My Theme Song--Psalm 133:1

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Lots of Fun

Some friends and I spent a couple days at Azalea Falls Lodge last weekend. It was a lovely place inside and out. We enjoyed games, movies, and discussions throughout the comfortably furnished interior, and outdoor pleasures included an adventurous hike around the falls and chatting on the spacious deck while listening to the birds and the water. Overall, it was a wonderful place for rest, refreshment, and fellowship--just what we were looking for.

http://www.azaleafalls.com/

Ruthanne has better pictures on her blog, as well as a better description of the side-splitting laughter I somehow failed to mention:

http://www.thegencojournal.com/

Spot On

I've been reading Jennifer's blog via email for a few months now and have found her to be a careful and surprisingly biblical thinker (surprising because she was a cradle atheist who only converted to Christianity in the last four or five years). She and her husband converted to Catholicism, so that take on Christianity infiltrates all her posts. Yet, there is plenty this Protestant can glean from biblical Catholic thinking. This post is a prime example:

http://www.conversiondiary.com/2009/02/why-my-life-is-better-since-becoming.html#links

Jocelyn's Stunt Baby

Jocelyn was blessed with a new baby doll as part of her birthday bounty. When called upon to provide this little one with a name, she dubbed it "Mary Kate" (after her friend that's three days younger than she). That was last week. Today I said something in reference to Mary Kate (the doll) and was informed by Jocelyn that her name had changed. When asked for the current name, Jocelyn thought for a minute and replied, "Mrs. Kernodle" (Mary Kate's mom). I told her she could call the baby Sara.

The doll has magnetic hands, feet, and mouth--intended for cute poses and holding accessories. Leave it to the biggest brother to think of the application of this feature pictured below (that white wall is the fridge):

Another Big Three--1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Westminster Sing-Along

Since the beginning of the year, we have been working on learning the Westminster Shorter Catechism. However, instead of it being the raw act of will one might expect from such an undertaking, it has been great fun for all of us thanks to the work of Holly Dutton. I don't know much about Holly or the presbyterian church she serves as music director, but I do know that she has done a great job using her guitar to put the questions of the Westminster to pleasant, memorable music. We are still slowly working our way through the Child's Scripture Catechism (to which I linked once upon a time), so we alternate days between the two works. However, the Scripture catechism is not set to music that I know of, so Westminster days are the kids' favortie, and we are progressing much more quickly in that area.

www.reformedmusic.com

A Public Apology

I recall stating several times and several ways over this past Valentine's Day season that Valentine's Day is pretty much a non-event at our house as far as Titus is concerned. Not being a high-maintenance sort of girl, it was said without bitterness, but perhaps there was an occasional hint of wistfulness over the fact that, as far as I could remember, Titus had never paid a bit of attention to the aforementioned "romantic" holiday.

My memory is so short! This evening my husband was cleaning out the back of a file drawer and unearthed a packet of his letters that I had saved. Among them were several very sweet Valentine's Day notes, the most recent dating back to 2003. I'd completely forgotten about the tradition we'd had of writing each other love notes for V-day.

The move to Searcy and the arrival of baby #3 (Lewis) happened in 2004. Self-employment began in 2005, and babies four and five (Jocelyn and Eva) came into our lives in 2006 and 2007 respectively. I think those events more than adequately explain the recent lapse in our romantic writing tradition (as well as my complete lack of memory--please forgive me, dear).

Maybe someday we'll add that element back into our relationship on a regular basis. For now we can enjoy all the walking, talking love notes we have around the house as we look forward to the newest one expected to arrive in August 2009. (Oh, and for the record, he did end up surprising me with a lovely dinner date this year!)