A very few pics

All the ladies (this wasn't the official photographer, so Melody can't really be seen)

The bride and her flower girls

Adriana stealing the bridal bouquet away...

As we saw the bride walk in...

It was a gorgeous day, an amazing setting, a beautiful ceremony... my, my, my... what a great beginning for a new love story!

The Big Day!

Today is the big day we've been preparing for the last few months. Today, two lives will become one. Seasons of prayer, pondering and seeking of God's will are over. Days of planning and preparation have come to an end. Today is a day of celebration! What an amazing gift God gave us when He thought of marriage. And the cherry on top? Today, a bride leaves my home to walk down the aisle that will lead her to her groom. This little home has been a part of it and this whole house is busting at the seams full of people celebrating. All of it thanks to God's blessing and provision to our own lives! Happy day!

This week

• Well, for starters, my Mom is here! She's been here for a week already and the girls are having the greatest time with her.
• The wedding is this Saturday (that is, Dan Wolford and Maria Hackel's). This whole little family is in the wedding, so the week is flying by as we prepare and help with last minute details.
• And that, is pretty much all I have time for as everything else would be way too elaborate to get into, so I'll catch up later!
  

Joining

We are joining in prayer for this little family. (In the pictures: This is only baby's dad, as mom is in another hospital recovering from delivery)

Stretching

It is safe to say that we are being stretched and are also growing, but at the same time we are dying.

I have been reminded afresh of the illustration of marriage being like a bow (as in archery). The structure represents the husband and the string, the wife. When I heard God's whisper in my heart about the hand that is doing the stretching, I could see in my minds eye a bow in preparation for shooting. How much tension goes in the process! The bow gets bent, the string gets pulled and they stay together as the hand pulls. A premature release of the tension would result in an inefficient throw. The mark would most definitely be missed. We do not want to miss the mark, whatever it is God wants to accomplish in and through us in this season, we want to be faithful to reach. So both of us are holding as hard as we can... holding on to Him and holding on to each other. It is definitely not easy but we know that it is for good, for growth, for life! As long as it His working in our lives, however uncomfortable, we say yes.

At a loss for words

I have to say, my writer's block continues. There is so much going on and I truly don't know where or how to focus (in writing). Let's see:
:: My dad is feeling better (or I should say doing better, for what I hear he is not necessarily feeling all that well).
:: My mom didn't come on Thursday. She will try to get on Sunday's plane.
:: We had a great week with them visiting. It has been the longest we've been able to hang out together since we got married. Our house feels empty now that they left... but we did have a wonderful time!
:: Today we are babysitting her.
:: Decisions seem to be the order of the day, some for ministry, some for family, some for finances but all decisions that need careful thought and prayer. I have come to learn that the process of making such decisions is as important as the decisions themselves, so usually keeping to myself keeps me from getting in trouble. I don't want to speak out of time or be led by my emotions. Trust me, they're right there, ready to pop their head in any minute.
:: Remember what I was saying before about coming to the cross? Well, in continuing with that post and as we face decisions and yet more stretching, I did ask the Lord, "How much more are we going to be stretched?" His whisper in my heart was clear... "Don't ask how much but know that the hand stretching you is mine"... That is enough for me to know that this stretching is for growth, for life, for love. It doesn't have to be fun or easy, but it is meant for good and that is all that matters.

Disappointed

My Mom was supposed to come on Saturday night. She is flying stand by, though, so she hasn't been able to board two flights already. Her next chance will be Thursday night. We made a little calendar with the girls, it has my mom's picture and we called it "Days 'til Pita comes". It had a flower and we numbered each petal and we would take one off and count the days left for her to come. At this point, out little flower has no more petals left... and the anticipation and excitement of her coming has turned into a daily prayer with the girls that she'll get a seat on the next plane.

Needless to say, I am so very disappointed and have absolutely no way to change things. The girls are fine... we pray everyday and the motto of our life has become "One more day and Pita comes!" Now, I do need to say that it turned out being ok because my dad hasn't been feeling well and so my mom will be taking him to the doctor today to figure out what's wrong with him and hopefully he'll have some time to recover before she leaves.

Oh well... hopefully we will finally see her on Thursday.