I've been feeling overwhelmed by metro life and quite claustrophobic with all the busyness. God loved on me tonight by surprising me with several different bushes of wildflowers on a walk in the field behind our condo. I knew they were from Him just because He wanted me to know He loves me.
We cut several bunches and brought them indoors as a reminder of His provision and how He loves us in the details.
ejk
There are moments in which the veil between the natural and the supernatural becomes very thin, and for a brief window of time we are given a glimpse of a God beyond our comprehension. This was one of those moments.
I love how the Message paraphrases David's words:
Aron has barely had any time to tell me about all that he is learning, but from the few brief conversations we've had, I can tell you that God has been working in us both in similar ways. He is speaking love, rest, and peace over us. Calling us to recenter on His love, and that nothing else matters. It was been so restoring. More to come...
because Belle and I decided to come last minute, and the conference is sold out. We're enjoying the rest, pool, and company in the evenings, though. Aron was able to snag a King Suite off of Orbit Sunday night for a cheaper price than the double queen standard rooms he'd booked weeks ago.
Shortly after arriving, the boys headed out for a 30 minute run before supper (Aron & Craig are 'in training' for their sprint triathalon ). Aron had already run 3 miles Tuesday morning before we left, so needless to say, by evening, the boys were in need of some serious nourishment.We headed over to Maggiano's Little Italy for some hearty Italian goodness.I'm not sure what our waiter thought of us...but we had a good time! The boys were getting slightly rowdy...(actually just Aron and Craig were getting rowdy...not to name names) battling it out with intense games of tic-tac-toe and connect the dots. Men can make anything a fierce competition, I tell you. Barby was sharpening a crayon like a mad-woman so Aaron Dodge could get in on the tic-tac-toe action. 
Belle slept most of the meal, but woke up just in time for some mac-n-cheese.
After dinner, the boys headed back to the "pimp-pad", as they are affectionately calling our room, to watch the RedWings game.
While we girls ran to Target to pick up some beverages to stock our fridge. Of course, we found much more than juice. Unfortunately, we lost Belle for a few breathtaking moments. Here is where we found her:
Curled up under a clothes rack...resting.
Silly girl!
Belle and I, however, slept in. She was so excited to ride the elevator down for breakfast this morning.
We're just enjoying each other's company and delighting in the simple things this morning. We're getting ready to go swimming again, and then I am looking forward to some quiet time this afternoon while Belle naps. It will be so nice to have some uninterrupted time with God without the pressure of laundry and housework hanging over my head.
She LOVED picking out her dress and painting her nails lilac to match.
Here's a cute clip of her before we left (mostly for the grandparents...but you're welcome to watch!)
If you've never been, its worth it to go just for the sourdough bread and dipping oil. Ohhh, so good. Belle ate 2 whole pieces, and that is saying a lot!
As we finished up our meal, Aron "slopped" up his Marsala sauce with the sourdough. He looked up at me and said, "Hun, you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy." Well said, love.
We headed over to Partridge Creek for a little Starbucks, live music, shopping, and a movie.
Here's a quick clip of her dancing to the live band, but the camera battery died before I could catch the good stuff.
We saw Disney's new 3D megamovie, "UP". It was soooo good. The graphics were unbelievable, and the story even made me cry twice (though that's not saying much these days!!).
Isabelle absolutely loved her theatre experience.
Especially the large diet coke. 
When the film was over and we announced it was time to go home, she said, "But I don't want our date night to be over."
Neither did we, to be honest. We had such a lovely time together. This will definately be a family tradition.
much love,
She RAN from animal to animal. It was so beautiful to watch her wonder.
And what's a trip to the zoo without some ...well you know. Belle wanted to know what the Zebras were doing.
She climbed through the Praire Dog burrows with daddy.
And visted the artic with mommy.
And even got one last ride in her pink stroller...before it gets put up to make room for a double one.
The giraffes were by far my favorite...
And we even got to bring one precious wild animal home to keep.
ejk
I have no idea why she thought she had to pull her pants down to play...But I found it very entertaining none the less.My 7 month pregnant appetite thought a homemade BBQ pizza was in order for dinner tonight. Aron agreed.
Belle did not. My healthy little eater got up from the table, opened the fridge, and brought back her own dinner...
Watermelon and Cantaloupe. We'll never make it to 23 lbs at this rate.
So I promised her a cupcake if she ate all of her chicken (I at least had enough foresight to leave a serving of chicken off the pizza just for her). She ate every bit of it. I'm not normally a fan of bribing, but when it comes to getting this girl to eat, I loose all dignity!
That's Tuesday in nutshell. Goodnight.
ejk
