So...

...I went to Virginia a couple of weeks ago to visit Happy and Beautiful. Oh...and OF COURSE NCFan. :~) I had a wonderful time with my girls...NC had to work, and he wasn't home much.

I cannot believe how big Beautiful is getting, and how well she speaks! Well...she DOES talk very well...but NOT as good as her Mommy when SHE was 16 months old. I don't think ANY baby talked as well as Happy did. She was...well...born to talk! And if you know her AT ALL, you know I speak truth!

I arrived on Saturday, so I was able to go to church with Happy...and it was AWESOME! I am so happy that Happy found a church where she can use the gifts God has given her. Praise Him. It was a thrill to be able to worship with my baby once again. Unfortunately, she was sick and couldn't sing the solo she was assigned..."Every Mountain". OH BABY..I so remember doing that song at KFA...and it moved me once again. Happy and I stood while the choir sang and we sang from the congregation...what a blessing!

I will not bore you with the awful details of my flight to and from...suffice it to say that I will probably never CHOOSE to fly alone any more. Chief will fly with me (or SOMEONE will) or I will not fly. I'll drive! I'll tell you about it someday. If I can get through the stories without crying. Big BABY!

ANYWAY...enjoy the pics...I sure do!

Yeah...we were out for breakfast Sunday morning...she was finished with her banana and she wanted to go. NOW. Precious.

She LOVES her horsey.

Happy and Beautiful...so...happy...and...beautiful!

Out for a walk...she's using my sunglasses as a phone..."heyo? Oma?" :~)

My fave...breakfast Tuesday morning. What a face...what eyes! Isn't she beautiful???

By-the-way...in case you didn't know...Beautiful will meet new cousins this fall. PhotoMom AND Rachigga are having babies. I'm thinking the quiver is about full! :~)

Z-Man is FOUR!!

I can hardly believe that four years ago, my very first grandchild was born. My FIRST. He was the first one to say "OMA". The most beautiful sound ever in all of the entire world. Really.

And he is as beautiful today as the first time I laid eyes on him. Seriously...isn't he beautiful?

Photomom and Cheerios had a party for him on Sunday...a Greenbay Packer Party. Of course. He looked awesome in number 4. He and his friends played games and we ate that great Packer cake...made by Photomom herself.

This last pic was his first as a Packer fan!

His actual birthday was yesterday. He turned 4 on the 4th. Yup...his golden birthday. We had bar-be-cued chicken sandwiches and chips and more cake. He is just growing so fast. Too fast for Mom and Dad...way too fast for me. Still...I am totally enthralled with his grasp on life. His own little world. He is so smart. And pretty practical. 'Hey, Oma...wanna see my new toy?' He loves Cars...DVD's...playing on the computer and the Wii. He is so smart. Did I say that already? And, really thoughtful! He loves his little sister...he is a wonderful, loving, protective big brother!

I am so excited to see what this new year brings...more growing...new adventures...Happy Birthday, Z-Man...I love you with all of my heart!

Okay...PhotoMom tagged me in a Picture Game! I am supposed to go into my pictures folder, then into the fourth folder and upload the fourth picture from that folder. So...here goes:

This is Chief and Beautiful. He strapped her on to go out and mow the lawn! It was a hoot!! SO...here, also, is the fourth picture after that one:

It was a beautiful day...a wonderful week...I look forward to this years visit!!

Now, I am supposed to tag people...but I do not know how to do that. I'll try, though!

"Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven."

Like my new look? Me, too. See that picture? I took it yesterday. It was cold...I was on my way to prayer and this was the second stop-in-the-middle-of-the-road I made on my way.

I love this tree. I see it everytime I take this particular street to get to church. (There are several back-road ways to get to our church...I know them all.) I just thought it was particularly beautiful...raw, naked...a striking contrast against the newly fallen white powdery stuff.

Then I thought...that's the way WE should be. In the world, I mean. As Believers, we should be a striking contrast against the hue of this world; don't you think? Our lives should be readily seen from a distance, much like this tree, it should stand out; cause people to take a second look after that first glance. We should be turning heads.

I am finding myself struggling with standing out. With becoming a risk taker. I cringe at the thought of another rejection, at the sight of a really puzzled look or the sound of someone giggling at my words or actions. That blank stare as I am speaking about something I am passionate about...no one "catching the vision".

There was a time in my life when it REALLY mattered if what I did met the approval of someone I was trying to impress. And I was ALWAYS trying to impress SOMEONE. That was a different time. A far away place I thought I had traveled past. Apparently not. Maybe I was just on really big turnstyle. A circle I never noticed. Now it dawns on me that the one person I should be trying to "impress" is Jesus. Just Jesus. Like the saying goes: I am singing for "an audience of ONE."

Yeah...way back when it was about my singing. Sometimes it still is...when I hear little comments not really meant for my ears, or comments directed at me which should have been worded differently. Creative people can be so sensitive sometimes! :~)

So...I look at this tree...gnarled, thick bark which protects the tender rings of growth; standing firm in the middle of an open field facing the elements of winter and standing tall and strong. I see a beautiful God-creation...with scars...with imperfections...just what God intended me to see...His beauty against a barren world. That's how we impress the masses...standing strong against the elements of this world, our Godly armor protecting the tender rings of growth in our lives, planted on a firm foundation...a stark contrast against the chaos of this world.

I need to stand out. I need to take risks. And I will. I am. For an audience of One. To reach an audience of many.