myrtle beach, sc, and piper's birthday invite!

Please excuse the far too many times I have had to publish this post. I am having issues.
This weekend we went to North Myrtle Beach, SC with Trevor's parents. It was fun. It was restful. I took a nap in the sun. We were upgraded into a penthouse because the resort was empty-- mid-May isn't technically in season. It was a beautiful place to stay and our time there was too short. It was so cool to see Piper experience the ocean. We took her to the beach last summer, but she was very little and mostly slept in her car seat. Piper had a birthday celebration at the beach with Gran and Grandaddy-- they brought an entire party with them. Piper loved her cake, but she especially loved the float they gave her. She had so much fun floating in the water with us. She will have two more celebrations--one in Gatlinburg this coming weekend with part of my extended family, and one here at home the second weekend of June. Her real birthday is May 29th. You can see the invitation for the party here in Athens posted below, along with some shots from the beach. As you can see, Piper was especially camera shy this weekend (just like she was in her ultrasound :) I kind of wanted to not invade her time on the beach by making her pose. We are headed to Gatlinburg, TN this coming weekend to spend time with my grandparents, my sister Anne and her family, my mom and dad, and my cousin Carla, her husband, and their son Thomas. I am hoping to do some portraits of the Pierces there (baby girl Pierce is expected at the end of July!) and maybe my grandparents as well. Also, I included a shot of my new haircut-- I was inspired by my friend Emily to go shorter-- if you look through her pictures, you can find her pixie cut, and she looks so cute. Be back soon with more pictures.

test post

can't believe how fast she's changing

Our little girl is almost a year old. I can't believe how quickly the first year of her life has gone by. She just started walking and took eight steps in a row today :) She is such a beautiful little person-- so full of life and joy! I am so thankful for the gift that God gave us in her. It shows me so much about who God is that he would kindly give us this child to love and care for, that he gave me and so many other woman the gift of being a mother. We'll be celebrating her first birthday soon, and for friends who are far away, we'll be mailing you a card so that you can write her a letter for her baby book.

Thinking about how much she's changing, I realize how much she has changed me. A couple of days ago, I was looking through some letters and cards from friends in Portland, and I came across the things that I saved from Piper's baby shower. Our church in Portland had a tradition of gathering to give gifts to women or couples who are embarking on a new season of life. I know alot of people play games at a baby shower, but instead of that, they would share encouraging words about things God has taught them through the years. These times were so precious. As I reflect on what our first year of life together has been like, I want to include some of these words of encouragement.

Amber Zrust wrote, "Even in the joy of parenting, the frustrations come, but Jesus is faithful! Remember Jesus in very moment, the blessings and the frustrations-- His grace, wisdom, joy and peace covers both! Turn to him first in prayer because in him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Depend on the wisdom of his body, and know that you are so loved! We are here for you!"

Janine Fender wrote, "You will bear his likeness more as you bear her. Allow the Lord to train you as you train her. Salvage the beginnings of nap times for your nourishment in the Lord daily. He is with you!"

Sono Harris wrote, "It is such a work of grace when he takes a woman so molded and affected by the world and opens our hearts to his good gift of children. I have seen this work of grace in my own life and I see it in your life as you embrace motherhood. May you and Trevor be drawn closer to our Lord Jesus and to each other as you experience labor, delivery, and the next twenty plus years together as you raise Piper and any other children God should give you."

Gay Garfield wrote, "This new stage of life an which you are about to embark will be one of the most challenging but one of the most rewarding. Being a mother opened my eyes to the character and love of God in a way I never knew before. Enjoy every stage and every moment, treasure these things in your heart. Take every sorrow, fear, anxiety to the Lord-- he will sustain you. Above all find your joy in him."

Lou Rouse wrote, "This is such a wonderful place to be in your life ...(of course EVERY season of life in the Lord is great!)... but looking back, I will just tell you that I found it to be a time when the Lord showed me so many parallels between our parenting of our children, and his 'parenting' of us. May the Lord bless you and Trevor as you walk hand in hand with him in parenting Piper."

Emily Hambleton wrote, "We want you to know how happy we are for the three of you. You have all our support and we would to do whatever we can to help you adjust. 'Whom have I in heaven but you? And besides you, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever' Psalm 73:25-26."

Julie Edmonds wrote, "It has been an honor to watch the beautiful redemptive journey the Lord has seen fit to bring your family (and all of our families!) through these past few years. And now, God allowing you to partner with him in creating a new life will only serve to enhance your life and education. May God grant you much strength and wisdom as you embark on the sea of parenting!"

These are just the notes that I was able to find. This doesn't even come close to covering the beautiful example of all the other women in my life-- my own mother, my sister Anne, my friends Vanessa and Chelsi who I watched as they mothered their children for three years before Piper was born. More than anything, I have seen God tenderly shaping my heart through the life of this little girl and the times we have together as a family. I realize now that before having her, I really cherished my independence. I had no idea that it could be so wonderful to have interdependence, which is what we share as a family. This past academic year has been a hard one, and I miss the body from what was then Household of Faith Gresham. One morning, I sat grieving the loss of those people in our life on a daily basis, and I mourned because I remembered what I thought our life here would be like and how different it has actually been. There has not been a close church family to embrace us and be embraced by us (yet!). We didn't automatically become less selfish, less immature when we became parents (which I kind of though that we would... I don't know why). We still sin, and now our sin affects not only God and each other but also this little girl in our care. God spoke to me that morning. He gave me the sense that he is shown to be the kind and good God that he is, that the gospel is on display, even when we sin, even when we are lonely without our friends, even when things are different than we had hoped... because he is faithful. He never turns away. He paid the ultimate cost so that those sins and griefs would never have the last word in our life. God has spoken blessing and peace over us by reconciling us to himself, and that is the true story of our life. I guess I have been changed by this gift of God known as Piper in that I have seen how precious and beautiful she is in my sight, how much I love her and want the best for her (wow that's an understatement), how I long for her to have a rich life in the Lord-- and in seeing that, I see a small portion of what God's heart is toward me. My love, hopes, longings for Piper-- though achingly powerful-- are only a fraction of his love, hopes, and longings for me. What sort of God is this that would let us see his heart by making us mothers and fathers, not to mention sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, and friends? These things are what they are because of who he is.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me,

bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

who satisfies you with good

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Psalm 103:1-5

OMGosh

The rapture happened.

Trevor was taken.

I guess the rest of us are still here.

He sent me these pictures from heaven.

He says we should have listened to him all along...

that he really was right the whole time.

But really, we have good news! The name of our church plant is Resurrection Presbyterian. How perfect is that? Also, Trevor is in the midst of finals this week. His last test is on Thursday. Pray for him! He is stressed and tired. I'm also excited to share that he will be involved with leadership of the Christian Legal Society at Georgia Law next year. We are both so thankful that he will be able to serve the law school community and contribute to the direction of this group of law students.

On another, sadder, note... our 4runner died. She needs a new transmission. Both of our cars are broken down! This whole incident made me thankful that God himself is our gift, our hope, and that no one, no thing, no circumstance can take him away or change his love for me and you.

And one last thing... I have some developments happening with my photography! One of my first professional shoots is coming next week, and pictures from Midsummer turned out great. I'll be posting info on how they can be obtained for students who may want to purchase them. They are still being processed. But stay tuned!