Simply Funny

I've been posting a lot these past two days, but these pictures were just too funny. I had to show you. I spiked her hair. Also, I wanted to show you how strong she is. Look at her trying to lift her head up!

So many visitors!

Riley's been busy meeting lots of people. Here are the pictures to prove it:


Frieda (Josh's Grandma) and Riley


Mimi (my mom) and Riley


Uncle Justin (my brother-in-law) and Riley


Roy and Riley


Lt. Kevin and Riley


Sandra (my aunt) and Riley


James (my cousin) and Riley


Kaitlyn and Riley


Julie and Riley


Zac and Riley


Pedro and Riley


Nina and Riley


Becca and Riley


Rachel, Tim, and Riley
They're expecting a baby in February!


Carol and Riley

Three Rotisserie Chickens

I'm learning a lot through my Experiencing God class this semester. One of the main topics of the course is "God speaks." We all know stories from the Old Testament about how God spoke to Moses in a burning bush, He told Noah to build an ark, and He promised to make Abram into a great nation.

But so many people claim that He doesn't speak anymore.

Of course He does!

As children of God, we now have the Holy Spirit living in us, guiding us, teaching us, and speaking to us. (see John 14 and 16)

If you don't believe me, continue reading.

Last week I was encouraged and inspired by a friend's seemingly normal trip to the grocery store. She is a God-fearing lady who truly lives in community with her Savior. She strives to use everything God gives her to serve Him, including her finances and food. She budgets wisely and manages to feed her family of six (and tons of guests) on a relatively small amount of money.

Anyways, I stopped by her house on Thursday (or was it Wednesday... I can't remember) and she excitedly asked me if I would like to take home a rotisserie chicken for dinner.

Yummy! Of course I said yes.

She quickly explained that she was at the grocery store and she felt God telling her to buy three rotisserie chickens. "Really God? Three?!" was her response.

But she obeyed.

And she said that God soon showed her why she was supposed to buy three chickens instead of one. Sadly, one of her friend's husband was diagnosed with cancer (or already had cancer... again, I can't remember the details, but I don't want to lie), but because she had the chicken, she was able to bless them with a dinner. And then I stopped by and she had been wanting to bring me a meal since Riley was born, so she was able to do so that day without any problems.

She told this story very quickly like it was no big deal. But it was a big deal to me. I want to be able to hear God at the grocery store. I want to be able to hear Him wherever I am!

God, thank you for speaking to us, and thank you for using my friend to encourage me to know You better so I can learn to hear Your voice.

3am

I have a really easy baby. I can take her anywhere and she rarely fusses.

However, she seems to have her days and nights mixed up. She sleeps wonderfully during the day and then she's awake at night.

Or it might be that she just loves being held and cuddled. She's held most of the day, and then at night we try to put her down. Inevitably, she screams.

Either way, her nighttime crying is teaching me some good lessons.

Here's what happened a few nights ago:

It was 3am and I had been trying to calm Riley down since midnight. I had tried everything I knew (and trust me, I've been asking tons of moms for advice about what to do when she cries at night) and nothing seemed to be working. I was exhausted and I was getting frustrated, so I knew I needed some "God time."

I decided to plop Riley in my lap (on her boppy) and start journaling. My journal entries are almost always prayers to God. After I released my emotions and begged God for patience, I started quoting truth to myself. Here's an excerpt from that journal entry:

"God, You are pursuing me in all of this. You love me in all of this. And You love Riley too. God, help me to love Riley the way You do. Goodness, You don't get upset with me when I am crying and I need You. I can come to You anytime of the day or night. So I needn't get upset with Riley when she's crying and she needs me, no matter what time of day it is."

I continued journaling for a long time, reminding myself that God is my strength and I don't have to rely on my own energy to meet Riley's needs. God showed me a lot about myself and my relationship with Him that night, and He showed me several areas in my life that I need to let Him change and mold to become more Christlike.

But the main thing that God taught me that night was about flexibility. I tend to be a "schedule" person; I like to have a certain time to do everything and I don't necessarily enjoy messing up my schedule. How silly of me! And just plain sinful, too.

First of all, my time is not my own anyways. My life belongs to Christ, so my time does too. Secondly, flexibility is required in order to be available to be in God's will. As I look for ways that God is at work around me and seek to join Him in what He's doing, I will certainly have to give up parts of my schedule, if not all of it.

Indeed, flexibility is so important that it is one of the essentials for our new church start in Bryan. Our Core Group guidelines say "we must always be open to adjust and make changes as the Lord shows us."

If you know me, you probably know that I have difficulty adjusting to change. But with God's help, I've come a long way in that area and I will continue to give that struggle over to God. Right now I am practicing being flexible with Riley. She is not yet ready for a schedule, so I am adjusting my life to meet her needs.

I am happy to say that the past couple of nights I have been able to comfort Riley and love her with a joy that comes from God, no matter what the hour. Praise God for the ways He is changing me, making me a better mom and a better witness for Christ!

Courtesy of Ana

If I apologized for the last post being out of chronological order, then I really have to apologize for this post. I hope to eventually organize all of these photos into logical posts, but for now, this will have to do. Enjoy the photos, courtesy of Ana!

These pictures were taken at the George Bush Library when I was eight months pregnant. Ana did a truly wonderful job capturing the gorgeous backdrops.


















This one looks like an engagement picture, but I like it anyways.


Look at that sunset!

Also, Ana gave me pictures of the baby shower and the first day she was born so you can look forward to those too. Moreover, we've had a fun week with visits from my mom, my cousins, and Lt. Kevin. More posts to come about the week.

Courtesy of Casey

I apologize that these pictures are all out of chronological order, but I wanted to post some pictures of our "glow worm" baby. That's what we called Riley when she was wrapped in the bilirubin blanket at the hospital. You'll have to look at the pictures to understand what I'm talking about. By the way, these pictures are from my friend, Casey. Thanks Casey!


See the glow?




Here she is under the blacklight.


And here's Casey with Riley.

Hehe

Believe it or not, my die-hard Longhorn sister has officially become an Aggie.

That is a picture of the entrance to her and her husband's new business, Spherion, located in Bryan.

And it actually says "Aggie Owned and Operated" (her husband is the true Aggie). Ha.

Yes, I'm making fun of her, but I'm also excited that she has moved to the area! Now all we have to do is get Leslie and Austin to move here... hmmmm, how can we make that happen?

Side note: If you are in need of a job, go to Spherion (a staffing agency) on Texas Avenue and my sister will help you out. I have always said my sister is a professional networker (unlike me), and she has already found jobs for several other people. I've been jobless in the past and it wasn't fun at all. If Spherion had been here, I would have totally trusted my sister to find me a good job. So don't stress; go to Spherion!

Father/Daughter Pictures

This is Daddy's favorite thing to do when he gets home from work.


I love this one because it shows how small Riley looks in Daddy's hands. Isn't it precious?

Neighborly Love

Have I told you how much I love living on my street?

Seriously. I just love it.

There's nothing fancy about my street.

But the people are great.

God has given us several opportunities to get to know our neighbors and I feel like we're finally doing life the "right" way. We share everything, from vacuum cleaners to food to dryers. There are several kids that come in and out of our house all afternoon. And people are always outside.

I especially love the young couple that lives in our connecting duplex. They're truly wonderful and I've got pictures to prove it. Here's Ramon teaching Josh how to put new brakes on our car:

And here's his sweet wife, Jennifer, doing the unthinkable:

She's cleaning up some of Riley's poo. Not kidding. While I was changing Riley, she squirted poo everywhere, so Jennifer got her amazing carpet cleaner and started scrubbing. It all came out thanks to her!

The old man that lives on the other side of our house has become very dear to us, too. Gary works on his car every single day and he really watches out for our street. This guy knows everything that goes on and he is so sweet. He even takes our trash out for us when we forget!

However, he really needs our prayers right now. He has always lived with his son, Gary Jr. But Gary Jr. passed away in his sleep about two weeks ago (right when Riley was born). They did an autopsy, but the cause of death is unknown as of yet. Understandably, Gary is very sad and hurt.

On top of that, Gary has extremely poor hearing. He does not have a hearing aid, so if you're reading this and you know anything about how to get affordable hearing aids, please let me know. I want to help him out if I can. But more than that, I am asking you to pray for him to have comfort and peace during this tough time.

Like I said before, the people on my street are wonderful.

But most of them are lost.

We are called to be lights to our neighbors, to love our neighbors, to share the Gospel with our neighbors. In fact, Galatians 5:14 says "The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" What better way to love them than to share the Gospel with them?

Our church is having a community picnic in a couple weeks that will be located at a park just minutes from our street. I want to be able to bring as many of my neighbors as possible to that picnic. Please ask God to give me the courage to invite my neighbors and to share the Good News with them. Your prayers are much appreciated!

And if you live in town, come meet my neighbors!

Hurricane Happenings

I feel obliged to post about my experiences during Hurricane Ike, so here they are:

-Grandma and Grandpa Grisham (Josh's grandparents) stayed with us. They brought their dog, named Riley, and they met our Riley for the first time.

-Josh was on standby and was working most of the weekend.

-We watched a lot of FOX news and I tried to nap when Riley napped.

-We ate delicious dinners fixed by Dena Palermo and Kendra Duty.

-By Sunday, I had to get out of the house, so I went to Target. (Riley did wonderfully on her first trip to Target. I was so proud.)

-There were no "real" church services this weekend because our church was being used as a shelter for evacuees. Since I was housing the great grandparents and taking care of a newborn, I couldn't go help at the church, but I was happy to send food.

-My parents are still without power and their schools have been cancelled for a few days at the least. Therefore, I'm trying to convince my mom to come stay with us... I really hope she does!

-I'm praying for the residents of the Houston area. May God give them peace and comfort during this difficult time. Also, I pray that the city workers can get the electricity and water running as soon as possible!

And here was a good piece of humor from the weekend:
Ike Owns Geraldo

Mother/Daughter Pictures

When Kim was here, she took some wonderful pictures of me and Riley. Here are a few of them:

I'm a Kangaroo

Sort of.

Here's a picture of Riley tucked into my pouch... you can't even see her!

Splash Time

Yesterday we gave Riley her first real bath. She had a great time and so did we.

Cyclerman

Can I brag on my husband?

Well, I'm going to anyways.

In an attempt to get into shape and save gas money, Josh has been riding his bike to and from work. This is no easy task, considering that Josh's job is already very physically demanding. And yet, he does it all with a great attitude.

I'm so proud of him that I decided to give him a superhero name.

Cyclerman.

I have a crush on Cyclerman and he has a crush on me. Gosh, I'm luckier than Lois Lane.

Keep it up, Josh!

Sweet As Can Be

Her eyes were wide open!




Yup, that's spit up coming out of her mouth, but I still think she's cute.


With her boppy.