Learning to be Still

This morning, Good Friday, I woke up and decided to enjoy the quiet of nature with Zander. I think often times our kids, and us for that matter are in front of too many noisy toys, the television, radio, facebook, etc., that we lose the ability to be still. Today seemed like a good day for me to remember how to be still and to start helping Zander understand the importance of the same. Zander loves to look outside at the trees from the french doors in our kitchen. Sometimes he is so lost in the beauty of God's creation, that he loses interest in everything else - I love that. On my first day staying home with him yesterday, we got up and went for a walk and then I trimmed back a few shrubs in the front yard, while he sat in his stroller and enjoyed the nice breeze and birds chirping. The weather was perfect. This morning as we were both gazing outside, a cardinal perched on the hammock. The red bird reminded me of what today signifies, the day that Jesus, the Son of God, went to the cross as a sacrifice for all of us who have failed to uphold the law of the Ten Commandments (by lying, stealing, wanting what our neighbor has, using the Lord's name in vain and then some). It's a good day for those who believe in Jesus and have allowed him to pay the fine for our sins. Sunday, Easter, signifies the day Jesus rose from the dead (the Resurrection) as a symbol of new life for those who believe. Today at noon, we are planning to go to the Good Friday service at our church, www.summitconnect.org.

"It was about noon, and the whole land became dark until three o' clock in the afternoon, because the sun did not shine. The curtain in the Temple was torn in two. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, I give you my life." After Jesus said this, he died. - Luke 23:44-46 NCV

This morning I reflect on how Jesus changed my life so radically just a little over five years ago and I look forward to watching Zander learn about the one and only Redeemer.

Zander Eats Cereal

Zander gazes outside after eating some rice cereal. Roxie hangs out in the background wondering when he will start dropping nuggets on the ground that she can clean up.

It's Official - I quit!

I gave my notice at work about three and a half weeks ago, when I knew for sure God was calling me to be a stay at home mom to Zander after several months of seeking direction. "Matthew quit his job to follow Jesus" were the words that called out to me from Zander's bible as I was reading to him. I have no reservations because I know that if I want my purpose in life to be fulfilled, I must be obedient to what God is calling me to. So as of Thursday, April 9th, I will be enjoying this little boy that has been entrusted to Evan and I in ways I haven't been able to while working. I'm looking forward to watching him grow with each day. God willing, I expect to be able to update the blog at least once a week. Lots has happened since I last posted. My dad came to visit Zander, we started him on cereal last Monday and he has some new toys, I'm sure you'll see in future pictures.

Life and Death

A year ago today, was Good Friday and after three positive pregnancy tests in the morning, it was confirmed Zander was on his way into the world. I had taken off work and we were planning to visit my cousin Ginny over at the beach. On the drive over we were coming up with all kinds of names for this new life and contemplating whether we would tell Ginny when we visited her. As we turned street names into baby names we basked in the exciting and unreal news, we were going to be parents. We called my cousin several times on the drive over and she never answered the phone. So we stopped by to visit my grandparents and dropped in at a few stores and then decided to drive back home. Ginny hadn't been feeling well and she was pretty finicky about people just dropping in on her. So after a dozen or so unanswered calls we decided to go home. After returning to the house late that night we received a call that Ginny was in the hospital and not expected to make it through the night. I collapsed in heartache as I heard the message and we made the decision to drive back over to say our goodbyes. As we prayed at her bedside, Evan told her the news. I don't know if she could comprehend anything being said, but I like to think that she heard. So we started out the morning with the amazing news that we were having a baby and ended the night at the bedside of my cousin who meant a lot to us both. She let us have our wedding at the clubhouse of her condo, helped me plan all the details and pretty much cooked the entire meal. I always appreciated how she took such an interest in Evan and me - and always told me how I picked a great man to marry. She would defend Evan over me most of the time, even though he spent most of his time trying to get her riled up. She taught me everything I know about cooking and entertaining. She was fiesty and caring - funny and dramatic. I'm sad she never had a chance to meet Zander, I know she would have loved him and he would have loved her.

First Shuttle Launch

This post comes without a picture, but last night we went out onto the back patio to watch Zander's first shuttle launch, Discovery. It was a nice twilight launch with a pretty trail in the sky. Z watched with wonder.

Rockin and Rollin

We took Z to his 4 month appt on Friday. He came in at 17.2lbs. He's been extra fun the last few days. He has been lifting his head up really high while he is on his stomach waiting for mom and dad to give him encouragement, smiling ear to ear. And he loves when we cheer him on when he flips from his stomach to his back. He started doing this multiple times on Friday morning. We took him shopping for a few clothes for the first time yesterday at Old Navy, he did a real good job staying calm while his papa just walked him around the store. Things have been extra hectic, so posting has become very hard to make time for, hopefully we'll have more time soon.

Play Time

Things have been really busy over here and I haven't had as much time to post pictures. Evan and Zander play on a regular basis. Evan likes to help him build endurance through tummy time and a new trick where Zander pulls himself up as shown. He smiles and laughs along the way. He is getting funner everyday. He's been sleeping pretty good now, generally 5-6 hour stretches at some point throughout the night. I say that like it's been months, meanwhile it's probably been a whole 5 or 6 days. It's amazing what 5 straight hours will do for you when you've gone without it for so long.