Hibbets' Happenings

We had a great day at church yesterday.  The sermon yesterday morning was
"The treasure of giving our children away."  This summer he's been doing a
series called "Treasure Hunt."  So yesterday he talked about treasuring our
families and raising risk-taking, passionate Christ-followers.  At the end
he brought all the children up and he blessed them and prayed for them.
(The text for the message yesterday was the passage in Mark where Jesus
said, Let the children come to me.)  We sang Blessed Be the Name -- "You
give and take away..."  It was all really good.  I spent most of Life Group
in Joshua's class nursing Gabriel and visiting with Lia and Aletha, and that
was really good.  But I felt like even though it was at the end, I was
supposed to go on up to Life Group.  I had missed the lesson, but God still
worked it out.  There were two girls there, both for the first time, who I
didn't get to meet in Life Group, but when we went back to church yesterday
afternoon for the Ladies Meeting, we recognized each other and got to visit.  We hit it off and had
such a nice time.  It was so encouraging!  And it was really neat to see the
Lord's hand in it.

We started a Bible study at church today. I am excited about it! I didn't get to attend much of class today (feeding Gabriel), but I was glad for the few minutes I got to come in at the end. I've already done the lesson for Session 1!

The study is based on Mark Batterson's book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. It is a 6-session study called Chase the Lion, about taking risks and facing fears. "Be a Lion-chaser!" This is something, as an accountant, I definitely need to work on!

In this first lesson, he looks at the parable of the talents and focuses on Jesus' response to the three servants (two who doubled their money and one who played it safe and broke even). The two who took the risk and ended up reaping the reward were the ones who were Faithful. Wow! The one who minimized risk and stayed comfortable was chastised and sent away. I can identify with the third servant. But I'm praying the Lord will change me and help me become a Lion Chaser.

If you're interested, check it out! I'm enjoying it. I've heard great things about the book, but we haven't read it yet. Maybe one day.

This week I started the book Wild at Heart. It's a men's book, but I'm learning a lot that I believe will help me as a wife and mom to sons. I'm glad I'm getting to read it now while my boys are young and our marriage is still "new." (At least it still feels pretty new!) I plan to read the "women's book" next, Captivating.

David finishes up his class this week, and then I get two weeks to do prep work for my classes and then the fall semester begins. I'm both looking forward to it and sad about it. Gabriel's first day of daycare will be August 18. That is also Jayden's first day back and it will be her birthday party at school, since her birthday is the 17th. I'll send some treats for her and her friends.

She's excited about her birthday. She wants it to be pink; she's also mentioned a pink horse. So I may try to find pink My Little Pony stuff for her birthday supplies. I may end up making her cake.

Alright, gotta go read a Grover book or tend to a crying baby, or both ....

Last night I had to be rescued. Or maybe it was Gabriel who needed rescuing ....

Jayden's into locking doors right now. Until last night, she had only locked the bathroom doors -- not a problem. One bathroom door doesn't really lock (the knob is messed up), and the other bathroom is easy to unlock with a screwdriver -- which we keep right by the door since we often find it locked! However, last night she decided to lock our bedroom door. The problem: I had laid Gabriel down on my bed to try to get him to sleep. She had been in there talking to him after I laid him down, then I had to get up to tend to something, and when she left, she apparently decided to lock and close the door. Then Gabriel starts crying, I go to check on him -- and can't get in to get him! I tried not to panic, but was fairly unsuccessful. I could not figure out how to unlock the door. I knew if nothing else, we could break the door, but I thought I would at least try to get help first. I called David but didn't get an answer, so then I called David's parents' house. His mom came down and thankfully was able to get the door open with a screwdriver right away. I knew Gabriel was okay, just mad. (This happened while David was gone to the movie with his brother, so I was home with the three kids.)

I think I handled this okay with Jayden. I think it made a big impact on her. I guess we'll see -- the test will be if (and how soon?) she locks my door again!

Jayden can open the refrigerator now. So begins a new phase for us! David and I walked out to the garden Thursday afternoon when he got home from school. When we came back inside, Jayden was up on the counter (she had pulled the stool over and climbed up, which is not new); she had a loaf of bread -- which she got out of the fridge -- and was getting the honey out of the cupboard. She was making herself a snack! =-) Oh my, this is going to be an adventure, I can tell. My little Miss Independent!

We're having a good weekend. Everyone's sleeping right now. David has a Chemistry test Monday to study for today and tomorrow. Tomorrow morning we go to church, hooray! I haven't taken many pictures lately, so I don't think I have any to share for now.

Yesterday was a good day. First, it was our anniversary -- 9 great years! We didn't do anything particular to celebrate, but we had a good day. I felt loved yesterday.

Last night at bedtime, Jayden said her first "real" prayer. I told her we needed to pray for my friend because her mouth hurt, and we could ask Jesus to help her mouth feel better soon. I prayed, and then she wanted to pray! She basically said the same things she had heard me say, but it was so sweet. It was probably about a 3-sentence prayer -- which I am pretty impressed about! I wish I could remember how she ended, because she got her words mixed up a little. It was something like, "Jesus, help her feel better mouth." It was cute.

THEN, another first -- Gabriel did not sleep in our bed last night! It's been all my fault all along, but last night I did good -- I fed him in the living room and then laid him back down to sleep. He fussed some and David had to help him go to sleep, but eventually he slept another 3 hours, and by then I was up anyway. And boy was he hungry! So he woke up around 2:30, ate, slept, and then woke up again around 6:30. I can't remember for sure what time I fed him last before bed. I think it may have been around 9:30. I'm okay with this schedule for now. He's 9 weeks; I won't try to get him off his middle of the night feeding for at least a little while longer. Jayden was 4 mos old when we got her to sleep through the night. The dr. told us then, though, that she was plenty old enough by then and we could have done it sooner. Well, one thing at a time!

David is at the halfway point with his summer class (Chemistry). He has 2 weeks down, 2 weeks to go. Then we'll have one last week of summer vacation, then a week of back-to-school work for me to do, and then fall classes begin! Gabriel starts at daycare (same Center where Jayden goes) on that Monday the 18th, the first day of classes for all of us (except I think Joshua's first day is Wednesday the 20th). Jayden moved up to her new 3-year-old class at school this week, on Monday. I don't really know any details, but I think she's enjoying it.

I took a surprise trip to Branson with extended family (a girl trip + Gabriel), then turned around and left again with David and Gabriel to go to Fort Worth/East Texas for my birthday/our anniversary. We got home in time for the 4th with family. Gabriel is now 8 weeks old and 10 pounds! Some pics: