On Repeat

Last July KSBJ (the only Christian radio station in Houston) went out in my Jeep. Brian was driving during a thunderstorm and a lightening strike knocked it out. I can't stand to listen to any other station and my Jeep isn't fancy or new enough to allow me to plug my I-pod in, so usually it was just silence or Jackson's CD's on in my car.

Well, I finally got smart (almost a year later) and decided to burn myself a CD from Itunes. Brian had just purchased the new Passion cd so that was the one I picked. It has been playing non-stop in my car for the past month, except when Jackson asks to listen to the Monkey song.

I love all the songs on this cd, but I have two favorites! Each morning, I pour my heart out to my Lord singing Track #6 Lord, I Need You by Chris Tomlin. A few of my favorite lines of the song are:
"So teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You
Jesus You're my hope and stay
And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You
Jesus You're my hope and stay
Lord, I need You, oh I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You."

I know I need Him every minute of my every day!

Track #8 is Forever Reign by Kristian Stanfill/Hillsong.
"Oh, I’m running to Your arms
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

My heart will sing
no other Name
Jesus, Jesus"

I love the chours on this song and the picture it paints that He is more than enough! It reminds me of what Pastor David said Sunday- "God is big enough that I don't have be saved from anything."

Take a few minutes to listen to these songs and let God speak to you! (If I knew how I would put the YouTube videos on here:)

Easter Egg Hunts

Saturday morning we headed over to our Church for there Easter egg hunt. Jackson couldn't wait to go find eggs. He was being extremely silly before we left and this is what he did for every picture!
On our way to the field:) Still excited!

By the time the hunt actually started he was way less excited about finding eggs. At first he just watched everyone else pick up eggs. You don't actually have to hunt for these eggs because there are literally thousands of eggs spread out across the field. He eventually decided he would join in on the fun!

"Look what I got Mom!" He finished with a full basket of eggs. He was more amused with the eggs themselves than the candy inside. Not my boy! I love this picture of him behind his Easter bucket with the focus on the cross and his name. I pray he surrenders his life to the One who gave it all for us!

Family picture after the egg hunt. Of course no smiles from Jackson!

We decided to do our own egg hunt with Jackson at home too. We hid a dozen or so eggs around the house and let him go. He went crazy, squealing every time he found an egg not caring what was inside!

We also let him find his Easter baskets Saturday night. I figured that way we didn't have to rush before Church. I actually think that might be a new tradition because then Easter Sunday is reserved just for Jesus!

He's not spoiled or anything:) He found all three baskets and enjoyed playing with his new toys all night long. I think that wraps up all things Easter!

He is Risen Indeed!

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I standIn Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, I live There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sins curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a life?s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand!

We had a great Easter weekend celebrating all Christ has done for us. Nothing is greater than what he did for us on the cross to save us from our sins. Thank you, Jesus! In HIM alone we are made whole!

Dying Easter Eggs

We got brave this year and let Jackson dye some eggs. He was so excited to color the eggs. I was really nervous about him getting dye everywhere and staining a bunch of things. So, I stripped him down to just his diaper and put my apron on me!
He went right to town throwing the eggs in the different colors. We had no spills, just all cracked eggs:) He would say "I do it gentle!" and put one in nice and throw the next!

The finished products!

I love me some family time!
We were working really hard with Jackson so he would know the real meaning of Easter and know it is more than eggs and bunnies. We read his Bible in the morning or at night and talked to him about what Jesus did for us. He now wakes up in the morning and says he NEEDS to read his Bible. Makes my heart melt! Here is a video of Jackson dying Easter eggs but he also tells us what Jesus did for you and me!

Open Season

We have been waiting for the Splash Pad to open so we could take Jackson this year. He loved it last year and we knew this year he probably would love it even more. It took some convincing and Jackson watching a video from last year to get him excited about going. Once he saw the video of himself he said "Yeah, I wanna do that. Go there!" Once we got to the Splash Pad there was no stopping him! The first of many, many more trips! We enjoyed the beautiful weather and went both days this weekend. Brian braved the water and ran through it with Jackson. Me? Nope not warm enough for me yet!

Jackson's new love! My favorite part of our trips is watching Jackson squeal with delight and how his face lights up pure happiness. Nothing better!

Drying off in the sun!

We didn't completely abandon the park this weekend. We made one quick trip Sunday night after some yummy Carl's BBQ (love finding gift cards you forgot about)!

In the summer we live in our pool or the Splash Pad. So, if you are looking for us check one of those two places!

Easter Bunny 2011

We headed out to Bass Pro this morning so Jackson could see the Easter Bunny and take a picture with him. When he saw the Easter Bunny two weeks ago he couldn't stop talking about so I knew he would be excited to go again. Of course we don't want Jackson to thing Easter is just about the Easter Bunny and eggs so we talked to him about the real meaning. Before we left he was able to tell us Jesus died and rose!

The good thing about the Eater Bunny being at the Bass Pro Shop is that the picture is free and Jackson loves everything else in the store too!

Talking to the fish Driving the cart with mommy

Driving the boat with Daddy

He was way more excited in line waiting. As soon as Brian walked him up there he played shy, but before we left he gave the bunny a high-five!

Memorizing Scripture #8

I saw such a difference in my attitude the last few weeks while committing 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 to my mind and heart. It was consantaly at the forefront of my thoughts and made a huge difference in my attitude, the atmosphere in my classroom, and the way I responded to Brian and Jackson.

So I am sticking to a verse that deals with my attitude again and treatment of others. I pray this verse impacts me just as much and that God continues to shape my heart to beat more like his.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the intersts of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:3-5

This may be a tough one for me and hit me where it hurts, but in a good way!

Like His Daddy

Jackson cough only got worse Sunday night into Monday morning. So Brian took Jackson back to the doctor. They gave him a breathing treatment at the office and sent him home with medicine to do a treatment each night before bed. We are to also give him benadryl before bed. Jackson wasn't too sure about the breathing treatments at the doctor's office but likes to do the "steam" at home! We already had a nebulizer thanks to Brian and his allergies/asthma. Hopefully this is the only ailment Jackson has gotten from his daddy!

I hope this is the answer for Jackson and we have no more trips to the doctor for a while!

Weekend Highlight

We have had a fun, laid back weekend with some long sleepless nights. Jackson has a nasty cough with runny nose and every now and then a fever. Friday night was the worst. He would cough and cry like he was in a lot of pain. It broke my heart to hear/see him like that. Daddy ended up sleeping in the chair with him all night. My turn was Saturday night. During the day he would run around like he felt fine most of the weekend, which I guess he was except his really annoying cough.

We still managed to take numerous walks and bike rides with stops at the park. However the highlight of our weekend was an impromptu trip to Bear Creek Park. It is a free park with some animals to look at behind fences. Jackson LOVED the goats! This goat would come right up to the fence and eat grass right out of Jackson's hand. Jackson got a kick out of it EVERY TIME! We just took our time walking up and down the fences checking out all the animals. The weather was beautiful! Checking out the animals with daddy. They have a bunch of different birds. I loved seeing the peacock with its feathers all spread out. Beautiful, just beautiful! We were looking over the bridge at the little turtles when a HUGE turtle came swimming on through! Jackson is enthralled by all things animals so this was a great trip for him! I actually had a really good time looking at all the animals. I tried to look at them all through the eyes of God and found them all amazing! We also saw a really big chicken and turkey. I couldn't believe how big they were!

Man, I love the weekends! I am praying and hoping my baby boy is on the mend and we all sleep through the night!

Living Praise

In our small group we are reading Praise Habit, Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi by David Crowder. Before reading this book I was trying to be more aware of my worship for God and worshiping Him without ceasing. David talks a lot about worship being part of every move and making it our way of life; our natural habit. In Praise Habit he writes, "When you begin to find Him in all the stuff of life, everything starts singing. Every moment breaks into song. Every breath becomes sacrifice, and the songs become sweetness. This is living praise."

So this last week I was trying to be more aware of where I found God and worshipping Him in that moment. Here are a few places I found God:

-A Polaris by the side of the road, God provides in all sorts of ways-My alarm clock, God cares even about the smallest things

-A doctor's appointment and Target gift card

-A father's love

-Grandparents/family

-Jackson's love for life

-Scripture/song that I needed at that moment

-God's creation, God thought of every last detail

-Selling Final Four Tickets allowed me to have an opportunity to do something unique for school

-Katrina, God blesses us with friends and has a plan long before we know"Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands." Psalm 63:3-4

Where did you find God this week?

The Final Four

The main reason Brian's parents flew down was for the NCAA final four games and championship game that we had tickets for. Sharon and I sold our tickets so just Mel and Brian went to the games. They said they had a great time. Record attendance for the Final Four games. While the big boys were at the games we shopped! I scored many great deals for Jackson, Brian, and of course me. However, the highlight of our shopping trip was Jackson excitement over riding "Thomas" through the mall. He couldn't stop smiling or talking about it! Of course they made time for the pool, playing with Jackson, and a few small projects around the house.

Papa became Jackson's favorite (as if he already wasn't) when he put the Hot Dog song as his ring tone on his phone. Jackson carried Papa's phone around listening to that song the whole week. The phone was the cause of getting Jackson to smile for pictures Sunday morning.

Before church, It is always nice to go to church with family. It just feels right!

My boy and me

Thanks for everything Papa and Grandma!

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