Good Monday!

Well, the day has come. The computer is full of Madalyn pictures and won't load any new ones. Now we have the large task of saving the photos to cd so that new photos can be saved onto the computer for sharing. And this is why there are no new photos of little Miss Madalyn pushing her wagon, or standing independently on her bouncer (if you're thinking that bouncers are not for standing, you are correct), or helping daddy put the remote control back together after she broke it. But do not worry - all of these photos will be available for viewing eventually.
This weekend Jason worked on condensing a 200 page dissertation into a 30 page journal article to be submitted to AAMFT for dissertation of the year. He reported that the writing process went much more quickly with his own office. Imagine that! We also went out to dinner Saturday night, courtesy of our Christmas 'evening out' package from Jen and Michael: gift card to Chilis, special high chair cover, and placemat toy. We had a good time. Madalyn enjoyed her teething cookie, and when it was good and wet and gooey she generously offered some to Jason by resting it on his leg (new jeans, even!). She has also reached the point where dropping things on the floor is no longer and exercise in fine motor skills or cause and effect, but more of a behavioral experiment played on mommy and daddy. In the end, we decided that while dinner was fun and yummy, it is not at all the same as going out alone :-)
We tried out Lakeview Baptist Church this weekend. Jason's first comment was that the name of the church was misleading :-) Then again, 'highway view' Baptist Church does not have the same ring to it. The most exciting part of the service was at the end, when the minister said he had a message about his personal life to share (drumroll...): his wife has filed for divorce and moved back to El Paso. He has met with the deacons to discuss with them his desire to continue as senior pastor at this church. The deacons voted - although not unanimously - to support whatever choice he made, and so he will be staying on as senior ministor. At this point, most of the congregation stood and applauded - but not everyone! We did pray for the congregation later that day, but we'll probably keep looking, as much as we enjoy a good church drama ;-)
This morning I attended the Bible study at 1st Methodist and I loved it!! We're doing Beth Moore's Living Beyond Yourself, which is a study of the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:23). I love the way God performs miracles in me when I call on his name to make me patient, or loving, or self-controlled! I love when I hear gentle and patient things come out of my mouth that are certainly out of character, and I love when nothing at all comes out of my mouth - also out of character! (no comments here, family!). Beth talked about that in the intro video today. What I love about Beth Moore is how passionate she is, how full of enthusiasm and emotion she is when she talks about God and scripture and what that looks like in our lives - you can tell she gets it. She gets Jesus. She gets what we've been saved from and what we've been saved for. She is walking in the freedom of knowing what this world is all about. And I love that. And I want to be like that. And praise His holy name - I'm being refined every day and getting closer to being like Jesus - there is no more worthy goal.
Love! Kirsten