The Body....

I mentioned in a previous post that I am reading a book called Follow Me By David Platt. I get up and after spending some time in the word, read a few pages of Follow Me. Everything in it is backed by scripture and I am feeling very encouraged and challenged as I really take my time and move through this book slowly. This morning one thing he said in particular really stood out to me. He said,"To come to Christ is to become part of his church. Followers of Jesus have the privilege of being identified with his family. As we die to ourselves, we live for others, and everything Christ does in us begins to affect everyone Christ puts around us." I started to wonder if that is true in my life; is what Christ is doing in my life flowing out of me in a desire to love others, serve others, affect others in a positive way? Am I digging in and being an effective, healthy part of the body of believers where I worship? Just good stuff to think about as we go about our day. I never want to become numb to the needs around me or comfortable just warming up the chair at church. I never want to just be taking up space ya know? Fruit. I desire fruit.

June Fun...

We are super excited to be out of school for the summer....Morgan had a dance competition and it was the last one where this exact team will dance together. Everything changes next year.

We have been playing outside....

Visited with the cousins in San Diego....

My niece had her first dance performance....

I love her little costume...so cute.

This is the youngest cousin on the left and the cousin on the right just graduated from high school and is headed to SMU in Texas.

We were missing lots of people at the cousins party but such is life right? Everyone is busy and we just do our best to hang out and catch up when we can.

Dans Aunt & Uncle and his mom helped pull everyone together for the afternoon.

The cousins after a long day swimming....

Morgan & her friends have been enjoying some down time......

Group of friends at dance...two more weeks and then we get a break from all things dance.

I made these lemon balls the other night for my mom; turned out AMAZING if I do say so myself. If you want the recipe, drop me an email and I will send it to you.

My mom and I took Ryanne to the Lavender festival over the weekend. Loved all the organic food, lavender, honey, cooking oils etc. I even got lavender sugar for my ice cream making this summer!! Can't wait!!

I love living so close to this farm...what a treat!

We took a horse drawn wagon ride through the fields....

Made Dans favorite (carrot cake with cream cheese frosting) for Father's Day. We took him to Lucille's BBQ for lunch and then went and saw Melificent. Threw in a quick nap and a few gifts and TA~DA!! Best dad's day ever!(Just so you don't think for a minute that things go smoothly around here; after I took this picture we loaded up and headed to church, lunch etc. when we got back I guess I forgot to shut the blinds and so sun+frosted cupcakes=Yup' a puddle. It's OK we just scooped up the frosting and ate it with a spoon!! Boo-ya! That's class right there!)

What.....

What I've been praying about: A missions trip to Belize. When we were in the Grand Canyon I had many hours alone in the car with no radio, no cellphone nobody to talk to...just quiet. It had been on my heart previous to the trip to the Grand Canyon to go to Belize. To go serve. I wanted to make sure I wasn't just antsy or bored with life. That I wasn't being impulsive or careless and just wanting to go on an adventure. So I prayed that if this was from God and He wanted me to go that he would confirm what was going on in my heart and place a missions trip to Belize in the church bulletin the first Sunday we were back in town. You guessed it, that is exactly what was at the very top of our church bulletin the very first Sunday we were back. Ephesians 3:20 talks about God being able to do far more than we ask or even are able to think to ask...doesn't that just blow your mind when you really sit and think about it? I am super excited to be taking the steps to go to Belize in October. If you think about it could you be praying over me as well?

What I've been growing: Tomatoes. I don't like tomatoes but I do like homemade salsa and pasta sauce.

What Ryanne has been up to: Crafts, and art and bubbles always! She started taking art classes every week at our house and so I will have to post some of her drawings soon.

What we've been doing outside: We had this empty boring space outside our bedroom sliding door. We used to joke about putting a jacuzzi out there so we could sneak out at night when the the kids were asleep ha! Instead we bought hammock, hung some wind chimes in the tree and planted some jasmine along the wall. Then I remembered we had some huge concrete slabs in the back of our property just sitting there so we hauled them around and the kids and I painted them a shimmery green. Ta-da! I nice little sanctuary to rest in the shade on a hot summers day. I can't wait until the jasmine starts to climb and cover the wall.

What I've been reading: I started this book after my friend Lisa told me about it. I read a few pages every morning after I am done doing my quiet time. It is so great! The author really challenges you throughout the book to step back and decide what does it mean to be a Christian. Mostly just things we take for granted as believers. If Jesus has called us to follow Him what does that look like in a physical sense and are we willing to be fishers of men? A superficial approach to Christianity always results in a spectator mentality in the church.-David Platt    Everyone who follows Jesus biblically will fish for men globally.-David Platt      Spreading the gospel is the natural overflow, not of a religion we adhere to called Christianity, but of a relationship we have with Christ.-David Platt  I also love this book because he always references everything with scripture. This is not his opinion but instead what Jesus is commanding us to do as followers. I promise if you pick this book up you will be challenged in your faith. I love that!

What Morgan has been doing: Our crazy dance child is in the middle of rehearsing for the Sleeping Beauty ballet and also an all over show where she will dance with her hip-hop, tap, lyrical, and jazz classes. She found out yesterday she got a trio spot on the competitive dance team for next year. She's pretty excited.

May Moments...

Mother's Day weekend we headed down to Long Beach and ate at a spot we love; Tequila Jacks'....

We walked around.....

Found a crazy hat store.....

The weather could not have been nicer.

We got photo bombed by *gasp* a teenager!

Found a place that made fudge AND then dipped it in chocolate.....

Got dizzy on the carousal.....

The water was even warm so we played at the beach for a while and Ryanne hunted for crabs.....

So blessed to have these girls in my life. They make me want to be at my best with the Lord. To encourage them in their walks, to be faithful. Teaching them to love others and have mercy. God is good in ALL things! Oh and a side note; if you see me around town doing a random happy dance or two, we are almost done with school!! Yahoo!!

Happy Mother's Day.....

Being a mom is never ever boring.....

and if you find yourself bored you instantly become suspicious....

of what might be going on in the other room.

Being a mom does not ensure all of your days will be good....

But you are guaranteed a few laughs and some smiles each day....

Some days they will rip your heart out because it is swelling with so much joy and love for them....

But there might be a few days where they just rip your heart out and that's OK too.

If you're to busy with "doing life" to stop and smell the roses.....

kids will bring you the flowers they picked and then ask you to count the lady bugs on the flowers...

In the blink of an eye my oldest is so tall I can't see over her head anymore and our youngest is off and running trying new things without me. In the blink of an eye. Happy Mother's day to you all and be blessed with your kiddos this weekend whatever age. And thank you to my mom for always believing in me and being my greatest cheerleader.....you are one patient woman ha!!