I couldn't resit sharing a few impromptu photos of the cuteness that I have opportunity to see everyday!
Merry Christmas everybody!:)
Nathan and I have been so blessed to be a part of FBC Malakoff. To be perfectly honest Malakoff would not have made it on my top ten best places to live list if you had asked me a few years ago. I never really thought much about Malakoff it was just a town that I drove through time and time again on my way to my parents house in San Antonio. Never in a million years would I have imagined that God would call us to Malakoff. But... I am so glad He did! What a blessing it has been to get to know the people here and to get to serve along side them. I have especially been touched by our church's willingness to "get out of the boat" and reach out to those who are in NEED of a savior. Instead of sitting back and waiting on people to come to us this church is going out to the people and meeting their needs in the name of JESUS. This church is making a DIFFERENCE. I love this place!
I am especially thankful for the staff that God has given Nathan to work with. They are his teammates, his partners, and his friends. Each of them brings such life and light to our church. As much as I appreciate and love each one of them we seldom get the time to just hang out or visit with each other. Thanks to Donna this year was different!
This week we decided to have some friends over to make snowmen out of paver bricks. It was something my friend Kasey did with her students last year and it was just too cute to pass up. This has by far been one of my favorite things about having Kaden at home this year...I have gotten to do so many exciting things with him. I love seeing him create things...he has a great imagination! I am not the most creative person but I do want to make sure I encourage creativity in my children. After all...if I am teaching my children to be like God it definitely involves creativity...He is the ultimate creator.
I have been doing school with Kaden for 16+ weeks. We have learned sight words and word family words, we have colored, played games, learned bible verses, the works. I have really seen him grow in his academic knowledge but have wondered if he was really catching on to the biblical character traits we have been learning. Things like being content and attentive, being thankful and patient. I feel like I am constantly saying the same things. Kaden, please listen...Kaden are you having a good attitude...Kaden be patient. All the while I have wondered if it has been getting into that brain of his.
I am not sure if it is because there is a possibility that he could be my last baby or the fact that I am not as nervous as I was with Kaden and Karter but I am so enjoying this little one.
I find myself taking time to memorize his "baby smell" and the way his sweet cheeks feel next to mine. His sweet baby sounds and the way he sucks in his breath when something really excites him is music to my ears.I love that he just wants me to hold him in the evenings before bed time. He is so happy and loves to smile. It doesn't take much to get a laugh from this little guy. I am praying that as he grows he will always be full of such joy and that he will come to know our precious savior the giver of pure joy.
We love you so much Kolson Noah!
We wanted to have a family picture made this month....
I guess we will have to wait on that!
Poor little Karty feel today during a squabble with Kaden and this was the result. Everyone's advice to me is to "get used to it...boys will be boys"! Karter is such a trooper, he barely cried. Of course I freaked out and called my nurse friend to come over and have a look (Thanks D'ann)! But all is well and mommy is praying for no scaring to that sweet little face of his.
Maybe someday we will get a family picture!:)On Thanksgiving my parents gave Nathan and I the RARE opportunity to have a date! We were so excited...we felt like kids at Christmas getting out of the car with nothing to carry and the only hands to hold were each other's. We lived it up and ordered popcorn and a large coke!:) I went into this movie not knowing much about it...hey, I like Sandra Bullock and I knew it was a movie about football so I thought it was a great choice that would appeal to both of us. I had no idea how God was about use this movie to reach out and grab out hearts.
God has been doing something unexplainable in our hearts lately. To be honest we are not sure what it is or what He is trying to lead us to do. We just know that He is working and we want to be willing, open, and available to WHATEVER He has for us.
Recently I have been previewing a new book for our next bible study. It is called "Lies Women Believe" what really stuck out to me was when the author, Nanci Lee Demoss, said that if Satan can't get us on the BIG lies like abortion or adultery he will certainly try to get us on the small lies. The little subtly things he sneaks into our lives.
When I saw this movie I was struck by Sandra Bullock's character and her willingness to serve in a small way that eventually lead to serving in a way that changed her life and the life of the boy she was serving. But how often does Satan get us on the small lies, lies like...oh that doesn't really make a difference, or who cares if you are nice and polite to the cashier, or somebody else will come along and give that homeless person a meal or some money, or even better when Satan convinces us that we shouldn't give because they won't use it in the right way. As my sweet friend Jennifer pointed out last night, we are held accountable for what we do for those in need and not for what those people do with what we have given.
My heart is so full and I could probably write a whole book but I will end this blog by saying...yes this movie has it's ugly parts but it is all together inspiring and a great picture of what can happen when we put our own desires, and the worries about what others will think to the side all for the good of serving someone else.
So my question for myself and anyone reading this is....what are you doing to help others with what God has given you?
