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Ten years ago today, I waltzed down the aisle and he slipped a ring on my finger. I didn’t know then how happy we’d be as man and wife ten years later, and how much I would change being married to this wonderful man.
I love you, Scott. Your children and wife adore you. You have made the past ten years the happiest in the world for me. Here’s to fifty more together.
Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand
Who saith “A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!”
-Robert Browning
Nine years ago today, in a little church that sat on top of a hill, we made our promises and so began a life together. With our shiny new wedding rings, fresh college degrees, and a little apartment waiting for us, we moved south and started to learn about what it meant to be husband and wife.
I had no idea he would be more wonderful than I deserved or imagined, nor was I fully aware of how God would use every kind of circumstance in our life to bring us closer to each other. And I can’t help but know that we’ve only just begun.
Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand
Who saith “A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!”
Fantastic weather seems to have descended upon us! Spring is such a refreshing time of year. Everyone and everything comes out of hibernation: we see the neighbors again, trees turn green, gardens get planted, the summer clothes are unearthed from the closet, and the windows are thrown open. We sure have been enjoying the outside weather here…some days we do our school on the back porch, most dinners are hot off the grill, and evening walks are peaceful and warm. SO nice!
Thanks to everyone who’s been asking how we’re doing. Each day that passes is a gift, time goes on and, in a way, things seem to fade a little bit. Most days are still pretty difficult, for several different reasons, but we are grateful for God’s kindnesses and his gifts.
Here’s my sweet Charlotte. She is reading like a pro now, picking up books out of the reading basket and plowing right through them. She is also doing very well at riding her bicycle, and Mommy is excited about that because now Charlotte and Ivy can ride bikes our walking route, and only Asher rides in a stroller. (The walking opportunities are unlimited!)
She is excited to go to the beach next week, to see aunts, uncles, cousins, and Grampa and Gramma. After that she’ll go see more aunts, uncles, and an Oma and Opa.
While the children are staying at grandparents, Scott will whisk me away to Portland (Oregon, not Maine. Brrr.) for a few days. We have never been to that part of the country, and hope to eat some great food, take some great naps, and see some pretty things while we are there.
Last Saturday we spent the morning as a family, eating breakfast at Krispy Kreme and hitting some yard sales on the way home. Just had to post a picture; the hats are killin’ me!
Ivy’s piano lessons are coming along quite well. She really enjoys it, and her piano teacher is wonderful: limitless patience and wisdom for teaching children. Ivy and Mommy have been practicing some duets. We asked Daddy to take a movie of us playing one of our favorites, so here ya go.
(Our memory verse from the last 2 weeks.)
Thank you all so very much for your condolences and your care for us. Of course the heartache and grief are huge right now for our family, but at the same time we are so grateful for the care that God has planned for our family. We have been overwhelmed with all of the beautiful flowers that were sent, the cards of support, phone calls of encouragement to “weep with those who weep”, the offers to help with our children, and all of the many things you have done that would make the list too long for a blog post. Many of you have just stepped in to care for our family in practical ways, both big and small, that we never even thought to ask for. Thank you so much.
A very good friend loaned me a book after our last miscarriage in October, and I have spent hours poring over it and reflecting on the words shared by the author. I have of course been re-reading this book, along with some scripture verses that were particularly helpful (Psalm 138:6-8, Psalm 139, and Habakkuk 3:17-19, to name a few).
One quote from this book has been with me constantly over the last few months, and I wanted to share it here…
…I have often asked why. Many things have happened which I didn’t plan on and which human rationality could not explain. In the darkness of my perplexity and sorrow I have heard Him say quietly, Trust Me. … He knows exactly what He is doing. I am clay. Let me remember that when I question God’s dealings. I don’t understand Him, but then I’m not asked to understand, only to trust. Bitterness dissolves when I remember the kind of love with which He has loved me – He gave Himself for me. He gave Himself for me. He gave Himself for me. Whatever He is doing now, therefore, is not cause for bitterness. It has to be designed for good, because He loved me and gave Himself for me.
- Elisabeth Elliot, Keep A Quiet Heart
This post is for Scott. (Hi honey!) I am so thankful for him, and for all the ways that he serves our family. Even though he does this all the time, it really stands out during the times I struggle with morning sickness during a pregnancy. Clearly, the more children we have, the more work there is to do, and Scott always drops many personal interests during this time to help me and the children.
So, I was thinking about some of the things that he does to practically serve us, and I wanted to write them down.
:: clean up the kitchen after meals when I am unable to
:: train and spend time with the children
:: vacuum the floor
:: prepare dinner on countless evenings
:: pack your own lunch for work
:: take out the garbage
:: bathe the children in the evenings
:: work late at night, when everyone else is sleeping, so our evenings can be spent as a family
:: take the children to the park so I have some time alone at home
:: stop and pick up take-out for dinner on the way home from work
:: grocery shop for the week
:: work from home so I can take a nap
:: get the chidren up and feed them breakfast so I can sleep in
:: take a little person (or more than one!) with you when you run out on an errand
:: run to the grocery store when I crave something specific
:: take time on Saturdays, one of the only days you have to yourself, to play with the children and spend time with us
Of course, there are a million other things he does, but these are the things I could think of for a quick list.
I love you, Scott! You are a blessing to me…thank you for sacrificing for us.
We have recently discovered this song. I love the music, too…there is some banjo in there, and we love the sound of that around here. You can listen to an excerpt here, Track 4. You can also learn more about the music here.
The words are so excellent, and I just saw that the writer dedicated the song to his wife.
Whatever my God ordains is right
He never will deceive me
He leads me by the proper path
I know He will not leave me
I take content, what He has sent
His hand can turn my griefs away
And patiently I wait his day…
Here shall my stand be taken
Though sorrow, or need, or death be mine
Yet I am not forsaken
My Father’s care circles me there…
And so to Him I leave it all
-”Whatever My God Ordains is Right” from In A Little While.
This morning, I also found this little video. I have a feeling it’ll be a frequently-requested one once the girls get a glimpse of it. Might have to get the cd for the kids before too long…sounds like we might like these people.
This was my phrase of choice for the past week or so. That, and “Danke!” I had the rare and wonderful opportunity to visit my very good friend Melissa, in Germany, and it was fabulous to see her! What a treat to sit and just talk and laugh and talk some more. (Oh, and eat amazing European chocolate…ahem.)
Here are some pictures I brought back. Rene and Melissa live in Southern Germany, near the border of France. Beautiful. For some reason, the most pictures I took were during a day trip to visit a castle near the Austrian border. I’ll share just a couple.
These are pictures of the Alps. The real deal! Ridiculously beautiful, and the best part was they were all right there. No restricted access, no national parks prohibited to the public. We could have climbed an Alp, had we the energy.
Here is the castle we visited. Schloss Neuschwanstein (and every bit as difficult to pronounce!). Amazing.
Okay. That’s it for the scenic photos. Here’s one more, with people.
Another update tomorrow, with pictures (and a movie! Of Asher dancing!) of the children. Stay tuned.
Tonight Charlotte came up quietly behind me while I was doing the dishes and said “Mommy, may I please have a hug of you?” Am I a flavor of hug? That sounds really nice! Sweet girl.
She picked out some orange flowers for me on a shopping trip with Daddy a few nights ago.
Charlotte really loves Asher. I mean, she really loves Asher. When she wakes up in the morning, sometimes I ask her if she had any dreams. Usually she answers, “No. I just dreamed about Mommy and Asher.” Other times I have been singing a song to Charlotte, something like “I love my Charlotte, my only Charlotte…” and she’ll sing along with me, but in place of her name, she’ll sing “Asher”. She is constantly with him when they are playing together, either bringing him toys or “teaching him to share” by taking a toy from him. We haven’t quite figured out if he likes this or not, but regardless, sister Charlotte is here to stay. She is a really wonderful big sister, and I wonder if she will be better pals with Asher, even though she and Ivy are much closer in age. Time will tell.
Here is a picture of our pretty tree.
My parents were here this weekend, and the children had a really good time with Gramma and Grampa. We were sad to see them go home, and the girls kept asking how long their trip was to get home, if they were home yet, and what we were going to do the next time they were here.
Ivy got a dance lesson to some old-timey Christmas music.
Then the dancing really started! Here is fairy-ballerina-Charlotte flitting through the air.
Scott found a little firepit and we tried it out a few nights ago. The girls think it’s the bee’s knees that we can have a fire in our backyard. We’ve used it once, but most of the past few nights it’s either been too windy, too rainy, or too warm to use it. January is coming! (Yes, there is a fire in there. We weren’t all just sitting around, staring at the logs. It does get cold down here. A little. Sometimes.)
Here is a token picture of the author, by request from some of you.
I thought this was excellent. Really good.
We have a quiet week at home for Christmas, with just our little family in our cozy home. Scott has much of the week as vacation, and we plan to make much ado about nothing around here and relax for a week. Opa and Oma and aunts and uncle come at the end of the week, which will be very nice.
A very merry Christmas to all of you! Praise God for His gift of a Savior, who came as a baby to die on the cross so that we can joyfully stand before a holy God.
We try to collect quotes and articles that speak truth, especially in a provoking way. Occasionally we come across something that is worth writing down, and I found one in an old file this morning: Martin Lloyd Jones says, “I must never ask myself in the first instance: What do I feel about this? The first question is, Do I believe it?”
Not sure yet how that will apply to my day, apart from a reminder not to react to situations with my first impulse (usually based on emotions) but instead to preach truth to myself (a verse, the gospel). “Do I believe it?” Do I believe that what I am doing is much bigger than what I see around me? Do I believe that God is good in every situation, whether I can see encouragement or not?
My cup of coffee is ready (we got this brand from Trader Joe’s…very good). The day begins!
Does anyone have a quote that is just really great?
Well, here we go! We’ve decided to go public and start sharing our blog with everyone. Well, not everyone…with our most favorite people: our family and our friends. We’d like a way to share our family with our far-away family, and since visits are few and far-between, we’re hoping this will help. Plus, we just wanted to be cool like these people, and this seems like a good place to start.
I’ve been practicing writing for a few months, every so often, but haven’t really told anyone about this little project until now. So you’ll see some older stuff from the past few months. Posts from here on out will mostly be about what our family does, written by Lisa. Maybe we can get this guy to write once in awhile. If we’re lucky.
Weekend was great, but man is it hot. Really. I don’t think we’ve had a drop of rain here in over a month. Yesterday we got a little break (the low 90′s signifies a cold front) so we took a family date here, since we needed to do a little shopping and it seemed like a nice night to walk around. It’s an outdoor mall, so much of it feels like a little downtown main street. We got ice cream for the kids, and then listened to a jazz band that had set up outside the movie theater. I wish I’d had my camera; Ivy’s into dancing lately, and oh boy. Does she dance. Like nobody’s business. She stands still, listening to the music, and then the mood just HITS her and she throws her arms up in the air and kicks her feet all around and just lets loose. It’s all very inspiring. I’ll try to get a picture sometime.
How was everyone else’s weekend?
We are really looking forward to sharing more often with all of you; it’s hard to be far away from family and good friends, but we hope this helps.
