Look who's getting bigger...and even cuter!!!

It's been awhile since I've shown you a picture of Kaelynn.  She's now 8 months old.

 She's growing more and more beautiful red hair and has two teeth on bottom.

She "scoots" around right now and will be crawling very soon.

She and Mommy and Daddy had lots of fun on vacation.

I miss her a lot and hope we will be able to see her this fall, maybe for her first birthday.  Thanks for indulging my Auntie pride! :)

Go Team USA!

Well, I know it's been a while since I've written, but there's not be a whole lot to write about that anyone else would find interesting.  I've just been working hard and long hours at work (so thankful for my great job).  In a couple weeks there will be some excitement with a bath remodel (more on that to come).

But I am SO excited that the Olympics are finally here!!  I LOVE to watch them and will DVR probably every night.  The opening ceremonies are always amazing.  The parade of nations astounds me because I tend to get lost in my little American bubble and lose sight of how vast and diverse our planet really is.

My favorite summer olympic sports are gymnastics and swimming.  What do you like to watch?

GO TEAM USA!!

Our wonderful CA weekend

So I haven't re-capped our wonderful Memorial weekend in CA yet that we spent with my youngest brother S, his wife M and their 6 month old baby girl Kaelynn. 

It was great.  We first saw Kaelynn at daycare.  She didn't have a clue who we were but gave us a huge smile.  From there we went to swimming (Mommy & me) class.  She kicked her little legs in the water to get to the toy.

Throughout the weekend we had fun feeding her cereal or fruits & veggies, playing with her on the floor with her toys, watching her jump in her jumparoo, holding her, reading to her and just generally soaking up her 6 month old cuteness.  She's at one of my favorite ages.  Her little mind is just working a mile a minute to learn everything it needs to.  She is responsive to facial expression and makes her own.  Kaelynn is one of the happiest babies I've ever seen.  Even though her teeth were bothering her, she still smiled a lot.  Her red hair is too cute.

We saw a lot of this million dollar smile!

This last picture is hysterical.  We were babysitting and were desperately trying to get her to stay awake until bedtime so she wouldn't wake up too soon in the night for her parents.  She hadn't napped well and was exhausted as you can tell by her little eyes.  My Dad pulled out his phone and started playing songs for her.  She loves music and it worked, but doesn't it look like the poor little thing is saying, "really, Granddad?  Can't I just go night-night, please?"

What a sweet girl.  What a sweet age.  What a sweet time, making memories.  As always our time was too short, but I was glad we got to go.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

More on my weekend with this cutie to come, but for now, here we are as I long for us to be - together:

Thank you, veterans!

Right now, in the midst of a great visit enjoying a super happy 6 month old redheaded sweetie-pie, I want to take a moment and stop and remember what today is about.  Remembering those that have served and are currently serving, like the Yellow Hats, to protect and fight for our freedom.  We unfortunately often take your sacrifices for granted (I am guilty of this, I know), but we are greatly in your debt. Thank you, veterans, for your selfless service to our country!!

Aunt Sarah is on her way!

This time tomorrow I will be loving on this precious red-head, who, at the ripe old age of 4.5 months when this picture was taken, was already able to sit up on her own! :)  I am hoping we arrive in time for her last Mommy & me swim lesson so I can see how sweet Kaelynn does in the water.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Redemption

Sunday, the choir at church sang "It Feels Like Redemption".  I scribbled down a few of the lyrics, but you can find them all here.

"It feels like redemption
Raining down on me
It feels like forgiveness
Has come to set me free
All my chains have been lifted
'Cause when the hands of love
Touch a broken life
It feels like redemption"

Such a powerful song.  Such an amazing concept.  To redeem means to ransom, or to buy back.  The Lord has bought me, and you, back out of the slave market of sin.  We are no longer captives when we trust in His death on the cross solely as payment for our sins.

Aside from the wonderful redemption that occurs at salvation, there are many other times that the Lord can and (I'm living proof!) does redeem us - quite often from the mess we've made of our own lives by our own sinful choices.  I know that's what happened to me.  In my selfish disobedience, I let my heart get led astray.  I wandered long and far from my Shepherd.  One night many years ago, I nearly wandered off the edge - the edge from which one cannot turn back.

And then - and THEN - came redemption.  He bought me back.  Just like that.  The Shepherd took His crook and He pulled this wayward sheep back into the fold in just the nick of time.  When His hands of love touched my brokened life, it not only felt like redemption, it was!

That was many years ago - 12.5 to be exact.  I hope I never forget what it felt like on that morning after my huge redemption when I realized I had been given (not a second, I had passed that number years ago!) but YET ANOTHER chance - it was freedom and fresh air and strength.  And it was all HIM.

Since then He continues to faithfully redeem me when I make a mess of things because I feel like I need to control everything (as if the creator of the universe and the one that knitted my heart together doesn't know better?) - or because I'm tired of waiting...His sovereign timing is perfect and he says 1000 years are like a day...

What have you been redeemed from?  Big and small, it's all significant.  Redemption is freeing, life-giving and restorative.  It's something that in the purest form, only our God can give us.  I hope we all remember to be grateful for redemption.