365--weeks 24 & 25

sheesh--so much for kickin' it into gear! i am in my "getting ready for vacation" mode right now and my hopes of getting my blog caught up before we leave are dwindling. now i'm just hoping to get 1 or 2 done.

one day this past week i was listening to K-Love, a christian radio station, and something was said that just really penetrated my soul and i have been thinking about it all week. i don't know if this is so simple that most people get it but to me it was like a revelation. "God loves us not because of who we are but in spite of who we are". isn't that awesome? thank you Jesus! 

that same night i actually had the opportunity to go to the gym since jeremy was home. this was a first for me to be at the gym at 9:30pm. i was on the treadmill and had my ipod on "shuffle". now i have never created a play list and i should because i like to listen more to rock music when i work out but since i have yet to do that i just hit forward a lot. well, for some reason (not for some reason really...God knew what i needed to hear!) more of my praise and worship songs kept coming on and when "hillsong" came on i listened and soon found myself trying to keep from raising my hand and singing out loud. here are some of the lyrics...
"you dance over me while i am unaware....Lord i'm amazed by you...how wide, how deep, how great is your love for me" (i think that song is 'show me your ways')

i love this one too..."your truth is a lamp, your wisdom a light, i'm seeking Your face with intentions of finding you...i would run for a thousand years if i knew every step would be getting me closer, i'd swim to the ocean floor for my Lord is the treasure my Lord is the treasure..." ('the potter's hand') i ran good during that one! i know it was no coincidence that i heard all that in one day.

alright, i better stop yacking if i'm gonna get through 2 weeks of pictures in one post:)

week 24

day 162
this was the last day of science camp for the boys. the parents got to come and see all of their projects displayed. easton is showing me his battery powered bug thingy he made. it really worked! the camp t-shirts say "creative genius unleashed" --love it! easton told me he wanted to go to this camp all the way until he could be a counselor at it. i can actually see him doing that too:)

day 163
typical backyard play!

day 164
the boys love this clay! you make stuff, let it dry and paint it if you want. it's great! (can you make out the iguana in the background?)

day 165
i love this. i kind of snuck up on them while they were playing and wrestling on the trampoline and just peaked through the opening to catch this 'dog pile'.

day 166
i do know that someday i will miss having these little muddy-sandy-sticky-dirty hand prints everywhere. i try to remind myself of that as they practically reappear before my eyes as i wipe them up:)

day 167
we had a long fun day at the zoo. porter's first camel ride, love his smile.

day 168
backyard excitement...watching a big beetle dig around in the dirt!!

week 25

day 169
i found easton sharing an afternoon snack with his buddy, dexter...i know, kind of gross! (and yes, cereal can be an afternoon snack at our house!)

day 170
i only had a couple t-ball shots from this day. this was porter's first time to play catcher, he looks so small! he kept taking his mask off and would yell "this is hot! i'm hot!"---makes a mom proud:)

day 171

alright, i do not have a picture for today. and you know what? i don't care because it was a horrible day to put it mildly! it was father's day and jeremy was at the fire station...of course. i could write an entire post about this day so i won't go into details. it was just one thing after another, after another and again another! the boys were absolutely terrible and i wanted to throw in the towel. i actually called jeremy at the fire station crying and begged him to come home. yep, i was that defeated and desperate! unfortunately he couldn't come home but i did make it through the day...and the boys were lucky they survived too--LOL!

day 172
some days we can't make it to the pool, the boys have just as much fun with the sprinkler though! and really...summer wouldn't be summer without the sprinkler!

day 173
this is at the art camp that easton and cooper did this week. i love this place! i hope to share more about it sometime soon.

day 174
this is to prove that sometimes i have 4 boys instead of 3--ha! jeremy was snacking on these nuts one night while in bed working on his computer, i would grab some every now and then as i went in and out of the room. i came back for for some and it was gone so i asked him if he had finished the nuts and he said yes. the next morning i find this in his nightstand drawer! are you kidding me?!

day 175
okay,you see cooper has a flashlight and 3 glow sticks hanging from the bottom of easton's bed...well that flash light has been hanging there for weeks and he keeps it on every night when he goes to bed. i've been meaning to get a picture of it and knew this was my chance when he hung the glow sticks up. this night was the last night of VBS (vacation bible school) at our church and they all got glow sticks. i got out my tripod while they were sleeping and tried to take a picture in the dark, wasn't sure what i was doing but this is a 30 second exposure if i remember right.

wow! 2 weeks of pictures down--i feel good:) the boys are begging to go to the pool and after we've had rain for a few days i'm longing for the pool myself! sooo, i will see ya later alligator...

oh and remember... God loves you in spite of who you are!
xo xo 
 
  


 

Comments

[Jenna]

Oh my word Juli...I am just in awe of you right now and your mad photography skills!!! Do you know how amazing you are?!!!? Unbelievable! The sprinkler shot was I think my favorite, but that one in the dark is pretty impressive too along with just the artistic look about all of them! Way to go! Love all the Christian quotes and songs and inspiration this week. You know, "Lord I am Amazed" is one of my kids favorite songs, especially Preston so that made me smile! Love it, love it, love it...now get to packing to get out here!!! Hee! Hee!

[Cija Cooksey]

The sprinkler shot, all the freakin' way! AWESOME! Loved the Blog this week!

[Steve Jones]

Jules,

I ditto your sister's comments and Cija's. You are so talented and make me so proud. Love, Mom