SMILES! SMILES! SMILES!

Here are some pictures of Annalise as of late. She is smiling lots!

9 weeks

8.5 weeks

8 weeks

7 weeks

what does Cadence mean?

...sigh, finally a chance to write this up. over the course of the last month Brad and I began to feel a pressing on our hearts from the Lord that it was maybe time to have me quit working for the chiropractic office. Yes i was working from home and everything seemed to be working out well, but each week at staff meetings I was sensing more and more a need to leave. hmmm...the Lord definately works in a timely manner, at the same time we were sensing the need to leave I had an offer from a midwife to work as her office manager. This is a very part-time position 2x a week and I can bring Annalise with me! She desperately needed someone to do paperwork, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and insurance collecting. Perfect job for me! I have 2 years of experience with this at a very high-volume level having worked at the chiropractic office. Anyway, so this past Monday I resigned from the chiropractic office as an employee, patient, and friend. Sounds pretty all-inclusive you say? yes, it was. It had to be. The Lord is showing us through various conversations, reflections and prayer that there is a dark battle raging in that office and it was time for us to get out. I have a strong sense that He is choosing to protect my family from something. ... and He has very clearly provided all we need in my new job: family atmosphere, a profession I can work for and believe in, god-fearing people to work around and under. We are grateful!! There is so much more that could be written, but I am keeping this short so you all can get the jist and ask questions in person if you like.
--answer to the title: perfect timing--
Mackenzie

Road Trip

Ok, mom probably wants to blog about this, but here is the basic idea. We took a little road trip this last weekend. It was crazy busy. I played golf with my dad, grandpa, and an old friend. The four of us have played several rounds together in the past. It was fun to see them again and smack little white balls around a field. We also got to have a baby shower with the Williamson family so they could all meet Annalise. It was fun to see everyone. We were blessed beyond what we thought possible. We were given the stroller and tub-side-kneeler that we registered for, along with a set of crib sheets and changing table cover. That means that we don't need anything major for the baby. What an incredible blessing to go ten months from "How can we afford all this?" to "We have everthing we need and some things we want." God has truly blessed us beyond what we deserve. (Pause to drink tea)

We also took a little detour to KC to see Uncle Eric, Aunt Resa, and cousins Elana and Kai. That was fun too. We came back Monday afternoon to let mama rest up a bit. Enjoy all the pictures.

More on Transitioning

So I had an earlier post stating...

"I have a lot more transitioning to do, but is life just one big transition
into the presence of God? Ya, more thoughts on that later."

So now is later (ya, that grammar makes sense). Anyhow, as rare as it is for me to sit and ponder anything for an extended period of time, I have thought a lot about worship lately. I feel like God has asked me to really dig in and study worship. I know, it's not to broad of a topic really, but still, I wasn't sure where to start. You'll notice the links under our profile picture. There are a couple of links to sites that are dedicated to the study of worship. In particular, the "Worship Matters" site is really good. So all of that ties together to bring me to this point. As I've pondered all the things that we a people experience, or can experience in our lifetime, it occurs to me that everything, good and bad, does have a purpose. Due to a little thing we call providence, God uses all things to shape our hearts to respond to Him in Worship. You see, whether or not we realize it, we will all worship one day. You know, the "every knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" verse somewhere in Revelation, I think? My point is that with all of things I've gone through recently, I've noticed a forced change in my heart. I am being trained to think and live less for myself and more for others. It goes against the very nature of my flesh, but it's a necessary process if I'm ever to appropriately respond to the presence of God. Could you imagine for a minute being in heaven in the presence of an almighty God and saying something like "C'mon God, tune it down a little. The brightness of you presence is hurting my eyes. I can't even see anything else in heaven." How selfish would that be?

So what if we look at life not with the perspective of one week, but with eternity goggles. I say goggles, because we don't naturally see with a perspective of eternity. You have to put on a modifier to your vision, if you will, so that you can see differently. It's just a good word picture, yo. But through those goggles, we start to see some of these "life transitions" a little differently. It really has nothing to do with how hard the new transition makes our life, but instead how we respond to it. It really reveals your character (or lack of it). Our response to life changes are a window into our inner hearts. So maybe (here's where I come full circle) "life is just one big transition into the presence of God." Pretty neat idea huh? That must mean it didn't come from me.

Let me know what you think, or if you want to expand on the idea. If you are more interested in discussing some thoughts on worship in general, let me know. I might have something for you. Talk to you again soon.

B-rad

Some Pics

Mommy thought it would be cute to take picutres of me in my pretty purple diaper with a ribbon in my hair the day I turned 3 weeks old. As you can see I wasn't very happy about it. I really wanted a nap. I fell asleep really soon after that second picuture.

This is my favorite thing in the evenings...the bink! I am very peaceful as long as I can suck on it.

. Remember I said I was going to meet my other cousins...here I am with them. They were so proud to hold me and meet me for the first time.

Lots to do...

There is alot to do as a new mom. I just keep thinking that more gets added to the "to-do" list everyday and everyday there are less checkmarks next to each "to-do". Funny how that works out. And since I am a very task oriented person this mommy relationship thing takes effort. I love every minute of that time it takes to say, stop...this is time I can take to love my daughter. But effort is definately the key to that. That's all for today.

An Amazing Transition

Here I find myself at 11:30 pm on Sunday night, kicking myself for not going to bed at 10pm like I was supposed to. I have a long day tomorrow, replacing Mackenzie's battery before work at the bank, and then off to Il Vicino tomorrow evening. Why am I not in bed yet, you ask? I've spent most of the day staring at this...

It just doesn't seem fair does it? She consumes my attention. I was told this would happen, but I didn't know why it would happen. To be quite honest, I have no idea why it still happens. I'm not in awe of her, I'm not always entertained, I think I'm just in shock. It's settling in very slowly for me. Since there isn't a lot of interaction on her part yet, it's hard to feel like I'm getting any quality time with her, but I love every second of it. I'm falling in love all over again. And watching Mackenzie be a mom is pretty cool too. She is way more natural at this than I am.

Yes, I'm saying that I'm not a very good mother. It's really hard to be a mother. She has a lot to do, and I don't know how she's getting it all done. Anyhow, I have two amazing girls in my home. God has blessed this time beyond what I deserve or selfishly expected. I have a lot more transitioning to do, but is life just one big transition into the presence of God? Ya, more thoughts on that later. GOODNIGHT!!

Brad (the chest pillow)