A Field Trip and a Giveaway

Feeling like this today?

Even if you aren't, I know you will be very blessed and refreshed by Scripture Lullabies. Don't let the name fool you. Sure, the songs are soothing enough to lull your babies to sleep, but oh, the Truth preached gently in each song will refresh and renew Mama's heart (family's hearts!) too. Talk about easing some of the witching hour tension in the evenings, when all are hungry, tired, needy, and loud! And even if you don't have littles all around your legs, this is still just such a calming, powerful CD.

We just got Volume II of Scripture Lullabies. I can unreservedly recommend both volumes!

And just for fun and for the goodness of using God's Word to lift our hearts, I thought I'd give away a copy of Scripture Lullabies, Volume II. Just leave me a comment or email me at my blog email address, and I'll put your name in the hat (if for some reason you don't want your name in the hat just tell me).

Secondly, we recently stumbled upon an artist and CD we'd never heard. Jadon Lavik has done a masterful job with some of the deepest, most beautiful hymns ever written on his Roots Run Deep album.

Maybe it's partly because of the chaotic, demanding season of life I'm living these days, but listening to Truth told so skillfully in song is balm to my heart and soul, a very real reminder of Jesus, Truth, Gospel, All That Really Matters.

And that concludes the Resources That I Love portion of this post....

We took a rather spontaneous trip to San Antonio to see the Alamo recently. It's a fun place to tour, and the kids just did a quick little jaunt through Texas history and the Mexican-American War. It was great real-life reinforcement of their history lessons. AH had never been to San Antone, so it was good to take her through the Alamo and further indoctrinate her with Texas history, legend, lore, and pride. Being non-natives, we still have a happy laugh over the independent bigness of Texas pride!

It was surprisingly hot (low 90's) and humid that day!

Check out the architectural details. A slow tour of the Alamo and its sister missions in San Antonio is a feast for the eyes architecturally, historically.

Everyone was delighted by the enormous koi in this little canal that runs through the grounds of the Alamo.

The Alamo sits hidden behind a stone wall right smack in the middle of downtown San Antonio. It's really neat to pass out of the city, as it were, and back in time. The contrast is heightened by the fact that the grounds are really like a small botanical gardens with countless flowering plants and bushes, as well as ancient oaks and other plant life.

I've no idea what this plant is called, but the bushes were enormous (11 feet perhaps?) and the flowers were each about 8 inches long, hanging like hundreds of bells off the branches.

A "canoe" of sorts. It called CJ's name, and everyone joined her. Oh, I forgot to mention that while CJ was hot and tired in the very top photo, she was also angry at me for telling her no when she went for someone else's water bottle. Sigh. Two-year-old rage. Yikes.

Once done with a brief-ish tour, everyone was hot, sweaty, tired, and hungry. Smart and quick-thinking daddy zipped us over to Jimmy John's. Their slogan claims that they are impossibly fast or something like that. No kidding. I was in and out in 5 to 7 minutes with a special carry out box in my arms, in which to tote all.that.food. to the already overflowing thing that is our Suburban (did I ever say here that we added a fourth row to it for the time being in order to accomodate 9 passengers?).

Look! The nice Jimmy John's guy even made special cup holders in my "lunch box!" Seriously, I thanked God for this little act of practicality and kindness.

So, I sat in the 2nd row next to Baby H with the lunch box on my lap. By the time I'd divvied up the food, and got to my own, the kids were mostly done with theirs. Ha!

Even CJ (ever the distracted eater) was quick eating and polished off all but a bite or two of her half-sandwich! Baby was a dream on our six-plus hour field trip. Literally slept all but about 20 minutes of the time away! Beyond easy. Another tender mercy - on the trip and in this life-as-I-know-it!

Full tummy + tired girls = car nap! 

One moment during Baby H's 20 minutes of awake time...

Thanks for visiting today's "family photo album" post! Remember to comment or email if you're interested in having a free copy of the Scripture Lullabies Volume II CD.