My 200 Word testimony

So, in our Sunday school class we were challenged to write our faith testimony in 200 words (or less). I have been thinking about this all week and how am I supposed to write all my thoughts about this subject in 200 words?? I have never been the best writer but I finally sat down after Hannah was asleep and had the house dark and quiet and wrote down what I think is a pretty good sum up of my faith testimony. My testimony came out to 199 words....had I said all I wanted to it would be about 400 atleast. So, heres what I've been working on and if I get the courage, I will read it in class on Sunday. Feedback would be appreciated :)

My faith testimony might be compared to a child’s see-saw. There are times when I am the child up high; on fire for God and can’t get enough working for him, praising him, and loving him. There have been times when I was the child stuck at the ground very far from God, missing out in a relationship with him. Then, there are times, more too often, when I am the child who gets stuck in the middle neither going up or down just content in my life and not really striving for a deeper relationship with God.

 I was blessed to be born into a loving Christian family, so God and going to church have always been part of my life. I was also blessed to have lived overseas my whole childhood where I witnessed that faith is not about a denomination or religion. Its simply about loving God. And while I understand that and was baptized as a teenager, I am still working on fully giving my life to Christ. I strive to love him, serve him, and trust him more. I believe in a God who loves, protects, heals, and want to live with him eternally.

Giggle

I just realized it has been a while since my last post. Sorry! A little thing named Hannah has been taking up most of my time lately. She is becoming so much more active and busy. She has really started laughing a lot and its so cute. Here's a video of her laughing getting her neck cleaned after eating her cereal.

Cereal Time

Hannah is 4 months today!! Where has the time gone? She is growing up so fast already and I heard it only gets worse. She has recently discovered her voice which is precious. She is laughing more and more, loves to be sitting up, walking around, and observing anything and everything around her. Any time she is laying down, its only a matter of seconds before she has rolled over on her tummy....which she then realizes she hates. Turning 4 months old means she gets to start eating rice cereal.......



Moms Day Out

 Happy New Year! This is my first post of the new year since my sweet husband wanted to write a post. He is precious and I had no idea my comment had such an impact on him. I thank God everyday for him! Anyways I have started working 2 days a week at a moms day out and Hannah gets to go with me and attend the baby class. I am excited about this for several reasons. First of all it is a christian moms day out so she gets to start learning about Jesus and how much he loves her! It is a great school with great teachers and am so excited she gets the chance to go. Gymboree comes once a week and they do so much fun stuff with the kids. I also love that she gets interaction with others her age and a change of scenery 2 days a week. Finally I love that she gets to go to work with me and if she needs me I am there. Hannah's first day was on Tuesday and she had a great first day. One of the teachers asked me if we spoil her because she said that hannah did not want to be put down...I blamed her daddy for that one. :) I will leave you with a few pictures of her first day of school....

waiting patiently for mommy to finish getting ready

leaving for her first day of school :)

A Post from Conrad

Hello all. I have mentioned to Lauren on several occasions that I would like to write a post on her blog. However, I had yet to do so because quite frankly I could not think of anything to write that I thought anyone would find interesting. That changed on our way home from church today. Something happened in our car that I never thought would ever happen. It turned out to be one of my proudest moments as a husband.

For those of you who do not know me (why are you reading?) I love to fish. I could fish every day of every week of every month of every year. I grew up doing alot of trout fishing on the Current River in Missouri and have started doing alot of bass and crappie fishing since moving to Oklahoma. The last few years have been my best and worst years when it comes to fishing. The best times have come on my families yearly trip to Arkansas to trout fish on the White River. On my first cast in Arkansas I caught a 9 pound Brown Trout. Which was special, because just four days prior I landed a 6.5 pound Rainbow Trout. Both fish now reside on a wall in my man's room because thats what men do.

The worst of times when it comes to fishing are the fewer and fewer days that I actually get to go fishing. Growing up we would fish 2 to 3 times a week and sometimes more. Now, if I get to go once a month it is a big deal. In the summer we get to go more because of the aforementioned Arkansas trip and getting to stay in Missouri for an extended time. For the other eleven months out of the year, my fishing time is steadily decreasing. On those days that I am able to go fishing here in Oklahoma, one of the things Lauren always asks me is, "What time will you be home?" A question that no fisherman can truly answer. I know that she wants me home before dark, but right at sunset is when the bass and crappie really start biting here in Oklahoma. My response is always vague something like "When I get home" or like any true fisherman "When the fish stop biting." By the time I drag myself away from the pond it is dark and I am in the doghouse.

I say all of that to get to the event that happened in the car today. One of the things that Lauren always asks me about fishing is how I am able to always want to fish. How do I find it fun to sit in a boat in Arkansas for ten hours a day? If you go fishing this month, then you should have your fill for the next two. I always try to compare fishing to something that she loves to do which never works the way I plan. She has never really been able to understand my passion for the sport. She has fished with me in the summer and generally after about three days of fishing, her yearly quota has been met. Her and my sister have even started discussions

on trying to persuade dad to take a family trip somewhere other than Arkansas (blasphemy!).

However, bless her heart, she has really tried so hard. She doesn't like me being away after dark but she doesn't say much nowadays if it is due to fishing. She still finds it difficult to understand how one person can want to fish so much, but she is coming around. Today in the car she asked me, "Can you fish in the spring? Like over spring break?" We had not really discussed our spring break travel plans but I had decided in my head that we were going to Missouri to fish. So when I heard this question I am thinking in my head that she is hopeing I will say no you cannot fish at that time so we will go Texas over spring break (not a bad thing, just no fishing). I told her yes that is actually a really good time to fish and asked her why she had asked again thinking she was going to want to go to Texas over spring break. What she said next was so monumental and maybe my proudest moment as her husband. She said, "Good, because I really have been wanting to go fishing with you." HOW AWESOME IS MY WIFE!!! Fishing rubs off on everyone. It brings families together and provides food for many. When Jesus fed the 5000 he didn't use deer, turkey, beef, or anything else. He used fish. I hope you all go and grab your fishing poles, your spouse, and your kids and go catch a fish. Just don't catch any of mine.