Flying Paper Cutter!

This morning I had a little run in with a paper cutter from my closet; it suddenly sprouted wings and came flying at me at an incredible rate!! I am so happy that all six stitches are nestled nicely in my eyebrow. The cut (as you can see in the picture) even curves along with my eyebrow!! The doctor doesn't think you will even be able to see it once it is healed! As she scrubbed it clean (before the lidocane... not quite sure why the lidocane couldn't have come first) I thought of all the people in Hati who were undergoing much worse without any medication. My heart aches for them and all the pain and suffering around the world.

2 Months Old!

Katelyn is already 2 months old! She is now smiling at us, and has started to coo. She has a distinct deep raspy little voice that we just can't get enough of!!!! We think she is going to be just as talkative as her big sisters!! She is a really strong baby too, wining, by far, the Bumbo contest. At 2 months she is sitting for 5+ minuets in the bumbo... the other girls barely sitting in it at 3 months!!

Bath Confetti and Poison Control!

While on the phone with my mother-in-law today, little Sara came crying to me sticking out her tongue. I swiped my finger across her tongue and got a pice of hair but that didn't seem to do make her feel better, she continued to cry and point to her mouth. I got down on her level thinking I would shine a light in her mouth to find a hair bothering her or something... when I smelled a strange fruity smell. I looked at her curiously and she again pointed to her mouth and cried.. this time she said "flower". I knew instantly that she had eaten something strange and I ran to the bathroom where purple and white flowered bath confetti was spread all over the floor. I found the container (It previously was a tightly screwed lid with plastic shrink wrap around it!! I would have had to use scissors!!) Only about half of it was on the floor... the other half I am assuming went in Sara's mouth. I figured she would be ok, but since she was really upset, I decided to call the poison control to see what would be the best thing to wash it down with. The lady who took my call was very sweet and laughed along with me about my precious little trouble maker. She told me to give her milk and juice and that in the next hour Sara might vomit or have diarrhea. Thankfully she did neither but she did make quite a fuss for about an hour. Never underestimate the power of the Sara Bear!

Community Group!

Within the Kaleo group at church there are several smaller groups that meet weekly, called Community Groups (thanks to Pastor Kent!). My Community Group has been meeting since October. Bethany, Marianne, Kaitlin, and Dulce have been an amazing blessing in my life, and I love them so much! God has blessed me beyond measure by these amazing girls and their hearts for God and His glory. The goals of our group are: affection for one another, discussion about applying the sermons, and accountability (the three A's from Kurt Gebhards... thanks Kurt!)
I find my self constantly referring to verses from the Bible in our group, but I can't always quote the verse exactly and I rarely know off the top of my head where the verse is. It is also hard for me to look the verse up in the moment. I am very convicted by this and want to change. I want to be able to quote God's word with authority from Him, skilfully and quickly. I fully believe that when Hebrews 4:12 says "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." it means we are to activly wield this sword of God's word into our life and the lives of others for God to change us. This is a grusome picture, a worrier with a sword swinging around causing massive bloodshed. However if we look at a different annalogy of a skilled doctor, wielding a scalpel to remove a tumor from a desprete cancer patient, it becomes a differnt picture. It becomes an act of mercy and compassion, an act of one person just trying desperately to use the knowledge and skill God has given him to help another. Extreme effort must be made by the brain surgeon who applies his knowledge during surgery but can come within millimeters of killing their patient with their scalpel. We who are serious about God's Word, must take this same extreme effort in increasing our knowledge of the scalpel of God's word, and our skill in being able to insert it into the lives of others. So, here is my plan:
I am going to resolve to write down every verse I want to quote during group (or any other time) and then keep track of them. Here are the verses from this week that I wanted to quote at our group:
Proverbs 11:14
Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of counselors there is victory.

Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

Proverbs 15:22
Without consultation, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed.

I know there were more verses I tried to quote and utterly failed, but I will do better next time about writing them down!! I am going to try to memorize this series of verses about counsel. It is an easy progression, Proverbs 11, 12 and 15!

Start Each Morning With the Lord!

“He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day...A desire for God which cannot break the chains of sleep is a weak thing and will do but little good for God after it has indulged itself fully."
E.M. Bounds

Thanksgiving at the Shepherd's

Sara having some Grammy Time!

A ferocious game of football including tackles on the concrete!

Kalena's Favorite Food- Drumsticks!!