a celebration

hey everybody. still here. i've been trying to think of creative ways to say hello after such an absence-- but after going through this thought process once each month (for about 12 months now), my ideas are a little stale. there's always..."back from the blogging dead!"...while it's true, it's just not the impression i want to leave. "there's just so much to write..." is always tempting but too plain and too common for us all. i've considered "how do i start?" and "you still there?" in the end, i should probably just stick to, "we've got news." because that is ALWAYS the case and, no matter how often the title is used, it remains somewhat intriguing. i can't tell you all of the news this time, though. yes, very mean of me but...not yet. all i can say is that we are on a ride that, if it were written down, i don't know if people would believe it. the armstrongs kind of exist in transition and it is safe and accurate to say we're still there. and keeping up with the everyday (or the "not-so" everyday that happens when you live in transition) has taken all of my reserve creativity, leaving my blogging ideas...well, like i said, stale.

SO. tonight, to enter back into the blogging society, i'm taking advantage of our recent holiday. you're getting a quick thought and a few july fourth pics. i still don't have enough memory to download any pictures from my camera. BUT, my wonderful mother-in-law has emailed me her pictures. with a little dragging action from email to iphoto, i can finally share!

july fourth is one of my top 3 holidays...i love seeing our flag, thinking about what it took to become the United States, imagining life or living with the mindset of being a brand-new country. our church totally catered to my patriotism and celebrated God's birthing of our nation this past sunday. i have to admit, i was a little concerned--even though i love a celebration, i'm not big on "shows" during church. God's word carries enough show for anyone and is more than sufficient. of course, my amazing husband feels the same way, and since he and his team were in charge of many things, they worked to remain God-honoring and to produce a grateful-for-God's work-in-our-nation worship service. the Lord completed their efforts; it was beautiful. the church also welcomed colonel oliver north as a guest speaker. i know that colonel north is a controversial figure...some doubted whether it was appropriate to have him there or not. i was completely impressed as he spoke to everyone, listing his most important title as "child of God." he had WONDERFUL, biblical things to say and of course, the way he wove in true stories about current and past soldiers left me in...well, awe.

now to my thought. i was able to sit in the front row of the service b/c of a seat michael saved for me. in fact, it was right next to colonel north. again, i know some of you may not a fan of his, but my very high respect for the military was in full force. i was "starstruck" by the real-life colonel in the united states armed forces, who has breathed war all of his life and currently gives air to soldiers doing amazing things RIGHT NOW in battle, sitting very humanly :), in the seat next to mine. he's not even tall! isn't that a requirement of a colonel? i was too chicken to shake his hand even though some people behind him were teasing him about the lint on the back of his jacket. and he was laughing with them. anyway, still chickening out, i pinched myself with a little pep talk, reminding that, ultimately, all of this was about Jesus. and then, i thought about Jesus. and i thought about sitting right next to Him in those chairs. and i thought, not only would i not have to be scared to talk to him, this amazing, awe-inspiring SAVIOR OF THE WORLD would turn to me, call me by name and totally let me hug Him. in fact, He'd probably hug me first! and for the rest of the service (and now), all i can think of is how little ol' me can know Big Time Jesus. i am baffled. and, more than most things, i really hope you know Big Time Jesus too. because in the midst of all that we have going on that i still can't tell you about, knowing Him and being known is an irreplacable feeling.

lori and "doe" are working on some of the best strawberry ice cream i've ever eaten in my whole life. turns out lori likes salted ice.


"doc" definitely had the right idea.

amazing the difference a year makes. until recently, nolan ran from sticks with flying sparks.

good job on all of the explosives, daddy.