Hey, friends! I plan on finishing the TX update soon, but many of the pictures from that trip are on Joe’s computer. With Joe. At work. So, since I couldn’t work on that today, I added several pictures to our Flickr. We’ve been enjoying some beautiful weather here lately!

We interrupt the string of TX updates to bring you pictures of the cutest baby EVER. Little M tried out her exersaucer for the first time yesterday.

She enjoyed it. Thoroughly.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming

I think this video (link below) is going around through email, but when I come across a good thing, I feel like I gotta’ share it. Here it is if you haven’t seen it. We all know how much I love to hear kids sing!

Life is full of little blessings. I try to notice them.

Remember them. Enjoy them. Thank the Lord for them.

This week has been especially full of sweet things.

Fellowship. Friends. Laughter. Prayers. Hugs. Chocolate.

I made a cake and some cupcakes for a party:

A friend brought us some tulips:

Maren turned 3 Months old:

And Evan asks to hold her all the time. These two are really beginning to “play” together, and it makes me happy:

I say it often, but we are so blessed.

She’s here!!! Our little baby girl arrived yesterday, January 6, 2008. Thank you for all your prayers for her and Suzanne. They are both doing great. Here are the details:

Name: Maren Grace Thomas
Birth Date/Time: January 6, 2008 at 4:44 p.m.
Weight: 7 lb 5 oz
Length: 18 3/4 in

And here are a couple pictures (see more on flickr):

What a joy it is to see the sun shine on children’s faces. It almost inevitably means smiles will be the order of the day. And, it was. Evan and I got out to play together in the park. And though Suzanne is a little “under the weather,” the Lord gave us great weather to play in. He was just running and running and running and running. Oh, did I mention that he ran a bit?

Here he is going through his routine of “On your mark…Get set…Go!!!”

Oh, thank you, Lord, for your beautiful creation you’ve given us to enjoy!

See more pictures of Evan at the park on flickr.

After supper tonight, we decided to venture outside for Evan to get some energy out. We try to get outside as much as we can these days while its still warm enough! We were walking around the neighborhood while Evan rode his “bike.” We were stopped on the sidewalk, once again, so Evan could get a closer look at a wheel, because, you know, they all look different. Lots of the same cars are parked on the street each time we go on a walk, and each time we stop at almost every car to look at the wheels…enough so that I can tell you which cars have Firestone tires That’s my boy!

Anyway, I get off on tangents a lot, don’t I? Well, this particular time that we were stopped, I looked in the grass next to us and saw something moving.

At first glance, I thought it was a bee. But it was actually a caterpillar - a strange looking one. Joe went home to get our camera as I reminded Evan about one of his favorite books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Joe came back and picked up the furry creature, named him Mr. Withers, and had visions of keeping him as a pet. I, on the other hand, admired the thing from a distance. I figured he was harmless, but I don’t think you can trust creepy crawly things. I did have visions of this thing rearing up and showing us its fangs just before it attacked my face because I got too close. So there you have it. Now you know more about my dramatic, paranoid side. I think it liked Joe, though.

In an effort NOT to pass on my irrational fear of bugs to Evan, Joe helped him hold Mr. Withers.

It is kind of cute, but I think it will be cuter as a butterfly.

We’ll post more pictures from our outing on Flickr.

“The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.”
- Psalm 19:1, 2 ESV

At 2:50 this morning, I woke up to go watch the lunar eclipse. I had it all laid out and ready to go…camera, camping chair, jacket, snacks, etc. The only thing I couldn’t find was the camera attachment for my tripod. So, I had to take pictures while resting my camera on my car. Boo.

A cluster of stars or a nebula or something.

Suzanne was quite happy to stay in bed sleeping, so I drove off into the country (to get away from the “city” lights). The sky was clear and the temperature was a brisk 3° C (37.4° F). Brr…

Despite the missing tripod attachment and the cold, I did get a few good photos and enjoyed a decaf double-double (2 creams, 2 sugars) and a lemon-cranberry muffin from Tim Horton’s. Below is a progression of the shots I got.

A photo progression of the lunar eclipse of August 28, 2007. (Medium | Large)

“And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.”
- Genesis 1:16-18 ESV

Very good, indeed!

checked out our Flickr? I posted a few new pictures. Go see for yourself!