I'll Go There

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I had some uneducated apprehensions about pursuing adoption. I'm going to be honest about these apprehensions because I think it will be helpful. It's easy to post articles like I've see float around social media on "What NOT to Say to Adoptive Parents," but truthfully, I'm going to be an adoptive parent and have had to wrestle with some of those very things we want to self-righteously shame other people for asking/saying. Someone humbly and patiently bore with my ignorance so I could gain more knowledge and I'm grateful for it. And we're adopting, in part, because of it!

1) Will I love this child like the child/children I gave birth to? Will I feel like he/she is "my own"?

2) Will I be tempted to spoil them/over compensate because of their difficult story?

3) Will I find my child from a different ethnicity as beautiful as my children with my and my husband's genes?

4) Has God eradicated from my heart the sinful racism I was born with so that I can genuinely appreciate and educate my child in his/her birth culture?

5) Will my child have a propensity to different/"scarier" sins because of being adopted/their birth parent's history?

6) What are birth parents really like? Are they the stereotypical irresponsible teen drug addicts sleeping around with whomever, whenever?

7) What if the birth parents change their mind?

8) How expensive is adoption and how do you get that much money?

Adoptive parents aren't people with super-human ability to overlook and love more than other people are. We've had to address our own fears and lack of knowledge as we approached adoption. If we are humble and recognize that, perhaps we can actually help answer peoples questions and objections and assist them in gaining correct information. I've heard many people place adoptive parents on a pedestal. But honestly, sometimes adoptive parents can feed that perception. If you can be a parent in general, chances are you can be an adoptive parent too. All parenting is hard, sometimes heartbreaking, but often joyfully rewarding work. Different situations have their unique challenges, and while the specifics will look different depending on those circumstances, you need support for both, you need basic education for both, you need adjusted and realistic expectations for both, and you need faithful, sacrificial love for both. So don't let the fact that you have questions and fears stop you from considering adoption as a viable option for adding to your family.

NOTE: I'm speaking in this post of adoption in general and the need to normalize it and not make it seem extraordinary and doable only for those whose love is "elite" or who struggle with infertility. Obviously there are children, particularly children from severely abusive backgrounds, as well as special needs children and babies born with drug addictions, who have exceptional medical and psychological needs. These children may require additional care and their adoptive parents may need more training and education. I'm not minimizing or ignoring those circumstances, just not dealing with them specifically in this post.

 

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Wilberforce, MLK Jr., Kim Bean, and Adoptive Parents

Early in 2012, God orchestrated a few circumstances that challenged us in our thinking and consequently, our action. I read a biography of William Wilberforce and John Newton and we watched Amazing Grace, a movie about their fight against the slave trade. We also were educating our girls more about the Civil Rights Movement and in turn got more of an education ourselves. Matt encouraged us to identify what the main civil rights issue was of our day that we were ignoring like so many white-privileged Christians had done in the past with the issue of slavery. We became convinced the issue in our day was *abortion. Obviously, some Christians (and Catholics for that matter) had been fighting for life for decades before, but we had never personally gotten involved in actively trying to speak up for the most fundamental right - the right to live - of those who couldn't speak for themselves. *(Interestingly, earlier this year, Thabiti Anyabwile, posts his similar conclusion here.)

We weren't sure exactly where to get started, but explored an opportunity with a ministry called 40 Days for Life which we heard about through our homeschool co-op. We visited an abortion clinic near us to hold a peaceful prayer vigil organized by that ministry. We also attended a memorial service for babies whose lives had been taken there within the past year. It was on these occasions we became acquainted with a woman named Kim Bean, leader of the Dearborn chapter of 40 Days for Life.

Kim is one of the most approrpriately compassionate people I've ever met. I say appropriately, because she isn't controlled by her emotions (although she feels the right things passionately) and she opens her mouth discerningly, with great wisdom. Her influence was unforgettable.

Around this time, not realizing how the two tracks would eventually coincide, God also crossed our lives with a few families, also from our homeschool co-op, who had adopted transracially. We were praying about adding to our family again and had considered the possibility of adoption, but were still very uninformed. With these new friends, I had the chance to get some of our questions answered. I would sit in the nursery when it was our time to serve together and just grill them with questions. I also got to see them interact together as families and some of my uneducated apprehensions were dissolving.

In May of 2012, we attended our first meeting at Bethany Christian Services in Madison Heights, to gather more information about the possibility of adopting. Sadly, the main things we took away from that first meeting were that there was an overwhelming need, particularly for minority adoptions, and that it was overwhelmingly expensive! We knew we didn't have that kind of money and left less certain than we were before that this was something God would have us pursue.

 

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No Turning Back

Our lives met that summer. Paths crossed and eyes locked. Love tiptoed in and grabbed hold of our hearts and turned them right over. Although everything seemed just perfect when we'd met for lunch, counting the hours until we could talk or see each other again. Trying as hard and we could to be reasonable about this whole relationship thing. Yeah. Like that happened. Then you put a diamond on it in November. And the rest is a flurry of white satin, fresh calla lilies, and covenant-making, with fondant on top.

I threw what few things I had left at my mom's house into my suitcase that significant summer day and we loaded into my little Honda CX - now ours - and I followed you north without looking back. Instead, I looked...at you.

When you talked. When you ate. When you listened. When you didn't even know it. My eyes were fixed.

We had to start making a way in life - now ours - and sometimes it was as clumsy as a three-legged race...trying to work in tandum but tripping up and falling down and wondering if we'd ever move forward in this mission God had for you and me - now us.

When no one else saw us he did and in mercy he told us to take up our mess and walk.

"For that is what God is like. He is our God forever and ever, and He will guide us." (Psalm 48:14)

I met your people and they became my people. Your meat-loving appetite influenced me. And you even started to consider food from Panera to be a meal, not a snack. But what I began to notice wasn't that I was becoming more like you or you were becoming like me but that we were becoming us...a whole new unity...not completely you and not completely me, but absolutely right.

Almost without noticing, we were moving forward together without struggle, not even always side by side. And that was fine. We had a mutual trust and a deeper understanding that freed us to do what we needed. Still my eye would catch yours across the room and you'd throw me a heart-melting wink and our world would stop momentarily - eyes still fixed. But then my people, your people, our people...all His people. We were on mission.

Then it came time to leave those people and I found myself still looking at you. Not back. I chose you again over my comfort and familiar.

I hope you saw it in every box I packed, that I gladly gave it up for you. I hope you noticed it in every hard goodbye I said, that I loved you more. I know you did, because you know when a woman follows a man it doesn't mean she has forgotten the way or can't find it on her own. You know I'm on this path whether you're with me or not, and I know that's one of the reasons you love me. I'm not a tagalong. But following my Lord often shows itself most by my willingness to follow my man. And, I'm all in with you, Honey, no turning back.

 

To keep it real though, occasionally this path with you can feel about as spacious as a public transport in China. Is there really room for us both on here and are you sure you didn't miss your stop?! :)

But along with the narrowness, also comes a chance to widen my heart, to make room for more people to love and more love to grow for the same people, including you. Because God's love is an ocean and from my heart should flow waves of it reaching all He can through me.

Following also means I doubly feel the joy and pain of the path. We see the pain of our people and carry that pit in our stomachs along with them. We see the the Spirit drawing attention to Christ in someone's life and we have no greater joy! But too, I see my sin struggles and I see your sin struggles. I feel my need for the gospel but I also feel your need for the gospel. You struggle through a passage you're preaching on and to some degree I do too. We are united. When your heart gets cut mine bleeds. And when you smile my heart laughs.

Did anyone tell me marriage is borrowing another persons trouble and triumphs and gladly taking them as your own? Your sickness, your health, your poverty, your wealth. It's all mine too. Marriage is raw commitment. Following is counter-cultural.

But I've seen you forsake all you have to take me up with my sin struggles and untamed tongue and stunted fruit-bearing and wake up with my bed head and bad breath and it's beautiful. And I know you've carried my cross more than a time or two. Day after day it's a flesh and blood example to our kids of what Jesus did for them. It preaches to our neighbors that there is a better way - albeit not perfect - than the craziness of all the redefining the world's trying to do.

So, on your 35th birthday, I want to tell you I'll stay on this path with you and your people - our people. I'll cling to you and your happiness and heartaches like they're my own. I'll look your sin in the face and humble my proud heart, freeing you to need the gospel too, like you've done so many times for me. And I'll keep my eyes fixed on you, learning all I can from you, loving all there is to love about you. No turning back, no turning back.

 

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My Sister, My Friend

Jenny, you and I were friends before we were family.

In fact, I loved you and your mom and dad so much I had to check my heart to make sure I wasn't just dating Matt as my ticket into your family. :) But, although I of course still love you all, eventually Matt did win me over in his own right!

A little while after I graduated from college in 1998 and went back to Ohio to work, I started attending Cambridge Bible Church (where my now father-in-law was the pastor). You were a sophomore in high school. Before too long, I was asked to be your Sunday School teacher. I was amazed at your maturity spiritually and socially. I didn't realize it was possible to have that much common sense in high school because I certainly hadn't! :) But you had loads of it. I loved your eagerness and attentiveness in class and your seriousness about your relationship with the Lord. But I also loved that you knew how to have fun too. Because of our schedules, it ended up I would pick you up from school once a week and even got to attend a volleyball game or two of yours. It was during those times that I noticed your competitive nature and good sense of humor. We'd laugh together and talk about singing, friends, driving, and a lot in between.

You left for college a few years later, the year Matt and I got married, so at the time we could've gotten even closer, God for his own purposes, took us in two separate directions. We'd look forward to spending holidays together though and you'd always made it a priority to see us in the summers around your own plans and ministry obligations. We loved your visits when we'd have a "Pride and Prejudice" marathon, explore the area, and eat yummy food!

One of the greatest joys in my friendship with you though, was when you moved to Michigan in 2010 to take a new job. You came to us with your own physical struggles, leaving a job you loved and arrived to a house barely held together in the survival mode that's reality with a newborn and with Matt having some strange physical problems of his own. But God knew we needed each other and brought us all back together at just the right time. As a mom with a very needy young family, it's hard to describe the burden I felt lift knowing we finally had family near. I often felt bad that I couldn't be more of a friend to you during that time but I don't know how we would've made it through that year without you. Between a life threatening antibiotic reaction, to chronic ear infections, to pneumonia, to stitches...all this occurring while Matt wasn't feeling up to par, let's just say I could barely put one foot in front of the other. But you were there. I remember coming home from children's hospital in the middle of the night the day of Ruby's reaction and you said you were going to spend the night so we could sleep in. You got up with Schaeffer the rest of the night (what was left of it) because he had developed yet another ear infection that was causing him discomfort. Then you got our kids breakfast in the morning while we got some much needed rest. Only a sister does stuff like that.

It's true what I said in my good-bye letter to you when we moved in April. Saying good-bye to you was doubly hard because you aren't just a dear friend, you are a sweet sister. We love you and love so much about you and it has been a joy spending these past 4 years together as God allowed our lives to overlap so closely again.

You haven't just touched my and Matt's lives, but as you know, you've touched the lives of our kids. One of the things I love most is seeing you in them. Like the way Stella prefers to keep all her food separate and not touching on her plate and the logic and thoroughness with which she approaches a challenging situation. The way Ruby competitively does...well, anything! :) And those gorgeous curls of Schaeffer's are undeniably a contribution from his Auntie. I'm so glad you have left a mark on our lives forever.

And now, it's not just Auntie Jenny we can get excited about seeing, but the man who loves Auntie Jenny too, Uncle Micah. We are thankful to add him into our family celebrations and traditions! Micah, get ready to break piñatas, taste 50 different delicious homemade baked goods at Christmas, and lose at every board game you attempt. :) What can I say? It's the way the Owens roll!

We hope you have had a wonderful first married birthday, Jenny. We are thrilled for the joy you are experiencing in this new phase of life. Our only disappointment is that we can't be there to share it all with you. So Happy Birthday, across the miles, to my sweet sister and dear friend. I love you!

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Adoption Update

The week we moved, back in April, I contacted the Bethany office we'd be working with here in Florida to make sure they had received our file and to get information about moving forward with our adoption in our new home. At that point, it seemed the transfer would be relatively smooth. We were told we'd need to be completely moved in before they could do our updated home study for our new house.

I contacted the office in June to tell them we were moved in and to set up the home study appointment. I was told our caseworker would contact me soon to set that up but was out of the country on a missions trip at the time. We waited almost three weeks without hearing anything. I called the office again and found out they were in the middle of a baby boom with around 7 placements occurring within a few weeks time and that they just did not have the staff to serve everyone currently. The bottom line was that we would have to wait until things settled down in order for our file to move forward. We had to readjust our expectations and realize this office is not as fully staffed as the MI office was and trust again that the timing of our placement is in God's hands.

We then received a slew of paperwork we needed to complete to meet FL adoption requirements which was unexpected and a bit discouraging considering all the paperwork we had already completed through our application process. There's a reason it's called a paper pregnancy, right?! Although it took us until the end of July/beginning of August to complete all of that, we learned more about our new area, tracking down finger printing locations and Sheriff's offices, etc.

Finally, on Monday, we received the call we'd been anticipating and are thrilled to have our home study addendum set up for next Thursday at 3 PM! We are hoping to be a Florida waiting family by the end of Sept, Lord willing- almost a full year since we were originally a waiting family in MI! Nothing like making an already lengthy and challenging endeavor even longer and more challenging! :) All along though, we have been reminded that our expectation is in God alone, not our agency, nor in our ability to market ourselves successfully to birthparents. We want to be thorough and diligent in doing what we need to do, but it is comforting to know he has gone before us.

Thank you to those who have been faithfully praying and eagerly waiting with us. We will let you know when we are officially (and finally) on the waiting list here in FL!

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Abounding Grace

We are winding down our second week of school. There's been enough grace to go around and we have every reason to believe "God is able to make [more] grace abound to [us], so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, [we] may abound in every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Here are some pictures of us celebrating our last day of summer as a family and a few more pictures from the past couple weeks of school.

Storms were threatening so the beach was abandoned, but we had fun collecting shells and flying kites.

 

The boy wouldn't stand still! Typical!

 

Exploring our new city. Hre we are at the Jacksonville Landing. Thankfully Ruby and Schaeffer had safe ones! ;)

Tradition of back to school manis and pedis!

Ruby, our empathetic girl, made Schaeffer this book to encourage him that they would have fun when she got home from school.

In addition to the book, she also made him a necklace to remember her by throughout the day. It was inscribed "Ruby's Boy" to match the "Daddy's Girl" necklace she received for the school year from her Daddy.

The packed-full backpacks. I bet you'll never guess whose is whose! ;)

The sweeties on their first day, along with a salamander Ruby found on the sidewalk!

Walking in on the second day.

The line of cars waiting to pick up kids after school. You can't tell here, but it was about 6 lanes wide! Thankfully, it has gotten much shorter this second week.

One of the things we miss most this summer is using our firepit since more heat is the last thing you want in Florida summers. We tell the kids maybe we'll use the fire pit over Christmas! Until then, we made oven s'more dip for an after dinner first-day-of-school treat.

Schaeffer really is enjoying being an only child for a few hours a day. Here are my super boys on Matt's day off. Schaeffer asked him if they could match.

He loves not having to share the Wii!

Looking deceivingly angelic as we color at the table.

This is more like it. We're getting good at building bat caves!

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Grace For Every Hurdle

It's been a few weeks since your ninth birthday. Did I really think if I didn't write my annual post to you I could bypass the reality that we most likely only have nine more years together? And I feel like your dad and I are still hunched over you in the back seat, trying to figure out how to get your blasted car seat out of our car, so we can carry you into the house for the first time!

You firstborn children have a hard way to go in some respects. Your firsts are our firsts, so sometimes we hobble along together taking first bites, steps, swims, and drives. We learn early that he catches us when we're falling, steadies us when we aren't as ready for that next step as we thought, calms us when we're the ones up crying in the middle of the night, and encourages us when we thought we should be done cleaning up messes by now, but instead the messes are bigger and worse than a pile of crumbs on the floor after dinner. And through it all, we feel the unrelenting clock and calendar keep pushing us forward to the next phase.

So, it has pushed us to the start of your fourth grade year. Around here, I feel like we're training for the Olympics as we get ready for the next grade of school. We've had our talks - and yes one of them was "the" talk. We've studied the Word. I've warned you of the hard path of the sinner, and I've reminded you that the year ahead is as bright as the promises of God. You know that fearing the Lord is living in the awareness of him - he's always with you, loving you, caring for you, and providing just what you need - and from that awareness flows true wisdom and knowledge.

But still my heart trembles when I think of letting you go again into another year without me. And this public school mama with a homeschool heart has to remind herself of victories past as we face the first day at a new school all over again.

The first morning of school last year, I got a message from a likeminded friend who walked a similar path, encouraging me that the Spirit would be faithful to give us grace for every hurdle. Oh how I needed those words! Just pulling into the parking lot on that first day was a hurdle, let alone walking those crowded halls full of strangers, and then letting you go under someone else's care for 7 1/2 hours a day. It took weeks before I wouldn't cry as I ran errands and drove by the exit for your school, knowing you guys were close but not with me.

The year definitely presented it's hurdles, but just as my friend reminded me, the Spirit gave grace for each one.

About a week into school, Daddy was walking out after dropping you off and introduced himself to the assistant headmaster, Al Carter. Your dad gave him his church business card, telling Al he was a pastor in the area and that he was praying for him. He had no idea that new-to-the-area headmaster was a Liberty grad and would visit our church the following Sunday with his Wheaton grad wife and their two kids. He had no idea that first quick exchange in the hall would result in their meeting weekly for early morning coffee and spiritual encouragement. But God did. Grace!

Thankful for our friendship with Al and Liz!

The year started off with a 'big bang' (literally) when your teacher presented a differing view of origins than you believe. You raised your hand and questioned and challenged. You had to learn to do it respectfully and to kindly interact with others who don't hold your beliefs. It was an early lesson in showing love and honor while disagreeing. Grace!

At Thanksgiving, you got to do a presentation poster featuring people, places, and things you were thankful for. You had the idea to include Jesus in the "person" category, our church as one of the "places," and the Bible in the "thing" column. You described why you were thankful for each one. "Because he's perfect, because they are loving friends, and because it teaches us." Grace!

Around Christmas, I volunteered to work in the Secret Santa shop and Al's wife happened to be working the same shift. In between helping the classes, we'd discuss the quick version of our spiritual journeys, relishing in providence right there in the public school gym. Grace!

That morning, I helped a little boy shop who wanted to pick out a gift for his dad. I pointed out a few options and asked if his dad might use either of those things. He looked up at me and said, "My dad died two weeks ago." And I remembered one of the reasons we were at the school. I have biblical obligations to you, one of which is to lead you in learning how to help your sick or sorrowing peers who might need Jesus. Grace!

I loved volunteering for field trips and reading groups and getting to know and have fun with your classmates. We have great memories of those "special voices" I'd let you guys read in and then "freeze!" Making new friends together was yet another evidence of grace!

I couldn't have been as involved as I was without the help of sweet friends from church providing childcare. I needed their support and help, and they were there for us. Grace!

And this dear woman, who I struggled leaving you with that first day of school, became a precious addition to our "most loved people" list. Mrs. Wall cried as you parted ways on your last day of school and is planning to visit us next summer. The perfect teacher for you - and me! Grace!

As I walked into your school that last day, I had a lump in my throat and fought back tears once again. But this time, they were tears of gratefulness to God. They were tears over faith that grew from seeing those halls as a fearful place to a grace filled place, where God didn't leave us or forsake us. I felt him near and dear there. I wouldn't trade this past year of school for anything, not even having you with me all day every day (although I can never get enough of our special time together). I wouldn't trade it though, because it's a better place to be desperately needing God to work and then finding him working in unexpected places and through unexpected means. Like the joy of finding streams in the desert. Only God can do things like that!

Maybe last year was an unusual year. But maybe it wasn't. So I will remember these triumphs of grace as we jump the hurdle of pulling in the parking lot tomorrow, your first day of school. I'll remember that you're there to get an education which isn't just about learning math and reading. Because I can tell you he's Lord of the nations, but wouldn't it be great if you could see that he's Lord of Orange Park first? Wouldn't it be instructive for you to grow up seeing God isn't like us and his image isn't monochromatic? As Aunt Charisse pointed out, wouldn't it be good for you to watch us appreciating and embracing home as a haven where we retreat after the hard work of being on mission is done? Wouldn't it be better for you to see my and your dad's example (clumsy as it is) of actually being in the world but not of it? And wouldn't it be faith-building for you to have the confidence of witnessing that as my and your dad's light shines in darkness, the darkness can never extinguish it?

There are so many more firsts for us to experience together, my Stella Grace. Another big one is tomorrow. There is even more for you to learn - for us to learn - in the school year ahead. Like we always have been, we're by your side, looking to him for grace as we jump through the hurdles...for at least nine more cherished years!

 

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Already Not Yet

At our church's business meeting last Sunday, Matt gave a 3-month update since coming to OPBC. Overall, we are thankful for a smooth transition to life in Florida. In some ways, it seems like we just got here and in other ways, it feels like we've been here forever.

Just Got Here

The bugs. I thought it was only in Texas where everything is bigger, but I think that applies to FL too. We (and by we I mean I was in the same general vicinity when these things happened but as far away from said incidents as possible) killed our first snake, have rescued 2 huge bull frogs from our pool, and hired an exterminating service so we can sleep in relative peace knowing palmetto bugs aren't taking over our house while our eyes are closed.

Speaking of frogs, I thought our new neighbors were playing music with a booming bass like we were used to in MI. Then Matt informed me those were not the familiar sounds of raucous music, but of nature. Nature?! What's that?! We lie in bed at night listening to the serenade of frogs now. Can't decide which I dislike more, nature or human nature! ;)

A frog spying on us outside our living room door!

 

The sun is penetrating. I love seeing it shine in the sky from my air conditioned house, but it's heat is inescapably direct. The way MI cold chills you to the bone is the same way the FL heat cooks you to the core.

People are nice. Like really nice. In line at the store the clerks ask how you're doing and really care. The drivers aren't ready to pull a gun on you if you don't move the milisecond the light turns green. There's a general trustworthiness between neighbors and people in general. It is a welcome change.

Been Here Forever

Our church family. These people have opened their arms to us from the minute we set foot in the church. They have overwhelmed us with kindness and love and yet have given us room to adjust and space to transition. I even had some people thoughtfully say they were praying for me as we went back to MI for Matt's sisters wedding and then had to leave again, knowing how hard that would be. They have brought us meals, stocked our pantry, worked on our plumbing, tagged along for an IKEA road trip, painted walls, installed molding, invited to play dates, helped with demolition and retiling, mowed our grass, and in general have opened their hearts in friendship. They haven't made us "earn" their trust or held us at arms length until we prove we are who we say we are. Conversations flow easily and God has given us quick connections over everything from the people and books that have influenced us, to past sorrows and struggles, to the music we like. But most of all, God has united us around the Christ we love and serve. We are thankful for people who had been walking a distant but parallel path with us, now walking together, lives joined in a happy intersection. Blessed buds of promising friendships for the sake of his name.

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Cause our Faith to Rise

You crossed the finish line of another year, but I'm the one who's out of breath, heart racing, and legs about to give way. It's been a rough one, hasn't it? But we made it with God's help.

You keep this mama on her toes occasionally, but more often on her heels, struggling to catch up.

It's not lost on me that you are the first baby we really waited for, begged God for, and didn't take for granted. You are the baby whose first cry helped dry my tears of the previous two years of losses and longing. And the one who has since brought me to tears of desperation as we seek to shape you and lead you to Jesus.

You. The baby I cradled with grateful awe. The baby I'd risk waking up at night to pick up and snuggle, just because you were actually there.

You. The baby God would use to bring us to our knees in humble submission. And keep us there ever since.

You. The baby whose eye lashes I watched unfold and whose eyes I can read like a book. And it's always a complex action adventure, full of unexpected and eventful twists.

You. The baby who has shown me my lack of patience, selflessness, love, wisdom, and understanding of the gospel, and my abundance of pride, selfish ambition, fear, and weakness.

You are our answer to prayer. The gift of our longing. The tester of our faith. The reminder of God's faithfulness and care even when darkness seemed to hide his face.

God knew we would need this visual testimony of your life through the years as we parent you. He knew we would need to remember in all of our teaching you, correcting you, loving you, and training you in righteousness, that what we really need is to glance at you but gaze at him. And as we glance and see all the nuances of fallenness surface from your heart, they should serve to help our faith rise and our eyes linger over the reminders of his power to bring life from death, abundance from emptiness, joy from pain, and answers after silence.

We need this witness of your life, Ruby Jean, and so do others. It's my prayer today that I wouldn't waste it...and that you wouldn't either. So even though I'm still catching my breath, I guess we're off again, racing into another year!

"Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." (Hebrews 12:2)

Happy 6th Birthday to the baby who is the substance of what we hoped for and the evidence that what we see definitely isn't all there is.

 

 

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