Praise the Lord for Friends!!

We love our friends! After being gone for a month, recuperating at the Himes' homestead, we returned home to find this sign flying in our living room, and our refrigerator stocked. Did I mention that we love our friends! The Gilbaughs and Belmudes blessed our socks off with their generosity. The girls were squealing when they walked in and the smiles were flowing as we instantly felt loved and welcomed back to our house. This was a moment to remember!

The Day Daddy Became an Art Project

Paper can be used for art projects. Felt and fabric can be used for art projects. But daddy? How can a daddy become an art project? Well, it happened to our daddy one week ago. We went to the doctor and came home with a bright orange canvas for the girls to decorate. And they were thrilled! Crayons, markers, and pencils were brought out and the fun began. Within moments daddy had become a beautiful piece of art.

Zoie's Thoughts

I love my Zoie so much! The statements that come out of her mouth delight and amaze me!

This last month, while in Portland, Zoie and her sisters were able to go camping without mommy and daddy. They had Grandma and Grandpa all to themselves. While there Adalie and Kylia had a chance to go fishing. They both caught a fish. Adalie was quite happy to return the fish to its home. Kylia on the other hand wanted to show daddy. So, the fish was brought back to the cabin and put in the sink. At that moment, massage therapist Auntie arrived and had a fabulous idea. She suggested a picture be taken of the fish instead of taking the entire fish home to daddy.

Kylia was thrilled with the idea and the picture was quickly taken. Then with fish in hand, Auntie ran the fish back to the lake with the girls following close behind. As she held the fish under the water, waiting to release it till she was certain the fish survived its time on land, Zoie declared, "Auntie, you don't have to give it a massage!"

Oh, I love my Zoie! I love the way her mind works. I love how she looks at the world. And I love her imagination and the way it brings a smile to my face so quickly.

All the pictures in this post have been taken by Zoie and show a bit of how she looks at her world.

Something Brown and Yummy?

Zoie came out of the bathroom the other day with panties in hand. "Mama", she declared, "there is something brown in my panties." And then with all sincerity, "Maybe it is chocolate, . . .

or brownies!!"

Oh Zoie, I sure do love your creative mind.

(By the way, Mommy took the panties away quickly. You never know what could have happened next.)

The Shoot

Two days after Seth's accident, he had a shoot scheduled to interview Karen Kingsbury. Without the ability to move, he had to call in reinforcements. To the rescue came our friends Mark and Tiffany, and Amber's boyfriend, Justin. (We love our friends!)

The night was amazing! Our crew did a great job of setting up the equipment and filming. The interview went beautifully, and Seth was able to film the interview which made his night.

We got to know Karen's family, whom we fell in love with. We were invited to stay for dinner. And by the end of the evening we felt more like family than a film crew. As we were heading to leave, Karen opened her book closet to Tiffany and I. We were given boxes and told, "Fill 'em up." We were in heaven.

What I loved about Karen and her family was their passion for the Lord, and the way they lived that out. It was evident throughout the evening, and made me thankful to have gotten a chance to live life with them for the night.

Bad Volleyball!

We came to Portland for a birthday party two weeks ago, and now two weeks later, we are still here. Why, you may ask? Seth spiked a volleyball. That is all.

Unfortunately, in the process he came down cock-eyed on his ankle, broke it in three places, dislocated it and tore the ligaments in between. (But, I have to tell you, he scored the point and our team was winning. There is always good that can be found amidst the bad. :)

To continue with the good, once back home from the ER, Seth asked if he had sworn in his pain and I answered with a hearty, "No! You are growing up honey!"

As Seth was being wheeled out to the ambulance, he asked me to run and get the girls. He wanted them to know that daddy was okay. Kylia was pretty upset. She had already had a traumatic evening. About an hour prior to this new drama, daddy had been working on getting out a tooth, her very first tooth, and now, to top off the night, daddy was hurt. Seth gave all three a hug, reassured them he would be fine and asked them to pray for him. Then at the ER he apologized for the accident. (Silly nut! I'm not broken!) His heart was for his girls and for me and I love him for that.

Now, it has been a few days, and I have to admit the pain has not always been fun to deal with, but just this morning Seth asked, "Have I been nicer with my words lately? I've been trying really hard." I've noticed you've been trying honey, and yes you have.

It's never easy for a wife to see her husband hurting, (Believe me, I know. I got light headed and nauseous three times in the course of the ER night.) but it is nice to see growth happening amidst the pain. I love my man, and I love to see God use every situation for his glory.

Blessed

Adalie told me this morning, "Mom, I'm going to get out two picture Bibles and my big Bible and read to my sisters. Because they need to learn about Jesus too." I thought that sounded super sweet but then quickly forgot all about it and hurried about my morning.

The girls were playing outside and I noticed they had gotten really quiet, so I headed out to check on them and make sure everything was okay. As I peaked my head around the corner, there they were, all 3 of them sitting on a blanket, and Adalie reading the Bible to them.

The blanket was placed perfectly in the one strip of sun shining through in the morning, Kylia and Zoie very intent on what was being spoken. Mommy's heart was blessed.

Adalie, you are right, your sisters need to learn about Jesus too. Thank you for sharing Him with them.