Tantillo news!

My best friend (and cousin) Nicole and her husband Marc are expecting a baby BOY! Due September 22, 2006 I could not be more estatic for them ! Congrats Marc and Nic! Love you both! Praying for a safe and healthy delivery!

Happy Birthday Justin!

Happy Birthday to my husband, and Maxwell's and our new baby's father! We love him so much. He works so hard to take care of us and we cannot thank him enough. He is nearly done with his Masters and I am so proud of all he has accomplished! Number 1 in his graduating class, he is also number 1 to us.
Justin is not my everything, (It took me about 3 years to stop expecting him to be) but I like him a lot better that way, (makes life so much easier)... and I know he finds me a lot more tolerable not expecting me to make him happy all of the time too. My supply comes from Christ( he is my perfect everything), everything Justin gives me is overflow; blessings abundant. We've taken quite a rollercoaster-ride together over the past (almost)8 years, I am amazed that while he's as flawed as the next person, I can still honestly say that he's turned out to be my favorite person in the world; something only God could have known or foreseen.
So Happy Birthday and many more, to a wonderful husband, father, and friend. I look foward to growing old with you. I love you Just.

basketball boy...

Maxwell is very atuned to the sound of a ball bouncing. He noticed a teenager playing on a nearby court moments after he stepped foot on it.
Right away he heads towards the court. Perhaps a game of 1 on1?
Pouting after I told him he could not go play with that ball. Does this boy have an obsession or what?

 

23 weeks...

girls night out...

Jacqui, Katie, Anne, and Sara...
These are a few of my favorite girls! We always laugh so much when together.

 

Women as Explained by Engineers

Recently an e-mail was floating around the civil engineering graduate office, and my husband decided to share it with me. He thought it was hillarious...I had to agree. There were a few more but I thought I would share my two favorites.

"The world is like a blah piece of hamburger. It needs salt to preserve it and make it have the spice of eternal joy. But so much of the church today is taking its cues from the world--the TV and Radio and magazines and newspapers and secular culture-shaping voices--that the church turns out to be just another piece of blah hamburger. And when the church lands on the world what you get is NOT a salty hamburger but two pieces of blah unsalted hamburger."- John Piper

London...

Great picture right? My good friend Sara just came home from a holiday in London. Ah London. Scones and tea galore. Great picture, great friend!

Happy Easter!

He has risen!

Hallelujah!

CROWN HIM WITH MANY CROWNS!
Crown him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon his throne;
Hark, how the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own!
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of him who died for thee,
And hail him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity.
Crown him the Son of God,
Before the worlds began,
And ye who tread where he hath trod,
Crown him the Son of man;
Who ev'ry grief hath known
That wrings the human breast,
And takes and bears them for his own,
That all in him may rest.
Crown him the Lord of life,
Who triumphed o'er the grave
And rose victorious in the strife
For those he came to save;
His glories now we sing,
Who died and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring,
And lives that death may die.
Crown him the Lord of Heav'n
Enthroned in worlds above,
Crown him the King to whom is giv'n
The wondrous name of love.
Crown him with many crowns,
As thrones before him fall;
Crown him, ye kings, with many crowns,
For he is King of all.
Amen.

The Passion of Jesus on the Cross

“It was the third hour when they crucified him” (Mark 15:25 ). That means 9am. Pilate had ordered a sign over his head: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19 ). Passersby ridiculed him, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40). The soldiers mocked him. The chief priests with the scribes and elders added their scorn, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him” (Matthew 27:42). And even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him.
Jesus drank the cup of suffering unmixed, and refused any pain-deadening anesthetic. “They offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it” (Matthew 27:34). About noon , near the end, he cried out, “‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'” (Matthew 27:46). Amazingly these seemingly hopeless words are the exact words of the beginning of Psalm 22 in the Old Testament, which then resolves into a Psalm of great hope. The poet, who seems to begin with despair, finally exults in God and says, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you” (verse 22). The early church did not miss the connection between Jesus' agonizing words and the final hope of this psalm. They applied these very words of triumph to Christ after his resurrection (Hebrews 2:12 ). Yes, there was a kind of God-forsakenness on the cross, but the abandonment was not final.
After three hours on the cross, Jesus died. His disciples saw the awesome, world-changing moment from different angles, and summed it up in different ways. Matthew said, “Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit” (Matthew 27:50). John wrote, “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,' and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30 ). Luke, who was not there, and may have gotten his information from Jesus' mother, wrote, “Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!' And having said this he breathed his last” (Luke 23:46 ).
To make sure he was dead, a Roman soldier “pierced his side with a spear” (John 19:34). He was taken down from the cross by his family and friends, and buried in a borrowed, cave-like tomb. Pilate gave orders for the tomb to be sealed and guarded. A great stone was rolled over the mouth of the tomb and guards were stationed. There the body lay until early Sunday morning.
-John Piper. www.desiringgod.org

Today our Savoiur died, a perfect man, paid the price for the sins of the world. How can we refuse him? The suffering he went through, the ridicule he endured, all for a world of people who hated him. I pray that today as we reflect on his death on the cross we take the time to praise God for this incredible gift to us, for his mercy upon us, and that each day until we meet him we might honor and praise him for his grace.

Henry Vilas Zoo

a lot of animals were still not out yet, but Max had a blast seeing the ones that were there.
a little worried about the sea otters...they swam right up against the window.

 

the writing process...

according to maxwell jared swanson...

writers block...

do you have any ideas?

oh man! I got it!

a writer...hard at work

Pslam 118

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let Israel say: "His love endures forever." Let the house of Aaron say: "His love endures forever." Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love endures forever." In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free. The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: "The LORD's right hand has done mighty things! The LORD's right hand is lifted high; the LORD's right hand has done mighty things!" I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done. The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.- Psalm 118
"My dear friends, you must have a more certain way to know that God is good and loving than the variable circumstances of your life. We live in a world of death, disease, accident, natural disaster, human evil and human stupidity. You cannot know if God is good or if he is loving by examining the created order or the circumstances of your life. Evil happens to everyone, everywhere. Your ability to believe that God is good when everything is going good for you does not mean that you believe that God is good. Everyone can say God is good when good things are happening to him or her. But the only way you know if you really believe God is good is how you respond when evil comes upon you, as it surely will. If your confidence in God's goodness and love is based on anything other than what Psalm 118 describes you are living your life based upon a fantasy and there is a day coming when you will be crushed...If the way to know God is good and that he loves you is by how your life is going then our family can only conclude one thing: God hates Jared and he hates us. Either that is true or God is powerless to stop evil."- John Swanson

Not a day goes by that I do not think about Jared and his accident. These last few weeks however, he has been on my heart even more in prayer. My in-laws have amazed me. All of them. I have seen them on the best of days and the worst of days. I know my Mother-in -law has had it really hard. A few weeks ago admitting she had let go of a lot of the "mothering" things she used to do, one of her biggest being cooking. This did not go unoticed by the rest of us, we missed her homecooked meals. But she has made a goal to cook for 21 days straight, in the hopes that she can make it a habit and practice she loves again. But despite the hardship, and sometimes not knowing what to think, in the end she knew and believed that God is good. And he is.
Living with Jared the way he is now is hard. Not living the life he had dreamed of, and that his parents had dreamed of for him. He was passionate for Christ, loving all whom he encounted, never to be forgotten. But the visitors have become less. There are a few wonderful friends who are commited to making time to see Jared, and I know that means so much to his parents.
I love being at the house when everyone is there. We always have a great time together...always laughing. And Jared is present, and I am so glad he is. All of his siblings pitch in to help take care of him, and to watch his parents care for him humbles me so much for a reason I cannot even explain. Of course I wish none of this would have happened and that he was married with children of his own, we all do. There are good days and hard days. And there has been other hardships in our family that we have had to deal with.
My Father-in-law preached on Psalm 118 this past Sunday, about knowing the goodness of God no matter what is going on in your life. It is easy to say God is good when things are going well, he is blessing you, those around you. But what about when those times are bad? When things are hard, when all seems lost? God is still good. But do you think that? Do you really believe that? God is good no matter what is going on in our lives. Something to think about...

hooray for spring!

there is nothing like an afternoon at the park. cool dude...
never happier than when outside...

new spring shoes

In like a lion, out like a lamb.

Awoken by the pitter patter of raindrops against the window, with the occasional gust of wind. Again.
I have been longing for spring. Winter has been like a joker, playing tricks on our minds. I see the sun and head outside to feel the warmth, only to be slapped in the face by a nasty wind. The next day a warmer one, to be enjoyed. I think, it is finally here! Only to be followed by a bitter overcast day... In like a lion, out like a lamb.
The last few days it has been raining, on and off. I enjoy the rain at night all cozy in bed, or even when I first wake up. During the day however, I like the sun peaking in the windows, greeting me when I go out the front door. But these days the sun has remained hidden. Taking a long nap I guess.
But, it has not been all that bad. This week I have been more exhausted than ever. I have always been go, go go, but I was forced to relax more this week. When I was pregnant with Maxwell I worked full time up until a week before he was due, but this time having a 1 1/2 year old to chase all day long, my energy runs low before dinner. I have been "nesting" a bit this week, organizing Maxwells clothes that he has grown out of, laundry, a vigorous cleaning of our bathrooms, and today Max and I went grocery shopping.
I am trying something new, making a menu for the week of meals. We will try to stick to it as best we can, but I am sure there will be a few bumps in the road. I am good about making a well -rounded dinner at night, but as for breakfast, lunch, and snacks for Max, not so good. Lunch is almost always Mac and Cheese, but I want to expand his taste palette to sandwiches, fruit salads, and veggies. Lately I have been doing a lot better during breakfast, raisin bran one day, pancakes the next, scrabbled eggs here and there, and sometimes yogurt and granola.
Max loves breakfast.
"peas, peas. " is the first thing he says each morning to me to rush me into the kitchen.
I love our mornings together, quiet as we sit together, waking up to a new day.
Back to this week. I have been able to reflect more on Christ because of the rain. I admit I have not been so good about being in his word this week, next week I will strive to do better, but thinking about his awesomeness, goodness, love, has left me awestruck. I mean, seems like a no brainer, but through my marriage, watching Maxwell learn and discover new things, seeing Maxwell grow and show love to me and Justin as his parents, my passion to know Christ more is growing. Reflecting on his goodness to us by sending his son to die for me. I pray that he would continue to reveal his goodness to me, that I would cling to him alone, let my worries fall behind me as I put my complete fatith and hope in him. I want to know him more, and hope that I can continue to grow in and through him daily.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARA!

sara and her son, Paul.

Happy Birthday (April 9) to my cousin Sara! A great woman ( and mom), who loves her family and the Lord. So glad she is a part of my family!