Jesus is life.

Outside of Jesus Christ, there is existence, but there is no such thing as life.

Jesus makes the good days better, the mediocre days full of purpose, and the bad days glorious.

Immense joy and pleasure will only be found when we stop compartmentalizing Jesus Christ and we allow Him to be center in all things.

The most moronic thing in our culture is that we already have stuff that does not satisfy us, but we believe if we get more of what already doesn't satisfy us, we will be satisfied. A life in pursuit of the glory of God is the only way to be satisfied.

Joy is found in His presence. Jesus does not own joy, He is joy.

~quotes from my favorite, Matt Chandler


John 14:6, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life'.

John 10:10, 'The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly'.

John 15:11, '...that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.'

Psalm 107:9, 'For He satisfies the longing soul...'

we got...

spirit, yes we do, we got spirit how bout you!!?

Brooke woke up at 5:45 am to get her spirit on and came down fully dressed :) then went to wake up Erin and she did the same. Both have had a good week at school and we're settling in and establishing a routine, sort of.

First day!

Erin and Brooke started school today :) Brooke surprised us. She held our hand up to the door and I thought I would need to help her transition into the room...but she wanted me to leave...wouldn't even pose for a picture :( Erin still gave us a hug and a kiss in front of her friends... :) They're so different, yet precious in their own way. Kyle and I laughed as we talked about the girls and walked Kameron back to our car. God is good.

Erin wants to know...

just one thing before she goes back to school, 'will they recognize me!!?' Of course, we say, you're beautiful, with or without teeth!

Kameron is 3!

Our baby turned 3 today! She is so fun, funny and dearly loved. Aunt Rachel took some pictures of her, with her sisters, and the promised gift 'when Kam turned 3' :)

The gift's name is Maximus, after the Gladitor. Max was left for dead, but survived a chemical burn down the length of his back...during his recovery from his burns he contracted the parvo virus...he is well now and we're happy to have him!

The One You Need

Hey, hey sweet daughter
I am so proud to be your father
Each day is like a gift from God

Hey, hey sweet daughter
There’s no music like your laughter
And your smile is like a rising sun

You know I loved you from the start
So come in close
Take my hand while
Daddy shares his heart

I wish that I could be your everything
Be the one to give you all the things you need
Sometimes I’m gonna let you down
But there’s Someone if you just believe
Be your hero like He’s always been for me
Darling, Jesus is the one you need

No matter what you walk through
He will always love you
Just the way you are
For there’s nothing in this world
That I’d want for my baby girl
That she’ll be happy ever after

The story of your life is still untold
I pray the King of all the Universe
Would make your heart His own

I wish that I could be your everything
Be the one to give you all the things you need
Sometimes I’m gonna let you down
But there’s Someone if you just believe
Be your hero like He’s always been for me
Darling, Jesus is the one

Who will never leave
He’s been there all along
All ready You can find to love

I wish that I could be your everything
Be the one to give you all the things you need
Sometimes I’m gonna let you down
But there’s Someone if you just believe
Be your hero like He’s always been for me
Darling, Jesus is the one you need

California!

My first time and it was even better than I had imagined...the trees, flowers, homes, WEATHER (in the low 70's!) made me feel like I was in a different country! We loved it and Kelley and John were the best hosts...their hometown of Palo Alto is beautiful. They took us to a delicious breakfast in San Francisco, on to Napa and dinner at Morimotos (the Iron Chef's restaurant), then to Carmel for lunch, and ending with Pebble Beach...we got to listen to a man walk up the beach playing Amazing Grace on his bagpipe before dinner at Roy's :)

Lombard Street in San Francisco! eight turns in one block :)

Golden Gate Bridge out of our window :)

Alcatraz

our favorite winery, Schramsberg...our tour guide's toast, 'may your only pain be Champaign!'...

bottles of bubbly everywhere! floor to ceiling and 4 rows deep...all hand turned by a riddler...

the caves...loved the smell, reminded me of our jr. high girls locker room :)

the beach in Carmel...lots of art shopping and good food...

stopped here along our 17 mile drive in Pebble Beach...

Brooke marches...

to the beat of her own drum...singing 'I want my burrito back' while coloring a Christmas tree and cutting out ornaments...

Kameron

'I look great and have a pocket full of toys, in case I need to play.'

The Big Apple

Rachel and I have helped lead the music, even though we can't sing, for VBS the last 3 years...it's a lot of fun! And this year, I got to teach Erin's first grade class too :)
New York City was the theme and we decorated our room with skyscrapers and Central Park :)

I'm so thankful that God allows me to teach little ones about Him. I can still see their eyes as we talked about faith and what it means to trust in Jesus. Faith is indeed a gift, given only by God...it's believing, trusting, and hoping in things we cannot see...

Faith: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Hope: For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Romans 8:24-25

graffiti wall...our kids loved vandalizing, on butcher paper!

We did our Bible study in Central Park

Rachel and I had fun making these skyscrapers :)

Keeping it nice...

the first graders...

the music team!

my first grader!!

Recital

Erin and Brooke love performing :) Check out their smiles!

Erin's done!

with Kindergarten! She has come a LONG way since the beginning of the year. I almost can't remember all of her tears...and now she cries if she is going to be late to school because she'll miss handwriting! We took her out of school twice in May to take a trip to Florida and to San Antonio...it totally surprised me that I was persuading her to believe that Disney and the beach/lazy river would be more fun than school. So, there we have it. Erin loves school, just like we knew she would.