Thankful

John David, 

You were a surprise to us, no doubt;

but I can't even try to figure out

what life would be like without you here.

I'd rather not. I'll spare the tears

and ponder instead, this Thanksgiving Day,

all the joy that you've brought our way.

There are tears as I think on this -

but hardly those of any sadness -

but rather these tears are tears of joy

that God gave us YOU as our little boy.

I would not trade you for all others in the world - 

I would not even trade you for a little girl!

I cannot even begin to describe

all of the joy that I feel inside

when you wake each morning and I come to you

and look into your eyes of blue 

and see the joy on your own face

as I pick you up to embrace

and kiss your warm, soft, precious cheek

and imagine how our day will be 

filled with new memories and fun. . . 

Oh, I count my blessings one by one!

And this I do on Thanksgiving Day,

though we are very far away 

from family and loved ones dear,

I give thanks that you and your daddy are near.

And as long as God wills us on this earth to be

I'll make it may aim to try to see

His hand of providence and grace 

as I intently seek His smiling face

in whatever circumstances come our way, 

I'll pray for grace to trust each day.

And in those that we now face,

God is pouring out his grace 

and is holding us in a place of rest

as we lean upon His providence.

John David, your Daddy and I want to be

good stewards of our little boy, you see,

for one day you will grow up tall 

and we desire for you to be all 

that God made you to be from the start.

We pray that He will capture your heart

and grow you into a godly man,

to fear His name and trust His hand.

So, as your parents, we are thankful

for all you are and all you'll be for

we know God has great plans in store.

We pray for grace to see each door

that His hand closes and those He opens wide; 

we pray that in His presence we will abide

and walk intimately with Him.

In His hands we place you once again

and ask Him to have His will

as we watch and wait and are still,

knowing that He is sovereign God

and wherever He wills, our feet will trod.  

We want to do what's best for you 

and trust God's hand to see us through

whatever our next steps may be,

we will watch expectantly,

knowing that God is in control - 

may we rejoice and His name extol. 

So on this Thanksgiving Day

we will thank God for His sufficient grace

and for giving us the gift of YOU

and the assurance that He will see you through

and make you into who He wants you to be

as He quiets our hearts, as He whispers "Trust Me." 

I'm so privileged to be YOUR mother.  I love you.

Precious Moments in Quad #4

We are so very thankful for those whom we have been privileged to share our lives with these past 6 weeks.  What a joy it has been to truly feel like we have become a family.  Our lives converged so quickly, and just as quickly, so have our hearts.  Here are a few more pictures from the past week of fun in the quad.  

John David giving Uncle Truitt a "head butt" - his preferred way of showing male affection.                                         

John David and Evie - they love to play together. 

John David's friend Tyler (Evie's brother) - Tyler always knows how to make John David laugh. They definitely have a special bond! 

John David has discovered the little pleasure of a tri-sectioned can of holiday popcorn (Thank you, Uncle Truitt and Aunt Cindy!)  which he fondly refers to as "pop"! 

My boys in their matching shirts, having a great time together as usual!  Hearing them laugh and play is one of my favorite things in the world!

  

     John David: so precious. . . so grown-up.

For the sake of the grandparents :)

More pictures from the past weeks...

The other day I had my back turned, and John David 

grabbed this plum off of the table.  I had no idea that he

could reach it.  Before I knew it, he had taken a huge bite.  

I had to get a picture...more evidence of our ever-growing boy.  

He is getting so tall and is reaching new heights!

John David in the kitchen of our quad

Our New Family

For the record, let me start by saying that David, John David and I feel that our families are completely irreplaceable! However, one of the joys of being a missionary with the IMB is that “aunt” and “uncle” are the titles you inherit when you are approved for service.  Our fellow missionaries are not replacements for our families,  just extensions.  For example, we have been so thankful for those with whom we have been sharing our quad.  The quads are set up with a large living room in the middle and four aparments attached to it, one off of each corner of the living room.   John David has fallen in love with our quad family.  Aunt Amy and Aunt Kelli are first-time aunts, and Uncle Truitt and Aunt Cindy…well, they do not have grandchildren yet; it as if they are first-time grandparents.  Within our quad, John David has inherited 2 new cousins, Tyler (age 10) and Evie (7), whom he adores!  Praise the Lord for this familial extention!

“So Jesus answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time – houses and brohers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecustions – and in the age to come, eternal life.’”  Mark 10:29-30

Uncle Truitt, John David and Aunt Cindy 

Enjoying God's Gift of a Beautiful Day

Sunshine and Dandelions

We have been enjoying some beautiful weather the past few days.   The cold temporarily left us and we are enjoying delightful weather with refreshing breezes, sunshine, and even short sleeves.  We were taking our time walking back to our “quad” yesterday, when an elderly man asked, “Where is your camera?”  He was right ~ a wonderful opportunity for some pictures!  I hurried to get the camera and met back up with the boys.  John David still loves the outdoors, and has recently discovered the joy of playing in the rocks, as well as picking dandelions.  We have a bed of rocks beside our quad, as well as rocks and dandelions along the sidewalks.  He stops as often as possible to pick up either of these new found favorites and often brings them to me.  He brought me a rock the other day, and I was reminded of my younger brother, Kameron.  My mother still has a container filled with rocks that Kameron brought to her as a young boy…rocks instead of flowers.  My heart melted at the first rock that I received.  However, it wasn’t long until John David did start bringing me dandelions.  He brought me a bouquet of them last night.  Greatly denying my sentimental desires, I knew that keeping this most thoughtful bouquet would not aid in the decluttering of our lives.  Therefore, I decided to take a picture so that I would never forget this precious gesture of my little boy.  Thank you, John David.

The Importance of Your Prayers

Things are going well for us at our orientation in Virginia.  Thank you all for your prayers on our behalf.   We are so grateful for faithful intercessors and can clearly see God’s ever faithful, kind, sovereign hand at work in our family.  Please do not cease praying for us.  The Lord is doing a number of things in our hearts and lives to prepare us for what He has in store for our family overseas.  I am learning more and more about the importance of daily, intense and specific intercession on behalf of others, especially those who are taking the Gospel to people who have never heard, where our enemy does not want The Truth to go.  We know that we face great opposition, but our God is infinitely Greater.  Of course our family is not “taking God” to the Bemba people; God is already at work there, as He is all over the world.  The nations belong to Him.  We just pray the He will allow our hearts to burn with the same passion as His…to see all nations worship before Him.  We are so grateful to be able to be a small part of what God is already doing in Zambia.  We are also so thankful to have you play such a special role in what He is doing in our lives and in the lives of the those whom we will be serving.