Tuesday afternoon mom and I were chatting (as we often do) and she expressed her impatience to see her grandchildren again. I told her I thought she should kidnap dad and just get on the road. Within 2 hours a spontaneous trip was planned and in motion. They arrived a little after midnight and spent two days lavishing their love on our family.
It was an absolutely incredible two days. In
The Shack we learn that we have relationship with one another, first and foremost
because God has relationship within himself in the Trinity. That concept is revolutionary to me! To know that God has not just thrown us into all these messy relationships without a model to follow or hope to get through the more challenging (or even downright awful) moments is incredibly encouraging. Perhaps I am bold to say this, but these last two days seemed to be filled with moments of living out relationship as God intends it - honest, encouraging, full of grace and beauty, intimate, and loving. I am so blessed to have parents who love my children, respect my husband, and are willing to drive six hours just to be part of our daily chaos for two days!
Perhaps one of the most FUN moments was Noah discovering the joy of a pile of leaves. Two year olds are considered "terrible"at least in part because their emotions are so raw and unharnessed. When this is a negative emotion it is frustrating for everyone, but when that emotion is joy...oh if only I could protect the rawness of that joy so that he could carry it with him forever! You can see more images on our
flickr website.
I realize I have said nothing of Abby, and that is mostly because she is just doing so well. Today she turned 5 months old, and I started her on rice cereal which she readily accepted. She is in her first week of consistently sleeping through the night, which brings the promise of an extended day time schedule not too far away. (For you Babywise parents, we didn't get started until 3 months, and she is now on 3-3.5 hour schedule, 3 naps, and a 75-90 min waketime) She smiles and laughs and communicates constantly! She seems to be passing by milestones much more quickly, and I am sure that is a function of her being a second child. I would wait and wait for Noah to reach a milestone. With Abby it's like I wake up one day and realize "oh she can sit up without much support - COOL!"
Nick and I have found ourselves missing (yes really) our Madison winter. NOT because of the snow, but because of the sheer joy we had in being together everyday. I asked him today if he could remember the smell of our home during winter - the smell associated with baking bread, staying in cozy robes until late morning, playing cards, being together all day long as a family. When we have been married for 65 years we will still remember that special winter where God took away our worldly security and gave us the gift of time together. We constantly return to the lessons we learned during those six months of unemployment as we build our life here in Northeast Ohio. I may blog more about those details later, but what is most important is that we continue to be confident that God has brought us here and is unfolding His plan for us. Praise the Lord for his Goodness!
It was an absolutely incredible two days. In The Shack we learn that we have relationship with one another, first and foremost because God has relationship within himself in the Trinity. That concept is revolutionary to me! To know that God has not just thrown us into all these messy relationships without a model to follow or hope to get through the more challenging (or even downright awful) moments is incredibly encouraging. Perhaps I am bold to say this, but these last two days seemed to be filled with moments of living out relationship as God intends it - honest, encouraging, full of grace and beauty, intimate, and loving. I am so blessed to have parents who love my children, respect my husband, and are willing to drive six hours just to be part of our daily chaos for two days!
Perhaps one of the most FUN moments was Noah discovering the joy of a pile of leaves. Two year olds are considered "terrible"at least in part because their emotions are so raw and unharnessed. When this is a negative emotion it is frustrating for everyone, but when that emotion is joy...oh if only I could protect the rawness of that joy so that he could carry it with him forever! You can see more images on our flickr website. 
I realize I have said nothing of Abby, and that is mostly because she is just doing so well. Today she turned 5 months old, and I started her on rice cereal which she readily accepted. She is in her first week of consistently sleeping through the night, which brings the promise of an extended day time schedule not too far away. (For you Babywise parents, we didn't get started until 3 months, and she is now on 3-3.5 hour schedule, 3 naps, and a 75-90 min waketime) She smiles and laughs and communicates constantly! She seems to be passing by milestones much more quickly, and I am sure that is a function of her being a second child. I would wait and wait for Noah to reach a milestone. With Abby it's like I wake up one day and realize "oh she can sit up without much support - COOL!" 
Nick and I have found ourselves missing (yes really) our Madison winter. NOT because of the snow, but because of the sheer joy we had in being together everyday. I asked him today if he could remember the smell of our home during winter - the smell associated with baking bread, staying in cozy robes until late morning, playing cards, being together all day long as a family. When we have been married for 65 years we will still remember that special winter where God took away our worldly security and gave us the gift of time together. We constantly return to the lessons we learned during those six months of unemployment as we build our life here in Northeast Ohio. I may blog more about those details later, but what is most important is that we continue to be confident that God has brought us here and is unfolding His plan for us. Praise the Lord for his Goodness!
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