If there's a song that gets me excited right now . . .

it's this one.

Hear our cry, Lord, we pray
Our faces down, our hands are raised
You called us out, we turned away
We've turned away

With shipwrecked faith the idols rise
We do what is right in our own eyes
Our children now will pay the price
We need Your light, Lord, shine Your light

If we've ever needed You
Lord, it's now, Lord, it's now
We are desperate for Your hand
We're reaching out, we're reaching out

All our hearts, all our strength
With all our minds, we're at Your feet
May Your kingdom come in our hearts and lives
Let Your church arise, let Your church arise

If we've ever needed You
Lord, it's now, Lord, it's now
We are desperate for Your hand
We're reaching out, we're reaching out
We're reaching out

We need You now
Revive us now
We need You now

Oh Casting Crowns, how I love you! Not sure if there has ever been a song from them that didn't hit me to the core. And like I mentioned, this one gets me excited. We're in the car, it comes on the radio and I start looking Penecostal. And Holden and I are yelling out "We love you, Jesus" as it plays. But the lyrics really get to me right now. Maybe because I just finished reading Crazy Love and it's got me wondering if the American Church is disappointing God with our lives and our actions. Francis Chan talks openly about the oxymoron that he believes the term lukewarm Christian is. And that conversation puts a lump in my throat. And it needs to do more than just put a lump in my throat. The song also reminds me of the last sermon series at my church. It was on Evangelism. It challenged me and made me terribly uncomfortable in the best way possible. So right now, this is the song that stirs me.

cousins.

My Colorado sister (also known as Amanda) came to Texas this past week. My fellow Texas sister (also known as Amy) and I took turns at mom and dad's house so we could see Amanda and the girls, but not overwhelm the place with young children. Ummmm, too late. Pretty sure we overwhelmed. But for a few moments one day, all 7 cousins were together. And they peacefully allowed us to take a picture.

And most of them, with the exception of the babes and my toddler, smiled for the picture. Notice Pax with the golf club. He screeched when his nana tried to remove it from his hands. Definitely going to be a golfer. :)

So we got in some more cousin time.

And we got in some nana time.

And we tried on some pretty bows. Just testing the waters to see what it would be like to have a little girl.

the sprinkler ball.

Holden received this fun little gift for his birthday back in May. I am ashamed to say we just now put it to use . . . today. Exactly 3 months later!
At first he had no interest in running through the spraying water. This surprised me since he constantly goes for the water spray areas at the water park. So daddy had to be the example, put on his swim shorts and play along. And it made a huge difference to run through while holding his daddy's hand.
And then, Jeremy, being the good daddy that he is, gave Pax a turn. Not sure he found it quite as fun as Holden. He would just bury his face into Jeremy's neck. Maybe next year, Pax. (Have I mentioned the recent progression in their relationship? It's nuts. Jeremy gets home and Pax cries if he does not immediately pick him up. He crawls to him as fast as he can and reaches up his arms for daddy. Jeremy leaves the room for 2 seconds, Pax cries. What happened to my momma's boy!? He sure does love his daddy. And honestly, I love to see that sweet bond.)
Pax preferred the dry area of the yard. I think he might become daddy's golfing partner one day. But Holden hung with sprinkler. And so did J. Pretty sure he liked it just as much as the 2-year old. And the boys ended up at the water table. As they often do . . .

free fun.

Today we went to a spray ground with a new little playgroup. It has definitely been a water week with Monday at the water park, Tuesday playing in our backyard with the water table, Wednesday back to the water park and Thursday at the spray ground. I think tomorrow we will stay dry. But these boys have loved the water in any form. And it's the only way to beat the summer heat in Texas. A few pictures from our day:

Surprise Visitors!

On Monday afternoon I got a text from our Oklahoma friends saying that they were on their way to the DFW area and that they might be staying that night with us if it was okay. Okay? It was more than okay. So Monday evening Jeff, Daysha and Lyndon rolled into our driveway. After dinner Jeff left for Dallas for work stuff. But Daysha and Lyndon were able to stay the night and play with us all day Tuesday. We hung around the house and played some in the backyard. And the boys got to wear cute, matching swim shorts. Thanks for spending the day with us. We are always up for a good surprise!

Life without a paci.

If I could describe in 1 word our recent transition with Holden, it would be: AMAZING! That boy has completely blown me out of the water with this paci thing. He knows and understands and he is completely over it. Occassionally we've talked about it this week. We've talked about the nice lady at the store that took the paci in exchange for his new toy. So after his 4 hour nap last Sunday, I went into his room when I heard him cheerfully babbling. With all of my excitement and probably some misty eyes, I told him how proud I was of his long nap and it being the first one without his paci. He looked at me with a huge smile and eager voice and said "mommy yappy!" Oh I was so happy. And also so proud for my boy! He asked for it that night when Jeremy put him to bed. Jeremy reminded him that he had given it away, to the nice lady, for the toy and Holden was completely satisfied with that answer. Other conversations have popped up about the paci, but not a single tear. This morning when I got him out of bed, he was telling me how he gave his paci to a nice lady at the store. Then as he was eating breakfast he started singing the Good Morning Song for the nice lady. So it went something like "Good morning mister lady, good morning mister lady . . ." I sing "Good morning mister Holden" so that's where he got the "mister". That he even thought to sing this song for the lady at Target made me laugh. So that's where we are with the paci. Completely over it. And still, I am completely stunned.

golf is funny.

Yesterday evening we spent some time in the backyard before putting the boys to bed. Jeremy played a little golf. Not sure if we can actually call it that since he was using Holden's plastic club and the dog's worn out tennis ball. But as Jeremy putted around in the grass, Pax chuckled with every single putt. It made me laugh (and run to grab my camera), so I could capture another sweet moment. He is just about the sweetest boy I know!

All the while, Holden soaked himself in the water. Because he is OBSSESSED with water!

And of course, he attempted to soak the little bro. But that little scheme was interrupted by daddy.