c spot: do enjoy your monday

it's monday morning...and the thanksgiving holiday has officially begun. or began. is it begun or began? i don't even know.

that means all of the lovies are home with me...lounging on the couch...watching disney channel...eating waffles...sipping hot chocolate...complaining about having to let the dog out...and talking about being bored. and it's only 10 am.

i'm in a fight with the video games.

i am toying with the idea of getting rid of all of them.

they are kid stealers.

the boys actually try to quietly sneak off...slinking into the rooms upstairs that house the wii and playstation to be left alone to their choice of meaningless entertainment. in there, they don't have to answer my questions...perform helpful tasks for me (like taking the dog out)...or possibly color with their sisters. i guess i can understand it. after typing it out...i can see where they would be a little less-than-thrilled with the daily activities around here. that leads me to a question and possible project. how can i make our home fun and entertaining for the almost 11 year old boy down to the 2 year old girl without becoming a superhero princess who hosts tea/superbowl parties?

presently...i don't have an answer...but i think it may involve snacks. and lots of them.

****

thursday night...colt was in the fifth grade play. he wasn't totally in to it. but he did participate. he just didn't look too thrilled to be doing so.

another sign and symptom of him getting older.

*sigh*

friday, i got to tag along with chase on the third grade field trip. we went to moody gardens in galveston. here we got to go to the rainforest...which was right up chase's ally.

he wasn't as excited about the butterflies as i was...

but who wouldn't be thrilled about these white-faced monkeys playing at their feet?

there is just something about hanging vines that screams "CHASE!!"

on sunday, we actually got to go to a church plant in town that is a part of the houston church planting network. it is called neartown church and they meet in the ymca on pease street. chad has been training the planter and it was refreshing to get to feel a part of a church plant again. i have come to realize that i have a heart for church planting...just like my husband. the worship is usually done with donated, duct taped together equipment and musicians that may hit a flat note every now and then...but the chords and words are played and sung with such honesty and love for Jesus that you get wrapped in His love and completely taken away with awe and appreciation and love for Him in response to His love for us. Communion is set out and you can't wait to get to it because you want nothing more than to show Him that you remember what He did for you by allowing His body to be broken and His blood spilled for you on the cross. And the message is simple. Not just the spoken message from the pastor, but the almost tangible love and community among the 100 or so members who have come together to love God and learn about Him. i felt welcomed and wanted and so did my children. chad and i smiled at each other during the service and the boys listened as we occasionally rubbed their backs. and at the end of the service, chase leaned over and talked to chad about being ready to trust Jesus with his life. and that's what you call a Spirit filled time together.

a church plant is where chad and i met, fell in love, and also where our first two children experienced a church family for the first time. it feels like home to me.

if you are not a part of a church...i encourage you to seek out a church plant in your area. even if you aren't a church-type of person...chances are...you won't be disappointed. these are there for people just like you and me.

****

after that, the girls and i hit a birthday party which resulted in two tuckered-out babes.

a sleeping baby in a bonnet???? what is sweeter than that, i ask?

unless it's a sleeping baby in a bonnet with long eyelashes dusting her cheeks.

and after everyone was in bed, i took care of myself.

i'm slowly savoring mockingjay...the 3rd and last book in the hunger games series. don't even get me started on the way that this series relates to our broken world today and where we may be headed. it really is brilliant. especially the first book. my jaw was hanging open half the time and my mind reeled at how the "this would never happen thoughts" slowly broke into the "we are not far from this reality."

****

just look at how this cat taunts trout. he's peacefully sleeping and clickety cat sits just out of his reach waiting to pounce.

today, the view from my desk makes me especially happy.

my grandpa's hand-written song lyrics and dress hat, an old world war II compass...pointing towards home, our family captured last december, an angel in prayer over our family and one in celebration all become the familiar sights that point my heart in the right direction every day.

on a completely different note...i have been hired by a friend to come and photograph the buddy walk event in houston. this is to raise funds and awareness for down syndrome. i was planning to walk for her daughter, scarlett...but now i will take pictures. i was secretly walking for an unknown little girl in an orphanage in ukraine who could, quite possibly, be our daughter as well. but i'll take pictures for her instead. and we can just keep that little nugget of information tucked snug away in my heart for the time being.