Lenten Reflection

So I am in complete shock at how fast Lent has passed us by.  Palm Sunday is this week and next week is Easter.  Sam is going to be 1 before I know it!  By the way, he has been a little under the weather with a terrible ear infection and we went back for stronger meds today.  Pray my sweet baby returns soon!

But back to Lent.  Now that Lent is coming to a close, I really try to focus on my sins and God's wonderful forgiveness.  I pray that God helps us pass from our old life of sin to our new life of grace.  This week let the powerful light of God's love shine into the deepest, darkest corners of your being, even if in the process it reveals the most unloving parts of your self, and ask for forgiveness and healing.


God of love,
I know that you are the source of all
that is good and graced in my life.
Help me to move from the life of sin
to which I so often cling,
into the new life of grace you offer me.
You know what I need to prepare for your kingdom.
Bless me with those gifts.

Great birthday weekend

We just got back from an amazing weekend at Grey Rocks with some of my favorite people in the world.  The kids had an amazing time and y family and friends made it one of my best birthdays I can remember.  I will post pictures later, but I found this poem and it summed up my thoughts -- 

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.
Love the ones who don't just because you can.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Kiss slowly.
Forgive quickly.
God never said life would be easy. He just promised it would be worth it. 

Lenten Reflection

We are heading to Grey Rocks in a little bit for the weekend.  We are having our favorite couple friends and family down there as well.  It is my birthday weekend so I am really looking forward to it.  Plus, to make it extra special, Jeanne and her boys (minus Martin) will be getting there tomorrow.  So no posting this weekend.

And as far as a Lenten reflection, serve others.  Simple, but oh so hard.

Lenten Reflection

Thus far today we have spent most of the day with family.  This morning Ted's mom came over to take care of Sam for the morning while I met the Tuscaloosa Holts (Alison, Stella, Gus, Annie and baby Louis) at the McWane Center.  It was a good idea at first, but then the busses pulled up and the McWane Center was PACKED.  It definitely had to be a fire code violation.  Because of all the kids, it turned out not to be much fun because they just couldn't play on all the toys.  So we left and went to the park.  The kids had a great time and then we headed to Gilchrest, an old soda shop.  They are all back here playing (Ali took Stella shopping) and I feel blessed.

FAMILY:  Spend time with them.  Love them.  Feel their love.

FRIENDS:  Smile.  You never know who might need it today.

FAITH:  Praise the Lord for all your blessings.  I am right now as I listen to the laugher coming from upstairs.

Out of it

Sorry for the lack of posting this past week. I went to Memphis on Sunday with Ward and Ann Park to spend some quality time with my dear friend, Lee, and the older kids had so much fun with Susan, Madison and Eliot. And I got to meet my newest godchild, William. He is precious and we had the best time, although it was a short trip. Here are a few pictures:

 

waiting for pizza, making silly faces

Ward and Eliot, two peas in a pod

doing crafts while the big girls were at school

my sweet girl

the newest Morris - William, 5 weeks old

We got home late on Monday night and then Ted left for CT on Tuesday morning. After working on Tuesday, I get home to Mary's report that Sam is refusing the bottle and screaming in pain when he tried to drink. So this morning I spent some time in the pediatrician's office. I was thankful for Spring Break as there was next to no one there and Sam was diagnosed with a double ear infection - his first. No fever, no fussiness, just refusing the bottle. The ladies at the front desk didn't believe me when I said we were there for a sick visit since he was just flirting with everyone, but he is definitely sick. Didn't take a bottle at all today, and we are not understanding a sippy cup. But he had plenty of solid food and plenty of wet diapers so hopefully he won't be hurting too much tomorrow.

We have a big day tomorrow as well.  I am taking the older two and meeting our cousins from Tuscaloosa (the ones we spend a week with at the beach each summer) at the McWane Center.  For those of you not from Birmingham, the McWane Center is an amazing kids science center here (www.mcwane.org).  They can't wait.  I just hope that I will be able to keep up with them all!

Here is a cute picture of my two boys.  Ward is so sweet to Sam it just melts my heart!  I hope that they will always be close, despite the age difference.

Lenten Reflection

Hard to believe that the third week of Lent is coming to a close and that Easter seems to be closer than ever. Because of everything that has gone on this week, I have seemed to be focused on why God lets all these bad things happen and why he allows us to suffer. But I know that although we feel sad and feel pain, it is absolutely NOTHING compared to what Christ suffered on the cross for our sins.

FAMILY: Enjoy the day today together as a family. Sing. Dance. Laugh. Love.

FRIENDS: Be thankful for those who surround you.

FAITH:God of Mercy and Understanding,

I know that with help
I can open my heart more fully
to the mysteries of the suffering and death
of your son.
Help me to be humble in this journey
and remember that any mercy and compassion I feel
is a gift from you.
I await the joy of Easter with new longing and patience.

Cutest Baby on the Block

Okay, I know that I might be biased (just a little bit), but Sam is truly the cutest baby on the block. I got a couple of great pictures of him this morning. He is getting so big - scooting around everywhere and he can now sit up by himself from the prone position. That means that I need to drop the mattress in the crib - which is a total pain, but absolutely necessary! True crawling is right around the corner. I think that it would have happened sooner if it wasn't for the TERRIBLE cold and cough that he has had for the past 2 weeks.

Lenten Reflection

FAMILY: Do something special with one child today (again a theme, I know). Ann Park and I are going to get manicures together after school. She is needing some mommy time.

FRIENDS: Be a friend who listens. Hear what your friends need. Don't talk. Just be there for them and listen.

FAITH: Yesterday at Norval's funeral the Pastor talked about those verses where Jesus talks about how God prepares a room for you in Heaven. I have always loved that image because Heaven is such a hard concept to grasp and Jesus is trying to put it in our terms for us so we can have a tiny understanding of the wonderful place that awaits us. Well, this morning as I turned on my computer, I get a "verse of the day" on my Google homepage. Guess what verse was there?

Yup: John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Plain ole sad

So today I am just plain ole sad. I feel like so many bad things are happening to so many wonderful people around me. I just continue to get bad news with every turn and I am starting to feel it. Ted says that I need to be thankful that it is happening around me and not to me, and for that I am. I am also just trying to focus on the "half-full" version of the cup as well.

FAMILY: Hug your family. Love them. Kiss them. Don't take them for granted.

FRIENDS: Be a good friend to all. Don't meet a stranger.

FAITH: Even though I don't feel like this today, this was the verse I turned to this morning as I was reading my Bible: 1 Thess. 5:16-18 Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Lenten Reflection

FAMILY: Have a dance party with your kids (or by yourself). Feel the joy!

FRIENDS: Think of something that you can do for a friend who is feeling alone right now. Do it this week.

FAITH:God, you love me as your own child.

May I bend my life and will toward you
so that I might accept your teaching and guidance.
I am so grateful for your support in my life,
now and in the eternal life you are preparing for me.
I beg for your help and Spirit in my life today.