Year End Rambles, Part 1

My year end rambles didn't make it in time for our Christmas card this year, so here's my ode to 2013!

God surprised us with blessings around every corner. He graced us with strength for every trial and provision for every need. Our cups overflow with gratitude.

JONATHAN [16]

Jonathan turned 16 this year. Friends ask, "Are you getting your driver's license?" To which he replies, "Nah, I don't trust myself." Finally, we agree on something! 

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The highlight of Jonathan's year was his summer spent at a research lab. Much of what he worked on is top secret (patent pending), but what little I could understand was that it involved engineering a machine using physics and chemistry principles to recycle energy efficiently.

Along with helping out as the Linux admin and coder, Jonathan collaborated, designed, and tinkered with the rest of the team. Through a physics computation, he discovered a flaw in the machine's design. This turned out to be a significant turning point as the team used this new discovery to make changes to the machine. Because of his contribution, the chief scientist asked Jonathan to present his findings at the lab's open house, so he donned his suit and did his thing. 

Shortly thereafter, God opened another door for Jonathan to work with a UCI research team and a Google programmer on a web app project. He is learned a ton and working hard to contribute to the project. We are grateful for the opportunities God has brought his way!

For his sophomore year, Jonathan is juggling a heavy academic load. Nutmeg seems to know just when he could use a little support. Sometimes you just need a study buddy!

Homeschooling is not all about school, however. We also find time for a little music. :-)

ELIZABETH [14]

What joy Elizabeth brings to our family. She and I share a love of poetry, chocolate, and good books. The Lord blessed her with a terrific year!

Driving Jonathan to the lab in LA three to four times a week kept us very busy this summer. While we waited for him, Elizabeth, Daniel, and I had many adventures discovering museums, parks, libraries, and dim sum dives. On one of our escapades, Elizabeth planned a fun hike which led us to a pretty waterfall.

While visiting parks, our young naturalist often caught bugs in jars to bring home, where she transferred them into more comfortable habitats. I got over my initial squeamishness and let her slice the best fruits for her bugs while we ate the leftovers. 

Elizabeth learned how to sew with the machine this summer, which opened up a new world of possibilities. She attacked fabric with a vengeance and whipped up a pair of shorts, a top, a backpack, and a pillowcase. She especially enjoyed sewing a stuffed dog for her little cousin. She later realized that, in her exuberance, she had mistakenly stuffed the dog's ears too. Thankfully, her little cousin didn't seem to mind. :-)

When she didn't have her nose stuck in the pages of a book, Elizabeth wrote poetry, baked gluten free pizzas, and painted with watercolors.We never know what she's going to create next. She's also discovered a love for English Country Dancing!

Elizabeth's biggest accomplishment this past year was overcoming her fear of public speaking. She competed in two speech tournaments with an original oratory speech on Temple Grandin, which she wrote, memorized, and delivered. This school year, she is excited about competing in new categories. We are proud of our young orator for taking on the challenge, and look forward to seeing how God is going to use her voice for His glory!

DANIEL [12]

Following the footsteps of his older siblings, Daniel finally became old enough to join our speech league this year. As the family extrovert, he couldn't wait to get started! His first order of business? Getting a suit!



Daniel has already competed in his first tournament a couple of weeks ago, performing a Duo Interpretation speech with his sister. He can't wait for future tourneys. The best is yet to come!

Besides tackling the stage, Daniel kicked and sparred to become the youngest person in our family to earn his Taekwondo black belt.

No one can spend ten minutes talking to Daniel and escape his obsession with the Air Force. After spending time at the aviation camp last year, he has been dreaming about attending the Air Force Academy. To prepare, he's been timing his runs, memorizing factoids about military aircraft, and cheering on the Falcons football team. He plans to spend some of his Christmas money on a chin up bar so he can train even more intensely next year. 

Air Force aside, this year Daniel joined The Army. GOD'S ARMY! In June, he prayed to commit his life to Christ. One month later, he followed Christ in baptism! What a glorious day! 

As parents, we have no greater joy than to see our children walk in truth.

By far, the richest memories of the year were the ones that couldn't be captured by a camera. God moving, hearts changing, prayers answered. 

Thank you, Lord, for a memorable year!

"Trust...in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy." 1 Timothy 6:17

Everyday Blessings

Note to self: never announce on your blog after a long hiatus that you're returning to blogging. The moment you do that, your family's schedule will conspire to spin you like a top, and you will end up eating your words. :-)

What's been keeping us busy?

Mom came to visit us twice, once in January and again in February. In January, we took her to visit nearby retirement homes. The second time she visited, she put a deposit down on one!

My cousin, his wife, and their darling 18 month daughter came to visit. We were very impressed by her love of sushi. :-)

Jonathan and Elizabeth competed in two speech tournaments. Jonathan wrote a speech and created a PowerPoint presentation on the power of fractals. Elizabeth wrote, memorized, and delivered a 10-minute speech on Temple Grandin as an example of how we should focus on our abilities, not on our disabilities. Daniel timed many speech and debate rounds.

We celebrated Daniel's 12th birthday. He asked for a gluten free doughnut for breakfast.



We celebrated Nutmeg's 6th birthday and gave her a bath, but not on the same day.

We also celebrated Pi Day on 3/14 at 1:59 by eating 2 kinds of pie.
(Yes, we have geeks in our family!)

We also served in ministry together, watched Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at a local college, went to the symphony and listened to Bach, went back to the symphony and listened to Beethoven, drank green smoothies, read Little Britches aloud, flew in a Comanche  400 (the pilot even let Jonathan fly), practiced Taekwondo moves, burnt a batch of cookies, started a Bible study on Colossians, taught Sunday School, wrote in our journals, crunched numbers at math circle, interviewed at a lab for a summer position, danced at an English Country Dance, memorized The Charge of the Light Brigade, and read many, many books. Oh, and I did laundry. Lots and lots of laundry!

Everyday blessings.

"Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." Psalm 139:16

On searching for what we need...

"The Spirit of God is personal. Google is impersonal."
~Jonathan, age 15.

And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. Psalm 39:7

High School Begins

Jonathan is an insatiable learner. That's good news and bad news. Some people assume that it's easy to homeschool a student with a voracious appetite for learning, and in many ways, I am blessed as his teacher. I don't have to motivate him to crack the books. He never runs out of subjects he wants to study. His reading list is challenging and always growing.

However, I will be the first to confess that there are challenges. We are constantly trying to figure out how much is too much. For example, he wanted to take three math classes this year. His idea, not mine. He took a class in Discrete Math (which he declares is his favorite branch of math so far) over the summer and began Algebra 3 in the fall. He also wants to take Precalculus, which begins next week. This means he will have an overlap between two math classes for a couple of months. I am not sure I want him to carry this heavy a load, because our spring schedule gets increasingly busier than the fall. We settled on a tentative plan: he will try both classes for a couple of weeks, and if it becomes overwhelming, he will reschedule Precalculus.

Another challenge is learning time management skills and the art of saying "no." He is reluctantly coming to grips with the reality that he, like other mere mortals, only has 24 hours in a day. He's learning that he cannot spend 6 hours on one beloved subject because it causes him stress over other objects and also results in a cross-eyed mama.

I think the hardest challenge for me has been running to keep a step or two ahead of him. I am constantly asking God to lead us to the right resources. I spend hours on researching curriculum and resources, which I enjoy because there are so many interesting options out there. The trickiest part is waiting on the Lord to discern which are the best choices. God has been faithful to lead us, step by step. 

Jonathan is studying Chemistry this year. I'm really glad he can study this subject somewhat independently. I just correct his homework and tests and make sure he doesn't blow up the house. I had a horrendous experience with chemistry in public high school. My crazy chem teacher got fired for telling war stories instead of teaching chemistry. I am not kidding. We returned from winter break to find that he was gone and a bewildered new teacher had taken his place. She couldn't believe that we had to start from the beginning of the textbook.

For English, Jonathan is writing essays and speeches, doing grammar exercises, and reading and analyzing literature. He is studying Japanese for his foreign language credit.

But his passion? Computer Science. (It's somewhat tiring to hear that word "passion" overused in academic circles. In this case, it really does describe his obsession deep interest in all things tech.) This year, he's learning C++, his third programming language after Python and Java. This past semester, he was thrilled to put his CS skills to practical use. His professor appointed him as the lead man for a team of programmers who are overhauling a non-profit organization's website. He enjoys working on it so much that sometimes I actually have to remind him to eat. 

(On a side note, Jonathan likes to discuss CS and math on his blog. Embrace geek, all ye who enter there.)

We are focusing on the ancient period for history this year. I front loaded his history reading to be heavier during the first semester so that he can take a slightly lighter load in the spring. This will give him flexibility to take on the additional math class, compete in speech tournaments, and work on some of his programming projects. I'm grateful for the flexibility of homeschooling.

1st Semester History:


Job & Isaiah, Old Testament
The Iliad, Homer
The Odyssey, Homer
Mythology, Edith Hamilton
The Book of Ancient Greeks, Dorothy Mills
The Last Days of Socrates, Plato
The Oedipus Trilogy, Sophocles
Selected plays by Aristophanes

1st Semester Literature:

Watership Down, Richard Adams
Farmer Giles of Ham, J.R.R. Tolkien
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
Captains Courageous, Rudyard Kipling
Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
Till We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis
Twelfth Night, Shakespeare



His favorites from 1st semester: The Iliad, Watership Down, and Fahrenheit 451.

I am still amazed that I have a high schooler. It seems just like yesterday when we were reading Five in a Row books and going on field trips to the zoo. The thought of homeschooling through high school seemed somewhat daunting at that time, but over each season our lifestyle of learning continued to grow and blossom. I can finally see the promise of an upcoming harvest. 

It's been a tremendous privilege to watch that hyperactive little boy slowly morph into a thoughtful young man. I won't pretend that we don't have our teenage challenges, but I wouldn't trade this season for anything else in the world. These final years with him at home are pressing upon me, and I am pouring everything I have into making them count.

I love to encourage younger homeschool moms, because I owe a debt of gratitude to the moms who encouraged me. I let them in on a not-so-secret: it's all about dependence on God. I had to depend on Him when this boy was in kindergarten, and I'm still depending on Him as we begin high school. There is no other way to persevere and count it all joy.

"All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children." Isaiah 54:13

23 Years of Les Misérables

It was January 1990, and we were in London on our honeymoon. We were freezing cold under layers of winter coats, scarves, and gloves, but we were in love and didn't care. Our friend, who had loaned us her Swiss Cottage flat for our entire honeymoon, urged us to take in a show while we were in town. We asked her for suggestions, and she recommended Les Misérables. We had never heard of it before, but we took her advice and bought tickets.

We showed up at the theater and were immediately struck by how formally everyone was dressed. Ladies were alight in their finest, and many gentlemen wore tuxedos. We took it all in, looked at each other and realized this was an event.  We settled into our seats and pre-read the synopsis of each act. It was a good thing we did because once it began, we were swept away into the epic.

The music, the glorious music, carried us through each twist and turn of the story. And the story...I had never been so gripped by a story before, nor had been so taken in by the characters. The condemned man who, through mercy, becomes righteous. The self-righteous man who, through mercy, becomes self-condemned. The outcast suffering the consequences of sin, both her oppressor's and her own, receiving grace at the moment she least deserved it. The maiden in the bliss of first love, and the maiden in the agony of unrequited love. Unsung heroes fighting for a better day until the bitter end. A parent loving the way only a parent should love, holding nothing back, even when--or maybe especially when--it is time to let go.

When the last song was sung and the final curtain call came, we were left stunned. We rode the tube back to the flat and talked about the story the rest of our honeymoon and for months afterward. We promised each other that we would return to London on our 10th anniversary to experience it all again.

Fast forward ten years. We had a baby and a toddler by then and realized that returning to London wasn't going to happen anytime soon. A good friend, who owned a concierge business, mentioned that Les Misérables was playing in Los Angeles. We immediately knew where we wanted to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

The Los Angeles theater scene was a little different than London's. We spotted a few glitzy dresses, but we also noticed designer jeans. There was not a tuxedo in sight. Instead of being served fancy hors d'oeuvres at a private table during intermission, we stood in line at the snack stand to place our own orders. 

But none of the trappings mattered. It was Les Misérables, and we fell in love with the story and the music all over again.

A few months ago, we heard that another movie release of Les Misérables was due around our 23rd anniversary. I was cautiously optimistic. I had tried watching the first 15 minutes of the Liam Neeson version, and as much as I truly admire Neeson's acting, I just couldn't get embrace it fully. All through the years, I had associated Les Misérables with the music. Without the melodies, the plot seemed uncomfortably naked. 

The new movie did not disappoint us. Truth be told, we were both taken aback by how intensely we would be moved again by the story. It wasn't only the stunning cinematography or the compelling performances, such as Anne Hathaway's knife-to-the-heart rendition of I Dreamed a Dream, or Jean Valjean's Bring Me Home, which reduced me to a torrent of tears, it was the fact that we now had years of life experiences tucked into our souls. Experiences that now framed the story for us in a deeper way.

In the years between our honeymoon and this, our 23rd year of marriage, we've watched our babies grow up and learned the bittersweet joy of parental love. We've witnessed reality trampling youthful dreams. We've suffered the pain of injustices. We've wept in prayer over our loved ones. We've grieved the deaths of our precious fathers. We've also received great mercy. And we've seen hardened people change by the love of God. 

We ourselves were the hardened. We ourselves are now the beloved.  

Les Misérables is not perfect. Only the gospel is. But this story will run in our veins until the day we die. 

We were so grateful to have seen this new movie and wanted to share it with others. This time, out-of-town family who were visiting came along as well as Jonathan, who is 15. I couldn't wait to introduce the story and the music to them, and I hoped that they would love it as much as we did.

At the end, when the final credits were rolling, I turned to my teen son, who is almost the age of Marius and the blush of first love and a soldier's call to fight. I asked, "What did you think?" 

Pause. Then he said, "Profound." 

"What was profound?"

"Everything."

Later, when Alan asked which movie he liked better, Les Misérables or The Hobbit, without a pause he said, "Les Misérables." 

A boy after our own hearts. 


"God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:4-7

A New Chapter for Jonathan

I wasn't sure I'd live to see the day, but Jonathan is now officially a high schooler! Homeschooling is definitely more intense at this level, but he is a self-motivated learner and a voracious reader, which makes my job a lot easier. Jonathan is passionate about math and computer science, and he could easily spend all day on just those two subjects. He'll thank me someday that I insisted on a well rounded education instead of letting him geek out all day. :-)

God has blessed Jonathan with a wonderful mentor in a computer science professor, who has opened doors for him to shine. I've prayed for years for a mentor for him, and I could not have imagined a better fit than this pair. It encourages me to be thoughtful in what I pray for, because God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can think or ask. He is so good.

One of the most meaningful experiences Jonathan had this year was at Worldview Academy, an academically rigorous leadership camp for teens designed to train and equip them to think critically about different worldviews, stand up for their faith, and engage the culture with the truth. One of the highlights of the camp was a street outreach, when the teens went out to share their faith. He has a cameo in this video at 2:19, taken during the outreach.

 

I was overjoyed when Jonathan came home invigorated in his faith. He realized the importance of wrestling with weighty matters. We had deep discussions. He asked to read Mere Christianity, and I immediately got for him his own copy.

Time is precious, and I feel the urgency of making these final years at home count.

Lord, please grant us Your grace and strength.

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." Ephesians 6:10

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

I can't believe that it was 14 years ago when I held in my arms a skinny, squirming baby boy, a baby who was an answer to years of prayer. That baby boy is now turning into a fine young man, and I'm prouder than ever to call him my son.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan! I am so blessed to be your mom. We love you!!

Mom

"This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Jonathan's Baptism

This past Sunday, hundreds of people from our church gathered at the beach to witness their loved ones publicly declare their faith in Christ. My heart rejoiced that among those being baptized was my oldest son, Jonathan.

Jonathan made these public declarations:
"Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?" "Yes."
"Have you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?" "Absolutely."
"Is it your desire to live for Him with all your heart and are you willing to serve God's people wherever He calls you?" "Definitely."



"Then upon your profession of faith in Jesus Christ and your public commitment to live for Him, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."





Jonathan has been baptized!

Our beloved Pastor Maury closes in prayer.



The letter I wrote to him commemorating his baptism:

Dear Jonathan,
I was shocked when you decided to ride the bike across the high wire the other day. I still remember the time we rode a Ferris wheel together and how terrified you were the entire time. You told me that the best part about the ride was “being back on the ground again.” Why would someone who has always been afraid of heights want to ride a bike across a thin wire, three floors high? I peered over the railing, all the way down to the ground level. “Are you sure?” You smiled and nodded.

I admired you in that moment. Although you were nervous, you were willing to step outside your comfort zone, face your fears, and challenge yourself. I knew that you must have calculated the risk and that seeing a sturdy net underneath the high wire, an obvious display of protection, gave you courage. The presence of that net reassured me, too.

The attendant strapped you in, and you began to peddle. You concentrated on keeping balance, with your right hand gripping the bike handle and your left hand held at your side as ballast. Your eyes were focused ahead, undistracted from the goal, as you peddled to home base. And then, it was over. You scrambled over to us with sparkling eyes and a sense of accomplishment. You did it!

Although that was quite a day, today is even more significant: the day you follow the Lord in baptism.
This is the day when you declare to the world, “I belong to Christ. I am dying to my old self, and I am born again with a new life, a life of promise and hope and purpose.” It is a day I will treasure forever as your Mom, because I have prayed for it since the day you were born. I have no greater joy than to know that my children are walking in truth.

I won’t lie to you and tell you that following Christ will be easy. Along with unspeakable blessings and joy, you will also encounter hazards in life. People will challenge you. Some will fail you. You will lose sleep over the injustices you have to endure through no fault of your own. You will experience suffering, and worse, witness those whom you love suffering. You will make mistakes. You will get discouraged. You will doubt. You will pray for answers and wait….and wait….and wait.

But do not lose heart. Just like the net under the tightrope, God’s grace is spread thick and wide to remind you of His presence. Although His safekeeping may not always be obvious, you can have peace in His promise never to leave you or abandon you. You are His, and He does not lose any of His own. He is good; He is wise; and He is faithful.

Sometimes you will be called to take a risk, to venture outside of safe boundaries, with an unknown outcome. Choose courage. You may teeter-totter between fear and faith, but God will help you make it to the finish line. Keep moving forward and don’t take your eyes off the prize: Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith.

I love you, and I'm so proud of you,

Mom

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen." Matthew 28:19-20

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." 3 John 1:4

Eeeeek!!!

Jonathan rode a bike across a tightrope!



"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

Thirteen!

October 16, 2010. NEWSFLASH (CA)--Screams were heard in a quiet Southern California suburb when a woman woke up to find that her baby boy had mysteriously turned into a thirteen-year-old overnight. "I can't believe it!" she exclaimed to reporters. "Just yesterday this boy was eating spoonfuls of my sweet potato puree. Today, he is eating an In-N-Out 3x3 without pausing for breath! Someone must have stolen my baby out of the crib and replaced him with this teenager!"

Mrs. H pulled out a photo album and turned page after page of grinning baby photos. "Jonathan's arrival was something we'll always remember. We didn't think we could have children. But God had other plans, and He gave us this miracle. That's why we named him Jonathan, which means 'Gift of God.'"

While Mrs. H spoke, the new teen solved a Rubik's Cube, ate a bowl of clam chowder, programmed a robot, read a book on DNA, memorized a Bible verse, and did a few math puzzles, all while listening to Bach. Every time she looked at him, he would smile and wave.

"It's uncanny, the resemblance," she admitted. "He's very lovable just like baby Jonathan, but now he's a young man, with a distinct, special personality all his own. He even takes out the trash. I can't get over the transformation."

After much thought, Mr. and Mrs. H decided not to call the authorities to report a kidnapping. "I think we'll keep him," she said decisively. "I didn't think it was possible, but we love this version even more than the earlier one."

Reporters left, promising to return in three years when Jonathan lobbies to get his driver's license.

{Happy Birthday, Jonathan! I love you to the moon and back! And yes, I am quoting one of your favorite baby books because even though you're a teen now, you'll always be my baby boy! I'm so proud of you! I pray every day that you will always follow Jesus! Love, Mom}

"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways." 1 Corinthians 13:11

A Blue Ribbon Bridge!

Today was the long awaited load testing for the toothpick bridge competition at the Discovery Science Center. The air buzzed with excitement as the contestants scrutinized each other's creations in a friendly competitive spirit.

Jonathan and Daniel were the first to be called up on stage. The engineer placed the load block and an "S" hook on the main spar of the bridge. Then he hung a 5 gallon bucket on the "S" hook.



The boys were told to scoop sand with a small plastic container from a large bucket and pour it slowly into the bucket hanging onto their bridge. They were supposed to keep pouring sand into the bucket until the bridge broke.



The goal was to see which bridge had the highest "Structure Stability Score," which is calculated by the ratio of the total load divided by the weight of the bridge in ounces. In the photo below, the bridge was bearing approximately 40 pounds of sand!



The head engineer couldn't believe that the boys ran out of sand in the original bucket, so he ran to get more sand as they kept pouring. The audience held its collective breath; it didn't seem possible for a toothpick bridge to hold that much weight!



The next shot was taken just seconds before the bridge snapped. If you look closely, you can see the bucket handle deforming from the weight of the sand.



Snap! The toothpick bridge finally gave way to thunderous applause. After all the bridges were tested, the engineer announced that Jonathan and Daniel's bridge had won first place! Their bridge weighed 1.3 ounces and was able to bear over 53 pounds of sand, earning a Structure Stability Score of over 623 points!



Congratulations, boys!

Edited to add: Marcie Taylor wrote an online article for OC Family Magazine about the boys' win at the toothpick bridge competition. Check it out: Building Bridges, Nurturing Dreams at the Discovery Science Center.

"For who has despised the day of small things?" Zechariah 4:10

Jonathan & the Rubik's Cube

After learning how to solve the standard 3x3 cube last summer, Jonathan received a 4x4 cube from Daniel for Christmas. He's memorized most of the algorithms for it and is working on mastering it. Daniel also gave him a book which gives the history of the Cube. Apparently, a math teacher wanted to illustrate a concept to his students and came up with the first puzzle. Since then, many variations have been developed and "speedcubing" has become a bonafide hobby.

I didn't realize how popular Rubik's Cubes are with geeks--Caltech has a Rubik's Cube club!

Article: Learning Math from the Rubik's Cube
You Can Do The Cube (This is what Jonathan used to learn the cube.)

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Matthew 12:30

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

{Creamsicle cupcake, Ala Moana Beach, Honolulu}

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

Can't believe you're a dozen years old today and already taller than Mom. We thank God for giving you to our family. There is no one like you!

We love you!

"This is the day that the Lord has made;let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

My sweet boy turned 11 today.

I am so thankful for him. He is a reminder of God's graciousness toward us eleven years ago, when we finally realized our long-awaited dream: we were welcoming a baby into our family.

We named him Jonathan, which means "gift of God." That he was, and is.

It is bittersweet to think that in a couple of years he'll officially be a teen. A few years of teenhood, and then he'll be on his way out the door to conquer the world.

But let's not think about that right now.

Let me treasure him just as he is.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan! We love you!

"This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Summer Reading

"Jonathan, what are you reading?"

"The dictionary."

"The dictionary?"

"Yeah."

"What about the library books?"

"Read 'em."

"What about the books Grandpa sent?"

"Read 'em."

"What about your history reading?"

"Read 'em."

(pause)

"I like reading the dictionary."

"Ohhh...kay."

"Mom, am I a geek?"

(pause)

"I think I'm a geek."

(grin slowly spreading across his face...)

"Hey, I'm a geek...just like Daddy!"

"And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." Hebrews 6:11-12

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

Ten years ago today, you entered our world.



Where did the time go?



Our dear Jonathan,

Ten years old? How could it be? As quick as my camera shutter clicks you're more than halfway to manhood!

Wait...can we stop the clock? Because if we don't, in a few years you'll start losing your sweet boyish voice and become a teenager. I'll be looking upwards to make eye contact. Soon you'll grow more hair and want us to toss you the car keys. I'll probably lose sleep. A girl will put a sparkle in your eye. I'll lose more sleep. You'll start reading voter guides and college literature and spend more time on the computer than I do. Before we know it, you'll have your bags packed, wave goodbye and take off to conquer new territories. And I'll cry and cry and cry bittersweet tears.

Okay, I'll take a deep breath.

You're only ten. I'll enjoy you as you are right now. I'll read aloud more books, keep on giving you hugs and praying for you each night. I'll cheer for you every time you move up a belt level in Taekwondo or master a difficult math concept. We'll go to the beach and build sandcastles. I'll try not to pester you about picking up your socks, but I won't make any promises! :-)

Every once in a while I'll take out your baby photos and sigh. I'll remember the thrill we felt when we found out we were expecting you. You were the first answer to our many prayers for a child.
Most of all, I'll keep thanking God that I was given the privilege of being your Mom.

Happy Birthday! I love you!
Mom

P.S. Tell yourself to grow slowly from here on out, deal?

"This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

One Last Look...

at 9 years old.



Tomorrow is his big day. Double digits, baby!

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you..." Philippians 1:3

A Worthy Investment

"When I get a little money I buy books. If any is left, then I buy food and clothes." ~Erasmus

"Mom, if I give you $20 would you please buy me some Trailblazers?"

Trailblazers? Oh yes, Trailblazers!

Historical fiction series featuring Christian heroes. I had bought him a few titles. Now he’s asking for more.

This is music to my ears.

The Lego catalog. The electronic thingamajig. The cool game.

Temporarily forgotten.

Books. He wants books.

And he’s willing to pay for them with his own money.

Yes! He has become a reader!

"Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good." 3 John 1:11