Baby Charlotte...

My friend, Jenn, had a baby on Monday. Charlotte Ruth. She's absolutely adorable.

Jenn's one of those women of God who fuels my faith. She has a sparkle. Sparkles mean a lot to me because they come only when you have a passion for Jesus. It's cool.

Baby Charlotte is having a pretty big operaton tomorrow morning. Her heart's plumbing doesn't work the way it should, so she's going into surgery at 7am for some work. I'm praying for Charlotte and her mom and dad and big brother.

God is big. Very, very big. God is good. Very, very good. No matter how He chooses to use Charlotte's life, I know it will be for His glory. But tonight in Bible study, I learned that Jesus taught us to pray with "chutzpa--reckless bravery, audacity." So that's how I'm going to pray.

Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give
him a snake instead? Or it he askes for an egg, will give him a scoprion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to
those who ask him! (Luke 11:11-13)

I find it interesting that Jesus summed up good gifts at the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit, we have direct access to all the resources of God, the presence of God, and the wisdom of God. The Holy Spirit is the Gift that keeps on giving. He is One through whom all that God has for His children is distributed. (Jennifer Kennedy Dean. Secrets Jesus Shared..., 155-156)

Trigger finger...

It's a bad picture to begin with, but if you look at the palm of my hand, you'll see a little dot underneath my middle finger. That's where the orthopedist injected the steriod shot.

Since this spring I've had pain at the base of my middle finger when I grip the steering wheel. And over the past couple of weeks I've been blogging, editing, writing, and surfing the net kind of a lot. Last week, it started hurting almost all the time.

To make a very long and literally painful story short, I have Trigger Finger. You can click the link and read all the lovely ins and outs if you're that enthralled by tendon nodules that click and ultimately cause the hand to freeze in a closed position.

I've had the injection. If that doesn't work, the next step is surgery. Maybe. We'll see. Typing hurts a little. Using the mouse is excruciating.

Although I'm sneaking a little time online late tonight, I'm realizing that maybe the Lord's trying to tell me something... like, "Get out of the virtual world and into the real world."

Either that or He really doesn't want me in a gun fight with Chuch Norris. :-D

And Zack...

While the big kids were at camp, Zack got a camera that takes pictures underwater. Here's one...

Kelsey's Impact...

On her way back from the swim test... guessing she swam like a duck? Impact was a highlight of the summer. She LOVES being with her friends and JD is her new favorite speaker of all time! It was awesome to hear that he spoke on things we've dealt with in our family. And he did it in a Jesus-loving way. How cool is that?

They really do love each other...

...here's photographic evidence!

Zane's hat...

Zane came home from Impact with a passion for Jesus and a new hat...

June...

June blew by in a flurry of activity. Here are a couple of highlights...

June began with much time at the pool. Zack started swimming lessons with Katie. Kelsey worked up a mondo tan. Zane started conditioning for football. It was beautiful, but shady at the pool. On June 16th, we had three trees cut down, making it gloriously sunny all over.

June 9th was my birthday. The birthday elves found me... even though we don't live in the old neighborhood anymore. I love the birthday elves. They are some of my favorite people.

June 21st rolled around and Kelsey turned 14. Her celebration was a year-late lunch with two of her best buds from the old neighborhood. There'll be a post on that one alone later. It was hilarious!


Zack got a new friend from Build-a-bear... Dino! Dino came to live with us as a result of Kelsey and Zane leaving to go to camp. See below...


Impact! Kelsey and Zane journeyed to Camp Bob Cooper with our youth group for Kelsey's third and Zane's first Impact camp. It was an amazing time for both. Neat reinforcement of lessons we've been learning at home. Jimmy & I served as Impact @ Home coordinators and sent out prayer requests to the parent prayer team and worked with in-home parent meetings while the kids were away.

We finished the month as we started it... hanging out by the pool. We're really starting to love this pool. We come together as a family and have a ton of fun everytime we're in it. What a blessing!