Nothing new under the sun

Well, here they are...the infamous "baby eating...whatever" pictures! As I was snapping these pictures of my sweet Lily, I started wondering, "Why do we do this?" I mean, why do we think it's necessary to take a picture of our little precious wonders, covered in food? Is this cultural? I wonder if the prim and proper English have this same need to preserve their carrot-coated beauties forever in film? Maybe it's that we just ADORE our kids, and every new stage is something to never forget. Even though all of our other kids have done the exact same thing. And so have everyone else's kids. Yet, we all smile, and chuckle when we look back at the photos, as if it was something fabulously unique to our little genius. As Solomon recorded in Ecclesiastes, there is "Nothing new under the sun". Although his perspective was a futile one, he has a great point! Nothing happens to us, that hasn't happened to someone else, somewhere, at some point in history. That's really amazing when you think about it. And, to me, it provides me with a sense of comfort that there are others out there that have experienced my same joys and heartaches, ups and downs...I am not alone! So, sit back, and smile at my little Lily, covered in carrots and bananas...and remember that nothing that happens to you or I today or tomorrow takes God by surprise, nothing blows His theology, nothing knocks Him off His throne. Nothing.

Tonight was Joshua's last game of the regular season, and they won 19-6. Their tournament starts next week...and is sudden death, so it should be exciting. The Braves are in a three-way tie for second right now out of 12 teams. Here's some clips of Josh playing.

Surprise visit!

What a treat!! Uncle David came for a visit with Aunt Mireya and baby Rubi!! We were so happy to see them all, and finally meet David's beautiful wife and baby!

This is one of our two gardenia plants....to be honest, we have been so busy that we haven't had time to investigate into the types of shrubs that the builder placed at our house. So, you can imagine my surprise when I went outside today and saw this shrub in full bloom, and the scent...HEAVENLY!

The end of the fast...

Our church went on a 10 day fast, leading up to the day of Pentecost...and we, as a family, decided to fast sweets, sodas, sweet tea, and caffeine. It has been an especially tough 10 days for the kids, who LOVE their sweeties! They took the fast very seriously, and stayed away from anything sweet. Last night, on the way home from church, I had to stop for gas. Josh asked if he could use his money to buy a drink. He and Luis got out of the car, and Josh found $8.00 just lying on the ground in front of the car. He was so excited that he shared $2.00 (which is a major deal to Josh) with his brother. Then the three of them went into the market. The boys knew the fast was still on, so Jonathan got a fruit juice (100% juice) and Josh got what he thought was a white milk, but when he got into the car and drove away, we realized it was a vanilla milk...aka...sugar! So, Josh, with a sad face and tears, asked if we could return it. It was already 10:00pm...and we were halfway home, so I told him we couldn't. He knew he shouldn't drink it, but I told him that it was his decision. I was so proud of him when he stuck it in my purse and said, I'll save it for the morning! And that's just what he did.

These past ten days have been really good! The Holy Spirit has been moving mightily in our church this past week, and in us as individuals. Luis has had a breakthrough in his prayer life, I have felt a sense of order come into the house, and the kids have been eating their meals better and playing together better. I'm sure it's partly because I have completely cut out the sugars (as much as I could) from their diet, but I know that there is a spiritual aspect that can't be ignored. As a result, we have also made some new rules around the house regarding sweeties and the amount we consume. As a special treat, I made cupcakes this morning, while the boys were still asleep...and I let them have a cupcake breakfast!




Now that breakfast is over, our new rules are in effect! What a great experience this has been!