Today was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick fil-A - which meant if you dressed up like a cow, you got a free combo meal!

My nieces are staying with us this week so we thought it'd be fun to get dressed up and enjoy some free chicken nuggets.

Even Colton got in on the action. Normally, he pulls off anything I put on his head in a jiff, but for some reason he didn't mind having his
"ears" on. Maybe he knew how dang cute he'd look. :)

I feel like posting something a bit more serious than some of my usual fare. But, all I've got in my head right now is the lyrics from this weird Finnish music video.

That and the sound of Casey's hysterical laughter as he watches funny videos on youtube.

I guess I could segue that into something on how there's a time for everything. A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.

In life, we need the changes of the seasons. (Boy Howdy, my senior English teacher wasn't joking about the value of a transition!) The unexpected and uninvited keep us from getting too comfortable in our own skin and shifting into autopilot.

But just because change is good for us, doesn't mean we enjoy it. Recently, I've been challenged to keep a good attitude during the unexpected. Nothing earth-shattering or particularly noteworthy, just those minor happenings that pop up in life and create a few ripples.

When these hiccups occur, my first and most natural response is to want them over with quickly and to get back to my routine. But lately I've been trying to view life's twists and turns as opportunities for personal growth.

I believe that nothing comes into my life except what God allows. There are a number of scriptures that persuade me of this: Jeremiah 29:11, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Romans 8:28.

When God brings something into my life - a person, a new responsibility, a messy diaper when I'm all out of wipes - whatever it is, it can serve a purpose, but I have to be willing to receive it.

I'm reminded of a guy named Joseph. Joseph had a lot of hotheaded brothers who got really ticked off at him and decided to sell him into slavery. (Now that's some serious family dysfunction.) After being sold into slavery, Joseph's life doesn't get easier. He was falsely accused of trying to seduce his boss's wife and then thrown into an Egyptian prison. Eventually, God provided an opportunity for Joseph to show his true character, and he rose to the occasion, becoming one of the most powerful men in the country.

By this time, things weren't going quite so well for the fiery brothers. Broke, hungry and feeling kind of desperate, they went to Eygpt looking for help and ended up face to face with the brother they'd betrayed. Understandably, the brothers were terrified that Joseph would use his power to take revenge on them. But instead Joseph said to them, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good..." Joseph forgave his brothers and put his love into action by providing for them in their poverty and hunger.

Joseph suffered a lot more hardships than I ever have. But in the midst of his suffering, he chose to honor God, show mercy to those who hurt him and find ways to express kindness and love.

As my seasons shift back and forth from weeping to laughing and dancing to mourning, I want to do the same. Life's never going to be just what I expect it to be. God will continue to shape me and refine me to be the woman he wants me to be. And that's a good thing.

No, this post isn't about how I'm returning from some exciting adventure or philosophical sabbatical. It's about how after a number of years, I'm experiencing summertime again.

Once I finished school and joined the full-time workforce, summertime became a rather overlooked period of time falling between my front yard gardening weeks and the Oklahoma State Fair.

For those of you who work in an office, you know how easy it is to forget what time of year it is. Especially, if you have a strict dress code (which I did) that requires wearing a skirt suit, pantyhose and heels rain, shine or smoldering heat.

I often remember sitting at my desk in a climate-controlled building and having no idea what the outside weather was like and even struggling to remember what month it was.

All that to say, since having Colton, the seasons have returned! Part of that is because I actually go outside during daylight hours. The other reason is my "office building" is not nearly as climate-controlled as my previous jobs. When it's hot outside my house lets me know. When it's cold, I'm busting out the space heater trying to warm my frozen toes.

Having a toddler, (What! Did I just say toddler? Oh, that is crazy that he's a toddler now.) has also got me into or at least dangerously close to water more often this summer than in probably 10 years. Not that Colton can actually swim yet, but he just looks so darn cute in his swim trunks that I can't resist any opportunity to bring him to the pool.

Check out a couple of adorable pictures our friend Tony recently took of Colton in his swim trunk cuteness.

I recently starting working out to Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I wanted something challenging that I could do at home that wouldn't take all day.

I've tried quite a few workout videos in the past and this one's my favorite so far. It's under 30 minutes, and she's really motivational. That said, it's not easy. At least not for me. Lots of push ups, jumping jacks, squats, lunges and lifting weights.

For the first few weeks, I started out on Level 1 (there are 3 different workouts on the DVD) and then got gutsy and moved up to Level 2 last Wednesday.

It was all right the first day. I was tired and my shoulder was sore, but I decided to be a trooper and do Level 2 again on Thursday. Well, that was the last time my body was pain-free for the next few days.

I must have pinched something in my neck and by Saturday was having horrible spasms behind my ear. It was so painful I couldn't talk during them or even eat a really delicious meal that some friends had invited us to that night.

I don't know if this is related, but all weekend I also had a fever and was really weak. I took some pain/fever reducer but my temperature was still about 101.

Weird.

So, I think I'll return to Level 1 for now (that is once Casey permits me to put in my workout DVD again) and quit trying to be so macho.

Colton took his first steps this afternoon, and we caught it on camera! Please forgive his consumption of a paper envelope. Typically, I would have taken the offending item away sooner, but we didn't want to disrupt his precious first steps.

Wow, this was a crazy week! For those of you who don't know, Casey was suppossed to leave to go to India this past Friday (June 6th). One of our supporters heads up the international recruiting department at the University of Central Oklahoma and makes regular trips to India to seek out new students. He invited Casey to join him on this trip and was really eager to have Casey see the country with him.

All the plans were laid, the tickets bought, vaccines injected, visa purchased . . . and then two nights before he was to head out of town, something unexpected happened.

On Tuesday, Casey started to experience pain in his back and stomach. The pain persisted off and on throughout the day until about 6:30 p.m. when it suddenly became excruciating. We thought about going up to the emergency room right then but a few minutes later the pain had subsided. But, it didn't stay gone for long. By about 10 p.m. the pain was back in full force. We decided we'd better head to the emergency room and figure out what was going on.

A CAT scan revealed Casey had a 4mm kidney stone that was in the early stages of its trip out of his body. After treating Casey's pain and getting him hydrated through an IV, the ER doctor sent us home with several prescriptions and a warning that attempting to go to India in a few days would be "tricky."

The next day was really bad. After about 8 hours of horrible pain at home, we finally headed back to the ER to get stronger pain relief. The prospects for the trip to India weren't looking promising.

Thursday morning Casey was still struggling with nausea, exhaustion and intervals of pain, so he decided to forgo joining his friend on the trip to India.

He was a bummed to miss out on the opportunity, but we trust that God had a reason for the way things happened and are thankful that the kidney stone didn't appear a few days later while he was already in India.

Today Casey has still been battling pain but not as severe as before. We're hoping that he's almost at the end of this thing.

Please keep him in your prayers.

This weekend, the family traveled to Huntsville, Texas for GFA's staff retreat. We really had a good time. It was fun to get to spend time with other staff members in a more relaxed environment. We swam, did a ropes course, played board games and Casey fished (and even caught about 30 fish in the lake!)
Sleeping the first night was a bit rough. We're not used to being in the same room with the little guy, and we accidently woke him up on Friday night. He cried for at least an hour solid and then was up with the chickens at 5:45 a.m. But the next night, I think he was so exhausted that he conked right out and stayed asleep. Yay!

I'm sharing the pictures of me at the ropes course. I can't remember the exact name of this obstacle, but it requires climbing to the top of a tall (TALL!) wooden pole and then standing at the top. You then summon up what wee bit of courage you have left and jump off in an attempt to grab a swinging bar a few miles above you.

Casey and I both did the pole climbing event - he was able to grab the bar though. I missed it but I was still proud of myself for getting up there.