mixed emotions.

Our neighbor's baby girl came home today.
London Noelle.
All 3 pounds, 14 ounces of her.
So tiny. So precious. So perfect.

So wonderful to hold her, but as I did... the tears started.

Remembering another tiny sweet baby that I held 5 months ago.

All those hours during the night while her mommy and daddy tried to sleep.

She's with Jesus now.

So happy that London is here... but missing Baby Michelle.

decisions.

They announced in church this morning that almost 1100 people went through Judgement House this weekend. Over 80 people rededicated their lives to God and 58 people accepted Christ for the first time.

The final room that you go to is a place to sit and listen to one of the pastors or elders go over what we have just seen and explain the gospel. They ask everyone to bow their heads and close their eyes. This is where all these decisions are taking place. They said this morning that there was one group where they ran out of prayer team members to meet individually with people. All but one of the 20+ people in that group raised their hand indicating that they had made a decision and wanted someone to pray with them. They are then escorted to separate rooms for private conversations and prayer. When Pastor Dave asked them to open their eyes, there was only one woman left in the room. He said, "I think you lost your group." Her response? "Yes!"
She had invited them all.

Praying for the many, many people involved and hoping that next weekend will have an even bigger impact.

Pastor Dave said this morning, "The enemy is strong, but our Savior is stronger."
Amen.

judgement house.

Amazing. Just amazing.

Our church has been preparing for this for months. So many people have dedicated time, energy and resources to make this production happen. Over 250 people are involved. Acting, directing, guiding, counseling, praying, parking, cooking, registering, the list goes on and on...

Corey and I went through it last night.

I expected it to be powerful. I expected it to be emotional. Still, I wasn't prepared...

It's a 90 minute live drama where a group of 20 people are walked through 8 different scenes. A new group is sent through every 12 minutes. You meet a family and witness the struggles they are going through. You watch as the daughter is witnessed to by a friend and makes the decision to follow Christ. Her brother rejects the idea of a Heavenly Father that loves him and would send His son to die for his sins. "I've never known any father that loved like that."

The scenes continue and you are next led outside to a car accident. A drunk driver hit their car on the way home from bible study. You watch as cops and paramedics care for the severely injured teens, then watch the parents in the ER, hearing the news that both of their children have been killed. You are then led to the Judgement scene. All 3 friends stand before the judge and are led to their final destination. Two are sent to live eternally in Heaven, while the brother who chose not to believe, who wanted to wait, who didn't have time for this... is led to Hell. You visit both Hell and Heaven. I had heard about the Hell scene and knew somewhat what to expect... but it was more "chilling" than I imagined. I had expected the Hell scene to be powerful, and it was. What I wasn't prepared for was Heaven...

I cried here the most. I hadn't expected this scene to be so moving, so emotional, so real. The tears flowed harder as I looked around the room at the tear streaked faces of dear friends. Lisa, who I know was thinking of her tiny baby girl, in Heaven, surrounded by all the glory we were standing in. Robyn, who's husband was playing Jesus, so caught off guard by the emotions she felt seeing him there. Jody, who is just so real, so sensitive, so sweet. Looking into Doug's piercing blue eyes and hearing his voice... just amazing. So reaffirming for me. Life changing for many.

The first night there were 16 people who made the decision to accept Christ. 19 people rededicated their lives to Him. Amazing.

Those of you who live near me... consider going through this. There is a youth group from Denver driving down just to go through. It runs tonight and then next week, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. You can make reservations at gcc-online.org or call the number given there.

Just amazing.

for my dad.

This "conversation" took place in our kitchen tonight:

Me: Guess who's coming to see us on Friday? (dramatic pause) Grandma!

Lawson: and Papa?!

Me: No, just Grandma.

Lawson: Oh man... Papa's godda work. (followed by the sad, pouty face... arms crossed... head drooping down...


(okay... so he does kind of look like he's smiling here. But only because I made him do this again... when I had my camera. The first time really was a sad, bottom-lip-completely-sticking-out-look.)



He really is a "grandpa's boy"... even if he does play shy when you come down. :)

daddy's little helpers.

Notice the gloves... Lawson came inside to find some when Daddy put his on.



(The brick sidewalk will be replaced... it's just lower than the cement now and needs to be built up some. Just another job to add to Corey's list.)

driveway.

Yesterday...

I think it's funny how they slide around on their knees to smooth the concrete. (I was being sneaky and taking this through a window... the screen makes it a little blurry. Corey told me awhile back that Holdermans don't like having their picture taken, so then I got all nervous.)

Today...



That's a whole lotta concrete! Wally (the man in charge) said that it had been quite awhile since they had poured a driveway this long. We aren't supposed to drive on it until Sunday, but Wally said if there was a hailstorm coming on Saturday, he'd go ahead and risk it. :)

Electricians are almost done. Painting is 1/4 done. Garage doors are ordered. Hoping they will be installed in the next week or two. And someway, somehow, concrete and the contractor have both come in under budget. When does that ever happen?

rainbow walls.

For Kristin (not my sister)... because she loves rainbows, and because she said I was inspiring.

Red.


Orange.


Yellow.


Another yellow. ("Duckling." It's a brushed suede finish. Very warm and cozy feeling.)



Green.


Blue.


Another blue.


Lavendar.


Pink.


We like a little color around here. Or, more accurately... I like a little color, and Corey goes along with it.

more pumpkin patch.

I've been here 3 days in a row now. It's a good thing it's such a fun place. :)

One of the kids' favorite things?

The talking witch.

footy jammies.

Is there anything cuter than a 2 year old in new footy jammies?
Or maybe it's just this 2 year old. :)

pumpkin patch.

Sophie's pre-school went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch today. So much fun!

Climbing to the top of "Boo Mountain." I didn't think there was any way she would go down the slide.

She surprised me! The first time she even went by herself.

Jaxon and his mommy pick Sophie up and take her to pre-school. We are very grateful to them! We couldn't do pre-school without them!

bikes.

Corey and I both agreed tonight... this was totally worth the money. The kids had so much fun! I am envisioning hours spent here... riding bikes, scooters, roller skates, sidwalk chalk, basketball... This was such a good investment for us.

cement.

What an awesome sight outside our backdoor yesterday! Lawson was already talking about riding his bike on it.

If you look closely, you can see little handprints in the bottom right corner. It took a little bribery, but we got them both to put one hand in. Then I think Lawson would have jumped right in if I would have let him. Thanks to our awesome concrete guys. They couldn't have been more accomodating!







This is the next phase... once this rain stops.