we rocked the rock this week

where's granny?

She's underneath four baby dolls and three blankets, of course. Can you tell Brynlee likes to have fun with Granny when she comes to visit?

his joy stealer

We have always referred to this little man as our "joy boy." He has such a cool way of making anything seem like fun. Well, things change for him when his brothers are away. Our joy boy definitely seemed to have misplaced his joy the whole time they were gone. But, oh, how quickly it returned the minute they were reunited.

Kale trying to not cry while talking to his brothers on the phone:

The moment his joy returned :-)

summer reading program

We signed up for our library's summer reading program today. Local businesses donate prizes for kids as they hit certain reading markers throughout the summer. My kids always get excited because one of the first prizes is a coupon for a free Round Rock Donut :-) Here is the link if you live in the area and want to sign your kids up: Dig Up a Good Book. The book bags they are carrying took all of about 2 minutes each to make and they love having their own. Plus, the technology at our library now allows the kids to just scan their card and then set their book bag under the scanner and it will check out all the books inside the bag - is that not way cool?!

importance of godly counsel

Life is hard in many ways, but one way in particular is discerning how God would have you to use your time (and all other resources). I really struggle with this one because as most of you know, I think that everything sounds fun and worthy of time spent on it. Plus, our culture is so full of good ways to use your time that it makes it really hard to pick the few best things out of all the good things. And then to know also that it might not be right for you even if it's right for your friend. Fact is that it's often harder to know the right path even though your intentions are pure and you want to honor the Lord.

I am finishing up my current ministry role after two years and have been floundering a little to know where God would have me devote my time after this role ends. I have enjoyed the peace of knowing my ministry role and always feel a little flustered if that's in question, which is the case now. I am praying, but like I said, everything sounds fun and sometimes I think it would take God speaking through a burning bush to get my attention to point me to the best out of all the options.

But, I was reminded today that God created me and knows my issues - thus why he put a godly husband and some precious women who adore the Lord around me to keep me from saying yes to something that doesn't make sense for me. A friend counseled me a couple of weeks ago that I shouldn't even consider a specific ministry because she didn't think I had the bandwidth to tackle the relational responsibilities. I listened, but kind of just played it off thinking that I had way more relational connectors than she was aware of and could handle it just fine. I did pause though and realize that I hadn't prayed about it at all nor had I given Keith time to pray about it and share his wisdom. So...long story short (ok, I know it's already long..sorry!), Keith came to me on Thursday evening and said he really didn't think it was wise for me to take on this particular ministry - basically citing the same reasons my friend did. And then, today I went to a baby shower and the lady who is head over the particular ministry stopped me to say that they had all their spots full anyways! Wow...so God didn't speak through a burning bush to me, but He did speak through the wise counsel of both Keith and Mary.

Here's the point of this posting - if you don't have godly counsel around you - get some! Proverbs 13:20 says, "Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm." My husband and my friends do such a phenomenal job in pushing me to trust God and to honor Him in all that I do. I might be a pastor's wife, but I'm still a sinner who can quickly make a mess of things if I try to go the course alone and trust in my own opinions. Jada, Mary, Kendall, Laura, Tomi..these ladies get to see my messiness more than others and do such a sweet job of challenging me in different ways. Thanks, ladies!

And if you are a friend - be a wise friend. It's not healthy for us to always say what our friends want to hear or to just affirm them. The most important characteristic of a wise friend though is that they're pursuing God themselves through reading the Bible and praying. It's way too easy to fall back to our own fallible opinions if we're not constantly seeking the Lord.

These verses remind me that sometimes we need to encourage and sometimes we need to be more of a spur for our friend - and spurs don't feel good at first, but they help to keep us moving in the right direction!

Hebrews 10:24
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,

1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

me + kade + gourdough's = sweet date

Kade and I were near downtown for a dr's appt. yesterday and decided that it would be wise use of our time to snatch a quick one-on-one date while it was just the two of us. So, with my trusty iPhone in hand, we followed the map to the closest dessert airstream trailer - a gourmet donut place. I can't even tell you how sweet these things were - Kade took one bite and said he thought he needed to save the rest for later because he had had too much sugar - in one bite!! I don't think I'll have any desire to go back unless I'm just begging for diabetes to kick in, but it was very tasty and a fun date to try something new with my oldest. I love the uniqueness of all of the airstream food trailers and would love to try them all...there is one called Sushi A-Go-Go :-) and the one next to Gourdough's was called The Odd Duck - it had unique menu items that you usually don't see unless you're at a fancy restaurant. If you're reading this and you have any recommendations for a particular airstream food trailer - please comment so we can try it too!

i'm sorry, daddy

This picture makes me laugh out loud because of the scene in which it was captured. Kamden had just asked Keith to fix his (Keith's) tape measure that Kamden had "accidentally" taken apart with Keith's screwdriver. I just think it's hilarious that Kamden used one of Keith's tools to break one of his other tools.

Keith did not get as much of a kick out of it as I did - as you can tell by the non-smile on his face as he attempts to fix his tape measure. Kamden quickly realized this too - thus why I caught him hugging his daddy's leg with a somber "Please forgive me for my childishness" look. I could be wrong, but I think it might be another year or two before Keith puts his tools in Kam's hands.

he better try now while it's cute

Lincoln has been sneaking in little kisses on Brynlee for awhile now. I think he knows that due to the fact that she has three older brothers and a pastor for a dad, he better get those kisses in now while we all think it's cute. Because...that will definitely change. One day - instead of us grabbing our cameras to capture the cuteness, we'll be grabbing a bat to knock some sense into the boy. But, Lincoln's a smart one - and extremely adorable. Therefore, he gets a pass right now ;-)