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Trey is officially 4 now! We have been busy with festivities for weeks: He had a party at school, a party in Florida, and he also got a special birthday treat when we went out for lunch one day. He probably thinks that his birthday is a whole week long. 

I love the succession of these photos. He was waiting and waiting for that birthday cake, and then when we began singing he closed his eyes and sang with us with his hands folded as if he was praying. It was too cute! His official celebration began with a gift from Grams and Gramps. They bought him a camera and gave it to him in the morning so that he could take it with us for the day. We headed to Animal Kingdom and he put it to good use (especially on the safari :) After a full day of adventure, we headed back for dinner, cake and ice cream, and more gifts! I know he loved celebrating with everyone.

Here is a little bit about 4-year-old Trey: He is shy and very cautious (if you know us at all, you know that). He still loves any type of transportation. We spent $30 on trains in Florida (a Mickey train and a monorail), and they have already been worth the money. As soon as we got back home he put them on his train table and took pictures of them! He looks after Luke more than I could even expect, and he is so helpful that I don't know what I would do without him.

The following is a super-cute story:

The first day in Florida, my Dad took Trey for a walk to check out the pool. The following morning, my mom took him and Luke on another walk (also to the pool). Apparently she went a different way then my dad.

Trey: "This isn't the way to the pool."

Grams: "Yes, it is."

Trey: "Are you sure? Because Grandpa is really smart."

I think my dad brainwashed him :)

Lessons learned in Florida

Lesson #1: A 9 hour car ride can feel like eternity when your one-year-old whines/cries for 8 of those hours.

Lesson #2: $400 to see Mickey Mouse is so not worth it when you can ride the monorail for free.

Lesson #3: Your 4-year old's cautious personality won't change just because you are at Disney World.

Lesson #4: When packing your suitcase, remember to bring God along for the trip (I accidentally left Him home and it did NOT bode well for me).

Lesson #5: Your expectations will always meet reality somewhere down the line.

Lesson #6: Time with your family is WAY more important than where you are, what you are eating or doing.

*** Please Note that I am NOT complaining. The LORD really used this trip to teach me some great lessons, and I feel blessed that He took the time to do so. The most important thing was that I got time with my family, especially my dad (who was unexpectantly able to join us before departing for Afghanistan). 

The following pictures are in no particular order

Waiting for dinner at ESPN Club

Swiss Family Tree House

Petting the horse

Pirates at Downtown Disney

Swimming with Grams and Gramps

Sailing on a mini-pirate ship with Grams and Gramps

Outside Mickey's House

Hangin' with Aunt Lisa

Showing Aunt Melina something very interesting

POOL!!!!

Driving a Race Car at the Tomorrowland Speedway

"Hi, Mom!"

Well, Sunday soccer has started up again. Trey is on the red team this season, and he is loving it! Last season it took him all season to feel comfortable enough to get into the game without one of us running along side him. This season he is an old pro. He knows just what to do, and is having a blast doing it. During his first game I came to realize what an obsessed parent I am. No joke, there were points when I was on the field screaming (in a good way...I was screaming encouragement to all of our team members, but screaming nonetheless). 

This is Sunday soccer for those of you unfamiliar with the experience. A whole mess of kids, with a whole mess of parents set on getting their kids to focus on what they are supposed to be doing.

I could have cropped this picture, but I actually love seeing the dad on the field trying to convince his son to play the game. It brings back a flood of memories (we actually had to "play" with Trey last year for him to get on the field) :) 

We have had pool weather lately... unfortunately our pool isn't open yet :( I had to improvise and pull the "sprinkle" out. The boys LOVED it!!! Luke played in it until he was shivering so bad that I had to pull him out and wrap him up in a towel. 

Luke has become obsessed with airplanes just like his big brother. Every time he sees one in the sky he points and does his little noise that means "look at that". He sees them way before anyone else, too. He loves to push things around the house, so Nana bought him one of those popcorn poppers to push around and annoy us (just kidding, Nana :) He says a few words, "mo" (more and milk), "dis" (this), "shoes", "duh" (duck), "desus" (Jesus), "puh" (up) and of course, "mama" and "dada". He doesn't always use them, but we are trying to push him to use them more frequently. He has become a time-out pro. He sits so quietly and patiently in his time-out spot, which he visits on a daily basis. He has a severe hitting problem, and every whack finds him in time-out. He is looking more and more like Trey, as I'm sure you can see. 

Trey is a little junk collector. Anything he finds, he wants to keep. Here are just a few things he has in his room at this moment: an empty cake mix box, a band-aid wrapper (yes, seriously), a piece of newspaper rolled up and stuck together with a sticker, sticks, a big leaf from the park, and some random pieces of brown construction paper. That was a short list. He also likes to give junk as gifts. Every time Gary goes out of town he returns to find some gift from Trey waiting on the dining room table for him. Sometimes it is a picture he drew and then cut into pieces, sometimes it is the newspaper that he has cut up, sometimes it is a rock; it's always a surprise. So if you ever receive junk from Trey, you should feel very honored, because he holds it in very high regard. This is partially why I believe that kids don't need toys. Here is a video that also illustrates this point. This is how fun bathtime can be with only a cup.

Cookie

Weighing heavy on my heart over the past few days has been a woman called, Cookie. Recently when I read "Crazy Love", the question was posed, "could you love someone who doesn't love you back?" I didn't give it too much thought, because come on, who couldn't love me? :) Okay, all joking aside, let me pose a new question: could you love someone who loves alcohol more than themselves? I have only met Cookie twice. The first time she shared with me that she had a problem with alcohol. The second time I could have gotten drunk myself off of her breath. She has such a problem with alcohol that as I spoke with her she wandered down the street to begin "work" as she tried to sell her body, most likely so she could buy more booze. The crazy thing is that I DO love her. She is the embodiment of everything I want to keep my children away from, yet we drove downtown to find her, hug her, and encourage our children to shake her hand. My struggle is this: Cookie can't wait to "go home to be with [her] LORD", but right now she is here on earth degrading her body-God's temple-in ways that are so unimaginable to me. She asks me to keep praying for her, because she says it's working. Even though it wouldn't appear to be the case, I can never know how God will move inside of her. I will continue to pray for her, and if God moves your heart to do so, I would ask you to do the same.

Let me leave you with some words from Amy Grant's new song, that speak so beautifully to the mess that is Cookie:

God loves a lullaby

In a mothers tears in the dead of night

Better than a Hallelujah sometimes.

God loves the drunkards cry,

The soldiers plea not to let him die

Better than a Hallelujah sometimes.

We pour out our miseries

God just hears a melody

Beautiful the mess we are

The honest cries of breaking hearts

Are better than a Hallelujah.

The woman holding on for life,

The dying man giving up the fight 

Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes

The tears of shame for what's been done,

The silence when the words won't come

Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes.

We pour out our miseries

God just hears a melody

Beautiful the mess we are 

The honest cries of breaking hearts

Are better than a Hallelujah

Better than a church bell ringing,

Better than a choir singing out,singing out.

We pour out our miseries

God just hears a melody

Beautiful the mess we are 

The honest cries of breaking hearts

Are better than a Hallelujah

Cookie is honest about who she is. She doesn't try to hide anything from God or others. God loves her regardless of her problems, which I am so thankful for. Because, who doesn't have some problems. 

Victory!!!!

Happy Easter! Thank you Jesus for what you did for us: the shame you endured, the pain and torture that you accepted as punishment for OUR transgressions. 

"Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare die. But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:7-8)

Is it on sale?

I will repeat myself and say that if you want to know how others see you, get a 3 year-old. I was pretending with Trey the other day, he was mommy and I was Trey.

Trey (the real one): Trey, do you want something from the grocery store?

Mommy: Some fruit, please. Oranges and Grapes.

Trey: You can only pick one.

Mommy: Oranges then.

Trey: No, oranges are not on sale.

Mommy: Then grapes, please.

Trey: Grapes are on sale, but only purple ones, not green ones. So, you can only get purple ones.

..........

Story #2: Surprise!!!!

Mommy: Trey, what Bible story did you read in school today?

Trey: Jesus died on the cross.

Mommy: Why did Jesus die on the cross?

Trey: I don't know.

Mommy: Do you want me to tell you?

Trey: No, I want it to be a surprise.

...........

Story #3: The tech savvy generation

After being disciplined, Trey had to apologize to me and to God. He hesitates sometimes before doing this.

Mommy: Is it weird talking to God? It's strange talking to someone you can't see. Sort of like talking to someone on the phone.

Trey: Yeah, or Skype!

My Heart

I have been going through a lot of changes lately. The LORD has been transforming my heart through the Holy Spirit, and I just want to share (more of) what's on my mind. Much of what is written below comes from the book "Red Letters" by Tom Davis, but while the words are his, the thoughts have been in my heart for the past month (his words are simply more eloquent than my own).

I have been posting and discussing with some of you lately God's forgotten children (not forgotten by God, of course, but by us). We so often sit on the sidelines because we fear. 

"What if it costs money? What if the stories break my heart? What if it costs me my life? What if? What if? What if? Line up enough of these "what ifs" and they start to tower over us, placing us...back in the shadows. Well, what if you didn't wake up tomorrow? What if a tornado wiped out your house? What if you were in a terrible accident next week? The "what if" life is a paralyzed life, an imprisoned life." (92)

Another reason we stand-by as injustice reigns is our self-degrading attitude that tells us we have nothing to offer.

"Too often, we sit on the sidelines, waiting for some grand sign from God that we are supposed to get into the game. When that lightening doesn't strike, we shrug our shoulders and think, I guess God doesn't need me here. Meanwhile, as we sit drumming our fingers waiting for that burning-bush experience, people all around the world are crying out for help. Crying out for a miracle. Maybe you don't have something so grand as an answer for their poverty or a cure for their disease. But you can offer them something else, something that is just as much of a miracle: hope" (136) and I would add love. You can offer the love of Christ in it's physical form to someone who is hurting.

"Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing."

(Ezekiel 47:12)

I would encourage you to be "a tree planted by the streams of water, who in its proper season, bears fruit" (Psalm 1). Make a choice to bear fruit, and start now.