Elijah's Song

Kevin wrote a song. And it's my job to show it off right!!?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na1YEvpdC-Y

1.I run to the mountain to stand in that place, to stand in the presence where you fill my faith and the winds will come and the mountains move but I will stand in that place where you will pass by.

When I am troubled, when I’ve lost my way, when I can’t see you Lord, when I’ve lost my faith, when I feel that there is no way out, I need a glimpse of your face…

2.I run to the mountain, to stand in that place, to stand in the presence, of your holy-ness, and the earth will quake and the fire burn but I will stand in that place, where you will pass by.

When I am hurting, when I am torn when I am fearing and needing you more, you have left an open door so I can come to that place…

3.I run to the mountain, to stand in that place, to stand in the presence receiving your grace and I’ll hear your voice in a gentle wind when I will stand in that place, where you will pass by.

1 Kings 19:11
And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." 11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

Prayers Answered!!

So first off, the great news!! The baby is head down!!!
YYYEEEEEAAAHHHHH!!
YYIIIIPPPPEEEEE!!!
So it seemed like such drama getting into the Docs office. I guess we were just dealing with a nurse who just didnt know what to think of a person under the care of a midwife. We always do the first couple months care at the Docs office and then transfer to the midwife. So I already have a relationship with this office, SO... I really thought it would be no big deal. But it took a couple calls and a call from Dr. Deb, AKA good friend (been at her births, shes been at mine) to call as my 'physician liaison'. She made herself available to answer any concerns or clear up any questions so I could get an apointment quickly. That was last week.
SO today I went in and the Doc was so kind and considerate and right away saw that the head was down. So then it was to answer Kevin's heart desire: Was this a boy?
Now before I tell you, I must relate to you the first time we went to the midwife once this baby was big enough to feel moving around. She had to move the little Doppler 3 times cause the baby would kick and move away. So our joke was that the baby was very private.
Well turns out he/she really is. We could not get a single look at this baby's 'parts'. Its feet were up in my ribs and knees were together so we got a good look at it's bony little booty, but that's it.
So it is still a surprise!
And Kevin is still in suspense!

Our Family

So I just had to show off these beautiful new photos of our family that we had taken. My dearest friend Sarah is a very talented photographer and she does it on the side for a very reasonable price (subtle plug there) So feel free to contact me if you live in my area and want some great pics taken!

OK on to the pics!!

Family of Foxes

The Cute Couple

Mama and her Girls

Sweet Annelise

Lovely OliviaI love this Picture!

Whole family walking off into the sunset!!

And of course I love this one of Daddy and one of his Girls, and the one he posted earlier.

Aren't these all beautiful! Thank you Sarah!!!!!

Pragmatism!

Do you ever look at your life and question how you came to be at this point? I have.



Don't get me wrong, I love my wife and I love my children, and I'm not necessarily dissatisfied with where I am, but I never imagined my life quite like it is. I'm not saying that I had telepathic abilities as a child to unlock the mystery of my future, but I never dreamed of being a music teacher that I remember.



Annelise says she wants to be a Ballerina teacher and a mother. In fact, most little girls that are friends with her have similar aspirations; which, in my opinion are well within their reach. When I was a little boy, my friends wanted to be Major League Baseball players or NBA basketball players or sports car drivers or rock stars or actors. Are girls just more pragmatic than boys?

Perhaps there are levels of pragmatism and one can move between them arbitrarily, at will or subconsciously. What about dreams? Do you have dreams, or did you have dreams? That is, are they behind you or before you, or maybe you buried them and they're nowhere to be seen. What is the purpose of those dreams? Are they God given or selfish ambition, a dream from your parent placed on you or environmentally influenced? More importantly, are they(the dreams) part of who you are, or chosen outside the scope of personality and ability.


If someone is extremely good at sports, recognized by many others, is it impractical for them to pursue the NBA or NFL? Someone once said to me, "Shoot for the stars and if you land on the moon then its still OK."


At times I feel as though pragmatism is caught like the flu. You catch it from well meaning people that have become content and pleased with their own practicality and think that you would be wise to do so yourself. Or perhaps their dreams were broken and they want to save you from the same fate.


When it comes to my children and their dreams, I have resolved to scrape off every last bit of pragmatism, practicality, fall-back-on thinking and encourage them to pursue those dreams and even move past calling them dreams and call them goals, and write them down and give them due dates, and come up with a plan to reach those goals, wow that's sounds pragmatic doesn't it! Though my method may be, my advice won't be, and then comes my part! Support. Encourage. Pray!

Annelise-future Mommy, Ballerina Teacher and Brain Surgeon

Olivia-Future Mommy, Adventurer(Missionary) and Veterinarian

Pragmatism:–adjective-of or pertaining to a practical point of view or practical considerations.

Prayer Request

Well we went to the midwife today, which I always enjoy doing. It makes for a nice little day trip cause we get to go to Austin and sometimes we do something after we visit with her. The girls love going to these appointments and hearing the baby's heart beat and chatting Ms. Laurie's ear off. I love going and chatting Ms. Laurie's ear off!
I am 6 weeks away from the due date and the baby is still head up it seems. I had suspicions that that was the case, but what do I know!--turns out I might know something!
So Laurie, our midwife wants us to go get an ultra sound to find out for sure if it is or isn't breech. We don't even know for sure that there is something to be concerned about yet.
This pregnancy for me has been a constant test of me just trusting, and I am ashamed to say I have failed the test I think. I have spent a lot of this pregnancy being anxious at least under the surface. If any little thing arose, I became anxious, and yes each time I exerted much effort to choose to trust in the Lord, but yet the next test arrived and I would face it once again with anxiety. SO this is no different, and although my good friend Dr. Deb assured me that there is every likelihood that this baby will turn on its own by the time the day arrives, our plan for home birth has to take this into serious consideration and prayer.
I would love all of you to pray with me for this baby to be head down when we do get an ultra sound, and if it isn't that it would turn.
I would also ask that you all be supportive in prayer and words what ever we feel comfortable doing as the birth of this baby draws closer. I am sitting here debating whether or not to even post because I am afraid of having to be on the defence of what decision we may make. Of course I know you all love us and any concerns you express would be with the best intentions, but you understand right!? I did hours in the library researching before Annelise was born at home, and of course will be just as educated in this instance. But the most important thing to me is that what ever decision be made based out of trust and not out of fear.
So all that to say: pray for this baby to "turn, turn, turn"--get it?!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lgtCJAWfrk&NR=1
Kevin put this song on today and said it was for the baby, so we all laughed and danced in our pajamas--- well the girls were in theirs!

Our Fun Day

So going on a vacation isn't an option this summer, but we've had some Fun Days, and yesterday was one! We started off the day with a trip to I-HOP, mmm and I had way more than my pregnant belly should hold, but it was good! And the girls felt like it was such a treat!

Then we headed to Waco for a trip to the Children's Museum. Every Wed this summer they visit a different continent. Last time we went it was Africa and they had African Dancers. Annelise was gyrating for weeks! And now won't stop asking when we are going to Africa!

But this time we visited the continent of Australia. the first activity was playing The Moco the Gecko game. Geckos are called Mokos in Australia and they eat bugs (that's what the girls are doing here!)

They were able to see a Cocktail live (they are native to Australia) and Annelise wasn't even scared. They were totally in awe!

The most fun to me was seeing the Didgeridoo played. He had a slide show of all the beautiful faces of the Native Aborigine people. He talked a lot about how they were one with nature and honestly, my first reaction was that he was a little out in left field. But as he continued talking, I listen to him speaking about how all of nature has a rhythm and we just have to listen, because all of nature was created by the great mysteries. And although it all sounds a little new age, the truth is, our God is a mystery. He is unbelievably personal, and yet such a mystery. AND He did create all of earth to glorify him, if the rocks can cry out, then maybe all of creation does have a rhythm. Anyway, just my thoughts on the Didgeridoo dude. No pic of him cause we didn't have good seats to see, but we could hear and it was awesome!

We did some fun crafts then headed home for naps! It was our fun little day!

And for all of you who I am so sorry didn't know we were expecting, I had Kevin take a preggo pic of me this evening. So yeah, just a little pregnant! Please know that there were way too many of you than I'd like to admit that didn't know we were pregnant. After our loss last fall, I think we were just more reserved on sharing the news, and then it got to be so normal for us, we forgot we hadn't made any big announcement!

Well this is it for now!

Our Lovely Yard

We have a lovely yard, all thanks to Kevin. Hes worked so hard on it I wanted to show off on his behalf!! We bought this house with a yard that is just about 1/3 acre. It was a rental property for years and years before us, so needless to say, the yard was in sad shape.
Now doesn't that look lovely!! Our street is wonderfully covered in trees...except our yard! Now we do have a couple but there were stumps all over. WHY?!! WHY!?! So we have planted a couple so we match the rest of the street...in ten years!
Here is the front flower bed, I can't tell you what all of it is, but that it's growing beautifully, and Olivia and Oliver the cat enjoy it too!
This is the bed next to the front porch... the flowers are much bushier now.
On the other side of the yard are our two big trees, and oak and a magnolia, and here are my girls enjoying the magnolia:
Annelise is jumping trying to touch those pretty leaves, while Daddy put Olivia in the branches and she settled right in. She did not want down!!
Well this is our lovely front yard. I'll add another post about our delish garden in the back yard next.
Aren't I blessed!!

Thank You Meemaw!

Thank you Meemaw for the Dora shirts! They were a hit just as you guessed! I know you'd rather see them in person, but here's the next best thing!
And now the model pose!

Our New Pets

Well, they're actually not that new. We bought them in the springtime with the hopes of getting eggs in the fall...can you guess what they are?!! Yep, chickens!

This was their first home in our home...yes as one neighbor said "Oh my goodness, you have livestock in your living room!" We started with 5 cute little chicks....

This is their first time outside in a little chicken wire pen. I couldn't tell who was more excited, the chicks or the girls!! And I have to tell you, those dresses I made from fabric that cost me 50 cents at a garage sale! So effectively these dresses cost a quarter a piece! Not really cause elastic and ribbon and thread... but still! And I love them!

This is what I call the awkward teen stage, no longer cute at all!! Not yellow and fluffy but not yet all white feathers...they looked awkward! You can see the beginnings of what turned out to be the rooster.

So I just have to brag on Kevin. He made a little home for our chicks on the side of our house. The only money we had to spend was to build the fence, which we wanted to do anyway. He used a shed that came from a neighbor for free, and old screen windows to make the doors that open and close. It may not sound or look like a big deal, but he worked so hard and my brain would have never come up with how to put that all together.. now I can think of ways to make it pretty!....but then so can he! He planted a floering vine on one side that will over grow the shed, it'll be real cute soon enough!

So we gave the Rooster which we had named Larry to some friends that actually live in the country as we assumed our suburban neighbors would not appreciate his morning wake up call. Kevin and Annelise were the saddest to see him go, and well the Hens of course! Then we lost one to some unknown assassin. We thought it might be our kitty Oliver who lives outside because he received a mysterious gaping wound to his chin about the same time. But I like to think he was attacking the assassin, defending the poor little chicky. Besides how can a cat that lazies on the porch as the chickens peck all around him turn into their enemy? Ah well, some mysteries will never be solved! So here they are now. Aren't they so pretty. Lucy, Lulu, and Lexi. Annelise picked the names so take no offence if you know a human counterpart that would rather not share a name with fowl!!
And here is a close up of our pretty little chickie! I know, we are weirdos! My friend Sarah says she wants to watch chicken run with us, she swears it'll be even more funny!

Fun Day With Cousin Bailey

And Papa Fred, Gran Ann, and Aunt Camille (oh and we can't forget our new little nephew, though he spent most time in the stroller!!) although there is not as much proof of them being there! Aunt Camille and Bailey live only an hour or so away, but unfortunately we don't take advantage of that as often as we should. But earlier this summer (sinse I'm playing catch up here)while the grandparents were visiting we went to a little place called Kiddie Acres. It is all miniature rides that take up a morning and was perfect fun for these stair step cousins! First came the boat ride...
Then it was time for the Ferris Wheel. Thank you Aunt Camille for riding in that little wobbly looking contraption!!! My preggo body would've done it in I'm sure!!
Next came the train ride. Oh goodness Olivia was experiencing heaven on earth!! A 'real' ChooChoo!! This time it was Kevin who squeezed in...isn't he cute! And thank you Kiddie Acres for not charging the adults!

And then the Merry Go Round, Annelise's Favorite! And the airplanes, that was my favorite! It was so cute to see them with the propellers blowing their hair, I loved it!

The car rides were fun, but its what came next...Oh Yes!! Pony Rides!! My girls were sooo sooo excited!! Olivia helps Daddy go feed the horses often so she was thrilled, and Annelise was soo brave and just giggled the whole time. It was so fun!! Thank you Aunt Camille for suggesting such a fun day, and thanks Gran Ann and Papa Fred for making such a fun day possible (even though there is no evidence of your presence in the pics!!)

Being a Conscious Parent

It's so interesting, having the two girls that I have...

Kevin and I had many discussions before we had children and as we have had them, about what we needed to do in order to raise them to be confident and unafraid...like Kevin. He is never intimidated by anything, where as I would rather not even try if it looks too difficult. So here we are with two beautiful girls raised in the same household, with obviously similar experiences although they couldn't be exactly the same.

And of course we are trying our hardest to make biblical foundations a norm in our life, praying when someones sick, worshipping, bible stories...you know. But i believe that the Lord entrusted these particular children to me, with all their individuality's, so therefore i have to be conscious of those things in parenting. And can i just say, sometimes i feel too tired (code for LAZY) or too distracted, or too task oriented to be that. But we are trying.

It started as a conversation with my sister (who i m so blessed is going to UMHB so our relationship could be deepened..i mean that's not WHY she went there but...I'm glad she did!). Anyway, she was commenting on Olivia's adventuresome spirit and how she hopes that is never stifled. I mean at 16 months if not earlier this girl was playing on the playground with out any fear, doing things my 3 year old wouldn't attempt, and now at 2 1/2 ... you can only imagine! Anyway we got to talking and it was my Ah-hah moment! I realized how much Olivia was already like Kevin, no mountain too high. Where Annelise was already like me, intuitive, sensitive and a little nervous. How interesting that these traits were already so profound in my two girls. and so what does that mean for Kevin and I.

It means we recognize the weaknesses and strengths in each of these and call out the strengths and combat the weaknesses.

In my sweet Annelise it means I have to be aware of all my comments and how she may perceive them. I have to encourage her at every opportunity and i may have to sacrifice a little (WHAT!!) and try things with her in order to assure her of her own abilities. I will have to find the delicate balance in pushing her to do something i know she can do, and not pushing so hard that she feels already overcome. And i will nurture her sensitivity and empathy that she naturally possesses and speak the truth of who she is, who God says she is. And i have to be on my face praying for wisdom and grace, and truth to speak over her. I get excited thinking about it! Now in my trailblazer Olivia I will have to do most all the same things, except I will have to be more relaxed and let her try things on her own. She will most likely teach herself to ride a bike and I will have to wring my hands without her seeing! ***Side note here, a woman that has sinse moved to a differnt church blessed me with an encouragement from the Lord at Olivias baby shower, I can't recall the exact words and I don't want to look it up, but it basically said not to worry no harm would come to her. The Lord knew I would need that!!! Thanks Jill!***I have to be aware of the independent often rebelliousness that can accompany her exploratory nature and be quick to nip it in the bud. And I have to praise her for being unafraid and speak the truth of who she is, who God says she is. And I have to be on my face praying again! OOOH I get even more excited!--maybe started to feel overwelmed, but thats it's the Lord in me, right!!?

And baby #3...I can only imagine and pray for wisdom to parent him/her consciously too. Oh man do I need help.