and the Oscar goes to...

A Brentwood housewife and her D.A. husband. A Persian store owner. Two police detectives who are also lovers. An African-American television director and his wife. A Mexican locksmith. Two car-jackers. A rookie cop. A middle-aged Korean couple. They all live in Los Angeles. And during the next 36 hours, they will all collide.

This powerful film is unforgettable. Justin and I saw it first about 6 months ago, and I still talk about it. While inappropriate for young children, as an adult it was so draining. Dealing with racism in many different ways this film is amazing. So many emotions, so intense, yet a film I am glad I did not miss .

16 weeks

 

Habakkuk

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will be joyful in God my Savior!"- Habakkuk 3:17,18

I have come across this verse more than once in the last week, and it is not even one of the books of the Bible I am currently reading through. Coming across it several times though made me think about it more.

Life can be so overwhelming. We all have trials and no matter how big or small, it can be hard to stay focused on the Lord. When it seems all has gone wrong, not the way we wanted or hoped for, when all seems lost, this the most crucial time that we turn to the Lord. He may not respond the way we want, or even at all but we still must rejoice in him. He is Lord, sovereign over all things and in complete and total control! This is amazing in itself, but in our fallen world, where there is so much wrong, hurt, sin, greed, sadness, and so on, we get caught within the shambles of the darkness of our world. Back to the word, "...yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will be joyful in God my Savior." The future with our Savior brings us hope, helps us to cope with everyday life. To live life for him. To rejoice in him daily despite what happens each new day, even though we so often cannot understand it, we know that God has better things in store.

Cowboy Max

"The glory of the nation rests in the character of her men. And character comes from boyhood. Thus every boy is a challenge to his elders." -Herbert Hoover

in Grandpa's studio

crazy hair!

calm

strike a pose

taking a break

SLAM DUNK!

(with a little assistance from Uncle Carl)

all boy

silly

 

belly laughs

Maxwell definately has attributes of both Justin and me.This picture definately captures one of mine. This boy has my sense of humor! We laugh all of the time, and at nothing. This particular night he was getting the biggest kick out of tossing an empty water bottle around. One of my favorite times with Maxwell was when we were sitting in a closet cleaning it out, and I found an old pair of glasses and put them on. He laughed so hard, so I put them on him and he and I laughed so hard our bellies hurt. A wonderful twenty minutes!

jared

Today marks four years since my brother-in-laws ski accident. Everyday is a battle. At his parents house each day they live with who he is now. When we have family gatherings he is always there, but it is not the same.
Old friends have slowly stopped coming, but those who are true come to see him when they can, and this means so much to the family.
Pray for my family. That we might all cling to Christ. Know that he is soveriegn, and rejoice because Jared is his.

A dream come true...

Three Melchers...all with growing bellies! Vanessa: 17 weeks, Nicole:10 weeks, Anne:15 weeks.

We are so excited to have our bellies all growing together, so blessed that God has given us these gifts!

Blustery Snow Day...

 

 

a new game...

One of Maxwell's new favorite games to play is to go into his room, shut the door, take all books and toys off shelves and out of baskets, scatter them throughout the room, and finally pick each item up one by one opening the door tossing one out, then close the door until he emerges with another.

closing the door

Old Man Winter

This morning I woke up to a pitter-patter sound on the window...and then I heard thunder? As I peeked out the window a gust of wind blew snowflakes against the pane, and crashed down to the ground to join the rest of the white. I listened some more and sure enough there was thunder.
I threw on my robe and headed in to get a chatting Maxwell out of his crib. I headed into to the kitchen to heat up my morning tea, and it dawned on me. Two days ago Maxwell and I were outside at the park with light jackets on enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. Yesterday we walked a friends dog with sweatshirts and vests on, and now this! This winter has been nothing less than unpredictable! I read my friend Danielle's blog this morning, and she had mentioned how the snow in Maryland was slipping away, it seems to have headed up here.
Maxwell is thrilled to say the least. On my way back from the kitchen I caught him in his room gazing out the window and shrieking with delight! He turned and looked at me with such excited eyes, I knew we would have to go out later on.
So as the snow continues to fall, we will continue to enjoy it. Justin is going to head home early this afternoon, so we can all go out together and then head in for some hot chocolate by the fire. Ah, the joys of winter.

Happy Valentines Day!

 

For my Prince Charming...

I thought this card was fabulous...thought I would share it.

 

flowers from my prince...

 

Happy Birthday Peter!

Happy 17th Birthday to my youngest brother Peter! Pete is quite the skateboarder (as you can probably tell from the picture), the one willing to try anything, and a great brother! He is sporting the fro look right now but we still accept him! We share a common sense of humor always pulling pranks on our other brothers Alec and Carl until the day I left for college, but everytime we are all together we usually conjure up a fun prank or two.