my favorite lines....

from little women by l. m. alcott (a great Christmas read!)

Before the evening was half over, Jo felt so completely disillusioned, that she sat down in a corner to recover herself. Mr. Bhaer soon joined her, looking rather out of his element, and presently several of the philosophers, each mounted on his hobby, came ambling up to hold an intellectual tournament in the recess. The conversations were miles beyond Jo's comprehension, but she enjoyed it, though Kant and Hegel were unknown gods, the Subjective and Objective unintelligible terms, and the only thing `evolved from her inner consciousness' was a bad headache after it was all over. It dawned upon her gradually that the world was being picked to pieces, and put together on new and, according to the talkers, on infinitely better principles than before, that religion was in a fair way to be reasoned into nothingness, and intellect was to be the only God. Jo knew nothing about philosophy or metaphysics of any sort, but a curious excitement, half pleasurable, half painful, came over her as she listened with a sense of being turned adrift into time and space, like a young balloon out on a holiday.

She looked round to see how the Professor liked it, and found him looking at her with the grimest expression she had ever seen him wear. He shook his head and beckoned her to come away, but she was fascinated just then by the freedom of Speculative Philosophy, and kept her seat, trying to find out what the wise gentlemen intended to rely upon after they had annihilated all the old beliefs.

Now, Mr. Bhaer was a diffident man and slow to offer his own opinions, not because they were unsettled, but too sincere and earnest to be lightly spoken. As he glanced from Jo to several other young people, attracted by the brilliancy of the philosophic pyrotechnics, he knit his brows and longed to speak, fearing that some inflammable young soul would be led astray by the rockets, to find when the display was over that they had only an empty stick or a scorched hand.
He bore it as long as he could, but when he was appealed to for an opinion, he blazed up with honest indignation and defended religion with all the eloquence of truth an eloquence which made his broken English musical and his plain face beautiful. He had a hard fight, for the wise men argued well, but he didn't know when he was beaten and stood to his colors like a man. Somehow, as he talked, the world got right again to Jo. The old beliefs, that had lasted so long, seemed better than the new. God was not a blind force, and immortality was not a pretty fable, but a blessed fact. She felt as if she had solid ground under her feet again, and when Mr. Bhaer paused, outtalked but not one whit convinced, Jo wanted to clap her hands and thank him.

She did neither, but she remembered the scene, and gave the Professor her heartiest respect, for she knew it cost him an effort to speak out then and there, because his conscience would not let him be silent. She began to see that character is a better possession than money, rank, intellect, or beauty, and to feel that if greatness is what a wise man has defined it to be, `truth, reverence, and good will', then her friend Frederick Bhaer was not only good, but great.

what happens when you don't screen your babysitters....

actually, we are extremely thankful for our babysitters....
despite this photo that showed up in mike's inbox after some of our sweet neighbors took Hudson for a while so we could get some packing done... thanks Carters!

lake hart christmas party

mike did an amazing job as part of the team to set up our ministry's annual Christmas party... here we are celebrating.

first steps...

first bible

first visit from aunt & uncle

hiking with dad

training

duckie

more smiles

shower, cont...

what the guys did in the meantime...

more shower pics

christina drove all the way in from ft. meyers...

hudson's "date" sarah....

girlfriends from high school & college...

sweet gifts...

visit home & shower

my mom & a friend of hers threw us a "meet the baby" shower last weekend.... complete with nearly 30 women, i got to catch up with my 1st, 5th, & 7th grade teachers, friends from childhood, middle school, high school & college, and many others...

thanksgiving

very thankful for friends...

smiles

we're having a hard time getting it on camera, but he does it a lot!!

big weekend 2

Hudson was dedicated at our church this weekend....

he did really well until the pastor's prayer went a bit long.

uncle Mat visited...

so did Mommee...

big weekend

Hudson was introduced to the world of large machines last weekend...


Most of the time, he sat with Mom, which was fine because it was a gorgeous day...

...watching Dad do some work clearing land for a volleyball court at headquarters...



...then he finally got to experience the driver's seat of a Kubota.

Dad thinks it's good to start him early on the important things.

humility

“Humility is deciding to let God be God.” — Martin Luther

(stolen from a friend's blog)

halloween

here we are... super baby, mama the princess, & dad (you can't see his kilt, but he's a very striking scot).

2 months

...mom's a bit late, but i'm 2 months old now!see how big i am getting? up to 11 lbs 14 oz at my 2 month check up :) (i was born at 7lb10oz, but went down to 6lb13oz by the 2nd day, so i've gained a lot since then!)
my first 2 girlfriends, juliet & olivia... with their dad, paul

my first pair of shades

my room... see the sweet blanket grandma made me?

here's where i sleep

thanks for the visit!

enjoyed having you grandma & grandpa!