Xtreme Forgiveness

I was young in the days of Xtreme Sports, and everyone just ran with the whole "Xtreme" thing. Everything was Xtreme something...but I've recently been tested in the area of forgiveness. Lilian has been screaming if she doesn't get her way, right away. (i know the best is coming in a year or two) But we get to work up to it, right? Anyways, she just really tries my patience when she's throwing a complete fit because we won't let her dismantle the nightlights, or drag all the junk out of the cabinets. But once she gets over her tirade, she's fine and dandy and ready to play. I don't know about you, but I need a few minutes to recover. And yet, I find myself smiling and moving on just like she has. It would seem, however, that her recovery doesn't take much, it's just that she's over it that quickly. When I smile and play with her again, it has taken quite a bit of will power not to be angry with her and hold a grudge. And it happens many times a day! So, how would the world be different, if we forced ourselves to forgive and move on? Would it be a kinder place? Safer? Isn't it nice that we have a God who forgives us each and every time we come to Him? Does He get tired of us? I know He gets heartbroken over us. And then forgives and casts our sins into the sea of forgetfulness. How sweet a thought.

The Faces of Lilian-part 2

Lilian is not an overly laughy, giggly baby, but boy can she make faces! Check these out!


"Rock On!"

"Oooooh"


"Suprise"

Happy 11 Month birthday my sweetie!

The Faces of Lilian

Lilian has been trying out her face lately. So look out for a series of posts of her making faces. First, she has been scrunching her nose and opening her mouth! It's so funny! Enjoy!

Vampire!!!!

Lilian has been the craziest "teeth-getter". She got her front 4 teeth on BOTTOM first! Then she cut her eye teeth on TOP, with nothing in between! Hence, the "vampire" look. Here's a picture. I had to take one to document her unique teething experience. I think you can see that she is getting another tooth on top, so the vampire face will soon be gone. But we've really gotten a kick out of it. :) And this sure does explain her serious crankiness!

Playing the Piano

Here's a cute video of Lilian playing the piano!

Catching up!

Hey there blog-o-sphere! Wow, I rarely go this long without a post of some sort. Well, it's been a crazy few weeks. With the weather turning nice, and school winding down, some things just get neglected. It's been a lot of fun to go outside after dinner and just walk around the yard. Lilian is getting used to grass, at first she was a bit reluctant, but now she picks pieces of it and hands it to us. So cute.
Well, Lilian still isn't walking, but it's gotta be soon. She's got a mouth full of teeth...at least 4 on bottom and 2 on top. The top ones don't really show yet, and they are the ones to the left and right of her center teeth. She hasn't got those top center teeth which are "supposed" to be the first ones in! Crazy girl! I'm sure some psychologist could analyze that into her personality. :)
A couple weeks ago I celebrated a birthday. #32 to be honest. I can't believe I'm in my 30's. It just doesn't feel right. Yesterday, Jeff celebrated a birthday, #36. He tells me to shut up when I start whining about my age.
I've got 2 weeks of school left...seems like an eternity. But this week is jam packed with 2 evening concerts and one during the day. So, no rest for the weary, including my poor students. I've been telling them all 4th quarter that I was the wicked witch of the orchestra. Click here to find some sound clips of my kiddos playing.
Well, I think this catches you up to speed. I'll get some pics and a video up soon!

Spring has Sprung!

Have you ever noticed one day each year that everything turns green? It doesn't happen on the Vernal Equinox. And it's nice when the winter wheat starts greening up, followed by people's yards (those who actually have grass). Rather, this moment that I'm talking about happens a few weeks later. I noticed this year last Saturday, when we went on our hike. (see previous post) It had been rainy and then sunny for several days. It seems that the trees were still gray and brown when I went to bed, but Saturday morning they seemed to have sprouted a layer of green. They aren't leafed out yet, of course, but still appear green. It's such a wonderful sight.

I can't help but think of the way God is revealing Himself in this process...without a single word.
Every single year, the trees "die" and stand there completely dormant and ugly. This is us when we sin and lose sight of Jesus. But every spring, the trees come to life again with renewed beauty and vigor. When we repent of our sin and refocus our eyes onto Christ, we are refreshed and renewed becoming beautiful in His sight once again. I'm not at all thinking that God abandons us during those "ugly" times, but we all certainly go through them. He is ultimately displaying His faithfulness.

Now to a drastically different issue, I must go change a stinky diaper. I wonder what kind of spiritual lesson I'll get out of this????? ;)