Lollipop's New Friend

This is Cosmo, a spunky little wild man of a pup... and Lolli's newest friend.  He's a two year old golden doodle-- the constant companion of my brother, Dave and his wife, Wilma-- and a truly delightful dog.  This past weekend  he was the perfect host to my mom and my cousin, Corrine, Lolli and me after we traveled south to visit them all and attend a baby shower for Wilma (she and Dave are expecting twins in October!).  

We have all enjoyed Cosmo's company on several previous occasions, but this was Lolli's first encounter w/ the little guy.   She gladly shared her toys and her play mat, too, but when she started tugging on his paws and whiskers, Cosmo had to draw the line.  Fur-tugging was off limits; he simply would not tolerate it!  That was ok with her, though; eventually he came back and she, of course, loved every second of his attentions.  She even stole a few seconds of play time with Uncle Dave.  We certainly appreciate their patience and hospitality, especially that of Cosmo-- the arrival of a little screech owl could have severely disturbed his otherwise peaceful home, but he proved that he could hang... and he also showed us all that he will most certainly make a wonderful companion for his newest siblings this fall-- they'll be very privileged to have such a faithful, and very furry, friend.

Thanks, Dave, Wilma, & Cosmo, for your opening your home to us... we had a great time!

Today is the day!

Today is 8-8-08, the first day of the 2008 Summer Olympics!! We've been anxiously awaiting this day (and the 16 that follow) all summer long! My little Michael Phelps wanna-be(s) can't wait to see their swimming icon topple Mark Spitz's Olympic record and walk away with 8 gold medals. We have every confidence he can do it, and hope to watch each event as it unfolds.

I peaked at the online schedule and it looks like I'm going to have to spend a bit of time with pen and paper in hand. Instead of broadcasting large chunks of swimming coverage at a time (you know, in large blocks that might be relatively easy to remember), NBC is sprinkling 30 minute snippets here and there, I guess as the biggest contests are fought in Beijing. I do know that Phelps's first race (and according to him, his toughest) is the 400-IM and will be aired at 10 pm this Saturday... my little swimmer dudes will certainly be granted permission to catch that one! The IM is one of their personal favorites-- they can't miss Phelps swim it (and win it!), can they? So... if you're looking for any of us this weekend, or anytime in the two and a half weeks to come, you'll know where to find us-- glued to our tv screen... enjoy! (If you're interested in seeing the entire schedule of Olympic events, look here .

Camp Grandmom, Part 2

In addition to building projects of any kind, there are many other aspects of "Camp Grandmom" that the boys absolutely love. One of them is the river (though now, due to near-drought conditions, it more closely resembles a gently rolling stream). It borders Mom and Dad's property, and when weather permits, the boys love to stroll down the mountain so they can crawl upon the rocks that line its bank. Oftentimes they are able to play in the river and wade from sandbar to sandbar, but this past weekend the water level was so low that they just watched from the edge and stayed dry (wahoo!). Big Man found several night crawlers living among the cracks, but he didn't want to pick them up; he asked Bub to do that for him.

After climbing back up the driveway, Big Man found the paint ball guns and enjoyed a little (pretend) target practice in the backyard. Grandmom kept reminding him not to point the guns at people, but sometimes it's just too tempting. After all, how can he possibly wipe out all the "bad guys"if he can't point the guns in their direction?

To top things off, the boys got to hang out with one of their very favorite guys in all the world, Uncle Dave. Together they played the XBox (daddy played, too, but Pops escaped and took a rest) and ate hot wings (Pops didn't miss that one!) and just enjoyed being silly all weekend long. Uncle Dave, you rock!

Wordless Wednesday

Camp Grandmom

At some point in time, not terribly long ago, Grandmom and Pop's house affectionately became known as "Camp Grandmom."  I can't remember exactly how it happened, though I think we came up with the name when Nannie went to stay there while we were away on vacation.  To make ourselves feel better about leaving her behind for a week, we tried to put a postive spin on it-- Nannie was going to camp, her own fun get-away, with Grandmom as her primary counselor!  Anyhow, the name stuck, and now, whenever we make a trip to the mountains, we always refer to our final destination as Camp Grandmom.  Over the river and through the woods we go, until voila, we're there!  

 Since mom and dad only live a couple hours away, we usually get to their house on a fairly regular basis, but due to the boys' swimming schedule this summer, we haven't been able to make the trip once.  Fortunately, my conference this past weekend coincided with a swim-meet-free Saturday, and as a result, we were all able to head for the hills.  It actually turned out to be the perfect time to go because, as you'll see, a huge project is currently underway at mom and dad's--- the addition of a multi-level deck off the back of their house.  And for those of you who have (or ever have had ) little boys, you know that construction sites are just about the coolest things on earth.  There were small ladders and big ladders, ropes and tarps; hammers and nails and screws and clamps.  And even better than that, there were power tools, almost every kind imaginable-- electric drills and screwdrivers, nail guns and saws, an air compressor and sanders... you get the idea.  It was a young man's paradise!  

Mr. Weaver, the gentleman responsible for building this awesome structure, was very patient with the boys and even encouraged their participation in a few of the steps.  Thank you, Mr. Weaver, for remembering what it's like to be a little boy and for understanding their deep desire to help!

Noh-man, especially, enjoyed getting in on the action-- gotta love a sander!

And don't forget the electric screwdriver~

Even Lolli visited the worksite, but no worries, she followed all the construction site safety rules and arrived fully protected in her hard hat.

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend.  In my next post, I'll share a few more photos of all the fun things we did-- for some reason, Blogger is only allowing me to upload 5 pics into this post, so I'll just have to start another to share more :o)  

A 100-fold Harvest

Guess what I did this past weekend?  I spent 6 hours with Beth Moore!!  Well... me and 70,000 other women, but that's beside the point... :o)

Anyhoo, Lollipop and I went with my mom and my best friend, Gretchen (Thanks again, G, for driving up!  It just wouldn't have been the same without you!), to the 2008 Living Proof Live Simulcast-- a conference of sorts, led by Beth and her worship team in Louisville, KY ("Lua-vul," according to Beth) and then broadcast to 715 host locations. (Whenever Beth is speaking within a 6-7 hour radius, we go!  We've been to several of her conferences together, mom, G and me-- in fact, Big Man went with us to a live venue when he was just a wee babe, and Gretchen's younger son went once, too.  This time it was Lolli's turn and she was super!  She stretched her vocal cords a bit during the praise and worship time--a screech owl, mom calls her-- but then promptly settled down for a long rest when Beth began to teach.)  I must say that if you've never been intoduced to Beth Moore, you absolutely must "meet" her... I promise she'll bless your socks off!  (Click here to learn more about Beth and Living Proof Ministries.)

This weekend Beth spoke on a very familiar passage of Scripture-- Luke 8, the parable of the sower.  The lessons I learned are too numerous to recount here, but there is one point in particular that I'd like to share; it has given me much food for thought over these past few days. It comes from Luke 8:8, " 'And other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.' As (Jesus) said these things, He would call out, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear.' "  Now here's where the challenge comes in, the part I had never really considered before.  On Friday night, Beth said this-- The Word of God can have a 100-fold impact on your family and your family line if you study it... I'm talking about letting the Word of God have its full impact in you... God has placed a calling on each of our lives, but it will never happen apart from His Word.

OK... so on the surface that seems fairly obvious, doesn't it??  The seed, of course, is the Word; the soil is the believer.  God gives us His Word and wants us to read it and then internalize it; He wants us to take possession of it.   So, does knowing it fairly well count?  You know, being familiar with lots of passages?  Um, no.  Or does He expect us to know it, to retain it, to assimilate it?  And will future generations really be affected by the choices I make today?  That would be a yes.  In Deuteronomy 5:9-10, we are told that the Lord will show love to a thousand generations for those who love Him and keep His commandments.  A thousand generations??  If I love Him and keep His commands??  My impact can be that great?  Whoa... that's big.  That's really big.  I guess the question then is this-- am I living my life today like I really believe that to be true?

How much time do I really spend with Him?  How many mornings do I wake up, ready to meet with God before I begin my day?  Not many.   Why?  Because life happens.  The baby doesn't sleep or I already have to get up too early as it is to take the boys to swim practice or I'm just too tired and overwhelmed by my never-ending to-do list.  Excuses?  You bet.  Acceptable?  No way.  Ecclesiastes 11:6 says "Sow your seed in the morning."  And Isaiah 50:4 tells us that "He awakens me morning by morning, He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple."  Every morning, God is there, anxious to chat, ready to fill me with His Word so that I might grow in Him and share His love with others (like my children!).  But how often do I refuse to crawl out from under the covers?  How often do I hit the snooze button, over and over again?  How often do I miss out on precious time with my Lord?  Too often.  All too often.

So what to do, what to do... the choice is obvious.  Very early, while it is still dark, I need to rise to meet with God (Jesus modeled this for us in Mark 1:35).  I need to spend quiet time in His Word at the start of my day, before the worries and distractions of the world settle in.  I need to spend time absorbing it, memorizing it, and retaining it so that my mind might be transformed and renewed by its power.  So that I might be enabled by His indwelling Holy Spirit to live a life worthy of the calling.  So that my life might bring honor and glory to His name.  I must press on.  I must persevere.  And as result of my choice, I will be blessed.  My husband will be blessed.  Our childern will be blessed, and their children, and their children's children, up to a thousand generations.  Is it worth it?  Are they worth it?  Absolutely.  A 100-fold harvest.  That's God's promise.

But the seed on good soil stands

for those with a noble and good heart,

who hear the Word, retain it,

and by persevering produce a crop.

Luke 8:14  

A Happy Birthday Tune

Happy half Birthday to you,

Happy half Birthday to you,

Happy half Birthday, dear Lolli,

Happy half Birthday to you!

We love you, sweet, sweet Lolli-lu... you truly are a gift!