What I learned from my pastor... 7-26

This morning we were in the belly of the whale. In his sermon entitled, "The Downward Spiral," Kevin pointed out how Jonah's physical journey mirrored his spiritual state: He descended the mountains of Gath-hepher to Joppa... Got in a boat and then went into the depths during the storm... and into the belly of the whale. Meanwhile, his spiritual state reflected a downward spiral of sin as well. Kevin took us to James 1:14-15, talking about the spiral of temptation, desire, sin and eventually rebellion.

But the good news for Jonah, and us, is that as long as we're alive, we have unlimited second chances. Just like Jonah, we were reminded that the first step out of the downward spiral is on our knees. More about second chances next week as Jonah gets spit up!

Happy Birthday, Kevin!

Johnathan turned 3 this year. Naomi turned 5. Put them together, and what do you get?


Happy 35th birthday, Daddy!


Johnathan and Naomi helped Daddy open his birthday stocking. 'Cause it's hard work, you know?

Then Daddy and Naomi went for their second annual daddy/daughter birthday breakfast. (Baby doll Katie also went, along with her fully stocked new diaper bag.)


Kevin had (what I hope was) a relaxing day off, and he and I went out for a date that evening, during which we ate delicious fresh fish and enormous amounts of dessert.

We love our daddy and husband - He works so hard to take care of us, help us grow, and make us laugh. Happy Birthday, Kevin!!

To Naomi on your 5th birthday

It's been such a joy to see how much you've learned and grown this year, Naomi! You have an incredible enthusiasm for life - you get so excited and passionate about entertaining friends, learning things in school, and going on our little (and big!) family adventures. You make it so fun for everyone because your enthusiasm is contagious. And we've loved seeing your desire to learn about Jesus and use your first little Bible as you ask me to help you look up the book your'e learning from in Sunday School or that Daddy is preaching from. Never lose that appetite for Him, sweetie.

This year you made a big move from Casper to Kurten. It's been fun to watch you embrace all the new aspects of living here - Making new friends at church, chatting with people at the post office, running errands to Daddy's office, riding your scooter and new bike on the network of sidewalks... It's hard to believe you're growing up so fast.

We're looking forward to all the ways you'll grow and learn this year, Miss 5 year-old! Love you!

Naomi's Birthday

Naomi has been counting down the days, and it was finally here! Not wanting to miss a minute, she got herself up promptly at 6 a.m. and was ready to get the party started!! As per tradition she opened her birthday stocking before eating her birthday bagel.

The big event of the day was a little party with a couple friends. The theme was Candy Land - Here is her Candy Land-inspired cupcake mosaic:

That should cover it in the sugar department, right? We started the party with some parachute games courtesy of former PE teacher Mr. B (That's Kevin, for those of you who didn't know him in his Remington Elementary days)... Lots of fun popping balls in the air, making an "igloo", and the ever-popular "popcorn" free-for-all!

Next, a pinata. This pinata designed for little people was supposed to open a trap door when the right ribbon was pulled from the bottom. Everyone waited in anticipation as each ribbon was pulled. Finally we came to the last ribbon:

Naomi pulled it.....

And the ribbon snapped off. Not be detered, everyone took a swing at it with the bat. When a crack showed, Kevin helped it out a little!

I filled the pinata with little toys and trinkets (and confetti) - I think the cake had enough candy, don't you?

Naomi got lots of help blowing out her candles.

After cake and ice cream, we ran off the sugar in the playroom, fighting fires with Fire Chief Johnathan and his new fire truck tent.

Next, birthday lunch - mac and cheese! After "rest time" and her birthday dinner of chicken nuggets and 7 layer dip and chips, Naomi opened gifts and we had our Daddy/daughter birthday cake. Daddy is 35 tomorrow!

Happy Birthday, Cutie! Watching your enthusiasm for friends, family, and fun is a gift to us!

What I learned from my pastor... 7-19

We "dived" into the book of Jonah this Sunday with a sermon entitled "Fear" - something I'm quite skilled at (in the worldy sense). Jonah's fear led him to try to flee from God's presence in the boat, and the sailors' fear of the storm led them to cry out to their gods. But when the sailors saw the power of the one true God, they feared Him in the way in which we were intended to fear Him. Kevin pointed out several ways we respond when we truly fear God, including witnessing and living purely. He shared a quote from A.W. Tozer: The fear of God is... astonished reverence. I believe that the reverential fear of God mixed with love and fascinaiton and astonishment and admiration and devotion is the most enjoyable state and the most satisfying emotion the human soul can know. I want to grow to truly fear God so that my human fears will diminish.

Gang activity in Kurten, Texas

Gang activity? In such a small town? I'm afraid so...

May I introduce the group known around here as "the Kurten Guineas":

They can be a noisy bunch, but they eat bugs, so they're welcome in our yard.

Friday Fun

Naomi finished her swimming lessons today - Wow! She's learned a lot these two weeks. She's become so much more comfortable in the water, trying all kinds of strokes and going all the way underwater - voluntarily! She even rode the log slide:



"I passed Frog level 1!"

After her lesson, we hopped in the van and drove to Brenham, about 45 minutes away, to go to the Blue Bell factory. We took a tour of the factory and saw how they mix and package our favorite ice cream. Then, of course, we ate some!

Mmm - vanilla!

Rainbow sherbert on my tongue!

After the factory tour, we went to the Blue Bell Aquatic Center to swim and let Naomi show off all her new swimming skills. Naomi slid down the banana split slide and splashed under the giant ice cream sundae.

Even the pool is full of ice cream!

A fun day off with Daddy!