Luke and I went to my parents' home in Paris, TN, last weekend. Scott was headed to Denver for the company Christmas party, so I decided to pack up Luke and spend the weekend with Mom and Dad. I had never taken him to Paris by myself. It is a two hour drive-- He slept most of the way down on Friday and all the way back on Sunday.
My mom owns and runs a day care center. She started it when I was in high school. It is the most popular center in town. She had around 75 kids ages six weeks to five years. Many people put their baby's name on the waiting list before it even born! My mom was an elementary school teacher before she had me and my sisters and became a stay-at-home mom. Once my littlest sister was back in school, she went to work for a local church pre-school, then decided to branch out on her own. I remember how stressful it was for her to take the risk, but it had definitely paid off, and she really loves her work-- and she is VERY good at it! Luke had a great time playing in the baby room with all the kids and the many new toys to explore.
We spent the rest of the weekend having fun with Ma Betz and Pa Bob (my niece and nephew named them!). Luke was an angel as usual! He really loves his grandparents! It is so neat to see them interact with each other.
It is hard to believe that Christmas is only 9 days away! I have SO much shopping to do, but it is a little harder this year to hit the stores with a ten month-old-- even as good as he is. I am hoping to get in some quality shop time this weekend.
We will celebrate Christmas weekend here at our place. My parents will come up and then we will have a Christmas dinner with my parents and sister and the rest of Scott's family. Then, my sister and her family will drive down from Philadelphia and be in Paris on the 29th. We will head to Paris then and do Christmas with them and our family with my parents again! Doing the holidays get tricky as you get older and have kids! But it is fun!
I just mailed out close to 100 Christmas newsletters yesterday. Each year since we were married I have made a newsletter that recounts all that happened to us throughout the past year. I got the idea from my Mom who always did that when we were growing up. Every year the letter got a little more high-tech with the progression of my computer skills! I love having those letters! I put one in a scrapbook each year and now we have a great family archive of the past 10 years.
Every year I sit down to put the newsletter together, I am amazed at how good God has been to us! We are so blessed! It is so wonderful to include Luke's photo for the first time in this newsletter! Last year there was only an ultrasound photo as we were anxiously awaiting his arrival! Now we can't imagine life without him! 2004 has been a VERY good year!
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Milestone Moments ticking away
Although I need to be downstairs putting up my Christmas tree-- I just had to take a minute to post! Today Luke met Santa for the first time! One of our elders at church, Phillip Morrison, was Santa, and he is a very convincing one! Luke didn't think much of him at first and seemed to think he was interesting, but then he started crying. We got some good photos of him anyway.
Then, we took him to get his first hair cut. Scott gets his hair cut on 21st Avenue at a little barber shop that has been there for years and years. Luke sat in the chair like a big boy to start, but when the barber turned on the clippers, he started to cry! We made it through the cut, but Luke was not happy. He was just fine as soon as we took him out of the chair!
He doesn't look like my sweet little baby anymore! Now he looks like a boy! It is hard to accept that he is growing up so fast, but each new stage has just brought more and more fun to our lives, and I'm sure that is how it always is.
So, more and more milestone moments are ticking away right in front of my eyes! I am doing my best to savor them and to treasure them in my heart!
Then, we took him to get his first hair cut. Scott gets his hair cut on 21st Avenue at a little barber shop that has been there for years and years. Luke sat in the chair like a big boy to start, but when the barber turned on the clippers, he started to cry! We made it through the cut, but Luke was not happy. He was just fine as soon as we took him out of the chair!
He doesn't look like my sweet little baby anymore! Now he looks like a boy! It is hard to accept that he is growing up so fast, but each new stage has just brought more and more fun to our lives, and I'm sure that is how it always is.
So, more and more milestone moments are ticking away right in front of my eyes! I am doing my best to savor them and to treasure them in my heart!
Friday, December 03, 2004
My Spiritual Marathon
Now that the holiday season is in full swing, it is hard to find as much free time as I would like each day to sit down and blog--- There is much to do!
Luke is 10 months-old today! It is an absolute miracle to look back upon his first ten months of life. He has grown so much and has developed such a fun, sweet, and inquisitive personality. He is trying very hard to stand on his own, and I wouldn't doubt that he will figure out the walking thing soon. He will be such a fun age for Christmas this year!
As for my life... I still feel like there are things I should be doing that I'm not-- I just can't identify what that is.... But, the things I KNOW I should be doing, I am struggling to get accomplished!! Does that make any sense!?!
I am presently in the midst of reading several books: Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster; Waking the Dead by John Eldridge; and It's Not About Me by Max Lucado. All three of these books have great teaching and deep points to ponder, but for some reason, I just don't feel like any of it has started to truly soak into my soul yet. I think my biggest problem is that I am not spending enough time each day just meditating on God and praying. I have never been very good at that. I typically like to be on the go or wrapped up in something-- or the complete other extreme-- lying on the couch doing nothing! So, I haven't been very disciplined about simply making the time to spend with Him. Every part of my logical and practical mind knows this to be true--- I realize that God gives me the very breath that I breathe and that giving back to Him a part of the day is the least I can do..... So, why is it so hard to put it into practice. Is it Satan or just my like of discipline and laziness? I actually do a pretty good job every day of thinking about Him or even doing what I'm dong now-- writing about Him-- but I really struggle with the relationship part. When I think about men such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Augustine, C.S. Lewis, etc. and how seriously they seemed to take their faith and the relationship they seemed to have with God, it makes me ashamed that I am so spiritually pathetic in so many ways. I want to arrive at a point where it is not a chore to carve out time for Him each day, but that I long-- like a deer thirsts for water-- to be in His presence. I wonder if it is possible to be in that place for an extended period of time or if those moments are precious, few and far between....
I guess all relationships function in a similar way. You cycle through stages-- some more intimate and meaningful than others. But, you always know, even in those downward cycles, that a better day is coming, so you don't lose hope. You keep the faith and maintain the relationship. That is why divorce seems like such a tragedy. Perhaps if the couple had just waited until the next chapter of the relationship, things would have gotten better-- or even better than they ever had been. Maybe the worst thing that can happen to a couple is when one of them loses sight of the bigger picture and chooses to opt for immediate gratification somewhere else instead of hanging in for the long haul-- he or she would rather enter the 50-yard dash and have some excitement instead of preparing for the marathon of a genuine relationship.
So-- during this season that should be all about the most important gift ever given-- Jesus-- I am going to pray for more desire-- more desire for Him and a desire to be in His presence. I pray that He is patient with me while I am in the midst of trying to find my way in this "spiritual marathon" and I am hoping that the "great cloud of witnesses" in the heavenly stands are cheering for me even as I stumble!
Luke is 10 months-old today! It is an absolute miracle to look back upon his first ten months of life. He has grown so much and has developed such a fun, sweet, and inquisitive personality. He is trying very hard to stand on his own, and I wouldn't doubt that he will figure out the walking thing soon. He will be such a fun age for Christmas this year!
As for my life... I still feel like there are things I should be doing that I'm not-- I just can't identify what that is.... But, the things I KNOW I should be doing, I am struggling to get accomplished!! Does that make any sense!?!
I am presently in the midst of reading several books: Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster; Waking the Dead by John Eldridge; and It's Not About Me by Max Lucado. All three of these books have great teaching and deep points to ponder, but for some reason, I just don't feel like any of it has started to truly soak into my soul yet. I think my biggest problem is that I am not spending enough time each day just meditating on God and praying. I have never been very good at that. I typically like to be on the go or wrapped up in something-- or the complete other extreme-- lying on the couch doing nothing! So, I haven't been very disciplined about simply making the time to spend with Him. Every part of my logical and practical mind knows this to be true--- I realize that God gives me the very breath that I breathe and that giving back to Him a part of the day is the least I can do..... So, why is it so hard to put it into practice. Is it Satan or just my like of discipline and laziness? I actually do a pretty good job every day of thinking about Him or even doing what I'm dong now-- writing about Him-- but I really struggle with the relationship part. When I think about men such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Augustine, C.S. Lewis, etc. and how seriously they seemed to take their faith and the relationship they seemed to have with God, it makes me ashamed that I am so spiritually pathetic in so many ways. I want to arrive at a point where it is not a chore to carve out time for Him each day, but that I long-- like a deer thirsts for water-- to be in His presence. I wonder if it is possible to be in that place for an extended period of time or if those moments are precious, few and far between....
I guess all relationships function in a similar way. You cycle through stages-- some more intimate and meaningful than others. But, you always know, even in those downward cycles, that a better day is coming, so you don't lose hope. You keep the faith and maintain the relationship. That is why divorce seems like such a tragedy. Perhaps if the couple had just waited until the next chapter of the relationship, things would have gotten better-- or even better than they ever had been. Maybe the worst thing that can happen to a couple is when one of them loses sight of the bigger picture and chooses to opt for immediate gratification somewhere else instead of hanging in for the long haul-- he or she would rather enter the 50-yard dash and have some excitement instead of preparing for the marathon of a genuine relationship.
So-- during this season that should be all about the most important gift ever given-- Jesus-- I am going to pray for more desire-- more desire for Him and a desire to be in His presence. I pray that He is patient with me while I am in the midst of trying to find my way in this "spiritual marathon" and I am hoping that the "great cloud of witnesses" in the heavenly stands are cheering for me even as I stumble!
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