Swimmin' Fools

One thing we have loved about living here is our indoor community pool! It is really nice to get to swim in a heated pool when it is still freezing outside. The kids took swimming lesson for 8 weeks. Last week was their final week. Hannah loves to swim and did really well. She is so fun to watch--completely fearless when she is in the water. This is not the norm for the other realms in her life, so it is a special joy to watch her take chances and venture out (all under the watchful eye of her instructors!). I look forward to seeing her grow and develop in her swimming skills over the summer!

Harry has decided that he is afraid of the "deep" water (which comes up to his chin). So, he decided half way through the classes that he just wasn't going to try to swim too much. He would rather just hang onto the swim instructor and kick his legs occasionally. However, he did persevere and complete all eight classes, and we are proud of him. I'll be honest, it was nice to see him have a somewhat healthy fear of SOMETHING. He's our risk taker, so I don't mind that he wants to be extra careful in the water. He's already enrolled for more lessons this summer, so hopefully he'll grow in his confidence as he learns new skills.

On a side note, Harry's favorite part of swim lessons was waiting for them to start. That was his opportunity to dance along with the old ladies in the water aerobics class. He's one of a kind!

Who heals all your diseases...

This week as I've been reflecting (or attempting to reflect...as much as a mama of little ones is able to reflect) on the suffering of Jesus. At times in my relationship with Christ, this has been an abstract concept for me. The benefits of my salvation have been equally abstract as well. I am realizing that these two concepts are inextricably linked. The more I gaze on His suffering and all that He went through, the more my heart sees and is amazed by the benefits that I now have because of His sacrifice.

One benefit (from the long list in Psalm 103) that keeps coming to my mind is this beautiful phrase..."Bless the Lord, O my soul...who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit." This is fresh on my mind as I have labored in prayer over my sweet niece, Abagail. Several months ago, she unexplainably was unable to swallow liquids. They went straight into her little lungs. For a (then) 5 months old, this is a major problem. Long story short, she ended up having a feeding tube inserted in her nose, so that she could continue to eat and live.

When I went and visited over spring break, I had the joyful privilege of carrying her around in the snugli while the other kids ran around one day. One thing that I noticed, that completely broke my heart, was how little people would LOOK at her. Some would look, see her tube, and glance away, with an embarrassed expression on their faces. Some did not even see her at all. My sister later shared with me that this was "normal"--something that her heart had experienced many times as well.

After I came home, I began to realize how much I do not SEE people, especially people with disabilities. I glance away quickly, feeling awkward. I think, "did they notice me staring?". I even found myself walking the long way around people in the mall, just to avoid the feeling of not knowing what to do. Jesus quietly convicted my heart of my self centeredness, my desire to be comfortable, to not feel awkward, and my insensitivity to the needs of others. The NEED to be SEEN.

This was not true of the life of Jesus. He always looked at people. He saw them--not just the outside, but straight down to their souls. He saw their deep longings, their broken hearts, the baggage that they carried, the crushing weight of sin that they bore. He looked. He saw. He moved towards them.

Isaiah 53 was one of my favorite passages in college. One of the phrases from that passage comes to mind when I think of all these things. "He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him." Not only did Jesus see those that no one else even bothered to look at, He also became unseen for us. He even experienced the rejection of His Father. So marred and disfigured by sin, even His own Father turned away His face from the Beloved Son.

What kind of God does this? What love must be ours? I am rejoicing that, through His disfigurement, His rejection, we are healed. Not just in the next life, when He comes to make all things right and new, but in THIS life as well. After months of praying, my niece is healed. No diagnosis, because earthly doctors didn't know what was wrong. But her Great Physician did, and He moved to graciously heal.

He is healing my heart too, of my addiction to self, my need for comfort, my desire to always look like I know what to say, know what to do in every situation. It is a slow process. I am looking, trying to see the person behind the disability, the disfigurement. I am praying in my heart for them and for an opportunity to speak, if my King desires for me to do so. I am looking forward in HOPE to the day when there will be no tears, no sickness, no sorrow, no pain, no death. He is near, His Kingdom in at hand. It will be a glorious day when we walk on the sand of Jordan's banks.

Abagail, healed, redeemed, restored

January and February in Photos

I can not believe we are already in April! Where has the first part of 2011 gone? I am very behind on posting as our lives have been pretty crazy. These last few months have been stretching for my faith and have forced my heart to grab onto the HOPE that we have in Jesus.

We have experienced some sadnesses and trials that have caused me to take a hard look at my life and my faith and ask myself some searching questions. I have had to take an honest inventory of my hopes and have had to scrutinize my heart. I have had to admit to myself, and to God, that I have been looking to certain things, other than Him, to give me security, comfort and peace.

Though seasons where God strips you of your idols are painful, they are also beautiful and rewarding. I have been blessed to see God's goodness, even in the midst of sorrow. I feel that my heart and His heart are becoming more tightly bound together. I believe in His faithfulness and love in new and real ways. I'm sure I'll be sharing more on those changes in later posts, but for now....PICTURES!

We took Harry to see a massive train show that came to town in January. My boy loves trains and it was fun to see him enjoying all of the exhibits! There are not very many pictures of him, because he was running around the convention center the whole time! Ken had fun trying to keep up with him:

Our downtown skyline recreated from legos!

We stood in line for FOREVER so they could ride Thomas for about 90 seconds! Harry was too interested in the ride to look at the camera. His is the profile you see riding in front of his sister. :)

Then, in February, Ken took Hannah to the annual Girl Scouts Father/Daughter dance. Harry and I went on a date as well. So much fun to spend some alone time with our kids!

Hannah and her handsome date!

This girl loves to hula hoop and dance! They had a lot of fun together.

Christmas at the White House

One night we headed over to the White House to see the Christmas trees. If you have never been to D.C. during the Christmas season, it really is impressive. Right next to the White House is the national Christmas tree that the President's family lights every year. Surrounding it are trees for every state and province, decorated by artists native to each state. It was really beautiful!

Nana, Pampa, Hannah and Harry

The guys were posing for a picture (because I was making them), and someone snuck into the shot last minute!

Pampa and his shadow for the week

Harry's favorite part! They had several trains set up all around the huge Christmas tree.

I was happy to see a nativity scene. It's nice to know that Jesus is still a part of something at our nation's capital!

Hannah and Harry Take D.C., part 1

One of our favorite places that we visited in D.C. was the Museum of Natural History. We spent most of the day there. I have to say, my kids were TROOPERS the whole week. We walked all over the place, and there was a very minimal amount of whining and complaining even though they were running on late nights and no naps. Of course, it did help to have 2 parents, 2 grandparents, and 2 uncles at their disposal.

They were so cute to watch while we were touring the museum. They almost ran from room to room, so excited to discover and explore as much as possible. The one thing that Harry said he wanted to do in D.C. was to see some dinosaurs. When we got to the big room that has the largest dinosaurs, he was so thrilled. Pampa held him for a while so that he could see even more (it was pretty crowded). So fun to see such sweet moments with grandparents!

On a side note, this trip convinced me that I definitely need to invest in something more than a point and shoot. I really like my camera, but it just doesn't cut it in certain situations. I hate to have so many picture perfect opportunities that pass me by! Any suggestions on what to look into?

Our Christmas

This is a VERY belated post about our Christmas break! We've had some craziness in our lives for the past month, but that is a whole other post (which I am sure I will get to eventually).

We spent Christmas at home this year, which was a nice change of pace. The more Ken travels with work, the more he likes to spend our holidays at home. It is very fun and sweet to begin our own family traditions centered around the birth of our Lord Jesus. I also feel like I SEE my kids more when we are at home during the holiday season. With all of the work it takes to pack up gifts and get everything together and then all of the fun stuff we do when we actually get to where we are going, I often feel that Christmas morning comes and goes and I haven't enjoyed my children. This year was different. We did a lot of the low key things like decorating the house, making gingerbread cookies, drinking hot chocolate around the fire, wrapping up in blankets and driving around to see Christmas lights, and going to our own church together. It was so enjoyable to just focus on my own little family as we celebrated God's greatest gift to us.

We also decided to just get the kids one nice gift each, instead of a ton of little things. I was so happy we decided to do that! The grandparents showered them with presents, so they had more than one gift to open, which was nice. Another plus was that we just didn't spend all that time and money on unnecessary things. I felt like we wasted a little less this year, which is always a good feeling! On the whole, it was a much simpler Christmas than we have ever done before, and it was very satisfying and rewarding. It left us time and energy to enjoy the true meaning of Christmas and each other.

After Christmas, we packed up the car and headed to Washington, D.C. where my family was gathered. My dad was speaking at a college kids' conference, so we all spent the week after Christmas together running around our nation's capital. Stay tuned, as there will be more pictures of Hannah's and Harry's adventures to come...

Thankful for Sons

In the month since I have last posted, I have experienced many things for which I am very thankful. Instead of doing one long post, I will split them up into several little ones. Who am I kidding? Make that several wordy ones! :)

This post is for my little Harry boy. He is not so little any more! He just celebrated his 5th birthday. He always has, and continues to be a source of joy, life and happiness in our home. Hannah and I have had several opportunities to be home alone together, and though we enjoy the time with each other, we both ALWAYS end up expressing how much we miss Harry. He brings the elements of surprise and laughter into our lives every day!

I have seen such growth and maturity in him this past year. He is growing and developing in his sense of compassion for others. It is so fun to listen to him pray. Last night during our family devotion time, he prayed for a woman he saw while we were running errands a week ago. He asked God to help her because, "she has crossed eyes, and I don't think she has any children, and she looked lonely." It was humorous at the time, but really touching to me later. He remembered her, even though I didn't mention her and he was worried that she might be lonely during this Christmas season. Such a sweet and tender heart.

He is so smart and loves to learn. He has an eagerness to understand. He is rarely satisfied with the pat answer of "just because" and wants to know how things work. He wants to understand deep concepts as well, and is always ready to talk about what is on his little heart. I LOVE that, and hope that we can continue to want to talk to and understand each other as he grows older.

He is funny and curious. The other day he told me, and I quote, "Mommy, remember that time we were at Sam's and I stuck my finger in that carton of cream and it spilled all over the floor and you had to get someone to help clean it up? Well, sometimes children be curious and that's why they sometimes do naughty things." Well said, Harry. That about sums up my entire childhood, and is a pretty good foreshadowing of what is to come in his.

I could go on an on about things I adore about my son. But I can't think about him without thinking about another Son. Knowing the love that I have for Harry, though I am flawed and far from perfect, causes me to stand in awe of the love that the Father has for his only Son. When I look at Harry, I know that I would give anything to protect him, to save him. At times I am overcome by the love the Father has FOR US, that He would send into this world his only, beloved, perfectly obedient, precious Son.

I always cry when we sing "Silent Night" on Christmas Eve. Even though the night is joyous and wonderful and we sing about everything being "calm and bright", I can't help but imagine what was going on in Heaven the night Jesus was born. The Father, watching the Son that He loves, being born into a world that that would not understand him, that would mistreat him, ridicule him, and would ultimately nail him to a cross, naked, alone, and forsaken. That first Christmas had to be one mixed with joy and sorrow. But our Father was willing--willing to sacrifice the one thing He loved more than anything else. Willing to feel the pain that would pierce His own heart too, as He watched His precious Son become a man of sorrows. Willing to hear his only boy cry out to him as he hung dying on a cross of shame, knowing that if He saved him, He would lose all of us. Willing, because His love is so great, it is incomprehensible. I can't wait to get to Heaven, to begin the joy of knowing that Love face to face.

So, happy birthday, my son, Harry. And Happy Birthday, to the Risen Son, who has fought the fight against sin and death, and has been the Conquering Hero, the Son of Promise! His birth is one worth celebrating! May every son born to us look and live just like Him!