And she finally pees in the potty...!!!

Thumbs up and tatted up because guess what?! I'm a big kid now!

Not only is my almost 4 year old now finally overcome her fear of the toilet and completely potty trained but she is a little obsessed with it!  She constantly wants to go (which is USUALLY okay with me =) ) and has the whole process down like a pro.  All it took was one time actually experiencing going (which I knew it would) and she was fine with it.  Basically the one time occurred because I held her down on the potty when she was at the point that she could hold it no longer so it had no other choice but to go into the potty.  Been waiting for that moment for days! I'm usually too late and wouldn't get there in time before she would instead choose to go all over the floor NEXT to the potty.  But we are there!  Finally, praise Jesus!  And I feel like she is a totally new kid.

Now since she is such a pro, she's already trying to coach sister to do the same.  I'm all for that but no rush because this is already such a huge sigh of relief for me.  We'll focus on sister soon. She's a little imitator of all sissy does, which is why she is sitting on the potty here, so I'm sure (hopefully) she'll be no problem when she is ready.

New Life Ranch 2012

This past weekend was that time again for the annual Kirk Youth Fall Retreat at New Life Ranch. As always, it was a blessing in multiple ways.  I'm constantly blown away by the minds and faithful maturity of our students.  This secluded area out in the middle of nowhere is amazing in and of itself but the students love for Jesus is what makes it what it is all about. 

And our own personal kids have a blast at this place too.  Little miss Kinsleigh went canoeing with Daddy for a good hour!  Now that sure is a girl after her Daddy's own heart. =)

We're even "so cool" that we had ourselves a little dance party! (the majority of you should thank me that I didn't post all the pictures on here of the dance faces I caught. wink!) That's another thing that is so awesome about our group.  They come here for the right reasons and only whip this type of behavior out when appropriate. =)

I believe Jesus worked in many of the students hearts this past weekend just as he does not only every time we do this but EVERY weekend/weekday at home too.  I'm so very proud of the way I see the majority of them living out their daily lives as examples of Christ and not just when they are getting a "spiritual high."  It's just who they are.

See you all next year!
For the rest of the photos from the trip, copy and paste the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100840040389292.2606694.17102077&type=3

Insignificance

A certain theme keeps arising in sermons I hear, songs I listen to, and especially in my own personal times with the Lord.  And that is the word "Insignificant." Not in the sense that I am insignificant to God because that is by all means not true but that in the whole scheme of things I truly am insignificant to the world in it's entirety.  Nothing in this life is about me.  Never has been, never will be.  Nor is it about you. The bible says 

"You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." James 4:14

A mist! The mist you see when you awake some days is typically gone by mid morning.  What a great metaphor for the briefness of our lives. Take a moment and ponder on that. 

I don't know why I ever think for a moment that I "should" have something or that God or someone else "should" do something for me.  How ridiculous.  But I also use this verse as a reminder in the tough times.  A reminder to slow it down and enjoy every moment I can because what is happening at the current moment isn't going to last forever.  Barely ever at all.  And I can keep going.  Going and looking forward to each and every next day, just in case there won't be a next one. We are never promised tomorrow.

"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring." Proverbs 27:1

Material things don't matter. Fame doesn't matter.  Stop being arrogant. Here I am, having a nice casual little visit in this world. A mini vacay if you will, until I get to live with my King forever in heaven.  So if times get hard, I'm simply having a bad day, or if I even begin to think for one moment that this world is about me, it is but a breath to Him.  But here's the cool part...you ready?  God still cares for you intimately and thinks you are awesome!  He is woven into every aspect of your life on a deeper level than any person ever could be.  You're not compared to any other person nor do you get put aside until he's done taking care of someone else.  He loves you despite your disgusting life.  He doesn't have to, because you are a teeny tiny spec in this universe after all, but he does.  Because that's what grace is. Unfathomable grace.  

My thoughts for the day.

Washington D.C. Getaway!

This past week, the hubby and I took a 4 1/2 day trip to our nations capitol, Washington D.C.  Kid free!  It was our first time away together with no children in 4 years!  We did a lot of sightseeing, hardly ever stopped going and I honestly thought my feet were going to fall off but it was SO worth it because I learned so much AND most importantly, we had a BLAST!  This is definitely the most photos I've ever put in a blog post but it was impossible to not put a big chunk of them in to give you a glimpse of our trip.

We started off day one when we arrived at the Holocaust Museum. Unable to take photos inside for obvious reasons but I'll simply say it was remarkably done.  I'm not a big history buff so I learned a lot here. 

Day 2-  Our first stop was the Capitol building. We were unable to visit the White House so this was our second option.

 
One of two of the Oklahoma statues in the Capitol.  This is Sequoya. The other is Will Rogers but he wasn't in a location we could spot on our tour.

Next was the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.  REMARKABLE to say the least.  Had to get pictures next to these awesome lifelike animals for the girlies.

I was in front of the evolution exhibit.  We didn't waste any of our time there since it's clearly all false. =)  I came here to learn right?

I believe that was a dinosaur thigh.

Our last stop was the Pentagon Memorial.  This is the only area of the Pentagon that you can get photos of.

There is a whole story behind the positioning of everything in this Memorial.  It would take some time to describe so if interested, just ask me and I'd love to tell ya!

The area where the airplane flew into the Pentagon.

Day 3-  We went on our walking tour of the National Mall.  This is Washington Monument...obviously.

We got lucky and by chance President Obama happened to fly right over us and land at the White House while we were walking by on our tour.

One of our stops on our tour was also the WWII Memorial.  Wonderfully done.

In front of the reflecting pool and Lincoln Memorial.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

 Lincoln Memorial close up

Where Martin Luther King stood when he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.

Looking at on the area he would have seen that day.

Korean War Memorial

The National Cathedral. Breathtaking.

We were there to visit our wonderful friends Joey and Emily too!

Day 4- Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

"Changing of the Guard."

Arlington National Cemetary

The overlook in front of Robert E. Lee's home (Arlington House)

Had to have my photo in front of the White House at least.

Where President Lincoln was shot.

Theodore Roosevelt Island.

Our last night farewell!  Many thanks to Joey and Emily for all your hospitality!!!