I Held a Miracle

I spent much of last week grieving with and for a friend from our church as she and her husband lost and buried their baby - a baby they were planning to adopt, but instead spent 62 hours with here on earth, alongside their baby's birth family. It is an absolutely gut-wrenching, beautiful story with the hand of God evident every step of the way. Amanda is just beginning to tell their story and you should read it in her own words on her blog. 


The fact that God has and is allowing me to walk alongside them in their joy and deep grief has been an astounding privilege. My life has been deeply impacted by what I've seen God do through my friends' lives. Getting to witness and even hold in my arms the tiny life of Miracle Renee Stevenson Cooper is something I will always treasure and never forget. 

War and Peace

As I was driving with my kids to "Crazy Park" (the fitting name my kids gave to the old Roosevelt school park in town) this morning, I was struck by the quote on the Veteran's Memorial on Grand Avenue - the memorial I've driven by a hundred times:

To be prepared for war, is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.
(George Washington, from the First Annual Message to Congress, January 8, 1790...had to look that up!)

This quote struck me because it is very true of my own spiritual life. My heart is more at peace when I am prepared for war. When I am not prepared for war emotionally and spiritually and a battle breaks out, it catches me off guard and I am way more likely to worry, fear and not have peace. I am still learning to always be prepared for war.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:10-18

4th of July Fun

Since fireworks were on the 3rd, we killed time by swimming longer than usual after dinner. The kids LOVE playing "Marco Polo" with Jason!

I may have started a new 4th of July tradition . . . PAZOOKIE (cookie dough in a pie plate, slighty underbaked with several scoops of ice cream and a spoon for each person)

We watched fireworks with the Wheelers in Slater.

We usually go to the Slater parade with my sister's family but they were on vacation. So, we went with some other friends who have two kids adopted from the same country as ours (you can't see their youngest in the picture). 

The boys got to each make a rope.

And grind corn.

And lo and behold, we let each child ride a ride!

Zoe didn't want to ride by herself and wanted me to ride with her. This was very good for attachment and bonding but was NOT very good for my tendency to get motion sick.

Even after I napped that afternoon, I still felt sick!

Later in the afternoon, our good friends, Yong and Qing (pronounced Ching) stopped over. We had not seen their twin boys for eight months. Adorable!

We hung out and played.

And my mom and Ed came over for dinner.

Apart from the motion sickness, it was a great first 4th of July as a family of six!