Matthew Josiah is ONE!!!

On April 13, 2008, Matthew turned 1...Our sweet Matthew Josiah...we love you! I cannot believe you are a 1 year old. The year has flown by and I cannot imagine life before you were part of us. You are our delight sweet angel. We love your passion and your laughter. You are bright joy in our lives and our heart. There is no doubt you have changed us and blessed us in ways we could not even have known to expect. We pray for your protection, for your heart, we pray you would love Jesus very much. Our family was created by God and we would fight for you and any other babies God gives us with all that we have. There is no hesitation, no doubts, we are a family created by God, and He is fighting for us! You are worth EVERY tear, every challenge and so much more. You are treasured beyond any words we can ever speak over you...by us and by God! We do love the words below..

"HOME"
by our friend Ross King

"Your Mother and I had a plan, and we knew the ending before we began.
An American Woman and American Man, with American Dreams...

How could we ever have known?
The God who can save had a dream of His own.
He opened our heart and He made it your Home and changed everything...

Not flesh of my flesh, not blood of her blood,
you are heart of her heart and soul of my soul.
Your mother and I, we were broken inside and you came and made us whole.
And now we're loved by your love, and you are named with our name
A real family is more than biology, it's more than looking the same.
Would we have prayed differently if we had known...that God would bring you HOME?!?

Nothing prepared us for this,
We never knew we could fall like we did.
Surely there is no one who has ever been given a sweeter surprise.

All we can give is our love,
And love is the way you were given to us.
We only pray we can love you enough for the rest of our lives.

Not flesh of my flesh, so much more than blood of her blood,
you are heart of her heart and soul of my soul.
Your mother and I, we were broken inside and you came and made us whole.
And now we're loved by your love, and you are named with our name
A real family is more than biology, it's more than looking the same.
Would we have prayed differently if we had known...that God would bring you HOME?!?"

We love you Matthew. We will always love you. We will always pray for you. You are HOME baby boy! Happy Birthday my sweet angel!


THE CAKE! Thank you CostCo!



His very favorite thing was bubbles...I bought out the dollar store with all sorts of bubble stuff...he did not put these bubble wands down the entire party. I am not kidding, he held on to the green one the WHOLE TIME!

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Okay, the only time he put down his bubbles was when he got his cake! But not for long!

All the guys! Thanks to everyone for coming!



Okay, you get that side and I will get the other...the boys always working together!



Madison, Brooke, Annie and Em lounging in the pool...the sun bathing starts early with girls!



Mommy and Baby - I love you so much my sweet angel!



The Birthday Spread!

Matthew did not even wait long enough for me to get his shirt off before he jumped in his frog pool! He loved it!




Jackson and Matty splashing in the pool



Bryce was SO excited to be at the party and in her suit...cant you tell!?!? HA! She was fine about 10 seconds later and everyone had fun!



The morning after...surrounded by toys and some serious bed head! We love you angel!

Prayer please...

Hi friends...I would like to ask any willing to pray for one of Brian and I's very sweet friends...the Hanson Family. Matt Hanson (the Dad) passed away VERY suddenly this morning from a massive heart attack while working out. It was shocking and a massive blow to their sweet family. He leaves behind a precious wife Lisa, Matthew Jr. (a freshman at A&M and our old Young Life kid), Cara (soph. at SVHS), Joe (7th grader) and Josh (3rd grade). Their family is very close and amazing and I just ask for prayers that may ease their deep suffering and disbelief that their ROCK, their Daddy, the love of Lisa's life is gone from this earth! Mercy Lord, we ask for mercy! Thanks for your prayers!

Playing catch up...

We often have issues with our little camera so it takes a bit longer sometimes to get pics from our camera to our computer - and then to the blog. So, I thought I would get caught up....Anyway, here are a few cute ones I thought I would share now that we got them off the camera. And a progress report on the playground and backyard projects!

Jackson and Matthew on Easter. Choke hold number one of the day...Jackson's favorite move to put on Matthew!



Ryan Tootle brought his Mom and Dad over and Matthew got to show off his new playground...not sure if Ryan was feelin the mulch! Isnt this just the cutest pic though. Looks like Matthew is explaining it all to him.



Moms and babies on Easter...we spent part of Easter with the Patchell Fam! Friends that are family - the best!



THE FINAL PRODUCT! WOW! This thing is sooo cool! WE are LOVING swinging outside every afternoon. THANKS DADDY! You are the best!



This is another backyard project - midway. We are covering our porch with a metal roof...Brian and his guys got it all framed up here. I cannot wait to hang out in our new backyard!

Happy April Fools! :)

So I called my good friend this morning and told her I was pregnant. I am a bad jokster - I could only let it go on for like 5 minutes. There ya go - I did my April Fools joke! I would love to hear about any you all have pulled. Things like that can be really funny...oh, and no joke...Happy Birthday to Ginny my sister-in-law! Poor thing always gets the brunt of April Fools on her big day!

So around here, it is that time of year...yardwork, landscaping, picnics. I love this time of year. Days where I often think of California and am envious that they have this weather almost year round. Stacy, I just imagine you guys outside all the time! We have spent every night and weekend outside for the past two weeks. LOVE IT! We are in the process of working on our backyard. Landscaping, playground building, etc... I will admit, that is a very liberal use of the word WE. Brian is working so hard! I cannot wait to show before and after pics. Matthew LOVES to be outside as usual. He found the dogs water bowl. Oh so fun! He was proud of himself as he splashed and played in the water.

Brian is in the process of building Matthew's playground! Okay, so it is a little big for a one year old, but it his ONE YEAR OLD BIRTHDAY gift from Mom and Dad. I cannot believe he turns 1 in 2 weeks. This year has flown by! He already loves it...swinging, just walking around it and looking at it all. And he LOVES the slide. More pics to come of the action on the playground. It is looking great. Good job Dad.







And a little side note...I turned 30 last week! Thanks to my friends and family that loved me SO well! IT was honestly the BEST birthday I have ever had - ever!! And of course, I forgot my camera at home! No blog material to show for all the work they did and all the fun that was had! SO sad! If anyone has pics, please send them on to me! :)

HAPPY RESURRECTION SUNDAY!!!

"Good Friday" is coming to a close. Last night, my family took part in a Passover Seder (for Christians). I must admit, I was a bit distracted last night. Feeding Matthew, playing with baby Tootle, etc...it was all welcome and sweet distractions to say the least.

However, it made me think back, to the first time (a few years ago) that we took part in celebrating Passover as part of our "Easter" traditions. That first experience, I remember really being overcome. I remember eating all the elements, the bitter herb, the sweet Charoseth (made with apples), the wine, etc...and thinking on all that they symbolize...they all fully emcompass Christ. I remember thinking, "Why do we not celebrate this holiday?" "Why have we left so much of the story on the shelf?" I wondered when, in our history, all of this tradition was lost. I was sad I had lived for 28 years and not known about Passover...and how important it is to those of us who know Jesus as Messiah - as Savior! I was ignorant.

Now, it didnt mean I had been lied to or misled or anything dramatic like that. It just meant I had lived for a long time not knowing this richness of "The Story". Some of you may be thinking, what the heck is she talking about - we are not Jewish. You are right, obviously, we are not. However, our Savior came as a Jew...to a Jewish family, to a Jewish people. Therefore, if we are "grafted in" as scripture talks about, why are we so scared of the legacy that comes with Him? Maybe scared is the wrong word. For me, it was just ignorance. I didn't realize the richness that would come from embracing the WHOLE bible, the WHOLE story...Old and New Testaments. So, last night, I thought about that night 2 years ago when I learned so much. I thought about how excited I am to teach Matthew about Passover..about Jesus. I thought about how THANKFUL I am for The Cross! Geez...there are no adequate words!

Learning new depths of Truth I have known and studied for a long time has changed me. It IS changing me. Reaching in to the ancient beauty of learning about Jesus as Jew has been such a gift to me. It is shaping the way I understand the things He (Jesus) said and taught. They way He led and lived. It is awesome and I am thankful God has put me in a place to become...well, just that, to become more like Him.

Anyway, all of that being said...HAPPY EASTER FRIENDS! HAPPY RESURRECTION SUNDAY! IT is a big deal. Maybe you will join our family this year in not skipping over some of the beauty that we often miss. Let's all just be students...of our LIVING God!

From our Bunny to yours...(for those of you thinking it...yes, I know, the bunny is totally not biblical...the kid is cute, what can I say!??!)