11/29/07

This week, I read an encouraging devotional in Morning and Evening, by C. H. Spurgeon.

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." Ecclesiastes 9:10

"Don't wait for large opportunities, or for a different kind of work, but do just the things we "find to do" day by day. But where is the might of Christians? It is not in ourselves, for we are perfect weakness. Our might lies in the Lord of Hosts. Then let's seek His help; let's proceed with prayer and faith, and when we have done what our "hand finds to do," let's wait upon the Lord for His blessing. What we do in this manner will be well done, and will not fail in its effect."

The Lord gave me a renewed vision for what He values. The work before me is caring for my husband, daughter and home. It is ironing clothes for Stephen to wear to work, bathing our little girl and preparing dinners. I am not to wait for large opportunities to serve or different work, but to do what God has ordained for me today.

I need the Lord's strength. Some days I am bored of monotony. Others, I am experiencing His joy at home. The words of Spurgeon reminded me that I need the Lord at all times, whether I realize it or not, to help me work heartily. I want to wholeheartedly serve Him at home, in serving my family. I so desire His blessing on our family.

11/27/07




As of this past week, Charis has met each of her living great-grandparents. One cannot help but see the deep love they all share for her. Charis was tired when we celebrated Thanksgiving at the Altrogge's, but whenever Nonnie said good-bye to her, Charis could not help but grin from ear to ear. My grandparents met her for the first time on Thanksgiving and could not help but well-up in tears as they parted with her. She brings joy to all who are close to her and is the recipient of abundant love from them.

Mark let the guys out early from work on Wednesday, and this is how our family spent the free time. In this video, Stephen is dancing with his little girl to the Klazz Brothers. They do classical songs with a Cuban twist. This is all cute and funny now, but someday I fear Charis will be embarassed of this video. Please excuse the quality, as it was taken with my camera. Thanks, Mark, for letting my hubby come home for some quality time with the fam. We enjoyed every minute of it.

11/24/07

The Altrogge's have returned from their vacation from the blogworld. Unfortunately, Stephen got a cold. Following that was Charis' cold, and mine as well. Illness can never strike just one family member. All must be miserable together:) We are on the mend though, slowly but surely. While she was sick, poor Charis also had to get her first shots (notice the neon bandages on her legs). We are grateful to God that we were all well enough to spend Thanksgiving with our families.

As sad as it was to see one so helpless cough, sneeze and have problems breathing, I am amazed that a cold is the worst she has experienced. I am grateful the Lord has spared her from harm and blessed her with good health. These things are not to be taken for granted. Seeing her cold from this perspective helped me take care of her more joyfully. Our bundle of joy wasn't quite as smiley as usual, but I am happy to report the ear to ear grins are returning.

11/16/07

The hardest part about honoring my mom, is summing up how her pursuit of the Lord and friendship have influenced me, in one post.

As I am now a wife and mother, I can see with new eyes, how my mom pursues the Lord with all that is within her. Anyone who knows her, knows she possess the fruit of the Spirit, joy. The joy that pervades all that she does, speaks so loudly of the Gospel. She has cared for our family in the mundane, the trying times and the joys. Joy amidst trouble is surely from the Lord. She is always game for a good laugh, too. Proverbs 14:1 says, “A wise woman builds her house.” The ways that she has continually considered our family above her own interests, portrays wisdom that is pleasing to the Lord. What a blessing it is to observe her godly character as a wife and mother, and to some day, by God’s grace, cultivate the same.

I glean much wisdom from the hours she spends in conversation with me. The time of night (or morning) never hindered her from listening to my concerns. She knows me best. She know my strengths and weaknesses. I am best served by her hard questions, honest observations, encouragement, and bountiful grace and compassion. Even now that I do not live at home with her, I cherish the time we have together.

I love you, mom
Happy Birthday

11/15/07


Every girl has got to have that little black dress, right? Wrong. Charis has an issue with dresses. It could be that they are not warm fleece like all her sleepers, that for some reason she has to wear uncomfortable, patent leather shoes with them (serving no practical purpose) or that her bare legs are exposed to the cool, winter weather. The first picture I snapped in the split second she was smiling, and as you can see from the second, it was all downhill from there. We'll try again next Sunday.

11/13/07

Today is a big day in our family. RJ is turning the big 1-8!


RJ, I'm happy to call you brother-in-law, even if you just use me to obtain Mt. Dew.


Go Lebron! My fingers are crossed in hopes that you will get to meet him face to face at the big game.

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."
Psalm 139:13-16

When I read this passage, it was as though the Lord gave me new eyes to see it as I never had. Here, I see the Lord knit Charis together, saw her frame while she was being made in secret, intricately wove her together and saw her unformed substance. Not only did He form her, but he has her entire life mapped out. Every minute of every day of her life, is written in His book. He knows each day, before one even existed. From unformed substance to eternity.

From unformed substance to eternity. Why is it easier to believe that is true for my daughter, than for myself? Sure, He knows her and has ordained each day that is behind and before her, but is that true for my life too? I must remind myself that the answer is, Yes. The One who made my innermost parts, is more than able to orchestrate my steps. All that I face in a given day, was decided before my birth, by my Father. Whatever my present trouble is, I can say with confidence, "He has written ____ in His book before I was formed." That specific work is wonderful.

I want to respond like David, "I praise you." God is all-wise and loving. I want to praise God for those things that seem to be out of His control, for they are surely not. Praise Him, because from unformed substance to eternity, He has ordered every step you take.

11/9/07

During Charis' first days with us, the poor little girl had to be patient while mom and dad learned the basics. Newborns like to be swaddled (wrapped tightly in blankets) when they sleep, because it makes them feel warm, like they did in the womb.

We would swaddle Charis tightly with two blankets and put her in the crib to sleep. After we did this, we would hear her grunting for approximately fifteen minutes, peek in her room and find she had wiggled her arms out of the blankets and fallen asleep. This particular time, she managed to get out of the blanets and her gown. No wonder she was crying so hard. We got a good laugh, though. We have learned since then, to wrap her even tighter. The tighter the better!

By the way, it is not a habit of ours to dress our daughter in blue. She was so teeny tiny when she was born, that we did not have many clothes that fit her. We resorted to the boy gowns a kind friend had lent us. Now, her laundry is one massive ball of pink.

A Lullaby


Come and rest your head and nestle gently,
And do not fear the dark of night;
Almighty God keeps watch intently
And guards your life with all his might.
Doubt not his love nor power to keep;
He never fails nor does he sleep.

Poem by John Piper
Taken from Treasuring God in Our Traditions
by Noel Piper

11/8/07

Here is a picture of Stephen and Charis playing video games, one of their favorite father-daughter activities (at least his favorite). Madden '08 just isn't the same without her on his chest. She can't complain though, because she is close to dad and warm. Someday soon, she'll be running around and tearing the house apart. Watching his little girl will take a little more attention. For now, he will savor these precious moments with her.

11/6/07

Baptism



Recently, our families celebrated the baptism of my brother-in-law, Jonny, and my sister, Julie. Their baptism was an outward expression of their faith in Jesus Christ. We rejoice in the work God has begun in them and will continue to do. We pray for the salvation of all others in our families, those born and the children yet to be born.
1 Peter 4:38-39
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

11/5/07

Confession: I may be more overprotective than I would like to admit.

Mom and I went to Monroeville for a girls’ shopping trip, and I bought Charis an adorable snow suit. I made sure to get a size that would fit her through the winter. The next day, Stephen, Charis and I went to the homecoming parade. It was a beautiful fall day. A little jacket would have probably sufficed, but I had to try out the new snow suit. Allow me to remind you that it was not snowing or even close to snowing. It was October.
I must not have learned my lesson. The next day, before we went to church, it was cool outside. I went through the same routine of suiting her up, making sure her arms and legs were in the proper holes and stuffing her into her car seat. When we passed the bank on the way home, the temperature read mid-sixties! At least this display of my stupidity will not have a negative affect on our daughter’s future…or will it?
I have to admit though, it was kind of worth it for the funny pictures. Notice her body hardly fills the torso of the suit, let alone the arms and legs.

11/3/07







As I was browsing through old pictures this week, I began to wonder, how that junior higher with thick glasses, braces, bobbed hair that hit the top of her ears and no sense of style got to marry Stephen Altrogge.
Whenever we were engaged, I would have surely said I loved him. As the months have gone by, though, I have come to love him on a deeper level. Although I knew many reasons why I wanted to marry him, the Lord had much more in mind.
Marriage is a wonderful gift from the Lord. You see, as time passes, as Stephen and I walk through changes in life, become more sanctified and learn to understand each other, I see how the Lord fashioned him just for me. He is a godly leader, gracious and forgiving, lovingly patient, hilarious and a servant at home. His strengths excel, where I am weak. I have grown in my love for the Lord, through Stephen’s prayer, godly leadership and care for me.
I anticipate all the Lord will do in our marriage in the upcoming year. Today, my heart is lifted up in praise to the Him, and none other, for His kindness. It is all by His grace.
I love you, Stephen
Happy 1 Anniversary

11/2/07

At about 4 weeks old, I noticed Charis began smiling. It wasn’t her "I’m falling asleep and cannot control my facial muscles" type of smiling. It was responsive smiling. I smiled at her. She smiled back.

The first couple times she did it, I about fell over. I thought it was a figment of my imagination. I had to ask Stephen to confirm that he too, was seeing her smile. Surely enough, that week as I was reading Baby Wise, they said babies can begin smiling at her age.

The better she sleeps during nap time and the more alert she is when she is awake, the more she smiles. Waking her up in the morning has become one of my favorite parts of the day. By that point, I have not seen her pleasant face for hours. Her smile has a way of lifting my spirits. I hope it boosts your day as well!

(And yes, milk is pouring out the left side of her mouth, as usual)

11/1/07

One of our favorite family activities, is giving our little girl a bath. It doesn't take very long for Charis to smell like milk, throw-up, pee, poop and Dreft, all combined. If it were up to Stephen, we would be giving her baths after every meal (far too often for anyone who knows how often a two-month old eats). During bath time, we certainly run the risk of her exploding from either end, or both, but it is certainly worth it. The worst she has done so far, though, is fart.

Stephen keeps her tummy warm with his hands, and I do the scrubbing. Last time, Stephen decided to make up a song for us to sing. Apparently his songwriting abilities work best when NOT bathing a child. We resorted to singing worship songs together. After everything was cleaned up, the three of us went into the livingroom to worship while Daddy played his guitar. I do not know how long it will be until she can understand what we are singing about, but I want to make a habit of praising the Lord, with her in our presence. Good idea, Stephen!

You guessed it...right after we bathed her, she spit up:)