Our First Family Vaccation

We took our first family vaccation last month. I am just now starting to forget it was a disaster and remeber all the fun times. We went to Glenwood Springs. Only about a 3 hour drive from here, but longer than the kids could handle. We had to stop in Aspen to have lunch at Wendy's, let Katie stretch her legs and feed the baby. I swear the Wendy's in Aspen charges double!! This is where Scott messed up his first of only 3 pairs of pants he brought when Katie smeared ketchup all over his leg. No big deal, we are going to be gone only a couple days and he has 2 more pair, right?

Once we finally arrived in Glenwood Springs it started pouring cats and dogs! Anything we planned on doing that night was ruined. We attempted going to the Caverns that night, but we decided the Gondala ride would be better when we could enjoy the view.

So, we started our vaccation by going to the hotel resturant for dinner. Two entrees were included in our package. So, he had a nice steak and I orderd the crab legs (yummy!) But everything cann't be perfect. TJ started fussing right about the time our dinners came, I think I might have gotten one crab leg in. So I walked back and forth from the hotel lobby to the resturant. Just about the time I have him calmed down and we are heading back I hear Katie coughing and then puking, all over her dad. There goes the second pair of pants. So, I dropped TJ off with his dad and took Katie back to the room to change her. Just as I am getting back to the resturant again Scott has paid and is leaving with TJ. He forgot my baked potato and somehow expected me to eat crab legs by hand. Needless to say, I was pretty hungry that night.

The next day was much better, but not for Scott's pants. At breakfast TJ grabbed daddy's bowl of cereal and dumped it in his lap... there goes the last pair of pants only 18 hours into vaccation.

After getting redressed, we went to the Glenwood Caverns. We always said the next time we went back we would do the wild tour... oh well. Katie was a little scared and wouldn't let daddy put her down. TJ slept through almost all of it. At the very end he woke up pretty hungry and screaming. Caves are not conducive to nursing and having been on the tour before I knew we were almost done and he could wait it out. But some girl (she might have been all of 18) asked if I had food for him, because he sounded hungry. Really? Genious! Why didn't I think of that, but oh drat, I left my breasts at home. Anyway, the caves were still fun and they now have a gondola that takes you up to them. Last time, they just had buses running up. It was a great view of the mountians and Glenwood Springs. Plus a great place to sit and feed the baby.

After that we had lunch and took our turns getting massages. Ah, that was nice half an hour with no screaming kids. When I got back from my massage TJ was up, but Katie was still sleeping, so I took TJ in the pool to keep him quiet. He loved it!

That night we went to a cute little French American Bistro. Way to nice to take the kids to (we were a little mislead about that,) but they did great. Katie was on her BEST behavior. She barely touched her $6 pizza, but she was good. So, after lunch we took her to the park. She had a great time swinging and throwing gravel. She screamed "Ye Haw" on the spring horse. That might have been her favorite part of the whole trip.

The last day was hot springs day, I don't think we realized what a short day that would be. Sure the kids had fun, for a little while, but they got bored awfully fast. Live and learn right. Neither of us could do any swiming either, because we each had to hold one of them all the time. There was a wadding pool Katie got to go in by herself, but she couldn't move in it with out falling down.

So, then had some GREAT pizza and we headed home. The kids slept the whole way home. I then made Katie's birthday cake and we celebrated with our small group.

Kids know so much more than we ever did

I was just on my sister's blog. My 10 year old, sister's blog. Now, sure she started it, because I had one, but come on now. I didn't get my first computer until I was almost 12. And I certianly didn't go on the internet with it. I didn't have email or know how to surf the web til I went to college. Sure, we had to type papers in high school, maybe even us the computer in the school libray to look for books or articles for a research paper. I think I remeber when I was about her age working on an Apple. The big block cursor and the green screen. We have 2 games, one math one and one word one. These computers had poor if any graphics. Oregon Trail... ahh the memories. Everyone played Oregon Trail, because that was all there was. Not only are my much younger sisters much more computer literate than we ever were, but look at their video games. My sisters have a GameCube (way better than Xbox, PS2 is ok though) I am happy to say I at least didn't have Pong. I had an Atari (and a few less memorabe systems) and my favorite game was Adventure where you (a square- and I don't mean dork) moved around, picking up objects by running into them, looking for this special urn that changed colors (now that was cool.) Sure your argument my be that times change, technology changes, kids have to change with it. But what ever happened to stick ball?, finding lizards and frogs?, riding bikes?, rolling down hills?, or just going to the park? I have 2 young kids I like to take to the park, but it seems there are very few kids there, but more parks than ever. Wow, I got off on quite the tangent! Anyway, my point being I think a 10 year old is to young to have a blog or me on the internet without a parent over their shoulder. My parents never would have let me do these things, but wait . . . these are my parents.

March

I just finished a great book, March by Geraldine Brooks. It is a spin off of Little Women, this story is about the father and his trials as he is away from the family as a chaplin during the Civil War. It took a little while to get into, and there was a couple chapters near the end where they change the 1st person point of view, and then change it back. That was anoying. But over all I thought it was a great book. I down loaded it for my MP3 player to listen to at the gym. Scott got me a membership to audible.com so I can listen to books while I work out. He doesn't understand how I can work out to a book, but I like it. Anyway, that is my review for this week. Now I am listening to another Joyce Meyers book, but this one isn't natated by her, so I am not as into this one yet. I will let you know more when I finish it.

The Message of Malachi: Be Ready

Here are my notes on my study of Malachi. I appolagize as they are pretty hard to follow, but now I have them all typed up where I can access them. Let me know if you want clarification on something.

Outline comes from Wilkenson Talk through the Bible

3:1-4

When God says "You are dead." The response is "WHAT?!?!" (Dead religion) Malachi is explaining why there is dead religion. Autopsy to dead religion= when we don't know what happened. The anwser to dead religion is Jesus

I. Insenitivity to grace

A. Defining lova as only what you have done for me lately 1:2
II. Insencere Worship

A. We show honnor to our fathers, bosses ect, but not to God 1:6
III. Instability of families

A. True religion shows up at home 2:10

B. So much divorce unfaithfulness

C. Loose religion and worship
IV. Inaccurate view of God

A. This life at its worst is the best it will be for the ungodly

B. This life at its best is the worst it will be for the Godly
V. Insuficiant giving

A. 3:8-12 Give as God has laid it on your heart (needed car, wreck after wreck)
VI. Inproper reasons for serving

A. Dead religion (loving myself)

B. Want a "thank you" or some personal gain from service (it is all about me)
VII. Inpentance

A. 3:17 Arrogant in how they are living

B. Defensive 3:2

The anwser to dead religion is Jesus

Malachi= my messanger 4 messanger refrences

1:1- Malachi

2:7- Preist

3:1- John the Baptist

Every believer in the new testament = preist ib the old testament

Repersent to God everyday where ever you are

Mathew 11:10

Who he is 3:3

What he does 3:4-6

John prepares the way for the Lord

3:1 See, I will send my messenger [John], who will prepare the way before me [Lord]

2:17 By saying, "All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them" or "Where is the God of justice?" [God of justice-Not neccisarily in this life]

3:1 the messenger of the covenant [angle of the Lord]

Genisis 16 7- 14

7 The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.
9 Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." 10 The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."
11 The angel of the LORD also said to her: "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."
13 She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi ; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

Genisis 22:9-15

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram [a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring [b] all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

Exodus 3:2 Keeps his covenant

Numbers 22:22-35 the angle of the Lord is described 10 times

I see this and I care submit to it

The Lord will provide

I fullfil my covanent (all covenants)

Did not fullfill them they way they expected at the time

3:2 Cleansing and purity for his people (1st coming)

3:5 Judgment for those not his (2nd coming) Sorrccers, adulters, white liars, bad bosses, not hospitable to strangers

1 Corinthians but you are washed (Jesus is coming again to refine and give justice)

4:1-6

Biblical viewpoint- Malachi: Start with an autopsy to dead religion, anwser to dead religion, and antithisis of dead religion

The Day of the Lord

Chapter 4 v 1-3 described v 4-6 applied

v1: Distruction of the wicked

v2: Coming of the Lord

v3: Healing of the Godly

2 Peter 3:10 Ezekiel 22:4 Zephaniah 1:9

v4: remember and obey

v5: Believe

v6: Repent

Our Little Angel

This is our little angel. She loves to swing and slide and well... do anything as long as she is outside. Can you believe she is 2 already? It goes by so fast.

Somewhere under all those prunes is my beautiful baby boy. He is growing a lot, so SOMETHING must be getting into his little belly.

Beautiful Morning

Ever noticed how beautiful it is first thing in the morning? Right when it starting to get light out, but the sun isn't up yet. All the birds are chirping away (we even have baby birds in the lilac bushes). I was just sitting there nursing TJ back to sleep and thought, "why go back to bed? It is going to be a beautiful day." I am sure I will regret it come nap time after the 3 kids have worn me out and one little stinker decides not to sleep while the others are sleeping. As fot right now though, they all look like little angles, and the world is just waking up. It just feels like a great day to be alive.

Malachi

Ah, an interesting topic since I have to start all over. I am finally getting to really explore this book. How much is there to explore in 4 chapther book? More than one might think. My brother-in-law's pastor gave an amazing sermon on this book right before Christmas. I was hooked, now one of many favorite books of the bible. Check it out and let me know if you are as provoked by this book as I am.