an update on Trevor

Trevor is involved in the Closing Argument Competition

at Georgia Law. He has advanced twice already!!!

He made it from a pool of 64 competitors

down to just 16. He is competing

again tonight! If he advances again,

he will have a spot on the mock trial board.

He received his grades back from his first semester.

In several of his classes, he was in the top third!!

I am SO proud of him. This is remarkable

considering the competitive atmosphere

and the time he sets aside for his family.

He has been working really hard.

Even on his birthday (January 19) he had to stay

at school until about 10 pm to give his argument.

He sacrifices so much to be in doing what he is doing.

I am so thankful for my husband and everything

he is doing for our little family.

He leads our family in a gentle and humble way,

pointing us away from ourselves and

toward Jesus. He is a good and kind leader.

He is truly a beautiful man.

He is compassionate toward me

in my failings. He is quick to forgive and reconcile.

I love his boldness and honesty.

He loves to tell the truth and strives to be a man of truth.

He works diligently at school, comes

home, and then serves our family

(like doing the dishes, which he almost always does).

Please pray for Trevor.

Pray that he would be encouraged in his weariness.

Pray that the Lord would give him vision for our

family life and where He wants us to be.

Pray for him to grow in his giftedness,

that God might be magnified in his life and all he does.

Pray for us to fight to remain unified and close

despite this time of difficulty.

Pray that I would have wisdom to serve

him as he needs and compassion for him as he labors.

Pray that I would be more and more gracious toward him

and extend forgiveness to him freely.

Pray that he would know the Lord more and more

in these passing days, despite the stress and

lack of time. Pray that he would have sweet and

transforming time in the Word and in prayer.

Pray that he would grow in understanding

the gospel! Pray that above all else,

He would delight in King Jesus.

And, if you have time, give him a call to encourage him.

she literally gets bigger every day

So much is happening in the life of little Piper!

I thought it might be nice to update everyone.

Piper got both bottom teeth at the same time

around Thanksgiving. Now she is working on getting her

two top teeth. The right one is already out.

Piper started crawling about a week ago!

She still is getting the hang of it, and is a bit

hesitant, but she is determined to succeed.

She did so well on all of our travels this holiday season.

She has been very flexible, even though

she has the same routine everyday.

She loves to imitate people (especially Daddy).

If you stick out your tongue, she does it too.

If you wave bye-bye, she tries to wave too.

She has a sweet disposition. She loves to smile

and makes friends everywhere she goes. She is even-

tempered and loves to be around people.

She is very happy most of the time.

She will be eight months old on January 29th.

We are so thankful for her.

God has taught us so much through the

preciousness of her little life.

Please pray for us as parents that we

would be given wisdom to love her,

honor her, nurture her, and instruct her

in a way that deals with her heart....

that we would be able to truthfully convey

the gospel to her. Please pray that the Lord would,

in His mercy and tenderness, confront her with her

need for Him. Pray that she would understand His love for her,

that she would be given eyes to see Him clearly,

and that as she beholds Him, she would

be changed. Pray that she

would walk with Him all the days of her life

and find her security and identity in Him.

Pray that in our failures and sin that she

would see the redemption of God and His

grace, and that she would know Him all the more.

Maitland Family Christmas

We Maitlands had a beautiful holiday season.

We spent precious time with friends and family.

We worshiped the Savior and rejoiced as

we remembered His incarnation.

We were reminded of the importance of community.

Bryce and Emily came to visit from Portland.

The distance they traveled and time/money that was spent

is evidence of the special bond that Christ brings to friends in

fellowship with each other. Our time went by too quickly.

We traveled to Columbia to celebrate with family.

Piper opened gifts with Gran and Grandpa and Nonna and Pops.

(So did we!)

My mom's Christmas feast, her beautiful decorations,

and being with my family were amazing...

We were reminded of how special that meal will be

when Christ comes to claim His own...how sweet that

fellowship will be.

My sister's birthday is December 26. We celebrated another

year of her life together as a family.

Maybe she will post Trevor's birthday poem :)

the-4-pierces.blogspot.com

We then began our trip to Chicago.

God blessed this trip from the very beginning.

Despite questions about whether we could go, the Lord

provided for our needs and protected us as we traveled.

Piper did so well in the car.

Seeing the Lacines again was so beautiful.

But in many ways it was incomplete without our friends,

the Cunninghams.

God taught us so many things through this trip...

One main thing that we realized was the importance of

community-- people to share life with,

who can speak into our lives.

We also reflected on our new seasons of life--

here in Athens, there in Minneapolis.

We celebrated the new year at Unlce Tom's and Aunt Sue's.

Not only did I manage to secure the family egg nog recipe,

but Aunt Sue also made an amazing dinner

as well as breakfast the next morning. And yes, nog accompanied both.

On the way home from Chicago, Trevor and I had a talk about

what we want to do to celebrate the Lord next year,

our family's direction, the importance of

remembering our family story,

how we can grow in grace this coming year,

and our continued need to re-orient our

hearts around the gospel.

Chelsi, I told you this pillow would work!

I wanted you to see some of the things we bought at

the thrift store in action.

These are some of Piper's handmade gifts from Trevor and I.

I hope to post again soon. Things have been busy, but we

Maitlands are thankful for all that the

Lord is doing.