Papi's gone adventuring...

Sweet soft red hair! It's kind of like a strawberry blonde but he's a boy so I don't know what a strawberry blonde is on a boy...but it's darn cute;)


God gave us such great time together as a family over these past seven weeks; Caleb is now 11.3 pounds and doin' great. He slept for seven hours straight three days ago- praise the Lord for such a sweet child.

Steve left for deployment on the Alaska and we are ever so excited to go pick him up again...in a few months;) We were so sad, but God is so strong in our weakness...so Mami's holdin' down the homefront and Papi's out at sea, but we're both clinging to God as we so didn't want to say goodbye again.

I have been amazed at how clearly God's affirmed his awesome presence and love over the past week. Like I was telling my brother Dave the other day, it's been hard, but it's been good- that deep sort of good that doesn't require happy circumstances, only reflects a knowledge of appreciating the joy amidst the pain. God is so cool like that.

For instance, the other day I was driving along the road and the sky was gloomy as could be! It was totally enough to get you down, especially in this week of little sleep, high stress, and deep heartache as we neared "see-ya-soon." Suddenly, however, there came a break in the clouds and I caught it- a glimpse of the bluest blue sky and the brilliant sunshine and the whitest puffy clouds, high above the grimy grey of the rest of the sky and the day. And you know what I realized? Like a full breath of fresh air, I remembered the brilliance of the sunshine, the freshness of the blue, the openness of a clear day. It was just a moment, just a spot in the sky otherwise filled with clouds.

But it made me realize that even though I can't always see beyond the clouds of my circumstances or feelings- God is ever present, always there, and always awesomely free. We read before he left out of psalm 46:1-4 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in time of need. Therefore WE WILL NOT FEAR, though the earth give way, and the mtns fall into the heart of the sea...God is within her, she will not fall. God will help her at break of day." God is so cool like that- that he is ever-present. Whether I can see it or not, I know the sun is still there, shining bright as day and creating a beautiful glorious blue sky. Even on the cloudy days, I have faith, knowing the sun is still there regardless of what I can't or can see. Likewise, now, in the midst of military separation that hurts like such a deep ache of the heart, I know that God is still here, ever present in my time of need. The One who put the stars in place will take care of my husband, and will comfort my heart as I have need for it amidst my full and busy days. love you all, j