I have Him in my head... but I want Him in my heart.

Today was my 37th birthday!! I can't believe I am that old. It just seems like yesterday I was a little girl having an outside summer birthday party with a handful of neighborhood friends. Now... I'm a mom with kiddos asking me questions, needing me and wanting everything.
Chad and the kids made it a very special day for me. He took half the day off and we went to Ninfas and to see the movie "UP". Chad surprised me with my Baylor ring. One of the diamonds had fallen out, so I hadn't worn it for years. He took it and had the diamond replaced and the ring fixed for me. I'm so excited!
But.. not nearly as excited as I am that Cort decided this week at VBS that he wants to live for Jesus.... Here's the story.

I had decided sometime ago that my kids would do VBS at FB Woodway this year. Honestly for no other reason than that Clayton could attend... they accept 4 year olds and HBC doesn't.. and just because of convenience of location. That's honestly it. So, I hadn't even considered signing the children up for HBC VBS.

Well, Monday morning I woke up and realized that Caroline had gymnastics camp all week, Kate basically lives at friends houses, and Cort and Clayton would just be hanging with me all week... probaby in the Y nursery. I felt like maybe Cort should do VBS at Highland. I know the Jerusalem Marketplace curriculum would be something new for him and something he would really enjoy, so I woke him up and loaded him in the car to HBC.

It just couldn't have worked out better. We lined up to have him registered and he was able to get in a group with his two "besties".. CJ and Shep. I knew this was going to be a fun time for him. Sure enough, the first day he came home talking about how much he loved VBS.. which he was calling " Victory Bible Study".. His own Acronym I guess. He continued to tell me everyday about the stories he was learning at VBS.... the Bible Characters and the activities.

The next few days he got up so excited and anxious to go to "Victory Bible Study". I realized that on Thursday he had an appt. scheduled to have some pictures made, so I had planned on him missing VBS that day. Well, he wouldn't hear of it. He insisted that I call to move the pictures so he could be there. I did, and the photographer graciously offered us an afternoon appointment.

As it would turn out, Thursday Auntie Joy presented the children with the Plan of Salvation. Cort told me he immediately knew that he wanted to pray that, but it was suggested that maybe he was too young.

Well, today I picked him up from VBS and sure enough he told his leader that he understands and that he " knows he has Jesus in his head, but now he wants him in his heart". Can I just tell you what it felt like for me as a mom to see my precious little son make a decision to follow Christ?? I'm so proud of him and so excited for his decision.

More than ANYTHING ever for my children, I want Jesus to live and REIGN in their hearts. I'm so thankful for the workers at VBS (Ruby Kidd) and for the Lord for piercing Cort's heart, ordaining this moment for him and for prompting me on Monday morning to take Cort to Bible School at HBC. I know it was be something that will be a precious memory to him.. and me FOREVER!

I have told several friends and family members this before, but I believe the Lord is preparing Cort for something amazing. There is something inside his heart I see that is a geniune desire to be close to the Lord. I am so excited to see what the Lord has planned for Cort's future. Hopefully it doesn't involve a foreign country far away, or some kind of life of celibacy (we want lots of grandkids), but I'm certain it's going to be something that will put his outgoing personality and leadership qualities together to furthur the Kingdom! I can't WAIT to see what it is... well, yes I can.. for now, I just want to enjoy my little boy!

Kate's Dance Recital

Besides a little Zumba here and there, I'm not much of a dancer and I guess I never have been. I didn't have the body type for dancing growing up and never took. But, this is NOT true for Kate. She loves dance and is really quite good at it. She has the long legs for it and the passion to do it.

This weekend was the much anticipated Dance Recital for Jenni Holley Dance Studio. Kate has been so excited about this as dance is now "her thing". She is part of the Junior Company at Jenni Holley and has thoroughly enjoyed it.

This past weekend we had three recitals. Yes, that's right... I sat through three recitals and actually enjoyed each one of them. I was so proud of Kate and what a great job she did.

I just thought I'd share some pictures.




This was her ballet costume. She was just gorgeous in it.


This was her jazz costume where she danced to " Dancing In the Streets".


Yes, Chad went too! I think he enjoyed watching Kate dance, but did not enjoy seeing her in so much makeup and with leotards on showcasing her long legs!


This was my favorite costume and favorite dance. It was tap to " It Don't Mean A Thing"... So cute!

What a pretty leap! Kate is in the yellow!

This was Le Jazz Hot with her whole company.. Senior, Teen and Junior. It was incredible. And yes, friends.. You counted correctly. I had to purchase 5 different costumes for the recital. If you've ever had a dancer, then you feel my pain. But, it was well worth it to see the smile on her face and the fun she had doing it.