Just ask...

This morning's sermon was given by Bridgetown Ministries Pastor Marshall Snider. As usual, I walked away reminded about how great God is and how He fills us for His glory alone. Marshall talked about asking God what's holding us from eternity (Mark 10:17-25) and took the story of the wealthy man beyond just monetary love. We're very sad to have had our last Sunday with our new (now past) worship Pastor Matt Cain. Matt shared about asking God to give you the opportunity to witness through love and demonstration and shared a moving experience he had this past week. After racing to get a tired girl down for a nap, pack up the car for my company picnic, get there (late) and then head home after wards with the list of what I needed to get done for the week tonight, I was wondering when I'd have a couple of quiet minutes to ask God about things and (quietly) wait upon His answer. On that note, Abi has gotten very active, loud and is just enjoying exploring her work. We have a small play structure which she was playing around today while I watered the flowers in the front yard and when I turned around, I saw that she had figured out how to crawl UP the slide. It was a WONDERFUL afternoon home with her and I'm grateful that Steven and I's marriage has been blessed by her. After dinner, I stripped Abi down since it was still over 80 degrees and let her splash in her little pool. Amidst her crazy splashing, drinking the water and going under (5 times of which all she coughed a bit and just went on splashing) the humming birds were zipping all around us. The lucifer plant is in full bloom and they really enjoy it. As Abi splash over next to me, I said Abi, "Look at the bird." Abi stopped splashing, quieted and looked up, the bird ate and then perched on a branch and just looked at us. For a solid 30 seconds (eternity with a near toddler), we just sat there quietly and watched the bird. Then Abi said, "Ugh?!" and the flying water commenced. Wow can God work fast in 30 seconds...

Pool time!

We've had crazy hot temperatures this past week reaching the high 90's a couple days. I filled a small pool in the backyard which was a life saver with Abi. As well, because she loves the water and splashed like a maniac, it doubled as the bathtub after dinner too. Here are a couple of the shots I captured this evening.

3 Abi "Things"

Abi of course is growing and learning new things each day. A few of the most recent "joys" are growling, standing up next to things, finding water (Buster's dish, the toilets, etc), pointing, waving and sticking her finger in her nose. With family around, we were able to capture growling, nose poking and blowing "raspberries" all in one!

Just over nine months...

Since Christine is visiting, I of course jumped at the chance to have her photograph Abi. If you've seen Christine's work or their blog, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Steven worked today, so Malcolm, Christine, Abi and I headed south to The Oregon Garden in Silverton and enjoyed a gorgeous day! Here are a couple of my favorites, with very minimal editing (my very novice eye and software only).

Olympic National Park

This past weekend, my brother Malcolm and his wife Christine arrived in town and we all packed up and headed to Port Angeles, WA to enjoy ONP and surrounding area. For you Twilight buffs, yes, we did visit Forks and ate at Bella Italia (good food!). We got lots of hikes in including Cape Flattery, Hurricane Ridge and through some of Hoh Rain Forest.

The weather cooperated and we only had drizzles one morning. Abi seems to enjoy her hiking pack and usually tackles the paths on Daddy's back. I'm definitely not the photographer in our family, so if you'd like to see stunning pictures of our trip, check out Malcolm & Christine's blog!