J - O - Y... down in my heart!

Kyria's Choir Class sang last night:

"J-O-Y down in my heart..."

She really is a ham at times :D

She saw her daddy in the "crows nest" - our sound booth upstairs. And she LOVES to sing! 

Mikalah

little laugh - getting SOO big!

Her 3 month check-up revealed that

her length is 24 1/2 inches

and her weight is 15 1/2 pounds!

All the girls are growing well. We have been relatively healthy this cold season, and I praise the Lord for his protective hand on us. Kyria is looking forward to being 5, though this does not happen for a few months. :D  She loves being the biggest sister! Anya has her wonderful moments of happiness and a few "oh my" moments when her communication melts into a pile of tears on the floor. Her vocabulary is expanding, but her ability to be understood has not quite caught up with it.  Poor baby. But she is usually a very happy girl - giving smiles all around and making everyone laugh! Mikalah is not missing any meals (as you can see). And she is laughing and talking so much. She loves to have her big sisters read and sing to her!

We enjoy sharing with you....

Thanks for stopping by...

Resolution - 2

Again I have found my truth in Psalm 119. They were actually both impressed upon me at the same time, but I can only type so much at one sitting. :)

Psalm 119: 67 - "Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word."

Psalm 119: 71 - "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes."

When we have affliction - of any sort - it can do many different things in our heart. It can cause us to let bitterness in and have a poor spirit about serving the Lord. It can bring us to our knees or drive us even from the church-house and all fellowship with God's children. The way we respond shows others the condition of our heart.  What David says here is what I pray to say when I have had affliction.

"...but now have I kept thy word." 

- My affliction has prompted an obedient life 

    - not more straying.

"...that I might learn thy statutes."

- My affliction has promoted a teachable spirit 

    - not a defiant one.

Are you obedient? 

Are you teachable?

This prompts two questions in regard to affliction (no matter how minor it may seem) my own life: "How have I responded in the past?" and "Did I learn to be obedient or teachable?" 

This ties in a with my contemplation from last week.

My personal Bible study for this year has started with learning (among other things) the meaning of several words. Two of these words are: VIRTUE and GOODNESS.

VIRTUE: 

moral goodness or excellence in our thoughts 

- producing modesty and purity

GOODNESS: 

uprightness of heart and life; beautiful, blest, cheerful

Has any of my affliction or any of my past failures produced the obedient and teachable spirit needed to learn and DO these things? I pray so, as I wish to have these attributes in my life - especially in regard to being a help meet to my husband. If we do not possess virtue then we can be a stumbling block to younger, weaker Christians. If we do not practice goodness then we can cause the unsaved to turn away from God instead of TO Him. Both of these traits are needed in my life if I am to be the help that is meet (proper, fit or perfect) for my husband and his ministry.

I hope this has made sense. Sometimes, my thoughts tend to wander.

I pray that we all have have the proper spirit for being obedient and learning what God is teaching us. And just as importantly - that we know what God is trying to teach us!

Finally, some more... for the Grandparents

As you can see...

I got a new crockpot :)

It's the kind that has a locking lid.

John liked this movie LOTS more than I did :) 

Kyria thought it was pretty neat though - 

a mouse COOKING - she loves to cook!

a few fun learning books - 

she is having a blast with them

Hi-Ho Cheeryo!

This game is a LOT of fun :)

ABC cards...

that have "hologram" pictures on them

that's FUN!

my pretty girl...

being silly...

the girls each got new 

"princess"

"spinning" outfits

Here is a little blurp of them right after all the presents were opened.

please excuse all the mess :

I thought that John had gotten more pictures with his camera - we were both taking pictures...

Anyway, it was a memorable day. We opened gifts on Christmas Eve, and spent Christmas Day with some good friends from church. They have 2 little boys that the girls love to play with... It was a great time of fellowship, and it was very nice to just all be together for a while.

I get spoiled when John is home for even a day (I get spoiled every Saturday!). 

Thanks for stopping by...

Looking forward to church tomorrow...