You May Never See a Post Like This Again...

It's about noon on Saturday. I need to feed Amelie lunch and leave soon to pick up Elizabeth from a friend's house, but I can't because Amelie is still taking her morning nap. Seriously! Amelie VanLoon has been sleeping for two hours! My Amelie VanLoon! How cool is that?

I wondered a little bit if she might be sick but I don't think she is. Last night Isaac watched the girls and a friend of Elizabeth's while I got to have a girls' night with the friend's mom. The three girls got to fall asleep together in the same room. Needless to say, Amelie was up late. According to Isaac, the two big girls tried to fall asleep without too much talking and giggling but they were distracted by Amelie standing at the edge of her crib and yelling and laughing and talking. Who can resist that?

Anyway, I've had a fantastic morning. I straightened the house, and then sat down with my Bible and a hot cup of tea. Mmmm. I had time for prayer, worship, my regular Bible study, and some extra studying and reading and just plain relaxed time with God. He is doing some amazing things right now, and I feel like I'm just kind of waking up and getting to be a part of what He's doing. It's really cool to see the new things He's teaching me every day.

Okay. We're going on 2 hours and fifteen minutes now. This is definitely a first. I could get used to this!

New Photo Arrangement

Like it?

Amelie Lately

Here's a little photo sample of what Amelie has been up to lately. She enjoys reading under the table. (Actually, she enjoys climbing in and out under the table. "Reading" implies that she sits still for a while.)

She climbed into a pot at Breezy Point.

She also enjoyed playing in the bathtub at Breezy. That did not work as well at home this week when she climbed into the bathtub with several inches of water in it and sat right down as we filled it up - with her footie pajamas and diaper on! (I'm still kicking myself for not taking a picture!)

Some children like to ride on top of our toy car. Amelie likes to climb in the storage compartment.

And finally - we knew this was coming - she can now climb up on the dining rooms chairs and onto the table. Don't worry. The candle isn't lit. I'm afraid I'll never be able to light it again.

She loves to say "hot" - and touch the oven. She loves to run away from us, especially down the nice wide hallways at church and ECFE. Isaac set her down on the street the other day as he opened the car door, and (did anyone not see this coming?) she took off down the road. He chased her down and remarked, "I guess she's not ready for that yet." (He wants me to say that he did make sure there weren't any cars first.)

Next up: impulse control?

Murder Mystery Dinner

We got to attend a Mardi Gras themed murder mystery dinner party this weekend. If you've never been to one, it's a party that each person comes in character and acts out a part that they're given that night. You try to guess who committed a "murder" that night.

Isaac turned out to be the murderer. He was a lawyer, so his costume was boring.

I was an eccentric Goth novelist, so I got to have more fun. My friends were a Southern prom queen, a maid, and a skanky new wife.

I bought special boots just for the occasion. And now that we've discovered someone in our circle owns a lime-green wig, I foresee that wig getting lots of wear! (Thanks, J.J.)

It's like Halloween for grown-ups. What's not to like?

Handsome Couple, Don't You Think?

Oh, For Grace!

Before bedtime, Elizabeth prayed something like this: "In Jesus's name, I pray that we would all understand God more and know God more and that we would read the Bible more and pray like this and know Him better and He would help us be obedient and thank Him for our food."

When she finished, Isaac gently reminded her, "You know that prayer is talking to God, right?"

"Yes," she replied. "I was just telling God how life worked so He could maybe tell somebody to write it in another part of the Bible so that everyone would know."

Another Burden?

Sometimes I find myself chafing under the balance of so many hats: mother, wife, daughter, housekeeper, cook, exerciser, teacher, worshipper, etc. I feel like I can concentrate on a couple of areas and do them with excellence while ignoring others, or I can do a less-than-worthy job focusing on many areas at once.

Lately God has been showing me that His "burdens" (prayer time, Bible study, etc.) are not really burdens at all. He is not the burden-giver; He is the Burden Lightener. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. If He asks me to include Him in my day, it's for my benefit. He makes my day easier. He's not just one more thing to add into an already busy schedule; He's the reason for the schedule and the reason for my day.

I've committed to reading the book of Philippians every day for several weeks, and today (on my fifth time through in five days!) the phrase "Grace and peace to you from God the Father" at the beginning of the book jumped out at me. This phrase or something similar begins 13 books of the Bible in a row (from Romans to Philemon!) and it's been so easy to me for me to overlook it. But it reminds us that these letters are not simply more instructions and rules for us to obey, rebuke and correction for the things we do that are not according to God's Word. They are to fill us with grace and peace through these very activities!

Pretty cool, huh?