Our Cali Trip

We left our house at 4 am on Friday the 17th and got to Cali at about 2:30 pm. We made awesome time and Barrett did great on the road. There were a few times he just wanted to get out and play so I did take him out of his seat and let him scoot around on the seat for a few minutes. Don't tell. ;)

We had a wonderful time. It was a super short trip but I'm so glad we went so that grandpa and grandma got to spend some time with Barrett (and he with them...). They all loved each other! :) Go figure.... ;) Anyway, on Friday evening we all hung out together and on Saturday Barrett and I went to the beauty shop where grandma gets her hair done so all the ladies could oogle over him. And they did a great job! Ha! He was loving all the attention. Shocking, I know. TJ helped grandpa pick some delicious fresh oranges off their tree. {Organic even! hehe} That afternoon/evening TJ and I made dinner for everyone and Aunt Mel and the girls came over too.Then grandpa, grandma, TJ and I played marbles after Barrett went to bed. It's this silly fun game that grandpa's stepmom made up all the rules for and we were joking around that she kept giving me all the twos (which could be good expect I got too many so it was bad!). We enjoyed a lot of laughs together. On Sunday, we went to church in the morning [very very early] and then everyone came over for a yummy dinner that was for my birthday. We even had my favorite cake for dessert: pineapple upside cake! Yummy :) Later that evening Uncle James, Aunt Karen and their kiddos came over and we played marble again. We definitely had a good time... Even if TJ and I had to keep going around the silly board. We went to bed and then left about 4 the next morning. So it was a very short trip but we definitely packed a ton of fun into the short time we had together.

 Barrett and I on the drive... See? He is in the car seat.

 This is one of my favorites :) I wonder if Steph would be proud of me? ;)

 Playing with Joelle

 Grandpa loves Barrett so much! He even gets on the floor to play with him!

 Love this pic :)

 Another one of my faves

 Alex and Barrett

 Ben and Barrett

Jo and Barrett

ah two late wednesday pics :(

Wow. I am awful! I am playing catch up this week (for two weeks!) and I will tell you all about why later... but for now here are my two late project52 photos!

2.15.12 

2.22.12

joy.

Joy is a source of delight. It is what lies underneath all emotions, no matter what happens to a person.

I love the word "joy." For me, it immediately makes me think of my grandma and the summers I got to spend with her growing up. If you've known her for any amount of time, you've heard her say: "The only way to have true joy is to have Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last."

This month at church, we're talking about Joy. I honestly haven't been a "regular" at church lately, and when I was, none of the sermons ever struck me like today's did. I think part of it is the emotional connection I have to the word "joy." Anyway, the verse says something like "whatever is true, whatever is noble and pure, think on these things" and then Pastor Bryan was talking about how we get caught up in lies that take away our joy. Totally true. It made me think about my aunt who always says "feelings are real, but they're not always true." {I get that this is pretty random, haha sorry!} So basically, he was saying that to have true joy we need to focus on things that are true, pure, and eternal. I get the true thing and the pure thing. [not that I always do....] I want to put a sign on our TV that says: "Does this please Him?" I wonder if it would change what we watch....

The part that made the most impact to me though was when he read Phillipians 1:21-24, "²¹ For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. ²² But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. ²³ I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. ²⁴ But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live."
Basically he was writing a pro/con list of which is better, living or dying, and then saying he could not choose which would be better. That blows me away. Honestly, I know I'm going to Heaven and I get the basic awesomeness that Heaven will be. But really, if I think about it... I'm selfish. I still want to live here on Earth a while longer. I guess really it's good that I don't have to choose. :)

I want to have more joy. I want to be more joyful and rejoice about more. I guess I know what things I need to do.... :)

Pretty random.... Just thought I would share (sorta) what I thought was pretty neat about today.... :)

Today was a very busy, very fun day! TJ had reserves and has been busy preparing for it most of the week. Stephanie's shower was today so Barrett and I spent the morning getting ready for that. He didn't get much of a nap before we left at 12:30 today. I took him to spend some time with his grandma and grandpa Ridl since they haven't seen him very much lately. I went back at about 2:45 and he had just fallen asleep and then he woke up at just a little after 3. That's all he was able to nap today so this evening he was SO tired! I didn't want him to nap so late in the evening or go to bed too early but he was sitting with TJ after his bath and TJ looked down and he had fallen asleep. He didn't fuss or anything and he hadn't even had his nighttime bottle. I just wanted to show you my favorite boys.

EIGHT MONTHS!

My sweet baby boy turned 8 months yesterday! I can't believe how quickly time has passed! I just want to share what's going on with him now:

• Loves to do the army crawl everywhere! And you are SO fast!
• bablling! Babababa and mamamamama
• "pppffffttt"- grandma Verhoeven taught you that
• spitting, especially when you have food in your mouth
• rolling all over! you love to roll when we try to change you and then you giggle away when we flip you back
• you are enthralled by Bogey
• screaming! :( and it's SO loud!
• sometimes you'll put yourself to sleep, sometimes not.
• go up on your hands and knees

Barrett, I love you so much! I can't wait to see all of the new changes that are coming up!

Nancy, you will be SO missed!

Today is quite the day.

My high school math teacher passed away this morning.

If you read just that sentence, and don't know her or her story, then that doesn't seem like a big deal. It is. I feel like everything I want to say is too much and not enough at the same time. She was an amazing woman. She had been battling cancer for about a year. It had consumed her entire body. The faith that she had and shared is unbelievable. I really don't know what to say other than I am so thankful that I will get to see her again. I am happy she isn't suffering anymore. She is with Jesus. She has a brand new body! For that, I am grateful. I am also so happy her husband has a remarkable network of support. He is absolutely surrounded by brothers and sisters who will be there for him through all of this.... The same is true of their two kids.

Nancy was SO much more than a math teacher. She was always there if you just needed someone to talk to. She would listen, offer her advice, and sometimes, just give you a hug. Sometimes that's really all you need. And she knew. She knew how best to help in all circumstances. I really believe that came from her life experience and her profound faith in Jesus.

I suck at blogging

Last Sunday evening, my aunt and uncle and their three girls came and spent the night on their way through from Challis, ID back to Cali. I got a cute photo of my cousin Joelle reading to Barrett. He was loving it! Very sweet moment. :)

My bad guys. I fail. Anyway, just a quick update! We've had a great week :) Working, hanging out, whatever.

 On Saturday, I had a crafting party at my house. All the ladies that came had fun {as far as they told me...} and I know I had a blast!

pretend it's Wednesday

I know that it's Sunday, but let's pretend that it's Wednesday and that I'm not four days late putting up my project52 picture. Thanks! :)