The main reason I do this monthly photoblog is to intentionally set aside time to reflect on how awesome God has been to our family over the past month. There are funny pictures, cute pictures, and lots of memories that I enjoy sharing…but the process of thinking through the past month is much deeper as it causes me to think through how things are really going with our family. September was a GREAT month…it started with Clint and I finishing up a weekend away in Boston to celebrate our anniversary and finished up with us spending the last weekend of the month on our boat relaxing and playing at the lake. In between we enjoyed multiple birthday parties, lots of NCCS activities with friends, a quick trip to Memphis to help the Graffams get settled in their beautiful new home, working around our house and in the yard, Emma helping me handwash the car, lots of meals with family and friends, more playdoh adventures than you can imagine, dress up clothes, reading books together, and the purchase of Emma’s first NCCS cheerleader uniform. Lots of fun milestones! Above all, God has been faithful…His mercies are new every morning.
My favorite moment from this past month…
I have a large bottle of water that sits on my bathroom counter. I was given the bottle of water last year when I was on a mission trip in Guatemala. We had stopped for lunch at a restaurant and everyone was given two drinks. I selected two bottles of water. I only ended up drinking one of them, so I put the other in my bag for later. The bottle itself was pretty cool looking and I figured I’d drink it later in the week. When it came time to come home at the end of the week, I realized I had never opened that bottle of water. I found a large ziploc bag and zipped the bottle of water inside it to put in my suitcase to come home. There was a slight chance the water might bust open or something…fortunately the plastic bottle and the water within were still intact when I arrived home. When I was unpacking, I put the bottle on my bathroom counter as a reminder to pray for the people of Guatemala.
Emma asked me about that water bottle a lot over the next few months. I always told her that it reminded me to pray for the people of Guatemala that don’t always have clean water or drink or enough food to eat. About a week ago, Emma asked me about it again and then quickly told me “I know you keep that so we can pray for the people in Guatemala who are hungry and thirsty. I’ve been praying for them too.” She left the bathroom and came back a few minutes later with a dollar from her wallet and told me she wanted to help the people in Guatemala too. What a treasure…she gets it!
Here are some other pictures from September…looking forward to a great October!
