Splash in the Rain Puddles

I love how my boys love to dig in dirt...how they love to play with sticks and rocks and dump trucks...and how they assume everyone loves doing that as much as they do....how they love to run through mud puddles...love to wear hats...and how they love to find caterpillars, name them Willy and make a nice home for them in a ventilated jar. What I do not love is explaining to them what happens when you leave Willy's jar sitting in the sun in 90 degree heat. Poor Willy. We enjoyed the short time we had with you. That's Willy....on the piece of wood.  and this is Willy's jar, which I had to discreetly dispose of when Willy melted in the sun. In happier news :).....the boys and I, along with Grandma, had a wonderful trip to Strasburg, PA on Saturday to see the one and only Thomas the Tank Engine!  Chase in particular, is so into Thomas right now and the look on his face when he first saw Thomas was priceless.  The Lord gave us a beautiful day to enjoy train rides, yum

Hello summer.  I certainly am enjoying you.  The sunshine, the warmth, the wonderfulness of cooking on the grill, the chill of running through the sprinkler with the boys :), the playdates with friends, and most recently the wonderful time we shared as a family celebrating the greatest daddy in the world...my hubby! We ventured off the Eastern Shore on Sunday (it does happen occasionally :) ), and took ourselves to Baltimore's Inner Harbor and Fort McHenry ......  along with thousands and thousands of others.We got there early to scout out our killer seats for an airshow given by the Navy's Blue Angels.  Wow.  It was amazing.  Although I'm not sure which was more entertaining....watching the show or watching it completely blow the minds of a 4 and 2 year old.  Jack of course was initially quite concerned and worried.  It takes him a little time to embrace anything new and different :) ....."i don't know about this Mommy", "it's too loud I think we sho

I believe finding contentment is a struggle for all of us.  That desire for something more, for things to change, for results to be seen.  This has been the focus of my daily devotions over the last several mornings.  I've been reading about Paul and the amazing freedom he found in knowing Christ and realizing that contentment could not be dependent upon his circumstances.  He came to the place where he could say, "I have learned that whatever state I am, to be content." (Philippians 4:12).  A challenge for all of us indeed.  I so appreciate the InTouch monthly devotional put out by Charles Stanley and InTouch Ministries.  It is that which guides me daily into the Scriptures and offers encouragement and understanding of this life which God has called us to live.  Here is a segment from today's words from Dr. Stanley:    I want to challenge you - this week, when something threatens to steal your contentment, choose to draw from God; decide to stop drawing from other

"There is no peace like the peace of those whose minds are possessed with full assurance that they have known God, and God has known them, and that this relationship guarantees God's favor to them in life, through death and on forever."   ~ J.I. Packer, Knowing God We have just begun reading through Knowing God with our Sunday School class at church.  I am so excited to finally be reading this book.  I've heard it referenced countless times and have been pointed to it on various occasions, but just never made it a priority to read through it.  Until now!  In preparing for this Sunday's lesson I came across the above quote and loved the truth of Packers words.  I've written before about the peace that I've been able to find in knowing God.  It truly is one of the greatest blessings of my Christian walk.  Things may not always go as I think they should, my kids will not always do what I hope they will, there are days when things just feel out of whack....

Wait a minute!  Where did the month of May go??? :)  Is it really the 6th of June already?  Preschool came to a close and that was definitely an adjustment for mommy.  Initially the thought of both boys together with me every minute of every day made me want to say, "YIKES!!!!".  However, I am happy to report that we have found our groove and things are going surprisingly well....minus the wrestling matches the boys seem to break out into several times a day.  But hey, boys will be boys.  I am happy to see the bond they are creating and so enjoy listening in on their "conversations".  Jack loves to explain things to Chase.  Things like, "you see Chase, that is a backhoe loader.  Which means that it is a loader on one side and a backhoe on the other."  To which Chase replies, "Ok".  :)  Jack also continues to be full of so many questions.  Last night he wanted to know what the moon was made of.  Other questions include where does the sun go after