this kid

can't get enough of him.

the imagination that doesn't stop.  we play 'bank robber' and use car tracks as money.  a piece of pipe as a light saber.  stuffed animals as wild animals.  he loves jokes and silly humor.  star wars.  legos.  cars.  the brady bunch.  he couldn't be any more literal.  he loves his little sister.  he's a good listener.  his dad is his biggest hero.  he's a rule follower (usually).  so thankful he is in our life. 

5 months

lucy grace

5 months old

time flies.  she is so much fun.  crying days are over.  

she loves to hold our hand or fingers.  all the time.  especially when she is nursing or trying to sleep.

she still hasn't rolled over.  she doesn't care.  and we don't either.  she reaches and stretches, but no rolls.

lots of babbles, squeals, and little giggles.  especially for her big brother.

we just started cereal.  she is a gooooooood eater.  just like her mama.

watch out curry.  lucy is a grabber.  

she is a kicker.  big time.  big powerful kicks to tell us what she wants.

naps are great.  still trying to figure out bedtime.  lots of screams...until she is held.  then she is content.

we are content.  we just love this precious time as a family of four. 

what's in a name?

we have always loved the name lucy.  always.  it was our number one girl name pick.  for many years we didn't think we would have a lucy.  and then we she was here.  with us.  a blessing.  i have been thinking about her perfect name and looking at the meanings.  i've discovered how fitting her name is.

lucy grace

lucy:  light.  she is our light.  our light after darkness.  our answered prayer.  she lights up our lives and the lives of those around us.  st. lucy.  the patron saint of sight.  fitting

grace:  favor, blessing.  a virtuous name referring to God's grace.  it couldn't be a more perfect description.  she is our blessing.  given to us by God's grace.  

but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  therefore i will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  

-2 Corinthians 12:9

2012 in Review

1.  What are you most thankful for?  

The gift of letting go, peace, and grace.  We began 2012 deciding to live life again.  We spent years dealing with the pain of infertility and we were really on the way to letting go...letting go of expectations, pregnancy, and the pain of the past. 

2.  What were the highlights of 2012?  

January--peace, letting go, and looking forward.  Began working out consistently with Michelle

February--finding out that we are expecting after 5 years of struggling with infertility

March--Joe goes to Uganda on a SixtyFeet Mission trip

April--We were able to 'announce' our pregnancy to our friends and family--it's real!

May--I said good-bye to teaching first grade at Viking School.  Looking forward to the next chapter

June--Family trip to Phoenix.  Will's first plane ride.  Our first family vacation

July--Enjoyed time at the lake...Will's first summer playing t-ball

August--Family trip to Minneapolis

September--Darcy's wedding and our 60 Feet friends came to Grand Forks

October--LUCY GRACE ZAVORAL joined our family--on my late father's birthday

November--Thankful

December--Rejoiced in our savior's birth as a new family of FOUR

3.  What are you hoping for in 2013?

A peaceful year filled with love, peace, and lots of laughter.

4. Who was God to you in 2012?

God was our rock.  Our strength.  Our peace.  Our joy.  He taught us to fully trust and believe. 

One Month

Wow.  I can hardly believe you've been here one month.  Where has the time gone?  It seems like just yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital.  I'm looking at you sleeping peacefully right now, and I pinch myself.  

You're here.

You're ours.

You're perfect.

  I love how you burrow your head into my shoulder when you want to snuggle.  I love all of your little grunts and noises.  I love how you stretch your little arms and legs as far as they can go when I take you out of your swaddle.  I love your little bright eyed faces at 2 am.  I love your little gassy smiles.  I love being your mom.

Our little love

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17

Wait

I found this poem on a blog a few weeks ago.  It perfectly describes our 'wait.'  I don't want to forget it. 

WAIT
by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

"My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

"You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.

"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know Me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."

 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

Psalm 40: 1-2 

I Love Lucy

Lucy is here!  She joined our family on Sunday, October 14th at 9:44 pm weighing 8 pounds, 10.9 ounces and 22 inches long.  We are so in love.  We are still in awe that she's here, she's ours, and she is absolutely perfect in every way. 

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him.

1 Samuel 1:27