Then Sings My Soul - Every Time I Breathe

It has been a while since I have participated in "Then Sings My Soul" - and that makes me a tad bit sad, cause it is my favorite!!! I LOVE music - it ministers to me in ways that nothing else can ever reach. I have said every week "this week..." and then this week comes and life happens and, well, you know the drill.

But THIS WEEK ... I resolved to not let this week get away from me.

So, the song I have chosen is Big Daddy Weave's "Every Time I Breathe". I have to tell you that the first time I heard this song I was in my living room on a Sunday morning - very early because I was singing and had to get to church early. Sophie was just a tadpole, so the nights were rough - which, as you know, makes the days a little rough as well. The night before I had been trying to pray as I was feeding her and trying to get her back to sleep. I was thinking that something was missing in my relationship with God - and I knew it was me. I had been having a hard time getting into the word or praying or really much of anything too deep without falling asleep. This song came on and I immediately loved it, so I let the words soak in. I just closed my eyes and listened.

By the end, I was crying and just reaching hard to Him. And THAT was what I needed. To breathe and reach. And to let Him reach to me. To let Him get close. To stay in His warm embrace - basking in the Glory shining from His face...

I hope you enjoy!

Every Time I Breathe

I am sure all of heaven's heard me cry
As I tell You all the reasons why
This life is just too hard

But day by day
Without fail
I'm finding everything I need
And everything that You are
To me

Chorus:
Every time I breathe You seem a little bit closer
I never want to leave
I want to stay in Your warm embrace
Oh basking in the glory shining from Your face
And every time I get another glimpse of Your heart
I realize it's true
That You are so marvelous God
And I am so in love with You

Now how could I after knowing One so great
Respond to You in any way
That's less than all I have to give
But by Your grace I want to love You not with what
I say
But everyday
In a way that my life is lived

Chorus:
Every time I breathe You seem a little bit closer
I never want to leave
I want to stay in Your warm embrace
Oh basking in the glory shining from Your face
And every time I get another glimpse of Your heart
I realize it's true
That You are so marvelous God
And I am so in love with You

Wrapped in Your mercy I want to live and never leave
I am held by how humble
Yet overwhelmed by Your majesty
Captured by grace and now I'm finding
I am free
You are marvelous God
And knowing You is everything

Bring On The Gates

Sophie has never showed much interest in crawling. She learned early on that if she sits up and bounces - yep, BOUNCES - she can pretty much bounce or scoot anywhere she needs to go. And she has never gotten all that far.

To be honest, I have never really pushed the whole crawling thing. And when our niece Chelsea got down on the floor and tried to teach her to crawl, I actually cringed with fear. You see, I have know from the very beginning that Sophie will be a curious one. Give the girl and monkey and name it Boots, 'cause I got a full on explorer on my hands. She can open almost any thing that ends up in her hands and she can find any toy that you try to hide - we have tested it. She will be a Hide-N-Seek GENIUS, mark my words.

So, imagine my nerves when, yesterday, we started this:



AAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!

But look how proud she is!


Pretty soon I will have to pull out this little number (which is how Hattie learned to walk!!)


It is still a newly discovered/trial and error skill, and already we are havin' issues. Just yesterday she emptied a baby wipe container, pulled all of the DVD's out of the cabinet, pulled all of Hattie's toys off of the table (onto herself!!!) and pulled every diaper and tube of cream or lotion out of the cupboard where they are kept. And it isn't like I was not paying attention. This was happening while I was doing things like, oh I don't know, CLEANING UP THE LAST MESS!!!!!!

So, I have sent out the baby gate SOS. We priced 'em out last night and the ones for stairs are kinda steep (tee hee, did ya catch that one?). Already we have heard back from one Ms. Becky R. at church - who, by the way, told me a couple of months ago that I was in trouble when this one got mobile! And she was right.

So, bring on the gates ... and let the games begin!!!

(Speaking of games, the Olympics are KILLING ME!!! I can't stop watching 'em, and the morning comes early when you stay up til the wee hours watching Michael Phelps rock it out!!! Or watch the women gymnasts try to pull it out - as a mother my heart just breaks for them!!! Especially the one girl who fell off the beam and then tried her hardest not to cry the whole rest of the night. Hey, I know, let's stick a microphone in her face and ask her how she feels!!! Stupid reporters!!!)

Slow Down and Drive!

So, yesterday morning I had a meeting at church. And, in a strange twist of fate, I left the house ON TIME!!! No rushing today! What a concept.

But, I guess taking the scenic route was not my brightest moment, it took a bit longer than I thought it would and suddenly I found myself running a bit behind. So I hurried it up a bit.

So as I am driving down the road in this:

(yep, it's still painted up for the adoption!)

I see this

(of course, it didn't look EXACTLY like this, seeing as how I don't live in Mayberry - or, ya know, 1955!!)
***I have been informed that this model is more in the mid 60's era. Shows ya what I know!!!***

passing by me in the opposite direction. I take the obligatory glance at my speed-o-meter and see (yikes)61mph!!! In a 45mph zone. Whew, good thing he was going the other way!

Apparently, they can radar you even then.

'Cause, as I looked into my rear view mirror I saw him making a u-turn. So much for being on time.

Now, let me say that I truly have the utmost respect for officers of the law. Truly. One of my best friends is a retired police woman. Retired due to an injury in which she jumped a wall in hot pursuit. A wall which was a lot steeper on the down side than it had been on the way up. HOWEVER, she continued the pursuit, caught the perp and took him in BEFORE addressing her injury. An injury to her knee which has required MANY surgeries since then. She is also married to a cop - a canine officer whose partner dog was killed last month in the line of duty. Plus, I have a cousin who is a police officer and HE was shot in the line of duty about 4 years ago. So, I am not kidding. I REALLY respect those who put it all on the line for our safety.

But, needless to say - even though I respected him - I was none to happy to see this guy.

He waltzes up to the car and peers into the back seat window where the girls are sitting playing in their car seats (this after I specifically told Sophie that now would be a really good time to start wailing!). He looks at me and asks if I know why he stopped me. I sheepishly said "I think I was goin' a little fast", to which he responds "yeah, a little".

I hand him my licence and as I am looking for the insurance and reg. he asks me "how's your driving record?" I say "actually, it's really good, I am just running late".
"For what?" he asks.
"A meeting at church" - again with the sheepishness.
He goes back to his car, does the computer thing and eventually comes back - where I am frantically trying to figure out how I am gonna explain to the Hubby why we suddenly have to pay for a ticket and driving classes! He hands me my licence and says "you're good to go" and walks away.

What? No ticket? Really? WooHoo!!!!

So I quickly started the car and sped away before he changed his mind. Yep, I sped away at the lightening speed of 44MPH. One under the limit, just to be safe!

Picture Perfect Monday - A Little Early

('Cause I just couldn't wait!!!)

After we were finished up at the court house on Friday, we went to Aunt Weezer's house for our OFFICIAL ADOPTION FAMILY PHOTOS!!!








(this one is my favorite!!! I love the look on BOTH of their faces - especially the way my man is looking at his little girl!!)