Daddy is so much fun!

Playing in the rain. What a fun thing to do.  Mommy would never do this but Daddy sure does add spice to our lives!  Praise God for such a fun Daddy!

Thank You

To everyone who has come to mow my grass during this very difficult time in our lives,
I wanted to say "Thank you!"



You saved me 2 1/2 hours this week that freed me up to be able to serve my wife. It may seem relatively small, but thanks to all of you for being willing to serve our family in such "menial" ways. Please know that the significance this has had in our family is immeasurable.

For His Glory,
Jason

Family Portraits

With all the professional portraits, family portraits, bridal portraits, and engagement portraits we've done for others, the one family we rarely get good pictures of is our own. Why? Because it's alot harder to take pictures of yourself when you have to press the shutter release too. Thanks to the timer on our camera, we set out to get some family portraits of our own. If nothing else - we had TONS of fun just being silly and laughing - but I think we got some good shots in the process too.

An Update...

We had our Doctor's appointment yesterday - Thursday the 26th.
No new news.

The Doctor told Claire she has to just continue to rest and take it easy, doing as little as possible (easier said than done, as you know) and wait.
So, we wait.

Our church has been AWESOME in the process, helping us in a myriad of ways from providing meals (since Claire isn't allowed to cook), to cleaning the house, to mowing the lawn (to free me up another 2.5 hours a week to help Claire myself), to just coming over and helping Claire take care of Sophia, and even bringing us gift-cards to restaurants so I can pick up meals on the way home from work.

My boss at CBS has been MORE THAN gracious by allowing me to work from home 2 days a week so I can be here to help Claire. This also saves us a crazy amount of money on gas. The gasoline category of our budget is currently right at $400 a month (and rising). That makes it the second most expensive part of life, next to our mortgage payment.



Meanwhile, God has put His powerful love for us on display through the body of Christ in numerous ways, and has been faithful to grow our faith and press us to love Him more. As He pulls out from under us all the things that we have become so dependent on, we become more dependent on Him - which is exactly the kind of change that our sinful hearts need.

We continue to pray for the life and health of our precious daughter Alaythia.

God comforts us with His word. A good friend recently read this to me before praying for us:

Psalm 111

Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart,
In the company of the upright and in the assembly.
Great are the works of the LORD;
They are studied by all who delight in them.
Splendid and majestic is His work,
And His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonders to be remembered;
The LORD is gracious and compassionate.
He has given food to those who fear Him;
He will remember His covenant forever.
He has made known to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the heritage of the nations.
The works of His hands are truth and justice;
All His precepts are sure.
They are upheld forever and ever;
They are performed in truth and uprightness.
He has sent redemption to His people;
He has ordained His covenant forever;
Holy and awesome is His name.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;
His praise endures forever.

No matter what, God is faithful; God is gracious, and has given us far more than we deserve. We look to Him with joy and HOPE in our future eternal reward - CHRIST!

Thanks for your prayers,
Jason

Our Anniversary Trip 2008

We were very blessed to have so much needed time away together for our 4 year anniversary. Jason is so sweet - he planned the whole trip to a hotel in Houston called the Magnolia. Timmy and Katie were awesome to watched  Sophia for us so we could get away for the night.  It was wonderful to have some time together just the two of us.  

Jason also surprised me with the concierge floor which ment bigger rooms, and huge wonderful garden tub and breakfast in bed.  YUMMY!  We had a great time just spending time together and relaxing.

Here we are at the observation deck looking over Houston.  It was some fun time!  Then we got to go to an awesome dinner at Sanbuca.  I got to have my favorite desert.

Then we got to have milk and cookies at our hotel it was really cute.  They had a cookies and milk bar that is my kinda hotel and my kinda happy hour.






I was thankful for some great quiet time and I have been really loving Respectable Sins.  It is so convicting.  We also went walking around Houston.  There is a really cool new park that we enjoyed but it was really hot and I needed to take it easy so then we got to go and rest at the hotel again.
I was so blessed because we "stumbled" along a store that was moving and everything was 75% off!  Jason was so sweet and picked out ALOT of clothes for me.  I am looking forward to fitting into them in a few months. 



Okay so this was a fun and colorful place in the park.  And there were so many beautiful trees.

Defcon 3 is well with my soul...

Dearest friends and family,

Jason here. I wanted to update you, so that you will know how to pray. As you may already know, things are pretty difficult for us. It's alot like "Defcon 3" at our house right now. Please pray for the life of Alaythia, and for her parents to be able to trust unflinchingly in the sovereign reign and good work of King Jesus.

Last year, Sophia, our first precious daughter, was born prematurely - 6 1/2 weeks early, and God was gracious to us. The doctors are now concerned about the fact that Claire is already evidencing symptoms of pre-term labor, in this our second pregnancy. If we go into labor right now, (over 3 months early), Alaythia will probably not be able to sustain her own little life.

When a ship captain cannot see the beacon of light through the dense fog, the light is still there. And when we cannot see the good that God intends for us through the density of difficulty, His good and perfect will is still there. He refines us, like gold in a fire. It burns out impurities, however painful, and leaves pure character remaining. We stand in awe of His grace towards us.

May it NEVER be said in difficulties that God is absent. No, He is never so near to us as when He draws us in to comfort us through the most difficult times.
I am reminded of William Cowper's song:


God moves in a mysterious way
His Wonders to perform
He plants His Footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm
Deep in unsearchable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright Designs
And works His sovereign Will


You fearful saints - fresh courage take!
The clouds you so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Claire and I bow our sinful hearts before a holy and righteous God who wrote history and included us in His family. All we have to offer is worship.

Thanks for your prayers,
Jason

Happy Aniversary

Truly it has been by God's grace that we have come this far, and grace will lead us home.

Wow! I cant believe that it has already been 4 years that I am blessed to be married to the most amazing man on earth! God has been so good to me to bless me with Jason! He is truly a gift from God. I didn't know that life could be like this and that such an amazing relationship was possible. Jason is a true example to me everyday of Jesus. Not only do I get an amazing husband but because of our sweet relationship God has blessed us with two sweet daughters too! It is overwhelming to me God's graciousness to me a sinner. I love you Jason and I look forward to 40 more years together!

Swimming with Daddy

As you can see Sophia loves swimming in her pool with her daddy!  This is one priceless smile!