The Tale of a Pastor Super Hero....

I just realized that it has been about six weeks since I posted last. Opps! I don't even know where the time has gone. All I know is that it has gone somewhere...FAST! April and May were packed with Easter, a visit from Gigi, a sonogram letting us know baby number two is a girl ( sooo pumped about that!! :)), the last Life House meetings for a month, and of course the annual couple trip that Chris and always take in May. 

This year his parents built a lake house on Possum Kingdom Lake, so we decided to take full advantage. Mckinley was packed up and shipped off with Grammy to Uncle Beau and Aunt Kimbo's house. While there, I am sure that she had a grand revelation that they are going to be much cooler parents than the ones that the Lord has blessed her with. Chris and I loaded up the car, and left on Sunday after church. We arrived and were so excited about our week of rest. The first two days consisted of eating, laying out by the pool, reading, and napping. We also managed to squeeze in a trip to Fort Worth to shop and eat. It was great to go back since we had not been there in almost two years. It was during all of this "relaxation time," that I realized why in the world my parents enrolled me in a three week camp every summer. I mean don't get me wrong, I had the time of my life at camp. However, it was totally a vacation FOR THEM! How thoughtful!

Anyhow, on Tuesday night, Chris and I watched a movie and then got ready for bed. We both feel asleep faster than could blink. Exactly four hours later, I awoke to SOMETHING making noise outside. Now, I am the lightest sleeper I know. And I am ultra paranoid person at night as well. Perfect combination. I know. So, I laid there for a minute listening to see if I would hear it again. I have learned to not wake Chris up, and go make him check the house unless I am absolutely positive that we are under attack. So, there I am with my eyes as wide as they would go, and my ears listening for a hint of anything. All of the sudden, I hear it again. My heart is pounding. Thankfully, I look over and the noise woke Chris up too. "What was that?" He asked. "I have no idea." We keep laying there. Waiting. It happens again. Now, me and my man have talked about, sermon illustrated, and thought about this exact scenario millions of times. Chris looked at me and said "you stay here, and don't move." He rolled off the bed, hit the floor, and popped back up with his assault rifle. He crept up to the door, and popped around the corner like he was going in for the kill. He walks down the hall, gun in his arms, and the trigger ready to be pulled. Out into the living room, where he promptly turns on EVERY light that exists on the property. He then circles the living room 1.2 million times, stopping at every window to see if the intruder is visible. Finally, he comes back in the bedroom to find me asleep on the bed. "Em, why are you asleep? Aren't you worried?" He asked. "Well, you're the one with the gun, and its not like I can take someone down by myself." I responded. So, like any protector, he spent the next three hours of his life circling the house, aiming, and making sure that ANY intruder that was possibly interested in coming in the house would loose interest real fast. 

The next day, he called to tell his parents about his first hand " ranch experience." "I mean, it had to be something big, " he said. "At first, I thought it could be a person, but what person would stick around after I turned all the lights on, and they saw the size of my pecks? So, then I narrowed it down to an animal. I am thinking a fox, mountain lion, maybe even a bear. "

So, that's when my instinct kicked in. "Let's go look for footprints," I said. So, we checked the entire perimeter of the house to find nothing. "I am pretty sure a mountain lion would leave some sort of mark." "Well, whatever it was, it had to be big because of all the noise it made," he replied. For the next two nights, we didn't hear a thing. His parents came to stay at the house the day we left, and they narrowed our intruder down to, you guessed it, a possum or a raccoon. Hence the name Possum Kingdom Lake. 

Oikos part II

This past weekend, Chris did his final series on Oikos. He talked about the importance of embracing the circle of people that are in your life. The group of friends, family, and neighbors you are surrounded by aren't by mistake. Rather, as some people put it, you might be the "only Jesus they ever see." 

I totally take this opportunity way too lightly. I guess my main struggle would be that I stay at home with Mckinley, so I feel like my "circle" is limited. However, after doing some thinking, I realized that the Lord has still placed so many people in my life for a very specific reason. However, I also realized that I need to be more intentional about making use of the opportunities that He entrusts me with. I am so thankful for reminders from the Lord. 

On a much lighter note, I think that I experienced one of the most embarrassing moments in my life this past weekend. My face probably looked identical to the picture of Mckinley. So, I thought it was an appropriate illustration for the story. So, the service was about to end, and I knew that I had some cash I wanted to place in the offering box. I had Mckinley in my lap, and so I reached for my purse. I dug around until I found my extremely large black expand a file that encases all of my cash for the month. I always put my tithe money in the very front pocket. So, without really looking at what I was grabbing, I reached into what I thought was the very first pocket, and pulled out the money. The service ended, and I gathered up Mckinley, myself, and all of stuff. We started making our way towards Chris, and passed the offering box. I quickly took my cash, and dropped it in the box. As I was doing this, I noticed that there were several large bills that I was pretty sure was not in my tithe money. I immediately walked over and pulled out Mr. Expanda-file. That's when I made the discovery. I had accidentally placed our grocery money in the tithe box. Oh no!! So, I made my way over to Chris, and told him what happened. His compassion level equaled about zero. He told me to go talk to Justin, the executive pastor. So, I found him, and asked him if there was any way I could switch out the money. Of course it ended up being no problem, but I still felt incredibly embarrassed. I guess you could say that is ONE of the major downfalls of the cash-only system. I am glad that I was able to experience it first hand. 

First Name Basis...

Mckinley and her grown-up self has decided that it would be best if she called Chris and me by our first names. Every morning she wakes up and asks for "Chris." When she needs me, she yells "EM!!" Also, if we are really annoying her (say with persistent tickling), she will boldly declare "stop babe!" I think that she got this from me as this is my normal response to Chris when he is bothering me. Too funny. 

She has also decided that jelly beans may be the Lord's greatest invention. She can't get enough. 

This past weekend, we ended up going to see my mom for a really quick trip (I mean less than 48 hours.) It reminded of me when I was in college, and I thought it was fun to be in the car that much over the span of three days. Anyhow, we had so much fun. We stayed at Gigi's country house, and went to a huge antique show on Saturday. Mckinley did great (minus the part of her rolling on top of me one night as I slept on the lower trundle bed.) She also received a carrot baseball bat from an ever so gracious Gigi. Mckinley thought this was the perfect spanking tool, so she looked for the perfect target. She picked none other than... GIGI. You can't give a two year old a bat, and expect them not to swing it. Even if it is as a "spanking." 

I am doing great. I am seventeen weeks pregnant. I can't believe that it has gone by this fast. I am so thankful that the Lord has provided a really easy pregnancy! What a blessing. We find out in another three weeks if we are having a boy or a girl. I think either one would be so much fun! 

Chris is gearing up for this years Easter celebration at church. The weekend will consist of an Easter egg drop, and four services. I am so excited to see what the Lord does that weekend. I know that it will be so great. The Lord keeps reminding me that He has gone before us and prepared the way. Where would we be without Him??? 

I hope everyone is doing just wonderful!! :)

Reckless Driver!

I am fearing the day this girl turns sixteen. 

Mckinley's fashion advice....

Me to Mckinley: "Mckinley, is your daddy fine?"

Mckinley: "NO!"

Me: "Mckinley, is your daddy hot?"

Mac: "NO!, and his jacket is ugly too!"

I almost fell over from laughter when she said this. Chris pretended like he didn't care. However, five minutes later he took his jacket off. :) 

6,7,8....

These are Mckinley's favorite numbers to say out loud. I have tried one million times to work on 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. For some reason, she just doesn't think these numbers have any worth.  So, she goes around the house all day long say 6, 7, 8 as loud as she can. Good times. :)

We have not really been up to much else. We found out in December that we are expecting again. We are so excited and nervous all at the same time. Everyday I ask Mckinley if she wants a brother or a sister, and she responds with "baby Jesus." Seeing as that is not an option, I am hoping that she will cope well with the major change that is about to take place in her life. I think it is going to be so interesting. I know that she will be a great big sister. I am sure that she is hoping that her new sibling will have a "teachable spirit." 

Mckinley spends most of her days changing shoes approximately one million times. Talking on the phone (for real or pretend), making every activity into a form of chase, and putting on "make-goat." 

Today, one of her friends came over to play. Her name is Emmie, and they seriously have a grand time. Well, Jennifer ( her mom) and I were sitting in our living room while the girls played in Mckinley's room. All of the sudden, Emmie ran in and shouted "Mama, Kinley pooped!!" So, we both automatically got up to run into Mckinley's room. When I walked in the room I found Mckinley standing in the corner with no diaper on. This immediately made me nervous. So I looked around the room, and saw a dirty diaper clear on the other side of the room. Jennifer and I died laughing. We have no idea how Mckinley got her diaper off. I guess that means we have two really creative two year old's on our hands. 

We hope everyone is doing just fabulous!! Talk to you soon!

My baby turned two...

My baby turned two this past Friday. I can't believe that it has been two whole years already. How has it gone by that fast? Mckinley has been sick for over a week, so we kept the celebration small. She pranced around in a "Birthday Girl" tee shirt, and a tutu that matched all day long. I took her to the store to pick out a cake, and the entire time we were at the store she yelled "I two!!!" I have decided to write her a letter every year. Some of my friends are doing this, and I think it is such a great idea. 

Dear Sweet Mckinley,

You turned two just a couple of days ago. Even though you are only two, the Lord has already used you to teach me so much. You have endless joy. It doesn't matter where we are, or how you are feeling, you always act so happy. You greet everyone you see. You can say "hi" to a person that looks so sad, and their face lights up in the most magical way. 

Right now, you love to go to the grocery store, carry around a purse, and have your nails painted. You also love back rubs, playing with my make-up, and sneaking into bed with your mommy and daddy at night. You have no idea how much we love you. The fact that the Lord has blessed us with you as a daughter is beyond me. 

I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. Your father and I were so excited. We had waited for a long nine months to meet you. The day finally arrived, and we could hardly stand it. You were delivered around noon on December 26, 2006. Because I had a C-section with you, your father was the first one to see you. He cried, and then he told me that you were the most beautiful thing he had ever laid his eyes on. After they cleaned you up, I finally got to hold you. It was such a precious moment. I will remember it forever. 

I have to admit that I am sad two whole years of your life has already passed. They are something that I will always treasure. This next year is going to be full of so many fun times. Just remember wherever you are, you have a mom and dad that love you more than anything, but even more your Heavenly Father delights in you more than you will ever understand. Happy Second Birthday sweet girl. I love you. 

Love, 

Mommy