Scuffed Up

While Justin and I were out on a date last night, Lily was at our friends' house (which we'll leave unnamed out of our love for them) and had a little tumble in their driveway.  It really didn't surprise us much when they said she barely cried at all.  And it could have happened anywhere these days with how much she runs and trips!  But she still looks as cute as ever.  It just adds a little character.  See?

And one adorable post-bath picture for good measure .....

Depraved Indifference

For awhile now, I've been wrestling with some things that have been stirred up deep within my heart.  A couple of months ago, I started reading the book Radical and it certainly lived up to its title.  You can't expect to read a book filled with that much hard-to-swallow truth and come away unchanged.  Justin just finished it yesterday and now we are both compelled to ask ourselves "Now what?"  We can't pretend that we don't know that there are 29,000 children that die every day because of hunger and preventable diseases.  We can't pretend that Jesus didn't command (not merely ask) us to sell everything and give to the poor.  We can't give lame excuses like we don't have enough money to make an impact or we don't have the time or resources to go overseas and meet these children that God holds so dear and calls by name.  Those excuses won't hold up.

And then, I saw this video and it tore my heart even further open.  What if it were my Lily sitting on the side of the road with no one to care for her?  What then?  Wouldn't I do everything in my power to make sure that someone would get to her as quickly as possible?  I would give my own life to make sure that happened. So, I'm faced with the realization that the God I love and serve tells me I am to love others as I love myself.  I certainly love myself enough to know that I don't want to die of starvation or lose my child to a horrible disease.  So this means I am to love these children, whom I don't even know by name, enough to not want the same for them.

I don't yet know what all of this is going to look like specifically in our family but I pray (and hope that you'll pray to this end for us too) that God will continue to break our hearts for what breaks His.  Maybe this video will impact you the way it did me.

Welcome to the World, Baby Ben!

Our friends Josh and Laura just received a special gift from God this past Friday - a sweet baby boy named Benjamin Mark!  We got to visit them in the hospital and see his cute little face for the first time.  Lily did surprisingly very well sitting on my lap while I held Ben.  We've been practicing the concept of being gentle so it must be paying off!  We know the Lawsons will be great parents and we can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for their family!

Company Picnic

We had Justin's company picnic on Saturday.  Lily had fun on the playground, Justin had fun playing volleyball and bags and I had, well....I chased Lily around most of the time!

 Ready...

 Go!

 Such a big girl!

 What a hunk :)

 Justin and his boss on the management volleyball team

 Two little Lilys

We met this little 3 year old girl and soon found out that her name was Lily also. They also both have the middle initial M!

Motherhood is Application

If you are a mother, please do yourself a favor and read this article.  I promise you it will give you an extra dose of comfort to be reminded that we all go through the tough moments and a dose of perseverance to keep pressing ahead in this glorious role that God's given us.  Enjoy!

Iowa State Fair

 Getting ready to enjoy the famous chocolate chip cookies. 

Don't worry, we didn't let her have the whole cup!

 The result of said cookies

 Sharing some cheese curds with Daddy

 Looking at the baby ducks.  This may very well have been Lily's favorite part of the day.

 She wasn't too keen on the idea of petting the baby goat though

Giant slide!

Ride #2

A large crowd worshiping to Tenth Avenue North's music

And the 2nd day in a row with Lily asleep on the way home.  

Also take note of the bottom of her shoes.  

This little girl likes to go, go, go!

A fun time was had by all!

Adventureland

Before I quit my job to stay home, my workplace was offering half price tickets to Adventureland, which I didn't want to pass up.  We finally found an open day and went yesterday.  We saw lots of smiles from Lily and she was very content on all of the rides as long as Mommy or Daddy were with her!  I brought our swimsuits just in case and I was sure glad I did - it turned out to be hotter than I anticipated.  So we enjoyed about 45 minutes in the waterpark there too.  It brought back lots of memories of our "Grandma trips" growing up.  Grandma used to take all of us cousins and our parents to Adventureland every summer and I loved it!  It's fun to now share those kinds of things with Lily.

Lily's first ever ride - the teacups!

 "I wonder how high up we're gonna go"

 Of course the highlight of any day - even at an amusement park - are small animals! :)

 Sign of a good outing: precious sleeping babe