"What seemed overwhelming did not overwhelm her, for she believed that there was nothing she could not expect His wondrous kindness to do. 'He has been so kind about other things that we cannot doubt but that He will care for this too.' " Catherine Carmichael

(From A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot, on the life of Amy Carmichael)

Another Song

I used to sing "You are My Sunshine" to Kayla a lot at night before she went to sleep. When Samuel was just a newborn, she began to change the words as I sang. She still sings them occasionally. I never want to forget them so I am adding them here.

You are my Samuel, my only Samuel.

Samuel makes me happy, when Samuel smiles.

You'll never know, Samuel, how much I love

you Samuel.

Please don't take my Samuel away.

The Smell

I never think our house smells good. Actually, whenever I walk in I am wondering if it will smell good this time. But usually, I think it's kind of a stale smell. Not welcoming or homey. No one else's house smells badly to me. Just mine. So, while at Walmart today, I saw that Febreze Air Effects was on "rollback" and I bought some. Lavender vanilla & comfort. I was so excited. I knew this would make the house smell great.
So, as soon as we got home, before I even had all the groceries out of the car, I sprayed it. In the living room and the kitchen. Not on anyone, mind you. Just a little in the air. Immediately, Jack covers his nose, wrinkles his face, and says, "Aaarrgghh. What is that smell???" Brian grabs Samuel and says, "What is that? It smells terrible! Like an old ladies house!" Sigh.... I was so disappointed. I thought it smelled great. (Sarah: just like the lavender dryer sheets, which Brian also thought made our clothes smell like old lady clothes)
After dinner, everyone was outside so I thought I would try again, just to freshen things up. I sprayed a little and went out, too. Would anyone really notice? Yes.
Jack came in for something and then came right back out, face covered, and yelled, "Mom!!! It smells like someone has the stomach bug in there!"
I guess we are not a great advertisement for Fabreze.

Jack

Two little stories about Jack...
We were at Old Navy the other night to get flip-flops. It took him a long time to choose the ones he wanted and then to find the right size. Maybe because he was talking with another little boy about Spanish. Anyway, we were ready to check out and the cashier asked if we found everything we needed. I said "Yes." Jack propped his arms up on the counter and while nodding his head said, "Actually, I had a little trouble"
Yesterday we went for his 6 year well check. The nurse told him he needed to take off his shoes, shirt, and jeans. He said "What about my socks?" She said sure, take those off, too. So he took off the first one and said, "Oh man! I forgot to clean my toes!"

If It Had Been A...

Deer, lizards, and now....I almost stepped on it. A little brown snake curled up beside our back door. I yelled for Brian while I snapped pictures (which I did not post because I thought to myself..."Does anyone really want to see the snake?") Brian used the shovel to get rid of it-not as definitively as we had hoped. We thought it was dead but soon realized no. It survived.

Jack was fascinated. Kayla watched through the door for a while. Then everyone watched after Brian deposited it in the back of the yard.

The Three Muskateers

How hard is it to get a good picture? Very, when you have bongo-playing ballerina, a detective, and a darn cute little toddler!

Main Street

We used to live in the best place on earth, Bridgewater, VA. Every July, it's Lawn Party time, which means a typical country fair. Rides, food, tractor pulls, a junior tractor pull, even real sawmillng. Our favorite part was the parades. There are two- the Firemen's Parade and the Antique Tractor Parade. Early in the morning on the day of the parade (either one) people start putting their chairs out along Main Street in hopes of getting a great spot to watch that evening. By three or four o'clock that afternoon chairs are lined up as far as you can see. Some people leave them there after the parade and head to the Lawn Party. Others leave them over night for the next parade. Where else but Bridgewater?