She Pays Me Money

Seriously!

Last night we met some of our new neighbors. They had two little boys, 7 & 5, and Jude was MESMERIZED by them!!

So, I bring him down the driveway to meet their Mommy. He clasps his arm around my leg, looks up into her eyes and very convincingly Jude says:

"I obey my mommy."

The woman began to praise him excitedly and tell her boys they should do the same, but not before Jude interrupted her:

"She pays me money."

Oh. MY.

I was FLOORED!!! This child came up with that ALL on his OWN!!!

We laughed out loud until we could collect ourselves and then laughed some more!!

Jude just stared at us, trying to figure out what was so funny!!

And, of course, this isn't his FIRST fabrication (errr...lie)! But I suppose this one we can call a joke. ;0)

HILARIOUS!!!

Well I guess now the world knows our secret: We pay our kid to obey!

You Asked...

This one's for you Grammie! Here's Brennan!

In the previous post, B was sleeping when Jude & I went to capture spring pictures. So, prompted by Grammie's asking & the beautiful sunshine, we went out again today, this time WITH Brennan. :0)

We found that MORE flowers had bloomed! And TONS of buds are unopened! It's like Christmas, I can't wait!!(pay attention to that adorable smile!)

Poor thing, it was so bright he could hardly look up at me!!

These days, you'll often find Jude with this expression on his face when interacting with Brennan. This Compassion is a nice switch from the Curiosity which often led to tears for lil B!

I think this one will be a teacher's pet. Can you see it??

Brennan just LOVED exploring! Of course, at this stage that means tasting everything- which didn't go over so well. But he loved it nonetheless!

Does anyone else think this looks like a manly model photo?

I don't blame him, but homedog didn't really like crawling on the rocky concrete. So everywhere he went, he crawled like-- you guessed it Aunt KK-- Mowgli!! This one is starting young!!

Jude enjoying some super-sized basketball. Clever.
Guess you can't blame him for knowing how to win!

This is the front of our house. If you look really closely, it's like Jude's saying something manly like, "I've conquered it! It's mine!"

Jude apparently loves green as much as God does, here in KY. Oh and he loves dandelions too. Maybe cause it's the only flower he's allowed to pick!
And really, who doesn't LOVE to blow them into the wind??
Ok. Excuse the puffy eyes! These flowers are our newest friends in Estesville!
They're HUGE and BEAUTIFUL!!
This flower is NO KIDDING as big as my hand!! This picture still doesn't do justice.

I'd call the photoshoot a success!! Hope you enjoyed it Grammie! We love you!!

Life is Blooming

So, this ALWAYS overwhelms me- which is why I haven't written in ages. I keep thinking how am I EVER going to have the time to sit down and write out all we've done lately?

Really. How???

'Cause I don't have ANYTHING else I'm doing!

But with some good ol' fashioned commitment I'm really going to try to post regularly! Thanks for stickin' with me!

So...with that said...


Things are a-changin' here in Estesville. For one thing, we've moved to Louisville, KY!!

And can I just say, it's BEAUTIFUL! This place must be where Green was Invented! The trees are in GORGEOUS hues, and we've even got white & pink dogwood trees!

These trees are in our yard & across the street. We've got tulips & daffodils budding everywhere!
Not to mention precious little children (more on that in the next post, promise)!I told Jude that his Grammie had asked for pictures of the pretty flowers in our yard.
And these were his poses for her! So sweet!

This face cracks me up!!
Ok. So these pics didn't do justice to the flowers, but at least the kid's cute!
And for the record, these flowers changed color the longer they were in bloom. They are a gorgeous violet color now!

This whole time I've been so unexposed! Did God neglect Texas when He was doing the whole creation thing?? Why don't we Texans have anything but bluebonnets and dead grass? ;0)

Well, the plants aren't the only thing full of life around here. We have been immensely thankful for God's mercy in the fellowship we've experienced. Although it wasn't necessarily their purpose, our friends Brandon & Bethan moved here almost 2 years ago, investing in rich relationships, and paving a path for an easy transition for us. And really, that is not something we take lightly. AT ALL. Especially after 2 years of not feeling like we really had a home or community! This feels like a Promised Land of sorts!

I've learned that this is an area that, if neglected, can tear the life out of you.

So, I guess I'm finally resting here after a long labor. I realize now that I've been avoiding even peering into my spiritual/emotional life so far. I guess I felt the need to get to a safe & stable place to unpack each piece carefully, and let the Master do some deep cleaning.

I told Jon the other day that it's hard to even articulate how I'm feeling or what needs to be healed. I just have this awareness that I need to talk through some stuff, deep ugly stuff with the Lord. I need to deal with my junk.

Well, with TONS of graciousness, Jon woke me up LATE (Hallelujah!) Friday morning and said, "Why don't you go spend the day with Lord?"

Oh. My. Heavens.

Sigh. I about hugged the life out of him.

So off I went, as he held those sweet boys in his arms.

Little did I know that the next few hours would be the most heart-wrenching, painful hours I've had in a long time. But really, it was SO rich and SO redeeming.

It was confessing, crying out, and facing so many things that I've been hiding behind and from. And God was so merciful to meet me there and, not only forgive me but embrace me and remind me of His love for me.

It's amazing how I let a little tiny lie or two in the door of my heart some 2 years ago, and they grew to dominate my pattern of thinking. They kicked down the door to my defenses and undid me.

It's amazing how quickly destruction happens, yet how LONG it takes to rebuild.

Twin Towers anyone??

So, here I am seeking again to saturate my life with Scripture! It's POWERfully healing.

I want NOTHING but the GOSPEL to lead the course of my life.

Not self.

or marriage.

or motherhood.

or time.

or busyness.

or fear.

or unintentionality.

or straight up sin.

Thank you Jesus for YOU.

and for how accessible and near You are.

and that YOU are healing me

from my wretched, sinful ways.

Your nearness is my good. It's my glorious gift. :0)

Halle Joy!!!

Hallelujah!!

Kaye & Halle are safe & sound after seemingly forever on bedrest,

Halle Joy Birdsell
was born April 4th
at 5 lbs 11oz
a sweet ball of precious JOY!

I sure do wish I was there to cuddle you sweet one. We miss you so much!!!
Your life is such a precious gift to us! Your Mommy & Daddy have worked SO hard to keep you safe! Bless the Lord for them; they love you more than you know!!

I LOVE this job!

I seriously can't think of a better job than this! Trust me, I sure have my days. But when I'm intentionally walking in joy & contentment, I just can't thank Jesus enough for my husband and sweet boys!

A friend sent me the book Created to be his Help Meet at a particularly discontented time (Thank you Daphne), and it handed me a direct challenge: PRACTICE contentment & joy. It really takes focus and intentionality to walk this road with thankfulness. It's amazing how hard it was at the beginning and how easy it's become! I have to PUT ON thankfulness. It doesn't just happen! And I can see the fruit of it in our marriage!

And boy does this play into EVERY area of my life! --finances, provision, parenting, housework, laundry, friendships, church, serving, hospitality...fill in the blank!

So...speaking of these little blessings. Here's you a sweet little update!

Mister Jude

In Concert

We've got ourselves a Music Man over here people! You'll almost always find this little guy with a guitar in his hands....or an imaginary one. Lindsee's dad gave him a ukulele (pictured below), but in his little world anything from a spankin' spoon to a hand-held mirror is a guitar! I sure wish I could post you some videos! But it's not working! ..maybe later!
When Jude doesn't have a guitar in his hand, he's driving cars. What could be more typical than a little boy loving cars?? But I'm not complaining! It's just oh-so-cute! He loves making "hills" in the rugs and driving over them again and again! It occupies him for hours!

Imagination is his THING. In January we went to see Dr. Rusty, and who did Jude soon become?
None other than, "Docker RussY". In case your imagination isn't as sharp as his-- the pink thing on his head is a stethoscope. :0) He examined his Aunt Mary's heart, ears & throat and (thank the Lord) she came away with a clean bill of health. Unfortunately, his daddy was given a shot-- but don't be mistaken, it was covered with a band-aid. :0)

The kiddo still LOVES to read and is memorizing books easily these days!! I was amazed and inspired when Rachel posted this video of Josiah helping her read a book. I thought Josiah was a prodigy, but apparently 2+ year olds have a knack for this sort of thing. When reading one of our "regulars", we like to play a little game where we don't read the last few words of the sentences and let Jude fill in the blanks. And MY! He articulates so well! Next step: Capitalizing on that ability to memorize- for learning scripture!

So everyone thinks their kid is special right? Well, I don't know if "special" is the right description here...maybe unique or bizarre, but this Jude-bug LOVES him some hummus- which he so admiringly began calling "Tummus" after re-uniting with Josiah whose dad's name is "Thomas". Don't you love it?

Enjoying some "Tummus"

And what does Jude love EVEN more???
Two things-- cuddles & Brennan!! And boy does Brennan love him too!
No one can evoke giggles from Brennan like Jude can!

On a more serious note, our little guy is learning about Jesus! He's learning what it means to be kind and obedient. He's aware of when he is and isn't being a blessing to those around him. He's building some great skills in apologizing and forgiving. AND He's got his please, thank you's, and "mother-may-I"'s down pat (well almost!) It just blesses my heart!

Now...

Brennan Boy
Is an all-smiles giggle monster!

Crawling has just opened up a whole new world for us! You know with some babies you think, "When this kid crawls, it will be the END of my freedom". But with Brennan it's been just the opposite! He and Jude get to interact more and Mom has more time for Jude-- which just thrills both of us to pieces!

This little sweetie has recently started with "Ma-Ma" and the other morning greeted his daddy with a giddy "Da!"

Curiously Handsome

This kid is FLEXIBLE. We often find him sleeping and playing in contortionistic ways! His Grammie is sure he'll be a gymnast!

Ha! I don't know WHERE this expression came from!!

In other news, Jon returned from Louisville at the end of January, and we were MORE THAN THRILLED to have him back! What would we do without him?

In February, we traveled to College Station, San Antonio, & Friendswood, enjoying some great time with friends and family...just not quite enough! My sister, Mary, blogged about our time in San Antonio here. My camera was dead so she got all the cute pictures!!

And FUN NEWS! We've signed a lease and plan to move to Louisville, KY at the beginning of April!! This has been a long time coming, and we're thrilled that the Lord is leading us there now.

Blessings to all of you, and sorry for so much silence!!
Sally