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God's Word says: 

"I want you to show love, *not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me* more than I want burnt offerings." Hosea 6:6

God himself says that knowing Him is what is most important. 

I taught at Family Biblestudy last week on John the Baptist. It's parents and kids. And they ask good questions. So you always have to be READY. So I was studied up. 

(From Luke Chapter 1)

John the Baptist was the son of a really old couple who had waited a very long time to have kids. The angel came and told the father, Zechariah the priest, that they would have a baby. Zechariah is busy. Busy doing his tasks. Listen to what Zechariah did... he basically laughed at the angel! He questioned him. 'Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” He had sooo little faith. If an angel came to me while I was changing my baby's diaper, I feel pretty sure I would listen! Zechariah! Have faith! But he did NOT.

And for that, he was punished. 

Faith is blessed, but unbelief is judged. Unbelief is something God will not accept. 

The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

Punishment. For lack of faith. For lack of belief. 

John the Baptist was THE guy. The guy who had the privilege to declare the coming of the most important person in all of history. JESUS CHRIST. The Son of God. 

But his Dad? Whoopsie. He was not so obedient. Zechariah was made completely silent for the entire pregnancy because he didn't believe the angel. He lacked faith.

But Elizabeth was awesome. If you are in a marriage where your husband lacks faith, persist sister. God's blessing rested on Elizabeth. And at a super old age, she gave birth to a son just as God promised. 

Seek a personal relationship with Jesus.  Depend on God's Word. His very Words will guide you sister. 

'When you walk, their counsel will lead you.
When you sleep, they will protect you.
When you wake up, they will advise you.
For their command is a lamp
and their instruction a light;
their corrective discipline
is the way to LIFE.'
Proverbs 6:22-23

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God MY Savior, Luke 1:46-47

'Therefore let all the faithful PRAY to you.' Psalm 32:6

Pray and rejoice!

YOUR FAITH WILL BE BLESSED!!! 

I am here at the computer. Foot propped up on a pillow. And all I have seems to be a big jumble of words. But one word in particular.    .... love.....

'What great love the Father has LAVISHED on us. 1 John 3:1

Any love that we have, or experience, first came from God. 

I just had a bone spur removed from my big toe. It hurts to have a bone spur. And so far, it hurts to not have the bone spur. :)

I guess it came from 10 years of aerobics classes...I think I've taught like 320000000000 classes, or something like that. So extra bone built up on my toe from 1 trillion jumping jacks and pushups. yoweee....

The doctor has promised that once my foot heals, I will have no pain at all in my toe. Doing aerobics with a bone spur has been so hard. For a year I put up with it, just knowing that it would eventually go away because I am young and things just eventually heal. I was wrong. 

It is painful to have bone cut out of your foot, incase you wondered. :) 

It's my first surgery. Ever. So I take the pain medicine the doctor prescribed. Because if I don't, just putting my leg over the side of the bed in the morning is tough. And I am ok with pain. See my posts on delivering babies naturally. :) 

But the pain meds knock me out. I am useless with them. Think of me in a super sleepy stupor. But I am useless without them. So Brian has taken over. I seriously don't know how to do this life without him. He is doing EVERYTHING. 

So tonight, I am using the 3 functioning brain cells not in the medical fog to blog for my sweethearts BIRTHDAY.

Full in my head and heart are words. love. tenderness. compassion. thankfulness. truth. about Brian. 

Oh....I love love love him...

The annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch was just a day or two before I went in for the surgery. 

(Whoops. A poopie.) 

BRIAN. 

He is in love. With Jesus. 

He encourages me in my job. He encourages me as a Child of God, a mother, a sister, a wife and a friend. 

He is strong.

He is NOT complicated. 

He wakes early to get to the gym before anyone else is awake, so that he doesn't miss sleepy girl morning snuggles. He bends his huge body to gently hug tiny little frames. He treats each of them as if they are the center of his attention. He kisses, holds and hugs them often.

He has endured watching as baby after baby, after baby, painfully get pushed from the inside of my body to the outside. And quietly encouraged without ever really saying a word. 

He provides for us, so well.

He works hard. 

He soldiers on.  

He makes me want to do my best. 

He has never complained about being so outnumbered by girls. 

In fact. He rarely complains about anything. 

He buys pink princess pull ups.

He DELIGHTS in his girls. 

He laughs at their silly knock-knock jokes. 

He endures nauseatingly girly movies that are even too much for me, with a big shouldered shrug and an incredibly non-judgmental smile.

He's funny.

He IS SO PATIENT.

He sits hip to hip with his girls and listens to their hearts.

He, without being prompted, complements cute little girl hair do's.

He teaches his girls to fish. And catch frogs. And throw a cast net. 

He tells his girls 'you are gorgeous'. And they believe him.  

He encourages femininity. 

He plays with dolls the size of his pinky.

He carefully wrestles on and off impossibly sticky Polly Pocket clothes.

He fixes dinner.

He forgives me when I'm a jerk. 

He grits his teeth through crazy photography shenanigans, for 'just one more shot'. 

He forgets my wrongs, and remembers my rights. 

He holds hands. 

He changes diapers.

He likes my cooking when its good and never tells me when it's bad. 

He encourages me.

He prays for us. 

He is generous. 

He is terribly outnumbered and NEVER seems to mind. 

He wipes off the table after the meal for the 1 trillionth time.

He doesn't fuss when I plow into the 'tiny' tree and poke a hole in the tail light of the new car.

He goes out for frosties on late night pregnancy runs.

He always tells me I'm beautiful, but mostly when I have no makeup on.

He desires me.

He makes me laugh.

He's given more shoulder rides/piggy back rides than are countable.

He puts me in the center of his attention, even when the countless little blond girls vying for his affection are circling.

He carries sleeping babies to bed.

He smiles genuinely and enjoys pretend 'pedicures' and hair salon afternoons.

He makes a big deal over little kid notes scratched on napkins or papertowels and displays their art at his office.

He steals my framed family pictures off of dressers or counters at home to add to his collection on his desk.

He laughs uproariously when they run to greet him at the end of the day.

He looks an unusual amount like Clark Kent. Ok. So not really. But he makes me think of Superman.

He sees the good in everything and takes hold of it.

He dismisses the bad.

He is so humble.

He is true.

He wants to be with me.

He wants to be with us. 

He likes me. He supports me. He encourages me.

He baptized his daughter.

He will drop, cancel, ignore or reschedule anything and everything to be on a date with me. 

He takes them on a special date on their birthday, just he and them. He makes them KNOW they are loved.

He's simple. 

He is a gentle giant. He pummels his humungous Jiu Jitsu opponents into the ground at the gym, and then drives home. He comes in to a house full of little girly girls and immediately is available to them. Ready to swing them around to their favorite song, tickle wiggling bodies or snuggle and hug.

I've asked him what he likes best about each of his girls and he is quick to go on and on about each one. 

All the answers are unique and sweet. 

Here's one in particular...

He loves when he comes in from work and she devours him with her little body. She's runs to him and he sweeps her up in his big arms. They melt into a puddle, then they are rolling around on the floor gleefully spilling laughter out everywhere.

I tell him he's the best husband in the world. The best Daddy in the world. 

He tells me that he's just doing what God created him to do. 

My love, I AGREE.

Brian, 
My sweetheart. My hunk of burning love! Happy Birthday! You are light and laughter and everything lovely. I can't help but want our girls to turn out like you. To love God unabashedly. To seek Him with their whole hearts. I am so thankful that you are way more than a provider and protector. You give everything you have day after day, without ceasing. You make me want to be a better wife and mother. You encourage me with the way you live a life of LOVE. You are the PERFECT husband for ME. God had me in mind as He was making YOU. You are knit just right for ME. I pray our girls will find someone to live, love and grow old with like I have found in YOU. We are all watching and following your awesome lead. 
I love you, love you, love you.
Jen

Full of June

'Baby. I love you for always and everyday.' Evelyn (age 4 3/4)


Of course the words were spoken by our resident lover. Evelyn. And no truer words have been spoken by her. The recipient is her favorite little person on the planet. Ev's love language is physical touch, so the baby is still being man-handled/Ev-handled everyday constantly. I have to write these things down. I seem to be forgetting more than I am remembering these days. 

Probably because I haven't had a full night of sleep in months and months and months and months...I've embarrassed myself, forgetting the most important things, birthdays, names, conversations even. That was the worst one, I just plain forgot a conversation. I'm sure I offended the one whose conversation I forgot. I guess that just comes with the territory. No excuses. And no time to nap and catch up a little. So my memory is what is taking the brunt from this time. It's fading. Thank the Lord for this blog to quick jot my thoughts down. Current thoughts. Every once in a while I look back on old posts. This is a place so special to me. And strangely safe even though lots can, and do, read it. For me, it's a place for remembering these years. Tucking away snapshots and stories of these days that will one day be long ago. The days spent finding a lost shoe, tucking little ones into bed, putting on sunscreen, putting the same little girl in the same car seat...again, endless laundry, dishes that just won't quit, lots of wardrobe changes everyday from every girl, finding that special pair of well worn shorts in the dryer since she wants to wear them again today, repeating the same manners phrases 512 times like 'wash your hands', 'say excuse me', 'put your napkin in your lap.' 


Mama's who are before me tell me these times won't last forever. I BELIEVE them. I get it. I just like these tough old days. I do. I was made for this. Not in a weird co-dependant way. I'm just enjoying blooming where we are planted, during this season. God has richly blessed me with these four little girls and Brian. How possibly could I not praise him for His goodness. I delight in the way He meets our needs when we haven't even begun to imagine what our needs may be...he's already gone before me, before us. One day, they will be older. The problems will definitely not be... remembering to put your napkin in your lap... or finding a lost shoe. Trying to keep a firm perspective on the fact that things... will... change.  
And honestly, I hope Jesus returns before I have 4 teenage girls. :)

We are at the beach for July 4th. It's a super warm and sunny day today. We are just in from the pool. Three of the four girls are napping, and Brian and his Dad have run to get all the fish and stuff for Low country boil for dinner tonight. It's been a world-wind couple of weeks and it really truly feels like the first time I have had a chance to sit and think...collect my thoughts. I am so happy sitting here with my cup of green tea and my laptop. 


June has come and gone and now we are very very officially in the middle of summer. Especially now that some days are in the 100+ degrees range. Can't believe it's July 5th already. June has held some exciting times, most good, some hard. The girls loved Horse camp with cousins for a week, celebrating Fathers Day, a cool-weathered(!) week in Disney, we painfully and through tear stained cheeks sent our very best friends off to one of the most northern states in America, Brian and I snuck away, with the baby, to celebrate 12 years of marriage in Charleston, we loved a trip to NC for one of my very bestie's wedding, and our two-year-old survived a front tooth extraction. My cell phone went swimming, so I've survived without a cell phone for a week. I got pink-eye which looked way more like really-red-eye. Whew. We've been swimmin', beachin', bowlin', library trippin', swim team swimmin' and a bunch of other good stuff in June. 


And honestly, most of it was captured with my cell phone camera. Not alot of great shots, but so many many great memories. 


Celebrating Brian is a big deal. It's easy around here. Because they all worship him. The love simply flows for him. And the reciprocal too. I have to mention it, because it's intense. It is something I celebrate. It has not one thing to do with me. I just have to stand back and watch. I once had a similar attachment with my own Dad. I think of him soooo often as I watch Brian with these little girls. I remember my Mom even asking me about it. 


She would say, 'What do you find so wonderful about your Dad? What do you like so much about him?' I don't know what I said then, but what I miss now, are... his hugs, his hands, his laughter, his horrible jokes, his smile, his teeth, his hugs...oh I already said that. 2012 was my first Fathers Day without him. 


I had such fun doing all of the pregnancy shoots a few months ago. So I had an idea for a Fathers Day picture for Brian. The girls are always game for photoshoots. It started out tame enough... then I told them my idea. 

That, they were even more excited about! And I adore how it turned out. Even the fact that his eyes are closed. He IS super man to me, and us. And COULD do it with his eyes closed. Thank you Lord for this guy. 

Later that day, a Father's Day Party. All I had to do was say the word. The girls were ON IT. The party at our house was designed and executed by some creative girls. The guest list included...
A 2 month old very cute, clueless infant
A 2 year old very toothless, cutie pie
A 4 year old sweetheart and streamer hanger
and
A 6 year old precious event planner and party extraordinary-ista. 

Streamers were strewn EVERYWHERE. Balloons were blown up. Cards were made. Party hats were on. And here we are. Waiting, as patiently as we could, for Daddy to come home for the party. It didn't make the self portrait, but yes, of course, I had on a party hat too.

As little girls, Julie and I talked about, and wondered about, what our babies would look like when we grew up and had children. 
Will they look similar? Or different? 
Hmmm. You be the judge on this one.  :)

It's Evelyn's first year of swim team. When I signed her up I told them that she was almost 5. They didn't seem to mind that she is actually 4. So she happily races against 5 and 6 year olds and is the youngest on the team by far. They practice 2 mornings a week at 8:00 in the morning. Somehow it seems really early every single time they go.  They are both enjoying it so much. It is my favorite childhood memory being a swim team girl. So maybe I am vicariously living through them, just a tad. At the last meet, they got to swim together in a relay, just like my sister and I used to. 

  Evelyn (on the chair) Carlisle (in the water)


There are some special weddings that I have attended in my life. I think I've been a bridesmaid 10 or so times. I've lost count. 


One of my best friends got married in June. It was the greatest wedding and reception you can imagine. The bride is infinitely awesome. And naturally beautiful. And unswervingly cool. And so un-consumed by tradition...and formality...and pretension. She just wanted to marry the man she loves. They accepted no gifts because they plan to continue their lives as missionaries, traveling the world. Oh. Did I mention there were 40 people there. Total. Maybe 45. What an honor to witness those vows. The simplicity and intimacy increased the preciousness for us all. We were all a part of something so special.


The ceremony took place under the shade of tall trees, on a farm, down a long winding road, somewhere in small town, NC. The baby was with us. She was strapped to my chest in the bjorn. Always along for the ride, she was happy to be close. What an evening. Tami was more strikingly beautiful than I had ever seen her. He was handsome and happy. Her parents were darling and wonderful. 


The bride, the groom, even the parents... all of us, sweaty from nutty fun dancing, ended up in the swimming pool by the end of the night. Really? Yes, she went in. In her wedding gown. This is reason #3249 that I love her. 

Our 12th anniversary trip. 

We almost canceled the whole thing. But at the last minute, and I mean last minute, ran away for the night. I asked Brian Saturday morning around 9:00 if he thought we could still pull off running away for one night. He said yes. I texted the baby sitter. She was there by 11:00am and we were gone. 

We didn't bring the mack-daddy camera. But we did bring the baby. We didn't bring a stroller. So we carried that sweet little goose everywhere we went. 

Because of the hiatal hernia and her difficulty gaining weight, she's tiny. She was 2 months at the time but easily the size of a baby just out of the womb. 9lbs. People everywhere ooh'ed and ahh'ed at her. And the most frequently asked question right after, 'How old is she?' was, 'Is this your first?' Sometimes we'd just smile and say no. Just for a chuckle sometimes we'd tell them the deal. She's the fourth...girl. I tell them for the reactions. It's fun everytime. 

We hired a babysitter so we could go to our favorite steak house. It's dumb how good the steaks are. And the atmosphere is so fancy and romantic. I bought a new pair of earrings for the occasion. Dangly and green. 

Goofy lovebirds... with no time constraints, no kids, yummy food, and a handy dandy iPhone. They brought us champaign to celebrate our anniversary. So, we toasted quietly in each others ears to the good stuff and all the years we've had...and all the years we will have.

Smells like dinner is done. And I've done nothing to help. Babies are waking up. Evelyn is here playing with 'my baby Bliss', on the floor. Dreamy quiet time with my laptop and green tea are done.


Planning to potty train a two year old tomorrow or the next day. That's endless stories and pictures...and fun. Whew. I've delayed that long enough. She's ready. It's me that has to gear up.


Hope to blog again soon.