Floor of the Canyon

It is Saturday and we now know for certain that our precious baby boy will definitely need to have brain surgery to correct a bone in his head that has fused too early. We are broken once again...wondering how much more his little body will have to endure. Sometimes we want to say that we have been faithful enough. But we know that there is no limit to the amount of faithfulness that God requires of us. So we will trust Him to guide us through the months that lie ahead.

On the day that we met with the Neurosurgeon and heard the news, we read the following in our devotions...

"We always assume that the desert is not where we belong. Perhaps it was too subtle, but if we would have paid attention we might have felt His hand with delicate softness take ours, and our fingers slowly interlock, and then the gentle pull away from green grass and the mountain springs. We might have seen that we did not wander here alone...What would it be like to know without question that God is as present on the floor of the canyon as He is on the crest of the hill? To have this confident hope buried deep in our bones. To know no other than our Savior and feel the soul scream , "This is enough! I need no more than You! You are a feast! You are a cool spring! You are deliverance! You are a balm for all wounds! Your near presence is everything! It is breath! It is life!"
David Crowder "Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi"

Creator

Psalm 19

1-2 God's glory is on tour in the skies,
God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Madame Day holds classes every
morning, Professor Night
lectures each evening.

3-4 Their words aren't heard,
their voices aren't recorded,
But their silence fills the earth:
unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

4-5 God makes a huge dome
for the sun—a superdome!
The morning sun's a new husband
leaping from his honeymoon bed,
The daybreaking sun an athlete
racing to the tape.

6 That's how God's Word vaults across the skies
from sunrise to sunset,
Melting ice, scorching deserts,
warming hearts to faith.

7-9 The revelation of God is whole
and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
showing the way to joy.
The directions of God are plain
and easy on the eyes.
God's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of God are accurate
down to the nth degree.

10 God's Word is better than a diamond,
better than a diamond set between emeralds.
You'll like it better than strawberries in spring,
better than red, ripe strawberries.

11-14 There's more: God's Word warns us of danger
and directs us to hidden treasure.
Otherwise how will we find our way?
Or know when we play the fool?
Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
Keep me from stupid sins,
from thinking I can take over your work;
Then I can start this day sun-washed,
scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
These are the words in my mouth;
these are what I chew on and pray.
Accept them when I place them
on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

The Sunrise on the Morning J.L. was born....

The Sunrise on the day Silas came home from the hospital...

Girlfriends and Buddies

My, oh my...Silas is becoming quite the socialite!! In just three short weeks at home, he has already found himself a best friend and a new girlfriend (one who presently overpowers him in the weight department, but he'll get there!)

Sy's best friend Ry lives in Ithaca, but came for a visit this week. They get along great...mostly because Silas never opened his eyes the entire time they were together. It made it easy for them to agree on most issues that way. It would be much more productive to have conversations if Silas' friends came over at 2 in the morning when he is guaranteed to be wide awake.!

Ryan and Silas are only 6 1/2 weeks apart, but Silas has some definite catching up to do! Ryan presently weighs in at 3 times Silas' weight. His mommy and Sy's had babies on the extreme ends of the spectrum...Ryan at 11 lbs and Sy at 3. One day, they'll be right on track with each other and we're sure will have just as much fun as their parents currently do together!
Check out their sweet matching outfits!

Junie is Silas' newest girlfriend (having already left one at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). 11 weeks old and two girlfriends under his belt. What can we say...he is a chick-magnet! June was just born a week ago, but the two have gotten together a few times already. Check em' out catching some Z's on the couch. Clearly we were boring them to death

A Life Worth Celebrating

“Memories are a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.”

Our Grandma left an amazing legacy! Here are just a few of the memories we will hold in our hearts until we one day see her again…

Grandma,

We cherish each moment and are blessed to have had 30 years of life with you! Thank you for slumber parties, Christmas stories, “surprise” summer outings, and Happy Birthday phone calls; for airplane trips at 89 and showing us that cardboard boxes and duct tape really do double as travel luggage; for handfuls of chocolate and yellow sweaters, wooden-handled eating utensils, and curling irons best left in the bathtub; for loving a flower enough to wallpaper your Dining Room with it to keeping the roses until well past their prime!

You have taught us that God’s timing and our timing are not always the same, but that God’s is always perfect; that tea parties are best with hot chocolate, an orange is too much for one person, and a whole sandwich is meant to be shared.

We now know that red cars are a danger, a car horn is a terrible thing to waste, and waving while driving takes precedence over watching the road. Thank you for showing us that seat belts are not nearly as effective without a clothes pin, a car is not in park until the gear shift is hit three times, televisions are not off until they are unplugged and the light switched to “off”, and that one should never leave home until the stovetop burners have each been tapped.

Because of you we know that Jesus comes first no matter what, that just because others do something doesn’t make it right, and that it all boils down to “the principal of the matter.” We know that the Bible is not a one-time read, that one should never look at someone until their face is on, that the number to the White House is indeed accessible, and that Britannica is a four letter word.

Through you we have learned that family means everything, that growing old can be beautiful, and that life with Christ is a life worth living.

Most important, we know that this good-bye is temporary. One day you and Papa will wave us into Glory and we will be together again.

With All Our Love,

Christina and Heidi

Footprints and Parades

This last week Silas finally got to meet his Auntie Christina and Uncle Rick! It's pretty safe to say that he's fallen in love (I think they have a little bit too!). We filled the week with the basics: eating, sleeping, crying, and pooping. But enough about Rick and Christina. Silas, on the other hand filled the week with many new adventures. Silas had his first outing taking in the annual Toy Fest parade. He attempted to make a mold of his hands and feet in cement, a stunt much harder than it seems from the instructions on the outside of the box. We all joined him on his first stroll around the block which looked more like a celebrity touring with an entourage. We celebrated his official due date and Rick's 30th on the same day. While all of these things seem to make for a pretty full week, there were two other important moments we will never forget. This week Silas was able to say "hello" to his Great-Grandparents Nanny and Poppie for the very first time and "goodbye" to his Great-Grandma Ward who went home to live with Jesus.

Hmmm...

We've discovered something interesting about our son. Most kids suck their thumbs. Ours sucks his pointer finger. We're not sure why, but we are very amused by it.