Surprised by Joy

Last week we celebrated the first birthday of our precious Caleb. It was a special event for us. Caleb's life has coincided with many changes in our life and in our family. We are very aware that before the conception of Caleb, we would never have guessed the direction our life was about to take. Many changes. Many ups and downs. Caleb has been an unexpected surprise from the beginning.

I always liked surprises!

Rare jewels

How do I begin to tell you about Carla? There are some people that God allows in your life that are like rare jewels. Carla is one of those jewels. Steve and I first met Carla in the summer of 1996 when we were on a mission trip to Mexico. We loved her enthusiasm for Christ. It was contagious. Until this year, we had not seen Carla since 1996, but had heard of her journeys: to Italy as a missionary, her evangelism in Mexico, her marriage to one of our children's Sunday school teachers. We only hoped that our paths would cross again... and they have. Carla and her husband joined us at our church on Easter Sunday. (You can read about that on my first post). When she found out that we were planning to travel to Spain, she offered to tutor our children in Spanish. Since then we have had weekly meetings with Carla. They have brought us all great joy as we have learned together, laughed together, cried together, and prayed together. Last week we celebrated Carla's birthday with her as we thanked God for her life and for her impact on The Kingdom. A rare jewel indeed.

9 decades

A few weeks ago, we celebrated a great event. Steve's grandmother who we call GG, also known as Polly, turned 90 years old. What a life she has lived. She is an encourager, a woman of prayer, a giver... the list goes on. Steve credits her with praying him to a relationship with Jesus. She has on many occasions stayed awake all night praying. She is a hero to us. GG is at a hard place in life. Last year her only daugher died. Her groom died a few years ago. Her only son died as an infant. Friends are dying. She is getting homesick. Yet there is still so much to live for. She longs to see Christopher play football, Grace ice skating, Benjamin play soccer and Joshua learn to read. She longs to hear Caleb say "GG" for the first time. Fortunately, she will not make the decision when to leave. But she is ready whenever the time comes. We just won't be.