4 and 1 pictures

From Olivia's Blog:  these guys are the best!  Olivia's photography makes it even more fun – thanks, honey.

 

God's faithfulness and provision in our lives continues to deepen in our hearts and overflowing into our daily routines – in stories to come I will only begin to attempt at conveying His relentless pursuit of us and providing in ways we couldn't have fathom'd – why would I doubt? 

 

Thank you, Jesus.

 

-ao

        

            

 

 

As I mentioned a couple posts back, I took pictures of the boys last week. I wanted to take some for Boone's "one" year pictures {even though he's almost 15 months, that's ok, he looks the same} and since Wyatt will be 4 in about 6 weeks, I thought I would knock it out all at once. And I think they look super cute with their matching shorts. I could not get them together or even in the same proximity except for the picture I'm using as the header on my blog…and I LOVE that one…but Fall is here {just give me some Fall weather} and there will be lots and lots of fun outdoor pictures to take!

Boone would not smile..except for maybe once or twice but considering the heat and the hunger, he did pretty good. And Wyatt was full of giggles and yummy smiles. This last picture of him may be one of my all time favorites. This boy smiles with his eyes and I think he looks so full of joy!

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Posted By Olivia to The Wild Wild West

Monday....breakfast and trust!

Today is Monday. On Mondays I fix breakfast for our little family. On Mondays we call it "our day" - because we are together and there is nothing that gets in our way of taking time to be a family on these days. They are a gift. For years, a good friend and mentor encouraged us to take a day together in honor of our vows to God and one another - our marriage is our highest (Earthly) covenant and we want to invest in one another - so we finally landed a few years back with Mondays. I do not talk on the phone, I stay "away" from the world......minus my wife and my kids.

Today, as always - breakfast....a big breakfast.
Yesterday - we showed our house two times....it's for sale. We received two offers. Both were from the same people and we had to reject / counter them both. Still, we are in limbo. Today, we are embarking on the fringe of having our house for sale 30 days now. We are doing FSBO. It will be our 3rd time. We are in the middle of simply trusting the Father and His provisions for our lives and our home. We feel like we can sell this house and move to the next one - we trust in God's faithfulness. That means we will wait for Him. He will provide our meals, our paychecks, and a new home if that were to happen. It's all His.

So, perhaps you can join us in praying that we do trust God the Father and live our lives our of the overflow of our faithfulness to Jesus Christ - and even when we are not faithful to Him - that we come back....and trust him. Always. Forever and ever.

Amen.

Blessings.

-ao

Mudfest….

 

A picture of approximately 200 people gathered around a pit of mud.  By standers.  Parents.  Friends.  Scaredy-pants ones. High schoolers covered in mud.  Mudfest is a tradition in our area.  LCYL does Mudfest each year as our kick-off event of our “club year” – we do Mudfest in order to create a stir…a sense of energy…an opportunity for Young Life leaders to dive in with kids, literally, and begin to walk alongside them in their lives….to earn the right to be heard and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them.  Nowhere in our community are folks doing something like Mudfest.  How, you might wonder, is this kind of event considered to be sharing the Gospel with teenagers?  This kind of event is exactly the stuff we like to do…..to give them a chance to do the things they like to do….to be kids…really, to give them an opportunity to be themselves…to cover up behind all the dirt, water, and mud – so they can play like they were in pre-school.  It is something to watch kids get in this mud pit and see them light up! It is as if there are no chances to be this way in life – maybe that’s true.  We believe they have the chance to meet Christ and be given life like never before – life to the fullest….and to be called His forever and ever. Here’s to Mudfest 2009:

 

We always use a jeep or 4x4 to push all the dirt and water around as we carefully craft the mud pit just like we want it! This year we used my jeep.  Hard to see all that mud get under it….that’s real love – because I know what it takes to clean that sucker.  I was told the other day, “you are just showing you’re getting older…..that’s a sign..” – whatever….still tough!  But, so worth it!

30 yards of dirt.  15,000 gallons of water = Mudfest 2009!!

 

Say…..MUDFEST 2009!!!!!

-ao

Candyman – 1990 Jams

So, I somehow came across this song as Olivia was jammin’ out in the kitchen tonight….I thought specifically of this song – woooh, it brought me back to the day….mmmh, mmmh.

 

here it goes:

Candyman - Candyman song

 

Check it out…

-ao