Love Brightly

The Peter Pan motel (affectionately called "The Pan" by the students) is like a light for Christ near the Santa Cruz, CA Beach and Boardwalk. Our "Campus Crusade for Christ" sign stays up year round, and we have a display of free books (The Case for Faith) for people as they walk to the beach. Santa Cruz is one of the most unchurched areas of the U.S. Less than 6% are churched and that includes all faiths--there are prominent Jewish and Buddhist temples as well as a Christian Science church in town. We tried to make the girls' room cozy for them. Their cute and colorful sleeping bags along with pictures from home and wall stickers helped their space be more fun. The Kitchen, Dining Room, Home Office, and Living Room. (Also known as "Mommy and Daddy's Bedroom"). Living in these tight quarters was definitely one of the most challenging parts of our summer. The girls ate breakfast on placemats on the floor in a 4 ft squared space between the...

A few days before leaving for Santa Cruz, I decided to buy some sun hats for the family (except for Karl, he wears a ball cap). I thought, "We probably won't make it to the beach that many times since Titus is still so little, but I'll be thankful to have them for those few times." I am so glad I bought them, because we wear them every day all day long! There is no shade at The Peter Pan. The weather is amazing and pleasant every day--cool in the morning, mid-70's in the day. (We had a record-breaking high temp on Wed = 78 degrees). So we are outside all day, every day. The girls are loving it--but the sun is still intense. Every day I am so thankful for these good sun hats. Here are a few favorite pics.

I've been thinking about the finale of LOST for the past week or so. I loved watching that show, and I'm a little sad that it has ended. I love how there was a whole culture surrounding the mystery of it--how people would talk each week about the hidden messages and how each story was intertwined with each other. One critic called it the "best dramatic TV series of all time." Another said that {paraphrase:}"no other show in the history of television has had viewers researching history, literature, religion, mythology, etc." People are more knowledgeable because LOST was on TV for 6 years. Towards the end, all of us Christian viewers were hoping that the unveiling of the Big Picture would have Christian themes. (Or maybe since that is our view, we kept finding the Christian themes in it). Certainly, Jack sacrificing himself to save the world is reflective of the main idea of Christianity. But did you catch the stain-glass window as Jack is about to p...

Boy, were we all glad to be out of the car!! After 3 long days of driving and 2 in-and-out hotel stays with the little ones, everyone was so glad to be not-confined and able to move around! We arrived at the beach on the 22nd, caught the finale of LOST with our new friends and teammates on the 23rd, spent 5 days planning for the Project and prepping The Peter Pan motel for move-in, and finally made it to the sand for a few minutes yesterday. These are a few of my favorite pictures.

6 Month Portrait--wearing the outfit that Karl wore to his own baby dedication. I hung a sheet and took some Mother's Day pictures in these cute outfits. Mother's Day morning was extra special this year because it was also Baby Dedication Sunday. We are so blessed to have family who has a common faith and who encourages us and helps us raise our children in the ways of the Lord. The thing that I am most thankful about living in Dallas is that our kids get to spend regular time with their grandparents. Growing up, my grandparents were a part of our everyday life, and I love that our children are having the same experience. We were also excited to be taking part in the Baby Dedication ceremony with our good friends, The Cobbs. Having friends and family there helped to really live out the purpose of the ceremony: publically giving God control of our child, our child-rearing, and asking the church for support, prayers, and accountability in our endeavor. That day, our ...

After an hour of hands-on soothing, our daughter--exhausted from screaming--fell asleep limply in Daddy's arms. A white noise machine, pacifier, loud rattling sound, and snuggling was the only thing that would stop the screaming this particular day. Our first daughter wanted the swing, our second wanted a vibrating seat--this is one we borrowed for a few hours while we went to the store to replace the one that she had "worn-out". Both girls would only sleep if their head was snuggled next to this soft towel. Our son only wanted body-to-body contact. On bad days, he required light pressure on his pacifier as well. Pictured here, his big sister held him in position while I made a quick trip to the bathroom. We also found that if he was in a deep sleep, we could carefully maneuver him from our lap to the couch and lay him in the warm spot where we had been sitting (pictured in the striped blanket). This would buy us about 5 minutes to do something ...

Karl served on the program team for Winter Conference this year, and enjoyed having direct input into what the students would be hearing. His sense of humor came in handy to the team as they made video skits and wrote emcee jokes for the week. The theme was REVOLUTION, and we had speakers (Tim Muelhoff, Josh Riebock, and Todd Ahrend) who brought messages of the radical transformation that Jesus will bring to your life. For the first time this year, we had a "Greek Track" of seminars to train students to reach their peers specifically in a sorority/fraternity environment. And as always, we had a day of outreach in the Fort Worth community. Because Karl's hours were around-the-clock at the conference, and because I left the first day with a sick newborn, our pictures are courtesy of Charlie--one of our "Greek Track" leaders at University of North Texas. Thanks to those of you who prayed for our baby boy while we struggled with RSV. His condition never wo...