Delphi

Today we spent the day in Delphi. We had a pretty hot hike up to the top of the ruins but it was worth it. We had a nice lunch in a quaint little restaurant on our way down from the mountain. At that restaurant Benjamin had spinach pie for the first time...it was my first time as well. He really liked it. Tomorrow Joe and Nancy are off to Rome and David and I will either be spending the day at the beach or doing some more shopping. Then Sunday we had to Scotland and will meet back up with Joe and Nancy there. Here are some pictures from today.

Only 4 More Days Left in Greece....

then off to Scotland! Yesterday David and I went snorkeling while Grandma Nancy watched Benjamin for the afternoon. Well, David went snorkeling and I watched - I chickened out. I've only done it about 3 times in my life and I enjoyed it each time but for some reason I got too nervous. I got some sun while David got to see some native fish to the Aegean Sea. Then that evening we had dinner on the roof top of a restaurant that had an absolute gorgeous view of the Parthenon all lit up at night. There's a picture of our view below.

Today we journeyed to Corinth and saw some of Apostle Paul's old stompin' grounds. It was wonderful. It just amazes me to think that this is the same area he was and we're looking at the same sea he supposedly traveled. Benjamin yet again was a trooper. It's about an hour and a half drive to Corinth one way and he did just fine. Another picture of it below.

One more picture of Benjamin entering the Aegean Sea for the first time on Monday. He had such a wonderful time playing in the sand that day.

Tomorrow we're off to Delphi. It's the spiritual center of ancient Greece. It's a longer journey tomorrow but will be well worth it.

Have a mentioned Benjamin has just been perfect for this entire trip? Okay, maybe I already have....I'm just in a dream world because of it. The good Lord is telling us it was meant to be - and that he is meant to be a world traveler! :) Abraham and Laura....India here we come!

Greece

We've been having a great time these last two days. Benjamin has adjusted to the new time zone better than any of us have. What a relief! David and I certainly don't deserve to have such a perfect angel! Yesterday we hiked up to the Parthenon and spent the day walking around downtown Athens. We got some incredible pictures. Today David, Benjamin, and I spent the entire day at the beach while Joe and Nancy were at Joe's conference. Benjamin had a wonderful time playing in the sand and building sand castles with his little Greek girlfriend (pictures to come). I've got a lot of pictures....but it's 11pm right now and I'm ready for bed! I'll post pictures later.

Half the fun is in the Gettin' There!

The journey has been exhausting but it's well worth it. Benjamin has been nothing less than a complete doll. What a trooper! We got our rental car and realized it was too small to fit all of our luggage. Therefore we had the frightening experience of chasing a crazy taxi driver around for an hour until he finally found our condo - and that was AFTER he picked up a stranger to help him out! Nancy and Joe rode in the taxi with their luggage while David, Benjamin, and I rode in the rental car. U.S. time it's 2:30pm on Saturday afternoon....right now it's 10:30pm Greece time and Benjamin is fast asleep. We spent the day resting and tomorrow we start all the sight seeing. More later....

Greece & Scotland or Bust!

Okay, the countdown is over....off we go! Here's a picture of the hat Benjamin is going to wear hiking up to the Parthenon.

Father's Day, Blue Feet, and a Missing Toddler...

We went to Waco for the weekend and spent some time with David's family for Father's Day. It was such a great visit. Then we got home from Waco at about 6pm on Sunday to have dinner with my dad. Mom watched Benjamin while my dad, Becky, David, and I went to eat at Cafe Italia in Grapevine. We are just IN LOVE with that place. We got to see our friends Nancy and Richard while we were there so that was a nice treat!

I painted a coffee mug with Benjamin's footprint for David for Father's Day. It looks like a 5 year painted it, but oh well. It's so funny, David gave Benjamin a bath the same day that I went and had Benjamin's foot stamped in blue paint for the mug. Benjamin's foot was blue and David never even noticed it that evening. I kept thinking to myself...how am I going to explain Ben's blue foot when David gives him his bath?

We lost Benjamin this morning. Talk about a panic attack. We thought he was safely in his playroom for just 2 seconds. When I went back to get him he was GONE! He had escaped and we couldn't find him anywhere. We found him in a bathroom with the door shut playing with everything in the cabinet. (He loves to shut doors).

Play Day!

Today we started off at Benjamin's music class then off to a playgroup with some friends from Gymboree.

Still not much progress with getting him to say "Opa". We're on the countdown now until we leave for Greece and Scotland. We're getting really excited about it.

This picture was taken right before his bath tonight. He had a blast playing with a blanket Grandmother knitted. He has a whole room full of toys and he was most excited about playing with a blanket this evening. Funny boy!

I Feel Like a Kid Again!

My friend Natalie and I got 7th row seats to the New Kids on the Block concert in October! I was a huge fan of them in my early teens and they broke up over 14 years ago. I'm so excited that they're back together! I feel like I'm 12 years old again (giggle).

To prepare for our Greece trip next week we've started asking Benjamin "what do the Greeks say"? Then we reply "OPA!!!!" Right now he'll just reply "uh-oh" and sometimes "pa".

Tonight's Special is....DOG FOOD!

Yep, we're having an extremely difficult time keeping Benjamin out of Frederick's food. We try to put Frederick's food up where Ben can't get it but then I forget to put the food back down and Frederick goes hungry. Hmmmmm......this too shall pass.

I Guess I'm Not the Only One....

Today's sermon was about deception. I've been second guessing myself with not supporting Oprah because of her backing of Eckhart Tolle's book "A New Earth". I hadn't read the book but our pastor Carl Anderson confirmed my impression about Oprah and Tolle leading others down the wrong path. Just for the record the sermon wasn't about Oprah, it was about 2 Thessolonians chapter two. I do believe Oprah helps a great number of people and she has a very good heart - our pastor thinks the same thing. However, what's most important is how she is leading others down the wrong path - a path of eternal destruction for not believing that Christ is the only way. Carl, thank you for your message. Many of us have been waiting for it. Now if only we can get Oprah to believe. Tolle's beliefs directly contradict God's word - under the guise of "christian consciousness". To quote another concerned individual on a web blog: "Tolle states that people can be awakened by his book if they meet three conditions: (1) they have to have an openness to spiritual truth, (2) the truth has to have transformative power, (3) the words have to be neutral and transcend any one culture, religion, or spiritual tradition. Let me translate: if you exercise discernment, disagree, argue against you are obviously closed minded and not wise enough or smart enough or sophisticated enough to get it."

Carl mentioned a very troubling quote from Tolle that sums up his position. His idea of "christian consciousness" certainly isn't Christianity. A wolf in sheep's clothing it seems. Tolle states:
"My holiness is my salvation. Who you are requires no belief. Heaven is not a location but an inner realm of consciousness. The man on the cross is an archatypel image; he is every man and woman. My mind is part of God’s, I am very holy, my holiness is my salvation and my salvation comes from me. There is no sin. Do not make the pathetic error of clinging to the Old Rugged Cross. The only message of the crucifixion is that you can overcome the cross."

Scary, isn't it?

According to Oprah: “I am a Christian who believes that there are certainly many more paths to God other than Christianity.”

I think the Gospels were clear and either you believe them or you don't.

I do believe Oprah has helped a lot of people. However, people follow blindly without thinking through the theological and spiritual implications of where she is leading them. The logic is, ”she is so nice, it can’t be bad.”

Anyway, there's my two cents for today.

On a lighter note Benjamin is doing well and has learned how to point. Well, he's either saying #1 or pointing....who knows!

Hello Mr. Sinatra!

The weekend has been fabulous so far. We got to spend some time with Grandpa yesterday evening before we went to have dinner with some friends. At dinner, our friends Nancy & Richard surprised us with a painting. He painted Frank Sinatra and gave me the picture. I was stunned. (Frank is my favorite singer of all time). Richard Nunez is an incredible artist. Check out some of his work below.

This morning we had breakfast with Grandpa at Tony's and then we headed off to the pool at the gym. I got burned today, no doubt about it. Ouch.

Mom's Night Out

Last night I met some of the moms from Gymboree at Paint Yer Pottery. I painted a coffee mug - it looks like a 5 year old painted it. I'm not creative at all. I pick it up next Wednesday. I'll decide then if I'll put a picture of it up.....it's so bad it's funny.

Today Benjamin and I went to Jen's house to swim. He never left my side in the pool but he really seemed to enjoy it. I tried to get him to float on his back like he learned at his ISR class but he just screamed his head off the whole time. (He used to do the same thing in class but I don't have the nerve to just let him cry).

Tonight we're off to meet some friends (Nancy and Richard) for dinner at our favorite Italian place in Grapevine. Grandpa is spending the night tonight while David and I get out for a little bit. :)

Girl Chaser at 12 Months?

The Johnson's came over for dinner last night. Isabella and Benjamin had a good time playing together. It was so much fun watching them interact. Isabella would chase Frederick while Benjamin was chasing Isabella. I can't believe he's already chasing girls!

Curling Irons?

So Benjamin loves to play in my bathroom drawer that holds my hair dryer, curling iron, etc. I caught him red handed today - he emptied the ENTIRE drawer!

Grandmother's Birthday

Today was FUN FILLED! We started off at the gym. Then around mid-morning we went to our neighbor's house (Gerri) and met up with Suzi and Reese there. Reese is a little 3 year old who lives behind us. Benjamin and Reese had a blast playing together. Then around lunch time we were off to Sherman to spend the afternoon with my mom for her birthday. We had a late lunch at the Olive Garden to celebrate and then ran some errands around town together. It was a very good day! Love those kinds of days!

Happy Birthday Melanie!

Busy busy weekend - aren't they always these days? Saturday David got up at 4am to do some fishing and then later that day we went to the gym and hung out at the pool while Benjamin played in the nursery. We were out in the sun for over an hour and believe or not our blinding white skin didn't even get burned - THANKS TO THE 15 SPF SUNBLOCK! That evening my dad came over and we ate dinner at Besa's. It was such a good day! Sunday morning we went to visit Tom & Melanie's church, McKinney Fellowship Bible Church. Then they came over after church and the kids got to play. I took 70 pictures of them playing today....ok, so maybe I go a little overboard with the pictures. Can't help it. I didn't post them all - just the highlights. We also celebrated Ms. Melanie's birthday. It's been a while since the 4 of us got together - it was great to see them and reconnect with them.