One Year

It occurred to me yesterday evening on the way to church that one year ago from that moment, Leah, Uncle Ford and I were probably somewhere in Illinois or Indiana on our way to our new home in Louisville. A year ago this morning we would have been waking up for the first time in our new apartment. Considering how long it seemed to take from the point of surrendering to the ministry to actually moving to Louisville and getting started, I have to say this past year has gone by pretty fast.

I will be starting my second year at Boyce in about two weeks. After taking 9 nine hours each semester last year, I am going to be taking 12 hours this semester. My classes this fall are as follows:

• Theology I
• Introduction to Christian Education
• Marriage and the Family
• Worldviews I

Two of the classes are on Thursday and two are on Friday. I'm looking forward to getting started.

On Wednesday nights our church has what they call Academy classes. They offer four or five different classes each session and each session is about six weeks. The past year, with us only having one vehicle and Leah working at Huntington in the evenings, we weren't able to attend on Wednesdays. But we were able to make it work this session so we signed up for a class called Church is cancelled, let the service begin.

In this class, participants go outside of the church building to perform free acts of service to share Gods love with people in the community. One week we passed out cold bottled water and watermelon at a local park, another week we did yard work for a couple of people, and last night we held a free car wash just for the residents of an apartment complex across the street from the church. It's really fun to see the confusion on people's faces when you refuse to take their donation and explain to them what you're doing is really free with no strings attached. Leah and I have really enjoyed getting the opportunity to be God's "hands and feet."

Looks like we'll be moving soon

Our realtor called me this afternoon to inform me that our offer on the house has been accepted. He's coming over this evening with an addendum and some other paperwork for us to sign. He feels like we will be able to close before the first of September.

This is the front of the house.

It's a little more than 1000 square feet on the main level, but has probably about 600 to 700 feet of finished basement space as well. Once we get closed we're going to definitely have to roll up our sleeves and get busy because it needs some work inside. It needs new flooring throughout and the walls in the bathtub need to be re-tiled. But it appears to be pretty sound structurally (we'll know more about that after the inspection).

Anyway, we're pretty excited that God is giving us this opportunity to get back into a house.

Crazy Buzy

I am a person of routine and order. It's a characteristic of a teacher. (Well, I'd say most teachers.) We get it honestly. Think about it. When your life is run by a bell on a day-to-day basis, how can you not be that way?

This week was really anything but a week of routine and order.

Monday and Tuesday were my last two days at Huntington. I'm so thankful that God provided that little stint for me last year, but I have to say I'm not sad that it's over. I will certainly miss the people that work out there; it was an amazing work environment and the kids were pretty fun, too. However, like I said, I'm a person of routine, and having a different schedule every week about made me crazy. I couldn't plan ANYTHING!!!

Wednesday was Kendall's doctor visit and the only day I really had to run any errands. I've had a list of things to finish in order to get paid with JCPS, one being my TB test that I have continually put off doing. Finally, Wednesday, before I went to tutor my private kid, I had my TB test done. When I got home from the tutoring session, I had a couple of moments of tears. I kept looking at all the laundry piling up, wondering when I would EVER get it done!!! (I am now down to my last three loads...and would have been finished, except I had to get Kendall's mattress pad in there. See post below.)

Wednesday was also the day that we realized our AC unit was frozen up, and we had to go without air for an afternoon and night. We actually had been noticing how hot our apartment was, but we just thought since the building was old and lacks good insulation, the little unit wasn't doing the trick. For weeks I've been trying to cook without using the oven (a challenge) because we would literally roast for the rest of the evening since our apartment is so small!!

Thursday and Friday were my first professional development days. I have to say, that I'm really excited about my new job. I was able to meet some of the staff (including my team) and everyone seemed really nice and welcoming. The meetings were very beneficial, too. The school district is adopting a new program called CARE that takes their existing character education program to the next level. From what I hear, the superintendent (this is only his second year) is REALLY big on developing the whole child, mainly focusing on building relationships and character and not so concerned with the test scores. His philosophy, which is much like my personal teaching philosophy, is that test scores will come when the relationship between the teacher/student is there. I think as teachers we all know this, but it's a relief to hear it from the highest person on the chain. Needless to say, I'm excited.

My friend Abby and her son Christian also came over on Thursday. Abby brought dinner to us...yummy cornbread salad. Abby will be keeping Kendall the two days that Evan has class this semester. She is a blessing to me! I'm so thankful to know that Kendall will be in such good hands when she isn't with one of us. Christian is about a month older than Kendall and he is precious! He makes the funniest little sounds and does the cutest move where he uses his heels to turn himself around when he's in a sitting position. Kendall and Christian chased each other all around our apartment! I know they will have so much fun together this fall!!!




Saturday, we took Kendall to the pool at the seminary. She LOVES the water!!! I mean LOVES it. She had such a good time playing and splashing around!!! She even put her face in the water by accident and didn't even cry!

We also had a service project with our ABF Saturday afternoon. We went to a park to hand out free water to anyone there. I will say that the guys did most of the work and the girls just sat around and visited. It was really hot outside! I took Kendall over to the swings for a little while and she LOVED it. It's been too hot to play at the park this summer, so this was her first chance to enjoy swinging. I think we will be doing a service project once a month, which I think is neat. One of the ones we've talked about is taking food to Kosair Children's Hospital for the families. I think that would be cool.


Here is just a random picture of Kendall that I took one day this week when we were out walking in the neighborhood. The weather was unseasonably cool for a couple of days, (I guess one of those days would have been a good park day!) so I let her get out of her stroller and play in this little area for a minute. Isn't she precious?!!??!

Other news...

My mom found out that she is possibly a candidate for the surgery to remove the blockage. We are praising God for that news, but still very prayerful about what is to come. For more info on her, go to her blog here. I am excited, though, because she and my dad will be coming up this weekend to bring all my classroom stuff that has been in storage at their house this last year.

I have new teacher orietation all week this week, a school-wide retreat the following Monday and Tuesday, two days off, then the first day for teachers is August 8. Students come back on August 12. Somewhere in there, I have to get my classroom ready. Oh, and read the newest Ruby Payne book before August 4. All I can do is take one day at a time...honestly, though, if I can get through the next two weeks, I think we will be doing pretty well!!!

Life is pretty crazy busy with us right now, but I don't think I'd have it any other way!!!

Keeping us on our toes...

My friend Wendy has three girls that are around the ages of 12, 8, and 2. (Wendy, forgive me if I'm wrong on that!) She's a great mom and very much a mentor-type person to me. One thing that she's said over and over to me is how she's "written the book on parenting three times" and that she's had to eat a lot of words through the years. Oh, how I know, and Kendall is only 9 months old!!! Anyone else out there!??!?!?!

I am very guilty of being one of those people (before children) who said, "My children won't behave that way." I, obviously, have had to ask for forgiveness for saying that! HA! I told Evan today that I've decided that my wording is all wrong. Instead of saying "Our children won't behave that way" my new wording is "Those behaviors won't be tolerated with us." We already see that Kendall WILL behave that way. She's human, with a sin nature like the rest of us. Since Kendall's birth, Evan has always laughed and said that her crying is just her depravity coming out! HA!

(I promise, this post does have a point...)

Lately, we've been letting Kendall nap in just a diaper, like this:

I don't know why, but it seems like this summer when we are home, she's spent more time just running around in a diaper than with clothes on. I think it's partly due to the fact that we go swimming or play outside, or whatever. I don't know...it's hot and it's summer time, I guess I just haven't really thought much about it.

Anyway, today, we had been outside and Kendall had been playing in her little pool. I brought her inside to rest for a bit, again, just putting her in a diaper. She played for a bit in her crib, then fell asleep for a little cat nap. I heard Kendall wake up, so I went in to get her and found her STARK NAKED!!! Oh, yes! Kendall pulled her diaper off, threw it on the floor, and had peed all in the corner of her bed!!!

She, of course, was just as happy as could be.

Lesson learned. Kendall WILL have clothes on when sleeping from now on!!!

9 Months

Happy 9 month birthday, Kendall!

We took Kendall to the doctor for her well-baby visit today. She weighed 16 pounds, 10 ounces (15-20th percentile) and was 27 5/8 inches (45-50th percentile). The NP was very pleased with her progress in weight and said we don't have to stress so much about that anymore. Hopefully, I can take her advice. The NP was very pleased with all her progress. Kendall is very healthy and is growing perfectly!

Kendall is a curious little soul. She is on the go, all the time. She crawls at break-neck speed and pulls up on everything. She also "cruises" around all over the place and will occasionally let go of whatever she's holding on to, but doesn't quite know how to balance herself yet. She has incredible problem solving skills. More on that in a minute.

Kendall has a hardy appetite and is starting to eat "chunkier" foods. She is starting to not want as much formula, which at first concerned me, but then I realized it just has to do with her age...wanting more solid foods. She is doing a lot better with finger feeding and will at least attempt to do it now, although she is not always successful at getting the food into her mouth. So funny...today at the doctor's office, the NP was asking me about her fine motor skills and as I proceeded to tell her that Kendall hadn't developed her pincer grasp very well yet, Kendall picked up the Cheerio PERFECTLY that the doctor put in front of her! I cracked up!

Kendall is still wearing 3-6 month clothes, although I think she will be in 6-9 month clothes pretty soon. It's funny how God works things out because we had more than enough 3-6 month winter clothes given to us as gifts, and then borrowed some 3-6 month summer clothes from a dear friend of mine. When she outgrows the 6 month clothes, we will actually have to start buying clothes for her. (I've purchased things here and there, but for the most part, her wardrobe has been supplied through the giving of others.) I've just been thinking about how God timed that perfectly for us and saved an expense for us until I go back to work. So...I have found some good in her being so small for her age...she stayed in that size for a long time so we got a lot of wear out of all her clothes!

We had to take the bumper pads out of Kendall's crib. Kendall started stepping on top of them to pull up further, and we decided we just needed to nip that in the bud. Have I mentioned her problem solving skills???? Yeah...we both could just foresee a major accident!

What else...Kendall HATES to be cuddled, so don't dare try to hold her close. She's way too curious for that. She always needs to see what is going on around her. She loves her bath time (water in general) and looks for her bath toys as soon as we put her in the tub. It's cute. She gets REALLY excited (to the point of tears) when she sees either of us walk in the door after being gone for a long time. Last night, I came home after working (my last day) at Huntington and Evan was giving her a bath. When Kendall saw me, she started trying to climb out of the bathtub to get to me. It was so sweet.

She loves to sing songs and her favorites include If Your Happy and You Know It, The Itsy, Bitsy Spider and (the ever-popular at our house) Razorback Fight Song. In fact, everything at our house kind-of turns into a song. After baths, we sing "Ain't nobody dope as Kendall, she's just so fresh, so fresh and so clean, clean." (Those who know it, sing along!) Evan also likes to sing the old-school rap song Mr. Wendell and insert "Little Kendall" in place of Mr. Wendell. (Again, sing along...Go ahead, Little Kendall. It's really cute.)

Evan also has some other nicknames for Kendall...Squirt, Kendall-icious, and my all-time favorite, Kenny G. (Nobody else can get away with calling her the last one!) :)

We are working on clapping our hands, waving, and other baby signs, although she is pretty much uninterested. I'm guessing those will come. I'm sure I'm leaving off lots of other fun Kendall facts, but this probably gives you enough reading material for now. I've posted a few pictures below, although most are just of her playing and not of her sweet face. She's moving constantly, so it's hard to get a good "face" picture of the girl!

Kendall loves to play in the recycle bin beside Evan's desk. It's filled with TONS of papers. We are constantly saying, "No, Kendall, we don't eat the paper."

Of course, every kid loves to play in the plastic cabinet!
Problem solving skills...we used to block in a little play area for her in the living room. Her exersaucer was part of our barricade until Kendall discovered how to crawl through the bottom of it! Don't you just love the look on her face...like "Ha, Ha, I got this figured out!"
Just playing with my toys...
Such a sweet girl!

New Look

I got tired of the green and blue. So, I did something different. I am NOT a computer person at all. I can't for the life of me figure out how to put the wallpaper on the back. I've followed direction after direction and I still can't get it. Oh well.

Evan said the new look is too girly. At least I gave him Razorback colors.

If he isn't going to post much on here, he doesn't get a say! :) For that matter, I might change it to all pink! :)

I also added my links back. I think I can handle it now. Hopefully. When we were in AR last time, I had a lot of people tell me they couldn't read anyone's blogs anymore because I took the links off. So...I put them back. If I left you off, don't be offended...it wasn't purposefully. I'll figure out who it is and put you on! :)

Oh, and one thing I've learned today...

When you are a mommy, even if you are sick, you can't really be sick. Anyone else know what I'm talking about???!?!?!?

Didn't Leah's husband used to post on here?

Leah has been suggesting that I don't post on here enough. I don't know why she thinks that - its only been like 3 months since my last post. :-) Honestly, I don't post much because I know she does such a good job of keeping everyone up to date about what's going on with us.

As you know, we decided a month or so ago to see if it would be possible for us to get into a buy a house when our lease was up. We've been looking at houses on-line for quite a while and have gone out house hunting with our realtors 5 or 6 times. After all that, we finally made an offer on a house this afternoon. It definietly need some TLC, but it seems to be in good shape structurally and only need cosemtic work. According to the realtor, there is another offer on the table, so I don't know if ours will be accepted or not. Also, the hosue is a foreclosure that is now owned by the bank, and they are notoriously slow about letting you know anything, so it will likely be a few days before we know whether our offer has been accepted or not. We'll update you as soon as we know anything.

In other news, Leah had a horrible headache this morning that made her really ill. She had to lay in bed in the dark all morning to keep from puking. She seems to be feeling better now, but still isn't feeling really great.

I'm doing pretty well. I've been really busy with work the past few weeks. Since I get paid by the file, that's a really good thing. School will be starting in about 3 weeks. I'm ready. I guess I'm just a nerd, but I like being in school and have not enjoyed being out of school the past few months. I guess if I was able to be out playing golf or fishing all day it would be different.

Well, I guess that's about it. talk to you again in October. :-)

In the span of one year...

July 30th marks an anniversary for us-the anniversary of packing up the moving truck and leaving Arkansas.

A year ago this month, I was 6 1/2 months pregnant, not knowing if our baby was a boy or a girl.

A year ago this month, Evan and I went to bed every night counting down the days, wondering what was in store for our future.

A year ago this month, Evan wrote this post.



Hard to believe it's been a year, huh?


I don't think Evan will mind if I share this...we've actually been talking a lot about this lately and I heard him share it on the phone with someone a few nights ago. I do wish Evan were the one writing this because he's a lot less wordy AND all too often I get on what I refer to as the "Dave Ramsey" soapbox. I don't really try to have a soapbox about financial freedom, it's just that I know how far we've come and how God has worked in ways I would have never dreamed!

If there is one characteristic of God that we've seen over and over this year, it's God's faithfulness. Honestly, we can't stop talking about it...with each other OR other people. It seems like every time we sit down to pray or talk to each other, our conversations always come back to how much God COMPLETELY meets our needs. The main way he has shown us His faithfulness this year is through our finances.

We've always known that God is faithful and have certainly experienced his faithfulness at different times in our lives, but undoubtedly moving to Louisville has taken "trust" to a whole different level. It's something that honestly, I don't know that my words will do it justice. I think it may just be one of those things that you just have to put yourself out there and be willing to experience it for yourself.

When Evan was certain that God was calling him (us) into full time ministry, we knew school was the next step, but a year and a half passed between the time God actually called us until the time we moved. We were led to wait for several reasons, but one of the main reasons for waiting was so that Evan and I could pay off all our excess debt. We had been working pretty diligently for a few months when God called us to ministry, and knew that was something in which we needed to follow through. We actually paid off our last credit card about two weeks or so before moving and sold my car (remember THAT ordeal?) over Labor Day weekend. We were very aggressive with paying off our debt, and God was certainly in all that, because we couldn't have done it alone.

I remember after Evan wrote the check for that last credit card, saying to him, "I'm so scared that going back to school is going to put us right back in the same position we were in before." (Although before, our credit card debt was out of stupidity. For both of us, it was all pre-marriage "stuff" we didn't need! I was really afraid we'd end up having to use a credit card out of necessity...because we couldn't pay for groceries!) You always hear the typical "poor, seminary student" stories, and I just KNEW that would be us...barely having enough money to pay for food, much less anything else. I was afraid (yes, fear is something I battle a lot), but I also believe that God is not the kind of God who will walk through something like paying off that much debt with you, only to land you in the same exact place where you began. (If that makes sense at all.)

I'm digressing here a bit, but Evan is the KING of spreadsheets. I'm noticing that more and more lately and I love it. He "spreadsheets" everything. I'm so thankful his brain works that way, because mine certainly does not. I couldn't tell you how in the world he puts all those formulas and color codes in that thing, but he does, and it's awesome.

As he was "spread-sheeting" our monthly budget for the fall of 2007, we had about a $600 monthly deficit. (I'm not trying to tell you all our business, I just want the few of you who read this thing to see how big God is. I'm constantly amazed.) We had some money in savings, but not a lot. Plus, we had a baby on the way and I didn't have a job.

In a year we:

*have NOT ONCE been late on a bill payment.

*only had to use a credit card one time--when the 4-Runner messed up in December. We paid the credit card off in two months.

*have NO bills from Kendall's birth or my D&C.

*drove to Arkansas once, flew as a family once, AND Kendall and I have flown twice without Evan.

*didn't have to budget for diapers until Kendall was 7 MONTHS OLD. We had enough diapers given to us and enough Wal-Mart gift cards to get us THAT far. Unbelievable.

*have only had to buy about four cans of formula since Kendall started taking it in May. So, really, formula isn't even in our budget yet. HUGE!!!

*don't just eat Ramen Noodles and pinto beans. In fact, we eat pretty well. We've even gone out to eat several times at places that aren't just fast food.

*bought a laptop computer. Again, without a credit card.


I know I'm leaving things off this list, but God has truly brought his faithfulness to a level that we've never known before. Through this season, we've faithfully given. (Well, I'm pretty sure we have. Evan takes care of all our offerings.) While we have received some very generous gifts, we've never been dependant on that "unexpected" check in the mail. (Those of you who read this who have sent gifts to us, we are MORE than thankful. Your generosity ALWAYS came at the right time. ALWAYS. I could tell you story after story about that.)

I'm not going to lie...there are days that fear creeps back in and I wonder where the funds are going to come from for the month. I have days that I want to go shopping for new clothes so badly I can hardly stand it. There are even days that I HATE sharing a 12 year old 4-Runner with my husband! But then I see what God is teaching us...how to truly depend on Him and how those "things" are just that-THINGS. We are certainly not there yet, but everyday we get a little closer. (Hopefully!)

Sometimes I pray that God will take us back to Arkansas when Evan finishes school. I actually pray that a lot. I miss my family and our friends, and I hate that Kendall doesn't get to grow up with her grandparents near. If I think about it too much, I get really sad. Just the other day I asked Evan if he hoped God takes us back to Arkansas at the end of this journey. His reply was, "Sometimes, yes. Sometimes I think about specifically being in Northwest Arkansas and serving either with my dad and Scottie or somewhere near them. That makes me excited." Then he went on, "But sometimes I think 'no' because I'm afraid that if God takes us back to Arkansas, it will be way too easy for me to just get too comfortable. I don't want to get into some ministry job and just get "settled" in. I want this to be life for us, not just a season while we are in Seminary." He's so right.

Evan and I used to have a song playing on our blog. I don't know what happened to that link, but I wish it still played. The name of the song was Strong by Audio Adrenaline. The lyrics are so perfect for us, and I can guarantee that I often sing them with tears stinging my eyes.


I don't know where another year will lead us, but I thank God every day for taking our family on this journey!

This and That

The last few days have been BUSY!!!

Thursday, we went house hunting with our realtors. Have I mentioned we are trying to find a house to buy? We are all set with the bank and have a two WONDERFUL realtors, now all we need is to find the house. Evan and I are excited. We both have loved our apartment this year and are so thankful for such a great place to live, but now that Kendall is mobile, our space is shrinking! We looked at 5 houses on Thursday and didn't find "the one" yet, but we are not without hope! House hunting in Louisville is just a lot different than house hunting in NWA!

I also want to say that my friend Angie from (and her husband Jeremy) volunteered to keep Kendall while Evan and I went to look at houses. Did I say VOLUNTEERED?!?!?! Seriously...she told me to call her, I didn't want to impose, but then when I got to work on Thursday, she insisted!!! How sweet! Angie is a middle school teacher too, and has been such a help to me this year. She gave me lots of good info on the schools in the area, what to expect when I interviewed, and she even searched out MLS the other night and sent a list of houses for us to check out! She is really fun to be around...I only wish we would be at the same school next year!!!

On Friday, Evan and I were able to go on a date! YAY!!! Another girl from my work has a little boy that is only a month and a half younger than Kendall. Her hubby is a seminary student and they don't have any family here either, so we decided to switch off keeping each other's kids this weekend. They kept Kendall on Friday night and we kept Kelton tonight. (See pictures below!) Evan was craving seafood, so we went to eat at Mitchell's Fish Market. I don't think it's a local place, but there aren't any in Arkansas. It was really yummy. Evan got grilled Mahi-Mahi and I got a combination platter of crab cakes and grilled shrimp. I don't think I've had crabcakes that good since I cruised the Caribbean with the Stallings right after I graduated college!

I'd also like to slip in a "pat on the back" to Evan. Remember me saying he wrecked the 4-Runner? Well, he fixed it ALL BY HIMSELF!!! No lie...he ordered all the parts off the internet and took care of it. I have to admit that when Evan told me he was doing this, I was a little skeptical. When we lived in Arkansas, if we ever had vehicle problems, we always just took it to his dad and let him look at it and tell us what we should do. It wasn't really that I thought he couldn't do fix it, I just know how frustrated he gets about stuff sometimes (you should see Evan putting Kendall's crib together!) and I was concerned. I will also admit that I was a little uncertain that he would order all the right parts...I think I just was thinking he would spend all this time/money working on the truck and then we'd still have to take it to a body shop for it to be fixed! BUT WE DIDN'T!!! I seriously wish we had before and after pictures; the 4-Runner looks awesome!!! AND we saved money! I'm so proud of him!

Today, very last minute, we went to the seminary for the staff/student softball game. Basically, we decided about 30 minutes before everything began that we would venture out. Not a whole lot of people were there, but we did enjoy sitting in the shade, eating some hot dogs, and visiting with a few friends. Kendall had a lot of fun crawling around in the grass!

(If you look VERY closely, you can see her two teeth!)
Daddy thought Kendall needed her shades!

The pictures below are of Kendall and Kelton playing together this evening. I'm really glad we were able to watch Kelton, but boy, he was NOT a happy camper for about the last 30 minutes he was at our house! He just screamed and screamed! Evan and I really hope that his mommy and daddy don't think we did something to him...they said he never does that at home!!!

That there's funny...I don't care who you are!

So, I just have to share a funny story from today.

While I was tutoring this morning, a few other teachers and I got in a conversation about interesting student names we've had over the years. I shared some of my all time favorite student names including, "Mercylintha" (I will not use her last name to keep her privacy, but just know it fit right along with her first name...and her personality went right along with her name!), AND found out there is a family (that I might potentially have in my classroom) with children named "Yohinas," "Yomajesty" and "Duchess". Of course, I was CRACKING up already.

So then, one of the guys that tutors at Huntington goes on to tell this story about a lady he worked with:

Apparently, she was reading through the class roster at the beginning of the year and she gets to one little boy's name. The little boy says:

"Can you call me bymynitias?" (pronounce "BY-MY-Ni-SHAS")

Teacher: "You want to be called what? Bymynitias?"

Little boy: "Yes, bymynitias."

(For all the teachers reading, we've all been there. The kids want to be called something that is not on the roster. You don't know if it's made up or for real, so you have to make a decision about what to do. I actually got to the point that I had kids get written notes from their parents saying that's what they were called, instead of what was on the roster. That's why as parents, you should always call your kid what you name them, OR write what you want them to be called on the kid's registration papers. It drives teachers crazy having to remember!)

Teacher hesitantly replies, "Okay."

For the whole first quarter, the teacher calls the little boy "Byminitias" and the little boy answers to it.

Parent/teacher conference time rolls around, and the teacher says to the parents:

"I just have one question. What is with his nickname? He wants to be called 'Bymynitias' all the time. I just don't get it."

Parents: "No, no, he doesn't want to be called 'Bymynitias' he wants to be called BY HIS INITIALS!!!"



Isn't that hysterical?!?!?!!?

Celebrating the 4th

Our Independence Day celebration was very low-key. The weather was pretty cloudy and rainy, so we spent much of the day indoors. We did venture out later in the afternoon with a few friends to the Crescent Hill Old Fashioned 4th of July at the Peterson-Dumesnil House in a nearby neighborhood. Basically, the festival was a bunch of craft booths, games for kids, music, and concessions. I could see it being a little more fun if Kendall were older, the weather wasn't so yucky, and if Evan would have remembered his wallet. :) We didn't stay very long, but Evan and a friend did go back later to watch the fireworks show.

After the neighborhood celebration, we had a few friends over for a pot-luck style dinner. We had tons of food...pork loin, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, fried chicken, yeast rolls, angel food cake and fruit, and ice cream pie. Of course, we stuffed our faces!

Isn't our little firecracker pretty cute??!?!? I decided she needed to dress for the occasion, so I doctored up one of her onesies and a headband Thursday evening. I made Grace a matching outfit so we could take their picture together!

Internet Fast

Just to note...I probably shouldn't call my internet fast a fast. I only gave up internet completely for one day. That's not a lot, I realize, but I really didn't want to set myself up to fail. I just have to admit that the thought of cleaning out a million forwards from my inbox is not appealing to me. I also know that any time I've tried to do any kind of fast in the past, I fail, and it's usually because I'm completely unprepared for it. I've thought a lot about my walk with the Lord lately and what I can do to know Him better. I think that's what matters most. Internet or no internet.

Untitled

This is another one of those random posts about a lot of random things.

1.) I have some GREAT friends. I am so thankful for them. Today I am especially thankful for my Northwest Arkansas friends. Especially Miranda, Rachel, Kendra, and Allyce. These are my girls that pray. They don't just tell me they will pray, they really pray. I've talked to each of them on the phone this week and they encourage me so much. I'm especially thankful for my phone conversation with Miranda and Rachel today. Somehow, they just knew. They just knew I needed to hear from them. As I tell them what is going on with us right now (more on that in a sec.) one word that kept coming up was afraid. Finally, Miranda (who was my accountability partner in AR) said, "Leah, say our verse. Quote our verse to me right now." Our verse, that Miranda painted on a canvas and hangs on the wall in Kendall's room, is Isaiah 41:10..."Do not fear for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (I totally typed that from memory, just to let y'all know!) :) I could barely get the last words out because of the tears. Oh, how I needed the reminder today that I don't have to have fear. My faith is in God...He will help me! Thanks girls. I needed to visit with both of you more than you know!

2.) We had a wreck on Sunday. All of us. We were on our way to church Sunday evening and Evan t-boned the Dominos delivery car. He was trying to make sure these two pedestrians got across the road safely, and he didn't do a very good job looking the other way. It's always really difficult to see due to trees, telephone poles, double parking, etc., but the wreck was still our fault. Nobody was injured, thankfully, but both vehicles suffered major damage. The front of the 4-Runner is pretty messed up...to the point the hood is duct-taped shut.

I know a lot of people have more serious issues than we do with our vehicle situation, but if you think about it, will you please say a little prayer that we'll make a good decision about what to do next? Most of you probably know that we've been a one-vehicle family for this last year. We've planned on getting a second vehicle before I start back to work, but we were also planning on having the 4-Runner as a secondary vehicle since it is completely paid for. Besides the fact that the 4-Runner is majorly damaged in the front, we are also having some issues with it starting. The past few days, it's been hit or miss. We just aren't sure what to do next. It just seems like we need to make a decision out of some not ideal scenarios. Does that make sense?

3.) I've cut way back on my internet time. I didn't get on the computer at all on Sunday, which allowed me to get really organized with all my bible study stuff. I was excited. I got my journal organized AND made some prayer lists. I've also had a consistent quiet time the last 4 days. I found one of those guides that shows you how to read through the bible in a year. I just started in January and am going from there. I'm also using one of Evan's study bibles that has better notes than my bible. I also finished the chapter about Eve in the Extraordinary Women book that Evan gave me for Mother's Day. I hope I will continue to discipline myself.

4.)If you are looking for something funny to read, go visit here. My friend Reba has two biological children and has adopted two children from Guatemala. She blogs daily as her journal and I love reading the adventures of her family. Never a dull moment! I was laughing out loud as I read, and then had to read it out loud to Evan. He, too, was cracking up. Let's just say...she got creative with her discipline strategy. I'm putting this one in the parenting file for sure! :) Thanks, Reba!

5.) I'm sure many of you are familiar with this blog, but I just HAVE to mention it here. Bring the Rain is Angie Smith's blog. Her husband is the lead singer of the Christian group Selah. (Even you folks who don't know who Selah is, you know some of their songs. They sing You Raise Me Up, but I don't know if Selah or Josh Groban recorded it first. They've also recorded Bless the Broken Road.) Anyway, the blog is the journey of her pregnancy and the loss of her daughter only a few hours old. She has amazing faith. And it's not because she just grew up knowing God. It's because she searched for Him and found Him. I'm thankful for people like Angie Smith because she will reach people that I will never be able to reach with her story. Go read, but be warned, you need a box of tissues.

I'll close with a couple of Kendall things...
(Sorry, no pictures...I'm on the laptop!)

Kendall isn't really into feeding herself. She especially doesn't enjoy the puffs. I think it's mainly because she doesn't have the pincer grasp down. Last night, I put some puffs on her high chair tray. I was trying to show her how to pick up one and then I just put it in my palm, thinking it might be easier for her to grab it. Instead of grabbing it, she licked it off my hand! Isn't that funny??? Evan and I were cracking up.

When I had her weighed last week, she was up to 15 pounds! Woo Hoo!!!

She LOVES LOVES LOVES the water...bath time, the pool...it doesn't matter. She loves it. We've sure got our $8 out of that blue plastic pool!!! Everyday that it isn't raining, she is playing in it! So fun!

I will spellcheck, but I'm not going back to fix any grammatical errors. It's too late. I'm going to bed.