eleven months

i'll start you off with some priceless facial expressions.

wonder where he got them from.

[some forced love. swear it doesn't happen everyday.]

this is all in our little apartment and on the balcony in ft. collins, CO.

he's not walking yet. and i have a feeling it may take him a while to get the hang of lugging around his chubby little body. meanwhile, scott and i are getting some awesome arm workouts everyday.

brenda

meet my mom:

[picture taken in Hong Kong when Noah was born]

she's the kind of person every one loves.

her hand can't stay down when someone asks for volunteers.

she thinks she's not brave, but she is.

she may seem a little timid, but don't let that fool you. she's got quite the backbone [thanks to many years of practice from my dad].

when diagnosed with breast cancer, one of her first questions was "i wonder what God wants to teach me through this?"

she's destined for leadership.

people look to her for empathy. someone who could really "get it".

her husband says she's the sweetest person he's ever known.

she has spunky friends. old friends. new friends. young friends.

the gift of hospitality she doesn't claim. but people seem to come right in, take their shoes off and feel right at home.

you know when she's choosing Life because you walk in the door and praise music is on even louder than when dad watches a movie.

mom, i read this last week and thought of you.

it's from Euguene Peterson.

"I am [solely responsible] for reading and writing my story well, for digging deep into the gaps, for finding the desire and passion and themes that God has written into my life. At the same time, I can't write alone. I am in community. For good and for ill, my story spills over to the lives of others."

You've shown the world that He's writing your story.

Thanks for spilling it over on us.

Happy 50th Birthday.

May He call you to write and rewrite many more stories for us to celebrate.

a "finker" he is...

oh how i love reminiscing.

training part II

right now i'm reminding myself that this is how it goes.

the beginning.

where God needs me flat smack down as low as i can be.

so that he can use me. teach me.

i just wish it could pleasantly happen.

and maybe it would if i would be less resistant to it.

you know, change.

training part II because part I was daytona.

now we're in fort collins, CO.

should have known that it was going to start out like part I.

hard, but good. isn't it always?

first day: child care.

noah actually cried so hard for so long that they had to come find us.

i walked in and was like yep.

that's mine.

the one with the snotty nose and hyperventilating cry.

i seem to find that day 1 is always a bit hard.

truth is...

if i acted out my deep down feelings, then scott would probably find me snotty nosed

kicking my feet on the floor crying as well.

[all because i might have to do an hour of homework a night and a power point presentation. which just made me cringe typing it.]

[this picture is funny to me because i was actually like okay noah SMILE!! FOR THE CAMERA!]

WHY?

because i've got that self junk in my heart too.

just like noah.

at least he's a bit sincere with how he's feeling.

me? i like to cram it inside for a while and let it come out with a lovely wah bam!.

isn't that sweet.

so that was day one. at least from my perspective.

if scott let you in on his world, you'd all be

packing your bags and heading to East Asia with us.

we're in his la-la land right now.

mountains.

hikes.

skiing.

trails.

cool weather.

new people.

[noah already looks at him like dad, you're so the fun one.]

you should all have a scott.

[and as for me...]

i find myself wanting one of those promises.

you know how people say "i'm clinging to his promise".

and you think, okay what are you talking about.

well, i found one.

and now i know what those people were talking about.

i read it and my spirit was like that's it!.

isa 43:2

he's with me.

even in crying baby moments.

they shall not overwhelm me.