7 months old!

7 months old!

 

6 months old

 

5 months old

 

4 months old

 

3 months old

 

2 months old

 

1 month old

 

2 weeks old

Dear Missy Jem,

What a delightful month it has been! We are enjoying you so much, as you continue to grow and change!

These days ...

- You are a cheerful, peaceful girl most of the time. We do not normally cause a scene during Sunday school or church. Especially if Mom or Dad can hold you, you just enjoy hanging out and absorbing all that goes on around you.

- You have become a terrific raspberry blower yourself, and you entertain yourself mightily with buzzing your lips and laughing at yourself. I hope that I can always picture your little self stretched out on the floor, arms and legs sticking straight out as you concentrate on the marvel of blowing bubbles and spit all around!

- You took a real fancy to the Bumbo seat and enjoyed being upright and observing all that went on around you ... until that was supplanted by the real party of the exersaucer! Your brothers really, really love piling your tray with toys and admiring your strong legs bouncing up and down and turning around.

- When I am holding you, you grab hold of me too. With two big handholds, you're pretty much ready to go anywhere with me. It's one of my favorite things, even though you have a strong, sometimes painful grip and also leave my neck and shoulders kinda scratched up. 

- You have teeth! Actually, your first little razor tooth popped up before you were 6 months (but I forgot to mention it last month). Your brothers assure me that there is another one now, but I haven't seen it yet. Thank you for not biting me. Too much.

- You have begun to squeal and laugh out of a general sense of goodwill. It really tickles us when you're lying on the ground, kicking and entertaining yourself, and out of the blue give us your loudest happy squeals of laughter.

- Your 6 month clothes are pretty cozy, though you're still getting good use out of the fuzzy fleeces and footed pajamas. This month I actually managed to get you socks and shoes! 

- My ACTUAL favorite thing about this stage is your big, open-mouth slobber kisses that you sometimes bestow. Melts my heart.

- We still get up generally once a night. We vacillate between making it to 4-5am (the good days) and the more painful 1am wake-up (the norm of late). But either way, you generally sleep in until 7:30 or 8am before you really start the day, and then have an hour long morning nap and sleep about 1:30-4pm most afternoons. You're ready for bed at night by 7:15pm, but alas for being 5th-born, it is pretty regular that you are kept up a fair bit later than that by our activities. You are a trooper though.

- You can roll both directions, and when you were on your tummy this week, you made definite skootching forward movements. But happily, I can still set you down somewhere and find you roughly in the same place when I come back a while later.

- You are pretty easy-going with people holding you, even when they aren't Mom or Dad. But sometimes after a few minutes you look around, notice the unfamiliar face, and get the most tragic lower-lip pout, preceding a wail. (Maybe it cracks me up just a little bit, in a sad kind of way.) But if Mom or Dad rescues you, no harm done!

- You eat! You are intrigued by rice cereal and happily eat it down (whenever I get around to fixing some for you). 

- Peekaboo and pat-a-cake are highly entertaining games for you.

We are in the midst of Advent, and hearing the familiar promises from Isaiah 9 lately has been so deeply comforting and hopeful.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

 We, too, live in a land of deep darkness. You needn't look very far to see the confusion, despair, and brokenness of the world. And it's not just out there. Every day brings evidence of the sin-sickness in our own hearts. We are not able to fix even ourselves, much less the troubled lives around us.

But God didn't send us to destruction as we deserve. One of the sweetest Advent verses of all paints such a vivid picture of His rescue:

Because of the tender mercy of our God, ... the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:78-79)

 What a gift it is that we celebrate at Christmas! The Sunrise of God Himself, sent into the darkness to free us from the shadow of death. What a Savior! What a hope! What a gift!

Let us adore Him, my little miss.

I love you,
Momma

6 months old!

6 months old!

 

5 months old

 

4 months old

 

3 months old

 

2 months old

 

1 month old

 

2 weeks old

Dear Jemima,

Happy half a year, sweet girl! In one way the time has flown by, and in another, it is harder and harder to remember what life was like without a little miss in our midst.

These days ...

- You are growing so mellow, laid back, and cheerful. Most of the time you are peaceful and happy, as long as someone is around to keep you company or you have one of your fascinating and intriguing toys to hold and examine. Your ability to scrutinize the world around you is one of my favorite things!

- You have begun to squeal and laugh out of a general sense of goodwill. It really tickles us when you're lying on the ground, kicking and entertaining yourself, and out of the blue give us your loudest happy squeals of laughter.

- Your 6 month clothes are pretty cozy, though you're still getting good use out of the fuzzy fleeces and footed pajamas. This month I actually managed to get you socks and shoes! 

- You moved into your own room! With a little Covid quarantine on our hands, we did the Great Bedroom Rearrange and now you're in the downstairs room, brothers Calvin, Elliot, and Josiah are sharing the triple bunk, and Victor has moved to his own room upstairs. I'm so pleased to say that everyone has settled in nicely! 

- You still get me up generally once a night. Lately it has been in the 2-4am range, but it could be as early as midnight. You sleep well bundled... footie pajamas, sleep sack, bundling (with one arm out!), and tucked under some of your specially handmade blankets. However, you typically skootch your way out of all the blankets by the middle of the night and wake up fussing with your head smushed against the top of your crib. Funny baby.

- You still enjoy being outdoors so much! So far the brisk autumn weather we have been enjoying agrees with you just as well as the scorching days of summer did! You like hanging out in the backyard in your stroller, observing your funny brothers and the wide, wonderful creation.

- You continue to take naps in the homeschool co-op coat closet (such a cozy corner!) and sleeping baby room at church, which allows our long mornings away to fit very nicely into your rhythm. Afternoon naps vary, but typically you take a good snooze from about 1:30-3:30 or 4pm.

- You roll! (Blue chair picture above shows off your new skill nicely.) You are so strong you can really prop yourself up during tummy time, but now that you know how to flip over onto your back at will, you don't stay that way too long!

- You are intrigued by all the things. Toys, books, mobile, trees, anything within reach. Lately you have begun making very skillful grabs for whatever is in my hand (plate of food, phone, etc). Must be alert!

- You do still spit, but we have happily moved out of the perpetual-sad-red-rash-on-the-chin stage.

Our sermon on Sunday was about thankfulness. This is one of the very frequently repeated commands in Scripture! Not just to "give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), but even to give thanks "always and for everything" (Ephesians 5:20).

Many things happen in life that are not easy. Not easy to experience and not easy to understand. Sin has brought tremendous brokenness, sorrow, and pain into our world. It touches our life every day. It has twisted our own hearts to have broken worship receptors and to orient on our own desires and experience instead of keeping our eyes on the magnificent Lord who made us and carries us.

But this command to give thanks is so life-giving. 

As Pastor Sam reminded us, it's almost impossible to be grateful and anxious. Grateful and jealous. Grateful and bitter. Grateful and unforgiving. Grateful and fearful. Grateful and impatient.

When God frees our hearts and enables us to see His goodness and articulate praise for the manifold ways that He is giving us good things that we don't deserve, we are richly blessed. Our capacity for enjoyment of His grace expands. Our perspective changes. Our hope rises. Our hearts are reminded of Who is writing our story and the good ending He has promised to bring.

Giving thanks, even before we can see or understand the good things that God may be bringing out of hard times, glorifies God because it testifies that we know Him and trust Him, even when His ways remain mysterious.

I pray that you will be granted a joyful, thankful, contented heart, my little girl, because God has utterly proven His great love for us through the awesome gift of His own Son Jesus on our behalf.

May we worship and enjoy Him throughout the journey of our days!

I love you, my sweet Jemima Faye.

Momma

5 months old!

5 months old!

 

4 months old

 

3 months old

 

2 months old

 

1 month old

 

2 weeks old

Dear Jemima,

Here we are, already marking 5 months of life with you! It is wonderful to see how fully you have become a part of the warp and woof of everyday living, and we love you so!

This month...

- You have developed an absolutely delightful belly laugh! You seem a bit ticklish, particularly in the knees and under your chin (where you also have a bit of a sad rash, due to being continually moist...). You also respond with giggles to peek-a-boo and most any enthusiastic hello from a brother / friend / passerby.

- You're filling up the 6 month clothes and growing all the time! We all love your dimples and chubs.

- You still enjoy being outdoors so much! Some of my favorite times are taking you for a walk. You love to lounge in the stroller, enjoying the breeze and watching the wonderfully fascinating world go by.

-  Nights are a mixed bag, meaning you will wake up to eat sometime during the night, but it could be anywhere between midnight and 6am. And once you've eaten, I put you in your carseat to sleep, so that we can move you into the bedroom when Daddy and I get up in the morning, and you'll keep snoozing typically until 8 or 9am.

- You've been doing SO GREAT at homeschool co-op and church! Both locations we typically eat a little, bundle, turn on the white noise (it travels with us!), and then you take a really solid morning nap. That revives and refreshes you so that it's no problem to make it through the rest of the morning, til we get home for a nice long afternoon snooze. I am so thankful for the Lord's kindness in this. I wasn't sure how you would do with the rigors of our busy days, and it has been a marvelous answer to prayer!

- You still spit. I've been trying to change your outfits a little more often (to get rid of that chin rash), so we are getting to try out more of your cute clothes! We have been gifted so many beautiful little girl clothes...

The past few days I've been ruminating a lot on Exodus 5-6, where Moses makes his first approach to Pharaoh, declaring that he should let God's people go. And in response, Pharaoh not only refuses but also makes life far more horrible for the enslaved people of God. The people are desperate. Moses is despairing. It looks like God is not oblivious to their trouble (after all, He just revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush!) but worse, God is responsible for everything getting more hopeless and hard.

Why would God write the story this way? Why doesn't He just liberate His people in a cloud of glory dust, with everyone singing and dancing on their way to freedom?

I'm sure the reasons are more multifaceted than I can grasp, but a few things are sure.

God was not just delivering His people from the oppression and slavery of hard masters. He was delivering them from lesser hopes, from the delusion that Moses might be the solution to their problem or that they might receive redemption based on being a really attractive, appreciative people toward their God.

No. These chapters serve to throw over all hope in Moses as a rescuer. He has been triple rejected by the people of Israel. And the people themselves aren't even crying to God for help; they go to Pharaoh and are rebuffed for their efforts. If rescue would come, it would come despite them, not because of something they did.

What good news for those of us who are not beautiful, gifted, or strong. God doesn't save us because of us. Our hope is not anchored in good circumstances, good luck, or a good day. God's decision to put His faithful covenant love on us, to redeem us at the cost of His own Son, and to make us His own people doesn't depend on us, it is because of who He is. And that is unchangeable, unshakable, unbreakable.

Exodus 6:7 says, "I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out." 

What the Israelites needed more than immediate rescue was to truly know the God who would the their God to the end. That's what we need too, little girl. Not improved circumstances. Not greater freedom or better leaders. Ultimately, we need to know God. And He has done everything that needed to be done so that we may draw near to Him and be His people forever. He has done it at the cost of His own Son.

What a great Redeemer! May you walk close to Him all the days of your life.

I love you, my sweet Jemma.

Momma

 

40 years of grace

It is impossible to quantify exactly how much grace has been crammed into the last 40 years of life.

2 amazing parents, 3 fabulous sisters

2 sweet parents-in-law, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, 4 brothers-in-law, 1 dear sister-in-law

2 "home churches," where I have been loved, prayed for, encouraged, taught, pointed to Jesus, and found true family from the day I was born to now. 

Friends down the street. Friends I grew up with. Friends from college days until now. Friends whom I lived with. Friends I have studied God's word and prayed with. Friends who have brought refreshment, wisdom, encouragement, correcting perspective, and joy in incalculable ways.

4 m 2 d with Jemima 

4 y 1 mo pregnant (5 precious babies who came into our home, 2 who went to Jesus)

9 y 8 m 5 d of parenting my sweet kids (uncertain number of sticky kisses, snuggles, and smiles that have brightened every day)

12 y 10 m  24 d of marriage to my kind, sacrificial, funny, Christ-seeking Ben

17 y 3 mo working at a church I love, serving with people I enjoy, admire, have learned from and been blessed by, at all 3 campuses

20 birthdays before 9/11, always showered with love, thoughtfulness, and special gifts

20 birthdays since 9/11, even more aware of how much each year is an undeserved gift

35 years since cancer diagnosis, surgery, chemo, and many, many hospital stays and doctor visits. 1 belly scar. 1 fully functioning kidney. Full head of hair. Clean bill of health.

40 full years of heart beating, lungs filling, eyes seeing, ears hearing, scents to savor, fingers that obey the command to move, legs that can stretch and bend and run, a voice, a mind. 

40 years of sunrises, breakfasts, stories, laughter, bruises that heal, water to drink, a whole astounding world to explore.

And all of this doesn't scratch the surface. Because I haven't just lived 40 years. I have been given life. These days didn't just unfold. They were written in a book before one of them came to pass. 

If all those gifts were taken away, I would still be wealthy beyond comprehension, because I was chosen before the creation of the world. Granted forgiveness and salvation at the cost of God's one and only Son. I have been brought into the family of the eternal King of glory. I have read the Book given by the Word that spoke all things into being and holds them together moment by moment. I have a future and inheritance that will not perish, spoil, or fade.

Oh, what grace! 

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 24-25)

4 months old!

4 months old!

 

3 months old

 

2 months old

 

1 month old

 

2 weeks old

Dear Jemima,

You are at such a delightful stage! In God's mercy, your growth is keeping pace with the changes of the season, and we are enjoying you so much in these busy fall days!

This month...

- You have gotten much more flexible with naps and bedtime. (Perhaps this was borne out of necessity, with a camping trip, the launch of school, and such?) It is a real mercy that you adjust to the day's needs, since our daily rhythm varies a lot! Basically, you nap sometime in the morning and then, Lord willing, make it fairly cheerfully until about 1pm, when you take a serious afternoon snooze until 4pm or so. We normally start the bedtime routine around 7:15pm and you are in bed around 8pm.

- I can't help but call you my Little Dumpling, dear roly-poly girl. It only seems fitting.

- Pretty much straining the seams on your 3 months. But I haven't pulled out the 6 month stuff yet...

- You outright laughed with me yesterday, and it is such a delightful little chortle. Your brothers continue to delight and amuse you, and you spend lots of quality time hanging out in your swing outside, just enjoying the breeze, the sun, the trees, and the joy of your own sweet fist to suck on.

-  Lately you've been eating around 4am, 8am, 12:30pm, 4pm, 6:30pm, and bedtime. But every day is different, and you've really sped up your meals so it's just a 10 minute affair (during the day). So we squeeze it in when needed, which definitely shifts around.

- You really don't spit while you're lying down now, so you're dry basically through the night. Now you are more likely to give a deep, belly belch, which I find hilarious coming from your petite frame.

- You still burble over a fair bit during the days. It's okay. You're cute even when wet.

- You've been making it through church in the sanctuary lately (falling asleep in my arms for a bit of the sermon). However, we are now launching into the "full Sunday marathon," so we shall see how that works out. But you have been showing your resilience and flexibility (and the Lord's kindness has been clear) in the midst of our other schedule transitions, so I trust you will ride this out as well.

- I'm enjoying afternoon or evening walks with you as often as we can fit it in. You enjoy cruising in the stroller or riding in the Ergo (if you've eaten recently, you normally fall asleep in the Ergo). It's one of my favorite things.

- You do have red hair, but it's not real prominent yet. Sometimes when you smile I catch a glimpse of my own baby pictures. But we get frequent comments about how well you fit in with your brothers. You are definitely one of the family!

- You have freckles on your nose. I love it.

Lately I have been reading in Exodus, particularly dwelling on the early days of Moses and his call to bring God's people out of Egypt. As I perused a commentary this morning, a line caught my eye and resonated. To summarize, it pointed out that the Bible is not merely history writing. It is persuasive history writing, presenting evidence and urging us to receive the truth that our God is worthy of trust. 

Again and again, we see in God's word that His people are in horrible trouble that they can not resolve. The stakes are high. The options are few. There seems absolutely no way of escape. 

That point--hemmed in on every side, desperate, inadequate, helpless on our own--that is the true condition of our hearts. How often God positions us precisely in such a condition so that we will realize, we will actually acknowledge our total need of Him.

Coming to the end of ourselves is not the end of our hope. In truth, it is most often the point we must reach before we will begin to place our hope in God alone. And there, sweet girl, we find that He is faithful. He is worthy of our trust. He is the Rescuer who brings us through the darkest night of despair into His glorious light. 

Hebrews 11:6 says,

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

What God desires is not our help. Not our internal sufficiency. Not anything good we can muster on our own. He desires that we will look away from ourselves and find our hope in the Rescuer He has sent. "Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13). 

I pray that this hope will be an anchor to your soul all the days of your life.

I love you, my sweet Jemma.

Momma

 

3 months old!

3 months old!

 

 

2 months old

 

1 month old

 

2 weeks old

Dear Jemima,

What a big growing girl you are! I feel like this month really brought the transition from little baby to big, chubby baby, and I love it.

In the past month...

- You are so smiley and responsive now, and your awake times are normally happy. You have fallen out of favor with getting strapped into your carseat, so that will often make you sad, but when you are held or one of your brothers sits by you in the baby swing, you give lots of contented smiles and coos.

- I can barely squeeze you into the 0-3 month sleepers, you fill out the 3 month sleepers, and I need to sort through and find the 3-6 month sleepers, because you are definitely ready! We saw another baby at a birthday party this week, and it was the first time that you looked like a big baby girl, not the little bitsy one.

- Normally I'll feed you once in the night (maybe 1:30am, maybe 4am) and then sometime 6-7am. You might have a little awake time then, or you might sleep all the way until 9:30am. You have a couple hours of morning nap and then a solid afternoon nap. Evenings can still be a little rough, sometimes you fall asleep for a bit around 6, but then we start the bedtime routine around 7:15 or 7:30pm. If I feed you around 6:30pm and then also when you're going to bed, you seem to settle right down and have a good sleep.

- At last you seem to be outgrowing the avalanche spits! You still certainly spit all the time, but not emptying your whole belly in the middle of a feeding. I'm very grateful for that.

- You like to be outside, and you like to be warm. Even on the 90+ days of summer, you seem to relax when we go outside. You are often happy in your swing, looking around and enjoying your brothers' antics.

- You are so attune to your surroundings. You're still sleeping at night in the living room, but we have to be really careful not to go traipsing through before you're deep asleep. You definitely notice when there is activity around! During the day you nap in our room, and you're doing a good job falling asleep in your bed. 

- You got to meet your Auntie Krista this month during our vacation in Iowa, and we had a big family celebration of Grammy's 70th birthday. I'm so thankful that we could all be together!

These have been busy days, sometimes a little breathless and stressful. We are looking more and more toward the coming of autumn and start-up of school. And my limited resources are so evident. You are a beautiful baby girl, and I think you'll grow to be strong and bright and capable. But no matter how "able" you may be, the most important things, those of eternal value, will still be impossible to accomplish or produce on your own.

Our world is constantly saying, "You are more than enough. Just believe in yourself. Love you. Follow your heart." But this is foolishness. Our hearts are twisted and sick with sin. Even when we want what is right and good, we are unable to create it. 

The hope that we have does not spring from ourselves but from the Savior who rescues us. We have been made precious because God has placed His great love on us through Jesus. And when we know ourselves to belong to the great King of kings, we may be secure and content and fruitful in the place where He has put us. 

But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

When we trust in Jesus and are made new by His life springing up in us, we have more than our own puny resources. His own strong Spirit and power rest on us. 

I pray that you will flourish in the secure love of Jesus and look to Him for what you need all the days of your life.

I love you, my Jemma.

Momma

 

2 months old!

2 months old!

 

1 month old

 

2 weeks old

Dear Jemima,

Here we are at 2 months already! I feel like we are settling in to life with 5 kids and enjoying the joyful presence of "little sister" more and more.

In the past month...

- You are becoming so much more animated and responsive. One of my favorite things is when you'll lie on the floor, beaming and making your sweet vocalizations to me. As I tell your brothers, babies only talk when they are so, so happy, and we just love to hear you talk!

- You are gaining sweet chubby cheeks and legs, and you're growing great! You were 11 pounds at your check-up a couple weeks ago, and now you're wearing mostly 3 month clothes.

- You have been getting into a bit more of a routine (although I always expect a new twist as soon as I say that!). You normally go to bed a little earlier now (around 8pm) and then eat around 3am and 6:30am. Then you'll often sleep until after 9am. When we're around home, you'll take a solid mid-morning nap, but you do okay on the go too. (We had a fun family trip to Stillwater this week, and you were a champ.) You have typically taken a great afternoon nap as well, maybe 1-4pm. 

- You are still a big spitter. When you're tired, you'll gulp down milk so fast you get all kinds of bubbles, and they still routinely come out with drenching spits. But you're a little more efficient at eating too, and the middle-of-the-night feedings only occasionally take 75 minutes now...

- You still love being outside. You're happy lying in the shade on a blanket even during some of your most fussy times! And your big brothers will gather around you to entertain and guard you. That is one of my most favorite things to watch.

- Evenings can still be fussy, but it's normally a shorter troubled time, and sometimes you can make it without much crying. Unfortunately, I hurt my back this week and can't really hold and bounce you right now (this is sad for both of us!), but when I'm fully mobile, I get a good workout with you most days.

Each day brings its own trouble, and each trouble comes with its own call from God, "Do you trust Me?" I have been encouraged in these last days to intentionally, repeatedly remember in the hard moments, yes, God is worthy of our trust. He is working for our good. He loves to give good gifts to His children, and He does not afflict without purpose.

Here is a verse that is sweet to hold onto in hard times:

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him. (Lamentations 3:21-24)

Everyone experiences trouble. Life in this fallen world has struggle, heartache, and pain. But when we trust in the One who paid the ransom for our souls and made a way for us to be at peace with God, then we have unquenchable hope, forever hope.

I pray you will find hope as an anchor for your soul in Jesus all the days of your life!

I love you, little Jem.

Momma

 

3 Years Old!

3 years old!

 

 2 years old

18 months old

1 year old

 11 months old

10 months old

9 months old

8 months old

7 months old

6 months old

 
 5 months old

4 months old

3 months old

 2 months old

1 month old

2 weeks old

Dear Calvin,

At last the long awaited day has arrived! Your birthday! You are 3, big man!

What does the world hold for you these days?

- You are a delight, my son. You have a huge, beautiful smile, and you share it readily most of the time. I love to see that smile! When I tell you about something happy or fun coming up, you respond with an enthusiastic, "Oh, yay!"

- You love books! We can sit on the couch for an undetermined amount of times, reading and re-reading favorites. You particularly enjoy books about trucks, but you have a long attention span for most any readaloud, and I love it that you will still curl up with me for a long cozy reading time. This year you got to be a part of our new homeschool co-op, and many weeks you sat with us in the literature class for the younger students and listened quietly with the readaloud book and discussion.

- You are good at playing independently, good at playing with your brothers (while still sometimes needing a reminder to "use kind words" instead of screaming when upset), and good at welcoming others when friends come to visit. You also have reached a bit of a reserved stage, when we're in groups, and sometimes you prefer to stick close to me rather than launch out to play with people you're not so familiar with.

- You enjoy the construction site (i.e. big hole designated for digging in the backyard), and you are very busy getting covered with your fill of dirt this summer. It's great fun.

- You are very conversational and have such a vocabulary that sometimes it's hard to remember you're just 3. You love to point out things you see (an airplane! an excavator! a puppy!), and you love to tell stories of your adventures and experiences. FaceTimes with Grammy and Grandad or Grandma Kay are always fun.

- You can be very patient waiting for things that you look forward to. It has certainly been a long season watching all your brothers celebrating their early-in-the-year birthdays and waiting for the day when it will be your turn. But you have kept a happy attitude and generous spirit nonetheless. ("My birthday is June 17, and you'll have to sing happy birthday to you, and I'm going to eat ice cream and drink lemonade!"

- You are a wonderful helper, and you really love to watch and help me... in the kitchen, in my garden, putting clothes away, and so on. You use the sweeper to clean the kitchen floor most days, and you make a good buddy team with Victor to dust or clean the family room. I'm so glad that you are learning to be a good worker!

- You are a great eater, cleaning your plate without complaint most all the time. Sometimes you don't finish your dessert (a curious thing!).

- You are already showing yourself to be a good big brother, gentle with Jemima, whispering when she is eating or sleeping, patient when I can't be available as soon as you'd like. I'm so thankful for God's helping you to enjoy and excel in that new important role in our family.

Lately God has been reminding me just how much we can entrust to Him. Big things and little things, like a day's schedule or a health crisis, the ability to endure through long, quiet suffering and the joyful evidences of grace that pop up in unexpected moments. 

Our world does not function on the basis of trust. It is in the air of our culture to act on feelings and experiences, to demand evidence, to reject things that do not feel or appear to be true in our own contextual lens. But God has shown us in the Bible that He actually designs our days so that we have the opportunity to take Him at His word and trust. It pleases Him when we look not to the things that are transient but to the things that are eternal, basing our faith on the solid rock of His word.

I pray that, as you grow and encounter every level of challenge and temptation, you will increasingly practice walking by faith. For He certainly is faithful.

This summer, we as a family are working on memorizing Psalm 91 together, and verse 5 gives us this wonderful picture:

His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

We can trust God because He is faithful. His faithfulness is like a huge, protective shield ... and by exercising our faith in God's trustworthiness, we have a shield that can extinguish the fiery arrows of the evil one. 

There are troubles and trials each day in this world, but they are not given to us to crush us or defeat us. In God's love, those difficulties become opportunities to see God's faithfulness, to receive His mercy and help, and to grow in our reliance on and joy in Him.

One day, we will see Him just as He is. For now, let's keep our eyes of faith fixed on Jesus, for He is faithful.

I love you, sweet son,

Momma 

Calvin (6.23.21) 3 years old

1.       What is your favorite color? blue

2.       What is your favorite toy? truck

3.       What is your favorite fruit? orange

4.       What is your favorite video to watch? Mighty Machines

5.       What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? sandwich

6.       What is your favorite thing to wear? my new pjs

7.       What is your favorite game? Sequence

8.       What is your favorite snack? pretzels

9.       What is your favorite animal? rhinoceros

10.   What is your favorite song? Jesus Loves Me

11.   What is your favorite verse? He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

12.   What is your favorite book? cat book

13.   Who is your best friend? Isaiah

14.   What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play with my new baseball

15.   What is your favorite drink? root beer

16.   What do you like to sleep with at night? my blankets

17.   What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? cheese sandwich (?)

18.   What do you want for dinner on your birthday? hot dogs

19.   What do you want to be when you grow up? a worker

20.   What was one of your favorite things that you did this year? swimming in the swimming pool

21.   What is your favorite place to go? buy some toy trucks at a toy store