Wonderfully Made

On Saturday, we celebrated Luke's 4th birthday with a Mickey Mouse party, because Luke LOVES Mickey Mouse and likes to carry his Mickey Mouse toy everywhere. At the party we served Hot-Diggity dogs, Mick-a-Roni and cheese, Mickey Mouse cake and snow cones. For fun we played Pin-the-Tail on Mickey, hit a piñata, and bounced till dark on a big inflatable moonwalk in our back yard. It was a success - Luke really enjoyed it, and I think he felt very special. He wasn't the only one who had a great time - I loved it so much that I told Ramiro I would like to get a moonwalk for my birthday!

While running last-minute errands for the party on Saturday morning, I heard the song, "What Do I Know of Holy," by Addison Road. I've heard the song so many times, but Saturday I picked up on the words, "What do I know of you, who spoke me into motion?" I started thinking about how God spoke my beautiful children into motion (and boy are they moving)! He wasn't like me when I try to do something creative. When I begin to create my own recipe, make up a song, or draw a picture, I have an idea of what I want it to be, but I never really know what its going to be like until its done. My results usually have a lot more to do with a feeling, a whim, or chance rather than design. However, God created my children with careful, thoughtful, precision. Psalm 139:14 says:

I will give thanks to You, for

I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works,

And my soul knows it very well.

God created Luke, and all of us, in a specific, purposeful way, knowing exactly how we would turn out!

Luke is such a joy and brings laughter and happiness to all of those who know him. He has a big personality and a big voice - I can't wait to see what God has in store for him! Thank you, God, for giving us your wonderfully-made Luke!

PJ Party!

Last weekend Hannah had a pajama party (an almost slumber party) for her 7th birthday. As other moms said when they dropped their kids off, I was "ambitious" with this one. I had several activities planned for the girls - decorating pillowcases, fingernail painting, making homemade bubble bath, face glitter, and a movie to watch while snuggling in their sleeping bags. The party was from 4pm-8pm. You might imagine my surprise and horror (that may be too strong of a word) when all 11 girls had finished all the activities, except for the movie, by 4:30! What was I to do with the girls for the next 3 1/2 hours? We went ahead and opened presents. Thankfully, one of the girls gave Hannah the game Twister. My heart leaped with joy - another activity!

Of course, the most fun the girls had was running around the house screaming and giggling. I said over and over all the things any responsible parent would say - "settle down," "don't jump on the bed," "keep all the doors open," and "no running," but there were times when I wanted to just keep my mouth shut and let the girls just revel in all their girlish excitement!

During the party they also rehearsed their singing and dancing for their upcoming Bugz Play at school. They were so cute, but it was scary - they didn't look like 7-year-olds at all, but more like middle school cheerleaders practicing their cheers.

Even though Hannah is growing up so fast, she is just as sweet as ever. As she wrote in one of the books she made at school, she loves to take care of her family. She spreads her love to all of us by writing us sweet notes, drawing us pictures, entertaining her brothers, and giving the best hugs and kisses. How we love our Hannah!

Visiting M. D. Anderson

Today I came to M. D. Anderson Cancer Center to be with a friend for her first appointment at M. D. Anderson. As I drove up to the building I experienced a feeling I wasn't quite prepared for - I was homesick. I LOVE M. D. Anderson. It still feels like a second home to me. Much of my growing up was done here at M. D. Anderson. Some patients before they get here incorrectly imagine it as a place where death looms. Patients and employees know that it is a place of hope and life. While working here I learned so much about living and serving others. How surreal it is to be here and not be wearing a badge and assisting patients with their needs. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a full-time mom and wouldn't give it up for a second, but I am also so grateful that I had the opportunity to serve others and feel the love and joy of this place for so many years.

She got it!

This morning Hannah and I read and talked about Proverbs 9:10 - "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." We mainly focused on the first part of the verse, because there's a lot to understand there before going on. We talked about why we fear the Lord, and what that type of fear looks like. We then talked about wisdom. I told her wisdom is "knowing what the right thing to do is." I know that's not good English, but after googling for the definition, I see that I was pretty close. We talked about how wisdom comes from God and that we can pray for wisdom everyday and he will give it to us.

After a good talk and a prayer, I went to go get ready to take her to school. I could see her mind working as I told her to go brush her teeth and make her bed. She said she would, but she wanted to show me something first. She ran away and came back with Dr. Seuss's book, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" She turned to the 2nd page and read, "You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own, And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go." She then said with confidence and a smile, "That's not right. God has the directions, right?" I said, "You're right!"

I'm so proud of my sweet Hannah! Thanks to our dear Lord, she's becoming so wise!

False Alarm!

Luke had a hands on learning experience about fire alarms yesterday! When you pull the alarm, it makes a piercing sound that hurts your ears. The firefighters then come to see if there is indeed a fire. If there is no fire, they turn the alarm off. You then get lectured about when it is okay to touch a fire alarm and when it is not. After that, you cannot leave your Mommy's side for a very long time!

Yesterday at Hannah's ballet class, the fire alarm went off. Of course, the first thing I did was cover Aaron's ears because it was so loud. Then I started wondering if there was really a fire, but then another Mommy saw that the fire alarm near us had been pulled. We knew it was either her son or Luke who probably pulled it, but her son was laying under a bench. We all scurried out, the little ballerinas took their class outside, and we waited for the fire department to arrive to turn off the alarm. After the alarm was turned off, the worker at the front desk came to question which boy pulled the alarm so I told her nobody saw, but it was probably Luke. She then started questioning him about his name and age for the report! She was definitely not happy! The firefighters, however, were very kind and laughed about the whole thing.

When we went back in, I looked at the fire alarm. It hangs very low on the wall and is not covered by a glass box or anything. I think that maybe Luke used it to try to climb up on the bench, but I don't know. Whoever placed that fire alarm in that location, must have never had small children!

After talking to my Mom and searching the internet, I found that pulling a fire alarm in a Texas school is a felony offense! I'm glad he's only 3 and that this happened now and not later. Hopefully he learned his lesson! Luke, you're such a handful!

Running the Race

Today marks 2 weeks since Ramiro ran his first half-marathon. Even though I was looking forward to that proud moment when Ramiro crossed the finish line, I wasn't too excited about waiting 2 hours in the rain for it to happen. (Especially since I forgot my umbrella!) What a pleasant surprise it was for me to find that the 2 hours were going to be filled with joy and celebration! I was able to see all of the 5K runners, some of the half-marathoners, and a few of the marathoners finish the race. It was so much fun to see all of the different kinds of people with different physical abilities and different personalities come together with their common goal of finishing the race.

The 5k run had a variety of runners and wheelers (athletes in wheelchairs). There were kindergarteners, tweens, teens, college kids, middle-agers, senior adults, and older senior adults. Some walked, some stayed at a comfortable jogging pace, and some sprinted to the finish. There were those who walked or ran just for fun, those who were there for a great cause, and those that walked or ran to show they had not been beaten by infirmity. Some wanted to be first (or close to it) and some just wanted to make it over the finish line. For some it was an achievement to just be there.

While watching the difference in how everyone approached the finish line, I couldn't help thinking about the way Paul talks about the way we are to live our life in 1 Corinthians 9:24:

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.

It made me think about how I'm running the race. Am I running like I want to win, or like I am barely going to make it over the finish line?

Watching the runners was fun, but it was also fun being surrounded by all the great spectators. We were all there standing in the cold rain to cheer on and encourage our loved ones. Everybody was for someone, not against anyone. We didn't just cheer on those we knew, we cheered on all the participants. It was such a great feeling!

I am NOT a runner, but now I am sold on running. I want to be in the middle of all of the excitement! I am so glad that Ramiro started this hobby. Even if I can only walk/run a 5k, I want to be part of this running fun! Like Ramiro says, I don't want to be a sipper from the cup of life, but a gulper!

I Want to be Beautiful

I admit it. I really want to be beautiful. Unfortunately, I sometimes let this desire torment me as I compare myself to others. My sinful nature takes this desire and turns it into insecurity that puts a shadow on God's love for me and my love for others.

Why did God give me this desire? Maybe it was the best incentive for me to strive for the gentle and quiet spirit he wants for me. For the past several weeks, my prayer each morning has been for God to give me a gentle and quiet spirit as talked about in 1 Peter 3: 3-6.

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."

A few weeks ago in Sunday school, our teacher asked what God was teaching us right now. He called on me and I said with a smile, "to be quiet." Ramiro chimed in a cute remark (I don't remember exactly what it was) but something that showed his great surprise to that revelation. Of course it gave everyone a good laugh. It was probably such a surprise, because although I start out with good intentions and a sincere heart, my sinful nature comes out way too often. As everyone who knows me can attest, especially those closest to me, I do not have a gentle and quiet spirit. I am passionate - I have robust thoughts and feelings that want to come out, sometimes at the most inopportune times. So those that I want to be the most beautiful for, see me at my ugliest.

Yesterday I visited Julie Goolsby, a friend who has that beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. I went to her for tips on organizing my day with my kids. She had no idea that God was working on making me gentle and quiet. When going through her books to find ones that she wanted to loan me, she gave me one that had "meek and quiet spirit" in the title. I know this was not a coincidence. This was God saying, "you're praying the right thing every morning, now let's work on it." Julie reminded me of another one of my favorite passages in Phillipians 4: 4-9.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Fear seems to be the poison here. 1 Peter references fear as a contrast to beauty. Phillipians 4 gives the remedy to that ugly fear and anxiety. This medicine is the daily dose I need to become beautiful.

How I want to cultivate this Godly beauty so that it can be seen by others! How I want to teach this to my sweet Hannah!

I'm so thankful to my Lord who put the desire to be beautiful in my heart and for his Spirit living in me that will give me the power to do so. And I will continue to pray each morning for that gentle and quiet spirit.