Halloween!

We had tons of fun at Halloween on the Lawn and lots of candy to prove it. My parents were in town (more pictures to follow) for the weekend so that made it extra special!

The Foyer

In a previous post this past summer, I asked for suggestions concerning my very narrow, high-ceilinged, very boring foyer. The winning suggestion was from my sister, who just recently did a similar thing in her new house. A guy from our church did the board and batten look and then we painted it white. It's hard to tell from pictures, but we also painted above the wood paneling...it's a light khaki color. I love the results! Now I have to save up my money to actually put something on the walls!!

These are the before pictures (the hallway is no narrow that it's hard to get a good shot of it):

And the after shots:

CCC!

I love our church! I love the people and I'm thankful that our relationships within the church are growing deeper. I hardly ever post about church and in our latest update I messed up the pictures so I thought I'd give our friends and families a glimpse into what we're doing around here.

The first pictures are of our community group. Our group has all the families in it so we had a family fall party yesterday where we carved pumpkins, decorated cookies, and hung out while the kids wore themselves out on the bouncehouse.

These pictures are from church in our newest (and hopefully more permanent) location.

What We've Been Up To

Fall is moving fast! We're enjoying the cooler weather, the changing leaves, a growing church, and the kids' many activities. Here are some pictures of what we've been doing:

Will had a playdate this week with a friend from school. They obviously enjoyed getting their picture made together.

I got this jacket a few months before we moved to Virginia for $4. I think Luke looks adorable in it! Luke's favorite thing right now is brushing his teeth. If he could brush his teeth or carry around his toothbrush all day long, he would. A future dentist, perhaps?

Reese is excited about his upcoming birthday. Everyday he says, "It's my birthday!" He is enjoying preschool and going to church (everyday he also says "tomorrow is church day!") His favorite toys are the little people animals he is holding in this picture.

Will is playing soccer again this fall. At his first game, he scored the first two goals of the game!

Recently, a couple from our church moved to Texas and, instead of moving their air hockey table, they sold it to us at an extreme markdown. The boys have loved having it!

What a Gas

I love when little things pop in your head and make you laugh to yourself. I was remembering this tonight...

A few months ago right before Kyle and I were headed to bed, we heard Reese crying out from his bed, which doesn't happen very often. I went up to see what was going on, but I couldn't figure it out. He was inconsolable so when I sat on his bed to pat him back to sleep, I realized that his stomach was ROCK hard, full of trapped gas. He winced even at my touch so I knew he was in pain. After taking him to the bathroom to no avail, I brought him downstairs to sit with me while Kyle googled what to do. The advice was to "walk it out" so we started marching in a circle around the house and asked Reese to join in. Our little half-awake buddy with a really extended stomach waddled around the house (probably thinking we were crazy) behind us and, miraculously, with each step he took, he let out a little toot. Within minutes, he was back to normal and off to bed. 

So that was my entertainment tonight... getting a kick out of reliving our little guy "puttering" around the house. 

Baltimore

Last weekend we met Kyle's mom in Baltimore to celebrate her milestone birthday. The Inner Harbor of Baltimore impressed us! We went to the National Aquarium (the boys favorite part was the dolphin show and getting to pick out a toy in the gift shop), had some really good seafood, went on a harbor cruise (we felt like we were on the booze cruise episode of The Office), went to Camden Yards, and even spent a little time getting to know the hospital via the ER because of Luke having an ear infection.

Mimi's here!

a view of the Inner Harbor from the cruise

at Federal Hill overlooking the city

looking at Ft. McHenry where the Star Spangled Banner was written

The Babe at Camden Yards

Make My Faith Great!

I have been reading Hebrews lately and today the Lord reminded me of a post I wrote about faith a few months before we moved to Charlottesville. Reading it made me wonder if I have learned anything in the past year or if I've been pedaling in place, trying to find a gear, and getting nowhere.

The past few weeks I have been struggling with extreme discouragement and despair. I have felt that there has been a literal weight on my shoulders, like my body is 90 years old. Kyle and I have gone through seasons of this since our move to Charlottesville and we attribute much of it to spiritual attack and oppression. I don't know what you think about spiritual warfare (or if you even think about it), but I have never experienced it like this before in my life. Lately, there is almost a tangible voice speaking to me: "Give up. Go home. It's not worth it." 

THANKFULLY, the Lord is good to use His Word to remind me of truth, specifically in the area of faith. 

To be completely open and honest, I think I sometimes have had the idea that in following Jesus here and being obedient to His call, things would be difficult for a season and then it would change. I thought we'd have a difficult climb up the mountain and then we'd get the top and everything would be downhill from there... we'd feel like insiders here, the church would grow like crazy and have no problems, people would love and respect us and let us into their lives. Don't get me wrong, we do feel like we're making inroads, meeting people, the church is growing, people are letting us into their lives and trusting us, but here I am feeling discouraged because it's not getting any easier. Instead, it seems to be getting more difficult as the church grows. Shining a light in a very dark place seems to attract the fiery arrows of the enemy.

Over and over, the Lord has taken me to Hebrews 10-12 and reminded me that this Christian life is one of faith. Faith means we live for something we can't see, for a reward to come. It means we may not see results in our lifetime. It means that we are weak and poor and experience difficulties so that Christ can be strong in us. God does incredible things through men and women of faith (11:33...subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, received their dead raised to life again) but He also allows them to experience extreme tribulation, even death. It seems like the circumstances are kind of an afterthought for the Lord, rather He is concerned with the belief, the faith.

Sometimes I want the false picture of the Christian life that I somehow got in my head in college: comfortable life; being fed by conferences and Christian music; Christian leaders revered for their speaking skills or their dynamic personalities, but not necessarily their faith, sacrifice, or service; staying in my lovely, warm Christian groups. I want the comfort. I want it to be about me and what I want. I want a Hebrews 10-12 that doesn't require faith and where the rewards and results are immediate.

But Hebrews shows me a picture of believers who were said to please God who were willing to endure anything on earth for the sake of Christ and the promises to come. And it reminds me at a time when I really need the reminder, that, in light of those who lived before me, I must throw off this weight of discouragement and despair and this sin of self-reliance and run with marathon endurance toward Jesus, the Finish Line, the Goal, the Reward.