Ouch!

Kaylee had a little scooter accident this weekend, and her poor finger is so impressively black & blue that I couldn't resist posting some pictures. She doesn't know exactly how her finger got hurt...our guess is that it got between the handlebars and the sidewalk when she went down. Even with the pain & soreness, she was pretty excited about the idea of putting her finger on the blog.

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: I took Kaylee to Kaiser today because the tip of her finger kept getting bigger and the black on her nail was spreading over almost the whole nail and around the sides. Turns out she actually broke the little bone at the tip of her finger! The doctor used a tool to melt a hole in her fingernail and drain out a bunch of blood and fluid that was accumulating and causing all that swelling and pressure. He also gave her a fancy new splint to wear for a few weeks for protection until the bone heals. I think we'll be encouraging the girls to ride 3-wheeled scooters for a while!

A Quick Update

Kaylee started first grade, Maya turned 4, I got a little bitty job, and we made some progress in Guatemala. That's the 3 second update on what's going on around here. I've got some pictures to post, along with more details on what's going on, but there's just no time...please be patient with me! The laundry and the dishes sure don't have a problem waiting on me, so I'm sure you can too. Just pretend to be laundry :-)

Oh, and while you're waiting, keep on praying. I noticed today that the comforter on Israel's bed is starting to get those little fuzzy "pills" on it. It's been sat on & played on a bit by some curious sisters, and washed for the sake of dust, but has never even been slept under by the one person we had in mind when we bought it. This is one situation where I'm praying hard for God to give me some more dirty laundry to wash!

9 Years Together

Yesterday Jeremy & I celebrated our ninth anniversary...we are blessed beyond what we ever imagined!

When we got married nine years ago, we chose a passage from Scripture as the foundation of our marriage. We chose a prayer from Ephesians 3, our prayer for our future. Little did we know just how faithful God would be to make the words of that passage a reality for us. Here's what it says...

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

When we went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary, Jeremy said, "Nine years ago, would you have thought we'd be where we are now?" The truth is, back then, I had hope for some of the things that have become realities for us...kids, a house, close family & friends. But when I look around me at the life God has so generously given us, I am overwhelmed with the truth of the words "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine." When we stood together on that day in August, promising to walk together through the rest of our lives, we could never have imagined the amazing things that God would do!

Besides the blessings He has provided, He has also built a marriage for which I am incredibly thankful. It's not always perfect, and sometimes our frustrations with each other cloud our vision. But after nine years, I can say that we still like each other! Even better than that, my respect for my husband and my appreciation for our complementary differences have grown deeper every day. I love that one of the things we do best is work side by side on projects together in a comfortable rhythm. It doesn't matter if it's laying new flooring, putting Jeremy's classroom together at the beginning of the year, or struggling through an add on or adoption...sometimes we laugh and joke or talk, sometimes we just work quietly, and sometimes we call on the other for help. But there is peace and understanding between us as we work together toward the same goal. It's a nice illustration of marriage, I think. Oh, and as an added bonus, he can still give me butterflies like he did when I was fifteen!

These nine years have brought us countless joys and adventures, and some struggles too. And through all of it, God has been gracious enough to honor every word of the prayer we claimed at the very beginning.

So, thank you God, for taking such good care of us, for all of the good and perfect gifts You have given, for the ways You have strengthened us and grown our faith, for teaching us every day about the unfathomable love of Christ, and for all the ways You have shown Yourself to us through this journey.