Sweet Little Lili

"The light of the righteous shines bright..." Proverbs 13:9

Lili had so much fun taking pictures with my camera. She would take a picture of her dolly and then preview it saying, "awww...that's so cute!"

Sounds like a perfect resolution for 2011:

"I’m tired of theological debate. Let’s go out: go and live deliberately; love deeply; serve humbly; laugh wildly; embrace kindly; share without measure. You are the package the Gift is wrapped in. Rivers of living water will flow from your innermost being. Christ is in you: the expectation of glory." - Willem Boshoff

YOU ARE THE PACKAGE THE GIFT IS WRAPPED IN!

Quote by Betty Smith

"Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first time or last time.

Then your time on earth will be filled with glory."

"They come through you but not from you..."

"Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit,
not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that
is stable."

-- Kahlil Gibran

✿✿HaPpY BiRtHdAy, Miss Sophie✿✿

You stole our hearts the first time we laid eyes on you...

5 years old! Ta-da!

for Melanie-Pearl:

For the Artist at the Start of the Day

May morning be astir with the harvest of night;
Your mind quickening to the eros of a new question,
Your eyes seduced by some unintended glimpse
That cut right through the surface to a source.

May this be a morning of innocent beginning,
When the gift within you slips clear
Of the sticky web of the personal
With its hurt and its hauntings,
And fixed fortress corners,

A Morning when you become a pure vessel
For what wants to ascend from silence,

May your imagination know
The grace of perfect danger,

To reach beyond imitation,
And the wheel of repetition,

Deep into the call of all
The unfinished and unsolved

Until the veil of the unknown yields
And something original begins
To stir toward your senses
And grow stronger in your heart

In order to come to birth
In a clean line of form,
That claims from time
A rhythm not yet heard,
That calls space to
A different shape.

May it be its own force field
And dwell uniquely
Between the heart and the light

To surprise the hungry eye
By how deftly it fits
About its secret loss.

John O'Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

Old photos

Melanie gave me this picture on Christmas Day of my Grandfather Jost and his 7 brothers. I just love seeing pictures I have never seen before--especially of people I love. I was only 4 years old when he died, but I remember being held by him. He was 6'2" and he is the shortest one in the back row. Must be where my brother got his height. I love to look at this picture because I can see my Dad in Grandpa--I can see my brother in him--and I can see my nephew in him. Grandpa died in 1954 and I still love him. Love that amazing feeling.

Grandpa is the 3rd boy from the left, 2nd row

Was Jesus Born on December 25? (from Perry Stone Ministries)

Jewish Holy Days: The Making of a Baby

Zola Levitt discovered an amazing correlation between Jewish Holy Days and the gestation of a human baby, from conception to birth. While preparing for writing a book for new parents, Zola contacted a gynecologist for some help in understanding gestation. During that session, the gynecologist showed him a series of pictures, pointed to the first one (an egg and a sperm) and said, "On the fourteenth day of the first month, the egg appears." The statement struck a chord in his Jewish mind because that was the date of Passover. He remembered the roasted egg on his family table every Passover. Now, for the first time, he knew what it meant! Not wanting to lead the gynecologist off from the subject at hand, he didn't say anything, but continued to listen.

The gynecologist continued: "The egg must be fertilized within 24 hours, or it will pass on." This reminded Zola of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the seed or grain that "fell into the ground and died" in order to produce a harvest, the first-fruits of which was presented to God.

Next, the gynecologist said, "Within two to six days, the fertilized egg attaches itself to the wall of the womb and begins to grow." And, sure enough, the Jewish evangelist thought, "The Feast of First-fruits is observed anywhere from two to six days after Passover!"

Next, he was shown a photo of an embryo showing arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, a head, eyes, etc. The caption said, "Fifty days." The gynecologist continued, "Around the fiftieth day, the embryo takes on the form of a human being. Until then, we don't know if we have a duck or a tadpole." Zola thought, "That's Pentecost!"

The next picture showed the embryo at seven months. The gynecologist said, "On the first day of the seventh month, the baby's hearing is developed. For the first time, it can hear and distinguish sounds outside the womb." Zola knew that was the date for the Jewish Festival of Trumpets.

The gynecologist continued, "On the tenth day of the seventh month, the hemoglobin of the blood changes from that of the mother, to a self-sustaining baby." Zola thought, "That's the Day of Atonement, when the blood was taken into the Holy of hollies!"

Next, the gynecologist said, "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the lungs become fully developed. If born before then, the baby would have a hard time breathing." And Zola thought, "That's the festival of Tabernacles, a time of celebrating the Temple, home of the Shekinah glory or Spirit of God." In the New Testament, the Greek term pneuma, normally translated as "breath," is applied to the "Holy Spirit."

Birth takes place on the tenth day of the ninth month. Eight days after birth, in Jewish families, a son is circumcised. Zola noted that the eight days of Hanukkah are celebrated right on schedule, EIGHT months and ten days after Passover.

does this kid ever stand still?

Sophie's Christmas Program @ Hope

❤❤Christmas 1954❤❤

❤❤HaPpY BiRtHdAy, Lili Ruth❤❤

Some of my favorite pictures of Lili...

String the pearls of God's favor...

Rescued Hummingbird

Lullaby from "Hereafter"

Hauntingly beautiful...

Thursday at Zamma's

Lili always starts at the left of the paint box and works her way very methodically to the left.

He is such a noisy boy!

The Thunderbirds -- September 2010 (KT's pics)

Make a digital slideshow

Another happy animal (Giraffe) by Sophie...

Sophie's Butterfly

This picture just makes me smile : )

Sophie drew this picture yesterday. I just love the way she drew the horse. Have you ever seen such a happy horse? And what is with the way she draws herself and Michele? The tummy seems to be a very important part of the person! Anyway, she & Michele are very happy in this drawing. She even has a turquoise rubberband around her ponytail! Just love that girl!

Lucky #9

Cutest picture ever of this little guy:

Personalize a greeting

C.S. Lewis quote...

"We read to know that we are not alone."

One of my favorite songs...

"O great mystery and sacrament"

Psalm 91 for the Haiti Team...

(Matt & Jason on the right)
Psalm 91
You who sit down in the High God's presence, spend the night in Shaddai's shadow,
Say this: "God, you're my refuge.
I trust in you and I'm safe!"
That's right—he rescues you from hidden traps,
shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you—
under them you're perfectly safe;
his arms fend off all harm.
Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night,
not flying arrows in the day,
Not disease that prowls through the darkness,
not disaster that erupts at high noon.
Even though others succumb all around,
drop like flies right and left,
no harm will even graze you.
You'll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,
watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God's your refuge,
the High God your very own home,
Evil can't get close to you,
harm can't get through the door.
He ordered his angels
to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they'll catch you;
their job is to keep you from falling.
You'll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
and kick young lions and serpents from the path.
(The Message)

Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
"He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
"With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.
(New American Standard)

Lili won! Pretty Little Princess

Sophie kept making silly faces--I tried to get one good one...

Sister love

My bike ride this morning...

I love this back yard--see the hammock? I see this place every day--sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening, but I have yet to see anyone in this yard. I will show you the front yard as soon as I can get a chance to take a picture--there always seems to be someone working in the flowerbeds.

I see these bronze kids playing on this waterfall every morning, too.

Noisy Little Boy

Pretty front doors I see on my bike rides in the A.M.

I like to move it, move it by Lili Ruth