May Your Power Rest on Me

Funny how God gives you what you need exactly when you need it - like a hug from a friend, a smile from your daughter, a gentle reminder of God's grace from your husband, His word through a verse card, an e-mail from a friend to encourage, or a song on a drive home. On my way home tonight, I was thinking over Ps 100 again, how this life really isn't "ours" and the seasons of our lives. This song was on and was another example of God's grace and giving me exactly what I needed in the moment. It is my prayer - that God's power would rest on me. How good to know that He is strong when I am weak!

Let me hear my Savior say,
“Your strength shall return”.
Then I’ll rejoice in my weakness
As I lean on your grace,
As I lean on your grace.

May your power rest on me.
You are strong when I am weak.
I can bear all things when temptation springs
For you sustain me all my days.

Let me know my Savior’s face;
Let my hope be secure.
Then I’ll rejoice in my weakness
As I lean on your grace,
As I lean on your grace.

Once from the Lord withdrawn
I thought that I could live my life alone.
Leaving the solid ground
I sank beneath His wisdom.
The harder I tried to climb,
The closer I was to find how great is my weakness.

Though the trial still goes on,
Your grace will be my song.
For I can bear all things when temptation springs
For you sustain me all my days.

Happy Campers!

Getting things all set up. Not sure if you can tell but Allie is in her ballet dress. Perfect for camping right????




The Happy Campers all ready for a cool night of camping out!



She was so excited. Had her little flashlight and everything!




All zipped in and officially "camping" according to Allie!

I am married to a wonderful man who is such a great Daddy to our kiddos! I love watching him with them and doing fun things with them - can't even describe how happy it makes me! A few weeks ago, Jeremy had an evening of Daddy/Daughter time by "camping" out with her in the back yard. Allie had really been wanting to camp - this stemmed from us telling her that her friend Gracie was camping. So being a good Daddy, Jeremy set up the tent in the back yard. I have admit I was skeptical about whether or not they would last outside all night. It was our first really cold night out. They bundled up, got lots of blankets and out they went. I was amazed when I woke up at 7:45 a.m. to them coming in the house. They really did camp out all night! She loved it! She loves her Daddy! Maybe - just maybe - she will like camping more than her mom :) Ethan and I were quite warm and comfy in the house! One memory made of many to come!

She is so SILLY!!!!!

Allison is a joy! From about 13 months on, we knew she was going to be quite verbal and talk a lot. (Wonder where she gets that - hmmmmm?) It seems she is always coming up with things to say that just make us laugh. A few recent Allison funnies:

At Allison's birthday party she managed to sit in her cake and get icing all over her tutu. Gracie sees it and gets upset about the icing on the tutu to which Allison responds, "Don't panic Gracie it is just icing and it will come out - no panicking." Wonder where she has heard that one before?????

On the way to the library with her class at school they often pretend they are walking through a jungle and saying things they are "pretending to see." Last Monday while doing this little activity Allison yells out "I see a naked lady." That is funny all by itself, but what is funnier is that her teachers didn't realize at first that Allison knew what the flower "naked ladies" were. We all had a good laugh over that one. Something about a three year old yelling out on a Christian school campus, I see a naked lady" was just a hoot!

As you see, she loves to dress herself too - - isn't this quite the outfit! She does bring us so many smiles - I just love her!

My favorite Season!

Autumn has to be my very favorite season! I love:

The colors - shades of oranges, yellows, reds
A cool crisp morning and an evening that requires a sweatshirt
A great mug of hot apple cider
A tall Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate from Starbucks
Trips to the pumpkin patch
The smell of a pumpkin candle burning
Emberli Bogue's pumpkin cheesecake
Caramel Apples
Caramel Puff Corn - a must!
Getting Allie (and now Ethan) all dressed up for a night of trick-or-treating
Making pumpkin bars with my little girl
Crunching leaves as I go on walks
Making piles of leaves to jump in - oh the days when my Papa would make big piles for me to jump in!
Pumpkin Pie with homemade whip topping
Driving down to the Auxvasse Creek and seeing the hills covered with trees in beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow
A drive through Napa or Sonoma and seeing the beautiful vineyards painted in various shades of fall colors
Soups and homemade bread
Getting out the sweatshirts and sweaters (and my boots!)
Cool Friday Night football games when in Missouri
The Hatton Craft Festival
My little girl's October birthday party
Thanksgiving Day and the time with family and friends! (This day could be a list in and of itself!)
Smoked turkey Jeremy makes on Thanksgiving
Thoughts of my wonderful sister-in-law who loves fall as much as I do
Hearty Fall Harvest meals - thanks Melinda for this!

This list could go on for quite a while! As I write this list, I am reminded of God's great love for us and how he demonstrates it even through the seasons. We have much to be thankful for! I am reminded of Ps. 100 and challenged by all of the verbs: make, serve, come, know, enter and give."

"Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations."

How GOOD Christ is! More than anything, I love that the Lord is God, we are His, and His love endures forever - in all "seasons" of our life!

My Little Ballerina is Three!

I can hardly believe it but my little Allie Grace is now three! I am not sure where the last 3 years have gone, but they have gone quite fast! Allison is such a joy to me - a little girl who loves life and brings us many smiles! She is currently into Angelina Ballerina and twirls around the house all the time - the dress or skirt she is wearing has to "twirl." It is cute - I love it when she has her daddy dance with her, which really means that he has to stand up and hold her hand so she can twirl. Too cute!

It was a fun birthday party and we were thankful to have Grandma and Great-Grandma Dord here with us! Our theme was Angelina Ballerina (of course) and we had lots of cute little girls in tutus running around the house. Because Angelina is a mouse, we had "cheese" themed snacks: cheese and crackers, cheese balls, cheese puffs, etc. It was a fun time and Allison loved being with all her little friends!

It will be interesting planning a birthday party for Ethan - no pink and hmmmmm - our friends need to have some boys - otherwise all the girls are going to have to learn to like things like baseball, football, trucks and cars! At least we have a little time before a party for Ethan - but who am I kidding - time flies so fast it will be here before we know it.

She's Back!

Believe it or not, I am back to the blogging world! You might be as shocked as I am! When I sat down to look at this blog, I realized that it had been quite some time since I had blogged and a lot has changed in my life! There probably isn't time (or interest) to go back over the last two years of my life, but lets just say God has done a lot!

I am in a new season of my life as I am now a mommy of an adorable 3 year-old (that sounds crazy to say) and a very precious and sweet little guy who is almost 3 months old! Allison turned 3 on October 3 and is a happy, energetic little girl who keeps us on our toes! She started pre-school this year and loves it! She was also excited to become a big sister this summer and a great one she is! Ethan David was born July 18 at 9:25 p.m. He is a sweetheart and his smiles melt my heart! He is a super sleeper which we are thankful for and just a happy guy!!!! Jeremy and I are thankful for them both and excited about all God has in store for our family. We are learning how to be parents of two kids - - wow - that wasn't a jump it was a chasm that I sometimes feel like I am dangling in the middle of! I am just thankful for God's mercies that are new every morning!!!!!!!! God is using them to teach us much and mold us to be more like himself.

You might have noticed the name of this blog has changed. Again, I am in a new season of my life - one where I am really learning to rest in God for his mercies which are new . . . . every morning! One of my new favorite verses is Lamentations 3:22 - 23, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; GREAT is your faithfulness." Summer Steph just isn't fitting anymore. A new season and new things to learn and grow in!!! Something I look forward to knowing and trusting that God has great plans for me.

I was recently inspired by a dear friend to get back to blogging - after reading her blog I was motivated to get back at it. My prayer is that through blogging I can keep friends and family up-to-date on our lives here in CA, post pictures of two of the cutest kids I know and take some of the thoughts spinning in my head and share them. (Not that I have earth shattering thoughts - but at least getting them out makes room for me - ha ha!)

I am excited to be back!!!! Remember - His mercies are new . . . . EVERY morning! Great is His Faithfulness!

Little Traveler!

Relaxing with Daddy all week - fun times!


We have kind of lived out of this suitcase! Allie is very familiar with it!


Cooling off in the pool with Daddy!



Mt. Hope Chapel where we had worship each morning


Pretty girl next to the pretty flowers



These rocks don't taste that great mommy!



Enjoying time with Mommy!



The Jr. High girls loved playing with Allie and she loved the attention they gave her!



One thing we GREATLY miss from the Midwest is Sonic (I used to live across the street from one) - so we were VERY happy to find one on the way to camp - - - - we visited Sonic 3 times - once on the way to camp, once during the week and once on the way home. YEA for Sonic!


We have been on the go all summer. I think I can safely say Allie and I have been traveling about every other week this summer. We started with our trip to Canada, then family camp, then Missouri, then Chinese Bible Camp where Jeremy was the speaker. It was a wonderful summer and Allie is a super traveler! We created some wonderful memories and got lots of family time! The pictures in this post are from Chinese Bible Camp at Mt. Hope near Yuba City. It was a wonderful camp and we had a great time with the Jr. High students there. It was also a nice time for Allie, Jeremy and I to get away together! Allie is growing so quickly and while I do get sad, I am seeing how much fun each stage is! She brings us laughs and smiles everyday! We are loving being parents!

My Sweet Little Peanut

"Happy 4th of July!"


Happy Girl!!!


"Where is breakfast mom??"


Lots to think about!


"Did I mention I was ready to be out of this seat?"


Fun times with Dad at the River



I can't believe that Allie is almost 9 1/2 months old!!!! As I write it, I am amazed! She is just so much fun!!!! I can't say I define all the teething as fun - but she probably wouldn't either! We took her to her 9/10 month appointment the other day and it was fun to see how much she has grown. She is 15 lb. 7 oz. and 26 inches long. She is definitely my little peanut - - that puts her in the 5th percentile for weight and 10th percentile for height. As the doctor said, everything is fine and she is growing in proportion - - - - so as he told me - she is just going to be petite. I told him that I was glad for her and being petite was something that was foreign to me - ha ha! :):) As some know - - - her head measurement is in the upper 85th percentile though. No wonder all the outfits that fit her and come with cute hats - - - well the hats just don't fit.

She is on the move non-stop and keeps us on the go. She loves to sit and have books read to her. Currently her favorite read is "Goodnight Gorilla." She loves walking around with her car and using it to get to things she previously could not reach. Each day is a new lesson in what we can and cant' touch in our house.

We are excited as we will be heading to visit family in two days! Yea!!!! It will be fun for Allie to see them and get to show off all her new tricks - my personal favorite is when she finishes eating, bottles, books, etc. she says "All done." Now for those who might question me, you can ask anyone at Family Camp - she really does say "all done."

I am soon going to post pictures from our Canada vacation - fun times and pictures of Anna (Allie's cousin) and Allie together!

Off to pack!

Let's Race!

"I like to chew on my cell phone - since I can't talk on it while I am driving."



"Honk! Honk!"



"I am proud of my new car!"


Gentlemen, I mean Ladies, Start your engines. Allie recently got a new "race car" that she loves to play with at home. With two parents who love Nascar, we had to get her a car to ride around on. When we first got it, she would sit on it and mess with the buttons. After a visit to Canada and watching her cousin Anna, she now realizes she can walk around the house with the car on her own as well as use the car as a step stool to get to things she previously could not reach. We will soon have to post a video of her walking around with the car - it is quite comically and I told Jeremy she might learn to walk sideways before she walks forward. Oh how life continues to change - but what fun each day is! She is growing way too fast but we are enjoying each stage! Tomorrow she goes for a 9 month well baby check - I am excited to see how much she has grown in 3 months!

More of Uncle Adam's Visit

We had such a GREAT time when my brother Adam came to visit. It is always so nice to have family here and get to spend time with them. Allie enjoyed getting to know her Uncle Adam and hang out with him. He was so great and watched Allie for me a few mornings when I had to go into work. I know that she enjoyed that special time with him! I am so thankful for all the time God allows me to have with my family. While Adam was here we enjoyed taking the ferry to the ballgame - Giants vs. Mets, eating out at some great places, going to Powell's Sweet Shoppe in Windsor, getting some yard work done (Adam is a great help!) and much more! Enjoy the pics!

Uncle Adam comes to Visit

My brother is here to visit for a week and we are having a great time just being together! Allie loves her Uncle Adam and has had a wonderful time with him! It is fun to see them together and watch her get to know Adam :) We enjoyed the Giants game together on Monday evening (cold but fun), hung out today and went to college group tonight (great time!) and then not sure what Wednesday and Thursday hold - but they are sure to be fun!!!!!!

Enjoy!

Fun Times with Grandma and Auntie Karen

Lighthouse we visited on our weekend getaway - really pretty! Quite the walk back up!



Cruising with Dad in the convertible



Dinner out with Grandma and Aunt Karen at Lucas Warf



I am innocent - honest!




Happy Girl to have Grandma and Auntie Karen here!




Am I styling or what in my hat????



All Smiles!



Hanging out with Grandma! I want her to stay :)




Grandma, Me, Auntie Karen and Mommy before they headed back to Missouri




It is sad to say goodbye to Grandma - can't wait to see her again! I love kisses from her!



The end of April my mom and aunt Karen came out to visit and watch Allie for us! Jeremy and I had a great weekend getaway at the beach - such a wonderful weekend away together! While we were gone, my mom got LOTS of great Allie time. She and my aunt Karen watched Allison and had a super time too! They came to the beach on Sunday and then we spent the rest of the week together. It was fun showing them where we live, shopping, and just getting to watch them with Allie. She loved her time with them and so did we! Enjoy the pictures from the week!