Beyond 30-

but not much.    :)

an ugly dog gets uglier

SERIOUSLY?!

 We don't know what happened,

but he seems to be eating just fine.

 At least he gets a little sympathy:

Conversations

Last Thursday morning Cate and Ty and I were eating breakfast together and Cate started talking about Adventures in Odyssey*.  She was explaining which episode is her favorite- it went something like this:

Cate:  "My favorite episode is when Connie goes to California and asks Jesus to come in her heart and live there.  Connie decides to love Him forever, and she becomes a Christian!"

Me:  "Yeah, that's a really really good one."

Cate:  "I was thinking I want to do that this morning."  (Slurping her granola.)

Me:  "Um.  Do what, Cate?"

Cate:  "I was thinking I want to pray and ask Jesus to come into MY heart.  But I don't really know how."

{I promise, those are very close to her exact words.}

So I asked her some questions to see if she knew what she was talking about (she did) and we prayed.

Fast forward to last night:

The kids were going to bed and we did our normal routine- read a book, sang some songs and then we took turns praying.  I was about to take Ty to his room when Halle piped up from the top bunk-

Halle:  "Hey Mommy, do you remember that Cate prayed the other day and asked Jesus into her heart?  She said that she decided she wants to love him for the rest of her life."

Me:  "Yeeesss... did she tell you about that?"

Halle:  "Yep.  And I want to do that too.  Like- tonight.  Right now."

Me:  "Okay.  Tell me what you think it means to do that."

And she did.  And we prayed.

Ever since our kids were tiny (even tinier than now) we have tried to intentionally make our faith something that is woven into everything.  We want them to see it in action- not just some rules or a book that we read on Sunday.  We know that if we really believe what we claim, then it has to be more than words.  We thank God out loud for things like good parking spots, or finding lost princesses.  And we talk about death like its going Home- because it is.  And we try our hardest to get the Word into their little hearts and minds.  (It never ceases to amaze me how quickly they memorize verses and how they just intuitively know what it means!)

Funny story- my mom was telling me not long ago about how she said something to Cate about her "arm was about to fall off" (I think she was scrubbing the bathtub when we moved earlier this summer.)  Cate didn't miss a beat and said something back like, "Well, Nana, that's okay because you love Jesus and I love Jesus so we'll get to be together in Heaven even if your arm falls off and you die." 

Maybe that sounds morbid to you, but to me it sounds like the sincere faith of a child- death is no big deal- Jesus made a way for us to be together with Him and with others who love Him too. 

So, whether those prayers the girls prayed were life changing or just an extension of their growing faith doesn't really matter.  Only God knows their true hearts anyway.

Oh yeah- after Halle prayed last night she said something like, "Well, maybe TY should go ahead and pray with us too!"  I laughed and told her that I thought he was too little and didn't understand what we were talking about.  Then Ty spoke up, (he had to take his blankie out of his mouth first) "Well.  Jesus loves birds!"  We all laughed.  And then agreed.  Indeed he does, buddy.  Those sparrows. 

*Adventures in Odyssey is a radio program that has been around for 25 or so years.  Our awesome van only has a tape deck and a radio.  When we got it we (of course) had zero tapes, and living in the middle of nowhere there aren't many options on the radio.  So I bought several old episodes of Odyssey and the kids have listened to them over and over (I think we can all recite them by now.) 

Wecome to the Family!

Hello baby Jackson! Welcome to the family!!

Good job, Steve and Bethany!  :)

Big Boy Bed

Ty has been successfully switched from the crib to the big bed. 

Finally.

Halle and Cate were both out of the crib before they turned two.  Of course, we also had another baby in the house before they were two.

He calls it "my bunkbed!"  Haha!  We don't correct him!

 So-
Preschool time: Check.

Potty Training: Check.

Big Bed: Check.

He's well on his way to really being a kid, and not my baby. 
*Sniff.*

baby names

We tend to be last-minute namers.  But even if/when we do choose, we keep it to ourselves.  However, there are some rules we follow when naming our kids-

1) We name them what we'll call them (JD's rule.)

2) The name is connected to family (my rule.)

Halle Grace Parker

-named after Helen Grace Colyer (my great-grandmother) and Grace Parker (JD's great-grandmother)

6 months:

Cate Madelynn Parker

-named after Kate Day (my great-great grandmother) and Nancy Lynn/Rebecca Lynn (my mom and I.)

4 months:

 Ty Jonathan Parker

-named after Tyler Martin (my brother) and Jonathan David (JD)

5 months:

So- this new little guy will likely have a short name with some sort of family significance.  And I think we may have it chosen.  Unless we change our minds.  Again.  We do have 3 more weeks.  :)

Updates. {Lots of them.}

Charlie is gone.  We came back from a long trip North a few weeks ago and he wasn't doing well.  We took him to the vet (not wanting to spend any a ton of money) and after a teary goodbye we came home without him.  BUT we got a number for a lady with bigger kittens, and now we have a little Sunshine at our house: 

 This cat is Cate's baby.  She lets her haul her around and purrs the entire time.  For an outdoor cat, from a non-cat person, Sunshine is a keeper.

Halle "loves every minute" of Kindergarten.  Loves it.  And the rest of us are getting used to her being gone all day.  :)  (And no- I haven't cried at all, for those who have asked.  Not one tear!)

 Potty training is going really really well.  Ty tells us when he needs to go, and he typically makes it on time.  He wears a pull up at night and when we leave the house, but lately he's been staying dry until about 6:30 in the morning when he yells that he needs to go potty.  And he tells me when we're out and about too, and hasn't had a problem using public bathrooms.  (Fingers crossed that this continues!!) 

 This dog lives with us.  We've given in and I guess we're claiming him now, although we've never touched him.  We call him Chief.  He and Indy (and Sunshine) are inseparable.

 We're loving our new place.  I would take our old house over this one, but not the location.

The only view we ever see:

 The back patio:

My dad installed my new toy- I have wanted a clothes line for years:

It was mentioned that Chief looks a lot like my Granddad's old dog, Bob.  I actually think of him as Chief Bob now...

He's a beaut:

 Ty's reaction to the words, "It's time to go!"

Baby Boy will be here September 6, unless something crazy happens.  I'm finally starting to think about it.  Today I even (literally) dusted off my sewing machine and started to work on my to-do list.  We do not have a name picked out.

I haven't blogged much lately because I haven't taken many pictures.  I'll blame the heat.  :)