Love Like Woah!

Well, its been a while. We have been so busy the last few months. I finished my last year of teaching. Wrapping everything up was bittersweet. This year I only taught one class, but it was so clear to me that God picked each of my students to be part of this class. This made it so much harder to say goodbye, knowing that I won't see each of their sweet faces next year. I am glad, however, that I will get to spend more time at home with Asher and maybe, finally feel like a wife and mother. It is very true that a teacher's job is never over. I will be glad to not spend every evening grading papers, taking notes and making lesson plans.
Asher and I were fortunate enough to tag along on my parents vacation. We spent a whole week in Florida. Anytime a beach is involved I'm a happy camper. Asher is definitely my child. He loved every minute of it. Even now, three weeks later, he talks about the beach and the ocean and his shovel. We can't wait to get back! It was even more special for him to spend that time with his Gigi and Papa. Just last week Asher spent time with his second cousins from Georgia. They had a blast. The past two days he has gone upstairs to look in the extra bedrooms checking for them. I hope he remembers this time forever!

Asher's first day at the beach. Destin, FL

 Kenny and I on our anniversary, outside the Kennedy Center in DC

Kenny and I just celebrated our third wedding anniversary. We are still living in his grandparents basement, which we thought we would spend a maximum of 6 months in. I am so grateful to them for allowing us to live here, and I'm even more grateful for the time and love they've shown to Asher and myself. They treat me like their own and Asher will forever have a special bond with these great-grandparents of his. Asher turns 2 in just a few weeks and Kenny and I fall more in love with him everyday. We just can't imagine having another baby to share this love with. We have been fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with our little man, and while we wouldn't trade it for the world, it makes us very leary to have more children. In our heads we know that it wouldn't be fair to make Asher an only child, he's too social, but we don't feel like our hearts could handle it. I joked with him today that I needed therapy before we have another kid because of the extra-special bond Asher and I have. Its amazing how much you love them the minute their born and how it continues to grow exponentially as they do.

 Asher and me on my birthday. I love this little boy!

It always amazes me how God plants passages, studies, verses, books in your way at just the right time. I've been reading A Heart Like His by Beth Moore.(http://www.lifeway.com/Product/a-heart-like-his-hardcover-P001069369) I love everything she writes! As anyone who has done her studies knows, she doesn't miss the details. Thus far in this study on the life of David, all I've gotten is the "back story." I've learned all about Samuel and Saul's rise to kingship. I found it interesting, as I've been searching my heart to make room for this hypothetical second child, that I would be reading about how Samuel came to be. His mother, Hannah, was tormented by her husbands other wife because she had no children. Hannah begged God to give her a child and promised to offer him back in service to the Lord. Hannah became pregnant with Samuel and after three years with him, she took him to the temple to be a servant of the Lord. He was raised by the priests for the rest of his childhood. http://www.youversion.com/bible/1sam.1.hcsb
There is so much to be gleaned from this passage, so many questions I can ask myself. I can't imagine going through years of trying to have a baby and never succeeding. I was "lucky" enough to not have to try. I can, however, imagine that I would be willing to promise anything to God in the moment so that he might deliver on my request. Would I follow through though? Could I be faithful to God as he is faithful to me? Would I make good on my word and my promise? Especially after getting to spend three years with my baby! I know after experiencing just two years that I couldn't give Asher away. How many times do we make promises to God to do something we know we should, or stop doing something we know we shouldn't. Only to find ourselves doing those things just days later. What if God's promises only last as long as ours did? What if his promise of eternal life had an expiration date on it?!? WOW! How different would our lives be! Isn't that the great thing about grace and mercy. God gives us what we don't deserve (salvation and eternal life) and saves us from what we do deserve (eternity in hell and separation from Him). This is what salvation is all about, second chances. A second chance at life everlasting. It reminds me to be thankful that I don't have to WORK my way into heaven, I can simply accept the free gift!