Animals

Ensley loves animals. We watch hummingbirds, squirrels, turkeys, and cats out the dining room window and she gets so excited when she sees a dog. We took her to the county fair Sunday afternoon and went in the poultry barn for a little bit so she could see the baby ducks. I think she could have sat there all day. She would point and grin and kick her feet and talk to them when they waddled her way. She liked the bunnies too.We have also been singing Old MacDonald a lot because she likes to mimic the animal sounds. The video clip is of some of her animal sounds. She pants when you ask her what a puppy says...she came up with that on her own.

Adventures in Self Feeding

Ensley is not really interested in a spoon anymore unless it is in her own hands. This makes for messy mealtimes! I first gave her a spoon last week because every time I tried to give her a bite she turned her head. She took the spoon and dipped it in the plate and then put it her mouth. I thought it would take her longer to understand how to use it but I guess that is why I am called a first time mom. Anyway, she has not perfected the spoon by any means as you can tell from the picture but it is a good start. It's a good thing she likes bath time because she experiences it frequently these days.
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Worth Fighting For

A few months ago I started writing this post and I never finished it. My heart is so heavy for the institute of marriage and I feel God prodding me to finally post this and be completely open and transparent. I have stopped and cried and prayed more times than I can count over the past few months with a heavy heart. I have prayed for my parent’s marriage, my in-laws marriages, my brothers and sisters marriages, my brother who is not yet married, my friends’ marriages and of course my own marriage. The urgency didn’t come from a marriage on the rocks but just God urging me to pray for the people I love.

I was mopping the floors while Ensley was napping and had some music on the satellite. I fell to my knees sobbing while listening to the following lyrics from Warren Barfield. The song is called ‘Love is Not a Fight’ from the album Worth Fighting For.

Love is not a place
To come and go as we please
It’s a house we enter in
Then commit to never leave

So lock the door behind you
Throw away the key
We’ll work it out together
Let it bring us to our knees

Love is a shelter in a raging storm
Love is peace in the middle of a war
And if we try to leave, may God send angels to guard the door
No, love is not a fight, but it’s something worth fighting for

To some, love is a word
That they can fall into
But when they’re falling out
Keeping that word is hard to do

Love is a shelter in a raging storm
Love is peace in the middle of a war
And if we try to leave, may God send angels to guard the door
No, love is not a fight, but it’s something worth fighting for

Love will come to save us
If we’ll only call
He will ask nothing from us
But demand we give our all

Love is a shelter in a raging storm
Love is peace in the middle of a war
And if we try to leave, may God send angels to guard the door
No, love is not a fight, but it’s something worth fighting for

I will fight for you
Would you fight for me?
It’s worth fighting for

Before EJ and I married, one of my best friends moms said to me as a piece of advice…”Marriage takes work.” When she said that I remember thinking to my-naïve-self…not when you are marrying EJ…not when you are marrying your best friend…not us…our relationship has always been easy…why would marriage change that. I remember about six months into our marriage hearing her advice ringing loudly in my ears when we faced our first real scuffle. Since then there have been many times that I thought of those words, not necessarily because our marriage is hard but because marriage was created and given by God and Satan tries to attack it.

I was one of the first of my friends to get married, and I remember as more and more of my friends were getting married I would look at their relationships and think…If only EJ and I….or If only EJ would… I look back and can see that was Satan attacking our marriage. We had a girl’s weekend with my college roommates a few years ago and we all shared that we thought one another had the perfect marriage only to find out that there is no perfect marriage. That opened my eyes to see that I should be looking to Him for what our marriage should/could be not to anyone else’s marriage.
A few years later the same thoughts came back as we joined a new church and I looked at other young couples in the church. I looked at their relationships and thought….why can’t we….why can’t EJ. God gently reminded me of my friends marriages that I had once thought were the model marriages, but I didn’t want to listen. One Sunday morning at church I ran into another young mother who said, “I really want to get together with yall sometime.” I said “we would love that but finding the time is ridiculous with our schedule.” To which she replied,” I know, I feel like my husband puts everything before us, deacons meetings, work, mens softball.” I was floored! I thought not them too? They look like they have the perfect marriage. To which God could have said, I told you so! But He didn’t. My prayer is that I will continue looking to Him and His perfect model of a perfect marriage.

My married readers, I am praying for you today!

Bye-Bye Good Boy

EJ took Duke to the farm this afternoon. When we realized what needed to happen this morning I cried. I didn't think I would cry when it was time to tell Duke goodbye but I did. I was sitting on the floor and Kala crawled up in my lap because she knew something was wrong. Life will be different without Duke-Duke. He could be a little grumpy at times but he was a good ole dog! We will miss little Duke-Duke! Bye-bye good boy!

Patiently Waiting on What

Do you ever feel like God is preparing you for something but you don't know what?
Our Sunday School lessons this month have been on patience which is a lesson I desperately need. This past week God reminded me of a situation two years ago while I was waiting on my license (see blog post from June 2009). At that time the John Waller song While I'm Waiting was a huge encouragement to me. I used that song this past week in my lesson and it was as if God was calming my heart while it played when I didn't even know my heart was restless.
Tuesday morning my devotion encouraged me to worship not worry. Don't spend time worrying about what is going wrong or what could go wrong when you can be praising Him for having it under control and thanking Him for His blessings. Again as I read the scriptures and a story abut Ruth Graham Bell it was as if God was calming my heart. I haven't felt like anything in particular was worrying me or like I am waiting for anything but I am sure he is preparing me for something.
Isn't it awesome to know that when we have no idea what is going on we can know He is in control?
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Watching the Big Girls

Ensley watched two of her cousins (18 and 20 months old) walk around all weekend at our family reunion and I suppose it motivated her to walk. When we got home from the weekend she immediately crawled over to her push-walker and took off. This was the first time she had done that and she did it like a pro! EJ was with her all day yesterday and he sent me a couple of videos of her walking all over the bonus room pushing that little car around (the files were to big to send to computer from his phone or I would post one). It is only a matter of days before she lets go of the help and takes off on her own.

Thanks Hadley and Sara Frances for the motivation to get moving! :'( She is growing up too fast!

Here is a picture of her with her walker outside today...note the big smile on her face! She knows she is a big girl!

Family Time

We spent four days in the Gatlinburg area doing absolutely nothing. We took Ensley to the waterpark and floated the lazy river a couple of times and she loved it. We didn't have any plans and enjoyed just spending time together outside the organized chaos of everyday life. One day when Ensley woke up from her nap we played in our bed with her for at least an hour and had so much fun with her giggling and playing. It was such sweet time that we needed as a family.
Then we drove over to Pigeon Forge where we had a large group cabin for four nights for the annual Richardson Reunion. All of my mom's family gets together every year over July 4th. Most of the time is spent just sitting around catching up with everyone and reminiscing with one another telling tales on each other and Daddy Bob, but we usually venture out on a couple of excursions too. Saturday a large group of us went tubing and Sunday we all had a worship service in the cabin then most of us went on a hike to Grotto Falls.
I am so thankful for the blessing of my family and their love for people and love for God. This weekend is always a refreshing time with family and God and I'm already looking forward to next year.
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