Another DTS Picnic with Russ

Garrett and I decided to visit Russ on campus on Friday and bring him a picnic lunch. It was a beautiful day for it and Garrett got to run around. And around. And around. He kept trying to run through the bushes to the fountain. Note to self: next time just set up the picnic blanket next to the fountain. There will be way less chasing involved.

Enjoying a nice picnic

Fountain Visit #1

On daddy's shoulders

Fountain Visit #2

Fountain Visit #3

Gotcha!!

Fountain Visit #4

Fountain Visit #5...or was it 55?

Where's Garrett?

My two boys--I love them!

Our Little Picasso

Garrett attempted his first masterpiece the other day. It was a mixed media piece--both crayons AND paints. :-) He had fun until he tried to lick the paint off his hands. He quickly realized how gross that was and went back to painting and drawing. Our art time only lasted about 15 minutes but it was a good break from the regular playtime activities. We'll definitely be doing it again soon!

The beginning of art time

Looking at Daddy for inspiration

Russ was doing yardwork while Garrett was painting.

Paint, paint, paint

Mixing in some crayon for texture

Almost done...

Why are my hands so sticky? Oh yeah...I painted them.

Wild Onions

Our yard is being overtaken by wild onions. A month or so ago we noticed a couple of patches of some funny-looking grass. Then when Russ mowed a couple of weeks ago, he recognized the scent of onions after mowing over a couple of medium sized patches of this same grass. Even his shirt smelled like onions when he was done. And now we have two large patches and multiple small spots of wild onions in our backyard.

I'm sure you're thinking, "Is that so bad? Pull them up and eat them!" We might just do that. But for now I'm attempting to get rid of as many as possible. The best way to totally eliminate wild onions is to pull them up completely, bulb and all. Do you know how long this takes?? It's a slow process of digging, pulling and replacing the dirt. I filled half a garbage bag during my hour of de-onioning and I've got many many many more onion plants left to be pulled.

During this time of digging, pulling, and re-dirting, I had plenty of time to think (imbetween checking to make sure Garrett was still all right playing with his chalk and bubble wands). And it struck me how much I hated weeds. Not just wild onions, but weeds of all kinds. They sneak up on you. They try and look like a flower sometimes, fooling you into letting it live another day. And when you ignore it (or water it, as I've done before accidentally) it grows. Then it multiplies. Before you know it, your entire yard is nothing but weeds. Some weeds are better-looking than others but they're still weeds. They still choke the life out of the good things that could be growing in that area of land. Grass, bushes, flowers, vegetables.

And then I had another thought. We all have weeds in our lives. Sin, anything I allow to separate me from my God, is a weed. Sometimes my sin looks pretty, or at least not so bad or out of the ordinary. So I let it slide. Sometimes it's ugly but I just don't want to deal with it or dig it up. Sometimes it's just more comfortable to let the weeds grow because at least then it feels like you're kind of in control--you're letting it happen. Eventually, though, we have to face our own weeds and what they've done to our lives and hearts. That sin has probably suffocated or pushed out a lot of the good things that used to be there. Is there room for anything truly good in my life when there's sin all over it? Do I want to get rid of these weeds? Do I want to commit myself to getting dirty and sweaty digging them up? Or would I rather live with them even though they're destroying the goodness and blessings God has for me?

The most amazing thing about our God, to me, is that He chose to send His own Son to do the dirty work on my behalf. Yes, I sat back and watched those weeds take over. Yes, I enjoyed the temporary beauty of those weeds. Yes, I ignored gardening advice from others and let the weeds continue growing. But Jesus got down here on earth and yanked those weeds right out. His own yard was perfectly maintained, not a weed in sight. You could even say it was heavenly. :-) But he got down on his knees, blistered his hands, broke his back and took care of all my weeds. It wasn't his yard to worry about, but he did it anyway. Because he loves me! And all I had to do was admit that I'd let the sin-weeds overtake my life, believe that Jesus wants to clean up those sins, and then ask Him to do just that.

Just like my backyard, my heart and life will never be 100% weed-free. That's reality. But since I know the Master Gardner, I try my best to keep the weeds out and nip them in the bud as soon as I recognize one. And He keeps yanking those weeds out, one by one, whenever I need Him to. And now every time I see one of those stinking wild onions, I'm reminded to check my heart for weeds and turn to the One who can make my yard truly beautiful. So, maybe the wild onions aren't so bad after all.

**I know this blog post is out of the ordinary for me but I really felt like God wanted me to blog about it after my attempt at onion eradication. Thanks for reading my long-winded thoughts. :-) Oh, and all the pictures here are of wild onions. The ugly ones and the pretty ones.

Surprise Easter Bunny Visit

Lucy started barking while laying next to the sliding door this morning, which is nothing new in our household, so I didn't think anything of it. Until Russ says, "Hey honey, you've got to see this. It's the Easter Bunny." I thought he was joking or there was a regular old rabbit hopping past our backyard. Oh no, this is what we saw just outside our fence.

We went outside and showed Garrett the bunny from our side of the fence and watched it hop happily down the alley between our street and the neighboring street. We figured that it was somebody's pet and they would soon realize that their cute bunny was missing and come looking for him. A short while later, Lucy was barking again and the bunny was back. This happened off and on all day! We decided to corral it into our yard and call animal control to come get him. We have some BIG MEAN dogs in our neighborhood--fenced in, of course--that could crunch that poor bunny to pieces if he hopped into their yards. So after awhile the nice county animal control man came and collected the bunny. We think that it may have been an Easter present that escaped. Anyways, we hope he goes to a good home...just not ours. :-) I'm allergic.

Happy Easter!!

Today our house was quieter than it's been all week. :-( We miss you Nate and Krista! But today was also a day of celebration and remembering that Jesus overcame death to save us all from our sins--what is more important or better than that?? (If anyone randomly stumbles across this blog and has no idea what I'm talking about, please send me a message, I'd love to explain!) We attempted to have Garrett "hunt" for Easter Eggs in the living room (it was kind of yucky outside today) after his nap. He didn't really get it this year, but next year he'll be all over it I'm sure. We hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter and remembered why we celebrate in the first place.

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At the Ballpark

Friday was our last full day with Krista and Nate and we spent it hanging at home and at the Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers game didn't start until 7ish but we decided to get to Arlington early and check out the new Cowboys Stadium beforehand. It's HUGE! We could only go into the Pro Shop since there were tours going on, but we could see the gigantic video screen from the bottom level. After a little browsing we went over to the Ballpark and played in a grassy picnic area until the gates opened for the baseball game. Krista and I enjoyed sitting with a tired baby and letting him roam a bit while our hubbies watched batting practice up close and tried to catch some home runs. It was a good game--the Rangers won! Just ask Garrett...he was awake the entire game!! He was pitifully tired by the third inning but refused to sleep. Luckily, his aunt and uncle loved having extra turns holding him when he got antsy. We were very sad to see Nate and Krista leave on Saturday, but we had a fantastic week together. Thanks for making the long drive out to visit us! We love you guys and can't wait to see you in June!!

Nate and Krista outside of the mothership, I mean, Cowboys Stadium.

Making sure that Garrett had some time to run around before the Rangers game. We wanted to play frisbee but he claimed that for himself 80% of the time we were out there.

Walking around the pond with Aunt Krista.

The boys are just waiting for the perfect home run to head their way.

Life is rough for a 14 month old, isn't it? He loved lounging on his Auntie's lap.

My favorite picture from the Ballpark! "Put me in Coach, I'm ready to play!"

In front of the Nolan Ryan statue, shortly before he totally bit the sidewalk and had his first slightly bloody nose. (He was fine 60 seconds after it happened, don't worry.)

Being silly with Mommy and Aunt Krista

Watching the Rangers kick some boo-tay!

So tired...

Forth Worth Stockyards

Garrett's cowpoke pose--all he needs are some boots!

His baby model pose (because he can't help it if he's really really ridiculously good-looking).

Jail break!!

Watching and laughing at the cattle being herded down the street.

The cattle drive

Swinging with Mommy and Aunt Krista

Doing push-ups on the lawn in front of the stock exchange building.

I think I caught him seconds before he fell over, but it looks like he's dancing here. Badly. But dancing.

Running away in his Wranglers, then dragging his Auntie somewhere.

Chillin with his Daddy on a bright sunny day in Texas

My rough and tough Texan.

I'm standing in front of Rick Springfield's signed guitar at Billy Bob's in Forth Worth. (I totally had Jesse's Girl in my head the rest of the day!)

Russ next to Lonestar's handprints and the fiddle of Charlie Daniels.

On the honky-tonk dance floor. Garrett will learn to two-step next year.

Nate and Krista in front of one of the stages at Billy Bob's.

Once again, a very sleepy baby on the ride home. I took pity on his Aunt and didn't post HER sleeping-in-the-car picture this time. :-)