Happy Birthday

Seven years ago today, at precisely 11:43 a.m. the doctor announced that we had a baby girl.

Our sweet Grace had decided to make her entrance into this world nearly four weeks early, weighing in at 8lbs 6oz and 21 inches long. She was my smallest baby, my shortest labor, and my hardest pregnancy. I seriously think the boys thought I would die from vomiting. I survived. She continued to give us a run for our money with many health problems her first year of life. One of my most embarrassing moments, was her doing. She was about 16 months old and she and I were waiting in the car for daddy to come back. A sweet older couple had come to the window to dote on her. She smiled, and promptly pulled my shirt up over my face declaring to them, "See my num nums." There really is no place to run, while stuck in the front seat of a car. I don't know who was worse off....me or the old guy.

This is our Chicken. Somehow she earned this name while a toddler, and has kept it ever since. It is hard for me to describe how much of a blessing she is to me.

How do I love thee Grace? Let me count the ways...

I love that she is so dramatic. She seriously can nail just about any accent. You should see her rendition of that British dog training lady, from It's me or the Dog. If I were not so against hollywood and their humanist agenda, I am sure she could do some work worthy of an oscar. Alas, the world will never know her talents.

I love that she has her own style. She hates to wear pants. She practically thinks it is torture when I have her put them on. Skirts and dresses are her clothing of choice. Her outfit is never complete with out her boots. I finally sat her down yesterday, and had a talk with her about wearing her boots with her pretty smocked dresses. She consented to some dressier shoes...as long as she could still wear her boots with everything else.

I love that she is always singing. It is quite a bonus that she has a nice voice too.

I love that her favorite movie is The Sound of Music. I am thinking she must have watched this movie well over one hundred times.

I love that she tries desperately to act feminine and lady like...but because of her brothers can't help but be a bit rough and tumble. I don't know how many skirts we have had to throw away because she a ripped them beyond repair climbing trees.

I love the look she gives me after she asks if she can snuggle in our bed. I even love the sigh, and pathetic look she gives when we tell her she has to start in her bed.

I love her compassion and empathy.

I love that she desires to serve her brothers and her daddy.

I love that she wants to learn to cook and sew.

I love that her whole motivation for learning to read, was so that she could read her Bible.

I love that she has taken on the role of big sister beautifully.

I love her tender heart. She is always quick to repentance. Quick to seek reconciliation.

I love that her favorite food is Rosemary Chicken.

I could go on and on ...I really could. I feel so blessed to have been chosen by God to be the mother of this child. She brings me such joy and laughter.

Grace, my love, Happy Birthday. I pray this year you will see the Lord more clearly and love Him more deeply. You are so dear to me, my precious daughter. I love you!

PS- That incredibly beautiful drawing up top was a gift from my incredibly talented friend. Thank you Laura....we both love it!

Wait

Wait
by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

"My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

"You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.

"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."

Happy Birthday

I had this brilliant idea several months ago that I would blog about those people nearest and dearest to me on their birthdays this year. I wanted to take the time to put in writing how much I love them, what I admire about them, and give you small peek into their life. So over the next twelve months I will be posting about these people I love so much.

Starting today.

Undoubtedly this will be the hardest one. I contemplated not even doing it. But honestly, when I first thought of doing this, my dad was the one I was looking forward to the most. So I have decided to move forward with this anyway.

Happy Birthday Dad!

My dad was a new years baby. In fact he was the first baby born in his home town. I remember seeing the news paper article with a picture of him with my grandma. She looked so unbelievably young.

He would have been 52 years old today.

There are many things that I admire about my father. He taught me by the life he lived, so many wonderful values. He taught me the importance of honesty, of hard work, and of perseverance. My dad was the kind of guy that truly believed if you were going to do something, you had better do it to the best of your ability. He was a perfectionist...really. His work as a machinist was certainly the perfect job for this guy who wanted everything just right.

He was the smartest guy I have ever known. He had a mind that could understand the most complicated ideas. As a kid, I always likened him to Einstein. He was this brilliant guy with a wild head of hair. We were always sure he would never go bald. He never did.

His sense of humor was one in a million. He loved to make people laugh and was always telling jokes or doing crazy things. Like the time I came home from school to find pig eyes (yes real ones)with eyeglasses sitting on the counter. He just somehow knew never to take life too seriously.

I bet you didn't know that political views were hereditary? Well I am living proof that they are. Some of my best memories over the last several years has been the phone conversations with my dad, when we would vent and complain to each other about all the current events and the irritation we shared with our government and their lack of....let's just be nice and say lack of wisdom. I am sure he is the only one who truly understood my tirades, and why I would allow such things to get me so worked up.

While all these things about my dad are wonderful, there is still one thing that means the most. There is still the one thing about his life that has had the most impact on every area of my life. His love for my mom. It has been said that one of the greatest things parents can do for their children is to love their spouse. If this is true, then I have had the greatest parents ever. Through his love and care for my mom, I learned about how to live life, what a husband should be like, what it means to serve you spouse, and the blessings of marriage. My parents truly modeled for me a marriage that was beautiful. He would have gladly laid down his life for her, and surly he did many times. My mom was his best friend. She was the one he wanted to play with. Whether it was hunting, golf, archery, or whatever else he wanted to do...he wanted to do it with my mom. She would gladly and joyfully join him. I know without a doubt, aside from the grace of God, my father is the reason Richard and I have the marriage we have. I am so thankful that the Lord saw fit to give me such an example in their love and marriage. I am even more thankful that He used their marriage to better my own.

One of the good things that came out of our stay in Kansas after his death was that we got to spend time with people who have know my dad for many years. They have worked with him, completed projects with him, and played with him. Every single one of these people had the same testimony about my father. He truly was a man of great love and integrity.

I am going to miss him.