Splash Park and Fun Art!

This week I stayed super busy with work :(, but did managed to squeeze a bit of fun into my crazy schedule. The previous week Daphney had strep throat, so out of pity I had to get her a new prize for all her suffering. We packed up and drove through McDonald's for a nutritious Happy Meal, then headed to Toys-R-Us, both of which were firsts for Daphney. After strolling the isles we left with an art easel, finger paints, chalk, markers (big mistake), and easel paper! Daphney has been crazy about coloring for the longest so I thought we should expand on her interest a bit! She, of course, loves it. It is definitely an activity that needs MUCH supervision!

Midweek we packed and headed for the slash park with Mrs. Maggie, Anna, and Charles Walker. Tons of fun! We sure love the Waddell's!


















"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved." -Helen Keller

Independence Day

Today Daphney and I celebrated our countries declaration of independence with some serious fun. We enjoyed morning worship at church, naps, baked my 3rd pound cake of the week, played dress-up as the statue of liberty, and topped the day off with some back yard fun at the Robertson's.

Our special way of honoring Pop as he serves in Afghanistan was to do a little role playing as Lady Liberty. Daphney thought she was something in her pillowcase and paper hat with torch and bible in hand. Later in the evening we went to Rob and Sara's to celebrate kid style with some inflatable pool action, homemade ice cream, and fresh blueberry pie. We had so much fun. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends!












He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32

Some great words for life

"Joy is love exalted; peace is love in repose; patience is love enduring; gentleness is love in society; goodness is love in action; faith is love on the battlefield; meekness is love in school; and self-control is love in training."
D.L. Moody

Watermelon Classic 5K

It was race day again for mother and daughter! As always, Mississippi summer heat was intense! I finished 3.1 miles in 23 minutes placing 2nd in my age group!! This was such a fun morning for both of us. There were tons of people, over 1600 participants, and exciting activities like a moonwalk, Tot-Trot, and watermelon eating contest! We did all three! The funniest was the watermelon eating contest... We were just going to observe all the other kids when Daphney took it upon herself to pull up a chair! She picked a seat by a really large girl who looked a bit serious about winning.... Daphney just took her one bite then cheered for the others! Such a sweetie.

21 Months

Today I celebrate 21 months of vibrant living with the sweetest girl I know! God is good and blesses us beyond what we can ever imagine! I love you sweet Daphney!

Friends

Below is an excerpt from a daily devotional, My Utmost for His Highest. A sweet cousin forwarded this to me and it really gave me a boost.

. . . what shall I say? ’Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. ’Father, glorify Your name’ —John 12:27-28

As a saint of God, my attitude toward sorrow and difficulty should not be to ask that they be prevented, but to ask that God protect me so that I may remain what He created me to be, in spite of all my fires of sorrow. Our Lord received Himself, accepting His position and realizing His purpose, in the midst of the fire of sorrow. He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour.

We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to accept and receive ourselves in its fires. If we try to evade sorrow, refusing to deal with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life, and there is no use in saying it should not be. Sin, sorrow, and suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them.

Sorrow removes a great deal of a person’s shallowness, but it does not always make that person better. Suffering either gives me to myself or it destroys me. You cannot find or receive yourself through success, because you lose your head over pride. And you cannot receive yourself through the monotony of your daily life, because you give in to complaining. The only way to find yourself is in the fires of sorrow. Why it should be this way is immaterial. The fact is that it is true in the Scriptures and in human experience. You can always recognize who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself, and you know that you can go to him in your moment of trouble and find that he has plenty of time for you. But if a person has not been through the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous, having no respect or time for you, only turning you away. If you will receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people.

Sweet Memories

For those who don't know, I lost all pictures of Daphney (birth to 16 months) when my hard drive crashed this past winter. So I don't have too many picture memories to look back on. I ran across these few moments in time that were on an old camera memory card. She is growing up so fast. These sweet times feel like they were just days ago.