(this is the first post so be prepared...there's some catching up to do!)
Family
It's hard to believe that this was three years ago!
On January 9, John and I celebrated 3 years of marriage. What good gifts the Lord gives! It's fun to look at this picture and think about how we had no clue what the Lord had in store for us, or what life would look like in just a few years. Shortly before this, I wrote this article on engagement for the iGo blog. Much like engagement, I have been amazed at how, in marriage, the Lord has done far more abundantly than all we can ask or imagine according to his power (Eph. 3:20-21). If engagement was sanctifying, marriage has been doubly sanctifying! (Yes I said doubly). Challenging, convicting, sharpening, refining, beautiful, sweet, joyous, delightful. John is God's grace extended to Sophia and I. An affectionate, gentle, funny, firm, generous leader who is shepherding our family well. Though our marriage is far from perfect, it is great. "The greatness of marriage is not in itself. The greatness of marriage is that it displays something unspeakably great, namely, Christ and the church.” John Piper, This Momentary Marriage. We pray we are given several more years to, imperfectly but by God's grace, display Christ and the church.
Speaking of good gifts, just a couple months ago, this little one came along...
What a delight it is to be this tiny girl's parents. I never thought it could make me so happy to see someone smile, but my goodness. One of my favorite parts of the day is the first time I walk in her room in the morning. She's just looking around at all the bright colors, then she turns her head and notices me, and I get a big one of these....
Not a bad thing to see early in the morning.
So far we've had our first Christmas...
First round of shots...
(a before picture. yes she was happy. yes she felt betrayed afterward)
Some cuddling time {we have a fiery, independent one :)}...
Lots of this (to be expected)...
(this particular fit was, of course, because of the bow)
And an ever increasing amount of these...
(she likes to stick her tongue out when she's really happy. who doesn't?)
And we'll save other updates for another day as well, as this post has become quite lengthy. Hey, when you become a parent, you take a lot of pictures....am I right? :)