Running to the world

Posted by Paul -

Sarah and I went to the 50th "Carol of Lights" this year... an annual lighting ceremony on the Texas Tech campus. Every year there is a soloist that sings O Holy Night. I love that song. Not like, LOVE.

O Holy Night is by FAR my favorite Christmas song. It absolutely captures the majesty and reverence of the event. I am absolutely blown away every time I hear it. When it was being sung at the Carol of Lights, one line in particular stuck in my head, and after reading a friend's blog who quoted the song, I got to thinking more about that line. The line is " 'Til he appeared and the soul felt it's worth. " Im not sure if the proper version is "the soul felt it's worth" or the soul felt His worth". Both ways are incredibly profound.

" 'Till he appeared and the soul felt it's worth"...what a deep statement about what that baby, the Christ, brings to us...worth. To try and earn worth any other way or place is "meaningless, a chasing after the sun." In this Christmas act we see and feel how much we are really worth to God!

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." - I never thought of The Prodigal Son as a metaphor for the Christmas story, but it is! That baby is the result of God's compassion, it was God's way of throwing caution to the wind, picking up his cloak and running to us as we lay 'in sin and error pining'.

ded-i-ca-tion

noun: the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action.

On November 16, Paul and I participated in our church's baby dedication. The definition above accurately describes how we have committed to raise Jonas...we've bound ourselves to raising him to be someone who chooses to follow Jesus with his whole heart. And, man, our prayer everyday is that Jonas would choose that course of action.

Deciding to participate in the dedication was hard for us for a few reasons. One being that our families live so far away and couldn't be with us. They were with us in spirit that day. It was fun for us to have our small group stand with us and agree to come along side of us as we parent Jonas. Another reason it was hard for us was because we were acknowledging Jonas as God's. That is hard for me at times...to know that ultimately Jonas isn't mine.

Anyway, here are some pictures.

where we've been

I apologize for the blog hiatus...it hasn't been intentional. Because I am so tired and am blogging in the middle of calming an extremely tired and fussy baby as well as doing laundry, list format will have to do...

- Jonas turned 6 months old on November 20. Pictures and stats to come. But, I will say this - we love him more with each passing day. He is our joy and delight,

- We travelled to Houston to be with my family for Thanksgiving. That was a R-E-A-L-L-Y long trip. No one told me to add about 1.5 hours when driving with an infant.

- We had tons of fun being with family, seeing friends, shopping, going to the zoo and just being on vacation...eating way too much food - there goes my diet!

- We are looking forward to Christmas. I am soooo excited to decorate our tree on Thursday night.

Pictures to come. I promise. OK, gotta change the laundry.

pears

the conversation went like this:

Dad (this is Sarah's dad, not Paul): your pears are really good

Sarah: huh? pears?

Dad: ya, from your tree in the backyard

Sarah: what? those are pears?

Dad: of course. what did you think they were?

Sarah: I dunno. crabapples?

turns out we have a pear tree...

our little tiger...

5 months

A week ago, Jonas turned five months old. Our little guy had his first doctor appointment today that wasn't a well-baby check-up...he's got an upper respiratory infection and pink eye. Poor thing can't breathe and his eyes look horrible. We love this stage that Jonas is in. His personality is more and more evident all the time. A few things about him this month:
- he weighs 13.2 lbs.
- about 25 inches long
- he's this close to sitting up unsupported
- rice cereal is now a part of our nightly routine
- loves to "ride the horsey" which is the arm of the chair in our living room
- reaches for specific things like toys or his paci
You may notice that Jonas didn't gain weight between his 4th and 5th month. So, we are now in the process of trying to bulk him up a little more. I think it is working since he weighed a little more at the doctor today. Enjoy these pictures...

the first night, we fed Jonas in his bouncy. We quickly decided that the high chair needed to be put together.

sitting up for like 5 seconds. thus, a blurry picture.

are you kidding me?

It's been one whole month since this dear blog has been updated! This has been a whirlwind month...let's recap...

1. We visited the South Plains Fair...this is a big deal in Lubbock! I sure did enjoy me some yummy fair food...on a stick.

2. I'm sure I've mentioned before how much I love fall. Well, it has arrived and the other weekend we went to the Pumpkin Festival.

3. Jonas got a visit from his Grandpa and Grandma Snow.

4. Jonas and I survived our very first night completely alone as Paul went out of town for work.

5. I am crazy busy at work which leads to being really tired at home.

6. Did I mention how much I love fall? cinnamon spice candles, cool evenings, long sleeved shirts, warm drinks...