Who's awesome?

Quick post from dad.

This week I finally took Micah to some empty basketball courts and took the training wheels off his bike. Micah has been begging for about a month to take them off so he could try the real deal. As a parent, you just kinda know when you kid is ready (kinda like potty training) and I knew Micah was ripe for the two wheeler.
We took off the training wheels and Micah and I kicked them across the asphalt yelling "get outta here!" Micah was about to get on his bike and then one of those divinely inspired moments hit me (which is incredibly rare even though I am paid to be divinely inspired at all times :). I stopped him and said, Micah, why don't we pray and ask God to help you ride your bike and to give you patience. So Micah stood there with his little helmet and knee pads on and prayed that God would help him. Simple, to the point, less than 10 seconds, amen.
He mounted his red, $5 yard sale bike and said in a giddy and nervous voice, "here we go dad!". I walked along side holding him as he peddled and then I realized that I was basically doing nothing. Then, like Nemo's dad in Finding Nemo, I realized it was time to let go. I gave him a little push and off he went! First try and he was riding his bike! Still not sure who was more excited, him or me.
Here's the kicker and the point of the blog post. My 4 year old gets off his bike and says, "Dad! God is awesome!" Then it hit me. This is parenting in a nutshell: showing my kids that they are a vital character in a much bigger Story. Micah could have very easily stepped off the bike and said "Dad! Did you see me!? I was amazing! I am awesome!" (which he is). Instead, that short innocent prayer allowed him to see that God is the one who deserves the glory. He is the one who is more important than bikes and homeruns and three-pointers. It's amazing how much a tiny, divinely inspired moment can do for the worldview of a 4 year old. I hope that I can get over myself and have the awareness to focus on what really matters with my kids in the 10 second moments.
He is awesome.

So You Think You Can Dance!

This is a rarity for me. I don't usually post about tv, but this time I wanted to share this with you. I LOVE So You Think You Can Dance, and last night, a ballet dancer was paired not only with another guy, but had to do hip hop. For those of you who dance is just a foreign language, this is crazy! Ballet and hip hop are so opposite and to see someone who is SO well trained in his area, and then have to leave all that at the door and do hip hop REALLY WELL is amazing! So if you are interested watch this video...if you don't like rap music, don't watch it!



Here's the link if it keeps freezing up on you!

The Love of My Life

8 years ago today, I married the most amazing man in the world! That's right ladies, he is TAKEN! I can honestly say, I am more in love with him than ever. God continues to amaze me in the "grace upon grace" that He is just pouring out on us everyday! There is no absolute way our marriage would be this strong without the Lord! So to God we give the glory for 8 amazing years and many more to come! Love you Babe!

80's Night at youth retreat -
and our really cool youth in the background!

My Husband

Yesterday I shared about my dad, today I want to celebrate my husband, who also happens to be the father of my children!

This man means the world to me! I admire him more and more as I watch him be a father. He inspires me to love better, be more patient, and savor the moment. His unending love for our kids is a joy to watch.

He loves to wrestle with Micah or play virtually any sport. He has turned into his coach. Their favorite moments right now are to play one-on-one basketball, or just yesterday I watched them take turns at the slip n slide! I think it hurt Ed more! Right now he is also just stealing moments with Micah to teach him who God is. One of them is that God is Mighty. To be married to a man that values the things that will stand forever, is invaluable!Caleb has captured both of our hearts right now with his humor and dynamic personality. Ed loves to wrestle with Caleb as well, but Caleb is also very different from Micah and so his relationship with his dad is different as well. I love to watch Caleb crawl up in his lap and ask his daddy to "read". With Caleb now picking up new words all the time, it is precious to hear him yell "Daaaaddddyyyyy!" when he wakes up in the morning. Ed knows just how to make Caleb giggle, which brings us all to laughter at the sound of his little laugh!Haleigh, well this is a new experience for him. She has captured his heart from day one as I've said many times before! The way she lights up when she sees him is ADORABLE! He loves to just sit in the chair in her room and stare at her as he holds her. Or sometimes, he'll read her a story. I know that her addition to our family has changed the dynamic forever! I LOVE the relationship that they will have!
To my dear husband, I love you and am so grateful to walk through this thing called life with you! I cannot imagine doing it without you! The joy that you bring to our lives is indescribable and for that I am so thankful for you today!

My Dad

Considering its Father's Day, I wanted to give my dad a little shout out! My dad is the best dad I could ever ask for! I've come to realize in my life that there was no mistake or luck or just by chance that he is my dad and I am his daughter. God placed us together by his design.

In celebrating him, let me tell you a little about him...

-He is madly in love with my mom. As in every marriage, they have had their share of difficulties, by never in my life did I ever doubt my dad's love for my mom. And as a child to have that security is EVERYTHING! They have always been openly affectionate, and enjoy each other's company - two things that have carried over into my marriage thanks to their example!

-He has overcome obstacles with strength and perseverance. Whether it is working his way from the bottom up in his career or walking through hard times, he has set the example to push through your circumstances. I wish I could go on and on about this one, but I won't!

-He is fun! My dad is always the source of entertainment. He will always play games, sports especially! He was always the uncle that played football with all the cousins, or took all the kids to the playground. He likes to make a game out of anything!
-He is funny! My dad has his own sense of humor that makes me laugh. His sarcasm and sometimes twisted MacPherson sense of humor is just "home" to me! One of my favorite childhood memories that happened all the time is watching my aunts and uncles sit around while playing games and just laugh together! That side splitting laugh where you can barely breathe!

-He is confident in who is he! Because of the last two, he is naturally very silly too! And so with that comes this confidence that he doesn't care what others think about him. I am very different and he knew it! He loved to embarrass me as a kid, and now I can say that I'm somewhat thankful for it! ha!-He is a man's man! There is not one feminine thing about my dad! He LOVES to watch and play sports. He loves action movies, even the ones with no purpose other than to just blow things up! He loves to be outside! He is really good at home improvement, you should see my parents' bathroom that they did! He's tough - think sledge hammer to the thumb and lots of blood all in the name of serving the church! He loves to do things with his son! I would've loved to hear his thoughts and be there when he found out he had a son after having two daughters!-He loves his girls! He has three daughters and he has that quality. You know the one! The one you see in men who have daughters. There is just something different, something soft to them. And I LOVE that! He has made it through two weddings with one more daughter to marry off. And I will never forget that moment in the back of the church with him before we walked down the aisle. Priceless!

-He is a Pop (or grandfather)! Our kids LOVE him and always want to go to "Pop's House"! And its been nice having him do some work down in the Richmond area because we've been able to meet him for dinner and get to see him here and there! -He is a Believer! God brought him to Himself later in life, and I had the pleasure of experiencing that! To see him be transformed from the old to the new is a top ten moment in my life!

Dad, I love you! I hope that you feel honored and loved and respected this weekend! Know that we love you and are SO blessed to have you in our lives!

Haleigh - 7 Months

My little girl is getting SO big! As Ed and I often say, we wish we could just hit the pause button on our kids! They are growing up SO fast and I want it to stop!

Here's the latest on Haleigh girl...
- she is eating rice cereal, green beans, carrots, and starting her on pears today! She eats really well, but so far the cereal is her fave!- she weighs a whopping 15 lbs 11oz, which I think is big, but is only in the 25% for weight
- she measures 25.5 inches in length, again 25% for height. Sorry dad, no shipping off to tennis training!
- Her head is a different story...75% anybody? Apparently we have big heads over here! I mean, have you seen Caleb's?
- She LOVES people. She has never met a person she didn't like! She will smile at anyone, let anyone hold her. She just makes you feel like you are the coolest person in the world!
- Caleb and Micah make her laugh probably the easiest. She loves watching them play. Like this picture, she is laughing at Micah! So Sweet!- She is sitting up now, with the help of the boppy.- Now that she is rolling over, she is officially a tummy sleeper.
- And as far as the paci goes, its history! Its all thumb, baby!

Wordless Wednesday...Cool Points - Right Here!

Guess what we did this week...

and p.s. why are my wordless wednesdays not so much "wordless"?