All things family-related. My husband and me, the children we made, the grandbebes that thrill us now. Our whole great big, loud, messy family. Love! *sigh…
Oh, Averi-baby. I so LOVE our time doing pre-school and art and doing crafts and learning to read and so many other things we do. Can it really really really be 5 years since you were born?
Did you know I waited and waited {very patiently, I might add} for you to be born? And you just took-your-SWEET-time being born and I thought I would fall right over and go to sleep in the hospital hallway, but then, voila! There you were! VERY late, and I woke right up, wasn’t a bit sleepy anymore and I bet those doctors and nurses had never seen such a BIG family being all crazy-happy and rejoicing in their hospital that late at night! We were h-a-p-p-y!
And, get this: you were actually born on a Super-Bowl Sunday, a sunny, pretty day in Colorado – JUST LIKE today!!! Blue skies and bright sun – all for your birthday, beautiful just like you!
Well, little girl, for 5 years you have thrilled us with your big, blue eyes, your head-full of gorgeous hair, your kissable cheeks, your coy sense of wit, your surprise laughter, your sensitive heart, your warm hugs and sweeeeeeeeeeeet nature. Can you tell I just love everything about you?
I love you with so much of my heart there is none left to protest. :)
Happy-happy-happy-happy-happy birthday, Miss Averi. You are my sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. Don’t forget, OK?
My mom was raised on Gene Autrey and Roy Rogers’ westerns and spent her childhood going to the Saturday double-feature for 25-cents in the 40s and 50s. She loved those movies and wearing her jeans and spurs, when she could get away with it.
But then she became engaged to a Nazarene preacher and there were things the holiness crowd just did not do. And going to movies was one of them.
So for years, she has adhered to the old teachings, to the sound of the voices of the older pastor’s and their wives who mentored her and told her that the word said not to “sit in the seat of mockers ” (Ps 1), which being interpreted {by them} meant: don’t go to the movie houses and sit in seats next to godless people. Now-they never mentioned sitting next to the godless at, say, a doctor’s office or a PTA meeting or even church. That verse, they were immovable in their stance, meant one thing: movie houses! Or maybe several things, because places like Disneyland were off limits, too. But mvies, most assuredly.
Over the years, especially as the grandkids came along, I heard her question that whole thing. She’d wish she could go ‘find Nemo’ or see a re-release of some Disney movie or another she’d watched growing up. She would brightly and hopefully say she really thought she could attend a movie and probably still go to heaven. But to actually risk it was another story.
:)
It happened. Finally. The movie that helped her break a 55+ year ban on the movies in her life? The man who moved her enough to make it happen? Lincoln!
President Lincoln was her favorite president ever and my history-teaching brother, Dan, was able to get her to go to support Lincoln if nothing else.
She loved it!
I said to her, “Oh, mom, how scandulous,” to which she replied,
“I did not feel the heat of hell.”
What was she expecting? *Hahahaha.* And she told me, “I don’t really care what people think. I was not sinning” Who is she now? Makes me laugh.
Oh and…
She had actually been in a theater a few years ago when “The Passion” was coming out and the marketing peeps were hauling in truckloads of religious-sorts to help them get the word out. But, she informed me, “It was all church people. That didn’t count.”
Happy Birthday to my dad – a strong warrior in spiritual things, a courageous man, resolved to overthrow the enemy’s strongholds. His love is deep and active, growing and cascading over crevices and stony barriers meant to keep it bound, ah, but they are no match. I love him more as time goes by, and my gratefulness for who he is increases with the years.
I love that at 74, he still grasps for understanding and wisdom, he continues to reach out to the God who saved him, to the God he is only even now learning to embrace as the Father, his Father. And that everything he discovers is a new gift for me. And will be for my children and theirs.
In October, when he called us kids home to hear his heart
My dad is not content to look back over the successes of his life (he has without doubt gone from glory to glory) and rehearse them as echoes of what once was. He, this very day, is seeking to do the will of God, is actively living for Jesus. In this way, I come from such rich, rich heritage.
I learn from him. I learn from him. His example to stand upright no matter what battle rages, for the right, is ever and always going to be my paradigm for life. Because whatever you must venture into, with unceasing tenacity, you must endure and remain standing with a steadfast heart. Wholeheartedness is the measure.
I love you, Papasan. I bless your birth and all the days you have lived. I bless the God of the universe finding you on a Missouri farm and capturing your heart. I bless the mistakes you made and the pain you hid and the amazing things you accomplished in work and life and ministry against all odds for a boy whose father was killed before he was even born. I bless you for choosing the right woman with which to make a life and for continuing to do and be all God has called you to do and to be.
I was moved this morning to pray for you with this scripture passage, Psalm 92.10-15 because it has your name all over it – a righteous man with a wild-ox anointing. The years cannot harness a person under the flow of the fresh oil. He’ll be like a young, strong ox that has never been yoked or broken or told he can’t. That is my daddy – strong as the day is long, anointed with fresh oil – verdant and green, a living memorial to the faithfulness of God. It’s true, dad!
But my horn (emblem of excessive strength and stately grace) You have exalted like that of a wild ox; I am anointed with fresh oil. My eye looks upon those who lie in wait for me; my ears hear the evildoers that rise up against me. The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree[be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible]. Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. [Growing in grace] they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality] and [rich in the] verdure [of trust, love, and contentment]. [They are living memorials] to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
I love you dad, and guess what? Almost everyday since you told me to in October, I have remembered to say:
I receive my father’s blessing on me today.
And I am cognizant of the powerful, rich and freely flowing blessing you are pouring out to heaven for each of us kids daily and I receive it, dad with gratefulness and so much love. And dad? I bless you back. Happy Birthday to my hero.
Strength, courage, resolve. That is what I see in his eyes. I love this man.
Now that I am up to 7 {SEVEN!} grandbebes and another due in late March, I am very laissez-faire over their antics. Once perhaps overly cautious, I now tend to live and let live.
Which is why, when I heard Gavin say to Hunter, “Let’s go to the garage and get our tool belts,” not only did I choose not to interfere, I allowed them to borrow my {kitchen drawer} tools for whatever they were up to.
They found lumber and built a balcony on the swing set. No hammered thumbs, no one fell off the balcony onto their heads. All in all, a good day.
Oh, man. I had so much more to share about Christmas 2012
But alas, I didn’t get around to it.
Christmas to me is: baking day and the grandbebes getting their hands and feet into paint for me. It is searching for the gift that isn’t costly, but says in the deepest richest way: I do love you so much, please don’t forget. It is lots of family events and traditional music and seeing friends and easily THE most evangelistic month of my life each year.
Celebrate with great joy BECAUSE you understand!
Really? You can “Go Tell it on the Mountain!” You can declare “Joy to the World” and tell people how the bells are peeling the message that “God is not dead, nor does He sleep,” and so much GOOD NEWS, great tidings of joy and Peace on earth! :)
Um, yeah- don’t get me started. Guaranteed, the Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, I will be back here in 10 months writing my head off about the sights and sounds of Christmas and celebrating most of all, a SAVIOR!
However, today being January 25th, I shall end Christmas 2012 (I meant to do this by Epiphany on the 6th) with this little presentation of a few images and a short video of the fam at Christmas.
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”…Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy because they now understood the words that had been made known to them. Neh. 8.10,12 NIV
Is Christmas an awful lot of work and effort with the shopping and baking and cooking and decorating and wrapping and crafts and everything else? It sure is. To have a big celebration to show your love to the Savior and to your family, it IS an awful lot of work. But if just one or two of grandbebes grows up and remembers the satin running through our main tree, as it represents the scarlet thread of the blood of Jesus which washes sin whiter than snow for all time, if they recall the trouble I went through to communicate that message so they could know that blood cleanses them – well, then, I can assure you, I will never regret the work of it.
And if they remember they felt loved and cherished and over-indulged, then maybe I will have imparted a little of the love of the Father to them through us, and that is good, too. He gave it all.
The sound of rejoicing…could be heard far away…
And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away. Neh. 12.43
So….anyway. It was merry and these are a few of my memories. One month ago, to the day!
See short video!
This was a gift to Dave from the cast of “Merry Gentlemen”
That is the title of the best {headlining} story of January 24, 2013. He is thriving because of the deep love of his mommy and daddy and millions of prayers rising to heaven on his behalf. Fifteen days old. We love you, baby Kai!
Kai practicing sitting in his car seat a couple of days ago. He has some room to grow. :)
They are thoroughly wonderful people and completely uncontrollable (in a good way) and totally a gift from the LORD to us. Undeserved – but isn’t that what a gift is? Otherwise, they’d just be some sort of payment for anything right we might have done. Not, though!
Children are a gift from the Lord and grandchildren are sent to just thrill-you-silly.
He sets the lonely in families. Psalm 68.6
Children are a heritage of the LORD. Psalm 127.3a
The fruit of the womb [is a] reward. Psalm 127.3b
The blessing of the Lord definitely includes getting to “see your children’s children.” Psalm 128.6
Jacob told his brother, “These are the children whom God has graciously given your servant.” Genesis 33.5
Stormie did this print for me. To be framed and hung soon! Note the “pregnant” Jovan :)
“What pleasure God has taken in planning” to make us part of HIS great family through Jesus Christ!
How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. ~Ephesians 1.3-6 The Message
The adoption is bringing me understanding about the Father. If I am head-over-heels full of love towards the family God has given me, how great must His love be towards us!
“No human face is exactly the same in its lines on each side, no leaf perfect in its lobes, no branch in its symmetry. All admit irregularity as they imply change; and to banish imperfection is to destroy expression, to check exertion, to paralyze vitality. All things are literally better, lovelier, and more beloved for the imperfections which have been divinely appointed, that the law of human life may be Effort, and the law of human judgment, Mercy.” -John Ruskin
I know I have encouraged you to read their story HERE. Adoption is beautiful and it is costly. They have sacrificed a lot to bring Kai into their world, to choose him, to give him a home and a family. But their friends and family have helped, too. Many people get to share in the delight and joy that this little fella has brought, as we have all learned a lot more about the “spirit of adoption (Romans 8.15). Family is lovely, big or small.
There is another couple whose journey I am following via their well-read blog, The Lettered Cottage (www.theletteredcottage.net). I am watching as they take all the steps my kids have just recently, which has culminated in so much joy for us. I cannot help but want to cheer them on and pray for them as they also take the many sacrificial strides toward opening their hearts and home to a child who needs one.
On that blog, the adoptive daddy-to-be wrote and recorded a song for the child they haven’t yet met. Can you even imagine what an ongoing remembrance of love that will be? You can download “Love Collides” for a monetary gift that will go towards their upcoming adoption.
Isn’t that cool? Get an MP3 and invest in a child’s life.{CLICK HERE} I did! :) It is such a sweet song with beautiful lyrics.
Baby Kai update: he is 12 days old!
Meanwhile – Kai is getting stronger daily. He is still in NICU and mommy and daddy are getting more anxious daily to get to take him home. They are “living at the hospital” until he is released (because it is too far to go back and forth) and Hunter is just rolling with the flow, a few days here, a few days there, adventures with friends and family and waiting for his baby brother. Pray with us it will be soon, OK? :)
