This 'n That Thursday [v. 1]

Linking up with Jena today for This 'n That Thursday.

This is the first post I've written in ten days. I can't really tell you what all has happened in those 10 days except for that somehow my memory has failed me, my daughter has grown, and I have killed way fewer roaches than I did when we first walked into our humble abode. To say the least, I'm rejoicing over that last piece of information. Roaches do not make a friendly, welcoming pet. They are a creature which have me constantly asking God, "And just why did you make those little pests?!" Unfortunately, they're not completely gone. But my hopes of that happening were dashed to smitherines when one of my neighbors informed me they, too, have roaches. Not sure where they're coming from but they showed up 5 months ago for them and they have yet to be rid of them. *sigh* C'est la vie... :(

THIS was supposed to be in a post a month ago. Seriously. She turned 8 months old last month and I never did an 8 month post because of the move. If that earns a bad blogging mom award, then so be it. What I'm not a fan of, however, is how it has left me wondering what little quirks I missed writing down because we were so busy packing and moving and killing roaches. Oh well...can't go back now. At least I will be posting a 9 month update next week after her appointment. 

That little cutie pie has me saying "no no" A LOT. And guess what? I try not to say it a lot. There are really only two things that get a big "no no" around here: the Christmas tree and electrical wires. I always just pull her away and try to distract her with something else, but somehow, she is always right back at the wire for the Christmas tree lights or the computer wires or pulling down the ornaments. (Good thing all the ornaments on the bottom are plastic, right?) And that is all I have :) Life is a bit mundane as everything has been shut down for the holidays (as in no moms groups meeting right now and there aren't any bible studies starting up). Hope you're this 'n thats of this week have your smiling from the memories.

Loving the Parks

So our weekend was quite eneventful.

Friday came and went.

Saturday Ben worked and Zoë and I headed over to Ben's cousin's son's birthday party (boy that's a mouthful...or whatever since I'm typing). That was fun but I have no pictures to show for it since I have a scooter-almost-turned-crawler on my hands and I was by myself.

(umm...excuse me...she's wandered into the kitchen.....)

So I can't sit in one place and know she's not going anywhere anymore...makes for lots of adventures through the eyes of a awe-struck, explorative babe.

Back to this weekend.

The birthday party was fun. Got to see three of Ben's aunts and of course his cousin, her husband, and their cutie who actually turns one today. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with the cake. His mom even put his hand in it to attempt to get him to start eating it. Nada. He actually whined because his hand was covered in icing.

Kind of makes me wonder what Zoë will do. Though I have an inkling she's adventurous enough she'll at least stick her hand in it.

However, I have to say yesterday was my favorite part of this weekend.

We visited yet another church. I enjoyed it. Much more than the first place we went to but I'm not sure as much as the place we went last weekend.

I went a bit out of my comfort zone in that it was a Baptist church. Now hear me out, I have absolutely nothing against the denomination. I just have never been to a Baptist church that wasn't all "hallelujah!" and "amen!" during the service, didn't have a passionate, yelling pastor, and wasn't extremely traditional. And again, I have nothing against that, I just have never been able to feel at home in that type of church setting. Many people do and I'm very glad they're able to find a community in a church body with that kind of service. I just haven't.

However, this was nothing of the sort. It was contemporary. It was uplifting. And aside from we'll definitely have to visit again when the interim pastor (not sure what happened with their previous pastor) is preaching (they were going over missions they're involved in this past weekend), it was very enjoyable and a definite possibility of becoming our new home for us to get connected with other believers.

Then later that afternoon it was actually quite nice outside. And of course, Houston has a freakin' ton of PARKS! And I love it!

Anywho, we decided to go visit one and let Zoë get some fresh air and enjoy the open area around it. Snapped a couple of pics while we were out too:

Isn't she such a cutie pie? She LOVES the swing :)

I love her so.

Ben's face is priceless. And of course, she adores her daddy.

More or less proof I was there. Take note of her relaxed leg on the side of the slide. HA! She wasn't so sure about the ride down though...

I love this just because Ben's face is candid and Zoë is closely watching some other child.

I love how much she loves the swing :)

And that is how our weekend was. Actually had a weekend with something to talk about. It used to be all boring and chore-filled. Not this past weekend though.

How was your weekend?

Embracing the Fire (Frankly Friday v. 1)

Today I'm participating in a blog hop. Feel free to check out the gal who sets is all up, Amy's, blog :) She just started it a few weeks back and I have a couple of other blog friends who have participated on a regular basis. Love the posts I've seen, just haven't felt like I had much to add. Well...today I do :)

Enjoy.

So I was going through blog posts yesterday, instead of getting ready for the day *sigh*, when I happened to read a great post by Tony Reinke on the DesiringGod ministries blog entitled Learning from Lincoln's Flawed Marriage.

Loved the post. I think everyone should take a moment to read it.

Seriously.

You'll learn more from it than from me; I'm pretty sure I can guarantee it.

What stuck with me was one of the last statements Reinke made:

"There were resources for healing he did not know, and short of healing, embracing the fire is BETTER than escape." [bold print, enlargement, and italics mine]

Why, you might ask, did this resonate with my soul so much?

Well, my heart loves to find ways to escape. Even if it's becoming numb to all around me in hopes that it will soon subside. Though it might be different for everyone, I'm willing to bet many people are like this and they either don't realize it or they deny it. Personally, I've done the latter a lot.

Thankfully, I've gone to counseling a couple years ago and I've been surrounded by friends for many years who don't stand by either of those afformentioned situations.

(Oh and by the way, hopefully you've realized by now I find the point I enlarged applies to much more than marriage. I think it applies to many aspects in all areas of life.)

It can, and more than likely will, make life unseemingly hard, though I've actually found it can be even harder attempting to hide and/or control when we have no ability to truly do either. (Gah, I'm rambling. Just hang tight with me. I have need to spell this out, more for myself than for you.) Yet those hardships, if embraced, as Reinke suggests, can be the refining fire God uses to mold us more into his likeness. Embracing the fire is like allowing God to put us in the crucible so that when we are completely refined we come out reflecting him. All for his glory!

Painful? You betcha!

Rewarding? Far beyond any worth we humans can measure. 

For the outcome is a better image of the Creator, which is the reason for all of life.

And though we will not be completely refined this side of Heaven, I can't imagine living a life filled with pain without knowing I'm suffering all for his glory, whether seen or unseen by someone else.

Maybe a bit hard to chew walking into what is known as one of the happiest seasons each year sees. But for me, I think it will hopefully help keep me in the right perspective of all that we celebrate at Christmas.

Yes, the birth of a Savior but who lived a life full of pain all so he could pay my ransom from a life indebted to paying him for my failings.

He is the reason I celebrate this season, for without him I have no capability of truly glorifying God, and that gives me abounding joy!

Lil' Scootin' Booty

So today I give you proof that I no longer can leave Zoë in one spot. Though I haven't been able to because she rolls, she's now much faster and more dedicated in where she is going.

If she sees a book she wants she's headed that way.

Found an electrical wire? Yep. She's gonna try to get it (though I have attempted to hide/cover any wire she might get to).

I've even found her with pieces of carpet fuzz in her mouth. Our carpet was put in just before we moved in so it's hard to get all of these. Anyway, I thought it was cute how she was scooting over to her bookshelf and thought I would share it with you.

Also notice, her tummy doesn't keep her pants up. They start sagging because of how they're pulled when she scoots.

O Tannenbaum (Wordless Wednesday Version v. 6)

*WARNING: minor picture overload. You have been warned! And yes, I used the traditional, original language of the carol. Hoping it was properly placed online*

O Tannenbaum,

O Tannenbaum,

wie treu sind deine Blätter!

Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit,

Nein auch im Winger, wenn es schneit.

O Tannenbaum,

O Tannenbaum,

vie treu sind deine Blätter!