Friday, February 22, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Growing Out and Growing Up
(Above)Whittaker just after his first bath- 5 days old (Below)Last Sunday after getting his hair cut
Just 3 months before his 3rd birthday, my Whittaker is looking bigger than ever!
Two weeks ago, I went to pick him up from the nursery after Life Group and this kid came running toward me that I didn't even recognize and thought, "Who is that chunk?" (I know, I am so compassionate!) Only to discover that it was indeed Whitty running at me. We had dropped him off 2 hours earlier with a cheeseburger and french fries (we're obviously health nuts) and as he got into the car, he told Barrett and I, "Chee-burger awe-gone." Which were glad that he was telling us that he had indeed eaten his dinner. Some of the ladies in our Life Group had spoken earlier of seeing him chow down when they dropped their kids off, so the confirmation of this by our son and the communication of it was well received. However, Whitty kept telling us, "Chee-burer awe-gone!" Each time a little louder and a little fussier. Realizing what was going on now, I asked him, "Are you hungry?" He nodded his head and replied with yes, then told us he needed another "chee-burger."
Growing boys need food and we have discovered a pattern with Whitty as he has growth spurts that he grows wide and then grows tall within a few days. Five days after the "chee-burger" night, I was getting him dressed for church and putting on his Converse All-Stars that he had gotten for Christmas and had not worn yet. As he stood up and I was so excited to see how they looked with his jeans, only to be shocked that his jeans were now too short. I was sad, not because he had gotten taller, but because I love those jeans and thought that when I bought them in August that they would last all year. I hadn't even had to adjust the waste to a bigger width yet and he had already outgrown them. So, I'll be off to find another pair now in a 3T, with still 3 months to go before he actually turns 3.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Exceeding...
How many times do we ask and plead with the Lord to answer our prayers, only to find that when He answers He extravagantly exceeds our requests? Well yesterday, we saw yet another example of this as we got to see Harper again. The Radiologist took all the measurements and let us watch our boy moving and even smiling. I asked her how he was measuring and she input all the numbers and said that he is actually measuring 5 days ahead of schedule and weighs even more than expected (already at 1lb 4oz). Barrett and I both said Glory to God aloud and Barrett asked her if she knew why were in there, which she did, and we said we've had a lot of people praying for him and were so thankful with what the Lord had done. She replied with "God is Good." And I replied, of course, "All the time!" (this was always the opening cue at Life Church at the begining of Craig Groeschel's teaching as he would prompt with "God is Good" and everyone would respond "All the time")
When we sat down to wait for my doctor. Dr. Cope came in and with a smile she said, "Well, so you know the results of the ultrasound?" (Barrett and I nodding in agreement) "Well that stole all my thunder!" she said with a bigger smile.
I asked her about the amount of amniotic fluid and she said it looks great. We are just living in the promise of "FR NT" (see http://snareshare.blogspot.com/2008/01/hope-note.html) and seeing just how much the Lord fulfills and exceeds our requests.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Its All In A Name...
Naming our second son has been more challenging than the first.
Early in Barrett and my dating relationship, we frequently drove from Oklahoma City to Tulsa for Barrett to fill in to lead worship for the Life Church Tulsa Campus or to play and sing with Derrick Hensley, the Tulsa campus worship leader. One one of those trips, we had stopped to eat at a barbecue eating establishment (which was quite an experience all in itself, I will post more on that lunch and the details at another time). Sometime during our meal, a name came up that Barrett and I both thought, "Wow, that is a great name!" We threw out a few more, "You know what else would be a cool name?" type statements, one of which was followed by Whittaker...hence the name of our first born (aka Whitty). Although, there was no mention of these being names for our kids...we were no where near even being married...but I knew in the back of my mind that it was important to remember and wrote the few names we had agreed upon on my driver's license.
Since Whittaker was born, we have had numerous converasations as to what we might name our second child if we had one. Many were mentioned, but still none resonated like Whittaker did with us long before he was conceived. So upon the realization that we were expecting our second child, the name game became much more regular, tossing around names we had mentioned through the years and discovering new possibilities. Some we really liked until discovering the meaning of the name, and realizing how powerful that has been for ages and still can be in proclaiming who someone is each time you say their name. As we found out we are having a boy, the list was narrowed, but remained and was added to frequently.
Without a first name yet, I had begun searching for his middle name which I wanted to be something about being healed by God, since this is something I wholeheartedly believe. During my search, I came across the name Josiah, which I have loved for years, and saw that it meant "Yahweh supports" So I continued my search of Hebrew and Greek to find what the word healed was and if there was a name that meant "Yahweh has healed" or "healed by God" or any names assoicated with healing. I found an Old Testament Hebrew translation for healing the original word is "hapr" and since one of the names on our list that I had posed to Barrett was the name "Harper" I was feeling more confident and suggested the name "Harper Josiah".
Barrett considered it for about a week and then decided that would be his name.
As I was driving last Monday thinking about his name, I realized that in all my search for a name that meant our son was healed by God that there was a fundamental problem since the problem did not lie with our son, nor did it lie with me, but rather the conection between our two bodies. So, how fitting that the connection between Harper and Snare would be Josiah, meaning Yahweh supports and believing that the Lord will safely and successfully bring our son through pregnancy to birth being his support, in essence, the third valve.
So, if you will, when you think about our son and are pleading for the Lord to continue to support him and grow him, please pray for him by name, Harper Josiah.
I look forward to even more stories of praise of what the Lord has done. Our next appointment is Friday, the 8th.
Love you all so much and thank you for praying for Harper!
Early in Barrett and my dating relationship, we frequently drove from Oklahoma City to Tulsa for Barrett to fill in to lead worship for the Life Church Tulsa Campus or to play and sing with Derrick Hensley, the Tulsa campus worship leader. One one of those trips, we had stopped to eat at a barbecue eating establishment (which was quite an experience all in itself, I will post more on that lunch and the details at another time). Sometime during our meal, a name came up that Barrett and I both thought, "Wow, that is a great name!" We threw out a few more, "You know what else would be a cool name?" type statements, one of which was followed by Whittaker...hence the name of our first born (aka Whitty). Although, there was no mention of these being names for our kids...we were no where near even being married...but I knew in the back of my mind that it was important to remember and wrote the few names we had agreed upon on my driver's license.
Since Whittaker was born, we have had numerous converasations as to what we might name our second child if we had one. Many were mentioned, but still none resonated like Whittaker did with us long before he was conceived. So upon the realization that we were expecting our second child, the name game became much more regular, tossing around names we had mentioned through the years and discovering new possibilities. Some we really liked until discovering the meaning of the name, and realizing how powerful that has been for ages and still can be in proclaiming who someone is each time you say their name. As we found out we are having a boy, the list was narrowed, but remained and was added to frequently.
Without a first name yet, I had begun searching for his middle name which I wanted to be something about being healed by God, since this is something I wholeheartedly believe. During my search, I came across the name Josiah, which I have loved for years, and saw that it meant "Yahweh supports" So I continued my search of Hebrew and Greek to find what the word healed was and if there was a name that meant "Yahweh has healed" or "healed by God" or any names assoicated with healing. I found an Old Testament Hebrew translation for healing the original word is "hapr" and since one of the names on our list that I had posed to Barrett was the name "Harper" I was feeling more confident and suggested the name "Harper Josiah".
Barrett considered it for about a week and then decided that would be his name.
As I was driving last Monday thinking about his name, I realized that in all my search for a name that meant our son was healed by God that there was a fundamental problem since the problem did not lie with our son, nor did it lie with me, but rather the conection between our two bodies. So, how fitting that the connection between Harper and Snare would be Josiah, meaning Yahweh supports and believing that the Lord will safely and successfully bring our son through pregnancy to birth being his support, in essence, the third valve.
So, if you will, when you think about our son and are pleading for the Lord to continue to support him and grow him, please pray for him by name, Harper Josiah.
I look forward to even more stories of praise of what the Lord has done. Our next appointment is Friday, the 8th.
Love you all so much and thank you for praying for Harper!
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