Meet Zoe.

The newest member to our little family, little Zoe. She is the sweet little puppy that we have welcomed into our home {mostly on the screened-in porch but she is allowed inside, providing she is not destructive (; }. She showed up unexpectedly at one of our Elders’ house we are guessing a few days ago… at least three days? Anyway, you can see her ribs in that picture, and the poor thing just had bugs eating away at her.

We could tell from the first moment that she just needed someone to give her some lovin’s. She is so sweet and lovable. Of course, being a puppy, she is really energetic and a bit sneaky too, but over all she is just a big sweetheart who just wants to be loved. She’s intelligent, too, and catches on quickly.

Ain’t she precious? We are hoping that we will be a blessing to her and that she will be a blessing to us. Most who know me know that I have been wanting a puppy for … four years, ha! And we finally decided to give this sweet little girl a home. We’re still getting used to each other but we are looking on the bright side of things and enjoying the sweetie.

I’m sure you’re wondering how Mr. Benjamin is doing with the new puppy. Well, he spent the day with one of his favorite people, Mrs. Aneya as he calls her, and so when we got home tonight he was SURPRISED. Big time. He’s not too crazy about dogs who are smaller and more energetic, because when we lived with my parents, the only dog he knew was Bailey, who was old and lazy. So he spent most of the night screeching and trying to be as far away as he could possibly be, and his running meant “CHASE!” to Zoe. But by the end of the night, they were both calm{er} and Benjamin was even giving her toy rope to her. I am pretty sure that as soon as they get acclimated to each other, they will be thick as thieves!

O, To Be Like Thee

There is something, and I am sure that most if not all parents would agree, so very humbling about parenting that sometimes just takes my breath away. Especially lately. Benjamin will be three (yes, THREE!) in just a few short months. He’s at that stage where he is repeating everything we say and paying attention to every little detail. He’s always got those beautiful blue eyes peeled wide open, just soaking it all in. Absorbing it. It’s amazing because I believe so many people underestimate how much information these tiny little minds can store. It’s humbling because it reminds me just how careful we need to be, because one thing that this little person wants to do, is … well, everything. Everything he sees us do.

It reminds me of a hymn that we sometimes sing … “O, To Be Like Thee” – you know the one? It gets me thinking … Benjamin really looks up to us. He really wants to be like us as much as possible. He wants to do what we do. He wants to say what we say. He wants to eat what we eat (which is difficult if what we’re eating has eggs in it – yes, still working with that allergy). He wants to drink what we drink (unless it’s a soda, because he thinks those are ‘yucky’). You would think sometimes that he would just be thinking desperately, “O, to be like mommy” or “O, to be like daddy”.

You see, he puts a lot of effort into being like mommy or like daddy.

And we sing “O, to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art” … but do we always put that effort into it?

Me … well, I will be the first to tell anyone that I’m not perfect. I do my best – sometimes not even that and I’m ashamed to say it! But it’s true. I don’t always do my best. I could do more. I know I can do more.

Oh! to be like Thee, full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand’ring sinner to find.

Loving … forgiving … tender and kind. Full of compassion. I can do better than what I’m doing now … certainly, I can.

So when Benjamin mimics me, he can also be mimicking Christ. Does that make sense? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could instill that in him … to put even more effort into being Christ-like when he’s older?

It starts with me, though.

Humbling, right? Sobering. My toes are all sorts of sore from treading on them this past week as I’ve been milling this thought around through my head, wondering why we sing such songs and never really take them to heart … Ouch, Kristen. It starts with me.

It starts with soaking up God’s word … and desiring to live Christ-like. O, to be like Him! I know I can do so much more than I have been. Y’all pray for me. I don’t always have my priorities in the right order.

Oh! to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

one more day

A ton of these Pink Spider Lillies just surprised me this week! I had no idea they were out there till I stepped outside… and it’s not like I never go out in the back yard! But there they were! Bright and beautiful like summer!

Gorgeous, right? They are a perfect farewell to Summer, because in case you didn’t know, in ONE DAY it will be officially Fall! Yes, you read that right! Fall! I cannot wait for the temperatures to reflect that! And I haven’t been here in Alabama long enough to know what that feels like here, but I think it’s starting to feel that way! Hello, lower 80’s! You are my BFF!

We have been enjoying the cooler temps by being outside much more often than during the summer.

Yeah, I think Ben likes it too! We love our little ventures outside! He all the time wants to go to the playground now. Now that the weather is cooler, I think we can start going more often!

That’s something even I can get excited about!

Wordless Wednesday: Home For Sale

desperate times call for desperate measures…

Sometimes, you just gotta do what you just gotta do. Even if it means washing your dishes in the utility sink.

Yup, we had pipe problems. Apparently pretty bad ones, from what it sounded like from the plumber. But thankfully, they’re all taken care of. At least the sinks are draining and not into the dishwasher, either.

Things are slowly getting back to normal. For those of you who don’t follow my every move on Facebook, we spent a week in Missouri where Hubby did his first out-of-state gospel meeting. It was amazing. I loved seeing everyone and meeting everyone. Seeing everyone meaning two very dear friends, Peyton and Kara!! Isn’t it so wonderful to have such an extensive Spiritual family where you pretty much have friends anywhere and everywhere, and if not, it’s so easy to make some new ones! I love it!

Anyway, after that, I had a week to prepare for our own Gospel Meeting and keeping the visiting preacher’s family! It was a blast! And I am sooo not just saying that, Amber! Even though we had four adults and three kids in the house, I really enjoyed it and I miss having the company here!

So yeah. Once they left we have plumbing problems, but I guess we should just be thankful we didn’t have the problems while they were here!

I’m still getting back into the swing of blogging, but this feels so much more natural here on my old friend. Thanks so much for your kind words, you guys! It feels good to be missed, even from this little corner of the world wide web which I claim as my own.

More to come soon, my lovelies!

A Little Note

Before I forget, I wanted to let you all know that if you are trying to link up to my blog via my domain, www.BringingupBenjamin.com, you're not going to find it. I chose not to renew the domain this time around. So switch up your links, please! http://bringingupbenjaminblog.blogspot.com - I know it's a mouthful, but it is what it is!

Thanks y'all!

We’re Back

After a long break from having Bringing Up Benjamin public, I have decided to bring it back. I’ve tried, as some of you know, to blog over at my other blog, but it never really felt right. It was like drinking sweet tea made with Splenda instead of the real deal. Just wrong.

So I’m going to attempt to get back into the swing of things! So much has happened since July, the last time I updated! We’ve done a lot of traveling, and we’ve had guests, and meetings, etc! It’s been busy around here!

But for now, I’ll just leave you with this – and hope that soon I’ll get my inspiration for blogging back. I’ve had ideas, but lost them … maybe they’ll come back to me!

Ahhh, it’s good to be back!