Wordless Wednesday

December Part II - Indiana (part I)

is that (post title) confusing enough?!  To explain: we spent the second half of our trip in Indiana.  And there will be multiple posts from this part of the trip as well (can I milk it anymore?!)...just want to share plenty without overwhelming a single post with photos is all...see I'm looking out for you ;0

(btw - i'm intermixing some of connie's pics in here b/c seems like we never had our cameras out at the same time!) 

Precious reading times...

Emma's first bowl of cereal!  (admittedly, I was afraid to give her any thinking it was automatic mess due to milk, but girl handled herself well and it's now part of our breakfast repertoire;0)

...and she LOVES ;0

Emma loves nothing more than attention...and loves to be chased...and the kids loved chasing her around!

She started doing this fun laugh during our trip and Connie caught it here!  I think it's when she's SUPER excited about something that she saves this laugh for.

twinsies ;0  ...and I think Tyson's ready for another girl ;0

famous 'fishy lips' that aunt connie taught her ;0

the two newest babes and mama's of the clan ;0

games are a must with the Boyds!

My little reader...I think she found herself a peaceful spot...she loved looking out this door and we found she'd moved the chair here and was enjoying her new elmo book ;0

Popi was wiped out ;0

I love our family ;0  We had too much fun each evening...this one in particular, we were playing games and Dennis decided to have a taste test of his 3 cows he'd just had butchered

he numbered the plates and we discussed the taste after each; comparing...

although this was #1, I think it was pretty unanimous that we all preferred #3 ;0

So...I will cut photos off here ;0  yeah for December in pics in late February.  We miss you ALL so incredibly much!  Our time together was far too short. Sigh.  Y'all will just have to hurry up and move to Cali already ;0

Wordless Wednesday ;0

Girlfriends in God - Good read today!

Hello all....yes, still working on my current project. Even more need to hurry it up and finish is that 1. I still need to do bday thank you's from my party a week ago...and 2. I just had a request to design a 75th bday party invite ;0 SO...yeah

Read this wonderful devo just now and HAD TO SHARE!

Click here to link to the website: Girlfriends in God

Read here:

February 21, 2012
Sponge Theology
Mary Southerland

Today’s Truth
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Luke 6:45, NIV)

Friend to Friend
What is really inside will come spilling out for all to see when life puts the squeeze on us. My Mama used to say “What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket.” In other words, a crisis will usually reveal what is really in our hearts. It is easy to do and say the right things when life is calm and everything is going right, but what we say and do when chaos hits and the pressure is on tends to paint a more accurate picture of who we really are. It is kind of like sponge theology.

Suppose you have five sponges lying on your kitchen counter. Each member of your family has been cleaning different areas of your home, but the sponges all look the same. You are curious about what was cleaned but you can’t tell just by looking at the sponges since they all look the same. So what do you do?

You squeeze each sponge to see what happens. As you squeeze the first sponge, brown cola comes pouring out. Someone must have cleaned the kitchen with that sponge. Upon squeezing the second sponge, you see blue tub and tile cleaner oozing out of the sponge which leads you to believe someone used that particular sponge to clean the bathroom. In the third sponge, you find motor oil and conclude your husband was using that sponge to clean the garage. The fourth sponge produces a puff of baby powder when it is squeezed. The baby’s nursery was obviously cleaned with that sponge. Finally, the last sponge is dripping with floor wax which tells you someone used that particular sponge to clean the hall floor. As you lay the last sponge down, you look again at their similarity. They all look the same -- until they are squeezed.

We are a lot like sponges when it comes to our faith in God. We look and act as if God is Lord of our lives. We say all the right things to all the right people and do right things in order to prove we are right. But what is really inside? What do our hearts really look like?

When a crisis comes and the pressures of life squeeze us mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually, what comes out? Do we respond to that difficult person in anger or with patience and love? Does revenge spill out in ugly words to that person who has hurt us more times than we can count or do we take a breath and remember that God loves them and that hurt people tend to hurt people? Does the pain of unresolved sin flood our hearts and minds as guilt spills out of our heart with a vengeance?

Just like the sponge, we can only squeeze out what is put in. Fill your heart with the things of God. Stay in the Word each day. Spend time with faith builders who will encourage you in your faith. Seek God and His plan for your life. Pray about everything so that when life puts the squeeze on you – and it will – the very nature of God will come pouring out.

Let’s Pray
Father, I want my faith to be more than just talk. I want it to be real and authentic, flowing from a heart set on You. Forgive me when I play religious games and pretend to be someone I am not. I am a sinner saved by Your grace. Teach me how to walk in that grace so that when the hard times come and the pressure is on, You come pouring out of my life.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn
Think back to the last time you were surprised by your reaction to a situation or a person. What does that tell you about the condition of your heart? Set aside time to spend alone with God. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any sin that needs to be faced and confessed. Give Him permission to purify your heart so that no matter what life throws at you, God will be honored by how you respond.

DELISH....

So, I'm lagging just slightly on finishing the posts from Indiana!  Arg....

BACKGROUND: i'm a project nut apparently.  And when I'm determined to finish something, I get one-track-minded (which is kinda nice to know I'm not always ADD;0)...SO...I have a couple of projects for the fam coming up, and I was determined to be done with my own projects first, so I can feel a little free when doing theirs.

I have 1 down...and I would share but it's a gift for someone that I don't want to spoil it ;0...and I'm also on a kick of finishing Emma's first year journal/book.  Long story about that to be saved for another time...BUT i'm like THIS CLOSE to being done with that one and I cannot put my attention anywhere else in the meanwhile.

SO...all that to say, no pics yet ;0

SO (I think I should win an award for the amount of times I type the word SO in a given post ;0)...I thought I'd share a new little delight that I"m actually in the process of baking right now!!!!!!!!!!!

Not sure how I stumbled on this blog, but man check it out!  They have amazing fonts (free!) and tons of neat stuff.  Kevin & Amanda.  AND THIS RECIPE!!  

Chocolate Chip Lava Cookies

If you click on to the sight they get their choc chip recipe from, they did fun stuff with this that inspired me ;0 As if this photo above doesn't do it for you?! :)........My rendition?  MINI PEANUT BUTTER CUPS.  Truth be told, I tried both recipes.  the Lava ones were yum.  BUT.  PB Cups hit the spot.  I made them for a dinner night when we had our life group over and they all agreed as well apparently.  They started to cut these in half to see which filling was which, and I had about 5 chocolate ones left and NO PBC's!

Just finished a warm one out of the oven with a little thrifty's vanilla ice cream.  enjoy your Sunday night!  Will try to post something soon!

Loving Actions

Thought I would share this email that I got today....my thoughts below....

	Loving Actions Thursday, February 16, 2012
	Honoring Your Wife... Let your wife teach you how you can best meet her needs during a crisis or   when she's discouraged and losing energy. - From "It Takes Two to Tango" by Gary and Norma Smalley All excerpts from "It Takes Two to Tango" are copyright 1997 Gary and Norma Smalley, and are used with permission. Find more relationship resources from Gary and Norma Smalley

I found this very interesting today.  To be real with you (whomever is reading;0) today I had a

difficult day.  And kinda for no reason.  Both Em and I slept through the night (between the two of us,

there are about 2 hours I'm up in the early squirrrely hours of the morning lately).  But praise the Lord, Wednesday night was not one of those.  I got up early and got ready for a fun day in Oakland visiting a friend and I was off for my day...

I had tried to reach Tyler a few times throughout the morning and was unsuccessful.  I stopped by the office on my way out of town and the office was like a ghost town...then about Manteca, Emma throws up and SECONDS later, I'm stuck in traffic (that I had to sit through until the next exit).  It took me a little over an hour to get home.  In the meanwhile I've texted Tyler (bad me, I know, but traffic was stop and go, and I did it during a stop;0)...and didn't hear back from him that whole hour.  

Got home, cleaned up Em, the car, the car seat, tried to put her back down for a nap (she usually sleeps about 2 hours, so there was potential for another hour) and I just started to feel lonely and desperate.  Like Tyler's my safety and he wasn't around to rescue me or something...and I found myself saying that I just wished he'd walk through the door, hug me and rescue me from my day.

My day.  That really wasn't bad at all, but for some reason, I just felt like I needed rescuing.  

Maybe I needed assurance from Tyler that Em was OK?  Who knows. 

What I do know is that whenever I'm feeling blah, I've heard Tyler say he just doesn't know what to do or say to make things better.  And up until last night (I started writing last night but then it was bedtime:0) I had never been able to give him a response.  For some reason, this email coming through and my experience was like, "Oh, I guess that is what I need/want when in crisis, discouraged, losing it (or energy;0)".

Anyway...that's a little bit about me and my crazies.  Have you ever thought about what you need during these times?  I would encourage you to figure it out and share with your spouse.  Being able to communicate that to him last night already made me feel better.  Now I will just pray he remembers the convo for when my next time of need comes about.

Recreating a Pic

SO...While in Indy, we got a little silly to say the least ;)  There was a photo hanging in the room that Tyler and I were staying in that caught my attention - it's a pic of Tyler & Crystal, and in the pic, Tyler looks to be about the same exact stage/age Emma's at - and SHE LOOKS JUST LIKE HIM!!

I know, I know, she looks pretty much like his mini-me anyway ;0  But seriously, in this photo it's her exact face right now! So we brought it down to share and someone had the idea that since Crystal was around, we should try to have them recreate their pic...and OH MY..another great giggle work out for all!

The photo:

Here they are with the photo (so we could explain what was going on!)

They really studied it and practiced their faces...they were taking this very serious;0

...and we tried...

...over...

...and over...

Crystal had the giggles

and would make Tyler crack up eventually

they kept asking if they'd mastered it yet, and...when they saw what we saw...

...more chuckles, giggles and crack ups.  

Just one of the many silly times we had while we were together.  Love the memories! 

...and I'm pretty sure we were NOT successful :)  But you can be the judge.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love Edition

Well, It's almost Valentine's Day, and I'm in the midst of creating posts from our Indiana portion of our trip and saw so much lovin' in pics, I decided to create a post with only sweet lovin', kissin' and huggin' pics from our trip :)  Enjoy...

We love and miss you all!