The Haps

"The days go slow but the years fly by."

I don't remember where I heard that quotation, but it hit home for me immediately. The months that have gone by since I last wrote a blog post are proof of the flying years (or months) in my life! So, here's an update.

On December 3rd, we had a baby girl. She's great! Here she is at about four weeks old.

Photo credit: Sondra Laughlin

On December 18th, we celebrated our little boy's two-year-old birthday. Here he is with his dad on his birthday:

On December 21st, I returned to preaching. Here's a picture of me preaching a few weeks before the baby was born:

Photo credit: Jeren Rowell

On December 22nd, we bought a house. We moved in on January 10th. Here's a picture of our beautiful fireplace:

Throughout all of this, we have been surrounded by an amazing community of people who have helped with cleaning, babysitting, packing, moving, unpacking, and lots of encouragement. Our church has been incredibly supportive of us. Our seminary community made meals for us after the baby was born and helped with babysitting, moving, and unpacking. Our families helped so much in the crazy time between the baby and moving.

I was worried about being isolated in a new community, but a surprising number of people have been willing to make the forty-five minute drive to our new house. I've enjoyed their company, and I feel so fortunate to have a house that people can enjoy. I hope our house is a place of hospitality for years to come.

One of my college professors was fond of saying that all theology is inherently practical. This season has definitely been one filled with the practical--babies, places, friends, and family--but after preaching during Advent about God's incarnational presence in those parts of life, I'd say that this season might also be one of the most profoundly spiritual.

Here's one more picture of our sweet kids:

Thanks be to God.