For 8 Years Now

Hannah turned 8-years old last week and we are just getting over all of the celebrating! Our sweet baby Hannah sure changed our lives 8 years ago. Since then, Ramiro and I have had less sleep and free-time. We've also not watched many pg-13 and rated-R movies and have watched a lot less prime-time TV.

In return we have have gotten so much more:

Joy
Sweetness

Laughter

Generosity (Hannah is super-generous)

Perspective

Creativity

Singing

Dancing

Fun

Love

And the list keeps on growing! How we love our Hannah!

Going Texan

Everyone thinks that Halloween is in October, but in Houston, it seems to come around every February. That's when all the city folk (kids and adults alike) dress up like cowboys and cowgirls for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. To kick it off, we even have a day called "Go Texan Day" when everyone is encouraged to put on their blue jeans, boots, and cowboy hats. When we first moved to Houston and heard about "Go Texan Day," I thought it was so weird. Why did I need to "Go Texan" when I had already been Texan my entire life? It felt a little silly. But 12 years later, I think I'm starting to get it.

For many years while giving tours of M. D. Anderson to national and international guests, I would usually mention that while Houston was a nice city, it wasn't like the rest of Texas. Houston is an international and multicultural city (47% of

Houstonites were born outside of Texas). These are two of its strengths. However, in our big

melting pot where we get to observe or experience multiple cultures on a daily basis, many of us feel culture-less. So rodeo time is a chance for all of us to unite and feel like we are a part of Texas culture. We get to walk amid real cowboys and cowgirls, stroll down aisles of farm animals, learn about Texas agriculture, watch rodeo events that get our hearts pumping, and eat homemade beef jerky. While we are there, we can almost feel like we've left the big city, and we are a part of the rest of Texas. Small-town Texas. The Texas some of us were born in and the Texas that many of our grandparents knew. The Texas of our dreams.

(For information about the wonderful impact the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has on Texas and our future, visit http://www.hlsr.com/)

Quotes from Job that make me smile

Job had such heartache in his life, but when I read his story, I find things that make me smile. I thought I'd share a few with you.

Job 1:10

Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.

This verse reminds me of this Tim Hawkins video.

Job 9:33-35

If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both, someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.

Great foreshadowing! Makes me smile because I already know what happens later in God's love story.

Job 13:5

If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.

What a way to say "be quiet!" I don't think I'd try it!

Job 14:14-15

If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.

This reminds me that my creator, Elohim, loves me so much and longed for me so much that he brought me back from the dead. - Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. - Ephesians 2:4-5

Job 19:25

I know that My Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.

My Redeemer Lives - Nicole C. Mullen from haitimissionary on GodTube.

I'm sorry that Job had so much pain and heartache, but thankful for how God used his life to bring me hope and understanding.