Advice..

Julia sucks her two middle fingers all the time. It was cute when she was 1 and 2 and now she is 3 and pushing 4 and we leave for Africa in 98 days and I am a little nervous to have a daughter sucking her fingers with different germs and stuff there... So we are talking to her about it, trying to give her this deadline and we aren't getting a whole lot of enthusiasm. Tonight as we lay in bed snuggling, she mentioned to me that she will just use her tee-tee to rub against her nose so she can fall asleep without her tee-tee. Her good intention didn't last long as a few minutes later in went the fingers. Bradyn very much loved sucking her thumb even up to this last 5 months, and won in her battle with this temptation, much to our delight and relief. So tonight as we were all laying all laying in bed snuggling and talking, Bradyn starts to give Julia some advice. "Julia, do you want to know what I did. I rubbed my face with my blankie and then I would make up a story in my head and I would get distracted from wanting to suck my thumb. Sometimes I would talk to myself. Not, you know, outside, but inside my head." Not sure this advice will work, but I thought it was cute

More quotables...

"I don't like ditches." -- Julia, when I was talking about the time when I accidently jerked my car into the ditch. I just thought it was random and hilarious.

Can you trust this face?

During our meals, we have a problem. Usually they (Bradyn and Julia) talk and meander and ponder and think about everything but their meals. And Kamryn usually eats. And then Kamryn is done, she asks to be excused and then as they (Bradyn and Julia) realize that the big sister is done race and hurry to be done, usually meaning stuffing food down and attempting to leave a large part of their meal unfinished. And every meal we fight to get them to eat their meal and tell them to sit and on and on. On this one morning, Julia wanted to be done and I wanted her to drink her milk. I say, "Think of all the starving people in Africa..." Actually, I get to use this one lately, "Wait until we see the starving kids in Africa. (www.aliveinafrica.com for our progress)" Anyway, today Julia was hurrying and being crazy and Bradyn was actually chill. As I was trying to get Julia to drink her milk, Bradyn was whispering something to her, and when I turned around quickly, she jerked her head back. I asked Bradyn, "Were you telling something bad to Julia." She said, "Uh, yes, kind of bad. I was telling Julia that when you turned your head to pour out her milk." Well, you have to love the honesty...

Too Cute...

Julia, willing summer to come, playing with sand up at San Juan Islands....

Please pray for Ben...

Ben Morrell, a former youth group student of mine, and his wife, Lisa (also a former youth group student) are in need of some serious prayer. Ben was diagnosed with cancer on May 11 and has begun cancer radiation treatment. Here is what he wrote on his blog:

Friday, May 11

Diagnosis

I'm not going to lie to you. When I imagined going into the doctor's office today I imagined hearing that it was going to be bad. I really am not creative enough to imagine how bad. I have a rare for of cancer called desmoplastic, which are small round cell tumors. This is an aggressive form of cancer that occurs in males in their teens to early 20s.

I'm starting aggressive chemotherapy on Tuesday. I'll be in the hospital 4 days and then home for about 2 weeks, then into the hospital again for 4 days, then home for another 2 weeks, and then back in the hospital again for 4 days.

I'm doing ok right now. I don't want to die. I want to live and fight this thing and look back at this 15 years from now and marvel at the goodness of God. I need your support and prayers now more than ever.

Please pray for this young man and his wife, Lisa...
If you feel led to pray, here is his blog!

Thanks!

Picture of the Week - II

This picture is a friend of mine and his family. Aaron Day and his wife Cathi have 9 kids. They are amazing, fun and godly people. Aaron is a pastor at Cascade Community Church and is planting a new church in Sultan this upcoming fall. To hear this message about planting a church, check out this link... It is a pretty cool sermon story! Aaron has spoken to two different camps of my high school students, and is just the real deal... (Note: The one big guy is the back is his oldest daughters husband)

8 is enough?

We joined the Turners and their 5 girls for an adventure to the Woodland Park Zoo. All in all, 8 little girls, 12, 10, 7, 6,5,4,3, and 1 and 4 parents provided, I think, more entertainment than most of the animals. In fact, they wanted to be an exhibit, but we kindly declined. It was a great time being with good friends again...

Truthfully Kamryn...

So this morning while eating pancakes, she said, "Daddy, I just made up a new joke. What is the pan's favorite cake?" (keep in mind what we are eating for breakfast). "Pancakes," she says... "Isn't that a good one? I made that up!"

On another note, Kamryn has been playing piano now for three years, and has taken a liking to it. But, what is cool, is how she has mastered the art of the recording part. So, she will play one part of "Heart and Soul"...(thanks to the babysitter who taught her how), and then play the recorded part while she plays the other part. Do you get it? Anyway, pretty clever for our almost 8 year old.

She loves her tee-tee

Out of the blue, Julia said, "I love my tee-tee (blankey). Will I have my tee-tee in Heaven?"

Awana Awards

Our girls celebrated their Awana achievements, all three finishing their books. We went for ice cream afterwards... They worked really hard, and it was their favorite thing all week. I am already preparing for Awana in Africa:)

Our weekend in the San Juans

back atcha

A few days ago Brady had a good retort to Julia that was blogged. Well, tonight Julia evened the score. We were walking across the parking lot and Brady was bugging Julia. Finally, out of exasperation, Julia said, "Bradyn, you are driving me crazy."

That was a good one, Julia

Hey Daddy, do you want to hear a joke.
Sure Julia, tell me a joke.
Why does the fish like his Tee-Tee (blankey)?
I don't know, Julia, why does a fish like his tee-tee?
Becuase he doesn't have any fingers.

Believe it or not, she made that one up.

Uh, happy mother's year...

Last night I told the girls that tomorrow is Mother's Day. I asked them, "What could we do special for Mother's Day tomorrow? " To which the girls suggested some things like the following:


"Maybe we could not yell while she is on the phone."
"Maybe we could obey when she asks us to do something."
"Maybe we could we could be nice to her."
"Maybe we could do everything without complaining or arguing?"

To which I replied, "Why don't you just do those things for her everyday?"

To which they replied with blank stares...

At least she is learning...

Stephanie overheard Bradyn saying to Julia this morning, "Julia you are going to make me mad and then Mom is going to be mad at me."

Reprimend from the mouth of a babe

Bumpa (Stephanie's dad, the kid's grandpa) was working on his new cell phone (note the older generation man working with newer generation phone) and was concentrating intently. Julia happened to catch Bumpa at the height of his focused attention which looked to Julia like an angry face. Julia asked, "Bumpa, why do you got that look on your face? You need have a happy heart."

Cute and sophisticated...

The other night we were going to visit Boggie and Bumpa so we got the girls bathed and in their jammies. While Steph and I were getting ready to go Bradyn had gone back outside in her bare, clean feet and decided to use the dandelion picker to pull moss out of the grass. When Bradyn came in, I (Steve) was not pleased. While Stephanie and Kamryn and Julia are waiting in the car, I take Bradyn to the bathroom and help her clean her feet and her hands. However, before I started to clean her feet, she says to her defense, (literally) "I would like to point out that I was trying to get the moss out of the yard." I would like to point out? Prety funny.

Loving like Jesus

1 John 4:9 - By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

I was studying this for my sermon this weekend and this verse hit me in a new, fresh way. As we learn and experience the Love of God, we are sent to live out that Love to others. God's love is manifested by his son for the purpose that we live his love through us to the world. We are his agents of love, that instead of of living through our pride, inadequacies, insecurities, prejudices, laziness and favoritism, we would exhibit Jesus Christ who is humble, adequate to love every person wholly, secure in my relationship with Christ, lovers of all races , hard working and loving everyone equally. We are his flesh, his bones, his face, his hands, his smile to a world that is void of love. We are called to love, unconditionally and continually...

Just a thought to encourage you today...

7 is a good number...

Oh yeah, me and the daughters caught 7 fish on opening day at Lake Padden in Bellingham. Kamryn is holding one of 7 fish that we caught. Did I mention that we caught 7 fish?

Good Point...

Tonight Julia and I were previewing my annual family video for Mother's Day and we watched the part where Kamryn and Bradyn were flying over a live volcano on the island of Hawaii. (yeah, I know, spoiled by grandparents) Anyway, she saw the live, red hot lava and said, "I don't like hot lava." I asked her why not and she said, "Because it is hot."

A little family reunion...

We spent the weekend in Utah with our (non-mormon) cousins, grandparents, and great grandparents. My cousin Matt graduated from Weber State and we were there to watch him graduate. It was so fun watching 9 little cousins and second cousins play and eat and laugh.