my sweet brother Matthew

Hi Friends!
It sure has been a while since I've posted--sorry about that! A lot has been going on in Seattle, and the weather is getting nicer, so I suppose I am also spending more time outside :) Blue sky, it is good to see you again, I have missed you! Soon there will be more updates, but for now, I want to write about my sweet brother Matthew.

Something special happened last week, Matthew turned 11! Matthew is my kind-hearted, silly and sensitive, reasonable yet creative, and almost too-responsible-for-his-own-good brother and boy do I LOVE him! Just writing about Matthew puts a big smile on my face. I love the conversations we have, the times we spend together, his sweet and goofy smile, his wonderful laugh, his pre-adolescent moodiness, ooh there is so much I love about him--I could go on and on and on!

For now, I'll show you some pictures over the years. This boy makes my heart melt.

Feb 2011--perhaps my favorite picture of Matt 

Summer of 2010

December 2006 

play date--summer of 2007

we're silly together :)

Flat Matt came to Gettysburg to visit

silly Matt

oh so happy to take this picture Matt  

cute and cheesin'

summer of 2009 (Matt is on the right)

on the right, with brother Sean and cousin Jeremy--summer 2007

he's growing up, isn't he?

I sure do love Matthew, and I can't wait to see him this weekend :)

when my world is shaking, heaven stands

[via]

Hi friends!
Sometimes song lyrics articulate the sentiments of my heart in way my words never could. I especially find that true with church hymns. Though the song I am sharing today is not a hymn, it sure is beautiful and speaks to my heart. Here are the lyrics to a beautiful song by JJ Heller called "Your Hands." Enjoy :)

I have unanswered prayers
I have trouble I wish wasn't there

And I have asked a thousand ways

That You would take my pain away

That You would take my pain away

I am trying to understand

How to walk this weary land

Make straight the paths that crookedly lie

Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking

Heaven stands

When my heart is breaking

I never leave Your hands

When You walked upon the Earth

You healed the broken, lost, and hurt

I know You hate to see me cry

One day You will set all things right

Yea, one day You will set all things right

When my world is shaking

Heaven stands

When my heart is breaking

I never leave Your hands

Your hands

Your hands that shape the world 

Are holding me, they hold me still

Your hands that shape the world

Are holding me, they hold me still

When my world is shaking

Heaven stands

When my heart is breaking

I never leave You when...

When my world is shaking

Heaven stands

When my heart is breaking

I never leave...

I never leave Your hands