last summer and fall stelly wanted nothing to do with the big slides at the park. she was terrified of them to say the least. kids her age were flying down them on their stomachs and backs and however else they could think to go down but she couldn't stay far enough away. so imagine... Continue Reading →

The following is a quote to honor the women in my life whose example has challenged me to hope in God: 1) my mom who is the epitome of what John Piper calls "velvet steel" - she is both strong and sweet at once 2) my mother-in-love (to borrow Elisabeth Elliot's reference to her own... Continue Reading →

We are overwhelmed by how many of you pray for us and this pregnancy and wanted to give you an update. First, I just want to praise the Lord for the smooth pregnancy this has been. I have felt great (even better than I did with Stella) and we have had relatively few bumps in... Continue Reading →

it was such a blessing to providentially run into our dear friend joy while we were in grand rapids last week. we knew she was going to be there at some point that week but didn't put it together until we were about 1/2 hour away that we were going to be there at the... Continue Reading →

we had a great week with my mom and were sad to see her go. matt and i got to have a rare date night while she was here which was so nice. he recounted to me all the amazing sermons he heard at T4G on our way to grand rapids for our date. i... Continue Reading →

nothing too exciting has been going on here this week other than spring cleaning. next week however, ammy comes for a visit so we are excited about that! my mom and i both have april birthdays so we always enjoy celebrating together. it is so fun having a birthday in the spring. it seems like... Continue Reading →

well, after i butchered our html, my tech savvy husband rescued our blog from destruction. it really wasn't that bad, but i got scared i would lose our archives and stopped messing w/ it until he had time to look at it and remedy my mistakes. it took him all of 2 minutes. anyway, i'm... Continue Reading →

i don't think it's an exaggeration to say that including the time i read to her each day, stelly would love to have her nose in a book for hours on end. whether she's being read to or "reading" to herself, it is definitely her favorite thing to do!trying to remember... maybe this is where... Continue Reading →

The doctrine of perseverance has been such a comfort to me over this past year and a half. There were and still are times that I fear my faith will fail depending on what God's sovereign hand deals us. However, the fact that my faith is great not because of the amount of it but... Continue Reading →

That was a line from a sermon I listened to when I was expecting Stella. It was a John Piper sermon on motherhood. I was so excited about expecting our first baby and one Monday night while Matt was in class I decided it would be good for me to listen to a Piper sermon... Continue Reading →

we were so glad we got to welcome in the new year with the haneys and other good friends at jason and liz's on new year's eve. me and vivimatt is watching in awe as liz is "bringin' it" to jason in wii tennis like it ain't ever been brung! (jason, this is our blog... Continue Reading →

it is so nice being able to see both our families when we go home for a visit. we had a wonderful christmas celebrating with them. stelly had been working on memorizing luke 2:8-14 since october and she was able to say it for the christmas services we attended with them. amazingly enough, i think... Continue Reading →