Strawberry time in West Tennessee

We made a trip home in May to visit the Strawberry Festival in Humboldt.  Jackson loved the floats and marching bands....and the pretty girls!!  We had a wonderful, relaxing trip home.  

It was a hard choice...watching the parade or loving on sis :).

Such a good patient.  He always lets his Mamma Z clean those teeth.

Relaxing with her Papa Z on the tire swing.

Month in Pictures

We had a great April here in Dallas. We have enjoyed the beautiful Spring weather and been out out out!! We had several visits from family and lots of time playing with friends. Jackson remembered quickly the candy part of Easter. Yes, we really did share with him the real meaning of Easter, but in reality all he cared about was the eggs full of candy! Hopefully one day he will understand that the abundance of Christ's love for us is far sweeter than any morsel of chocolate.

Show me the candy!


Little love from my handsome fellow.


Splashing around with his BF Peyton....with a bit of a sugar rush!


Gran Pat donated a computer mouse just his size. Now he is totally independent...scary that he is only 2.

We took a trip to the Arboretum that basically was a bust! Jackson missed his nap that day and was quite the grump. We managed to get just a few pictures that were decent out of about 300. These were my favorites.


Looks like we are laughing, right? WRONG. Jonathan and I, yes, Jackson is actually screaming in anger. Just didn't want to be there, poor thing. So tired :(


Leave it to little sister to get the only smile of the day out of him. Thank goodness for sweet sweet girls.


Jackson had an amazing day at the zoo and got to ride a camel. "Alice the Camel" that is. He learned a song at school called "Alice the Camel" so of course this camels name had to be Alice. He was so brave. Riding was totally his idea!


We went to the zoo with our friends Erin, Cara, and Emmet. Jackson and Cara played really well and had a great time together. We are so blessed with such great friends here in Dallas.

All Things Girl.

Jackson went to visit the grandparents this week in TN and Jonathan and I got the blissful privilege of doing all things JOSIE!! For the first time since the hospital we got to spend some one on one time with her. Lots of fun and R & R was had this week. We slept in every morning...that meaning 8:00 :). We had a salon day and painted toe nails. A photo shoot at the Arboretum was on the list as well. Apart from losing our beloved cocker spaniel, Hope, on Thursday, it was a perfect time together. Josie stares at her toes all day long....definitely a girly girl!! She shined this week and loved every minute as much as we did.

Our Hope

The story of how Holly and I met, dated, dated again, and got married is one of my favorite stories to tell. (Many of you who are reading know our story very well because you lived it with us!) I think it is a great story. For one thing I get the girl in the end :) But I also think it is a great story because you get to see the many different threads of our lives, (with their twists and turns, being divinely pulled together and sometimes divinely pulled apart) start to weave into a little family... and I for one can't help but see that God had his hands all over it. Those threads of life brought with them the full gamut of experience: love, faith, romance, fun, joy, and friendship, but also heartache, uncertainty, grief, and loss.

However, the thread of our story that I am writing about tonight brought us the experience of ... Hope.

Figuratively... and Literally.

At one point along the way Holly thought that we were not going to end up together, so she decided that she wanted to get a new puppy to love on and move forward with. She picked a quiet, shaking, buff colored cocker spaniel from the box of yapping brothers and sisters, because this puppy looked like she needed Holly just like Holly needed her. She named her "Holly's Hope from Heaven." Thankfully it wasn't long before Holly and I got back together for good. Although my brothers like to joke that Holly only got me to take care of Hope, kind of like a live-in pool boy. : )

Hope hated Dallas. I mean REALLY REALLY hated Dallas. When it came time to make a decision that involved moving to a building that didn't allow pets, it wasn't as difficult as one might assume. Holly's parents, Roger and Paula, graciously invited Hope to "retire" at their home in the country with "hopes" of returning to our family when our time was over in seminary. She was so happy there and made the transitions easily. Roger and Paula loved Hope like their own...she was their own in many ways. She never lacked in the love department. We always felt assured and at peace that she was where she needed to be when returning to TN. No words will ever express our gratitude to her family in TN, Roger, Paula, and Tanner, for providing for her what we couldn't during her last year.

Our sweet Hope died today, April 1, 2010. She had been struggling with kidney failure for several months (maybe longer) and her little body finally just gave in. Holly and I (and everyone else) were hoping she would make it until we got to come home in May, but she did get to spend her last week running and playing with Jackson, who was home for a visit with the grandparents. He loved on her and threw her ball for her alot, which we know made her happy... maybe even content. We will tell Jackson that just like God is taking care of Cinders, God is now taking care of Hope.

Our hearts are heavy and sad, but we are thankful for the years we got to spend with our little girl. We miss you Hope.

Not a Complaint Session, I Promise!

December 26 - Jonathan got the flu and I missed work to stay home with the family.
January 25 - I got the stomach flu.
January 26 - Jonathan got the stomach flu.
January 29 - Josie got the stomach flu.
January 30 - I missed work again to nurse Josie to keep her from getting dehydrated...she continues to refuse bottles for Jonathan!
January 31 - My visiting parents got the stomach flu.
February 11 - Jackson diagnosed with double ear infection when brought to doctor for cough he'd had for 6 weeks.
February 19 - Josie had severe reaction to lotion and was red from head to toe. Diagnosed with chronic eczema.
February 20 - I received a warning at work concerning the amount of missed work, informing me that consequences would follow if I unexpectedly missed again.
February 26 - Suggested at Josie's well baby visit that she start 6 months of antihistamines to manage eczema. Thus began my search for an alternative and holistic/natural remedy since medication (with sedating side effects) isn't my first choice to place her body through.
February 22 - Jonathan is plagued by terrifying nightmares that alert us that much of what you are reading is Spiritual Warfare that we are experiencing and we begin to seek out scripture and guidance to battle this.
February 27 - Jackson begins to scream out in pain claiming his ear hurts and his behavior becomes inconsolable. We take him to a pediatric urgent care to find that his ear infection has persisted, no surprises there.
February 28 - I woke up with neck pain that took away my ability to move my head from side to side or up and down. 2 weeks of Chiropractic therapy continues to help my neck slowly heal.
March 9 - Jackson screams for 2 hours with abdominal pain that is suspicious of an appendix rupture. A trip to the doctor (narrowly missing an ER visit) reveals nothing but gas pain....thank goodness!

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 "Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

1 Peter 5:8 "Be of sober spirit, be on alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

I do not list these things to complain or ask for pity. Actually it is quite the opposite. Jonathan and I are daily claiming the "full armor of God, so that you [we] will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil." Ephesians 6:11 Without seeing the raging waves around us we would be unable to experience the calm and still waters that He delivers to us. I had just dropped Jackson off at MDO this morning and was in Target when a severe storm hit. We decided to wait it out in Starbucks with coffee and a muffin. A forced moment of rest was much needed. I looked out the window and then back at the sweet face of my little girl. She was hungry, I know, and yet content to wait, trusting that I would not fail her. I was overwhelmed with emotion as I reflected at our life over the last few months. None of the illnesses or struggles we have faced have been tragedies, but the relentless of them have felt like a storm that wouldn't let up. I hunger for relief, but I wait patiently trusting my God will not fail me. We have been hunkered down, asking and trusting our Lord and Saviour to fight the war around us, for us. We know that Jesus has already won the battle and we claim that victory! We have even begun to laugh and ask what will be next?! Laughing, however, has been a way only to cover the surges of frustration, fear, and exhaustion. When the storm let up today, we loaded our car with groceries and drove home. A steady rain persisted but off to my right the sun was coming out and blue skies appeared. I could only think of my children and that without some of the struggles that they come with, I would never get to gaze on the beauty of their faces. This is a picture of Josie this morning when I finally got her home to feed her and the others are of Jackson yesterday playing at the park in a mud puddle :). Oh how his mercies are new every morning. Please join us in prayer as we seek rest and relief. Please also join us in celebrating all the beauty of the victory we have to claim in Christ.

Cute video!!

I know it has been forever and even now I don't have much time to write. I hope the preciousness of this video makes up for it.