All for Nothing...

Sometimes babysitting is something like parenting...though most of the time I feel like an older sister with two naughty siblings...and I am their bad example.
The other day, Hannah wanted a plastic box to put some of her "supplies" in, and as is always the case, Alyssa wanted it too, and had in fact already received permission from me to use it. What ensued thereafter required me to give Hannah some alone time in my room and then afterward we had a very serious talk. This talk evolved into a discussion of idols of the heart and what something becomes if we are willing to sin for it. I wasn't sure if she heard or even understood all of what I told her; but the next day when the girls arrived, Alyssa was bearing her own supply box and told Hannah she may use the one which had caused all the fuss the previous day. After trying to fit all of her markers and balloons into it, she discovered that it was too small for what she wanted it for, and exclaimed "I sinned over this for nothing!" Trying not to explode with laughter, I made some comment to the effect that sin never gets us where we think it will, even when we in the short term seem to get what we want from it--gratified that she had at least understood part of the previous day's discussion.
But then I got thinking about her comment. It really was enlightening to me even about my own heart--do I ever think that sin is somehow "worthwhile" because I get what I want out of it? The sad answer is that often I do, mistaking the miserable trash and rags of this life for treasures that I greedily grab for, allowing them to blind me to the real, great, and immeasureable treasure of blamelessness before a holy God. When I stand before Him at the end of my life, I pray by His grace that there will be few times I will look back on with remorse and exclaim "I sinned for nothing!" knowing that anytime I deem anything at all more precious than His will and His commands, it will never yield anything but sorrow.

Art and Such...and Writing

I used to aspire to writing and illustrating children's books. The only problem is that I can never think of a topic/ subject that seems original and not already used and reused. Here is a cute character, though. This is a drawing I did once of a little boy I knew (the left picture looks more like him). Can anyone think of a good story featuring this little guy??

Shorter than Expected...

So I forgot to print a picture of the last cut (below) to take to the hairdresser's today. Oops! Oh, well, Nate thinks it's cute. Hair gows out...

Last Time:

This Time:

Springtime in Ah..ah...Arkansaschooo!

These somewhat random pictures of my deck are to illustrate the heavy dusting of pollen that is currently coating EVERYTHING. I don't remember this from last year!!

The chair, deck rail, and floor normally do not have the yellow cast. And so, I have discovered I have allergies! I woke up with a sore throat two days ago and now it has progressed to itchy eyes and stuffy nose (plus the sore throat). Can anyone recommend some good over-the-counter medicine? I never had to take it before...

I also need to tell my tree story. Here is our orange tree:

Cute, huh? You would never know that 4 months ago it was 6 inches taller and had 14 inch branches? Here is what happened. Along about January, it was still very cold outside at night, even frosting sometimes. We were keeping the tree inside. But during the day, it was warm enough and sunny, so I thought I would put it out on the deck and let it get some sunshine (and I can't water it well inside, since it has nothing to drain into). But one fateful night, I forgot to bring it in. The next morning I rescued it, but the damage had already been done--the leaves hung limp and I knew it was not good. Eventually the leaves dried up and fell off, and then the branches dried up. We figured it was done for. I was sad, since Nate cares for the thing like his child. But seeing the sad state it was in, about a month ago, Hannah decided that she was going to water it and bring it back to life. By this time, it was permanently on the deck again, partially because we had given up hope for it, and partially because it was now warm enough. For one week, Hannah faithfully watered it every day. On the following Saturday, Nate and I were very surprised when, going out on the deck to read his paper, he spied some tiny green sprouts near where the lowest branches joined the tree! Hannah was overjoyed the next Monday when I showed her and now she insists she brought the tree back to life. We can't believe how well it is doing!

This and That...and waiting...

~By Aimee.
...This post is for you, Nana.

Well, I was going to upload my pictures of the "new" apartment, but apparently I stored those on my other laptop...which I gave to a friend to use at college. So...at least I can always take more pictures. If I don't have pictures to post, I don't feel like blogging.
So here is an OLD picture that Hannah took in January of the snow we got. I think it lasted 10 minutes after the sun came up. ;o)

OOPS!! Haha, that is not Arkansas...it is actually Maine.
Here is the correct one:

Nate and I are at some decision making points in our life--we want to stop renting and buy a house of our own, the Expositor's Seminary is opening at church this fall, and as the big 3 0 looms closer and closer for me, we are talking about the whens of starting a family. We still can't believe we are approaching 2 years of marriage!!

12:30 PM

I found my apartment pics!!

The Kitchen:

(Yeah, it's small, but so cute!)

The Dining Room:

(The Kitchen is the door to the right.)

And we have not one, but two bathrooms!

This is ours...

And this will be yours if you come to visit!

I still need to take pictures of the living room (with double deck doors) and the guest room (office, ironing room, toy room, music room) and our bedroom. But thanks for coming along on my little tour.

Okay...I wasn't sure if it was ok to post pics of the bathrooms...you can let me know if it is wierd.

Here is the Dining Room while moving in:
And the Bedroom at about the same time:

All of my immediate family has made it to Arkansas!

Yes, Aaron caught the biggest fish. What's new? Though it is not as big as my biggest last year...


At the beginning of September, my "little" brother came to visit and finally made the last person in my immediate family to come to Arkansas. (Haha, Cameron, you were in CA for 5 years and had to get married to get them to come...I did it in only a little more than a year :P). We had fun going camping and fishing in Mountain View (north of here, in the foothills of the Ozarks) and the best part of the weekend was going to see a production of "Fiddler on the Roof" at Murray's dinner theater that Saturday!! It was so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love plays! Copyright forbade us to take pictures of the play, so y'all will have to settle with one of us at the theater. It was the most fun thing I have done in a loooong time!
By the way, that is me, Nate, and Nate's brother Matt.

I couldn't get any good pictures of Aaron inside the theater, because my camera was running out of battery and the flash is the first to go, but here he is in line waiting to go in.

Ok, here is my haircut...

Short and straightened (but only temporarily).

By Aimee. Oh, yeah....

...I was in the middle of something last time I posted (in July), so:
Weddings
1. Cameron
2. Joanna
3. Nate's cousin Brandon. He and his now wife, Shelia, are off-Broadway, sometimes television stars and he has produced his own country music album. Very nice wedding, though the bride was 45 minutes late and we sat in the 95 degree humidity under the sun and I got a sunburn on my back. :D Having just attended my cousin's down-home Christian wedding, it was an interesting contrast. Brandon and Shelia are not believers and many people there weren't. Of course there was an alcoholic bar and (by the end) many drunk guests. Because we had a more-than-three-hour drive back to Little Rock (and were a little out of our element) we left early (before the bride and groom) but we later learned that there was a free microphone time that we were glad we missed (the toasts were embarrasing enough!) I am glad that the LORD orchestrated Nate's and my lives so that we married IN HIM!

And Babies. This includes all who I know have had in the last year their first baby or who are going to have their first.
Andy and Hannah (from church friends) pregnant with first.
Jonathan and Spring (from church) pregnant with first.
Chad and Jessica (from church) pregnant with first--twins!
Hong and Tami (from church) pregnant with first.
Josh and Heidi (from Maine) pregnant with first.
Dawn and Matt (church and Master's) first child born in ?March?
Danielle and Danny (Master's) first child born in July

...And I am sure there are more. CONGRATULATIONS, y'all!!

Update...

So, I "need to update my blog," eh? Well, let's see...today I watched two children (more like they came, they did schoolwork, we ate lunch, listened to "Adventures in Odyssey", played computer games (them), sorted out squabbles (me), listed more stuff on eBay (me), packaged up sold items to be mailed tomorrow (me). Then I hung out and checked out random websites and friend's blogs (What? Gabe and Rachel Powell have two kids? The Steinmeyer's have a baby?) and am waiting for my sweet husband to come home. His job has been keeping him away overnight a lot lately...he is probably getting a new one soon...I want to move to Maine...
Tomorrow I will watch two children, do some eBaying, cook dinner, maybe go to the pool...Saturday I might mix it up a little and go grocery shopping.

There's your update, folks!! Tonight I might get Nate to take a pic of me so all you curious Maine folks can see my short hair.

~By Aimee~

Hey! I found this cool place that I can write stuff online and my friends can read it...it is called a blog...I think I remember it from the distant past...
Ok, no need to say "I told you so." Wait...Hello? Anyone there? Yeah, it has been a while--sorry to all of those who lost interest and/or thought I didn't care. Fact is, folks, not much goes on here that I feel is worth sharing with the rest of the world. However, I do want to give a bow to all of the recent events...Nate and I are in that stage of life where many of our friends and siblings are either 1: getting married, or 2: having babies. So, to the weddings:







My brother is a married man! Girls, I am sorry, but it is true. Cameron joined the love of his life, Joanna, in marriage on December 3rd, 2005. That means they are just days past 7 months! Wow, I remember when... :o)








Next came the wedding of my best friend and "sister" Joanna, to Stephen. It was a fun time as Nate and I got to go to Maine for ten days and visit with friends and family. Speaking of weddings, it was fun to hang out with my cousin Zechariah and his wife Jennifer, who were married just about a month after Nate and I, and my other cousin Wesley and his wife Jessie, who were married last August (yes, it was a busy year for the grandparents!!)

Another reason for inconsistent blogging....it took me the better part of the morning to create and format this post...