Off the charts and "marrying off" our friends...

Countdown to Kentucky visit: 7 days! We are really looking forward to a long visit with the Hancocks in just a week. Mom has been temporarily out of commission so it'll be good to help her out while we're there. And Erin has started a new dance studio so I'm excited to see her new place of business. And I (Elizabeth Ann) have still not seen Sam's hog barns, and I'm hoping there will be little piggies when we get there.

Well, our big news here is that at Molly's 4 month appointment she was off the charts for height! What in the world?! Literally off the charts. She's 26 3/4 inches at 4 months. She has all sorts of new things going on like rolling over both ways, getting her toes into her mouth, standing up and bouncing, and a lot more giggling. Her favorite things to do are playing with Daddy's hair and playing peek-a-boo with Mommy. She's one awesome little girl!

In other July news, we were in Minnesota for our friends Joe and Amanda's wedding over the weekend of the 4th. The wedding was wonderful! Amanda looked beautiful, Joe danced (a little), Rich danced (a lot, Michael Jackson moves included), Molly was an angel, the photographer was hilarious, and the Electric Slide was passed down to yet another generation (Amanda's cute little sister). Here's some pics from our first trip to the Land of a Thousand Lakes.

We also had a little "Meet Molly" party so we could catch up with friends we haven't seen much or at all since Molly was born. It was so fun entertaining in our home again! I don't think we realized how much we missed it. Now if the college students would just come back to town so we can resume game nights :o)

Cleaning for the Lord

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24

While Rich and I were praying last night, he asked that the Lord would help us to do all things as if for Him. My first thought went to cleaning my house! If you know me at all, you know that I tend to be a bit begrudging when it comes to cleaning. The bathroom turns into a torture chamber and the pile of papers on my kitchen table turns into Mount Everest. I do like for things to be clean and am always refreshed at the end result. But when it comes to the process of cleaning, I can usually be found procrastinating by any means possible.

Now, I do clean for Rich. I just love it when he walks in the kitchen after I've shined it all up and compliments my efforts. I'm a sucker for a compliment. There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to please my husband, but I need to look deeper. Is it pleasing to the Lord when my house is clean and organized? Yes! He has placed me as the keeper of my home, so of course it pleases Him when I do this job well. If I can keep that in mind as I go about my work, it gives me a new sense of inspiration. Inspired while doing housework? Well, yeah, I guess that's the best way to describe it. It's a blessing not to trudge through those chores, but to be able to do it with a joyful and willing heart. So that's my prayer, that I would be joyful in the work that I do for the Lord!