Strong Abs!

This is Finn's favorite new thing to do. He kicks his legs and then freezes to stretch them. My boy is going to have some strong abs!

Like a Beloved Child

At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:1-4

Laughing with his Aunt Rachel

Seeing Finn smile & laugh at Jeremy and me is one of the best things there is. I love watching him lock eyes with us, slowly start smiling and then break out into a huge toothless grin. And, oh my goodness, when he laughs my heart is overwhelmed with joy!

Sidenote: the first time I heard Finn cackle was when we were watching a "60 Minutes" interview with the Facebook guy. For some reason that interview made him crack up for several minutes. I think it was the bright red lipstick the interviewer was wearing.

Ok, back on track...

The Lord has again revealed another truth through my child.

On his own, Finn is completely helpless and cannot do anything for us. He can't help out around the house. He can't talk to us. He can't feed himself. He can't walk. He can't pay any bills. He can't get dressed. He can't defend himself. He can't take a bath. He can't even sit up or roll over. Left to his own resources, he would not survive. He would die.

However, he's not left on his own.

He has a father and mother who love him dearly that he depends on for all his needs. We do not expect nor do we mind that he can't do anything on his own. His open vulnerability and helplessness shows us that he is in need and we know that we can provide these things. All he has to do is receive them from us.

When he's hungry, we feed him.
When he needs comforting, we comfort him.
When he's tired, we give him rest.
When he needs cleansing, we bathe him.
When he needs fresh clothes, we clothe them.
When he needs to be somewhere, we provide the way.

All he has to do is let us.
And it blesses us when he responds to us and allows us to take care of him. 

This mirrors how it is with ourselves and our Father. We can do nothing of ourselves that would add or benefit Him. Left on our own, we would not survive. We are considered dead. (Col. 2:19)

But we also are not left on our own. 

We are like a precious baby whom the Father literally loves to death. He doesn't ask us to do or perform in order to be in right relationship to Him because He already has provided everything we need for life and relationship. (2 Peter 1:3, Phil. 4:19) We are to just humble ourselves and realize we are in need of Him. Then, respond to His works in us and receive that which He wants to impart.

When we're hungry, He'll feed us. (Matthew 5:6, Psalm 145:15-16)
When we need comforting, He'll comfort us. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
When we're tired, He'll give us rest. (Psalm 62:1, 5)
When we need cleansing, He'll bathe us. (Hebrews 10:19-22, Ephesians 5:25-27)
When we need fresh cloths, He'll clothe us. (Isaiah 61:10)
When we need to be somewhere, He'll provide the way. (Psalm 32:8)

As we know, babies do not stay babies forever. They grow and learn to talk, walk, feed themselves, etc. This is the natural, good progression of life and will be exciting to watch Finn become more and more the boy he's made to be.

As we, too, grow in the Lord, we will begin increasing in love, patience, serving, praying, giving, self-control, etc. But it will not be because we are trying to do or earn favor with our Father. It will be because we are becoming more like the life of Jesus placed inside us and we will naturally and freely progress, all the while remembering to be like a child utterly dependent on their Father for everything.

Aren't the ways of God good?

Picture of a Quiet House

All is right on a morning like this...

I love this one because Finn was smiling in his sleep. He was probably dreaming about a neverending fountain of milk.

Hope Finn Likes Reading...

My friend Matthew posted this: http://comealive.tumblr.com/post/1653900418/wired-for-distraction

It is really interesting and why Jeremy & I will try our best to have Finn reading books, playing outside, limiting TV, doing homework and having downtime.

And also why I will try to do the same (minus the homework, of course).

If you have a chance, read what he wrote. It's really good and worth the time and attention it takes to go through. I'd especially like to know what any of you teachers think.

Ahh, The Life of a Baby

Our Second First Thanksgiving

This past weekend Jeremy's family came to our house to celebrate Thanksgiving. Finn got to meet his Uncle James, Aunt Sam and Cousin Morgan for the first time. We had a blast.

Jeremy and the guys went fishing Saturday...

...while we girls (+ Finn) stayed home, hung out and cooked. 

We (- Jeremy, his dad and Finn) took Morgan to the James Island Holiday Festival of Lights on Saturday night. It was so much fun seeing her get so excited about the lights. I can't wait to take Finn to enjoy this when he is older.

www.charlestoncurrents.com

http://www.ccprc.com/index.aspx?nid=140

 


Unfortunately, I didn't get any actual pictures of us at the lights, but I did get a couple pics of Morgan's souvenir from it. Finn loves watching lights and colors, so he was so intrigued by her toy.

Finally, check out this blueberry pie that Jeremy's brother made. And, yes, it tasted as good as it looked!

Three Years

Last Wednesday marked the day in which three years ago I married the most wonderful guy I know.

Early on one of the things that set Jeremy apart was that the more I got to know him, the more I liked and admired him. This soon grew into a strong love for him and a desire to be his wife. We both knew that we were better together than we were apart as individuals. Our lives were more effective for the glory of God and the service of others by being with one another.

There's no way I could put in words what I love about him, but here is an attempt to name a few...

His understanding of Scripture. He has an amazing gift of pulling things out of passages in the bible that I have never thought of. It stretches me to think outside of my box and gives me a more complete understanding.  Which leads me to...

His teaching. I love listening to him teach. His teaching style is very interactive and participatory. So it's really great to see him lead discussions on Scripture.

His love for the down-and-out. The compassion he has for those who are often overlooked is something I noticed right away and have admired ever since.

His generosity. He is one of the most giving people I've known. He does not know the word "stingy." This has been a major refining part of my life, as I am much slower and skeptical to give. But his generous heart has freed me from the strong grasp I had on what I thought was mine. 

His hard work ethic. I noticed what a hard worker he was when we worked together at camp. He still has this instilled in him.  He is not lazy about what he does.

His handyman skills. He can fix anything, which he may not see as a blessing when he gets my "honey-do" lists.

His humor. I love laughing with him. He's so funny. It's the best when he gets into a character. As long as he's dressed up in character, he will not break out of it. I remember when he was the "Redneck Avenger" for Halloween one year. We rode all the way to Summerville (40 minute drive) and he never once talked as if he was Jeremy. He was the Redneck Avenger the whole time. That was a fun drive.

His knowledge of current events. If he didn't keep up with the news, I would have no idea what was going on in the world.

His love for coffee. He was working at a coffee shop when we first started hanging out. Now that I'm thinking back, how was this not a huge sign?

His creativity. He's full of good ideas and innovative thoughts. We've had some of the most fun memories that were a result of his creative plans.

Last, but definitely not least...
His love for his son. The love, attention, care, patience and concern he shows towards Finn is the most heartwarming thing to me. I could watch them play for hours. Our son will know how much his daddy loves him because of how Jeremy lavishes it on him. It is truly watching love in action.

I know we've only been married three short years but they have been very life-shaping years in which we've grown, learned and loved with each other. I can't wait for the years to come!

And here are a few of my favorite photos over the years that I could find.

Our first date. Whatta catch. (haha, that was funny, right?)

Perfect proposal.

Wedding day!

Dogs, travel, costumes, randoms.

*So everyone knows, the "costume" here is his mustache.

To finish up this long post (sorry!), here are some pics from our recent anniversary in downtown Greenville.

We were only going to take a couple bites of dessert...

Dislike

I always look forward to the Starbucks Christmas cups. It makes me feel cozy when drinking. However, I do not like this year's design. It only makes me feel semi-cozy.

Our First Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. We spent it in Greenville and did lots of eating, much relaxing and a little shopping. Jeremy and I also took advantage of being at my parents and had an afternoon & night out for an early anniversary celebration while they kept Finn.

This was a special Thanksgiving, as it was our first with Finn. We are so very thankful for him, as well as our families, friends, jobs and place in life right now. God is so good to us and I hope we always remain in a spirit of thankfulness and praise for who He is and the blessings He gives.

Here are a few snapshots of Thanksgiving week.

Everyone got a little crazy one night.

Even Grandmama. It must've been the turkey.

At first Finn was scared of Bronco but later loved him. He just didn't want to make eye contact afterwards because he was embarrassed of his first reaction.

Speaking of being embarrassed, Finn was playing with his developing rolls and then got caught in the action.

He was passed around to all and loved it.

Granddaddy loved making Finn laugh and letting him play on the piano.

Finn (and we) love his walker.

Especially to sit in and watch TV while we eat dinner.

All tuckered out.

On our way home to see the Tigers play!

He's so excited to soon watch the game in his Clemson gear.

 

But this is what he ended up doing the whole time. I now kinda wish I had too.

And that was our first Thanksgiving. What a great one!