Our Micah

In 2 1/2 weeks many of you will be able to meet Micah Daniel. He is 9 1/2 months and so much fun. He is truly a source of joy to our family. Micah is so incredibly different from Nathan--which I knew, but WOW! These pictures can attest to just how curious he is at times. I guess he has to be to keep up with Nathan. We've found him at the door going down to the basement and deciding if the stairs were really dangerous (don't worry Moms....we have a gate now), trying to climb out of his crib, rearranging my picture frames on somewhat low lying book shelves, and helping with the dishes--sorta.

The latest, funniest story is from this morning, Danny was in the living room studing his Bible and heard Micah in the kitchen. Micah is always trying to open drawers and get to the canned goods. When Danny came around the corner he saw Micah had opened the drawer where we keep his baby food and was sitting contently eating one of his baby biscuits (the kind that dissolve as they chew 'em up)! The clincher is---we have this long stick that goes thru the handles of all 3 drawers and he's strong enought that he pulled ALL 3 DRAWERS open for this snack! LOL! Oh we have our hands full.

Speaking of the little guy, he's having a hard time taking a nap. I need to go help him ;) We're looking forward to showing off our boys to many of you. Can't wait to see you!

-Krista-

So true

Danny has this little plaque in his office from his ordination and I love the quote/prayer. It's so true of MY life.

"O God, I'm not where I want to be; I'm not even where I think I should be. But thank you Lord, I'm not where I used to be."

Have a great Sunday, wherever you go to worship!

-Krista-

Devotion

I read this on Max Lucados website and thought it was good. So I copied and pasted. Have a great week!

"This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us."
I John 3:16

It’s nice to be included. You aren’t always. Universities exclude you if you aren’t smart enough. Businesses exclude you if you aren’t qualified enough, and sadly, some churches exclude you if you aren’t good enough.

But though they may exclude you, Christ includes you. When asked to describe the width of his love, he stretched one hand to the right and the other to the left and had them nailed in that position so you would know he died loving you.

But isn’t there a limit? Surely there has to be an end to this love. You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But David the adulterer never found it. Paul the murderer never found it. Peter the liar never found it. When it came to life, they hit bottom. But when it came to God’s love, they never did.

1 of 365 devotionals in Grace for the Moment, Volume 2
Originally printed in He Choose the Nails

Family Pictures

We attempted family pictures in our backyard this past week. It was a nice day and the boys were in good moods (thanks to just waking up from naps and the promise of a yummy snack). As much as I enjoy taking pictures it's quite amazing that I've not been traumatized from my childhood. I remember taking family pictures as a kid and for some reason the "prayer card" picture was always the most stressful ;) For some reason that day I wouldn't want to be near Matt or Zach... 'she/he's touching me' or Matt wasn't standing up straight or Zach was looking away just as the picture was taken. Dad was whispering threats or giving us the little pinch under the arm. "You'd better smile and stand up straight or else" Hmmm... how many kids do you know feel like smiling after being pinched or threatened?!?!?!?! -LOL- Mom was always calm and collected. Ohhhh, I'm so much like my dad when it comes to pictures...thankfully, I know it. Maybe the madness can stop!!! hahaha! (Dad, I love ya!) I will say that there came a point where you heard, "ok, Nathan look here smile, Micah-hey lookey here, ok, DANNY.... look at the camera!" Do you see what I have to work with now?!? haha! Have a wonderful weekend.

-Krista-

Happy 4th of July!

We woke up to pouring rain. It's so nice and cool outside! The funny thing is that the American in me thought, "Ugh... it's raining on the 4th of July!" It's just not the typical, desired weather for such a summer holiday. There won't be any fireworks or grillin' out today. However, my new American friend, Angela has invited us over Friday night to a big hoop-la that she throws every year for the 4th. We'll be able to grill out and meet a lot of people she works with here in Graz. YEAH!

Prayer: Danny just left to meet someone who wants to look at our car. We're hoping to sell it before we leave in August so that we can save our money from now till our return and hopefully raise a little more to buy a car this Winter. If you don't know what I'm talking about--our car has been great! But it's smaller in the backseat and we need the leg room for adults who ride with us and for the kids carseats to fit better. It also would be nice to have airconditioning next summer. We've gone 3 years without one and it's getting hotter each year...or so it seems. haha!

Farm visit

Sunday afternoon we visited the farm of a friend (Sabine). Nathan had so much fun! He fed the goats and horses, took a ride on the horse, chased the ducks and geese, played with the dog, and was terrified of the baby chicks...yes, terrified. I was holding one on my hand and he begged me to return it to the warming cage and after I did, he shut the door... ok, he slammed it shut. I told him the chicks were more scared of him but that didn't seem to make him feel better. The strange thing was that he loved being on the horse and showed no fear of the large animal. Micah really could've cared less. The dog kept licking his feet. He was entertained mainly by watching Nathan run wild.

-Krista-