bon appetit...

Le applesaus wit ze spoon.


Ze yogurt wit ze spoon.


Le mac-n-cheese wit ze fork.


Forget it- I know how I can shovel this stuff in!

little things...

It's the little things I do that amaze Mommy & Daddy. (maybe they're not so amazing to anyone else, but we document them anyways!) Over this past week in Florida I had many "firsts" and mini-milestones! Here's a few...


-I suddenly started picking up water-bottle tops and tried repeatedly to put them back on the bottle.
-I took my first few BACKWARDS steps!
-I became a huge fan of sidewalk chalk.


-Totally on my own, I looked up at this basketball goal, pointed, and said "ball!"
-I started to push myself off backwards to get down from on top of a bed.
-Along those same lines, I am starting to be able to sit on a sofa or on top of a bed without anyone holding onto me. (maybe that's because I've had one or two tumbles to help me along with that concept...) :)


-I said a new word: "mirror." (well, it sounded more like "mear...")
-I practiced & learned how to get onto a little tricycle.
-I used a spoon to eat my applesauce and actually got a decent percentage of it in my mouth! hooray! :)

it's a yes...

Last year's post at the beach was "it's a no." (pictured below)

It was too hot, too bright, & too windy for a baby like me to enjoy. But this year...


it was a definite YES!


I made it back home to VA today, and we're all kinda bummed that it had to end.


It was an awesome time for our family together! You won't believe how many little things I learned while I was there, but that'll be another post for another time...


So long, beach!


It was SO fun while it lasted.

barbecue...

Last night we had a big, outdoor barbecue shindig with all 740 students, and it was a great chance for me to pal around with (who else than--) my new buddy, Tili! The two of us can really work a crowd.


If only you could've seen us chasing each other and squealing! It was hilarious. We are quite the pair. By the way, wanna see a couple seconds of dancing? (sorry it's taken from the side)




Oh, and have I told you how awesome it's been to spend this time seeing our old Texas Tech students at the conference, too? (since we didn't have any students from Lynchburg go this year, we've been able to hang out more with them) They've been so fun and have loved on me well! I was just a babe the last time they saw me!


And at this point in my life, I pretty much refuse to take a decent family photo. :)

P.S. Mommy & I are heading home this afternoon & Daddy will fly in late tonight. We've got lots more pictures to share with you, but I guess we'll share 'em from home! See ya back in VA!

silly with tili...

Meet Tili. (pronounced "TIL-ee") She's only 3 months older than me & her daddy is also a RUF campus minister! (he's at the University of North Florida) Our families spent the evening together tonight, and at first I didn't know if I was a hold-your-hand-on-the-first-night-out kind of gal. :)


But after dinner, we all had to make a quick run over to Target to buy some more milk, and since we were strapped in so close together, we decided to make the best of it.


We started cutting up & pointing at noses! (GREAT fun- let me tell ya. This was really the point in our new friendship where we started warming up to one another. And all it took was some nose-pointing...)


After our Target run, we stopped by the carousel.


Our daddy's took us for a ride! Neither Tili or I were totally sure about riding the horses, though. I think we liked watching them better from afar.


At one point, we even got our groove on and started dancing together! So hey- so what if things didn't start out so touchy-feely?


Tili, you and I are gonna be friends for many RUF summer conferences to come.

time of my life...

Guys, I am having the time of my life here in Florida! I've never had so many kids to run around with and I am LOVING it! (all the other RUF families with kids are at summer conference with us)


Nice wheels, dude.


And the beach is in my backyard!


Aaahhhh... this must be heaven.

beach bum...

Mommy made it to Florida yesterday! When I saw her at the airport, I got the BIGGEST grin on my face. We should also note that Daddy did a fantastic job without Mommy, but he sure was happy to see her, too. :)


And I'm lovin' the beach! Pretty intrigued by these wave things. While all the kids my age are content to stay with their mommies and play up in the sand with beach toys,...


I'd rather run into the water with the big kids!!! No fear here!




The beach bum life is the life for me!

justification...

Lately I've been thinking about justification. And by that, I don't mean reflecting upon the finer points of a deep theological doctrine, though that's certainly important and honorable. Maybe it's been on my mind because Marc is teaching a 2-day seminar on it at our national RUF Summer Conference this week. But I don't think so.

You see, lately in my interactions with people, both Christians and non-believers, it's just become rather obvious the innumerable amounts of ways we attempt to justify ourselves. And ALL of us do it-- ever since Adam and Eve tried to "cover" themselves with fig leaves in the garden, as part of the Fall our default mode is to find something that will cover the guilt and shame we carry.

So as I listen and observe people, as well as examine my own heart, I've been pondering the many ways we literally try to make ourselves worthy. What gives you value? What is it that you want to known for? (I mean, really. Deep down. Not just the Sunday-School answer.) What "fig leaf" are you using to cover yourself? How are you defining yourself? Do you tend to justify yourself...

• by what you own- what car you drive, the square footage of your house, what latest phone or gadget you have, what brand of purse or shoes you wear
• by what you do for a living- how much money you make or what kind of work you do, or even how hard you work
  
• by your outward appearance- by how much you weigh or how well you ate that day, how well you look (or how well your children look and behave), how healthy you are or defining yourself by how many medications you do or don't take in a day, trying to appear like you "have it all together"
• by your academic achievements
  
• by how busy your calendar is
• by how many people like you- or how many people are romantically interested in you, or how many people complimented you today, or if your family approves of you, or by working to fit in with those around you
  
• by who you know- or what family (or town) you came from
• by how moral you are- and focusing on what you do RIGHT and others do wrong, or how well your children behave
  

Most of these things are not bad things in and of themselves, you know? (and there's probably a million more we could add to the list) But it's how we take these things and then USE them for our own justification that is so messed up. The Bible tells us our hearts are utterly wicked and deceitful, and after thinking through those various ways we try to give ourselves glory, I see how many of those things I use to prop myself up before others and before God.

But the only TRUE righteousness that I have and claim comes from nowhere within myself. It has nothing to do with anything I have done in the past or continue to do. It has nothing to do with how well I performed or some great decision I made. It is utterly OUTSIDE of me.

The Gospel is that not only did Jesus Christ DIE for my sins, (yeah, yeah, we all know that, right?) but justification teaches that he also LIVED a 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK PERFECT, SINLESS LIFE FOR 33 YEARS (I can't get through a DAY without some kind of selfish motivations!) and in trusting Him, THAT perfect life is credited to me. Oh what glorious news! And so humbling!

And while we all spend our days seeking after our own justification and righteousness like rats on a treadmill, we who are believers are ALREADY living in the only justification that matters... we are beloved (and totally undeserving!) sons and daughters of Christ.

May THAT be the only justification we cling to.

"What shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about-- but not before God. What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." -Romans 4:1-8

being a mom...

On my first Mother's Day last year, I reflected on what it's like for a woman struggling through infertility to absolutely dread Mother's Day. (I'd encourage any of you guys-- particularly if you are going through infertility or know someone who is-- to read it again HERE.) I just remember last year how STRANGE (and wonderful) it was to my ears to hear someone tell me "Happy Mother's Day."

This year, on my second Mother's Day, I've had alot more time to get used to the idea that I'm now a MOM. Don't get me wrong-- my heart still goes out to so many women and couples who are skipping church today simply because to them, "Mother's Day" feels more like a slap in the face. And now, even though I've joined this invisible worldwide-club of Moms, in a way I think I'll always feel connected to those women who DON'T have children or CAN'T have children. And like I said last year, God would be NO more good and gracious to me had He never brought Caroline to our family. But certainly for us, Mother's Day is now a day that points our family to the Lord, because truly without Him, I'd never be a mom.

I'm a mom!!! Caroline knows me. She can pick me out of a crowd. She calls me "mama." She literally clings to me when she thinks I'm leaving her. She was placed into our family through the self-sacrificing love of birthmommy Megan and under the loving hand of God.

And she couldn't be any more wonderful, and I couldn't love her any more fiercely, than had she come out of my very own tummy.

There are little moments sometimes that I look at her and think how strange it is that she ISN'T "ours." Biologically, she wasn't "supposed" to be my daughter. But in God's beautiful and strange design, His plan said otherwise. She was supposed to be ours before we ever met a wonderful gal named Megan. She was supposed to be ours before we began the physical and emotional torment of infertility treatments. (that's partly what He used to bring us along to see His plan "A" for us was adoption!) Before we had ANY clue what would lie ahead of us, God had a plan for me to become a mom that was far more beautiful than I could've ever dreamed or asked for.

Like any mom, there are many days when I'd like to have a little freedom to go where I'd like to go and do what I'd like to do aside from cleaning yucky food bits off the kitchen floor 4 times a day and changing endless amounts of diapers. I've been a world traveler. I've been a symphony player. I've been a school orchestra director. I've been a pastor's wife. I've been all these things, but there's nothing that can even halfway compare to the joy and delight of being a mom.


And speaking of being a mom, I can't believe I just put my family on a plane! (though I must admit I'm enjoying a little peace and quiet around here!) This was the "bye bye" I got at the airport as Daddy took her through security on the way to Florida! Good luck, Daddy! I'll see you guys tomorrow! I love you!

mother's day #2...

The love of Mommy's life last year.


The love of Mommy's life this year.


High five for a fabulous mommy-daughter team!

p.s. Say some prayers for "D" (aka Daddy) & Caroline today! I (Amy) am putting them on a plane to go to RUF's Summer Conference in Florida this morning. (I'm flying out to join them tomorrow.) Traveling with a toddler??? Lots of... um... good Daddy-daughter time. :) ha!

what goes up must come down...

These days I can get UP stairs just fine...


and I've just started figuring out how to come down.


One thing's for sure...


I enjoy the journey!

(and Mom, 15 years from now I'll try to forgive you for dressing me in a watermelon outfit.)