Cities & Knights with Jeremy

Here's a common night around our house...

dinner with Jeremy

We put Hudson to bed and then Trent, Jeremy & I stay up eating treats and playing this game

We are totally into it. We are even keeping track for a year who wins the most and from which position (since your position can change with each game). I know, we're total geeks. :)

Also, we normally get our music from pandora.com. If you haven't checked it out, you should. You just type in a music artist and they create a radio station of songs and artists that're similar to the one you chose. It's a great way to find out other bands/artists/songs that you might not otherwise know.

Grace Flows Downhill

This morning, Trent & I shared some snippets of our own stories and from our life together with the Young Married's & Young Families Sunday School class. The pastor who leads this sunday school class asked each of the 3 pastoral interns to take a Sunday and introduce themselves. I was delighted when Trent asked me if we could do something together. I really enjoyed using Hudson's naptime this past week to think through all the things God has done in our lives. A reoccuring theme we saw in our lives is the abundance of grace that God has lavished on us. It was hard to choose which stories to tell to highlight God's grace in our lives, but we decided on how God's grace flows to the brokenhearted, God's grace flows to the repentant prodigal and God's grace flows to the eager, but ignorant. Overall, we were saying that grace (from a spouse, from God, from others) flows to us when we humble ourselves. In other words, grace flows downhill. 

This saying "grace flows downhill" is not our own. We got it from Jack Miller (founder of World Harvest Mission) who in turn got it from the Bible.

One of the sections I spoke about was how God gives grace to the brokenhearted. I told the story of when my mother passed away from cancer. The passage from the Bible I relied on the most during the long, hard nights when she was really sick was Psalm 4. I don't think this is a very common passage for someone to seek out during those times. But, I did. I was always reading for the last verse "In peace I will lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Knowing that God, who does not sleep nor slumber (Ps. 121) was watching when I would lay down to sleep brought comfort. Anyways, I was reflecting on this a lot this past week and then this morning's sermon was on this very text. I have never heard a sermon on this text that I remember. It was a beautiful moment of God's grace. And his grace is sufficient.

Found Some Pictures

When I was looking through some documents on my computer, I just found 136 pictures from graduation and our month between St. Louis and Dallas. I quickly went through the pics and chose a few to post on the blog. I'm not sure if they're the best or even the ones I would want to post, but I just don't feel like spending the time to go through the pictures slowly. :)

graduation night...I guess this picture didn't need a label

with Trent's grandparents when they came for our graduation

Trent and his Dad...this isn't too far from Trent's parent's house

Blackwater Falls in WV

Fishing in scenic West Virginia

Trent's catch

at Grant's Farm in St. Louis

Four generations of Casto men

petting some goats

with Nana

Trent's 3 sisters are in this picture...Brianna (her birthday), Brittany is next to her and Nichole is on the right side of the picture

Playgrounds

We spend a lot of time at playgrounds, so I thought I'd take my camera along yesterday.  There are a few we are able to walk to from our house (they're all a bit of a walk, but anyone who knows me even a little bit knows I'm normally up for a walk). Although they're not that far apart from each other, I'm starting to realize that there are different groups of people that go to each one. I'm excited that there are several to choose from so we can mix it up each week.

surveying the scene

Making some new friends

yet another friend

although Hudson likes swinging & sliding, the wheels are always his favorite activity at a playground

he normally makes "car noises" the whole time while driving

pure delight

New Treasure

Hudson received a package of books today from my Aunt Nancy. I waited until he woke up from his nap to open the package and he was giddy with excitement as we sat on the floor and carefully opened the box.  He couldn't wait to see what treasure was inside. It was so much fun to watch him get the books out, flip through them, look at the pictures and "read" a few pages aloud. Thanks Aunt Nancy. They're a huge hit and I'm looking forward to reading his new books too!

Some Saturday Activities

It was a beautiful Saturday here. It wasn't nearly as hot today and felt even comfortable. We enjoyed lots of outdoor activities. Here are just a couple.

Hudson enjoyed "riding" his bike down the sidewalk in front of our house. His feet don't reach the pedals or the ground, so he sits on the bike and we push the back. He loves it!

Once I got out the camera, he had to come check it out. 

Getting a shoulder ride.
Watching in awe as Daddy climbed a huge mountain.
Showing off his prized treasure (shredded tire from the ground of the play area).
Looking like our little mountain climber

Hudson's New Dance

Last week Hudson discovered spinning around in circles and the feeling of being dizzy. He thought it was hilarious to spin and then try and walk. He'd fall down, laugh and do it all again. By the time we got the camera, we only caught a small spin.

Here's our family of red on the 4th 

Watching in wonder at all the trucks in the 4th of July parade

at my Dad & Stepmom's house in WV

I love this last picture. Pure joy!

Back in the Saddle Again

After a few weeks without internet access, we are connected to the world again. Since being in Dallas, I have not had any connection to the outside world except through phone calls. We do not have a tv, we have no newspaper, and we didn't have internet. When my friend, Elisa, called this week to talk about all the political things happening in Honduras (she and her husband are moving there soon), I had no knowledge of it. I found out Michael Jackson died by overhearing Trent respond to his Dad on the phone, "What Michael Jackson died?".

Trent has the internet at his work, so he'd check our e-mail and print off any that he thought I would want to read. I really appreciated that, but I couldn't respond then. There's a public library close with free internet, but it hasn't worked out for me to go there (mostly it's closed at the times I could go when Trent could watch Hudson). There is a Panera next to us and I will admit that I used their free internet from the parking lot a couple times to get directions in our new city.

With that said, I will start posting pictures, videos and stories about life in Texas soon.

Thanks for still checking the blog.