My mom was with us while Jeremy was gone, and she attempted to get some good pictures of me and the kids...I came to the conclusion that I will never be called to children's photography. I think we took 40 pictures in two different "sittings," and not a one had all three of us actually looking at the camera and smiling normally. I'm already dreading Christmas pictures...

I had a crazy Mommy day the other day, and my wonderful husband took both kids to the basement after dinner so I could have uninterrupted reading time. I started reading in Hebrews 12, "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith..." I noticed that it does NOT say "let us take a break from the race and go sit and have coffee" but "let us run with endurance." I thought of Isaiah 40:31, one of Jeremy's favorite verses. When the race gets too tough, we don't need a break; we just need Jesus. Maybe when I'm having another crazy Mommy day, I just need to remember to "lay aside the encumbrances" and fix my eyes on Jesus - and maybe just sit and laugh with my kids while I keep running.

Isabel is getting to be a great helper and an even better big sister. This morning Grant spit up on one of his toys while Jeremy and I were out of the room, and Isabel grabbed some Kleenex and cleaned it up for him! She's starting to take initiative and complete tasks on her own without even being asked... which is great in some respects and frightening in others. She also takes initiative to do things she knows she shouldn't :) But we're thankful for her spirit and all of the life in her. It can be a daunting task when it comes to discipline, but God gave her such a fun personality!

Grant is moving all over the place now. He rolls and scoots, and he just started pulling his legs up under him. We're going to be in trouble when he starts moving! The boy can't stay still. He's getting over an ear infection and finally sleeping a little better.

This past weekend my stepdad Tom's mother passed away, and we drove up close to Kansas City. She was a Christian and had suffered a long time with Alzheimer's, so although it's hard to lose a loved one, we're praising God that she's at home. Grant screamed every minute of the drive there and back, so I thought maybe he still had an ear infection. I took him back to the doctor today, and nope... he's just fine. He's just a stubborn kid who doesn't want to be restrained in the car! Isabel was fantastic on the trip. She is slowly growing out of the crazy toddler stage and into a young girl. She still has her moments, but she's really growing up.

PS - Our church website is being reconstructed, but in the meantime we have a new Staff Blog for Heartland. Check it out... http://staffblog.heartlandbaptistchurch.com/

Our good friends Ben and Valerie Leonard were in town last weekend, and we all had a great visit. Our church unanimously voted to hire Ben as the Associate Pastor of Education and Biblical Counseling starting Jan 1, 2009. We're all so excited to be living in the same city again, but we're especially excited for our church. It was amazing to have every member's support, and Jeremy knows that the people really need this. So this is a great time in the life of our church! Now we just have to get through the next few months... both Jeremy and Ben will be graduating from Southern in December. I don't think we can verbally describe what a joyous day that will be! Let's pray that the semester will go quickly, that Ben will secure a second job (the one at the church is part-time), and that Ben and Valerie can find the perfect housing solution between now and then.

As you can see, our kids get along well, too! Isabel and Abraham had a great time together (although Isabel is quite bossy). And I thought this picture of Grant and Jeremiah "holding hands" was adorable! Jeremiah is barely a month old, but we have some handsome boys! We can't wait for all of these boys to grow up together. And Isabel will definitely have some protection if anyone tries to mess with her!

Isabel made this all by herself... she showed it to Jeremy and said, "Look at my robot!" We thought it was pretty good! We didn't even have to "pretend" that we knew what it was!

And Grant learned to stick his tongue out! He's also getting his first tooth already! It started to come through the gums yesterday... his sister got her first tooth at 5 months, too!

OK, so these may be simple things from our children, but in our world, tongues, teeth, and robots are good things :)