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.

Christmas in the Country

Several weeks before Christmas I asked Holly if there was anything in particular that she wanted for a gift. Although I love the whole process of picking out gifts for her, I started asking this several years ago as funds got tighter so that if there was something that she needed I could be sure she got it. She usually just hints around enough to point me in a general area of interest. There have only been a few times that she told me of a big item with an exact size and color or make and model, and this year there was no hesitation in her response... she wanted to get away... together... just the four of us... if only for just one night.


Over the course of a long semester being surrounded by the same apartment walls and the crushing stress of daily demands we had both grown to need to get some fresh air in a serious way. We needed to unplug, connect with each other, and have a quiet moment in front of some fireplace somewhere and be refreshed in worshipping our King together. I was so excited about picking out just the right place and I have hardly anticipated more giving her a Christmas gift... one she could unwrap slowly over a whole day. We found the great little cabin you see throughout this post in Granbury, TX (about 30 min south of Ft. Worth) and it was just perfect.


My excitement about the trip grew and it was like the prize across the finish line I was racing through the end of the school semester to win. Holly's gift to me was that she designed and hand-made stockings for the whole family that we could bring on the trip and into the future. (You can see them in the pic below, they're awesome! Jackson's is blue, Josie's pink, Mommy's green, and oh yeah, the Tennessee one is mine!)


As we were packing up to leave on Christmas Eve for our overnight celebration, lo and behold it started to snow. I told Holly it was pretty but there was no chance of it sticking to much more than the grass and bushes because it had been 70 degrees the day before (Texas weather). Boy was I wrong! Sometimes a rainstorm is just the compliment to your gloomy mood or the sunshine of summer just fits right as you drive in your car with the radio on and window rolled down. Well, this little Texas blizzard blew up and was the most joyful and perfect compliment to our Christmas in the Country. Although this little storm trapped thousands of travelers (including Veronica - Jake's lovely lady who was flying into DFW to meet family from Abilene and ended up being trapped in Dallas away from them) and caused more than one serious fender bender, we sure enjoyed the storm's silver lining as it wrapped Holly's gift in the finest white snow.





I loved unwrapping every minute of our time together (and wrapping some of that snow up into a snowball or two!), celebrating and getting to share with our kids about the birth of our savior Jesus and the life we share through Him. It was our small little miracle that we could share a refreshing moment together and it reminded me of the grand miracle that we live an eternally refreshed life through the grace of God and our faith in Christ his Son.






The only thing missing from our Christmas was the packing up on Christmas Day and heading off to see all of our beloved family. We truly missed all of you guys and want you to know how much you each mean to us. We love you all.
I certainly hope that all of your Christmas celebrations and circumstances were as meaningful and refreshing as ours, surrounded by people you love, the small miracles of the season, and the abundant life of Christ Jesus our Lord.

God Bless you all. - Jonathan



p.s. - I think Jackson's favorite present this year was... Josie.

Playing Catch Up.

It has taken me two days to try to post these new pictures and write a little. We didn't let Jackson watch TV until he was a year but poor Josie is sitting in my lap as I write staring at the screen....the sacrifices of a second child :). I thought being the mother of 2 children would be a huge challenge so we decided to take 16 weeks off for maternity leave. It should actually be called the "2 year old leave". All of my energies have been given to Jackson lately. Josie is a pretty easy baby but Jackson woke up a few weeks ago only to remind me he is 2! Jackson is so passionate about everything...good and bad. He loves Josie to his core. He talks so sweet to her and gives her tons of hugs and kisses. His favorite time of the day is when Daddy comes through the door and they have tickle time!! Unfortunately he thinks it's hilarious to blow his nose in his fingers and then eat them. DISGUSTING! Problem is he thinks it's even funnier when you say "disgusting." Like I said...passionate. Since it's cold/flu season we finally had to reward the nose blowing with time outs. We are making progress. As a sign of thing to come, Josie already has 2 teeth. Crazy girl cut them right at 3 months! We'll keep you updated as best we can with her fast paced and warped speed. We visited home for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time. These are the pictures from the past month. Enjoy.


Decorating the tree at Gran Pats.