Our Visit to Puyallup Washington!

Wednesday night we flew back from a wonderful visit to Grandad and GranJan's house. I am going to post a few pictures here, but the rest will be in the slide show up in the corner. Also within the next few days I'll have some albums on my Facebook and the pictures will be bigger and easier to see there.

We flew in on a Tuesday afternoon and hit the ground running. Living in a small town now it was fun to be back where there were lots of options of things to do. The main reason we went this time of year was to make a trip to the Puyallup fair. It is a pretty big fair and I've been going my whole life. The last time we went I was pregnant with Allyson and we had evacuated from Houston for Rita. This time was so much fun with the girls. Their little eyes see so much and they loved it. If you notice in the pictures it looks like we were eating the whole time - not really true! But that is part of the fair - so much yummy food. It was kind of disappointing because there was a whole section of rides for the littler kids and as we were walking through Lauren was noticing all of them, pointing and saying, "please" to ride them. Then it turns out you have to be 2 to ride ANYTHING at the fair - even the carousel. We were kind of surprised and she was pretty sad when I took Allyson on the carousel. After that we left the rides and looked at other fun things.

The rest of the trip was full of time with my parents, and extended family. Oh - and shopping! The girls enjoyed Grandad and GranJan to the fullest extent. Allyson was my dad's shadow and Lauren - as always - was her usual independent self. She kind of makes herself at home where ever and finds lots to do and lots to get into. They both did really this trip.

On the way home from the airport Allyson asked if we could go back to the airport "tomorrow and go back to Grandad's house."

That about sums it up!

Hurricane Ike

Just thinking of all our friends and family in Houston with all this Hurricane business ... Justin and I are praying for every one's safety through it all. 3 years ago we evacuated and Rita didn't hit ... maybe that will be the case again.
We love you all down there.

Isn't it interesting ...

.... how you have a thought and then it is reaffirmed by something you hear or read? I have been thinking - been reminded by God that I have been lacking in my time with Him, and how I need to have Him stored up in my heart so that the overflow is good. Yesterday morning before church I was reading from My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers. (I have a copy of this book that was given to me Christmas of 1993 by a friend from Highschool youth group, and it is the book aside from my bible that is the most used by me!) His thoughts reflect a lot of what had been going through my mind. You can read the daily devotions from his book on www.heartlight.org, so I am going to copy and paste part of it here to share. If you want to read the rest of it just get on the website!

From the September 7 excerpt:

“The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water.”John 4:14
The picture Our Lord gives is not that of a channel but a fountain. "Be being filled," and the sweetness of vital relationship to Jesus will flow out of the saint as lavishly as it is imparted to him. If you find your life is not flowing out as it should, you are to blame; something has obstructed the flow. Keep right at the Source, and - you will be blessed personally? No, out of you will flow rivers of living water, irrepressible life.

We are to be centres through which Jesus can flow as rivers of living water in blessing to every one. Some of us are like the Dead Sea, always taking in but never giving out, because we are not rightly related to the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive from Him, He will pour out through us, and in the measure He is not pouring out, there is a defect in our relationship to Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ? Is there anything that hinders your belief in Him? If not, Jesus says, out of you will flow rivers of living water. It is not a blessing passed on, not an experience stated, but a river continually flowing. Keep at the Source, guard well your belief in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow for other lives, no dryness and no deadness.

Reminded

As a mommy of two little ones (and so many other mommies have 3, 4, or even 5) I feel a little crazy at the end of a lot of days. So many questions to answer, messes to be picked up, sippy cups to fill, pretend trips to the pumpkin patch to make, fights to referee, dolls to diaper, and the list goes on. I hear the words, "Help me please" over and over again! And this is my job - and really the best one I could ever have. Lately, however, I am feeling crazy within about 10 minutes of being woken up in the morning instead of nearer to the end of the day. Instead of feeling patient and delighting in the curiosity of my sweet little ones, I had been feeling quite a lack of patience and frustration. Don't get me wrong, I still find much joy in my girls! I have been convicted - often - of what a huge responsibility it is to raise a little baby into a toddler and into a child and so on. To raise children into fully functioning, spritiually minded young adults seems like such a huge task. If there was ever anything I didn't want to mess up, this makes the short list!
So, as I have been again processing through all of this and reflecting on how I have been treating my girls (more in my head than in my actions, thankfully) I was reminded of something. When I feel like I don't have more to give them it is clearly because I haven't been receiving myself. What I haven't been doing is taking the time to fill my heart with God. What I haven't been doing is taking time each day to sit and be still before Him and fill myself up. When all is emptied out how can I expect to have anything for these girls?
In Matthew 12:34-35 Jesus says this: "You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him."
I was reminded that I need to be filling my heart with things of God so that what flows out on my family is good! How can I teach them the things of God if I am not even spending time with him myself?
One thing that I have learned from having children is a whole new kind of accountability. I want to be the person God created me to be even more because I want them to desire to be His also. I must make time in my day first and foremost for God if I am ever to be all I need to be for my family. I am so thankful that God is so patient with us. I am so ready to store up the good things!

Beer Bread

Matt and Lauren were summer youth inturns at our church. Most Thursdays they came over for dinner - one of the highlights of Allyson's week. The last Thursday before they left to go back to Texas they brought dinner over to us - a nice treat!
Lauren made beer bread and it is so yummy and delicious that I got the recipe from her. I haven't made it yet, but wanted to post the recipe before I forgot - it sounds so easy and it is really good. Here is it:

Beer Bread
1 cup sugar
3 cups flour
1 bottle of beer
Mix together really well and put it in a sprayed bread pan.
Put it in the oven on 350 for 40-45 minutes.
Take it out and pour one stick of melted butter on top,
then put it back in for 5-10 minutes. Then just let it cool! :)