I Painted a Chair.

In the midst of a crazy weekend filled with work, church, and family, I painted a chair to relax. I painted it for work, but I didn't think about work as I painted. I didn't think much at all actually. It felt good =0). Looking back on the project, and reflecting on things learned Sunday, I realized that the chair is a lot like us as people.How? Well, when I first saw the chair I didn't see the potential in it. I just walked right by it. When I asked the lady at the counter if she had any painted or refurbished chairs she said no, but she had this natural wood chair that could be refurbished. I didn't see the potential in the chair, but she did. As she described the different options I had to refurbish the chair, a better picture was painted in my mind of what the chair could be. I actually started to see something in it. Had she not seen the potential in it I would have left the store. I would have left disappointed. Are you starting to see where I'm coming from? Think of God looking down on us and seeing the potential that is there. Some people walk right by us, but God looks down and says, "I can make you into something special." When we look at someone we shouldn't judge them by their outside wrapper (and by this I mean pure physical appearance and not their choice of self expression to include clothing, jewelry, etc.), because we never know the potential God has for that person. We should never just walk on by a person without looking for the good in them. It's easy just to say, "you won't amount to anything, I don't care to know you." It is harder to look at the person, find the positive things about them, and love them for who they are (or who God has called them to become). God used so many broken and sinful people to do great things in the Bible. God gets the glory when he turns a "nobody" into "somebody." Think Gideon's army, King David, Joseph, Jacob, Abraham, and many more. It's amazing to see God work in peoples lives! Ecclesiastes 3:11, "11He has made everything beautiful in its time...."

10 Month Misa/ Almost 3 G Babe!

A lot has happened in the past month. I wish I could write a little more, but things are crazy right now between work and family. Weddings are due one right after another and the little ones are everywhere! Elizabeth is crawling like a mad woman. She is also standing on everything. I can tell her legs are getting stronger, so she will probably be walking soon. She is a persistent little thing with a one track mind. She'll continue to crawl after a dog bowl no matter how many times I turn her around and try to introduce something else. Perhaps she is tired of Gabriel trying to play "switchsy" with whatever she is playing with. It doesn't matter what she is playing with, Gabriel wants it! He then switches her toys with something she doesn't want. They are fighting already! Gabriel generally wins though. He's a bully (we are working on this)! I can not leave the room when the two of them are together. I hope it's just a stage he will grow out of. Either that or she'll learn to fight back. Other things that have happened this month: *Zoo trip *First trip to the Water park with two kids- Misa LOVED the park. Gabriel loved it until nap time. *Elizabeth blows raspberries and will FIGHT for ice cream *Elizabeth standing and Gabriel pushing There is one other thing I want to remember about Elizabeth this month. "Snow" angels! She is now taking the pacifier at night only, but the super cute part about this is that she will put it in her mouth, and then move her arms like she's making a snow angel. I will definitely try and get a video at some point. Gabriel and I have fun times together. He is such a smart little guy. He remembers anything and everything. He can hide something, or watch me put stuff somewhere, and remember exactly where it was. He's also talking up a storm, knows how to get back to our house and almost every store we frequent, and loves learning new things. He doesn't enjoy "school" learning, but he'll learn how to put something together in a heartbeat. He also loves taking things apart to find out what makes them tick. Just like his dad! I have to say that he takes after his mom in his actions and comments. Probably because he is around me so much. It's funny though to see him tell daddy to do things like mommy does. For instance, he told daddy to put both hands on the wheel while driving the other day. He also likes things done the same way every time. I believe he has some OCD tendencies! We'll just have to steer those in the right direction so he doesn't drive momma nuts ;) Here are some pics from this month: