Buona Pasqua

We are hanging out at my mom's this afternoon. Enjoying a beautiful spring day in fellowship with family. My mom shared the following passage that she wrote to give to family and friends for Easter. It moved me and I hope it moves you.

Happy Easter.

God’s Gift

God created humanity for a LOVE RELATIONSHIP with himself.

He gave us FREEDOM OF CHOICE because love is only love if it is freely chosen. 

Our choice has always been GOD or NOT GOD.

But, we are SELF-CENTERED by nature and quest mostly for things that gratify self.

We do this so much that we EXCLUDE RELATIONSHIP with

the very God who created us.

But, God loved us so much that HE CAME IN PERSON to draw us back to himself.

He came as JESUS to cover our selfishness even while we were still selfish.

He made a way to RESTORE relationship.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross REDEEMED RELATIONSHIP FOR ALL

 - for everyone who will receive it

 - for all time!

We have only to CLAIM it.  To thank God for loving us so much that he came for us and to CHOOSE

 the love he offers.

The promise for those who choose is relationship FOREVER with God.

To not choose – to quest only for SELF and the fleeting things of this world – is to REJECT GOD – to 

choose to live forever WITHOUT Him.

We are SPIRIT BEINGS.  Once created, our spirits live FOREVER.

–        Either with God or without Him.

To live forever with God is JOY.  To live forever without him is TORMENT.

When we die our spirits will be with God or without him - FOREVER.

* * * * * * * * * * *

My Dear Friend, I pray that you see how much God loves you … He has been waiting YOUR WHOLE LIFE for you to see it, sustaining you, providing for you, desiring you to come to him before your time of choosing (this earthly life) is over.

All it takes is a quiet, heartfelt prayer receiving Jesus as God’s way

 for you to have relationship with him.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,

That whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

but to save the world through him.

- John 3:16-17

6 weeks

Well, it's just been business as usually in the baby department. She is six weeks old today and is growing like a weed. She's up to 9lbs. 14oz., that's up 2lbs. 2oz. from her birth weight.

Jane is changing every day. I can't begin to explain how fun it is to watch. She came out of me wanting to hold her head up, but now she is getting a little more control. We practice that on our walks when I have her in the harness. We've tried and tried "tummy time," but she HATES it. She's getting pretty talkative too. All those little giggles and coos are starting...nice to hear something other than screaming coming from her. hah

In other baby news it turns out that Jane is allergic to the cow's milk protein from my diet. After a series of very bad diapers and some skin reactions we decided to try cutting that out. I'm happy/sad to report that the symptoms have cleared up. Happy for Jane...sad for me. Goodbye my beloved dairy products. But, if that makes Jane happier and healthier then I'm totally willing to make the sacrifice, especially if it means I can keep exclusively breastfeeding. Plus it will also help with loosing this last bit of baby weight...no ice cream, no butter, no cheese. 

Here are some snapshots of her life the past 2 weeks:

First night in her crib! (This was about a week and a half ago)
Jane is doing great, she consistently only wakes up once at
night to nurse then usually goes right back to sleep. 

Me and Jane (and Libby too) getting ready for our daily afternoon walk.

Finally fitting in my 0-3 month clothes!

Love her funny faces.

...and little smiles.

So serious.

Just kidding!