Madelynn's 1st Easter

What a wonderful 1st Easter. We woke up to a beautiful spring rain, got dressed in our Sunday best, went to church as a family, and then spent the day together. The "Easter Bunny" was very good to Madelynn with videos, books, new Taggies, toys and bubbles. She dug through her treasures giving them each the royal treatment of being slobered all over before she moved onto the next gift.

Little ruffle tights....

Pink chifon dresses....

and hippity, hoppity bunnies. What a great day!
Happy Easter!!

Where does time go?

Just kicking back. As I was putting laundry away the other day I was folding some of Madelynn's burp rags. Pictures began to flip through my mind of cleaning spit-up off the couch, my shirt, and Bruce's face and I felt a little twinge in my heart....my baby is drifting away. She is approaching toddlerhood and will be one before I know it. My little girl is reaching all these milestones I thought I wanted her to reach, but then I realize that with each one she is moving further and further away from me.

She can now hold her own bottle, and feed herself, and never uses burp rags anymore. As I look at her in this picture I can see her in 15 or so years kicking back like this, but the bottle will be replaced with a cell phone I am sure.

She stands with no hands and I am taken back to my own childhood as I was riding my bike and would let go and say, "Look mom, no hands!" How excited I was and how sad my mom must have felt as she realized I was growing up.

Growing up is such a strange pardox. It is so exciting to watch my little baby becoming her own person, and at the same time I just want time to stop because I haven't had enough time with her just like this.

So, every once in awhile as she falls asleep in my lap I will thank God for this little gift as time slows down and she is a little baby in my arms once again.

Singing in church....

Sometimes I find myself sad as we are singing in church. As we sing about heaven and how wonderful it will be when we get there I, of course, find myself thinking about my dad. I wonder what he is doing up there right now. I try to picture him in his beautiful robes and his crown..... One of Dad's favorite verses was, "Gray hair is a crown of splendor, it is attaied by a righteous life" Proverbs 16:31. So, I can easily picture him with his crown on because he was preparing for it when he was still here. 2Tim 4:8 says"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day". And I picture Jesus welcoming Dad into the gates of heaven, showing him the room He prepared for him, and replacing his earthly crown of gray hair with his heavenly crown. A tear trickles down my check as we sing of the wonderful place God has for us and I know that one day with Him is better that any day here (Psalms 84:10), and I yearn for that day when we are all together again. I know my dad wasn't perfect, none of us ever will be, but he was righteous, living out the relationship with God in the right relationships he had with other people - which is what righteousness is all about. Romans 1:17 says, "The righteous will live by faith" and dad's gray hair was a sign of his faith. So, as I sing my praises to God my eyes may fill with tears but I know God will wash them away (Rev. 7:17). As I go through trials, that I am sure will turn my hair gray, I will know that God is testing me and refining my like silver and a righteous life that reflects my relationship with Him is my purpose. I am thankful for this example my dad gave me in his life.