Three Beautiful Babies ...

These are some of my favorites! Chason holding Cal for the 1st time, too stinkin' cute!! And then of course sissy had to get in on the photo-op! Glad she did, man I love these guys, even though it's a bit crazy around our house these days, lol!

Date Night in DC

For our belated 8th anniversary date night we went to DC! Nate set it all up and the Dufrin's graciously served us by taking all 3 of our kids, so no baby Calvin tagging along! It was our 1st time leaving him, but he was in very good hands :).

I had no idea we were going there until we got into the car. All Nate had told me was that we would be doing some walking outside. I was beyond thrilled when I found out, I had never been to DC before! We had reservations at Old Ebbitt Grill (est in 1859, across the street from the National Treasury building and The White House) at 8:30pm, so we power walked about 2 miles before dinner to see all that we could see - here are some pics (in random order b/c it's late and I am getting frustrated trying to cut and past them in order b/c I keep loosing pics - i'll perfect this art of blogging one day, just not when i'm sleep deprived, lol!). Thanks again Sandy & Moriah for loving on our kids and caring for them, and thank you Nate for making our 8th such a memorable one ...

8 WONDERFUL Years

8 years ago today, Nate and I said "I do" ... I am still amazed that I get to be his wife!

Recent pics ...

1 month already - thy will be done!

Today Calvin is 1 month old! It has gone by so fast. Partly because his 1st week of life was pretty much spent in the hospital (he had jaundice and we had to go back after being home for 2 days for 2 more days to treat it), and also we had my mom here for a week to help and then Nate's mom was here for 10 days after that helping as well. That was a HUGE blessing!

Now that all of the help is gone, reality is setting in that I am a mom of 3! I am the one manning these 3 children 3 years old and under all day long. No more help with laundry, no one to get the kids lunch while I take care of Cal crying, no one to wipe my 3 year old's bottom or save my 17 month old from breaking his arm jumping off of the stairs while I am in the middle of nursing the baby - I get to figure that all out on my own, lol! But God's grace is SOOO apparent and once again, as has been the mantra of this year, it's another opportunity to trust in Jesus and lean into him and the Word of God. It is HIS kindness that brings us these seasons. I was reminded of this today when I opened my journal and came across a recent devotional. This is a passage from Susannah Spurgeon's devotional "Free Grace and Dying Love":

Matthew 6:10 "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."

"... how wise should we be, if with joyful certainty, we accepted each unfolding of his will as proof of his faithfulness and love! When once I, as a believer, can say from my heart, 'this is the will of God concerning me', it matters not what the 'this' is - whether it be a small domestic worry, or the severance of the dearest earthly ties - the fact that it is his most blessed will, takes all the fierce sting out of the trouble, and leaves it powerless to hurt or hinder the peace of my soul."

And now, I hear the baby crying upstairs, Chason is plugging and unplugging the light and Sophie is whining at my side and just flung my journal and all of it's contents onto the office floor ... thy will be done :). Until next time!

Push-Ups and Touch-Downs

Each week there is a painful (or joyful, depending on what end you are on) display for the guys in my class. At the beginning of the year, each guy had to claim their following of 2 football teams, 1 - College Team, and 2 - Pro-Team. On Tuesday morning when we start class, we must be aware how our team did that weekend, and if your team lost you must do 20 push-ups (if both teams lost, this means 40!).

I has been a joy to watch the Dallas Cowboys win, and I am rooting for the Texas Longhorns, so my participation has been encouraging the other guys toward good form as they sweat!

Sophie is already my big football fan. She roots and cheers with us. She drew this football out of her head (we are discovering she is quite the artists). Last week, when the Cowboys were playing, we had just scored a touchdown - I lifted my arms, giving the appropriate referee signal - "Touch-Down!". Sophie looking at me confused, unclear on what I was saying and what my hand motions were communicating.... she honestly responded... "Daddy, no, not touch-down... that is 'touch-up'".

Marriage Class with Gary Ricucci

This week I get the privilege of spending time with Gary Ricucci in our Marriage class. Gary pastored at Covenant Life for over 30 years, before his role shifted to providing pastoral oversight for the Pastor's College students and their families. It has been a joy to be cared for by him, spend evenings with he and his wife Betsy leading our care group. They are amazing examples of Godliness, love and application of the gospel, in their marriage, joy, and humility. They have impacted Hilary and I's life in profound ways. We began to use their book, "Love That Lasts", on marriage for our pre-martial counseling at Oasis Church - and they have much to say about marriage If you have not read this book, I encourage you to get and read it.

Eph. 5:31 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church."

We must realize that marriage is about Christ and the church... in doing this - we have made a doctrinal statement. How valuable and sobering this is. John Stott writes...

“...the standard of the husband’s love is to be the cross of Christ, on which he surrendered himself even to death in his selfless love for his bride. Dr. (Martin) Lloyd-Jones has a striking way of enforcing this truth. ‘How many of us,’ he asks, ‘have realized that we are always to think of the married state in terms of the doctrine of the atonement? Is that our customary way of thinking about marriage? ...Where do we find what the books have to say about marriage? Under which section? Under Ethics. But it does not belong there. We must consider marriage in terms of the doctrine of the atonement.’ ”

It is then within this marriage, that the glory of God is made manifest in and through it. Elisabeth Elliott wrote these powerful words,

"Marriage is death to privacy, independence, childhood’s home and family, death to unilateral decisions and the notion that there is only one way of doing things, death to self. When these little deaths are gladly and wholeheartedly accepted, new life - the glory of sacrificial love which leads to perfect union - is inevitable.