Birds, Beaches and Big Girls

This morning, as I greeted the plumber in the front yard to inspect our drain for any more roots from our crepe myrtle, I was blessed to see a bird I have been wanting to see for 7-8 years. There was a lovely juvenile Cedar Waxwing eating some of the flowers off of our blossoming Bradford Pear in the freezing cold wind. I was amazed how it stayed in the tree munching and crunching away while the plumber, various children and I walked around on the ground under the tree for 10 minutes or so.

I was also blessed to see my dear children again today, as I do everyday. Believe me, those are not my first thoughts as I wake up every day; however, they are usually my thoughts once they're asleep in their beds. Hannah is pictured here just about to put her pants on all by herself. Elizabeth took the picture.

We went to the beach for a few days week before last and had a lovely time with our friends the Golarts who were kind enough to share their family's lovely beach home with us. The kids enjoyed playing in the water and sand even though it was a little on the cool side! One morning, Justin kindly came back to the house with Krispy Kreme doughnuts for everyone--yummy!

One of Andrew's three birthday cookies/cupcakes.

The "holey" grin!

David's brother Mike and wife Staci made this sign, which is being proudly posted at his parent's home.

Here we are on one of our "downtown" dates, this one at The House restaraunt.

Reunion at the airport.

I know you're all just dying to hear how we're doing...

...now that David is HOME!!! Well, we're doing very well, thank you! Thank you for all the prayers and support over the last 16 months! We are so thrilled to have been through the refining fire, and to have been purified through the process. That refinement has been evident in the last 3 weeks in so many countless ways.
We've kept quite busy! I think we felt a little bit wild and invincible. We've had a wonderful little getaway to dear downtown Montgomery while David's mom watched the kids, including one with the flu! We've gone to a concert, we've gone to a wedding and a birthday party; we've gone to Atlanta and had a new neice be born into the family, while reconnecting with both sides of our families. Andrew has lost a tooth and turned 7! That's just scratching the surface, really, of all the errands, trips to get pizza, cookies, and ice cream, and all of the home repairs, not to mention going back to work that we have done of late. Well, that last part is actually stuff that David has mostly done! Unfortunately, I fear the scale is seeing the result of my eating the pizza, cookies and ice cream, too!
Here are a few pictures of the last few joyful weeks!

Hooded Sweatshirt

Every once in a while, an article of clothing comes along that is of very little consequence at the time but ultimately becomes a cherished item.  That is the case with regards to a gray hooded sweatshirt that we bought at a small local dive in Northern Canada.  We were driving through the Yukon Territory on our way to Alaska when we stopped to stretch our legs at a small diner/gas station at one of many continental divides throughout North America.  The sweatshirt was hanging and seemed like a fitting purchase to remember our trip as it not only bore the embroidered logo of the place we had stopped but would also keep me a little warmer considering the more northern latitudes we were entering.  So, I bought the shirt, put it on and we went on our way.  That was the summer of 2003 and seven years later the sweatshirt is still keeping me warm and casual.

You may have seen the above picture in the slideshow on the right but there is really a lot more to the story that meets the eye.  Yes, I'm in the photo with Rachel (my wife) and I am wearing what I now call my "concert shirt" - the aforementioned sweatshirt.  From the picture you can tell that we were probably at a concert and we left with a few souvenirs.  This is all true.  What is not shown is that it is a Third Day concert - the first one ever in Fairbanks, AK and the second one ever in the entire state (the Anchorage show was two days earlier).  We bought front row tickets the minute they went on sale without knowing we would be hosting the band themselves for a base tour on the eve of the concert.  The tour went well and it was a real blessing to give back to a group of men who have given us so much.  The pick, drumstick and program with guitar chords to "Cry Out to Jesus" were tokens of appreciation from the band that we'll always cherish.

The sweatshirt has accompanied me to several other concerts including Jeremy Camp, Bebo Norman and the Music Boat.  I wish I could hear the stories of those days and nights from the sweatshirt firsthand - I imagine it would have a slightly different perspective.

In Him,