Happy Birthday Samuel

Today Samuel and I met Natalie and Truman at a bookstore. It was nice to hold her tiny five-week-old as it reminded me of what life was like a year ago, and the months in between then and now.

366 days and 27 hours (of labor) ago, Samuel was born. Of course our lives quickly changed in ways we never could have imagined. It would sound sweet to say that I love him more than I imagined, but that is not true. Almost from the beginning I felt very deeply for this little man that was growing inside me and have never felt otherwise. I am thankful for this as I know it is an unusual gift of God’s grace.

I always wondered if, though I married late and subsequently had a baby later than most, I was made to be a mom. So much of childrearing is right up my alley. However, I have been surprised at how much I fail and feel awkward and ill equipped. As is typical, I have longed to be less regimented and more laid back, as I now believe the best moms are. From the very beginning my type-a personality fought to take away my joy. I spent my entire maternity leave—through tears and on my knees—looking for a way not to go back to work. I unproductively worried about sleep schedules, reflux, food allergies, and how being this kind of parent negatively affected my relationship with David…just to name a few.

And Samuel has grown into a beautiful little man in spite of myself. He is sweet and fun and always makes me proud. (Unless of course I count the many times I allow myself to wake up each night with him, despite his age and weight.) Today it has been nice to quietly celebrate God’s endurance and kindness to our small family. There is a lot to say, but at the moment all is inarticulate. So I will leave you with a few pictures. We are having a little party on Saturday, but he opened a few presents today.


This was taken early this morning when Emma gave Samuel her gift--a a baby doll, which David is really excited about.





This is actually from a week ago, but I thought it was cute. Playing on the trampoline.

Random Pictures

Well, we have been in Memphis for almost two months. We HAVE actually taken some great pictures of our life here...but I have not posted any because of computer/camera complications. David left his laptop home today, however, where a few random ones are stored. So, I am posting those.

this is samuel in his new little home, our closet! he was being very silly and making me laugh terribly (terribly since it was bedtime.) since this picture was taken he has chewed the paint and some wood off this part of the crib. he is totally obsessed with putting things in his mouth and chewing what he can.


this picture and the one below were taken during samuel's nightly routine--dinner, bath, playing with family (niki in this case), etc.




this was taken last month before taylor moved to knoxville to start school. samuel loves him.


this is a very common sight here...emma holding samuel. she is a great niece.


cute picture taken in jackson.

I Want to be a Pilot

My sister's homepage has featured You Tube vidoes daily, and today, for the first time I clicked on the one below. It was filmed in the Kibera slums of Nairobi (home to over 1 million people)--a place I once spent some time. It is a pretty depressing place and reminded me tonight, as it once did in a more physical way, of what a rich life I live, despite most of the time not realizing it, like today when I was simply feeling "bored". Thought I would share it.
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

Bigger News

We have been in Memphis now for a little over two weeks.  We put our things in storage and have moved in with my sister and her family. (They have been very gracious to let us stay here while David looks for a job and until we find a place of our own).  It's been great.  We feel welcome here and it has been really fun to be around them.  It is a bit of culture shock for Samuel, who is constantly being loved on and held by Emma and Niki and often by Taylor and Ron.  I have been able to leave to run errands (while Niki stays home with him) and David and I have gone out a couple of times at night.  Niki and I take turns cooking (though she cooks more often and better than me)...all the benefits people have of living with extended families.

The big news is that my husband has a job. In fact, he started yesterday!  Though we both feel extremely thankful for it, I don't think we really "get" how gracious God has been to us as it all still feels unreal (much like our move here).  He is working with Third Millineum Ministries.  There is a link to the right, but basically what they do is create theological material (both lectures on video and printed text) in English, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, and Arabic (the five languages most spoken in the world). Richard Pratt's (the founder) conviction is that (as the Christian church is growing rapidly in many countries outside the U.S.) over two million pastors do not have any theological training, which is crucial to the church's health and endurance.  It is a very needed ministry and one that David and I are both excited about.  David's job is to network with churches/individuals, letting them know about the ministry and get them on board to partner with them.  Essentially he is a fund-raiser, which is important since the education is free to those who use it, but costs a great deal to produce and get into their hands. I am certain I am doing a poor job at explaining this ministry...just check out the website.

Thank all of you who prayed for David to find a job.  I remember, as I was praying one day many weeks ago, thinking of the verse that talks about how God is able to do more than we are able to think or imagine...I found myself hoping that he might let this verse be descriptive of David's job hunt.  Being very pessimistic, I told myself not to hope for such a thing..."any job will do at this point" is how I remember feeling.  I see now that I was wrong and untrusting as God has in fact given David a job that is perfect for him and our situation right now. Truly far more than either of us could have hoped. Please be encouraged by God's provision for us, as you also come across difficult situations.
 

Who Are You Voting For?

Funny Little Man

Big News

Well, long-story-short, we are moving to Memphis in about two weeks. Yes, two weeks. This is something we have been contemplating for some time now, but just recently has seemed to make enough sense for us to actually go through with it.

We can't tell you many more details because so much is unknown even to us. We feel that God is not leading David to vocational ministry right now, so as David has been looking for work, it has just seemed to make sense that we head south. For those of you who do not understand the Memphis connection, it is mainly to do with the fact that my sister and her family are there, along with some incredible friends of both mine and David. And we are looking forward to being five hours closer to our parents which will be nice for many reasons.

Please pray for us. We are looking forward to this new chapter in our lives, but it is not without some anxiety. It is not an easy thing to know (in our mid-thirties) we have obtained an MDiv (and plenty of student loan debt!) and not feel that we are being led to do ministry. Which, brings many questions in and of itself. Pray David will find a job, maybe even one he can enjoy. Pray that God would graciously allow this next chapter in our lives to be good---rich and deep for our little family and that it would reveal His plan for us.

We will miss St. Louis. I will write more about that later, but for now just wanted to (finally) put the news on our blog.

Here are some fun pictures we took last weekend that illustrate one example of things we will miss here in St. Louis...Tower Grove Park.

Samuel recently loves to swing.



And we have discovered the fountains.

Tired, hot, happy, and ready for home.

As soon as Daddy finishes running.

Lately

Well, I said I was finally going to go to bed early, and somehow I have just spent time uploading these pictures...

Up way too early one morning.

Samuel isn't tired, however. Wish I could have said the same.

Love listening to Daddy sing and play for me.

Dinner tonight...avocado and bananas!

Cutest little (?) legs!

Papa Simmons and Mimi Debbie in town! Love those glasses!

Not much longer will I have this St. Louis Public Schools Badge.

How I look most every day post-nap...adorable.

Been wanting to take a picture with the Dallas Cowboys outfit my brother gave Samuel.

Having a lot of fun playing in the laundry basket...

Until...

Mama wasn't being very careful...

And as you can see I fell to the floor about half a second after this picture was taken.

Baptism

May 19, 2008
South City Church, PCA
I LOVE THESE PICTURES!

Pastor Jay Simmons explaining to Samuel what is taking place in his heart. We do not believe his baptism actually produces salvation, but rather it is a sign and symbol of Samuel joining the covenant community with the promise of God's graces surrounding his life.





Mama reading Zephaniah 3:17. We pray that Samuel always knows his Father loves and cares for him in this way.
The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.



Dad explaining why we chose this verse.

We were glad that our good friends, Eric and Jamie had their daughter, Lilly, baptized at the same time.

Some friends Ashley teaches with came to see Samuel. (Amela and her daughter Selma, and Molly.

David Graduates from Covenant Seminary

Samuel didn't get to go see Dad graduate (way past his bedtime) but loved the tassles on his cap and felt proud of him!

with Dr. Peterson, a favorite professor

with my Mom and Aunt Bobbie

Dad and Angela

in line ready to walk

with some friends from Auburn days

with Carol

a favorite professor, Jerram Barrs

with Seima