The Girls Got Baptized!

Last Sunday November 11th, both Kathryn and Ellie were baptized at our church.  We had discussed this for the last few years, over and over and over again, and it was exciting to see them make this step of their own choice. We had a dessert reception afterwards and invited neighbors and friends from school to help them share their experience, and we had a great time.  While we were sitting in the service waiting for their baptism, I was flooded with memories of all the conversations that had led up to this.  As a parent, you so want your kids to follow Jesus, but you know that in the end, they must make their own choice.  I've made many mistakes as a parent, (and hopefully done some things right!) but it was a joy to see our children making a public decision to follow the Lord.

Notice the foot! :)

Thanks to our friends Tori and Lori who took great pictures when I couldn't find my camera!

Catching Up, and a New Blog!

I haven't blogged for a long time.
Sometimes it's because you don't have much to say.
Sometimes it's because there's too much to say.

Either way, I want to catch you up on our lives and share some new direction.

We've been through some major transition in the last 6 months.
I finished my MAC degree and started working for a wonderful counseling agency. 
Jim started his PhD.  And is still teaching full-time at SLU.
We swapped full-time student roles but both are taking on new jobs.

We're doing some wonderfully exciting things through our church.
Leading and coaching community groups.
Teaching opportunities centered around topics that we love to talk about.

Oh, yes, and we are still parents :)
The girls are in 2nd and 4th grades.
They add a various cornucopia of activities, like Girl Scouts, gymnastics, Ambassador Club (like the student council of the elementary school), playing the cello, and the chess club.

It's a very full life.

I haven't spoken with anyone in quite some time that doesn't describe their life as "busy."  We also feel this pull.  Where is the space to live life as God intended, with reflection, with restfulness of heart, with gratefulness-inspired giving, and joy?  I'm in pursuit of it.

So I'm launching a new blog.  ("Wait, I thought you were too "busy", you say.)

I've been thinking some time about a blog that could dovetail with my counseling practice, offer therapeutic thoughts towards LIFE, and be another means of making myself available to clients.  So, I'm going to keep this blog, but I'm going to let this be about personal and family updates.  And grandmas, I do have pictures to post soon!

But the new blog is going to be counseling related.

I'm going to kick it off with some insight from a wonderful book I've been reading called The Whole Brain Child, by Dan Siegel, who offers some tremendously helpful and extremely practical strategies for helping children live with integrated minds. Its written for parents, but I promise you, if we would put these thoughts into practice as adults, it would change us!

I'd love you to pop on over to this new site and subscribe to that blog too!

www.thisheartisalive.blogspot.com