A Speechless Year

What a year 2010 has been! I can safely say that the past twelve months have brought more change than any other year in my (admittedly brief) life.

From marrying my wonderful husband...



... to buying our first home.

From expecting our first baby...

... to welcoming him into the world.

Yes, what a year -- the start of a new decade in history. A year of many firsts, and a year of innumerable joys. It has had its share of challenges, heartaches, and struggles -- but God has been so gracious to us, proving over and over again that He is in control, and that He cares about even our most minor hurts and grievances. It is His love that leaves me speechless this year (though not quite wordless, since I'm managing to write a blog post about it!).

I wonder what 2011 will bring, what happiness and grief it has in store. But I know that whatever comes, it is the Almighty God who has ordained it, and that knowledge should strip away any fear about what the future might hold! I pray that it may be said of us, "This is the generation of them that seek Him, that seek Thy face, O Jacob." (Psalm 24:6)

So to bring in the new year with hope and joy, I draw from the 24th Psalm -- which I consider one of the most jubilant, uplifting passages in the Bible:

Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.

Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
even lift them up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.

Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
He is the King of Glory.
Selah.

~ Psalm 24:7-10 ~

Under the Tree

When it came to Christmas gifts this year, the winner of the "best gift under the tree" category was a given.

Yes, our little man blew the competition right out of the water -- in our (rather biased) eyes, at least!

We've loved having a live tree this year -- a tradition I hope we can repeat every year. The scent of fir gives me warm fuzzies every time I walk by! And while it's been a sad year so far to be a Gator, we still hung up our ornament in a place of honor.

As we enjoy our first Christmas as a family, the story of the Incarnation is brought home to me in a new way. The sacrifice of a firstborn son has new meaning to me now, especially as I look at our little man's precious, sleepy face. What love the Father had for us that He would give up His Son!

So from our family to yours, we pray you have a very Merry Christmas -- and that the love of God will bless you abundantly!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The People that walked in darkness have seen a great light:
they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death,
upon them hath the light shined.

For unto us a child is born,
unto us a Son is given:
and the government shall be upon His shoulder:
and His name shall be calledWonderful,
Counsellor,
The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government
and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David,
and upon His kingdom, to order it,
and to establish it with judgment and with justice
from henceforth even for ever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

~ Isaiah 9:2,6-7 ~

In Love

I'm in love for the second time in my life.


In love with precious little feet.

And a sweet rosy mouth.

And fuzzy little baby ears.

And tiny hands (with Daddy's fingernails!).

And precious sleepy eyes.

Oh yes, I'm in love!


Little did we think that our precious one -- who was due to arrive on Christmas Eve (and that was ten days earlier than his original due date) -- would surprise us by arriving over a week "early." So little did we think this, we were convinced that the first six or seven hours of labor were just Braxton Hicks.

I am so grateful to God for a safe, healthy, and natural delivery -- only two and a half hours of labor in the hospital, the other 9-or-so hours at home. I had hoped and prayed for a natural, drug-free birth, but I knew that whatever happened would be God's plan. I am so grateful that He granted me that desire! Thanks to my indescribably wonderful husband, relaxed OB, and a handful of fabulous labor and delivery nurses, the whole experience was such a blessing. And at the end of it, we were handed a 7 lb. 4 oz. bundle of wonder and joy.

So here we are, safely home, enjoying our firstborn son and trying to catch up on sleep!

God is so good.

Hast Thou Not Heard?

"Hast thou not heard that the everlasting God,
the Lord,
hath created the ends of the earth?
He neither fainteth, nor is weary:
there is no searching of His understanding.

But He giveth strength unto him that fainteth,
and unto him that hath no strength,
He increaseth power.

Even the young men shall faint and be weary,
and the young men shall stumble and fall.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength:
they shall lift up the wings, as the eagles:
they shall run, and not be weary,
and they shall walk and not faint."

~ Isaiah 40:28-31 ~

As we count down the days until a certain someone is supposed to make an appearance, I've been collecting verses for labor and delivery. There's a little stack of them, ready to go, neatly (if not glamorously) written out on index cards -- and hopefully they're legible enough that Pablo will be able to read them to me if necessary! Even now I find it comforting to meditate on them, to dwell on the realities of God's power and love. What a joy it is to be loved by the Creator of the universe!

Saying Goodbye to Fall

I know that Winter doesn't technically start until the 21st, but for me the beginning of December signals the coming of both Winter and the Christmas season. And with so much to look forward to in the near future, I'm excited to welcome one of my favorite seasons!

Still, I can't help feeling a twinge of regret as Autumn fades away. It's such a lovely time of year, a time of reflection and peacefulness.

This was also the first year that I had tried my hand at pumpkin carving (Pablo is a veteran, having done it at least once before...)

The beauty of Autumn never ceases to amaze and captivate me.

Spring is an outpouring of life, when all of nature is a colorful riot of new growth. But Fall -- Fall has a quieter, gentler type of abundance.

As the leaves continue to fall and the temperatures cool (however temporarily -- our area is rather fickle in that regard), I am so grateful that the Lord blessed us with such a wonderful, memorable season -- a beautiful calm before we embark upon our second year together and undertake the rigors of a new season of life as parents.