...she was my baby learning to walk. (See recent Josiah post.)

Thanks all who wished me a happy birthday (cards, emails, fb messages, lunch with friends, gifts)! I'm a blessed girl. I had a great birthday and an awesome year. 

We started celebrating last Thursday when Gracie, Emrie, and Judah surprised me with a little party after zumba with Katie.  We continued celebrating over the weekend when my mom and step-dad came for a visit.  The party was delivered to my mailbox Tuesday in the form of birthday cards.  More celebrating over lunch on Wednesday with a sweet friend.  Handwritten message from my favorite five today and lunch at the Japanese restaurant.  

Woot!  Woot!  That's how you celebrate 36.  ALL WEEK LONG.

God has been so good to me.  I can't wait to see what the next year brings! 

My birthday song, "God's Been Good to Me" by Crystal Lewis.

The big news at 9 months?  Josiah is walking! 

It is the sweetest thing ever to see him toddling about.  He loves for us to clap and cheer for him as he takes more and more steps.  Of course, I know that my life is about to get infinitely more complicated as walking = chasing. 

He has eight teeth and two more are trying to make an appearance!  Loves to eat.  Likes most everything we feed him.  He is easy to please.

Still does not sleep through the night. What in the honking world?  If you are old enough to have "advanced maternal age" on your OB medical chart, you should not be pulling all-nighters. 

It kills you to see them grow up.  But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't. - Unknown

Edited to add:  21lbs and 11oz.  29.5 inches.

Many do with opportunities as children do at the seashore;

they fill their little hands with sand, and then let the grains fall through, one by one,  till all are gone.

"And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ..."

Colossians 4:3

May we never miss the doors of opportunities that God provides in our lives.  May we be sensitive to those open doors and have the confidence to walk through them. 

Praying "open doors" for friends, today.

(Photo credit goes to the Chief.  Taken at Hunting Island.)

O for a closer walk with God,

A calm and heavenly frame,

A light to shine upon the road

That leads me to the Lamb!

Where is the blessedness I knew,

When first I saw the Lord?

Where is the soul refreshing view

Of Jesus and His Word?

What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!

How sweet their memory still!

But they have left an aching void

The world can never fill.

 (Hymn by Thomas Cowper, “O for a Closer Walk with God.”)

He wants to fill that void in our lives.

If only we will let him…

"The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth." Ps 145:18

During a cousin visit a few weeks ago, we enjoyed some awesome field trips!  One of our favorites was the zoo!  This post is some pics from that day along with some of the kid sayings I've heard around my house recently that I want to record for memory. 

"6?  8?  30?  Just kidding, mom."  The answer to 5+2. (Judah)

"Even if you were a spider, we wouldn't squish you."  Birthday sentiments for the Chief. (Emrie)

"Why does she have cracks?"  Yep.  Wrinkles. (Judah)

"But he won't let me preach."  Response to the sweet lady who commented how much she enjoys seeing Judah go up and stand with the Chief during prayer. (Judah)

 "Will you be my pretend girlfriend, so I can tell my friends at school?"  Boy at church to Emrie.

 "Why are girls so pretty?"  (Judah)

Pictures from the Riverbanks Zoo, Columbia, SC.

Fishing is the sport of drowning worms.  ~Author Unknown

The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad.  ~A.K. Best

Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught.  ~Author Unknown

My own prescription for health is less paperwork and more running barefoot through the grass. - Unknown

My baby "Moses" floating/napping in the swimming pool. Doesn't really have anything to do with this post but how cute is it?  Pretty cute. 

The Chief shared in his message on Sunday about Jehovah-Shalom, the God of peace.  Our peace comes from Him in spite of our circumstances.  Gideon built an alter to Jehovah-Shalom and shortly after went into battle against thousands with an army of only hundreds. 

I was reminded of an old song, "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms."

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Don't let circumstances rob you of the peace of God.  Don't spend your days in dread and fear of what is ahead.  There will always be unknowns in our lives but be assured in hard times we can lean on Jesus.  We can dig into His Word to rediscover His great goodness. 

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Lean on Jehovah-Shalom.

Every year on his birthday, I repost the same old thing.  I just can't help it.  This says it so well.

If we weren't already the Tribe and he our Chief...

We'd be a family circus and he'd be our fearless ringmaster...

the juggler of father, husband, son, brother, pastor, and friend...

brave tamer of fears, disappointments, and mistakes...

balancer of faith, family, and work...

the all important clown who brings laughter to my life...

Happy Birthday, Chief.  With all my love.

P.S.  Maybe next year I'll have some new material.