To My Connor Bear

I remember my response when I found out I was pregnant with you, Connor: No way! It can't be! It's not time yet! I'm supposed to go mountain-climbing this summer! I just lost all the weight from my first pregnancy! I don't want to feel nauseated for weeks! Not very maternal, I know. Then I received a holy tap on the shoulder, reminding me of what you truly are - a gift from the Almighty Creator. Since that moment, I have thanked God every day for entrusting you to me.

You are an amazing, precious little guy with a heart of gold. One look at your dark eyes (like mommy's) and your beaming smile (like daddy's) and I am overwhelmed with adoration, all the way to my toes. You are passionate, loving, cuddly, energetic and very, very funny.

I pray that you will always be someone who will bring others joy. I pray that you will use your passion to draw others into a loving relationship with Jesus. May your humor bring light and laughter into the lives of those around you. You will undoubtedly bless others, as you have me. I am so proud to be your mommy.

Happy third birthday, Connor!

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Broken Record

Marriage. Reading scripture. Mountain climbing. Gardening. Graduate school. Planting a church. Making wise financial choices. Childbirth. Traveling. Exercising. Childbirth again. Building relationships. Trying to adopt a child. Getting out of bed. Buying a house. Reading a book. Freelancing. Supporting others' dreams. Training kittens.

Isn't it odd how you can get a line stuck in your head from a song that you haven't heard in eons? Seeing a certain sight or hearing some random word or even the smell of a certain aroma triggers the release from the file cabinet of your brain a song of yesteryear. Then you must endure the repetition of said line over...and over...and over.

One day this week I had such an experience with the line, "It wasn't easy, but it was worth it." I vaguely remember a song with this line - maybe it's a song sung from Jesus' perspective? Or maybe not. It could be a country jingle about a broken marriage for all I can remember. Since only that one line played like a skipping record in my head about, oh, a gazillion times or so, I had ample opportunity to become philosophical with its message.

Above the light switch in his room, my brother Steve had a little scrawled out post-it that read: Those things in life that are most worth having are those worth working hardest for. Attached was a picture of Steve's then-girlfriend, now wife, Dana. I always thought that was a profound statement of love. With my little song ditty of this week ringing loudly in my ears, I am reminded of this concept of commitment. Life is full of hard choices, tough requirements of stamina and endurance. But don't these often result in reflections of amazement? We look back and cannot imagine life before _____. I thank God for those things in my life that were so incredibly hard to go through, but which proved to be so worth it. For through the toughest times, when I am weakest, God's power and glory is made most evident.

Perfection to Come

I love getting emails from my brother, Steve, in Indiana. He is one of those guys who is so sincere, so loyal, so incredibly devout that you cannot help but sit back in wonder at the words that he strings together into beautiful thoughts. Here's something he sent to me this week:

One great thing about heaven is how we will be. I stumbled upon a great verse in I John 3:2. It says, "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is...." We will be made perfect - how cool is that?! Even better, my wife will be perfect. :) I can't wait to see her in her total perfection. That will be awesome! I think that that thought alone, if truly believed and visualized, could keep many married people together, keep them more patient and make them more expectant of the day their spouses turn perfect! One day I'll be walking across the street in heaven, see Dana and say, "Wow, she's perfect! I can't believe that I was married to her back in the old days. I sure love what God has done to her. Amazing!" I think it will be very enlightening to see how God fully intends people to be seen.

Texas Trip

Barefoot Connor getting a ride on daddy's shoulders.


Trinity and her daddy practicing tree climbing.

The tree made a beautiful dark background against the bright Texas sky.

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Connor, Take the Wheel!

Today on Dora the Explorer, Dora and her pals made a very clear point that they were wearing their seatbelts in order to be SAFE. That's great! Thank you, Nick Jr., for reinforcing that important idea with my children. Then five-year-old Dora, her weird monkey sidekick and a Spanish-speaking mole(?) piloted their airplane to the top of a mountain. Hmmm.