A little family update...

(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... 

 

Sophia Jane was born on November 6 at 5:25AM. She weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds, 2 ounces, and was 21 inches long. Needless to say, she's a healthy little thing :) Although the jury is still out on whether she favors John or myself, most people say John. I'm okay with that, because he's a good looking guy. John would say "I think she looks like me...except for the beard." Thank goodness.

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?)

I know it's only been a couple of months. But parenthood? Sanctifying. I mean, like woah. If marriage is doubly sanctifying, then this is a whole new level. Can I say triply sanctifying? I will. And I did. Again, how challenging, convicting, sharpening, refining, beautiful, sweet, joyous, delightful. So many times throughout the day (if I am paying attention) the Lord opens my eyes to gospel truths through this tiny one. For example, the dreaded tummy time. It's rumored that some kiddos like this- ours is not one of them. She makes it a few minutes with a few grunts here and there. But with about 2 1/2 minutes left her patience is gone. She starts to cry. Like, really cry. Big fat tears cry. Bury your head in the blanket cry. I just have to sit there and tell her (although she has no clue what I'm saying) "This is for your good! I know you don't like this right now, but this is for your good. You need this. I promise." She is limited in what she can see and understand, and all she knows is that she does not like where she's at and wants to be done with it. But she needs to stay there just a bit longer. It's for her good. How often are we in situations, seasons, surrounded by circumstances that we do not like and do not understand. We just want to be done with it. But God is telling us, "This is for your good! I know you don't understand, but this is for your good, I promise." He is working for our good and, most importantly, for his glory. That's a truth that brings rest and peace. Of course there are countless times that the Father reminds me of the gospel in very different, much more humbling ways. Like when I am not gentle or patient and he reminds me of his unending patience and how he gently leads us...but those are posts for another day.

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? :)