The Lord's Prayer

As we are searching for a church, Cavett has been joining us in worship every now and then, checking out all aspects from Sunday School, to the bulletins, to the Children's sermons, to the bogs or notebooks offered for entertainment during the sermon.  He has enjoyed the hymn singing and has been trying to read the words and also likes the "rock-n-roll" sound of the praise and worship teams of other churches.  One of his new favorite songs is "We Are Marching in the Light of God" or "Siyahamba."  But, what I had yet to teach him that would be so easy to participate in was The Lord's Prayer. 

Why hadn't I thought of it before?  Well, the words, I just thought they were a bit to hard to understand at this point.  Silly me! Such nonsense.  Our old church back in Houston is doing a whole Lenten series on the prayer and so I decided to make it our Lenten Challenge.  We began repeating each phrase once every night for our prayer beginning Ash Wednesday.  Three days later he was anticipating what I was going to recite.  A week later, he nailed it.  We are still discussing the meaning of each phrase and I am confident that by Easter, he will know the salvation and the love that Our Father has bestowed upon us.  He will understand that God is like a "third parent" who loves and cares for us giving us an example to follow.  As he grows older I hope that He will become more of a friend, a confidant, and a source of strength. 

I'm getting the daily devotionals from our old church still and this past week has focused on "Our Father."  I loved how Tom Pace said it. 

"As children, we learn that the identity and vocation of our parents gives us credibility and a derived sense of worth. As we grow older, we move into a phase in which we believe that it is all up to us, that we need to make our own place in the world, to make our own mark on creation.


Over time, though, the notion of creating our own identity begins to grow hollow. We begin to ache for an identity that is unrelated to our accomplishments, that is defined, once again, by remembering the unconditional love of our parents. This time, though, we come to understand that it is not the love and approval of our earthly parents that give us our real identity. That identity comes from “Our Father, who art in heaven.”
We have the right to say, on the playground of this life, “My father flung the stars into the sky, and he built that mountain over there, and made the oceans, and made a man and a woman out of clay and then brought them to life. What did your dad do?”

I guess next up is the Gloria Pati and the Doxology.  These kids are sponges watch what daily bread you "feed" them.

Art by: Mark Lawrence  "The God of All Grace." 1 Peter 5:10



"But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you." 1 Peter 5:10

Sunday Shout Out

Today's shout out go to St. Luke's UMC in Houston and Tom Pace. We miss it/them him mucho! We have been asked countless times if we have found a church yet. And frankly, this is one of the hardest things to do. In the past 2 1/2 months, we haven't really been in town or available (guests in home) to go to church much. Sunday comes around only once a week, you know. We have visited three in the area--Suncreek UMC, Creekwood UMC and Custer Road UMC. Next week, we will try Stonebridge UMC. The amazing thing is that at everyone of these we have randomly seen and talked to an alumni of the Centenary College Choir (where Stephen and I met.) BTW, Yes that is Stephen in the top left hand corner of the picture.

Stephen and I both grew up Methodist and went to a Methodist based college, thus the draw to the UMC churches. It's a natural place to start, but maybe we are growing in our faith. Maybe we need to branch out and try something different--not necessarily a different denomination (but maybe), but I speak more of the traditional worship experience vs. the contemporary. We want to stay near where we live and work. We don't want to travel more than 20 minutes which severly limits the possibilities. We want a dynamic preacher with a message we can carry on our hearts and be challenged the week through. We want an educational, nurturing children's program with a fantastic, supportive youth program to follow. We want a worship experience in which we feel close to God and yet feel fulfilled musically and spiritually. And, we need community, a small group/bible study to be a part of. It seems we can't have it all--or haven't found it yet.

In addressing the traditional music worship service with the contemporary, I understand that everyone has their own tastes. But, with a classically trained musical background with much emphasis on choral experience, contemporary music is a VERY difficult thing for me to swallow. I like reading music, I like singing hymns, I like organ and choral music. Improvization, chord reading and learning music aurally doesn't come naturally for me. I need this musical outlet, but at the same time, does my spirit need to be fed the Word of God more? It seems I am leaning more toward the latter.

It's been hard to judge these churches due to their summer schedules. We have only seen one senior minister and haven't seen/heard a chanel choir yet. Cavett has only come out of one Sunday School wanting to go back. Creekwood seems to be the closest so far. We felt very welcome at that church; they went out of their way to come by the house with homemade bread and information about them. The music was tolerable in that they were a contemporary band but still did hymn arrangements that were acceptable and not cheesy and seemed to be a spirit led worship experience, not forced.

Like I said next week we will try Stonebridge next, but I hear it is very contemporary as well. We also went to lunch today and saw a group of young adults in T-shirts. After closer examination, they were members of the Allen Bible Church. I went home and researched them and read their Doctrine. Might have to go visit them as well, but they meet in a school, ugh! Then we will have to drive down to St. Andrew's UMC because Sid sent a raving email to the music minister there. It's more of a drive than we'd like, but it may be worth it.

All in all, I trust that God will lead us to the place where we will grow in His love and our needs will be met as a family.

Where Has Time Gone?

I am giving up. No not completely, but until the boys are back in school in September. I just can't keep up right now. Trying to adjust to new schedules for everyone, finding new places and meeting new/old people, while still getting my house in order, oh and also I am cleaning it all myself, it too time consuming. So, for now you will get just the weekly update and maybe something fun every now and then if I can muster up the time.

Last Monday we braved the heat and headed to the Dallas Arboretum. My new bloggy friend, Allison went in the Spring and it looked like so much fun! Right now they have playhouses set up from different children's stories. They were very cute and the grounds were beautiful, but it was just plain hot. I didn't bring a stroller or a wagon, so we all walked the entire way. Did I mention it was 100 degrees? We sought the shade as much as we could and dreamed of diving into each fountain or pool. Cavett loved the Peter Pan playhouse, but his complaint was that he couldn't climb on any of them.

That afternoon we had to find some water so we hit up another Allen Park--Celebration Park. This place was huge--the most monstrous set I have seen and I was afraid of loosing them. However, there was a splash place as well which was a hit! Next time, I'll be in a swim suit too.

Tuesday was refrigerator day and I have already shared my thoughts there..... But we are loving it, although I still find myself trekking to the laundry room every now and then.

Wednesday we had to get out of the house and do something fun indoors, so we headed to Boomerang's in Plano. It's your typical indoor jumpy place. They had a blast.

Thursday was again the start of our weekend. I'm really liking this. We have paid our dues of working 6/7 day weeks, so this is truly like a vacation. This day was fairly uneventful filled with going to the gym, running errands and getting the car serviced, but we were able to cool off in Kelli's sister's pool. It really made us realize how much we are missing our old one. Thanks Kelli and Kara!

Friday was our 10 year anniversary. How blessed a 10 years it has been. I love Stephen more today than I did the day we were married. He is my true soul mate and I don't ever want to have to imagine life without him. After a morning jount at the gym, we ran a few more errands and relaxed at home. That afternoon we had Emily, our neighbor from down the street, come over to watch the kids. We headed to North Park to get a little shopping in and then Stephen took me to the "going place." I was most excited, as I have no idea where things are in Dallas. We arrive at a tall office building and we go in. There was nothing but a CompUSA sign at the top of the building. My comment was, "this doesn't look like a very fun going place." We arrive on the 6th floor and there was a diamond wholesaler. Stephen had arranged to pick up a set of diamond earrings!!!!!! They are absolutely gorgeous and I was so surprised! We rounded out our evening enjoying our family with tickle time on our bed. After the kids were in bed we had our celebratory steak and champagne dinner. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Saturday was "get-r-dun" day. We put a few more boxes in the attic and cleaned off the island again (although it could use another cleaning today.) By 11 we needed something fun, so we headed to McKinney to find another spray park--Finch Park. It wasn't as good as Celebration park, but it was alot shadier! For the afternoon, I was able to steal away for some "mommy time" shoe shopping at DSW and came back with some fun finds--orange and turquoise! That evening we had a babysitter and went out to Chamberlain's Steakhouse with our friends, Joe and Kelli who were also celebrating Kelli's new administrative teaching job.

Sunday rounded out the whole weekend and might have been the most meaningful. We ate breakfast at one of my favorites, Cafe Brazil and crusied around looking for a church to go to later on in the morning. We happened upon Creekwood Methodist in Fairview, which is really just a few miles from us. Everyone was extremely friendly and we were guided to just the right place. It was a more contemporary service with a band, but I was relieved when they did good hymns with a band twist. Again, we hit a Sunday when the Senior Minister was out, so we will try again. Again, this is the second week where we have walked into a random church and saw someone we knew that was a Centenary College Choir alumni.

Hill Family nap that afternoon--what more can I say. After nap Stephen decided that we should try to go see "Up." I had reservations taking Kendrick, especially to the 3-D, but we braved it and took his blue blanket just in case. HE LOVED IT!!!! The glasses stayed on the entire time and he was quieter than Cavett. There was no wiggling and squirming. He ate popcorn like a champ. There will be many more movies in our future! YEAH!!!

Now, this movie was fantastic! If you haven't seen it, you really should. I mean, ok, the whole story line with the bird and dogs was a little off the wall, but they needed more plot. But, the story line with the kid and old man were fabulous! I cried several times. What a true love he had for his wife! Boy, am I lucky to have the same thing from and for Stephen and we are so blessed with two wonderful boys with whom we can sit on the curb and eat ice cream with.

Thank you, God.

The Frist Four Day Weekend

This past weekend was the first of our newly discovered 4 day weekends, now that Stephen is officially only working Monday through Wednesday.

Thursday began a bit harried as I blogged earlier with Stephen's Dad heading to the hospital. But, they are releasing him today and have really not found the root of the pain. Thank you for the prayers. Much appreciated!

Friday was a day of driving. We went back to the hospital to take the Hill's car back, since Stephen had driven it home the previous night and then Cavett and I went to the airport to pick up Nana. SHe was flying back from a vacation in SC with my 2nd sister and then she was driving on to a rehearsal dinner in Waco.

That evening we had my college roommate and dear friend, Renee and her husband, Chuch and his son, Noah for dinner. We all cooked and watched the boys thoroughly enjoy one another. Even though their age difference was almost 6 years, they had a blast. Noah is one sweet kid and we are so glad Cavett has found a friend in him.

Saturday, we began with our new family breakfast ritual of pancakes and then a trip to the gym. By lunch my sister Candace and her family arrived from Shreveport. We were to take the older kids to the wedding in Waco that afternoon while the husbands kept the little boys. SInce it was Father's Day weekend, we treated them to a babysitter that evening so that they could catch the FC Dallas soccer game.

The wedding was beautiful and it was kind of an observation wedding for Cavett and Anna Grace, because the next one they see will be in July when they are the flower girl and ring "master" for my brother Jonny and Amber. For an hour plus wedding, they did very well and the iPhone came in very handy at the end during the receiving line. However, they truly enjoyed dancing in the 100 degree heat at the reception.

Saturday night the sibling converged at the local karaoke joint up the roda and sang a mean version of "Love Shack" and Candace and Amber Sang "Stand By Your Man." It was quite a sight and a memory to be had.

Sunday for Father's Day we hit our first visit to a church in the area, Suncreek UMC. It was the contemporary service, because that was the time that worked for our visitors, but I don't think that will be the service we go to. We will try it again once they have their new preacher and we will visit the traditional service.

Brunch was held at Cheesecake Factory and I think it was decided that we may not take the kids to a nice dinner again for at least a couple of years. At one point there was a moment where all 4 were crying. Luckily, they were all tired enough that Stephen got his present of a Hill Family 2 hour long nap. The evening was rounded out with Jonny and Amber coming over for dinner.

It was a good first weekend, but I hope that next weekend it a bit more relaxed.

Palm Sunday and the "Hunt"

I was really looking forward to Palm Sunday this year. It had more meaning. I recently read my friend, Carol's blog about the palms. It seems she cuts them from her own yard for the choir and clergy---every year! I had never realized her act of generosity and love. And, these are not your ordinary Palm Sunday branches. The one I had was at least 3 1/2 feet long. What fun to wave something that big for Jesus!

The service this year also took a turn. Typically, the music this Sunday is full of Hosannas and "happy parade"hymns. But our service was shaped to reflect what happened in the crowd over the course of the week and to prepare for Holy Week. After the sermon, the music turned toward a more somber attitude. Very effective.

Afterward, we raced to get the boys and stopped by the car to pick up the baskets, just in time for the 2 minutes "hunt" on the field. Cavett enjoyed it, but Kendrick was more interested in kicking the eggs watching them roll or justs pulling them apart and then throwing them down. We have also made a decision on the Easter Bunny. He doesn't exist and we have told Cavett so, but he doesn't want to believe us. I just can't get into the Easter Bunny. I mean, at least with Santa Claus there is historical significance and he did help and give to the poor, needy children. But, the Easter Bunny is really just silly--Eggs? I just don't get it. Anyway, it's amazing how indoctrinated they can become at such a young age. We'll still give them small treats in their baskets, but it will be from Mom and Dad. We'll still hunt and hide eggs. I just want to focus more on the real reason for Easter.

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven!" Luke 20:38

The Children's Sermon

I sat with Cavett today in big church because the choir was singing "The Creation." We tend to sing the "Ha-men that's good" from that song after we pray and Cavett has picked up on it. I wanted him to hear the whole song. He enjoyed it, but Cavett enjoyed the children's sermon much more. He was very eager and was the first kid up to the alter so he was on the top step next to Dr. Pace.

Dr. Pace brought out a blow up globe and began talking about all the places on the globe. Dr. Pace commented on the fact that Houston was on the map and that's where it went down hill. Cavett's out loud reply was "That's where we live!" Then Dr. Pace began talking about other countries and again Cavett's very loud response was "Uncle John lives in China!" And then "Nobody lives on the bottom of the world. It's too cold." Which led to another kid saying that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. At this point Dr. Pace proclaims that he has lost control and the congregation is laughing hysterically!


He eventually reels it all back in and discusses the role of ambassadors in other countries. Dr. Pace then takes his life into his own hands and says to Cavett "Since you are not a shy child, why don't you assist me in the next demonstration." Cavett sheepishly follows Dr. Pace up through the choir to the alter where he pulls out a flower from the arrangement. Dr. Pace asks him to be God's ambassador by giving the flower to the lady on the front row and telling her that God loves her. After a bit of confussion about which lady, the task is completed.


The good news is is that he got it. He understood. Cavett loves God and has Him in his heart and loves to talk about it. I can't crush that zeal, boldness and desire. I need to step back and revel in the fact that he knows whose he is and not be embarassed by "too much" enthusiasm.


But, just in case you were unsure--Cavett had the last say and told Dr. Pace that polar bears and penguins live in Antartcia.



"For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die." Philippians 1:20

Shout Out Sunday

Today's shout out goes to a person who made a huge impact on my life--Suzanne Cate (sorry I stole your facebook pic. My scanner isn't working for my high school pics!) Mrs. Cate was the Youth Choir Director while I was at Noel UMC in Shreveport. She gave me the love of choral music and of singing music with the message of God's word--one that is now written on my heart. (I'm not very good at memorizing Bible verses, but I can remember it when it is set to music.) She also was the first person (other than family) to take time out to reassure me that I was a good singer/musician.

At one point in high school I decided that choral music was my calling. I went to her and told her that she was my inspiration and to ask for help in exploring the options. I can't truly remember her comments as they were overshadowed by my Dad's response--"You don't want to do that. You have to give up your family and weekends." He was speaking from experience of having a father that was in the ministry.

But, I was still led blindly, I might add, to choral music. After 5 years I received a degree in instrumental music education only to teach choir in a middle school. I did my stint of 8 year in the public schools and dabbled in church choirs.

For the past 3 years I have had a small part in helping out with the Youth Choir at our church. What an opportunity! To find people like Mrs. Cate and Sid Davis who have such a love for Church Youth Choirs is rare and an experience that very few youth have. I have been so privilaged and fortunate to work with these people. I wish that these youth knew right now how important this time is. I made some of the best friends and went on some amazing trips.

This next Sunday I get to direct the St. Luke's UMC Pure Sound Youth Choir at both the 8:30 and 11:00 services while the adult choir is on retreat. What an honor and such a fantastic, talented group. I would venture to say that it is THE best Youth Choir in all of Houston. Who else is able to pull off singing Vivaldi's Gloria with orchestra on Christmas Eve? I digress, but the most touching part of the story is that I am directing a piece that I learned in Mrs. Cate's choir, "The Lord is My Shepherd" written by Allen Pote. I feel the Lord's power and presence everytime they follow every nuance that is in the piece.

So, thank you Mrs. Cate for teaching, guiding, metoring, reassuring, and ministering to me. And, thank you Sid for giving me the opportunity to reciprocate. I am blessed by you both.

Sunday Happenings

This morning we woke the kids up at 7 to go to early church. I was directing the New Sound 6th grade choir group at the 8:45 service and my rehearsals start up this afternoon. So, to have more time for lunch and the afternoon, we decided to not do the 11:00 service as well.

On the way there, we were listening to the Symphony channel on our new Sirius radio. Fun for us that Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 was on. For those of you familiar with the Little Einsteins, this is the "Birthday Machine Song." Cavett loves to listen to it and Kendrick got in to it as well by "conducting." After they dropped me off at church early, the boys proceeded to Whataburger for breakfast.

Cavett sat with Dad in church with nothing to keep him entertained. The children's sermon came up very quickly and seeing as how I was up in the alter area, I had a perfect view. He left Dad's pew in the very back and walked all the way down the aisle by himself. He climbed the stairs and sat as close as he could to the woman doing the lesson. After it was over, he informed her that he had a "Hot Wheels jumper!" She acknowledged him, but the funny part was watching him go back down the aisle. He hopped like a bunny the entire way back. I always get comments about him. His Sunday School Teacher also said that he was "very involved" in their discussion today. Sometimes I just don't know what to do--laugh, be embarrassed, or think maybe he just walks to the beat of a different drummer compared to other kids. He is precious and he isn't really being a trouble maker, but he definitely makes his presence known.

He did have his first communion this morning. He walked down with Dad and the servers bent over for him. He dipped the wafer in the juice. Dad explained to him that it was a meal with Jesus. Afterwards, they prayed. It was so cool to watch how Stephen was enveloping him. One of Candace's friends has a name for it--a prayer tunnel. I definitely had the best seat in the house to watch this awesome experience.

Spiritual Development

It is one of the 5 major developments (physical, emotional, intellectual, social) that gets over looked far too often in a child. This past weekend and week we have given it a good "shot in the arm" with Cavett.

We have taken off the months of July and August from singing in the choir so that we can sit together as a family in "big church." We actually made it through the entire service. Cavett opened his own hymnal and sang his own words and tune. He went up all by himself to the Children's Sermon which made me extremely nervous. He was well behaved, but I knew as soon as the preacher asked a question of the kids it was over--he would make long conversation and I was right. The preacher even commented on him being a "talker" and the congregation got a chuckle. He colored his kid bullitin and we counted how many times the preacher said "Paul" during the sermon. (We are studying Acts). As we were getting in the car Cavett said, "I had fun praising God today." Isn't that what it's all about? Having fun praising God!

This week he is atteneding Veggie Tales Camp at a Baptist church in Sugar Land. If you are unfamiliar with Veggie Tales, it is a cartoon that takes Bible stories and retells them using vegetables with a bit of a pop culture twist to the story. Strange, I know. Anyway, yesterday they evidently read the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I decided we should read the real story from the Bible for our bedtime story. He was engaged and focused the entire time. We talked about how God took care of them, because they didn't stop praising Him. When we said our prayers, Cavett even prayed for the trio!

This morning when Dad got Cavett out of bed, Stephen asked him about what he talked about at VT Camp yesterday. Cavett said, "Zack, Zachary and Abendego." Who cares if he can't remember the exact right names, the point is is that he is learning that God loves him and that no matter what happens we love Him right back.

What have you done to encourage spiritual development in your child today?

We have the joy

Below are 2 videos we recorded yesterday after church. The first one is Cavett singing one of his favorite church songs. Usually the "where" is really prolonged in a very high pitched voice. The second was during lunch. How fun it is to see the two boys making each other laugh. Cavett says he was "scaring" Kendrick by saying "Radadoo" in a "scary" voice. Hopefully, meals will continue in this happy way for many more years to come.