hey misses tambourine girl

play a song for me...
gee, i wonder wherever does she get it???seriously b, could you get into it a little more please. you too, jim.ah, that's better. look at the sincerity on that man's face. you can almost hear the harmonizing. i mean the eyebrows truly say it all. wait, what's this? he's even adding arm movements... atta boy! oh, my side. aid-ay moi! (btw, these pics are from waaaay back in december of '04. we were visiting dave's parents for Christmas at their house in seattle).
there they go again... like mother, like daughter...

milo's got a monkey on his back

starbucks addict!
hello houston! (dave said milo took this picture)goodbye houston- they're off to beaumont & galveston!

houston, we have a road trip! (the adventures of milo & dave continue)

dave and milo are at it again. they headed out for houston this morning. we miss you two!

notes & photos by [d]:

Milo's at it again but this time in Houston. He loves eating at Panera. . . funny, so do I!!!
Milo feels right at home in Houston. I think it's because of the trees.Mmmmm. . . looks like dinner! BTW: it's Pappadeaux at night and their Catfish Po'Boy is awesome!!!

jonah's name is finally complete!

i did it! i finally finished jonah's name sign that i've been working on since before Christmas. all i had to do was glue everything down. i was just procrastinating because i wanted it to be perfect and i didn't want to mess it up. but having it just sitting here unfinished was driving 75% of my household crazy, so i finally gave in to the pressure and finished it. i'm so happy with how it turned out.

yay! check that one off the list!

[d]'s 32nd birthday

happy birthday to you!
happy birthday to you!
happy birthday dear hubby!
happy birthday to you!
...and many mooooooore!!!

here he is. the birthday boy. the big 3-2.
dressed like twins... a daddy birthday tradition.
here they are a year ago today... who's that bald little baby?
get in ma belly!aunt bekah & cousin carter
weeee! kat looooved the big slide!
so did jonah!
so did madyson. =)
hi mom! we're going down the slide again!
diddle diddle diddle (that's how jonah says tickle)
what a big girl!
auntie leah and little mr. carter man... there's that smile!
in my mind i see this picture in slow motion with really tough music playing... bad boys, bad boys, watcha gonna do...
me and my little mister.
airplane! this was so funny. at first jonah heard the airplane and was signing airplane, but he didn't see it until dave grabbed his cute little head and pointed it up towards the sky. you could just see the moment he actually spotted it. it went from like "yeah, yeah, yeah here's how you sign airplaine, big whoop" to "hey! there it is!" you could just see the little lightbulb go on. it was so cool and funny. i love those moments!
and now comes the time in the show where all the kids try to avoid capture so they don't have to go to the car. can you see uncle jim wrangling kat in the background? run away! every baby for himself!
jonah and his favorite friend madyson on the way back to the car.
i made dinner for dave and his family (with lots of help - thanks scott & everyone). we grilled out, had some tortellini salad (yum) and these most awesomest appetizers that i found on the kraft foods website. they're called savory parmesan bites and if you are ever looking for a crowd-pleasing appetizer you've got to try these. they're made with my favorite pilsbury dinner rolls, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, red pepper and parsley. we also added a little garlic, diced pepperoncinis and some jarred mushroom and let me tell you, these have got to be one of my all-time favorite apps. my mouth is watering as i type. i'm thinking about making a batch just to have as a snack for myself. here's the picture from the website. delish!
grillin' and chillin'. gotta love 68 degrees for a good ol' birthday cookout. thanks for cooking your own dinner, honey (and everyone else's). you have such a servant's heart and i love you for that.
nice sausage, honey... uh, i mean brat. ;o)
i wish i'd gotten a picture of it, but i also wanted to thank uncle jim for making the from scratch german chocolate cake. it was excellent!

happy birthday, my wonderful hubby! i'm so blessed because you're in my life. i hope you had a great day!
no, your eyes do not deceive you. i made [d] a giant handmade card that's bigger than his xbox. ok... not really. it's a mini xbox gift card holder. isn't that sa-weet! (rach & al - great minds think alike!)

see the rest of the pictures from [d]'s big day here.

tooth #13 has been spotted!

daddy had to flip him upside-down, but we got a picture of it!

some more of my favorite verses and quotes

i have a couple more favorite verses that i forgot about. really, how could i fit them all in one post? i think i'll just keep adding a few at a time as they come to me.

(click on picture for larger image) i made this card a few months after we had Faith. i remember i had gone back to work. we were leading a community group at the time and we were studying philippians. these verses have so much depth. i almost feel like i could write an entire book just about these four verses (philippians 4:4-8). during the months following Faith's birth and to this day these verses have brought me so much strength and hope. i have this card taped up to the mirror in my bathroom to remind me of these things every day:

• rejoice in the Lord always
• be gentle
• don't be anxious
• be thankful
• talk to God and ask for things with a grateful heart knowing that whether he answers my prayer or not he has only the best in mind for me
• he is capable of giving me peace that is unexplainable
• and when my thoughts start going to bad things i have the choice to switch off that switch and think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy

here's another card i made up when we were studying romans with our community group...

now this verse (and card) has a pretty crazy story. as we were preparing to move to austin i rediscovered this verse when i was flipping through my journal. it fell out and before slipping it back between the pages i read it. it stopped me in my tracks.

may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -romans 15:13

this became my life verse for our move. i memorized it. i always carried it with me. i stuck it on the dash of my car to remind me as we drove down that i could trust God. if he wanted us in austin i had to remind myself (hourly sometimes) that if i would just trust in God he could and would fill me with his joy and peace. it was hard. i was grumpy a lot on our trip down here. now granted the drive was unbearably longer than we had anticipated. but still. internally i had accepted God's plan and was doing my best to be obedient, but sometimes i think i was just being obedient outwardly. inwardly i was struggling and still struggle with accepting in my heart God's plan. like ok God, i'll go there physically, but i'm not gonna be happy about it. like when you're a kid and your parent asks you to do something and you do it, but in a huff.

that reminds me of one of my favorite lines from will & grace. jack's all mad and he's standing by the door and he opens the door and says something like "oh, what's this? a huff? i think i'll leave in it." and he storms out. ha ha ha! so funny!

ok, so back to my story. so we arrive in austin the day before thanksgiving. we had already decided that we were going to go to gateway church when we got here since we had checked it out when we were here visiting in the past. so the sunday after we arrive we head off for church. i was very excited to go to church. i was really looking forward to getting plugged in and meeting some new people. we drop jonah off in kids quest and head into the service. the music was good. it had a homey feel. pastor rick gave the message. it was all going really well. and it turns out the message was one of those messages where you go "is he talking just to me? have you been spying on me?" and then the icing on the cake...

rick ended his message with romans 15:13. ok, God. i'm listening. i know we're supposed to be here. thanks for the reassurance. ;o)

overlooked - subject one - coffee mug (take two)

if you've been following my blog you may have seen my last entry about this project. well i was so caught up in the idea that it had to be an actual coffee mug that i completely missed the fact (or overlooked if you will) that "my coffee" is actually diet cherry coke (or anything similar), so this picture actually would have been more appropriate for me...

every day, before noon, without fail i drink one diet cherry cola product. i'm not picky about the brand. i'm not really even sure what the difference is between coca-cola cherry zero and diet cherry coke. i'll also take a diet wild cherry pepsi. i'm not picky. whatever's on sale and in stock really.

so why are there 4 cans in the photo, you ask. because i'm lazy that's why. and so they're still sitting on my desk from the past three days. i'm going to stop procrastinating... tomorrow.

this little milo went wee wee wee wee wee

all the way home...

some of my favorite verses and quotes

What God arranges for us to experience at each moment is the holiest thing that could happen to us.
~Jean-Pierre Caussade, an 18th century writer

this quote makes me feel all cozy and safe. i often get so caught up in trying to control my life... and i mean everything in my life. if you sit back and think about the fact that God is in control and he love us soooooo much and wants us to be happy, well, that means even the junk that we go through is intended for our good. when i let go i become surrounded in holiness. ahhh... to just stop for a second and let that sink in. it's amazing.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. ~Job 1:21

job's story means so so so much to me in regards to our daughter Faith. both this quote and the song "blessed be your name" have been my strength so many times. we played this song at Faith's memorial service and i will never forget the peace that i had during this song. i remember sitting in that front row with my eyes closed and my hands raised. God was so close... i could feel his presence in me and surrounding me. i'm convinced that there is no peace like that in the world apart from Him.

jonah and i heard this song on the way home from my Bible study group this morning. it always brings a smile to my face and i always tell jonah about his big sister and how it's her song whenever we hear it.

Can I sing about my maker
And have you not roll your eyes
Can I weep about my savior
And the way he died
I know it don’t make sense
To those who ride the fence
But I’m sold out to Christ, yeah
~Jimmy Needham, Fence Riders

this is an excerpt of the lyrics from jimmy needham's song fence riders. the first time i heard this song i was in the car. when i got home i immediately had to run inside and google it. i've never heard it on the radio again since then and at the time i only caught a few of the lines, but when i read the lyrics... it's really inspiring. how do people view me and my faith? does it really matter?

Faith makes things possible, not easy.

i don't really have an explanation for this one. it's just truth. so there you go.

God is looking for spiritual fruits, not religious nuts!

it's funny 'cause it's true.

A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions. ~Proverbs 18:2

this one i should get a tatoo of as a reminder to just shut my mouth sometimes. i talk too much and listen too little. two ears and one mouth, lisa.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11

this verse is my very favorite verse in the Bible. i meditated on this verse so much after we had Faith when we were trying to get pregnant again. we tried for months and months and months and during that time the enemy kept trying to strip me of hope. i was starting to believe the lie that Faith was it for us. that we wouldn't be able to have any other children. so in those dark moments i clung to this verse knowing that God had a plan for my life. that his plans were not to harm me, but to bring me hope and a future.

the adventures of milo continue

dave and milo head into the home stretch of the oklahoma tour today. they should be home tomorrow God willing... the weather is quite yucky. i think they're calling for slush. at least it's in the 40's today. i hear chicago is in the teens. sorry y'all.

here are some new pics of that wacky little monkey along with commentary from [d]...

01.22.08
milo's packed up & ready to hit the road!milo worked up quite an appetite today!01.23.08
i decided to let milo sleep in today. the poor, little monkey was exhausted!
milo's finally awake and he decided he wanted to dress like me. . . crazy monkey!
Milo's restless & goofin' around in OKC before we head back to Tulsa.
I decided to let Milo drive for a while so I could take a nap.