From Everlasting to Everlasting

This is what I got to see a few weeks ago. He knew I needed it.

              Before the mountains were born                                      

                                         or you brought forth the earth and the world,                         

                                             from everlasting                                

                                                                to everlasting...                                    

       You are God.    

                                                                                                                          Psalm 90:2                                         

Today...

I am really grateful for this man

...who makes us laugh all day long.

...who is in every way sooo good for me.

...who loves the Lord and leads our family well.

....who is an incredible father to our little boy(s).

...who is a man of wisdom and integrity and character.

...whom God uses to help me become the woman He wants me to be.

...whose crazy personality is so clearly reflected in his son.

...whom I am so blessed to get to journey beside.

I am really grateful for this man

...who is a great father-in-law.

...who welcomed me into his family with no expectations.

...who is a hard worker and instilled that value into my family.
...whose life gave life to my husband and, in turn, to my babies.

 

I am really grateful for this man

...who gave me life.

...whom I miss very much.

...who is brilliant and hilarious.

...whose love of the beauty of the outdoors he passed along to me.

...who always worked so hard and so well to provide for our family.

...whose unconditional love for me made it easier for me to receive God's.

Happy Father's Day

All of Me

Walking through these new challenges, the Lord is surrounding us with people who have already been there. My friend, Sarah, and I were roommates together in Ocean City years and years ago. She is an incredible mother of two girls and one boy. Her little boy, Bowen, is now nine months old and was born with a serious heart defect. Her husband, Matt, is the lead singer of Sanctus Real. He recently released a song called "All of Me" that he wrote while Sarah was pregnant with Bowen. Check out this short video to hear more about his heart behind the song. It is amazing.

You can read more at their blog, Bowen's Heart.

"All of Me" from Ryan Lynch on Vimeo.

Summertime

We had planned on spending the summer in Vail, Colorado on a summer project.  All the plans we had made, however, changed instantly in the perinatologist's office a few weeks ago.  So, now we're home with good access to consistent medical care.

Summer at home brings with it unexpected challenges and opportunities.  Caleb is no longer in school, so I am playing with the idea of coming up with some weekly themes for us to explore...bugs, space, etc.  With summer, he gets a lot more time with his dad...which has been wonderful.  They have spent hours playing with water in his new little pool.  Another special thing they do together is watch the TV show Wipeout on the computer every Saturday.  I am not a fan, so it is definitely a Daddy/Caleb thing.  Yesterday, he put together the costume in the pics below...his "Wipeout superhero costume."

And so we have this short little season together as a family of three before things change drastically in the fall with the coming of a new little person.  I am so grateful to have this time to nest, to learn, and to seek God.  I sometimes get nervous about the unknown and unforeseen challenges of the fall...with a new baby and medical issues and ministry in full swing.  But, as He keeps reminding me, I need "not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself (Matt 6:34)."

In the meantime, C and I are both signed up for some reading programs.  B and I are working on some Scripture memorization together.  And, I am hoping to get some camping in. Hopefully we can sprinkle some extra activities throughout the summer such as learning to sew and the awesome ideas from this blog post.  Check them out if you have kids.  Happy Summer!

"...that the works of God might be displayed in him."

My friend Holly sent me the following talk from John Piper: "Why was this child born blind?"  In John 9, the disciples ask Jesus if a man's blindness was due to his sin or that of the parents.  Jesus responds by saying that it wasn't that they sinned, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him (John 9:3)."

Yes.  That is our prayer.  It has been our prayer all along.  We are asking God to use this wiggly little boy (and Caleb as well) to show others how wonderful He is.  He has already been doing so in our lives.  :-)

Piper gave this talk the day before our ultrasound.   Cool, huh?  If you have some time to sit and listen, it's great stuff.  The text of the talk is also written out on the website...if you just want to read it. 

Find the talk here.

"...but this happened
so that the works of God
might be displayed in him."

John 9:3

What we know as of now...

WARNING:  This post is long, and it is as much for my own memory as it is to help friends understand what's going on.  Also, I in no way possess any medical training.  So, feel free to correct me if you see any errors here.  It's all as I understood what the doctors were telling me.  :-)

Last week, we traveled up to Albuquerque again to see multiple doctors.  Because the appointments spanned two days, we stayed the night with our friends Kyle and Chrissy.  Their hospitality made what could have been a challenging trip significantly more enjoyable.

We were pretty nervous about what the doctors would say.  There was still so much we didn't know, and we had waited to meet with them to learn more about what our little boy will be dealing with.  We wanted to be educated by the doctors...not the internet.  Expecting more hard news, we instead ended up leaving each appointment surprisingly encouraged.

From the NICU doctor, we learned:

• The length of his stay in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit will be roughly until his due date (September 3rd). 
• Soon after he is born, he will be on monitors and IVs.  He will receive an ultrasound, an EKG, and an echo cardiogram. He will also probably receive antibiotics. 
• Trisomy 21 babies have a harder time eating at first.  IVs and feeding tubes could be involved.
• Along with that, nursing will be difficult.  I can use a hospital-grade pump, and they'll use that once he's off IVs. 
• He might need help breathing, and he will likely be assisted by oxygen or a breathing machine.  
• She expects Downs babies to come prematurely.  This, however, was contradicted by the pediatric cardiologist. 

From the pediatric cardiologist, we learned:

• Prematurity isn't necessarily more prevalent in babies with Down Syndrome.
• His arteries and veins look normal...which is great. 
• After he is born, they will quickly evaluate him to ensure the diagnosis is correct.  This is partly the reason for the echo cardiogram. 
• They will then meet with us to determine a follow-up plan.    
• He will have surgery when he is 4 months old.  It is a 5 day recovery if all goes well.  The surgery involves using a dacron patch (a woven, plastic material similar to that of a parka) to create the missing septums.  Apparently, the heart covers the material with cells and it doesn't need to be replaced.  In fact, the heart grows in proportion to the body and the patch stays the same...meaning it becomes rather insignificant over the long term. 
• The surgeon has never seen a fatality.  A few have needed a second surgery or an artificial valve put in, but it has a great success rate.

From the OBGYN doctor, we learned:

• We won't be in Albuquerque this summer as much as we thought. 
• She will deliver us, and the delivery will hopefully be like any other.  It won't necessarily be caesarean, but there will be NICU doctors immediately on hand. 
• She will induce us at 38 or 39 weeks.  I am less likely to deliver before that due to the fact that Caleb came late.  My pregnancy history is the greatest factor in determining whether this baby will come early or late. 

From the Perinatologist, we learned:

• Our baby looks great!  They did what is called a "biophysical profile" on him via ultrasound.  It took them a very short time to find what they needed to see.  As I understood it, they were looking for the following four things, and they scored him accordingly:
• Resistance in the Umbilical Cord:  Score: 2 out of 2
• Fine Motor Skills:  Score: 2 out of 2  He was opening and closing a fist while they were looking. 
• Practicing Breathing:  Score: 2 out of 2  He was hiccuping while they watched...which counts.
• Amniotic Fluid Level:  Score: 2 out of 2
• So, he scored 8 out of 8!!  We were so proud...and grateful!  :-)

So, it was a good trip...full of good news and good friends...and mostly a very good God.  We're so thankful for our God who cares for us through great medical doctors and great friends and family. 

Also, through this trip we were able to learn more specifics as to what we can be praying for.  I am hoping to create a prayer list on a separate page listed at the top of my blog.  Thanks again so much to all of you who are praying!  It means more than we can ever begin to express.

Meet Baby Pelton

He looks so very much like Caleb did as a baby.  It was our first reaction, and this quick ultrasound photo was a sweet gift from the Lord in the midst of all the news.  Thanks so much for all your sweet messages and prayers.  How blessed we are to have such wonderful people in our lives.  Tomorrow, I hope to share more about what we know so far about what the first few months of his life will look like.  In the meantime, I leave you with this beautiful little face...

 

"For you created my inmost being; 

you knit me together in my mother's womb. 

I praise you because I am

fearfully and wonderfully made; 

your works are wonderful, 

I know that full well."

Psalm 139:13-14

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Two weeks ago, we received some news that is still changing our lives.

After our routine 20-week ultrasound hinted at something strange, our doctor sent us up to Albuquerque for a Level 2 ultrasound to get a better look.  We left Caleb with good friends, and we made the trip just the two of us...engaging in a pretty long argument about nothing along the way. 

Once there, the ultrasound technician who saw us was sweet and cracked countless jokes, but we weren't at all in the mood.  We were both apprehensive as to what the screen would reveal.  As she began to look at the heart, it was obvious even to us that something was not normal.  His little heart seemed to have only three chambers.  The tech seemed concerned and spent what felt like an eternity taking more pictures of various parts of his little body.

Eventually, the doctor came in and explained the following:  He has an Atrioventricular Canal Defect.  In the first weeks of his life, the wall (septum) between his atria didn't form.  Neither did the septum between his ventricles.  It is a congenital heart defect that is common in children with Down Syndrome.  Due to the heart defect and some other indicators, the likelihood of our little guy having Down Syndrome was 50-70%.  So, at their recommendation, we did an amniocentesis.   

During the days that followed, our tears were mixed with much joy and gratitude.  Family and good friends were praying for us, and we felt it.  Again and again, the Lord was reminding us that He "works all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28)" and that He has a plan for our littlest boy's life...a very good plan.  That didn't change when we received the news four days later that he does indeed have Down Syndrome.  

There are still so many unknowns.  But, God knows.  There are so many emotions.  But, He's walking us through this.  And, we are clinging to Him.  

"Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.  

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me into glory. 

Whom have I in heaven but you? 

And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever."

Psalm 73: 23-26

And we're up and running...

So, obviously it has been a little while since my last post...seven or so months to be more precise. I had started playing with blog design. I had decided to base my blog theme off the verse in Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He has made everything beautiful in its time." I wanted this blog to be a place where I could gather together things that I found beautiful...stories of my family, photography, crafts, etc. I wanted to celebrate the beauty of my Lord reflected in the things He has made.

Then, something rather significant happened, and I got a little distracted. We found out on December 23rd that we are pregnant! The night before, we had had a conversation with my Dad to tell him we were adopting internationally. So, it was something of a surprise to see what we saw that next night. 

I had taken the pregnancy test at Brandon's encouragement...just to get the question out of my mind. I was in no way expecting to see the word "pregnant" unaccompanied by "not." The picture above we took that night...before we told anyone. We were incredibly stunned, and I cried. With that shock came much joy, and along with Christmas morning came the opportunity to tell my parents something I had been wanting to tell them for over three years.

So, the grandiose thoughts of learning CSS and trying my hand at blog design soon fell to the wayside as I began to dream of baby names and nursery colors. I had all intentions of getting back to my blog someday. And, now, six months later, this precious little boy currently making his presence known in my body necessitates that I get this thing up and running again. So, now begins my jump back into the blogging world...

Thanks for reading.

Under Construction...

I have been doing some scheming and dreaming lately, and I am hoping to have a new blog (same address) up and running in the next few weeks.

So, until then, forgive the mess.

Not exactly how the story went...

Caleb sometimes likes to act out Bible stories and often asks us to act with him. The following is this morning's enactment of 1 Samuel 3. The actors were as follows: God-Caleb Samuel-Brandon Eli-Mandy

God/Caleb: Samuel...Samuel...
Samuel/Brandon: (Waking up and thinking it was Eli calling him) What is it, Eli?
Eli/Mandy: (Sleeping but woken by Samuel) I didn't call you, Samuel.

Samuel goes back to bed...
God/Caleb: Samuel...Samuel...
Samuel/Brandon: (Wakes up and goes into Eli's room again) Eli, why did you call me?
Eli/Mandy: I didn't call you. (Then, realizing it might be God) If you hear it again, say, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."

Samuel goes back to bed...
God/Caleb: Samuel...Samuel...
Samuel/Brandon: Speak, Lord. I am listening. What do you want from me?
God/Caleb: (Pausing to think about it...and then jumping on the opportunity) Will you come play with me? Let's play house.

Empathy Week

In about a month, Cru is hosting something called Empathy Week through the organization iEmpathize.  I will share more in the coming weeks, but please pray for us as we address on campus the issue of human trafficking...in particular child sex slavery.  We really hope to raise awareness and money to help end the tragedy of modern day slavery.  And we need a lot of help doing it.  Please pray.

Thanks.
Mandy

Star Trails

Yesterday, to celebrate Mother's Day, the three of us had a great time camping at City of Rocks State Park.  Usually when we go camping, we head to the tent early.  This is due to the fact that it's easier for Caleb to get to sleep that way, as well as the fact that, apart from making s'mores, there usually isn't a whole lot to do after dark.

That was definitely not the case last night.

I have never seen such stars.  This park is far away from everything and has very little light pollution.  I seriously wanted to cry several times looking up and thinking of the One who made the universe...and me.  One of the very best ways I can meet with God is outside in beautiful places.  He has been doing a lot in my heart over this past week,  and so the opportunity to stay up after Brandon and Caleb went to bed was beyond precious.  I spent time stargazing, reading Counterfeit Gods (amazing) by Tim Keller, praying in my journal, and playing with my camera.

The above shot was one of two I took of the sky.  I have been wanting to learn how to capture star trails, and after a few attempts I learned how to keep my shutter open long enough to capture half an hour's movement of the stars in the sky.  I couldn't see anything, so the composition was pretty blind.  But, I LOVE how they turned out.  I smothered some screams and jumped up and down around our campsite when I saw that it had worked. I can't wait to try it again.

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you had set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" (Psalm 8:3-4)  Thank You, Father.

Catching up...

Over the past few months, we've...

*had a great time in ministry. We are so grateful that God has placed us where He has.  DCC was great for us, and it has been so fun seeing Him work in lives around us.

*been to our fifth marriage conference. This year, we went to a Weekend to Remember conference again and loved it. Such great stuff!! For our date night, we rode the NM RailRunner up to the Plaza in Santa Fe. It was a favorite Valentine's Day. :-) Next year, we hope to go to a Love and Respect conference.

*thoroughly enjoyed college basketball season...with K-State being ranked 6 and Purdue 3. Robbie Hummel's devastating accident last night may have ended the potential to go to Indianapolis in the Final Four, but one can still hope.  It makes me sick to my stomach to think about it.

*still loved living in New Mexico.  This place is so beautiful, and after spending a month traveling throughout the Midwest...we're not missing the cold at all.  I just wish our family and friends would move out here too.

*prayed through infertility.  I hope to update more on this relatively soon.  It always seems to be hard for me to put into words what has been going on here, and several started posts have not been completed.  Maybe now that I am putting this in writing, I can follow through with an update.  We'll see.

*seen Caleb's eye doctor.  He has complained of pain in his eyes.  So, we took him in for a check-up last Friday.  His eyes are still much improved and surgery is still not needed.  Thanks, God.  I was also concerned about Caleb's vision.  We checked it, and he has eye sight that is better than a four-year-old's.  We're so grateful.  The pain in his eyes were attributed to possible allergies or just occasional blurriness or double vision.  We'll see as he gets older and can communicate better what he is seeing.  The doctor's not worried about it though.

*dropped our external hard drive with countless pictures and files on it.  Okay, maybe it was me who dropped my external hard drive...but I couldn't change the subject of my original sentence.  I am hoping to be able to recover a lot of files, but many pictures are gone.  Bummer.  Word of warning:  be very careful with your EHD.  Dropping=Data Loss
 
*busted a power door on our minivan.  Okay, again, I can take responsibility for that one.  I was frustrated because Caleb wasn't listening to me.  He shut the door to the car just as I was putting some stuff in the car.  It is automatic, so I pushed the door back open with my hip as it was closing on me.  I heard it snap, and the result was a $1122 price tag.  Ouch.  And, it was because I was angry and not responding well.  Stiff consequence for my sin...but God is using it for growth in my life.

*been praying for Haiti and asking God how He would have us help.  That, along with the trials that so many of our friends are going through, give us perspective and remind us that "in this world we will have trouble.  But, take heart, I have overcome the world."  John 16:33

Geaux Saints!

We are definitely Colts fans around here, and we're elated to see them in the Super Bowl. But, I am more than anything a Boilermaker! So, watching Drew Brees and the Saints make it to the Super Bowl last night was too fun. Brees was the quarterback at Purdue while I was there, and we graduated in the same class.

A friend of mine, Connie, sent me the link to this video just now, and I had to share it. In this interview, Brees talks about his faith in God and how much the Lord has done in his life to get him to New Orleans. And as far as the Super Bowl goes, I am definitely rooting for the Colts, but I won't be disappointed if New Orleans wins. NOLA needs this.



And I will update this blog someday...just need to get caught up on a few other things first. :-)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Tonight as I sit at my laptop in the dark with my son sleeping on one side of this room and my husband on the other, I feel so very grateful for all that God has blessed me with. We have had an incredible time with Brandon's family and look forward to more great times tomorrow when we travel to Indiana.

I read Randy Alcorn's post tonight and wanted to share it. I am not sure what the blog ethics are for doing this sort of thing, but I am copying and pasting here in case you don't want to travel to his blog.

As a child, my favorite part of waking up on Christmas morning was the first waking realization that it was Christmas, which was the best day of the year, even in our nonchristian family. My first move was to jump up and look out my bedroom window to see if it had snowed last night. Usually not, but several memorable times it did. After the snow-check, my brother Lance and I would run to our stockings hung by mom in the living room. I would open the contents slowly, including the ever-present Whitman's Samplers, stretching it out, not wanting it to end.

We got the big presents on Christmas Eve, but there was a special joy in the little treasures wrapped up in the stockings. I didn't understand then that these little gifts represented the greatest gift ever given—God's Son. Now, as an adult, a father and a grandfather, I feel those same childlike feelings, a warmth and anticipation. But what I feel now on Christmas that I didn't many years ago is anticipation for a New Earth, without sin and curse and suffering—a redeemed earth where I will live and work and play and worship and serve with Christian family and friends, and countless new friends besides.

I feel a spirit of adventure not just for the passing joys of Christmas, but for an eternal Christmas, a great story where—as C. S. Lewis put it at the end of the Chronicles of Narnia—every chapter will be better than the one before.

The prayer of my heart this Christmas is that people would understand that Jesus is the person they were made by and made for—that they would understand that He loved them enough to go to the cross for them and pay the price for their sins so that they could live forever with Him on the New Earth, the eternal Heaven.

There's a true story of a Christ-loving man who lay dying. His son asked, "Dad, how do you feel?"

His father replied: "Son, I feel like a little boy on Christmas Eve."

Christmas is coming. We live our lives between the first Christmas and the second . We look back to that first Christmas and the life of Jesus on the earth for some 33 years—but we look forward to the Christmas in which the resurrected Christ will return and we, his resurrected people, will live with him forever on the New Earth. And right when we think "It doesn't get any better than this"....it will!

Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed Christmas as you celebrate the Savior's birth.

Randy Alcorn

From our family to yours...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Snow in the Desert? What?

We live in the desert.  And just about everyday is sunny.  So, I get excited whenever it is cloudy...simply because it is out of the ordinary.

So, you can imagine how excited I was when we all got out of Cru and saw that snow had blanketed the campus last Thursday night.  We made quite a scene...with students making snow angels, having snowball fights, and taking lots of pictures.  It was wonderful.

When we got home, I (along with our friend and babysitter, Naomi) immediately woke Caleb up.  There was no way he was missing out on this...even if it was 10:30 at night.  We bundled up and quickly went outside to play.  We built a little snowman, threw snowballs at the wall, and just had a really great time.  It was past midnight before Caleb got to sleep again, but it was entirely worth it.  It's the stuff memories are made of.

I am taking a photo for every day of December...and I am trying to scrap them for the Holidays in Hand class I mentioned earlier.  This is the layout for the third day.  Click on it to see it larger.

I won something!

The year Caleb was born, I bought two books with the most beautiful scrapbooking pages I had ever seen.  The author, Cathy Zielske, has design skills that create serious eye candy, and I have learned so much from those books.  While I really haven't done much scrapbooking since then (just one album and several random pages), I have used all that she teaches in lots of design work for the ministry.  And, it was her photos and photography tips that encouraged me to get my dslr.  I am a big fan.

So, tonight I made a comment on her blog for a giveaway she was doing for two free spots ($100 value) in her upcoming class, Design Your Life.  Out of almost 1000 people, I got one of those spots!!!!! I am so excited and cannot wait to learn more from her.   

What a sweet blessing!  I will be so glad to be a little better trained in this stuff...especially as designing printed materials for Cru has become a part of how I am serving the Lord now as a mom.

You can see her post here.

Christmas Card Grammar

It's that wonderful time of the year again, and a lot of us are working on our Christmas cards.  So, I wanted to pass along a grammar tip that I think many people don't know.  There is more info on this website as well as on this website.

When signing cards, it is grammatically correct to write "Love, the Peltons."
Is is grammatically incorrect to write "Love, the Pelton's." 

See the difference?  It's not possessive and doesn't need an apostrophe.  I notice it a lot when we get cards in the mail and thought it might be helpful to share.  Brandon reminded me that he had been doing this until we signed our first Christmas cards as a couple.  He had to see it on the internet before he believed me.  Seriously, what did we do before the internet?

I am kind of a nerd and really enjoy proofreading newsletters and such.  So, stuff like this just jumps off a page at me.