I am...

Have you ever gone through the scriptures and just simply written down all of the qualities and characteristics that God says we are in Christ? In my quiet time study I was asked to look up a huge sampling of passages and write down who I am in Christ...and this is only a portion of what I found:

I have been crucified.
I am blessed, chosen, redeemed.
I have been marked and sealed.
I have been raised to life.
I am God's workmanship and I have been brought near to God.
I will be complete.
I am a citizen of heaven.
I can do all things.
I have been rescued and given the fullness of Christ.
I am hidden in Christ and will appear with him.
I am loved, chosen, rescued, strengthened, and protected.
I am a daughter...a member of God's family.
I belong to Christ.
I am free.
I am a slave.
I have been raised to life.
I am a conqueror.
I am loved and bought, renewed and strengthened.
I am purified.

Meditate on those for today and let it blow your mind. Be in awe of God today!

Happiness

I received one of those inspiring emails this morning. You know the ones that make you feel blessed and ready to jump into anything God asks you to do. The kind that end with an inspiring prayer that seems to speak to your heart at the very moment. The kind of email that somhow diminishes the encouragement and blessing that it brings by saying..."now, in 9 seconds something happy will happen to you IF you forward this on to 9 friends." But today as I read that email and it promised me that in 9 seconds I'd experience something happy...I thought to myself, you're right...I'm on my way to wake up my baby girl who will smile and laugh and simply bring happiness to my heart as we start our day together. So...email or not. Nine seconds or nine hours. I have been blessed beyond what I thought possible.
Blessings today...

Amberts and Chamberts Fall Pics

My mom bought new picture frames to keep all of her 14 grandchildren in one place. Roxie had taken some great outdoor pictures of her five kids. Mom wanted individuals of the rest of them and she wanted them to be similar to Roxie's. So, one Saturday morning we headed out to Andy's house (he works hard at his awesome flowers) to keep the matriarch of our family happy. :) I had a ton of fun shooting these and I think a few turned out okay for her to use. There are some in here that I fiddled with some editing programs but, alas, I can't remember what I did. Anyway...if you haven't seen Andy's or Chuck's kids in a while this will show you how grown up they are and how handsome and beautiful they have become. FYI...Lydia was at a vball game so she is missing in these.

Thanks kiddos for helping make grandma's house even more beautiful with your pictures! :)

I can hardly believe that my little girl is four months old. It really can't be so! It's amazing to me how I remember so much of the struggles and the adjustments of the first couple of months and each month has brought struggles of their own but the overall adjustment has been so much easier these past couple of weeks. It seems her schedule has evened out...eating, sleeping, and playing. There are always days of exceptions...but for the most part we've moved into a grove.

Yesterday we tried a bit of cereal for the first time. I have no intention of making this a regular meal time experience but I wanted to try it and see how things went. She actually enjoyed it...at least the experience because the food was all over! But today she would even open her mouth in anticipation for another bite.

Below is just a hodge-podge of pictures collected over the past four months. I love being Culley's mom. Through the easy and hard...the good and bad...the simple and complex...I've loved it and am blessed beyond my wildest expectations!

Thank you for all who have been the encouragers and cheerleaders. New moms...and I'm sure moms in general...need to be spurred on regularly. So...thanks and blessings today!