Habakkuk

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will be joyful in God my Savior!"- Habakkuk 3:17,18

I have come across this verse more than once in the last week, and it is not even one of the books of the Bible I am currently reading through. Coming across it several times though made me think about it more.

Life can be so overwhelming. We all have trials and no matter how big or small, it can be hard to stay focused on the Lord. When it seems all has gone wrong, not the way we wanted or hoped for, when all seems lost, this the most crucial time that we turn to the Lord. He may not respond the way we want, or even at all but we still must rejoice in him. He is Lord, sovereign over all things and in complete and total control! This is amazing in itself, but in our fallen world, where there is so much wrong, hurt, sin, greed, sadness, and so on, we get caught within the shambles of the darkness of our world. Back to the word, "...yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will be joyful in God my Savior." The future with our Savior brings us hope, helps us to cope with everyday life. To live life for him. To rejoice in him daily despite what happens each new day, even though we so often cannot understand it, we know that God has better things in store.

Cowboy Max

"The glory of the nation rests in the character of her men. And character comes from boyhood. Thus every boy is a challenge to his elders." -Herbert Hoover

in Grandpa's studio

crazy hair!

calm

strike a pose

taking a break

SLAM DUNK!

(with a little assistance from Uncle Carl)

all boy

silly

 

belly laughs

Maxwell definately has attributes of both Justin and me.This picture definately captures one of mine. This boy has my sense of humor! We laugh all of the time, and at nothing. This particular night he was getting the biggest kick out of tossing an empty water bottle around. One of my favorite times with Maxwell was when we were sitting in a closet cleaning it out, and I found an old pair of glasses and put them on. He laughed so hard, so I put them on him and he and I laughed so hard our bellies hurt. A wonderful twenty minutes!

jared

Today marks four years since my brother-in-laws ski accident. Everyday is a battle. At his parents house each day they live with who he is now. When we have family gatherings he is always there, but it is not the same.
Old friends have slowly stopped coming, but those who are true come to see him when they can, and this means so much to the family.
Pray for my family. That we might all cling to Christ. Know that he is soveriegn, and rejoice because Jared is his.

A dream come true...

Three Melchers...all with growing bellies! Vanessa: 17 weeks, Nicole:10 weeks, Anne:15 weeks.

We are so excited to have our bellies all growing together, so blessed that God has given us these gifts!

Blustery Snow Day...

 

 

a new game...

One of Maxwell's new favorite games to play is to go into his room, shut the door, take all books and toys off shelves and out of baskets, scatter them throughout the room, and finally pick each item up one by one opening the door tossing one out, then close the door until he emerges with another.

closing the door

Old Man Winter

This morning I woke up to a pitter-patter sound on the window...and then I heard thunder? As I peeked out the window a gust of wind blew snowflakes against the pane, and crashed down to the ground to join the rest of the white. I listened some more and sure enough there was thunder.
I threw on my robe and headed in to get a chatting Maxwell out of his crib. I headed into to the kitchen to heat up my morning tea, and it dawned on me. Two days ago Maxwell and I were outside at the park with light jackets on enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. Yesterday we walked a friends dog with sweatshirts and vests on, and now this! This winter has been nothing less than unpredictable! I read my friend Danielle's blog this morning, and she had mentioned how the snow in Maryland was slipping away, it seems to have headed up here.
Maxwell is thrilled to say the least. On my way back from the kitchen I caught him in his room gazing out the window and shrieking with delight! He turned and looked at me with such excited eyes, I knew we would have to go out later on.
So as the snow continues to fall, we will continue to enjoy it. Justin is going to head home early this afternoon, so we can all go out together and then head in for some hot chocolate by the fire. Ah, the joys of winter.

Happy Valentines Day!

 

For my Prince Charming...

I thought this card was fabulous...thought I would share it.

 

flowers from my prince...

 

Happy Birthday Peter!

Happy 17th Birthday to my youngest brother Peter! Pete is quite the skateboarder (as you can probably tell from the picture), the one willing to try anything, and a great brother! He is sporting the fro look right now but we still accept him! We share a common sense of humor always pulling pranks on our other brothers Alec and Carl until the day I left for college, but everytime we are all together we usually conjure up a fun prank or two.

Happy Birthday Uncle Don!

Uncle Don and his first grandchild Briana, he is expecting two more new grandchildren in August and September!

Happy Birthday to the best Uncle ever! My Uncle Don! When all the family is together we can count on my Dad and Uncle Don to keep the laughter and the party going even if they are the old guys! Hope your day is special, love you Uncle Don!

Torino 2006

Although the summer Olympics are my personal favorite, particularly because I am a swimmer, I still love the Winter Olympics too. I remember Athens 2004 summer Olympics fondly because I was in labor with Maxwell. But, tonight was an unforgettable night as well.
The end of the evening concluded with two unbelievable performances on the ice. The first was that of Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin. Just two years ago in the Wolrd Championships Tatiana took a horrible fall to her face when Maxim lost his footing and accidentally dropped her. But tow years later, they eagerly yet cautiously took the ice at the 2006 OlympicsTheir free skate performance to "Romeo and Juliet" was nothing less than magical. This pair was so in sync with their movements, landing such difficult elements with ease. They were definitely the audience .
The second pair was Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao of China (no relation), who started off their performance with a nasty fall. Zhang Dan missed her landing crashing her into the wall, she quickly hopped unto her feet but could not skate. After talking with her coach and trainers they finished their performance from where they had left off and it was nearly a flawless performance.
I always cry when the medal winners are on the podium but this time the tears came before hand, knowing how hard both teams had worked, the trials they have been through, and to have achieved something most of us dream of.

Happy Birthday Sara!

Happy Birthday to my good friend Sara! Her birthday is actually February 12 but we spent last night out at Lao Laan-Xang Restaurant, a little lao-thai that is absolutely superb! So spicy, so yummy! It only seats about 20-25 people inside and we got the window seat! Afterwards we went to our favorite place Barriques for some tea! The ambiance is so comfortable there. While we were chatting it began to snow! She recieved her birthday wish! Sara has been there for me through it all, she is someone I can always count on and is just amoments away. She is a hard worker, a world traveler, and a wonderful friend. Someone who will always be near and dear to my heart! Happy Birthday!

I Surrender All

my absolute favorite worship song


I surrender all
to the promises you made
and I will give it all
to the maker of the day

No one knows your heart
and no one knows your fears
when no one solves the mysteries
or even wipes away the tears

can you hear the sound of laughter
from the other side of life?
there are days when I feel like a stranger sometimes
tell me, are there any other fools like me?

this reliance on another world
has a great effect on this world
this conscience of another world
has a great effect ongrace recollection

he doesn't love us 'cause of who we are
he only loves us 'cause of who he is

we all were children once
so will we return
so let those days return
let us all return

~lyrics by Newsboys~

Uh-oh!

After our morning shower, I was cleaning out our closet, getting the maternity clothes hung, and putting the summer t-shirts away until the next summer, I feel a little hand on my leg followed by an "uh-oh".
I look down and there stands Maxwell covered from head to toe in lotion. We are usually really good about keeping those sort of things out of reach for Max, but he found this one in the bottom of a basket while I am sorting things while cleaning out our room. I look over to where the crime occurred and there is lotion all over the floor, his puppy, everything! I pick him up and put him in the tub, cleaning him off. When all was said and done, we had a onesie in the garbage and a very nice lavender scented boy!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Mom, Dad, Uncle Don, and Aunt Sue. ( don't be fooled, although my Dad and Don look like brothers, my Mom and Aunt Sue are sisters! The men are only related by marriage!

Happy Birthday!

Chattin' it up

Madeline and Maxwell

cutie pies

Today my friend Katie brought over her daughter Madeline to play with Max. They were too cute together!

Snow Max

Max loves being outside. He loved this day in early January, huge snowflakes for him to play in!