Book Review #1: The Jesus Storybook Bible

Best children's Bible hands down! It shows the big picture of the bible, that God loves us with a "Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love" and that He would one day send Himself for the ones He loves. I totally recommend it if you have kids and don't already own it.

Spanky V. Lightening McQueen

I still hear that Owen looks like Spanky from Little Rascals (mainly from my sister), but Ross and I think he is already showing a love for Lightening McQueen from Cars. Not that he looks like a car, obviously, but he's got the tongue thing going on.

He does the tongue thing when he smiles and talks. Too cute.

Back to Life (in Denton), Back to Reality...

Sorry it's been so long in posting, we've been away from home for quite sometime...

Since my last post, Owen has been on his second and third plane rides, I had my first experience with another woman telling me what was wrong with MY crying baby (like she has a clue), and Ross and I have gotten to spend some much needed time with our good friends Tommy and Celeste Rutledge. You know those friends that as soon as you are together again, it feels like you never were apart, the ones who you don't care if your house is a wreck when they are coming over, the ones you would give your left kidney for? That's Tommy and Celeste to our family. Ross and Tommy spend Spring Break leading a team of college students on a mission trip to Kingsport, TN. Celeste and I spend the week with our boys Owen and Ellis and preparing for the arrival of Baby Rutledge #2! The mission trip went very well, and I will be talking more about it in our monthly update newsletter. If you are interested in receiving it via email, let me know and we will put you on the list.

In other news:

Owen has started sleeping 11-12(whoa!) hours thanks to the help of a wonderful book called the Baby Sleep Solution that Grandma bought for me. A.MA.ZING!

Ross and I have begun conversations about moving out of Village East at the end of May because we will be on the fast track of support raising and don't know how much time we will spend at home this summer. We might be in a town near you very soon!

In the mean time, enjoy new pics from our trip to TN.

Cali

My in-laws flew me out to L.A. this past week so they could see the baby and help out and I could get some rest. Owen decided for about a month he was going to wake up every 2-3 hours at night, and needless to say I was whipped! I had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed getting consecutive hours of sleep! Thanks Sean! We tried to say on Texas time, so that meant early mornings for me. But hey, I should be used to it by now...

One little plug: If you get the chance to go to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, GO. It was a.ma.zing. It will totally add inches to your waste line, but it's totally worth it.

Here a few pics of our trip.

Owen and Pop Pop just chillin'.

Owen and Catie trying to persuade Peyton to make her grand appearance

Tummy time at 6AM

Missionary FAQ

Last night Ross and I along with some our France teammates held an informational meeting/program about what we will be doing in France. I know many of you who may read this already know what we will be doing once we get to Nice, but for those who don't here's a brief overview of the FAQ we get during a support appointment.

1. Why France?

Most people's reaction to us going to Southern France goes like this: "Nice, huh? You got it rough (insert sarcastic tone). The reality though is that less than 1/2% of the people of France are believers. They have rejected God and the gospel centuries ago, and have had a HUGE influx of North African Muslim immigrants in the last 30+ years. So we are going to France because, though it is celebrated for it's beauty, it is a dark place without the light of Christ.

2. What will you be doing?

Our first term (4 years) will be spent getting culture and language under our belt. We also will be working with 2 English-speaking churches doing discipleship and leadership training. Within that first term, it is our prayer that we would have an inter-cultural mediator who can get us into the Muslim culture. Our long-term goal is to be working primarily among the Muslim community by the end of our first term. We don't know what that will look like, but it probably will look a lot like our ministry here at the apartment complex: living among them, being neighbors with them, our kids going to the same school as them, etc.

3. What do your parents think about you taking their grandchildren so far away?

None of us are excited about the distance that will be between us, but our parents are more than supportive.

4. How do you do it? I don't think I could.

While I would love to say that it is easy to think about leaving the U.S. and family, it isn't. But we do it because we God has called us, plain and simple. Actually, He has called all of us to be a part of missions. He has called us to be imitators of Christ, and Christ himself is the ultimate missionary, so if I am to be imitating Him, then I am to be on mission wherever I am. The question is not "Am I to be a missionary?" it's "How good of a missionary am I?" And you CAN do it. It might not mean going to France, but it means doing something. Ok, getting off my soap box now...

That's it for now because I know most of us don't like reading long posts. I'll follow up with more later.
For more information, videos and pictures you can click here.

Owen 3 Months

Hard to believe that only three months ago we welcomed our little guy into our family. On the one hand, it feels like he's always been here. On the other, it feels like it's flown by. 

He loves to talk and smile at anyone who is willing
Christmas 2010

Only a few days old and loving looking at this new world

First Bath!!

Birth announcement (photo by Ross)

Looking at these pictures it's hard to remember him being so small! I've loved being a mama, wow it's a challenge day in and day out. Thankfully God is good to remind me he's with me, teaching me, stretching me but giving me the desire and strength to keep on! I'm thankful for Ross and coffee, otherwise I think I would be a lot worse for the wear!

We Got Cultured

Ross and I had the opportunity to go to the Dallas Opera last night to see Romeo and Juliet on the house. Because Valentine's Day is coming up, CollegeLife has had Tommy Nelson come in an teach on the Song of Solomon (love, sex, and marriage stuff). Last week at their weekly meeting, they played the Dating Game with one their most eligible single girls and three eligible bachelors. You know the game; she asks questions and then picks one. The guys had their voices distorted and sat behind a giant shadow box, and she asked questions like, "If you were a dinosaur, which one would you be and what sound would you make?" or "If you had to be a rainbow, pot of gold or a leprechaun, which one would you be and why?" Obviously really important questions when choosing a date. 

Well, we got to tag along on their date because Ross was filming it Bachelor style. We got the VIP treatment too because Ross knows a guy who works at the Opera house, so we were ushered into valet parking, got to eat dinner at the 10th floor of the Wylie Theater with a balcony view of Dallas all to ourselves, and were seated in some prime seating. Probably one of the swankiest dates I've ever been on.

I learned a few things about the Opera, and if you ever go you should know a few things too, like:

1. Opera is very long.
2. You clap for the conductor when he enters after every intermission, so we clapped for him THREE times. I mean really, doesn't one at the beginning and one at the end suffice?
3. If you have a fur, you should probably wear it.
4. Go see an opera that you don't know the story because if you know the story, by the end you will be saying to yourself "Come on already. Just get on with the dying part."
5. Operas have subtitles playing on a screen above the stage (or at least the one in Dallas does) so you can know what's going on, which is nice (though probably not needed in the case of Romeo and Juliet).
6. If you have the chance, you should go. It's pretty amazing to witness people who can sing like that for that long and that beautifully.

Inside the Windspear Opera House in our amazing seats

Outside 

Photo sneaked by Ross at the end.

The Dating game couple.
Aren't they cute!

Perspective and Loosing Sleep

I've told Ross before I would not trade a good sleeping baby for the happy, talkative baby that we are blessed with. However, last night I ate my words because I would have gladly swapped babies for a night to get some sleep! For the past two nights, Owen and I have been up almost once every hour and I have no clue why.

I know, however, that life with Owen could be way harder. I am so thankful we have a healthy, thriving, baby. I don't have to deal with illness, hunger, single parenthood, etc. Having that perspective helps me be ok with a lack of sleep, but it is a mental disciple to get there. I know that the Lord is gracious to use this time to reveal things in me that needed to come to light and to teach me more and more what it means to trust He is working in me and for my good. Being a mom is totally worth every second, but it is quick training for selflessness.

If you have any encouragements or advice, PLEASE feel free to comment. Days like today they are much needed.

Snow Days

It was another snow day today for Ross, and I loved having him home. Since I spent all last week with my mom and dad, I got used to having an adult with me all day. I have missed having someone here since I have been home, so it was great to get a day with Ross during the week. We didn't get snow and ice like last week, and we weren't able to go sledding like Ross did last week. Thankfully it meant we didn't have crashes while sledding like Ross did last week (click here for video of his crash).  It just meant we slept in until 11am, missed eating our wheaties, and were able to catch up the sleep we missed last night. 

Here's some pics of the beautiful winter wonderland.

And it's only February. We'll see if that groundhog was right about an early spring.

FINALLY home

Our family is finally all together in the same place. Ross surprised me and drove all the way to Ruston on Saturday (mom and I were to drive to Denton on Sunday). I had no idea he was coming and was so happy to see him walk through the door!

I am continually amazed at life as a mom. I think I love it more and more everyday, though there are days when I don't remember if I brushed my teeth, when the last time I showered, or if I have eaten anything yet that day. Thankfully Owen is such a happy baby and we love seeing his smile and to hear him talk, an on occasion he laughs. My sister says he looks like Spanky from the little rascals. What do you think?

On a side note, Owen loves bath time. Here's the latest picture. Here I would argue he looks a little like Alfalfa.

That's all for now from Denton.