Winter Girls

Grace is such a good big sister. Not always perfect, but she does do a pretty good job of sharing with Lia. And she always tries to cheer her up when she's crying by bringing a toy or singing a song. I love it when Grace does funny stuff to make Lia laugh on the way home from school. Their chorus of giggles is possibly the best sound I've ever heard ;-)

Kid Sister

Bratticus the Dog.
I thought the girls' couch was awfully hairy for having just brought it home a day ago. Sure, they might drag some dog hair from the floor up on to the couch but this was A LOT. Walking by, there was my answer. I was about to shoo Baxter off but decided a picture would be worth it for evidence's sake.

"Big sister, you're so cool! When I hear a beat, I cannot help but to shake my bootie!!"

Football Fans!!

Deep thoughts for the night... Its coming up on being a year since the beginning of this stressful period in our lives. It is over now, and well before the 1 year mark. I guess its just when I think back to this time a year ago, we had no idea what was looming, what was probably already in the works at this point. We had a good groove with our life and I was enjoying staying home with the girls and Dan was about to finish up his season. When I think about Texas, my heart aches. That really confuses me because I spent a lot of time missing North Carolina while we were there. Now we're back in NC, I'm so confused!!! Maybe it is in the abruptness that we left that leaves me feeling kind of robbed. There was so much I still wanted to see and do. Or maybe the disbelief that it was really real. I set out to make Texas home since that was where we went and I was determined to like it there. We kind of struck out in that regard in San Antonio. But Austin... it was my kind of city in so many ways. Yes, the summers were a bit toasty but I survived 2 Texas summers while being pregnant and did not birth a hard boiled egg (hehehe). So long as you had a pool, it was alright!
Life is strange. Thoughts and emotions are strange too. I have found myself almost wishing (since we're pretty much back to 'normal') to be in a tough situation again because the revelations about God were so beautiful and real. We had to be completely dependent on Him. Christian songs I've always liked took on a new meaning, and as many sing about, I finally realized what it feels like to fall in love with God. And to be able to be wrapped up in thinking about God and things related every day during the week, not just on Sundays at church and for part of the drive home.
We are forever developing as individuals. Both through good experiences and bad. Both kinds are ultimately good, I believe. As long as you are willing to keep it in perspective of the greater picture and how this life is a flash compared to our eternity in heaven. This life is not our destination but a time we live on earth before heaven. My favorite word will forever be surrender. If we could all have a lesson on surrendering our control and worries, we could be happier. Dan and I had that lesson, more like we were shoved down in a seat and the lesson was forced upon us. But it was in our reception of that lesson that we grew. I really learned that no matter how much you plan, how much you think things should go in a certain order, it doesn't matter. You spend months planning something, sitting there one day feeling on top of the world, then in a flash a phone call changes everything. Every possible variable is up in the air. You try to plan in one aspect of your life, but there's no point b/c the area you have no control over has not yet revealed itself. Surrender your plans to God because if you present your plans to Him, he's probably just laughing anyways, right? ;-)
When these rough patches come along, it always blows my mind to think that God has known since the beginning that it was going to happen that way. And bad things don't happen because He's a 'mean God'. Its all about the perspective that this life is just for a second in the big scope of eternity and the goal of these hard spots is to refine and strengthen us.