Amelia Frances

Amelia Frances Carel joined our family today, January 15, 2010 at 12:48 p.m. She weighs 8 pounds 6 ounces and is 20 1/2 inches long.

Formed nine months ago as two cells meet, then perfectly knit together in the womb, the miracle of birth is an awesome display of God’s majestic splendor. Today I met my daughter for the very first time and although I have experienced the joy of being a new father three times before, the awe and wonderment of it all overwhelms me.

We chose this time to have our birth at our home under the amazing care and supervision of our midwife, Rene’e. It was such a privilege to share this miracle of new life with such a wonderful and godly woman. She and her assistant Rose Marie prayed and cared for Gretchen as she labored and then delivered. They graciously served us and made this experience a joy.

Mark and Jody Robinson drove from Illinois to be here for the birth. Jody has been at each of our children's births and it was such a privilege to have her with us again. She chased kids when necessary, helped prepare food, set up, cleaned up, took video, took pictures (amazing pictures of Amelia's first moments of life), encouraged and comforted us both. We did not see much of Mark as he had kid duty. What a gift to have them with us.

Gretchen and I were able to share a last minute date night last night and enjoyed a dinner and some time together “hanging out.” The birth was amazing. Her water broke at 3:00 a.m. about two hours after we went to bed. She progressed through the night and morning until about 11ish when labor truly began. We filled the tub (plastic kiddy pool) and prepared for the water birth. Gretchen was strong and I was very proud of her, after only about five strong contractions in the water, Amelia decided it was time to meet her expectant family. Gretchen caught Amelia and pulled her up and to her chest....amazing. We covered her and held her while Jake cut the cord. Each of the kids got to see, touch and kiss her before knowing whether they had a brother or sister.

The whole process was surreal. I look forward to the joy that this new life will bring to our family.

Party Girl

My girl is growing up...last weekend was Sophie’s first ballet performance that was not just a mere 15 second toe tapping spin in a circle exercise. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade the hours and hours and hours of sitting through ballet recitals for her 15 seconds of glory for anything. I always am proud of my girl, but this was a whole different kind of deal. This was the Allen Civic Ballet’s Nutcracker and Sophie was one of the Party Girls. She was absolutely stunning (did you notice the hair) and did a wonderful job preforming her parts. As I watched the show I experienced a wow sort of moment and had to reconcile with myself that my girl is growing up.

Ed

Friends

It is not Halloween here, just the middle of summer back in 2004 when my sweet Sophie was only 3. Girls love to dress-up and any time is a good occasion. Not sure what Sophie is here...half ladybug, half clown maybe?

I am thankful for the Clark girls’ friendship in my daughter’s life. It has been such a joy watching them grow up together.

Rascals

Sophia, Tanner, Jacob, Colin

Summer 2007

"You only meet your once in a lifetime friend... once in a lifetime."
~ from Little Rascals

The first time Jacob and Colin met was when Jake was 6 months and Colin 4 months. I flew to Corpus Christi to spend the weekend with Vicki. This was the first time Vicki and I would be together with our babies. We were "moms" now! I felt like a real grown-up. I think all we did the entire weekend was nurse our babies and talk. Not the way it is when we get together now. With 7 children between us, talking doesn't exactly happen. We have to yell to be heard over the chaos around us. Colin and Tanner are like brothers to Jacob. He would rather be with those boys than any other person on earth.

My Life

There are rarely pictures of only me. How could there be when I am the one with the camera adorning my neck like a piece of jewelry. So during our spring break camp out Jacob stole the camera while I was enjoying God’s creation and a great book. He took dozens of pictures and shot this one of me. It is not cropped or edited….hmm, I may have a little photographer on my hands.

Every day there is something I want to blog about, a great accomplishment of someone in our family, a cute picture of one of my beautiful children, a fun family camping trip we took, a deep thought or conviction I want to share, our chicken mummy (Yes, we really made one.), but many other things end up taking priority over my blog. You know, all the jobs of wife, mommy, homemaker, and teacher; the dishes, laundry, homeschooling, cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, carpooling, drying of tears, wiping of noses (and bottoms), being referee, etc., etc., etc. And then making the time for all the sweet things, like taking a walk, going to the park, having a picnic, making a garden, playing with play-do, coloring a picture, or teaching Sophie one of the many handicrafts she is begging me to learn.

This may sound exhausting on paper, but I love it! I want to be available for all of the little teachable moments. The internet, e-mail, blog, telephone, or even a good book can so easily distract me from my biggest job and most important people whom God has so graciously blessed me with. I can’t handle regrets very well. I do not want the regret, in fifteen years when my kids are grown, that I was just too busy with my own agenda to truly enjoy them, to savor every minute I have with them. Yes, I always appreciate a date night with Ed or my monthly book club with friends. But I have found, since I started homeschooling two and a half years ago, the more I am home and with my kids, the less I desire “me” time or time away from them. They drive me crazy on a daily basis. But I’ve grown to enjoy my crazy life, my crazy kids, and my crazy family. The day will come when I have time to sit at my computer and share our life with many of you. In the meantime, continue to enjoy my sporadic postings.

No, we do not live in Uncertain, Texas, but certainly could not pass up the photo opportunity while exploring on our recent family camping trip.

My Baby

In ten short weeks Viv will no longer be the baby. Being several years younger than Jacob and Sophie, she is catered to and cared for by everybody in the family. I might even admit she is a little spoiled and tends to get away with a bit more than the older two. But they don’t care because they baby her too and will often defend her coming to her protection when she’s in trouble. So what will life be like for Vivian when she is no longer the baby? Only time will tell but my guess is she’s ready to grow up and be a big sister too.

A Christmas That Counts

Several months ago Ethiopia and her orphans became heavy on our hearts. We began to research ministries who reach and care for the many “least of these” in this country. We were pleased to find YWAM Ethiopia. YWAM Ethiopia reaches some of the most desperate orphans and widows.

Both Gretchen and I have served with and know well this wonderful ministry. YWAM is a ministry that serves in the US as well as around the world to offer God’s love in action to those in need. Gretchen was trained at YWAM Denver and has served in Guatemala’s remote villages and I partnered with YWAM Dallas serving the inner city youth program. Our relationship with this ministry extends over seventeen years.

Ever bought someone a goat or laying hens for Christmas?? We would ask that you consider supporting YWAM Ethiopia this holiday season as they impact REAL people this year. We have included some links buttons on our blog which will give details to the many opportunities.

To support a specific child or widow see the “Operation Giggle” button. The deadline for packages to be mailed is November 13, less than TWO weeks!

To purchase livestock or other needed items click on the “That We Might Be Adopted” button and then on the “Gift Catalog” button. Your gifts will be purchased in Ethiopia by their in-country representatives and distributed to those who need them most. No administrative fees will be deducted - 100% of your dollars will be used for widows, orphans and families.