San Antonio!

A couple weeks ago we took our trip to San Antonio.  We decided we wanted to take the girls to Sea World, so we asked for gift cards to the park for Christmas.  It worked out great!  Thanks to the grandparents we were able to take a little vacation and the girls had a blast!

Our first stop was the Alamo and River Walk.  Unfortunately, the memory card in the camera lost it's little lock button, and was stuck on lock.  So we had to buy a disposable camera, and the couple pictures we took are still on the unfinished roll yet to be developed.  The Alamo was pretty cool!  It was very interesting how this old mission looking building is smack in the middle of down town.  Growing up in So Cal, we're used to seeing missions on hill tops and wide open spaces so this was a little different.  After the Alamo, we figured out how to go down to the river walk.  We decided it wasn't stroller friendly, and being tired and so hot we headed out for our hotel.  After settling in, we headed out to find some dinner.  We eventually settled on Pizza Hut and had a nice little meal then stopped by Conn's to get a new memory card.  I guess the bottom line of that is we were spending time together, and that's what matters :-)

The next morning we prepared to go to Sea World!  Kaitlyn was so excited to see Shamu.  She'd been talking about Shamu for months!

 

We played some games, and Kaitlyn won a few prizes.  The duck is all for you Grandpa Bob!  It has a skull on it, says "Bad Duck" and she made the "crazy Grandpa Bob face" for the picture.

 

It wasn't very crowded, so Christine had some time to walk around 

The Shamu show was definitely the highlight of the day.  Christine saw the whales come out of the water and said "ooo ooo" while she pointed 
 

Kaitlyn was in awe of the whales and was so excited to see them. 

 At the end of the day, we tried for a picture with the Shamu character.  Christine did fine ... but wasn't so sure about it 

 We really had an amazing time.  It was so great to get away on a real family vacation!  Thank you!

Being a Selfish Giver

Giving is something I've been struggling with lately.  We've been showered with generosity from family and friends with our birthday season, and now that we're preparing to move I feel like we're just asking for more.  I want to give back.  I want to give these people something equal to what they have given me; but I can't.  I don't have the resources to pour the generosity back on all of the people who have given to us.  I feel like I just take and take and take and have felt very uncomfortable about it. 
Today in my bible study, we discussed being selfish and generous in friendships.  It wasn't anything earth shattering.  It's not a foreign concept to understand that in any relationship there is give and take - one person should not be the giver all of the time.  And I feel like I do what I am able to most of the time.  But I never feel like I do enough.
The first passage that gnawed on me was James 3:17. 
      But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
OK, makes sense.  Hmm submissive...

The next one was Philippians 2:3
     Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Humility ... selfish ambition ... God what are you trying to tell me?  Why are these words popping off of the page?

And then it all made sense.  I was trying to be a selfish giver.  I wanted to give what I thought was good enough, what I thought was the right thing.... but giving is about submitting to the person's needs, practicing humility - it's not about how I feel about giving - it's what God does with my gift so that person is blessed.  It's about the giftee, not the gifter.  Then I realized that we give the best my house has to offer: Sean.  We give Sean's time, talent and treasures to the congregation.  I make sure he is taken care of at home so he can care for the members of the congregation.  Something as simple as clean socks ensures he is ready.  Being available for him to talk through his sermon ideas with me - and giving him my full attention to do so.  Making sure the girls are tended to so that he has a quiet space and time to write.  I don't complain about the time he spends at church even though I wish he didn't have to go to the meetings at night.  Being prepared and willing to walk into a house that is not baby proof with a very busy Christine so that he can be in fellowship.

Today the women in my bible study (thank you Emily and Rachelle) helped me realize that the people want to give to us, and welcome us into their homes.  Each time we break bread with someone we learn from them, and Sean is able to leave them with something too.  It's reciprocal - not the reciprocity I expected, or planned on - but it's not about me.  It's about them.  As Mary Beth McNamara (Our supervising pastor's wife) told me back in August - my ministry is to my husband.  If I take care of him, he can take care of them.  That's a pretty awesome job God has given me, and I thank Him for that!

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!

After what seemed like an eternity for her, Kaitlyn's birthday finally arrived - and she had a great time.  Her birthday was Tuesday, April 13th which is a preschool day.  So we all went to preschool chapel time and then followed her class back to their room for cupcakes.

Then we were off to the birthday girls favorite place - Chuck E Cheese.

We all crashed pretty hard after that day.

On Saturday the 17th Kaitlyn had her princess party.  We had six party guests in our little house and it was full.  Unfortunately it rained the night before so everything was muddy outside, so we were stuck in.  A friend of mine who's daughter was at the party let us borrow some of their costumes.  The girls had a great time dressing up as different princesses.  They also decorated crowns and played some board games, and just kind of ran the house for 2 hours. 

We saw a cake at the local grocery store bakery that was a princess castle.  Instead of paying $50, we decided to pay $13 and try to make it ourselves.  We borrowed some supplies from a friend, I made the cake and Sean made it a castle.  It was one of the most frustrating things he's ever done, and we had to leave him alone and go upstairs so he could finish his creation in peace.  I think he did a phenomenal job!

Happy birthday my big 4 year old!

Happy Birthday Christine!

Celebrations are officially over for Christine's birthday.  We all had a great time celebrating what a blessing she's been to our family since we knew she was there.  On her birthday which was Friday, we had lunch with a family who has kids the same age as ours.  It was a great time for everyone.  We finished the day with a special cupcake decorated with a big sunshine just for Christine.

She was very excited to

eat her cake!

MMMM Yummy!

On Sunday, we had a party for her at a place called The Incredible Pizza Company which is pretty much Chuck E Cheese meets pizza buffet.  A good time was had by all.  I learned that the no gifts rule does not apply to Texans.  Each person brought her something :-)

The birthday princess dined on hotdogs, nilla wafers, cheese and pizza crust - all her favorites!

Time to Play!

She grabbed a hand and was off!  She hasn't decided to walk more than a couple steps on her own yet, but she loves to walk around as long as someone is holding a hand or two.

Christine loves going down the slide!

Cake Time!

OOO what's this?

Want some cake Daddy?

Look what I have!

Her party guests!

We all had a great time, and crashed when we got home - it was a great day!

He is Risen

He is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia! 
It's such a joyful greeting to have on Easter morning.  We feel that Easter is the most important holiday in the church because it is when we celebrate our salvation.  It's a humbling and celebratory day for our family.  A gift that we didn't earn, and don't deserve but are given out of pure unconditional love by God.  Wow!  What a blessing to spend Holy Week focused on just that precious gift.

In our family's celebration, we began the morning with dolling the girls up in thier Easter best to go have breakfast at church.

Kaitlyn's Sunday School class had an egg hunt.  It was a bit wet that morning, so they had to do it inside.  She was allowed to pick 6 eggs, and of course went for all of the princess decorated ones - but only the pink ones of course.

Christine decided to get in on the action too.

During communion, everyone brought up a flower to place on the cross.  The finished product is beautiful, and provided a great backdrop for several family pictures.

Including our own!

Happy Easter!