stored in my heart

I had the pleasure of putting Grey to bed tonight. He has a very rigid bedtime routine that we stick to every single night. It doesn't always happen at the same time every night, but when he goes to bed we do the same thing. The same thing every single night. 


So tonight things went pretty normally. We read a book, turned off the light, talked for a few minutes about whatever he needed to get out of his head to settle down. We thanked God for every person he saw today, every place he stepped foot, and each article in his bedroom. Now comes the good part. 


For about two years now we religiously sing Twinkle Twinkle Wittle Staw and Baa Baa Black Sheep right before he requests a back scratch and some cuddling. The past few weeks I've actually been able to deter him from the oh so redundant songs mentioned above and delved into a new phase of Jesus Loves the Little Children and Jesus Loves Me! I am absolutely thrilled on the nights I put him to bed. 


On with it! So I decided to sing the second verse of Jesus Loves Me and it goes a little something like this...

Jesus loves me! He who died,

On the cross was crucified; {I can't decide if I made this line up}
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so

As I was singing, Grey's bottom lip started poking out. Then quiet tears rolled down his cheeks and was followed by, "Stop Mommy! Don't sing that!" I stopped singing and asked why he was so sad. 

He went on to tell me that those words made him very sad and he asked "why did Jesus have to die?" Wow. What a question. I went on to explain to him that we are sinners and this separates us from God from birth. Then the tears began rolling down my cheeks. I noticed that he just kept crying. A silent sort of cry.

The tears ceased when I explained that was God's plan for Jesus to die because we needed a Savior. He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. That was the absolute most perfect thing that could have happened BUT Jesus is not still dead. He is alive.

Grey's response with a smile, "Yeah Mommy. The men went to find him in the tomb and he wasn't there!"

Words cannot describe the emotion my heart felt when seeing my not-quite-three-year-old experience a sorrow for Jesus' death. I do know that it was a not-quite-three-year-old's limited understanding of what that entails, but he seemed to process the gospel in a different way tonight. In a way that gives me hope that his heart is beginning to understand who we are and who Jesus is.

I will hold this moment very close to my heart always and tell him about it one day.

TEC.11

What a fun month we've had with Tucker! He continues to bring such life and joy to our family. 

His favorite play places are changing as he grows into such an active little man. He spends a lot of his time climbing and diving into pillows on beds and the couch. It's really fun to watch because he squeals with joy and can entertain himself for a long while. 

He remains a lover of cars and trucks. He spends a lot of time pushing them all over the floor and under the furniture. 

 If he has an opportunity to be outside, he's there! He helps me water the flowers and pick weeds. Or maybe he just plays in the dirt. Yep, that's what he enjoys the most. 

Tuck is eating everything he can get in his belly. He has hit a growth spurt along with another new tooth! Every time I pick him up it seems like he's put on a few pounds. He eats almost everything we put in front of him. He loved the mexican lasagna I made last night :)

He sleeps so well. We get a solid 12 hours at night from him along with two naps during the day. I'm pretty sure that contributes to his happy smile. 

He has taken three solid steps on his own but can't seem to get passed the three. He stands and bounces trying to get himself going. He wants to so bad. He whines and you can see it in his little face that he just wants to take off. He gets very frustrated. It doesn't really slow him down at all. He holds his own with the big kids.

Wrestling comes with territory of being brothers. Tucker prefers it way more than Grey does. You can't see his face here but he's most likely giggling his little heart out. He thinks it's great!

He's mastered the art of a few new things. One of them being the sippy cup which I'm thankful for.

 The other is evidenced in the picture below. He loves to open and close doors and frequently the bathroom door is cracked for him to sneak in and pull this little maneuver. If you visit our house, don't be surprised to walk into this when you need to use the restroom. 

Busy, busy, busy exploring the world. Keeps me on my toes!

He climbs into and onto everything. I can't take my eyes off of him or he's on top of the side table trying to turn on the lamp. Seriously. 

This is one fun little boy! I can't believe in a month I will be posting pictures of my ONE year old. 

love

deck construction take one

We began deck construction this weekend. I'm so excited I can barely contain myself. Barry came to help Matthew and the plans changed about 5 more times before they actually began the construction. They did pick up a handy little helper along the way. There was no way he wasn't going to get his 2 cents in on this project.

While digging holes for posts and footings (or whatever, I don't really know what everything is called) Grey found himself in a hole.

and we made him dig himself out.

He was exhausted.

i scream, you scream

Look what we get when Gigi visits and hears the ice cream truck! A special treat with friends! 

Tuck even got in on the ice cream treat.

The ice cream mustache made it all worth it!

mmm mmm :)

rewarding

Matthew and I spent the weekend with 50 high school students in a cabin in Brevard, NC. Oh what fun we had! I am loving ministry with my husband more and more each day and am so confident we are exactly where we are supposed to be.

We played a lot of Mad Gab. (side note: aren't these girls beautiful!?)

Laughed a WHOLE lot!

We went on a 7 mile hike with all of us. It was quite strenuous in some parts but very satisfying in the end.

the whole group. aren't they a beautiful bunch of kiddos?!

leave it to the boys to take a swim

This is matthew's 9th grade small group that he has the pleasure of leading every tuesday night. I wish I had time to tell you all of the awesome things the Lord is doing in their hearts. It's awesome to see the power of God change high school boys' hearts for the glory of God.

At the end of the hike we came upon a 100 foot slide into the lake with a rope swing. Almost everyone joined in the fun.

Saturday was filled with mountain biking, ultimate frisbee, reading, ropes course, eating, learning, and spending time with each other. This is not the best picture (it was getting a little dark) but I love it. They are just having the best time together!

We ended Saturday night with s'mores and a bonfire. 

What's a high school retreat without a boy with very curly hair having it straightened by his friends?! 

and the other's reactions...

Every retreat must be accompanied by a hearty game of Ninja. I was clearly not good at this game seeing as I got out every time the first round. Therefore I had time to take pictures of everyone else playing. 

Of course my husband and his stealth-like moves kept him in the game until the end every time.

fancy footwork

What I did not get to capture in pictures was the wonderful teaching the students got on what scripture has to say about the relationship that we refer to as "dating." Though scripture does not reference dating, it does refer much about the role of a man and a woman and the marriage relationship. 


I did not capture the conversations we got to have with students about what is going on deep in their hearts. I did not capture Matthew having the opportunity to lead a student into a relationship with Jesus on Saturday morning. That's why God has placed us where He has and I am so very grateful for each and every aspect of ministry. How rewarding!

growing boys