His name...

We might just have one.

We've both actually liked the same name for over a week.

And guess what?  It does not start with an "S".

The Zoo

It's that time of year.  Zoo time!

We seem to head to the zoo every April and this year was no exception.  This past Tuesday was a sunny,   Spring day with the temperature around 55.  Just perfect for strolling around the zoo.  For mama the best part was that there was hardly anyone there.  For the girls the best part was the animals.

Here's our favourite lion.  He was just waking up from a nap and wouldn't show us his face.   The girls kept roaring at him but couldn't get him to respond.

The girls giving me a "Hey mom" picture pose.  Sofia had to include the wink.

Sofia made sure mama got her picture taken. By the way, I'm 34 weeks pregnant now.

Our annual picture with the gorillas.

Definitely not a sprinkle.

Last week these three lovely friends of mine hosted what I thought was going to be a Baby Sprinkle.

Carmen, Melanie, and Sheree

It was more like a Baby Downpour.  We had a great time of eating yummies, playing games, and sharing life with some amazing friends from church.

The downpour of gifts included baby necessities and many adorable BOY outfits.  Our son will not have to wear pink! 

Hangin' with her friend at the park.

It's finally that time of year when we can meet up with our friends at the park. 

This morning was a bit cool (50 degrees and windy) but the sun was shining!!!

Selah and her friend Aubry LOVE the swings.  Especially the one above because they can swing together.

boy. Oh Boy. OH BOY!!!

32 weeks!!!!

This past week I went in for my regular check-up  as well as an ultrasound.  We are thankful that our son continues to grow and seems to be healthy.   Actually, very healthy.

Here's the conversation my doc had with me following the ultrasound.

Doc:  "How big were your first two babies?"

Me:  "Sofia was 5lbs 3 oz.  but born at 35 weeks.  Selah was 7 lbs 2oz born at 38 weeks."

Doc:  "Well, your son's weight today we are estimating to be 5lbs 2 oz and with 8 more weeks to go could  be born between 9 and 10lbs.  He is in the 76% but the good  news is his head is only in the 53%."

Me: "Wow!"

Yes, the size of the baby makes me a little anxious about the birthing process but honestly, you should see how cute his cheeks already are....very chunky. I love chunky cheeks.   Unfortunately he continues to be a shy guy and just as the technician was about to take his pic he would put both hands in front of his face.

Thankfully my weight gain has been normal and my blood pressure has been WONDERFUL (I'm always aware of this because of having HELPP syndrome with Sofia).  I am going to have another ultrasound at 36 weeks to check on size and then begin my weekly non-stress tests.  If all is good they might consider inducing me early.  I'm not opposed to this at all.

Now, if only my son would stop kicking me with both his knees and his feet into the right side of my ribs!:)

It was a glorious Resurrection Sunday!

We loved waking up on Easter Sunday to a blue sky, sun shining, and buds on the trees. We sang and danced to Keith Green's "Easter Song" as we got ready then joined fellow believers in a great time of worship through song, prayer, and Scripture at our church.

There Were Three

They were all males

Enduring crucifixion travails

As they were suspended in the air on crosses with nails.

Are you not the Christ?! One assails,

Obviously rejecting Him who gloriously holds this detail.

Save yourself and us! Sounding like some twisted ending to a fairy tale,

Yet denying the One who is the narrow gate, yes, who is the narrow trail.

Don’t you fear God, you whom in comparison pale?

We deserve these nails! We merit these travails!

He whom you rail, He never fails!

Savior! King! Christ!

You who give such an extreme and gracious price

Remember me, one whose vice is not worthy of such a blood bought sacrifice.

Child, he says, today you’ll be with me in paradise.

How about you? In view of His wounded head, his blood loss,

Do you, too, feel worthless like dross?

Then no longer esteem or settle for the world’s gloss

For those who do, paradise is only a mirage, and at such a heavy cost

But it is found by those who embrace the Giver of Life on that cross!

They're watching.

Being that Selah is our alarm clock and is usually up a good hour before Sofia, Kevin and I take turns getting up with her.  Usually I get up with her about 3 mornings a week. (Thank you, babe!)  During our morning time, Selah and I eat breakfast together.  One thing I didn't realize is that she observes everything I do at the breakfast table.  Now I know she does.
You see, this past week I've been pretty sick.  So needless to say the other morning when I sat down to eat breakfast with Selah, I simply just sat and started eating.

Then these words came out of Selah's mouth, "Mommy, get your Bible."

She noticed.
She knows.
She sees.
She is learning.

Mommy's breakfast is more than cereal.  God's Word also feeds mommy each morning.

What's in a name?

Before I actually had children I would tell you that my criteria for choosing my child's name simply would come down to, I like it, or what name I didn't like because I knew someone with that name and I didn't care for that person so much. 

But after having been able to travel and experience various cultures (between Kevin and I we have been to 35 countries) one thing I observed is how important a name means.  So many times I have been asked, "What does your name mean?".    And then there is Scripture.  Throughout the Bible we are not only told a person's name, but what it means.

Because Sofia has become a popular name over the past couple of years I usually don't hesitate to share the meaning of her name, "wisdom of God", even if simply asked what her name is.  Older people usually think of Sophia Loren and younger people just think it is a pretty name.  But when presented with the meaning, it makes them stop and think.

As for Selah, well, we get questioned regarding her name all the time.  The first thing they ask us to do is spell it.  This offers us an open door to share that it is from the Old Testament and can be found over and over in the book of Psalms.  It means to "pause/meditate upon the Word of God during a musical interlude".

So what's in a name?  Quite a bit.  That is why we are still in prayer and thought regarding our son.   As of right now we don't have a name.   But we will let you know when we do.

This is definitely NOT a complaint.

A few weeks ago I blogged about Selah's internal alarm clock changing from 7:15 to 6:15 a.m.  We tried moving her bedtime from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. to see if that would help but it didn't.  So needless to say I was actually looking forward to Spring Daylight Savings Time and losing that hour sleep.

Due to an extra long nap on Saturday, we didn't put her down for bed until 8:30 p.m. along with Sofia.  Come Sunday morning I was waking both girls up at 8:10 a.m. in order for us to be at church  by 8:45 a.m.  We made it!

And today, Selah didn't wake until 8:00 a.m.!!! 

I can only hope this is the new waking hour.

Beautifully Eerie

It is currently 53 degrees!!!!  This is the first time since December 1 that our temperature high has been above 50 degrees.  Last week the temps began to reach the high 30s, then the low 40s and tada!  

The warm air and the frozen ground have created some foggy days.  Fog is so beautifully eerie.  I love it.

Here are a couple of pics of the lake that we live next to.  Just yesterday some ice fishermen were out there so you know that the ground is pretty hard and frozen.  And yes,  those  are piles of snow in front of the gazebo.

Bellybutton mouths

Yeah.  Bullybuttons mouths.  You see, whenever Selah lifts up my shirt to talk with or sing to baby brother, she tells me that "his mouth" looks like this (see mouths in pic).  Why she thinks my bellybutton is his mouth amuses us.   I guess if I had a bellybutton that popped out she would be sticking her tongue out.  Ha!

Hair.

Sofia is  beginning to care more and more how her hair looks.  Today she wanted braids.   

So, of course, whatever big sister has, little sister has to have.  Selah's hair, however, isn't quite long enough so we opted for pig tails.

But again, as I've shared before...they were reminded that their hair does not make them beautiful.  It is their heart and their smile.

28 Weeks

Our son is making himself quite at home in momma's belly, or in mommy's "womb" as Sofia likes to say (a word she learned during one of our daily readings of Scripture).   He continues to be the mover and shaker doing somersaults each morning and evening and kicking and boxing away every time I lay down.  

Due to all of his movement I think he has shoved all of my innards up and to the right.  To be honest, it has made me very uncomfortable the past two weeks.  Unlike my other pregnancies, I've been experiencing pain on my right side both front and back almost everyday.   Of course it could simply be that my body is just exhausted at the end of the day due to taking care of two active girls and because of my wonderful age of 40.:)

Overall I've enjoyed this pregnancy.  I love when the girls lift up my shirt to they can sing to baby brother and give him kisses.  I love Kevin talking with his boy and calling him buddy.  And  I love the beauty of seeing God's handiwork in process as my belly grows.   

"Lord, we don't take for granted this gift of a child. We pray that he will continue to develop and  grow strong and healthy.  And we pray that you are being glorified."

They want to be truck drivers!!

This morning the girls and I had a late breakfast at the WI/IL border truck stop.  Woohoo!  you say.   Well,  woohoo it was because we were meeting my cousin, Steve.   Steve has been driving semi-trucks for about 8 years.   I love following his status' on facebook because one day he is in  Texas, the next day in Tennessee, and the next in Montana.  You never know where he is or what he may be hauling in his trailer.  He has encountered many interesting places and interesting people.

We really did have an  enjoyable time with him.  After breakfast we headed out to the truck parking lot.   Steve let the girls climb up in the cab and check things out.  Sofia was impressed by the bunkbed.  Selah liked playing with the remote for the xm radio.

And both girls LOVED when cousin Steve took us for a spin around the parking lot.  They probably thought they were on a ride at Disneyland or something.  And of course they both loved sitting in the driver's seat. 

We look forward to meeting up with you again somewhere, Steve.  Let's just hope it isn't another 9 years.

Miss Sarah

Miss Sarah is a special person in Sofia's life.  Miss Sarah was her 2 year old and 3 year old Sunday school teacher.  And for the past three years has been Sofia's choir teacher/director for Play & Praise.  From day one Sofia has been in love with Miss Sarah.

Miss Sarah has helped  celebrate birthdays and invited Sofia over for a tea party.   Very special things to a preschooler.

This past week Miss Sarah took some time to share with Sofia how special she was to her.  Then she asked Sofia to be her flower girl in her upcoming May wedding.  It was so sweet.  Sofia said "Yes" but when asked if she knew what a flower girl was she had no idea.  This gave us crying mommas something to laugh about.

I am so thankful for people such as Miss Sarah who invest in the lives of our children.  Miss Sarah is a beautiful, godly young woman.   We look forward to celebrating your marriage!!!

Our alarm clock changed!

Every morning for the past 5 months our alarm clock has woken us up between 7:15 and 7:30 a.m.  Literally like clock work.  However, the past two mornings our alarm clock has decided 6:45 a.m. is a better time for us to awake.  I'm not so sure about this.

But our alarm clock's name is Selah.  She became our alarm clock when we moved her into a big bed.  And without fail, upon waking, she makes her way downstairs, into our bedroom, and gently wakes mommy and daddy up.   Sweetly she stands there and will ask, "Mommy, can I have some oatmeal?"  Some mornings she walks into our room with an armful of books wanting us to read to her.

Selah, you are a most beautiful, sweet alarm clock.  But please, let's readjust the clock and go back to the alarm going off at 7:15 a.m.  Those extra 30 minutes of sleep are so precious.

Ted's testimony of our compassionate God

 Ted is a friend of ours at church.  He works as an air traffic controller at O'Hare Int'l Airport.   He recently was sent to Haiti to help with air traffic control at the airport.  Here is his testimony:

I received an email at my work, (the Federal Aviation Administration) seeking managers who have either Haiti experience or can speak the Creole language.  The FAA was planning on having a strong presence at the airport in Port-au-Prince as the major recovery and assistance would be staged there as a result of the earthquake of Jan 12th.  I responded with my background as I had been born right in Port-au-Prince while my folks were missionaries, and lived there for the first 9 years or so.  I was fluent in Creole as a child and would be interested in returning if I could be of benefit.  A few days later we’re scrambling to get shots, a flight and communication set up because- I’m going!

Returning after nearly 2 weeks in PAP, here are the comments I made in church on Sun.:

I am asked all the time “was it really as bad as they saw on the news?”.  The answer is yes!  I was even surprised.  I liken it to a Hollywood set shooting a WW II movie.  The buildings were flattened block after block and the ones left standing were unsteady.  People were reluctant to go into the buildings for fear of aftershocks.  The streets are littered with rubble and in some cases impassable.  As bad as it was though, it could have been so much worse.

Had the quake of Jan 12^th taken place at night when all would have been in their homes and response much slower, the death and injury toll could have been double.  Had the quake taken place a few months later when rainy season was at peak, the rescue and recovery effort would be delayed and resulted in more loss.  And here is something you may not have heard on the news.  The quake was centered about 15 mi. s.w. of PAP and ran north right through the capitol city populated by about 3 million people.  It damaged or destroyed everything in its path.  The major pier in the harbor that would handle the load of large container ships was partially destroyed and rendered unusable.  The Palace of the President, a beautiful white building similar to our own White House has collapsed on itself.  The huge Catholic Cathedral has no roof and almost all walls have fallen inward.  Destruction continued all the way to the terminal building of the airport.  It barely stands, scared with deep cracks and the control tower sitting atop is twisted.  The entire facility considered unsafe and unusable. If no ships and no planes, then no aid.  And then…it was as if God himself had stretched out his hand and said “no further”.  You see the airport ramp adjacent to the terminal and runway 500 yards away sustained no damage. How does that happen?  How does a rumbling, heaving earth suddenly stop its motion?  I see the hand of a merciful and compassionate God.

A typical day at PAP airport would see about 50 or so flights.  Two weeks after the quake, more than 400 flights (arrivals and departures) around the clock bringing food, water, medical supplies and medical personnel.  While makeshift tent hospitals and clinics were set up throughout the city, volunteer doctors and nurses began to meet the needs of the injured and dying.  Disease is always stalking in a 3^rd world country like Haiti.  No way around it.  Any open wound is life threatening.  Antibiotics not readily available are cause for amputation.  The line of patients outside the hospitals is long and the doctors and nurses are soon exhausted.  There is no time for rest.

Several thousand military personnel, primarily U.S., have been moving food and water from the cargo planes as fast as they arrive all the while maintaining security at the airport.  Supplies are then loaded on distribution trucks and sent throughout the city and outlying area.  It’s noisy and busy at the airport 24 hours each day and my tent is 200 yards from the runway.  The days are dry and hot but I wake each morning to clear skies and a sunrise that reminds me of a passage in Lamentations 3:21-25:

            But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.

            The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,

                        His mercies never come to an end;

                        They are new every morning,

 Great is your faithfulness.

            “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

                        “Therefore I will hope in him”.

            The Lord is good to those who wait on him,

                        To the soul who seeks him.

What is the future of Haiti?  How would I pray for Haiti?

First, that God would raise up men and women of character to rebuild Haiti.  It’s my opinion that the entire city of PAP needs to be rebuilt and only a government that can put the people and country of Haiti first can succeed.

Secondly, that the people of Haiti would recognize that they have been spared despite their difficulty.  That they would turn to the one true God who has not forgotten them.

And third, that God himself would demonstrate again that He is…”gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love to these poor souls.

Ted Anderson

Praying for Bro.

Shortly after the earthquake in Haiti, my brother, Kirk Overstreet, received a phone call from his pastor friend, Val.  Val grew up in Boston but returned to his homeland of Haiti 8 yrs ago to bring the love and hope of Jesus to his people.  Val's phone call to Kirk was one of need.  His flock of 80 people had grown to over 800.  Most of them orphans. 

Kirk, along with his church, Set Free Yucaipa, knew they needed to love on their brother in Christ.  Things were set into motion and Kirk and his wife Tamra were scheduled to leave on Friday, February 12 to head to Haiti for 5 days.

Thursday late evening they received a phone call from their travel agent saying their flight into Port-au-Prince was cancelled.  Kirk and Tamra drove to Ontario airport to speak with a Delta representative.  Due to a snowstorm arriving in Atlanta they needed to leave that night.  In ONE hour to be exact.

They drove home, loaded up their luggage, headed back to Ontario, ran the whole way and made it onto the flight.  There was a slight change in plans.  They would now fly into Santo Domingo, DR, find a way to the border then take a bus to Port-au-Prince where they would meet Pastor Val.  This was doable.  And during their layover in Atlanta, the U.S. Airways representative told them their flight out on February 17 was fine. 

Upon arrival on Friday, God provided a ride for Kirk and Tamra to the border.  It is there that they spent the night, took their last shower, and refreshed before crossing into Haiti.

Saturday Kirk text messaged me to say they had arrived and that things were CRAZY!!! 

That was the last we heard from them until today.  Here is an e-mail message Kirk sent:

We are okay. WE stink and are very tired. We have been sleeping outside with the orphans. We have a rooster we would love to kill that crows from 4am till 6am right by our heads. The orphans are so amazing. They have the greatest smiles and it has been a release for them to have us with them. We had a wedding inside the house and it was the first time they have been in the house. Now they are starting to feel safe and some have slept inside. It was a beautiful wedding.

The sights of destruction is horrifying and the smell is like raw hamburger meat left out for days but it's humans left under the rubble for a month now. The tent citys everywhere have people with smiles and life. The thing that bothered me the most is that we noticed no aid workers or supplies being given out. The people are going into the rubble and building tents out of scraps.

Saturday my wife and I went to the palace and they were having a 3 days of prayer and fasting. They had a big stage with worship and prayers going through the sound systems. I started walking through the crowd and a few people started falling out all around. Few would just start crying out to Jesus with hands raised. Of course I videod.

Preached at a church. The pastor lost his wife and child during the earthquake. His orphanage and school collapsed but all the kids, teachers, and pastor was outside playing soccer during the quake. No one was hurt. The pastor ran to check on his wife and kid to find his 2 story home crushed to the ground.

He was able to dig his wife's body out but couldn't get to his daughter. He showed us the grave of his wife on the property.

We walked 4 miles back to the orphanage we are staying at on Sunday after church. I got my head burned walking in the sun and the humidity was intense. We would gain strength as we would hear worship and preaching every few blocks in yards and tents. Hundreds of people worshipping with their homes they build for years and spent thousands of dollars on.

Pray for us as we meet with a few pastors that want to be a Set Free church. We are going down to Cir Soliel. A notorious slum known to be the most dangerous area of all of Haiti. They are even known for cannibalism. The pastor said the quake has brought so many to Jesus and he has never seen anything like what God is doing in his entire life. We leave in an hour.

Pray we get home. Not sure about our flight.

God is at work!  Join us as we continue to pray for the people of Haiti, the Church, and for Kirk and Tamra.

And please pray for Pastor Val.  The wedding Kirk mentioned was Pastor Val to his fiancee (now wife).  They were to be married this summer in Boston but asked their family to use the money for feeding the people who are living on their church grounds.  Pastor Val and his fiancee, had even sold their rings for food.

Needed: A coal of heavenly fire

Kevin DeYoung shares a penetrating excerpt from a letter by John Newton, who authored Amazing Grace.  Like Newton, but to a much greater degree, I am prone to inconsistency and found wanting in many important areas.  Yet, by His grace, the Lord keeps me and wants to use me for his purposes.  

Yes, Lord, send a chunk of coal from the heavenly fire my way, so that I can worship you as you deserve (Romans 12:1).