May 22, 2008

Maria Chapman

Please take a moment to pray for Stephen Curtis Chapman and his family. Yesterday their 5 year old daughter Maria was killed in a tragic driveway accident. You can visit StephenCurtisChapman.com to leave your thoughts and prayers.

I don't believe for a moment that deaths like Maria's are God's will for his children. Rather, they are a consequence of this fallen world. When we pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." I believe we're inviting God to bring his kingdom and his will to us NOW, not just as a final reward. In his kingdom, there is no death, no sorrow, no tragedy. That being said, even when our enemy exerts his influence on our world and brings about tragedy and death, God's grace is more than sufficient to comfort. The peace of Christ that passes all understanding is attainable and always available to encompass and assuage our grief. This is the grace and peace that I am praying for today for the Chapman family, especially their teenage son who was driving.

Please, pray with the millions of others who are grieving for and with the Chapmans, hug your children and savor every moment, and drive carefully.

May 20, 2008

Happy Anniversary

anniversary

Last Saturday was our 5th anniversary. For a refreshing change, we had a good day and wrapped it up with a date alone. Sean's grandma (Lala, as he calls her) took us all out to lunch and then took Sean with her for the night. He's also the happy owner of two new Webkinz, a Persian cat and a cow.

Bryan and I had lunch with them, and then went on an unrewarding video game hunt. Following that, we went to Movie Tavern in Tucker. The concept of the place is really cool. It's a fairly inexpensive (for a theater) movie with real meals available instead of just snacks. Essentially, it's dinner and a movie. Sadly, the food was WAY overpriced (we didn't eat, still full from lunch), and after we paid a whopping $4.50 for a large coke, we found out there are no free refills (fortunately, we didn't really need a refill). The movie was hilarious. I didn't expect Ironman to be funny, but it was.

We headed home and had lunch leftovers for dinner. Sean had his first Mommy-crisis. He had whacked his head before we left the apartment for lunch, and had a pretty rough afternoon from it. Usually, he doesn't give me a second thought when he's with his grandparents, so this was a first. We chatted on the phone, and he was okay. He started the call creaking like a rusty hinge and ended it cheerfully talking about pinching Grandpa with his toes in the night. His Lala took him for a short drive to help him fall asleep, and they had a good night and a good, busy day on Sunday.

All in all, it was a really good anniversary. Five down, forty-five or more to go (assuming we don't die or live through the end of the world, first).

On an interesting note, I met my friend Mara on-line in 2005. As it turns out, she was married on May 17, 2003 as well. Happy 5th Anniversary to Mara and Michael, too!

May 8, 2008

Here's Sean, showing that garbage is a man's job! I was hauling out the trash, and he insisted on helping. He carried his bag all the way to the van without complaint and without scraping it on the ground. I am so proud of him for his helpful spirit!

He isn't smiling, which is rare for him when the camera's out. He isn't really frowning, though. What you see is an intense expression of focus.

May 1, 2008

Dandelions

So this is actually a picture from last month, but I like it so much, I have to post it here:

Sean loves dandelions.

New nephew

Congrats to my sister Hope and her husband Rich on the birth of their third child. Jonathon David White is 7 lbs, 14 oz, 20 inches long. He and Hope are both doing well after a planned c-section.