29 August, 2010

Teach me, Savior

We sang this song in church today. emphasis added is mine, on the parts that really struck me. Let your heart hear what this says, and reflect on the grace of God...

O teach me what it meaneth,
That cross uplifted high,
With One, the Man of Sorrows,
Condemned to bleed and die!
O teach me what it cost Thee
To make a sinner whole;
And teach me, Savior, teach me
The value of a soul!

O teach me what it meaneth,
That sacred crimson tide,
The blood and water flowing
From Thine own wounded side.
Teach me that if none other
Had sinned, but I alone,
Yet still Thy blood, Lord Jesus,
Thine only, must atone.

O teach me what it meaneth,
Thy love beyond compare,
The love that reacheth deeper
Than depths of self-despair!
Yes, teach me, till there gloweth
In this cold heart of mine
Some feeble, pale reflection
Of that pure love of Thine.

O teach me what it meaneth,
For I am full of sin,
And grace alone can reach me,
And love alone can win.
O teach me, for I need Thee,
I have no hope beside—
The chief of all the sinners
For whom the Savior died!

O teach me what it meaneth
The rest which Thou dost give
To all the heavy-laden
Who look to Thee and live.
Because I am a rebel
Thy pardon I receive
Because Thou dost command me,
I can, I do believe.

O infinite Redeemer!
I bring no other plea;
Because Thou dost invite me
I cast myself on Thee.
Because Thou dost accept me
I love and I adore;
Because Thy love constraineth,
I’ll praise Thee evermore!

Words by Lucy Bennet, 1908

Music by Hans Hassler, 1601

26 August, 2010

Recently

This post is pretty much about Ava, and things she does.
First, a look at real life.
My baby does not always smile...
In fact, she gets very sad when the food is gone.
(This picture is probably for the sole benefit of those that accuse my child of being always happy and never fussy. Ha! She's human, folks.)

We are teaching Ava about saving money, and looking for coupons to help with the grocery shopping. Thankfully, Wet Ones will take all that newsprint right off those pudgy baby fingers.
Oh, and she will point to things. I seriously think she says "over there". That may just be my mommy brain hearing what I want to hear.

Ava definitely knows what "outside" means, and she LOVES being told she's going outside! Mornings have been chilly lately, so we're flaunting her little Husker jacket.
She was squinting, and so I told her that the earth was rotating, and that's why the sun was now in her eyes rather than blocked by our house as it has been. I think that went a little over her head.
Ava is so much fun...
She fake laughs to imitate mommy,
and crosses her arms when she sees someone else doing it.
"Ungey" (hungry) stands for food (she picked up on us asking her if she was hungry, and then feeding her),
and "num num" is for thirsty (she finally decided to hold her cup!).
She waves Hi and Bye bye.
Ava cries for Mama when she's sad and will say Dada all the time.
She gets giddy when daddy gets home from work.
Rides in the car are fantastic (unless it's 7 hours to camp. That last hour is rough).
She still loves shopping with me (YES!!!).
She scoots, rolls, and generally has a blast playing,
does not crawl, but will get on her hands and knees in bed (we've watched her do it-goofball).
She loves her puzzle with the fuzzy farm animals.
She loves her walker, and will hang on to the steering wheel and look backward while she rolls that way, just like a real driver. It's hilarious!
She has the best grin ever. I love when she will get our attention and then just smile.
It's so darling.
I love her.

21 August, 2010

Summary of a Day

Our day starts with this darling little girl:Today she was sporting a new hairstyle! Not even 11 months old and she has enough hair for a pigtail. We were told she resembles Alfalfa from the Little Rascals, a Cupie Doll, and Pebbles from the Flinstones. :)

She also decided to drink out of her cup like a big girl today. That was a huge step for her! She really likes someone to hold it for her, namely mommy.

When Ava was teeny tiny she had some surplus baby items. I had returned these to Target and had a nominal amount on a gift card. Thankfully, that gift card worked with an excellent price and we finally got the walker for Squeaker that we've been wanting to for a long time.

She loves it, and had the gizmos all figured out, all by herself, in about 3 minutes.

Friends gifted us with furniture. It is new to us, and we are enjoying it so much! Now we can offer you a comfortable place to sit when you visit.
The Lord's provision has amazed us:

Hubby worked hard and put this up above the doorway to the Sunroom/Dining Room:

I do a little happy sigh just looking at it.Ah, the benefits of Hobby Lobby and their 50% off wall decor.
It's exactly what Scott and I had pictured over that door. You see it the minute you come into the house. So perfect.
As for the other bounty the Hobby Lobby sale yielded, I will show you that once it's hung.

13 August, 2010

Puzzle






If only they went back into place as easily as they came out!

Good Morning, Beautiful

"Say cheese!" Yup, she smiles when I say that from behind a camera.

What's over there?

Exploring (so close to crawling...such a perfectionist, she is.)

Hamming it up.

Hand on the hip-new trick. Little Miss Bossy in the making?

Teasing...

Daddy's redo of this morning's original bedhead...

With her, life is never dull.
I love all these treasured moments.

09 August, 2010

Last Weekend

Good food, and time with family
Ava still loves Stripe (yes, the stuffed leopard's name is Stripe)...



She also likes the smiley face ball.

Lots of playtime, hugs, kisses, and love.


And another favorite: music. Learning duets with Aunt Heidi and watching Grandpa play his guitar.

Family visits are so wonderful!

06 August, 2010

"Pet Projects"


Scott and I have had our individual dreams of projects to do.
His was to mount the projector from the ceiling. This is where one of those differences we have comes into play, because I guess it just didn't bother me that we had to put the projector on something to make it work. It bugged Scott to no end. Thankfully, all was put to rest by purchasing a ceiling mount.
Ta-da!
Oh, wait. You can't see the projector. Oh, well. You can see the cute little baby head sticking up as Ava enjoys the fruits of her daddy's labor.

As for my project, well, I haven't liked our bedroom much at all. Yes, it matches our bedding (which is just uncanny), but it feels dark and gloomy. No new carpet until next year, but that's okay, I have paint!
I'll keep you posted on the Master Bedroom project...
For now, this color is about to disappear!
(Do you see the blue stripe along the ceiling? That's from taking off the weird molding and finding the even older paint under that.)

Bedtime Story

05 August, 2010

Tent

Even cranky, teething girls approve of tents.

Toys are simply more interesting when seen under a veil of sheer brown curtains...
...until the curtains are pulled off the table and you approve of the fact that you made mommy laugh!

James 3

"13 ...Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
16 For where envy and self seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy."

Not only do I pray this for myself, but for everyone I know. May Christ be so vibrant in me that everything I do and say is in the meekness of wisdom.
The flip side of this is that I have to ask for forgiveness every day. Thank you, Lord, for your endless mercy toward me!

"Morning by morning new mercies I see..."