Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Tid bits

I am so exhausted! However, I wanted to get on here and blog just a little because, I may not get much opportunity to do so for a little while after we move.
We are scheduled to close on Thursday!!! Yeah!!! I am so excited. We are having a bit of an issue with our roof being repaired though. It's a long, hairy story, but if you get the chance, please pray for everything to work out so that we'll get to close on time. We already have 3 appointments scheduled at our new house on Friday. I hope we don't have to re-schedule!
Also, I wanted to note that we had SNOW today in Houston. We didn't get to have Bible Study because of it, but I am glad that I got to get some more packing done. We're almost done with packing, which is good, because we won't be living here after we close! However, I did miss getting to go to Bible study.
And, can I just say, that I love watching the news on "winter" nights. It is so hilarious to listen to. They describe the light snow as a "winter blast", and keep referring to being outside as "stuck in the elements". I hold nothing against these news anchors...I am just learning how rare winter weather must be here in Houston.


So, I also need to share some comedic Julia-isms:
Julia calls her littlest baby "her precious". It's cute and creepy all at the same time. When we were putting her to bed a few days ago, she was whispering to Dave, "can I have my precious?" I want to tell her not to say that, but don't want to explain why...
And, on Saturday, Julia said, "the other day when I was walking through the valley of the shadow of death, a big scary wolf came and ate me, and then a sharp man came and got me out of his tummy." I think it's a nice mix of Psalm 23 and Little Red Riding Hood. Don't you?
And finally, Julia told me that her baby needed her momma. And then she said, "and I'm her momma. I'm her babymomma."

And, that's about it for now. I unfortunately can't think of anything extraordinary to report on Lydia. She has started saying Bible and apple though. Anyway...thanks for reading. Let's do this again sometime. -Amber

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Outside!

This is a beautiful day in Houston! Last night Dave and I were watching the news, and saw that the highs would be in the 60's this week. We thought this sounded great, but the meteorologist came back on and said something like, "hold on a little while longer, people, March is on it's way". I guess he thought we needed that word of encouragement!

Anyway, the girls and I got to enjoy the outdoors a little after we went to the church this morning for MOPS. I thought I'd share some of the pics I took.





































Thanks for checking in. Love, Amber

Sunday, February 14, 2010

I heart Valentine's Day!

I think that if even I was single, I would love Valentine's Day. I guess I just have a wonderful appreciation for hearts, pink and LOVE. Maybe I'm just kidding myself....
This is a picture of some of the loot:

The boxes were the girls present. They had a few plastic bracelets, some other trinkets and some candy. We made Dave some cards, and I got a card from him, one from each girl and one from both girls. He likes to give me cards. They are always very sweet.

I made the chocolate covered strawberries for all of us to share this afternoon. The picture above shows the two that were left. I ate most of them myself.

Dave also gave me some cute pajamas, and I got him some Glenn Beck books on cd. He's currently obsessed with Glenn.

We celebrated Valentine's Day as a couple on Friday night. Dave planned a nice evening with a "Sugar and Spice" themed date. He ordered me a chocolate covered strawberry cupcake that we went and picked up from a cute little cupcake store called Sugarbabies and then we went to a yummy thai restaurant. The girls went to the church for "Parent's Night Out", so we picked them up after our dinner. Then we came back home and watched Community, and Dave made us some sweet and spicy drinks.

Yesterday, Dave went golfing, and we took the girls to the chick-fil-a playground. We also went to Incredible Pizza with friends and had so much fun, that it exhausted us all.

Today we went to church, and then hung around here and even got a little bit of picking-up done. It was just what we needed after a busy weekend.

So, that's what we did for Valentine's Day. What did you do? LOVE, Amber

Monday, February 8, 2010

Stewart House Update.

So, we didn't do a whole ton this weekend, but we did have some fun family time. Here is a new video of Julia singing some songs from the movie Mary Poppins:

Also, I just wanted to note that Lydia has had a vocabulary explosion recently. It is so fun! You saw on the movie that she has started saying hi. Then, yesterday, she said eye, nose, mouth, ear and head, while pointing to that particular body part. Then, later, she said a form of "need help" while trying to get off of our bed. This morning, while we were laying in bed, she pointed to her belly and said, "bee-ee". We've also been teaching Julia her letters, and somehow, Lydia got stuck on B. So, when she sees a letter, she usually points to it, and says, "B".

Julia has been getting herself dressed lately, and I love it. This morning, I went upstairs and got the girls clothes for them. I came down and put Julia's clothes next to her, and then I went into the kitchen. When I came back Julia was fully dressed. Her jeans, and shirt were both on backwards, but she did it! I was so proud of her. Later, I found out, she didn't have her panties on, but oh well.

Last night we went to a Super Bowl party with our Sunday School class, and had a good time, but we stayed a little too late. The girls have been crabby, and little anxious today because they didn't get enough sleep. For example, Lydia came up behind me this morning and bit the back of my leg. She has done that before, but this time, she bit hard. And I was wearing shorts. So she bit my bare skin. I have a bruise!

I realized this morning that Lydia will have moved 3 times in her short lifetime! She's not even 19 months old yet! So, hopefully she'll get to live in our new house, her fourth dwelling, for several years! (Julia's had the same amount of moving, but it sounds more dramatic when you think about it all happenning in the last 19 months!)

I did some packing today, but I think I just made more of a mess than anything. I can't really pack much because everything we don't use on a regular basis is already packed. So, I packed stuff, but I didn't tape the top of the boxes, so that I could still get to it when I need it. Oh my, this living situation is so comical! I'm glad we will be settling soon. :) Thanks all! Love, Amber

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Beth Moore Book Signing


Beth Moore signed my "So Long Insecurity: you've been a bad friend to us" book today. But, I'm too insecure to talk about it.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Coffee

I wanted to get on here and tell my husband thank you!! He is at home with the girls right now, while I am at a coffeehouse, on the internet and drinking coffee. He took the day off so I could go get my Texas Driver's License ordered. I waited in line for 3 hours to get a piece of paper that says that my license will be mailed to me in as little as 4 weeks. :) But, I'm not complaining...it was a break from everyday, and I need that today. Thanks Dave! I praise God for you.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Baby Steps

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoesoever believeth in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life. - John 3:16.
I find it so funny that most of the memory verses that I memorized from childhood are forever stamped in my brain in the King James Version. The Lord's prayer is the same way for me. However, even though the words of this verse are in words I never use, God is continuing to teach me the meaning of them.
I am so thankful that God slapped us down in Houston. It was such a wake-up call for me. It made me remember the basics of my faith. Do I believe what I believe because all of my friends believe it, or because my parents believe it, or because I believe it? God knew I needed this, as only He does.
I don't want to seem naive and say that God moved our family to Houston for me- so that I can grow, because while I believe with my whole heart that that is a major part of it, I also believe that he placed us here for His glory. My reluctant obediance will hopefully bring Him praise!
That, my friends, is exactly why I am writing this post. God has taught me to trust in Him in ways I thought I already did. He has brought me back to my knees, and is teaching me to believe in Him.
It's interesting to me, that just when your where you don't want to be, you are often right where God wants you to be. I NEVER wanted to move to Houston. I thought God was playing some kind of dirty trick on me for awhile. Like, the whole "I want what's best for you" thing was a joke. But, I am so glad that I am learning that what's best for me isn't location or comfort, but where my heart is with God. God broke my insides a little, so I could trust Him a lot.
Everything on this Earth can be used for us as a blessing from God, but this Earth is not our home. How long is it going to take me to realize that until I am in heaven; trials, uncertainty, and just plain scary stuff will always be in the world? I mean, I married a wonderful husband, but I fight the fear that he won't be with me until my dieing breath almost daily. I have two beautiful daughters that I praise the Lord for, but I fear that they will be taken away from me prematurely often. Unless we REALLY trust in God, fear can encompass our lives, make our blessings into curses, and bring us to paralization in our faith. That's not where I want to be.
So, I am so thankful that God is teaching me again to trust. It is so hard! It is like being a new Christian. When we first moved here, I didn't have much communion with God at all, and I was miserable (now I know how people who don't have the Lord feel--terrible). However, I have re-realized how much I need Him everyday! My first baby step is just getting back on my knees before my All Gracious King, and reading his God breathed words for me.
My second baby step has been examining my own heart, mind and belief system. When I sing praises at church or with the radio, I ask myself is this really what I believe? I think about Jesus dieing on the cross for me and picture it in ways I haven't thought about it for a long time.
My third baby step is baptism. A lot of you know that we started attending a Baptist church in Houston, and emmersion is a big deal! (Don't hate us, our lovely Wesleyan friends!) It is something I had pushed back in the recesses of my mind for a long time. I thought of it as something I would like to do someday because, well, Jesus himself was baptized by John the Baptist, but I wasn't sure when I would let it happen for myself. I was sprinkled as a baby...what more do I need? Not that there's anything wrong with sprinkling babies with holy water, but I had been feeling like I needed to take the plunge and decide to get my whole body dunked all at once...I just didn't have anyone giving me the nudge I needed to do so. So, I kept letting it slip. But, it looks like Houston's First Baptist may be just the nudge I have been needing. (Nothing is scheduled yet, but I get the feeling that it won't be long.)
So, here I am, trying to reestablish the blessing of God in my life, while taking renewed baby steps toward the goal of serving my King. It feels so wierd. I mean, I thought I was already past all this. We are meeting some amazing people, and I just feel like I come across like I don't know Jesus as my savior at all. But, I do. I know I do. I am learning more about Him as I sit in this crazy city, and I desire to soak it all in. I am having to rely on God. And, I am finally getting to the place that makes me grateful for all of it.
Love, Amber