Cape Cod

This past weekend, Shane and I met up with Mr. K, Mrs. K, Lauren, and Garin in Cape Cod. It was fun to see L and G's house and town, their church, and the Coast Guard base. I forgot my camera when we went to the base, but maybe L will post some pictures on her blog one of these days. ;)

Uncle G got Elsa a cute turtle. She sleeps with it at night now.

Papa and Elsa took a nap together

She woke up really happy!

Then we went to the Coast Guard base and saw the Helicopter G flies.

Saturday we went out on the boat and did some wake boarding, water skiing, tubing, and knee boarding.

Elsa had a blast...

Saturday and Sunday night we played games. Banana Grams and Boggle.

Sunday afternoon a few of us took naps and then G, L, Shane and I headed down to the canal for a run and then went to the coast and saw their beach front rental. Very nice!

Thanks for having us L and G!

Labor Day

We headed to Monroe for Labor Day, another short 1 day visit. It was relaxing and weather was beautiful, until it was time to head home. Our ride home consisted of heavy rain and winds. A bit scary, but thank goodness for Rain-X.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Tyler came over to meet Elsa.

We went down to the pond and fed the fish.

Also, Elsa has been rolling over like crazy since Monday. Nap time has turned into rolling time. She sleeps for 15 or 20 minutes and then just rolls back and forth in her crib, smiling. Very cute.

Here is a video of her rolling from her back to her tummy.

Happy 3 Months!

Weight: 12 lbs 13 oz

Length: 24 inches

Elsa's new trick

This morning Shane and I were up playing with Elsa before church. She has been rolling from her back to her side a lot this week. I'm guilting of not putting her on her tummy much at all, except while she is sleeping, (which is going against 2 things the doctors say to do...whoops) so this morning I put her on her tummy to play. She was so happy, but seemed to get frustrated after a while. I had a feeling she was going to roll over, so I got the video camera...and I caught it! The first roll! Go Elsa!

Here it is! She has been all smiles this morning!

Forgiveness

I read this book a few years back when I was in college. I was going through a lot and these couple pages stood out to me at that time in my life. I wanted to share it with everyone. I'm sure all of us have been hurt/hurt someone at some point(s) in our lives. This is a wonderful perspective of what forgiveness looks like. It is such a beautiful, selfless lesson taught to us by our Savior.

"Okay- now for a hard step (as if the others have been easy). A real step of courage and will. We must forgive those who hurt us. The reason is simple: Bitterness and unforgiveness set their hooks deep in our hearts; they are chains that hold us captive to the wounds and the messages of those wounds. Until you forgive, you remain their prisoner. Paul warns us that unforgiveness and bitterness can wreck our lives and the lives of others (Eph. 4:31, Heb. 12:15). We have to let it all go.

"Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Col. 3:13

Now-listen carefully. Forgiveness is a choice. It is not a feeling- don't try and feel forgiving. It is an act of the will. "Don't wait to forgive until you feel like forgiving." wrote Neil Anderson. "You will never get there. Feelings take time to heal after the choice to forgive is made." We allow God to bring the hurt up from our past, for "if your forgiveness doesn't visit the emotional core of your life, it will be incomplete," said Anderson. We acknowledge that it hurt, that it mattered, and we choose to extent forgiveness to our fathers, out mothers, those who hurt us. This is not saying, "It didn't really matter"; it is not saying, "I probably deserved part of it anyway." Forgiveness says, "It was wrong. Very wrong. It mattered, hurt me deeply. And I release you. I give you to God."

It might help to remember that those who hurt you were also deeply wounded themselves. They were broken hearts, broken when they were young, and they fell captive to the Enemy. They were in fact pawns in his hands. This doesn't absolve them of the choices they made, the things they did. It just helps us to let them go- to realize that they were shattered souls themselves, used by our true Enemy in his war. "

Family in town

This past weekend Mrs. K, Mr. K, Meghan and Eli came into town for a visit. It was a nice weekend. A little cramped in the apartment, but we made it fun. Between feeding Elsa and her naps, we did manage to get out a little bit.

Meghan arrived a few hours before everyone else. It was great to get some time with her. We took Elsa on a run and then chatted until the rest of the crew got into town.

Saturday morning Shane, Meghan, Eli and I went on a run while Grannie and Papa watched Elsa.

Meghan and Mrs. K had a good time dressing Elsa up throughout the weekend. We grabbed lunch at Sweet Tomatoes Saturday afternoon, so of course had to look nice for the outing.

Saturday evening we all went out to the Arboretum near NC State. It was a really nice evening, minus the mosquitos.

On Sunday, Shane had to work 6-3 and had his break at 10, so we all skipped church so that we could have breakfast with him on his break. After he left to go back to work, the rest of us headed to the pool.

Thanks for coming into town! It was great to see y'all. Lauren and Garin, we missed you, but we look forward to seeing you in a month!

Gram

September 29, 1912-August 25, 2006

5 years ago today my Gram passed away. I remember so many details leading up to that day, and I remember that day so well. I think about her almost daily. I wish she had met Shane, and now Elsa. I feel like Shane is missing a part of me. She was such a huge part of my life and I am so thankful for that. I know my mom will be as much apart of Elsa's life as Gram was of mine. She impacted a lot of people.

This passage was read at her funeral.

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

Because the Lord has anointed me

To bring good news to the afflicted;

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to captives

And freedom to prisoners;

To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord

And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

To grant those who mourn in

Zion,

Giving them a garland instead of

ashes,

The oil of gladness instead of

mourning,

The mantle of praise instead of a

spirit of fainting.

So they will be called oaks of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He

may be glorified."

Isaiah 61:1-3

I miss her, but I am so thankful that she is in heaven praising God, that she is in no pain, and that she's able to dance and sing. I praise God for that. This is not our home.