Happy Birthday My Love!!!

This Man is my Best Friend.
This Man is my Leader.
My Laughter.
My Confidant.
My Accountability.
He is passionate about the Word.
He is quick to forgive.
He admits his mistakes.
He keeps no record of my wrongs.
He sacrifices for my good.
This man loves me deeply.

This man is my Baby's Daddy. :0)
And he's an incredible Daddy.
He loves this little boy like no one else could but Jesus.
He plays, laughs, and trains this beloved child.
Jude and I are so blessed to have him. And so thankful God gave him to us.
Happy Birthday and Happy Father's Day Jon!
We love you so much!!

P.s. Happy Father's Day to our Dads!!! We love you both SOOO much and are so thankful for such wonderful Dads!!

We Miss You Already!!!

Jon's Mom moved overseas for work for a year this past Sunday and we already miss her dearly. But we did take some wonderful pictures during our last weekend all together.

Enjoy CeCe!! We love you!!!

Scrub-a-dub-dub! Jude Loves the Tub!

Our little guy is full of expression these days! He's just such a treat!
I picked up these letters in the dollar section at Target and he sure did light up! They also make great teethers! He's due for a tooth any day now, as he doesn't have a single one yet!

We're just about ready for all of our traveling this summer! We'll be all over until August.
Here's what our schedule looks like:

June 4th-10th in San Antonio, TX

June 12th-22nd in Pennsylvania for our Pre-Departure Orientation

June 23rd -July 1st in Houston for VBS
(we're the spotlight m-ssionaires!)

July 1st-July 28th in NY/NJ area for training for our special country

Whew! We'll be SO busy! But the Lord has opened LOTS of doors for us!

Our target date for leaving is mid-to-late October!

We are so thankful! Hope you enjoy the pics!

Playing Chase

My guys are just so much fun. I couldn't have picked a better bunch.

Time has FLOWN by! Jude is almost 9 months old and crawling all over the place! He's also quickly learned the art of pulling up on everything in sight. We're sure he'll be walking by the end of summer!
He has a few new tricks like
waving hi & bye-bye,
covering his eyes and playing peekaboo,
and patting his mouth like an indian!He giggles and smiles all the time and is just such a joy to us! He takes SO well to strangers and lets just about ANYONE hold him which is a great blessing considering we're around new people all the time. We praise the Lord for such an adaptable and pleasant child.
He's curious as ever and is "exploring" new things
around the house like
...outlets!!
So, as you can imagine, he's hearing "No, no" a lot these days!
He's generally a good eater as long as the food isn't green. :0) He's eating yogurt, toast, a variety of fruits, and a variety of veggies.
He's self feeding...which is fun to watch!Jude loves to move and play. People are his primary entertainment. If strangers are around he hardly ever fusses!
He's most definitely a sanguine!!
He's also started following us around the house!
Where ever we go, he follows right on our heels.Jon has started to play chase with Jude and Jude gets such a kick out of it. He just laughs, and laughs, and laughs.
Enjoy the video!

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Remind Us

Last night we attended a funeral for a relative.
It has really brought me to a place of pondering life and what we leave behind.

Last night we also watched the Spurs win.
In light of the funeral, I watched these players-- most with national and maybe even international reputations. Some of these players' names will go down in history. They make LOTS of money, have LOTS of fame, and receive LOTS of "glory" here on earth. Some covet their lives.

But when we die the ground is leveled. To death, we are all the same.

It's hard to avoid sounding trite when referencing this subject, but I think there is really something to learn here.

When we die, we take nothing with us. Standing before the Lord, no earthly "glory" matters.
No approval from our peers.
No favor with leaders.
Not any of our things.
Not our matching living room sets.
Not our cute outfits.
Not our figure or physique.
Not our opinions.
Not our identity as wife, husband, mom, friend, sister, brother, etc.
Not our credentials.
Nothing.

So what does this mean for us? What are we investing in?

This has really challenged me. We invest so much in what gets left behind. I want Jesus to take me to a place where all of that is left behind and I press on ONLY for the prize-- only for Christ Jesus my Lord. Sometimes I lose sight that life is fleeting. That this is my ONE opportunity. That Jesus made me for Him. Not for them.

I want to be made holy.
I want to long for His presence.
This is not our home.

I want to invest my life in...
the poor.
the orphans.
the widows.
the hurt.
the angry.
the empty.
the broken.
...the glory of Christ.

He "wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth". 1 Timothy 2:4

Do I want all men to be saved? Do I live my life toward that end?

This affluence is blinding us.
Most of us can't see past it.
...Or we aren't looking.

I am not above it. I want it. I pursue it. But every encounter with Him reminds me that this is not my home. That my cute home will not go with me. That His purposes are higher than mine.

And this is my ONE chance.
I will live for Him.
Everyday I must die to self.
Everyday I must put on Christ...
who "made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant..."

What does Christ-likeness really look like??

Are we brave enough to ask that question? Are we brave enough to think that maybe we really aren't entitled to all of this?

Brave is indeed the right word. Because encountering truth shakes people. It changes us.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
James 1:27

Do we really believe these words?
I want my life to echo them.
Change me Jesus.
Change us.
And everyday remind us we're desperate.
And we take nothing with us.
Remind Us.
Every day.