Camping take 2: now we're talking!

Tent? check.

Fire? check.

Lake? check.

Junk food? check.

Me, Lucy and Preston driving 1 mile back home to our own beds? check.

Go back in the morning with breakfast and coffee to enjoy the day? check.

Now, we're getting somewhere camping with toddlers. Call me a wimp.

(sorry for the excess of photos, it was such a pretty morning)

Boys and fire... there is nothing like the gleam in their eye. I was only burned once.

Tent for 2: dad and Caroline

Yes, blue gatorade and macaroni-and-cheese chips were on the menu, and lucy's face.

.

Lucy has named our grey heron friend, Clifford. We see him alot.

Oh, everyone loves each other so much more when they aren't jumped on or peed on in the middle of the night!

Disturb Us

Disturb us, Lord, when

We are too pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when

with the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision

Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wilder seas

Where storms will show Your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push us into the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.

This we ask in the name of our Captain,

Who is Jesus Christ.

-Sir Francis Drake, 1557 (written before departing England to circumnavigate the globe)

Chosen 1/2, we did it!!

Andy and I ran the Chosen 1/2 Marathon this morning.

The race raised money for adoption. There were some of the sweetest families out to run and cheer on.
It was the most beautiful race!! It was in Gruene, we ran along the river with trees, bridges, and lots of hills... We were in the hill country, so, I guess that was bound to happen :)
We had a handful of friends run. I hope I can walk tomorrow, I can't really straighten my legs, did I mention the hills??
Yesterday, in the midst of racing around like a wild woman cleaning the house, laundry, transporting kids and packing everyone for the night away, I thought "you know what I REALLY need to do right now is make a running visor to show why I'm running..." So, I made this Africa with fabric with a little heart over Rwanda. I was so proud and showed Caroline, she says, "seriously, mom??" Andy said the Africa looked like it had a cancer on the left side. I ran in it anyways, oh, well :)
I didn't have my camera of course, but we had a great time and it was fun for Andy and I to run together to celebrate little Drew's life.

"Lift up you eyes all around, and see;

they gather together, they come to you;

your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.

Then you shall see and be radiant;

your heart shall thrill and exult,

because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you "

Isaiah 60:4-5

Thanks Aunt Liz...

Wow... so, Aunt Liz gave the girls a whole make-up case the other day complete with lavender,electric blue and green eyeshadow! She is such a sweet aunt, but this was really to keep them from begging her to use her real MAC or whatever-fancy stuff she uses:) Persistent little lasses.

They LOVE it.

I took this picture to stall her for a minute so neighbor-Jack could run away from her with the eye-shadow brush.

All the while, Preston was squeezing out the entire tube of

hot pink princess toothpaste

and mashing it into the carpet of each stair and the wall.

Do you ever feel you have completely lost control??

Fall Festival, Booker T Style

Last week, our home group was a little more organized in our monthly time at Hope Street, we thought we'd do a "fall festival".

Hope Street is the ministry of some dear friends at a housing project on the East Side of town. They love, feed and teach the Word of God to about 60 kids every Thursday. We get to join them once a month, love, feed, and oh, learn from them. God is doing a mighty work in our hearts! It is a blast!
We put on a mini-fall festival with doughnut eating contests, "fishing", face painting, archery, pumpkin games, etc...

We are honored they allow us to love these children with them.

My children have such fun, and are being stretched in great ways.

Amanda and Holly cooked and served tons of kids. You guys rock!!

Preston got into the hair paint and shaving cream. Anyone surprised... anyone?

We pulled Kristin in to use her master painter skills

The Schulz girls taking on the doughnuts

Doughnut eating!!

Archery, right up Allen's alley !

Lucy asked if she could have her 6th bday at Booker T :) maybe so.

choosing to see

As a high school Steven Curtis Chapman fan, I was eager to read his wife's new book, mostly because they love orphans. My youth group used his songs as the themes of any event, camp or retreat. I have vivid memories of the bright blue Tshirt with The Great Adventure on it singing at the top of my lungs "Saddle up your horses..."

I spent the majority of the last 24 hours reading this book, Choosing to See, by Mary Beth Chapman. It is one of the most precious, intimate, funny, heartbreaking books I've read. This girl's been through it! What a beautiful story she has to tell of God's redemption on so many levels.

Christianity doesn't deny the reality of suffering and evil.

...Our hope... is not based on the idea that we are going to be free of pain and suffering. Rather, it is based on the conviction that we will triumph over suffering.

Brennan Manning

I parked it in a chair on the driveway while Caroline hammered nails into random wood, Preston threw golf balls into the neighbors yard, and Lucy scaled the very high stone wall on the side of the house with her partner in crime, Jack, the neighbor. I just sat there sobbing.

Andy took the little ones for a run after dinner. I hadn't even made a proper dinner. Caroline offered to clean the kitchen so I could sit and read/cry. She even offered to get me a cup of coffee or diet coke, I said I was fine with my glass of wine. She brought me my stash of dark chocolate squares that I thought was hidden. Clearly, I was a mess.

Out of these ashes

Beauty will rise

And we will dance among the ruins

We will see it with our own eyes

out of these ashes

Beauty will rise

For we know joy is coming in the morning

In the morning

Beauty will rise

Steven Curtis Chapman

The Chapman's lost one of their daughters, Maria in a tragic car accident 2 years ago. Mary Beth chronicles her whole journey, very detailed, and not very wrapped up with a bow. They LOVE adoption and have done more to advocate for orphans than most in the US. I am so inspired by them. They have also raised amazing children. 5 more of them.

My best friend, Lisa told me I had to read it, she was right, and now you should too :)

Andy was reading Tom Davis' book Priceless, a novel about the sex trade in Russia. We were a barrel of laughs last night :(

OK, random post, Caroline is now teaching herself her math lesson, gotta go!