagon and watch Roy cut the grass. That was entertaining for at least 30 minutes.

We walked down Main St to visit a few little shops, but the highlight was the fire truck parked there.

Logan's brother Rhodes provided great entertainment with his trombone. Will was totally mesmerized. I don't think he blinked the whole time.

We had a great trip and hopefully can do it again soon when Logan is home to visit again.

Logan and Amie

My college roommates, Jill and Sara, and I went to Kentucky this past weekend to visit our friend Logan who just had a baby. She has been in Africa for the past 2 years and will return there in a few weeks. We figured we should take advantage of her time in the U.S. to visit and see this precious new little one. Amie (pronounced "ah-me") is now 5 weeks old. She is adorable.

Amie's first time in the pool.

such sweet, peaceful sleep