Our biggest fans

We had our biggest fans over for dinner tonight. Paul and Betty Read are so super supportive of me and my family. I cant tell you how much they have done for us. They are great friends of my parents - in fact they were my parents spiritual mentors when they were younger. When I moved to town, they quickly took me under their wing and had me over for dinner, helped me find a job, and in general, just looked out for me. Then when I got married, they loved Neil. Then when my kids came, they loved them too. These people (aside of course from our family, cause we all know they love us best and truly are #1) have done so much for me and for what I love, what I want to accomplish, what I feel and what I want to do for Jesus. Always listening, always praying, always loving. I think Justus definitely felt this tonight!

Huh?

This is the response I get most of the time when I tell or ask Justus anything. Even when I repeat myself 3000 times. I really have to stop and wonder if he cant hear me or doesnt get it or what. Im pretty sure Im not mumbling. Its not like for the previous days of his life I spoke any differently. Or maybe hes just repeating what I say to Neil.....I dont know but its getting on my nerves!

I want to make Jesus' head turn

As read on Beth Moores blog, I want to be so beautiful to Jesus that I make his head turn. And we know thats talking about inward beauty. Ive always striven to have my inward beauty far exceed any outward beauty I may possess. This comes as a fresh thought to me today tho, cause I sat in Beth Moores Esther bible study today with a group of women from my church. The majority of the time discussing was on beauty. With all the comments I heard, I can only hope to ground them with knowing it is Jesus Im trying to please. Not my husband (although I certainly want to and try), not society's view of beauty, nor expectations from anyone else. Lord, let me, help me, be beautiful to You!

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful" (1 Peter 3:3-5a).

Yay, Grass!

Well, we finally have grass in both the front and backyard - and actually its been there a few weeks now. But today was the first day that we could mow and Neil got out there and mowed, and it looks sooooo good! I love it!! And we planted some flowers and we got a fountain. We still have some more work to do, but its looking so much better. Oh, Im so excited! Here are some pics from today.

The Shack

This is a great read. I found it to be a great redemptive story. I did know a bit about it before I started to read. It definitely has some unexpected twists. Good stuff!

Easter

We had such a nice Easter. Our church had service, then a brunch with Easter egg hunt, then the next service. We went to early service and stayed for the Hunt. Haven racked up. I think she is pro when it comes to finding the eggs. Then we had lunch at our house. It is always nice to have our family over. The funnest part tho, was when the kids got up and found their Easter baskets. Their faces were priceless. Both were so excited. I dont think either one really knew to expect it, even tho I told Justus about it. I tried so hard to get good, cute pics of the kids, but they both just werent wanting to cooperate. Imagine that! So heres the best Ive got.....

At least theyre dead

Ants, that is. I promise, I clean up dead bodies and then not an hour later is a whole new crop of them. There are a few still alive and they are just on their last leg, you can tell by their slow crawl. I hate bugs in and around my house, but at least they are dead bugs! Look closely at the pics and you will see dead bodies. Ugh!

Easter Fun

Today our church had an Easter Egg hunt and picnic. It was lots of fun. The kids got to play and then hunt for eggs and then eat lunch picnic style. It was fun to be with our friends and celebrate this way!

The cutest room

My friend just had a baby girl 2 weeks ago. She decorated her room so cute, I thought it should be in a magazine. Here are some pictures that dont quite do it justice cause they were taken with my phone. Hope you can see just how cute it is!

Reciprocal

I just got two thank you notes in the mail from friends for things I had done for them. One card said they wished they could repay me one day for all I had done. The word that came to my mind right then was reciprocal. I have been and I know that I will be blessed. Whether or not it is from her. That is how God works. He always takes care of His children. Nice things are done to be nice - to show love and support. I dont ever expect repayment. I think we just go through life doing the nice things that we can do, blessing others as much as we can. Then whether we are blessed back by them or not, its all ok. Someone will bless me. For sure, my life is a life truly blessed. Both my friends have touched lives in ways they would never know. So as long as we all try to bless others and not be selfish, everyone will feel blessed.

All by myself

Im so glad that Haven has started to feed herself. She can use a spoon all by herself and now Im virtually hands free feeding! I love the independence. Here are some pics of her new feat. Also, some of Justus' road he concocted out of his bristle blocks.

Justus' new job

Since Justus is now 3, I thought I should start incorporating jobs into his routine. The first one is making his bed. Here is a pic after he did it and then with Mommys extra help.