Slow Down!!!

It's hard to believe, but Elli is just two weeks away from the 3 month mark! I look at her and am in awe of how fast she is growing and changing. Since we've had her she has slept right next to our bed in her little bassinet, but (as much as I HATE it) the time has come for her to begin to transition to her own room. So, yesterday she took her first nap in her crib and from the looks of this pic, she didn't seem to mind one bit!

The Best Man

After participating in the Invisible Children rally, Brian was catching up on his sleep this morning. Elli was down for her morning nap and I had a rare hour all to myself. So, I gathered up all of the essentials (coffee with my fave cinnamon vanilla creamer, my Bible and a pen) and cozied up in the corner of my couch for a lovely moment with Jesus. I've decided to revisit the Gospel of John for a while. It's all about love and the Holy Spirit is challenging me more than ever to learn what Christ like love really is...so into John I dove. As I read I was once again amazed by John the Baptist. In my opinion John the Baptist has to be the most humble man in the Bible apart from Jesus. I challenge you to read just the first three chapters of John and examine John the Baptist. He is rising in popularity, has a significant following and the dangerous attention of the church big wigs, yet he is continually directing people's attention to Christ. When Jesus appears on the scene John's disciples become concerned about Jesus honing in on John's ministry, yet John continues to push the attention to Christ and even tells them to physically follow Christ rather than himself. My favorite verse in the first three chapters is John 3:29 in which John describes himself as the best man at a wedding who is rejoicing in the union of the Bridegroom and His bride. John then explains that he is choosing to step back more and more so that the Jesus can be the focal point of the people. John had done his job, he had helped with the wedding preparation and now it was time for the Bridegroom to reap the benefits. What a great picture! I want to be that kind of Christ follower!

Re-Do

I'm ready for a blog re-do. It's been over a month since I've sent my thoughts out into the blogasphere and I think it's time for a new beginning. So, here I am ready to write with a new perspective and feel. I'm not sure exactly what the end result will be, but change is coming!

In awe: a quick note

Well, I'm officially a mommy now! It's hard to believe. I don't have time to reflect very thoroughly right now (I've got to catch some shut eye while I can), but I did want to say it's wonderful. I had no idea I would be flooded with such a depth of emotion. Of course I'm overwhelmed with love for this tiny perfect person, but it's so much more than that. I'm flooded with a deep terrifying awareness of my responsibility, my need to live beyond myself and the unexplainable awe of how I now have so much to lose. It's scary to love someone so much. I, of course, feel I couldn't breath without my husband, but this is different than that. It's indescribable. With all of this in mind, I keep thinking, how did God give up His Son for me? I'm dumbfounded by it. After just 9 days I could not give up Elli for anything, let alone for someone that is undeserving and doesn't even love me back at the same level if at all. God's love is becoming more and more beyond what my mind can handle. I'm completely in awe of who He is and what He has done in me and for me. I love you, Lord!

Sweet Discovery!

I love finding home remedies online and seeing if they really work. For example, a few months ago I discovered that squirting an old shadow stain (or melted chapstick stain) with water, rubbing it with a Fels-Naptha Bar, leaving it to sit over night and then washing it like normal takes that old stain right out! It doesn't even matter how old the stain is! Well, my new discovery came today as I tried to tackle a really gross job. Friday night I went to the movies with my lovely husband. When we arrived home I realized I was kind of stuck to the seat! Turns out someone had left their nasty dark blue fruity gum in the theater seat and I had the pleasure of sitting in it. So, needless to say, I had gum all over the back of my jeans AND all over our leather seats in the car. This gum wasn't just globbed on either, it was smeared in, completely "unpickable". So, today I hopped on google and searched for a solution. Turns out hot vinegar, a toothbrush and some elbow grease is all you need! I started with my jeans first. I poured some vinegar into a cup, microwaved it for about a minute, and dipped an old toothbrush in it. I then scrubbed the gums spots with the toothbrush, dipping it every now and then. Voila! The gum came out almost instantly! The car interior went a little bit differently. There was A LOT of gum on the seat and it was smashed in really well. I went to work with the vinegar and toothbrush. At first it didn't seem to do anything, but once I grabbed a dull metal spatula to help with the scraping (and some fingernails too, gross) off the gum came without hurting the leather! Woo Hoo! My mom has used vinegar for countless cleaning projects, now I can add gum removal to the miraculous list! =)