I know, that I know, that I know, that my Savior Lives

With Easter weekend behind me, I wanted to share some thoughts. As we celebrate Christ's sacrifice, what is sticking out to me is Reality. Not a glorified, slow motion story that I imagine as I read the Bible...but reality. Jesus is real. He was human. These stories played out in front of a few guys that really weren't that important in the social order of the time. Regular ole dudes witnessed the events that changed every one of our lives. There is no pomp and circumstance, no special effects, no cameras in the background...just real life.

Of course, this is not my first time to acknowledge that Jesus was human and walked this earth. I think it is just really hitting home. At church, a family recently relocated by the military to Israel sent us a special video message from the spots where the Easter story unfolded. They had passover at the Upper Room, they shared scripture in the Garden of Gethsemane, they showed us where Peter denied Christ, they sat at the entrance to the garden tomb, and they stood beside the sea of Galilee to bid us farewell.

I found these pictures of the places they stood when they recorded their message. First is the garden, where Christ prayed with such fervor that he sweat drops of blood. He and the disciples encountered Roman guards here, and Jesus healed the severed ear of the guard.

It was here where Peter denied Christ three times when he was identified as one of Christ's followers. A statue stands there now, depicting the scene.

 

Here is the entrance to the garden tomb, where it is believed that Christ was buried (for a little while at least).  

Here's the Sea of Galilee, mentioned so many times in scripture, but in the Easter story, it's where Christ encountered the disciples after he arose. He had made breakfast for them on shore. He called out to them to cast their nets on the other side (a repeat of when he first met them) and their nets overflowed with fish. Look at this place. I just want to sit at the shores and let God love on me. I want to stick my toes in the water and watch the little minnows scatter. It's real, and it's beautiful!

 This is a drawing depicting the Sea of Galilee story I described above. It's a glorified rendering. Now when I hear or read the stories I'll have a different mental image--a real image in all its (un)glory.

Christ sent us his story through his disciples. His relationship with them transferred his wisdom in such a way that they were able to begin other relationships, sharing His truth. There was nothing fancy about this event that set our souls free from sin. but it happenened and changed the course of history.

I'm learning that God works through everyday "real" situations. It doesn't matter if a good deed is acknowledged on Facebook or if a small act is ever noticed. Our relationships with others sets the standard. We don't need to know all the fancy words or quote scripture at the drop of a hat. We just need to develop relationships with people so that they can see His truth in us. Im so very (un)glorious, so I know He can use me!

Will Work for Stickerz

Have I ever mentioned how difficult it is to say "no" to this sweet little face?

I recently discovered that Faith absolutely loves stickers! More than that, she loves being rewarded for doing good. She proudly states "I earn sticker!" There are two ways she can earn her stickers. One is to sit at the table with mommy and go over letters, numbers, etc, and the other way is to go potty on the potty.

Her potty training success is mood driven, and I know that as soon as she wants to be fully trained, it will happen. I made her the chart pictured below and told her that if she goes potty this many times, she gets and ice cream cone. The chart is on the wall in her bathroom. She tells me "I go potty, I get ice cream cone!" It took her just 24 hours to earn her first ice cream cone! Mommy was not prepared for such success, and last night at 7:45 I made a run to the grocery store for supplies.

I can't believe how the stickers drive her! Usually in the morning, I will ask her if she needs to sit on the potty and she will deny with a whiny voice that seems to say, "Mom, not this early in the morning!" But yesterday and today when I've asked, she replied "I go potty, I earn sticker?" I confirm "Yes, Faith" and her face lights up "OK!"

Here she is, up past her bed time, no bath yet, cause we had to get our ICE CREAM CONE! Daddy was jealous...he wanted on too, but I told him he didn't earn all his stickers!

Princess Fisherlady

This weekend, Faith was eager to take her dad up on an offered fishing trip. Funny thing was, as I was getting her ready for our trip, she INSISTED on wearing her "pink princess dress." I just decided that the dress would wash, and I put her rain boots on and packed her daddy's girl hat.

Faith was good at carrying the pole around, following mom and dad as they fished. She quickly tired at the thought of holding the pole in place while waiting for a fish to bite. More interesting, however, was the plight of throwing each and every piece of dried mud into the pond. (Yes, Texans, I know it's technically a tank, but we are Arkansas rednecks and you can't deny your raisin')

I've never seen a prettier fisher lady, and I'm sure Grandma Mary would've had the biggest grin on her face seeing Faith prance around the pond, getting mud on the pretty pink dress.



Turkey Tradition

It's April again, and Bubba has turkey fever...again! As he will do every year of his life, I'd imagine, and now Faith is destined to have her pic with her daddy and his turkey from here on out. Although....Bubba has declared that Faith will be shooting her own turkey next year. We shall see.

In April 2008, Bubba really wanted me to go turkey hunting with him. It was cold that morning, and I wore an over sized set of coveralls. I wasn't feeling well, and I hustled to stay about 50 yards behind him (waddling in all my clothing---looked like the Michelin Man). I stopped several times because i was sick at my stomach and tired and dizzy. I stuck it out though, because I wanted him to know I could hang with him. On the way back in to town, I suggested that stopping at Walgreen's for a pregnancy test would be advised. That day we learned that there would be a new addition to our family :)

2009

2010

2011

Remembering Grandma Mary

Three years ago tomorrow at the age of only 47, Bubba's mom Mary went to be with Jesus. To say it was unexpected is an understatement. She was preparing dinner for her husband on that Thursday night, and she fell asleep on her chair in the kitchen....but never awoke.

This past Christmas, I had some 8mm video we found at her home put on DVD. There was mostly footage that she shot and narrated. It was neat to hear her say "Bubba" again in her own unique way. Part of the footage, however, was of Mary when she killed her big buck. She was the star of that show, and she showed off her beautiful smile and long blond pony tail. 

Faith knows Grandma Mary only by a picture right now, but we know we'll all be reunited one glorius day :)

Thankful for Each Day

Our pastor shared this poem this week. It reminds us not to take each time we get with our loved ones for granted. I know that with the homegoing of Mary, Erick, Grandma Frankie, Hannah Joy, and Aunt Anna Jewel in recent years we are reminded that there is no guarantee of having "next time" to tell someone how much you love them.

"If Tomorrow Never Comes"

 

If I knew it would be the last time

that I'd see you fall asleep,

I would tuck you in more tightly

and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time

that I see you walk out the door,

I would give you a hug and kiss

and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time

I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,

I would video tape each action and word,

so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,

I could spare an extra minute or two

to stop and say "I love you,"

instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time

I would be there to share your day,

well I'm sure you'll have so many more,

so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow

to make up for an oversight,

and we always get a second chance

to make everything right.

There will always be another day

to say our "I love you's",

And certainly there's another chance

to say our "Anything I can do's?"

But just in case I might be wrong,

and today is all I get,

I'd like to say how much I love you

and I hope we never forget,

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,

young or old alike,

And today may be the last chance

you get to hold your loved one tight..

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,

why not do it today?

For if tomorrow never comes,

you'll surely regret the day,

That you didn't take that extra time

for a smile, a hug, or a kiss

and you were too busy to grant someone,

what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,

whisper in their ear,

Tell them how much you love them

and that you'll always hold them dear,

Take time to say "I'm sorry," "please forgive me,"

"thank you" or "it's okay".

And if tomorrow never comes,

you'll have no regrets about today

 

~anonymous~

Beffie Comes to Town

There is absolutely nothing better than last minute plans that create lifetime memories! A couple of weekends ago, I was in Arkansas for a conference for work, and I saw three of my nieces and stayed with my brother Brad, sis-in-law Jill, and niece Bethany. We spent two nights reminiscing the good old days and mostly remembering Hannah Joy. I asked Bethany the traditional, "So what are your plans for spring break?" question. I fully expected some monumentally amazing youth trip or at least a week full of plans (my nieces are such busy busy ladies!). When Bethany simply replied "nothing!" I was surprised. "Ah, well I wish you could come see us in Texas." That sparked a fun conversation between Bethany and her parents. She was lobbying to fly to Texas alone...her parents were hesitant to say the least. After a few days of planning, Bethany had found a ride from an OBU student to Dallas and her mom had booked a one way flight home for her.

Now, I have always wanted to be a very hands-on aunt, but honestly this is not an easy task from 6 hours away. Before grad school and moving to Texas, I was all up in their business (and I still try to stay that way via Facebook and text). None of my nieces have really had much one on one time with me or Faith since her birth. Bethany's last minute plans gave her five whole days with us!

From the moment we picked her up from the Dallas area, Bethany and Faith were the bestest of friends. Faith would simply repeat every single thing she heard her elder cousin say. I charged Bethany with the task of dressing Faith each day (which she embraced with enthusiasm). Bethany also became a 2nd mom very quickly, paying attention to Faith's needs, getting her in and out of the car, helping with bathing, etc. Needless to say, I enjoyed the help! On Sunday, we attended the first round playoff game of the Baylor Lady Bears Basketball. Bethany kept Faith home from daycare on Monday. Tuesday she shadowed me at work all day (which was an absolute blast!). Wednesday, she slept in which an self respecting high schooler on Spring Break must do, and Thursday we got up and left the house at 5:45am to catch her plane at DFW. 

Minutes after leaving DFW, Faith exclaimed "Where Beffie go? Beffie, I want my juice!" It's a time I will always cherish, and I really hope to get more of these visits from my girls!

Cow Poo Poo

This past Sunday afternoon, in an attempt to get out of the house and enjoy the beautiful weather, we spent the afternoon "helping" daddy and Uncle Josh check and reload their pig feeder. Wild or feral hogs are apparently taking over the US, destroying farm land and costing landowners lots of money. So, Bubba and Josh have an agreement with this landowner that they are allowed to hunt his land for all kinds of game as long as they shoot as many hogs as they can.

Faith was excited at the venture, so she dawned her camo pants, her rain boots, and her pink camo hat (not pictured) with enthusiasm at the potential to see cows and "drive" the four wheeler.

Faith "drove" us to a place where we had to park, then "hoof it." She quickly lagged behind the rest of us as she began collecting what she called rocks. I laughed...the rocks were old cow poop. I told her that was cow poo poo, and she dropped it on spot "Eww, Cow Poo Poo!" Faith then proceeded to point out each time she found more.

We made it to the pig feeder, which needed more corn. The guys filled it up and tested it to make sure corn was dispersed appropriately. Faith promptly made it her mission to attempt to collect each piece of corn that had fallen on the ground...



We distracted her from the corn and began to make our way out of the woods. There was a problem though. Little sticker bushes stressed her out. She demanded to be carried by dad as she proclaimed "I'm stuck!" Dad told her she was going to have to learn to step on it or go around. She made it apparent that today was not the day to begin.

After the pigs were taken care of, so to speak, we ventured down to the big pond for some splish splash time and of course, to through rocks in the water. All three of us adults immediately tried to skip rocks on the water and hurt our arms/shoulders quickly. We decided to find rocks for Faith to chunk, and Faith and dad ventured into the water to try out their rain boots.

What a great day all around! It made me miss those days of playing all day long outside. I remember leaving the house in the morning and not returning until dark or unless I heard mom's calling (no cell phones then!). I wanted to stop and build a fort, but we were without the needed tools.

Faith found a baby cow that she adored. She ran towards the herd of cows in an attempt to convince the baby to let her ride him. It didn't go over so well. They spooked to her dismay. By the end of the afternoon, we had one tired little girl!

That's all I can write for now. I just noticed that Faith is playing in the fireplace ashes! Better pay more attention!

[Pey-shuh ns] Is A Virtue

Faith is now two years, two months old, and she is doing and saying some remarkable things! But there are trials that we as parents would rather do without. Watching Faith grow up has made it painstakingly clear to me that while a child is a beautiful, wonderful being...a child has the innate sin in him/her that dates back to the fall of Man. The root of it seems to be selfishness. Anything she sees and likes becomes "Mine!" Last week she was put in timeout in school because she had claimed all the toys in the classroom and was guarding them from the other kids.

But watching Faith, I also can see my own selfish desires. I'm often so full of myself that I can't see beyond my own wants, needs, and dreams. This is why we all need a Savior. To save us from ourselves. I'll keep working on Faith, Lord keep working on me!

~God Don't Make Junk~

Thanks Paster Steve for reminding me that in fact, God don't make junk. He doesn't make mistakes! There is not one living being on this earth who was not fearfully and wonderfully made by our Father. This is hard to grasp at first. You mean to tell me that the weirdos of the world, the annoying people, and the heartless people of the world are just as important to God as I am? Well yes, and maybe even more important. The fact is that we are called to love as Jesus loves. So how, exactly, does He love?

1) He accepts people. "The Father gives me my people. Every one of them will come to me, and I will accept them." John 6:37

2) He Values people. "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advanced for us to do." Eph. 2:10

3)He forgives people. "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." Luke 6:37

4) He believes in people. "The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because i am going to be with the Father." John 14:17

I'm beginning to learn that the Lord just needs someone who is willing, not someone who is perfect. In everyday relationships, if I can love others like Jesus loves me, then His love shines through me. If I can value the cleaning lady. If I can believe in the new person who looks overwhelmed. If I can accept the weird one. If I can forgive those who do something against me. If I do this, each day Jesus' love is made visible.

Lord, help me to open my eyes for opportunities to show your love! As Brandon Heath sings, give me your eyes!

Give me your eyes for just one second

Give me your eyes so I can see

Everything that I keep missing

Give me your love for humanity

Give me your arms for the broken hearted

The ones that are far beyond me reach

Give me your eyes for the ones forgotten

Give me your eyes so I can see

Changes

Some changes are coming to this blog. It's been on my heart for quite some time to write about much more than our precious child, Faith. Yes, she's the reason the blog was started, and time after time, I've held back my opinions in an effort to keep the tone's blog consistent. Inspired by my sisters-in-law, Jill and Lisa, I've decided to write about subjects with more depth. As Lisa states here, the blog should be a place to help document for your kids and grandkids to know just who you are and know more about your thoughts and your identity as God's child. Jill uses her blog as a combination of ministry and self-therapy as she writes about dealing with grief after my beautiful niece Hannah entered heaven at age 17. Worry not Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Grandparents, I'm probably going to do a better more consistent documentation of sweet Faith's developments as well. I know you all don't get to see her nearly enough! I've reached a place where I think blogging can help me in my spiritual growth to apply concepts from the Bible, church, family, and everyday life.

Goldie Locks

I love Faith's hair! She has the beautiful curls that I had as a little one and that her older Sullivan nieces have, and she has the beautiful almost white hair that her daddy had as a little boy. I cannot tell you how many times people have asked, "did you curl her hair?" Sure people, I had the toddler sit on the sink and said be real still while I put this burning hot iron on your precious little hair!

I do feel for her in that I have inherited my mother's tolerance for patience and empathy when it comes to brushing, washing, and fixing her hair. Might as well grin and bear it, Faith! I did. If a tangle doesn't come out immediately, just tug harder. Now you get the picture?

I love the way she loves having bows in her hair and using head bands. She loves to admire herself in the mirror, sweet lil thing.

10 things I love about Faith at 23 months

Faith has kept her mommy so busy lately that I haven't been able to update in a while. Wow, how time flies. Faith is turning two years old this month! In the past couple of weeks, she has really developed her speech so that she is sounding less and less like she's speaking Chinese.

Here are my top 10 favorite things that she's doing at this time:

1. Saying "please" with a cheesy little smile that gets her almost anything she wants.

2. Following Gracie (the chihuahua) around the house with her arms wide open saying "hugs?"

3. Pressing the glowworm in the middle of the night several times in a row just to listen to the music.

4. Insisting on wearing her rain boots (which are two sizes too big) to school several days in a row and on more than one occasion.

5. The way she lights up when she sees her Papaws, and the way any older man in any store also qualifies as a papaw.

6. That one of her first intelligible longer sentences at school was "No Jackson! My toy! Get back!"

7. The way Faith loves on her mommy and daddy at night time and gives the best long hugs a parent could ever ask for.

8. Extremely wet and messy kisses (on the mouth of course!)

9. How she cannot sit on the potty without saying "My teeth!" She brushes her teeth no less than 4 times a day (that's a week day, many more times on the weekend!).

10. The way she mothers her little babies and keeps them in her arms (all five) in the morning while i'm trying to change her diaper and get her dressed. "Babies! Babies! My Babies!" Faith, you should not have so many babies, you can't even take care of them! LOL

Little Girl Growing Up, A Summer Recap

This is bound to be a long post! The last was in the middle of May and there is so much that has happened in our little family! I cannot believe how much Faith has changed in these short months, you will notice on the pictures.
So, at the end of May, Mommy left her job at Baylor and ventured out to practice speech-language pathology. Daddy has been making great strides in leadership in his job, though he works some early and loooong hours.
Our summer start with a visit from Nana and Papaw Sartor. She was spoiled rotten when they left! She loves her papaw! (nothing against Nana, it's just that she likes the men better, she does the same thing with Grandma Nina)
Faith has once again moved up a classroom at her school and is she really enjoying all the fun activities at school. Here she is ready for school at the end of May...

With summer comes swimming, and this is something Faith has become somewhat proficient in. Notice the contraption she is wearing below. It is designed to keep the kid afloat, but does not keep your head above water automatically. It requires balance. Faith found out the hard way, and now can balance herself and move about independently around the pool (she wouldn't have it any other way). We've been blessed to have friends with the perfect size and type of pool for
Faith to learn her way about the water in. Here she is taking a break from the pool and sitting up like a big girl in the lawn chair.


Something else that she has explored for the first time this summer is the indoor playgrounds at different neighborhood eating joints. And, of course, she knows that the slide is the most fun when walked up backwards...

I've known for some time that Faith needed to be getting off the bottle all together. For several months she had been only having a night time bottle. She weaned herself in July. She got to where she would just chew on the bottle at night, and not really drink it. I just quit offering it, and she didn't ask. This is one of her last bottles :( Sniff, Sniff

July 4th was a neat experience for us. We had a family wide G and G camp together at a retreat/ranch outside of Fort Worth. It was the perfect little get away for us, and Faith really started warming up to her cousins. I don't have any pics from this...need to get them emailed to me. It was here that Faith led her Grandpa Sullivan all over the property several times a day. He would let her explore and just follow her. They were so cute!

Pigtails have been a staple for Faith this summer. She is hot natured and needs all the help she can get. I try to dress her in as little clothing as possible, while keeping her hair up off her neck. The pigtails also happen to be pretty darn cute! I snapped this in the hallway one morning as she was walking to her classroom.
Mom and dad brought Faith my old rocking chair earlier this Spring. That thing is over 25 years old! Faith enjoys it now, and likes to try my patience inventing different ways to sit or stand in the chair. It's cool to see her using this though!

A nighttime ritual at our household is a family prayer before bed. Yes, this is sunshine you see...it was daylight at 8pm for quiet some time, but it was still bedtime! Faith gets in her daddy's lap and puts her hands together and we all recite the prayer together. Her favorite part is the "Amen," which she says with quiet some fervor.


The beginning of August rolled around and Grandpa Sullivan's birthday. Faith decided to go and surprise her Grandpa for his birthday. He knew not a word about it and the whole trip was super quick but super special. Here she is with her cousin Hayley and cousin Emily riding around the family farm in Briggsville.


Below is a pic of Faith watching Grandma Nina fix a good ole breakfast. I remember many mornings in this very kitchen watching Grandma Anna and Aunt Anna Jewel prepare breakfast. It's cool to see her continuing the experience.

And here is why that trip was worth it. Faith adores her Grandpa.

We had visitors the next weekend. It is rare that we see each other this often, but Uncle Wes, Hayley and Caitlin came and stayed with us for several days. Faith loved the attention and the excuse to stay up "late" with her cousins.

Faith and Uncle Wes

This summer also marked Faith's first real hair cut. She was none too excited about this, but with some help from You Tube and daddy's Iphone, she survived. We only trimmed it, and didn't really have the usual curls that you keep in a baby book. Maybe next time. It's too cute to cut much right now!

Faith was introduced to the deer woods this month too. We had a family day trip to the deer woods, were we checked daddy's game camera and filled up his feeder. Faith favorite part was getting to "drive" through the pasture and of course, not having to sit in the car seat for a while.

And the very next afternoon she took her first boat ride in daddy's boat. She was enamored at the sights around her and liked the experience....as long as we weren't going over 10 mph. That got old quickly and this turned out to be a brief ride, though a successful one none the less.

So there you have it. You are caught up with the events of our summer. No big destination trips or anything. Just everyday life. We cherish our time with Faith each evening and every weekend. She is such a joy in our life :)

An Afternoon at the Park

Determined that Faith needed to swing, Daddy and I drove all around looking for a park with a good toddler swing. It was a beautiful afternoon, and we'd have stayed all evening if not for the little nagging knats!

Faith liked swinging, at first, then she changed her tune as her poor feet drug through the sand. We need a toddler swing for taller toddlers!

Faith walked out holding on to her daddy's hand. I love this pic!

Daddy's Lil' Huntress

Dinner Club

So it may sound cliche, but we are part of a quaint little dinner club where 4 couples rotate homes each month for a evening get together. Three of the couples have little girls all around the same age. Payton and Macy are about 20 months old, while Faith is 16 months old.

Last night at our get together, the girls had an absolute blast playing together. They started a game that involved running in a herd from one end of the house to the other. Oh, and this house is Josh and Britni's, and they don't have kids just yet. So you can imagine the anxious way we watched the girls to make sure they didn't get into anything that was less than baby proof.

I managed to get this short video to give you an idea of our night, and why we had headaches at the end of it...

Later on, Faith started to push Britni's coffee table around on the floor, and when Macy tried to join in the effort, Faith boxed her out using elbows and all! That's my girl!

Anyway, we really enjoy this time each month to see how the girls have changed and compare life stories. Now, our evenings will forever be more interesting.

When we got home, I put Faith, who was already in PJ's, down and asked her if she was ready to go night night. She shook her head yes, ran into her room, and threw her arms up at her crib. I gave her a kiss and lifted her into her bed, where she snuggled in for the night. I have it so good!

Turkey time with Daddy: Then and Now

Well, turkey season in Texas is almost over and daddy has really had some success. Faith and I really like it when dad kills a turkey, because that means he will bring us breakfast back and be home when we wake up!

Daddy has made it a tradition, he wants a pic with Faith and his turkeys. Here is the first ever Faith/Dad/Turkey pic:

Now, again, check out the difference a year makes! And, yes, that is Gracie sniffing the poor turkey. She was concerned that it may be faking.

And yet, a different turkey, and a baby who is NOT willing to stand still for the pic!

Thus ends turkey season 2010, and my apologies to those appalled by the pics of dead birds. I am immune to these feelings by now!