Altrogge Family

Now that we live with a family who has a daughter a couple years older than Charis, our girlie has been exposed to all the pink and purple toys one could wish for. Here she's playing with the baby, crib and blankie set they gave her for Christmas. "Baby" is offically her second word (an enthusiastic, drawn out "hi" was her first and now we are greeted by her whether we've been out running errands or just in the powder room).

Speaking of speaking (nervous laugh), Charis has been repeating a lot of our words. Gagoo is cookie (or cracker for that matter) and gigi is blankie. When we pray, the words, "In Jesus' name we pray," are her cue to utter an emphatic "A-ma!" In addition to her expanding vocabulary, she is catching on to the tune to Amazing Grace. So cute. She has a singing voice and all. Sometimes if I leave her in her crib after she wakes up, she'll sing if she thinks she's alone.

Charis had her first physical therapy session today. The therapist said Charis has come a long way since her assessment. Every concern she might have regarding a child who is delayed, was removed. She was encouraged my Charis' muscle strength and thought we would only need to have someone come for therapy once a month.

This weekend, the pastors college wives were treated to a Christmas Tea. A number of ladies worked extremely hard and planned and cooked to execute this event. The decorations and table settings were beautiful. We were treated to an array of fancy foods, and we laughed a lot. Did I mention the food was delicious? Mmmm. So for those of you at home, here's a picture of all the pc wives with Betsy and Julie (minus two of our gals).

We may not have taken our traditional hay-ride up the rolling hills of PA to pick out the perfect Christmas tree, but in true suburbian style, we took the highway to the nearest Target, and picked out a beauty. I am a white-light type o' girl, and since our first stop was all out of 3 ft. white trees, we got back on the highway and drove to the next Target (Stephen is too good to me. He couldn't care less what color of lights are on our dinky, fake Christmas tree).

Bing Crosby, lattes, reminiscing. . . home is where my family is. What a fun-filled day.

Recently I've been enjoying Jon Foreman's "Limbs and Branches" album. Track one is a favorite of mine:

In a message in the Ephesians series,Josh Harris explained (paraphrased in my dumbed-down way) that if we think we already fully grasp the love of God, then we know something Paul did not. And if we want to grow as Christians, we must see that God's love is greater than we thought. The way to "go to the next level" is more of the same. Where do we see God's love for us clearly? The cross.

Well, maybe describing slippers and a study bible as "new love" is a bit of an exaggeration, but what a treat to receive these two items in the mail this week!

1. Although the original brick from the mid-1700s that lines the halls of our home is breath-taking, it is cruel to cheap Old Navy slippers (see below). So my sweet husband suggested I invest in a pair of heavy duty ones from Lands End. I know, I know, they're not the most feminine looking things, but they're super warm and soft inside, and the soles are thick rubber. FYI, if you order from Lands End at the kiosk in Sears, you do not have to pay shipping.


2. For my birthday, Stephen surprised me with the new ESV study bible. We waited a while to receive it, for their was such a high demand for them (I believe over 140,000 were sold in the first four weeks). I'm especially looking forward to wearing in the pages, making it home like my other bible.

Isn't God kind to give such gifts to us?

I have already received a gift, far better than anything I could add to my Christmas list. Stephen and I decided to have our friend and very gifted photographer, Lydia Hartnett, take pictures of our family. Not only did we have a fun time laughing and walking along the path with her, but the pictures are truly amazing. The first time I caught a glimpse of them, tears came to my eyes. I cannot thank you enough, Lydia, for making these lasting memories for us. It was difficult to chose only a couple to post, but here goes:

Some funny things from the appointment:

• At one point she was handed a brush. Did they not notice? Note the peach fuzz hair? She doesn't have a whole lot of experience with a brush.
  
• She didn't respond when they told her, "Give the spoon to mommy." No matter what, this kid refuses to expand her vocabulary from "da-da." I guess no one is saying, "Mommy's home" because mommy is always home with her:)
• The therapist was wearing chunky, silver jewelry and red nail polish, so like a true girl, Charis was totally distracted during questions like, "Where's the baby doll?

Over the course of Charis' short life, it has been evident to Stephen and I that she has been a bit behind in her gross motor skills (rolling over, crawling, cruising, etc). She was always at the tail end of the curve, but never to the point where her pediatrician was concerned. Then, at her one-year appointment, the doctor suggested we contact the Infant and Toddler Developmental Center to have her evaluated. We moved forward, knowing there is no harm in getting a free evaluation at our home by professionals.

Today, three women came to evaluate Charis. Gratefully, she was her chipper , pleasant self, so I felt their assessment was accurate. They evaluated her gross motor skills, fine motor skills, expressive language, receptive language and social skills. As we predicted, she scored average to above average in all areas except gross motor skills. She qualifies for physical therapy, and we are going to move forward.

There is no major concern here. The fact that she is developing and not regressing is a good sign. It seems as though she just needs a nudge in the right direction, and the therapy will provide that.

And God has answered our prayers, for in the last two months Charis has started rolling over, moving from stomach to sitting, crawling on all fours, pointing, climbing over Stephen and I like a maniac and trying to pull up to furniture.

Am I ever alone? What about when I lack passion in my devotions in the morning? I feel dry and empty. What about the nights I spend awake because of this trial I am in? You don't know the fears that rise as darkness falls. What about my unfulfilled dreams? You haven't experienced my disappointment.

Jesus was the only one who was ever truly alone. At the cross, He cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 27:46). For all the times I feel alone, this truth can penetrate the lies my heart so quickly believes, the looking inward, rather than upward. Because Christ died on the cross in my place, I will never be alone. His nearness is completely independent of my feelings. So whenever I am up at night, unable to turn my mind off because of some earthly care, my Father is near.

What more could demonstrate God's love to His children than the cross? I can say with confidence, "He will never leave me or forsake me."

This was a rich word of encouragement that Betsy had for one of the wives, which I am sure ministered to us all.

Photo by Sismoon.

In the midst of his crazy school schedule, my thoughtful, loving husband planned a surprise evening for my birthday, and boy was it a treat. We drove to Alexandria, and talking and being together in the car would have been enough for me, but it didn't end there. He had chosen a French restaurant for us to dine at. After enjoying a delicious meal, we walked the brick streets together. I am amazed that I am married to such a wonderful man. God is kind to me.

Saturday, a kind man in Covenant Life Church gave the pc families a tour of D.C. and provided lunch at Uno's for us all. Stephen and I decided to brave the trip with Charis, and luckily all went well. Answered prayers. I guess the given is that we didn't learn all that we could have had we left Little C, nor did I get many "touristy" pictures. For anyone interested, here's a picture of the dignified class (sorry for the head sticking up. . . I tried cropping it out but had some technical dificulties and gave up). In case you're wondering, the memorial that I chopped off in the background is Lincoln. Smooth move, Jen.

Problem: One baby drops his bottle while drinking, and the other baby inevitably snatches it quick as fox. Not a healthy habit to get into. . . drinking from other people's bottles.

Solution: The mom of the son places him in an empty laundry basket, and the little girl is left pushing and pulling him around. And yes, I realize this has the potential for danger as the little girl as some guns on 'er.

I know this picture is horrible quality, but I just had to share it.

This story begins a week ago. Good 'ol Stephen plans a trip for us to go to Harpers Ferry on his day off. We pack in our green wagon, fill-up the tank, pick up some Starby's, and we're off. Part-way into the trip, for some un-foreseen, unknown reason (in true Charis fashion) our little girl has a melt-down in her carseat. We stop, try to console her, but she wouldn't have it. So we turn around, head home and listen to the tune of a screaming babe the rest of the ride. Still, we have fond memories of that trip. We did have good conversation on the way...

Today, our schedule was eerily similar. We pack in our green wagon, fill-up the tank, pick up some Starby's, and we're off. It almost felt as though we were doomed from the start. But, I am proud to say that we did indeed make it to HF this time. The bonus was that we had a little bit of peace and quiet and time to walk around and enjoy bits of this quaint town before Charis broke-down this time.

Once exhausted Charis started throwing the temper-tantrum of all temper-tantrums (for a one-year old), I must confess I kept thinking of shots that would make cool pictures and of creative places to capture our day. That didn't happen though. Here are a couple from the beginning of our trip that I came away with. God is kind. We had a beautiful day, gas in the car, the love that we share and hot dogs for lunch.

Recently, Stephen encouraged me to read and to meditate on Isaiah 40. I so need to have a bigger view of God, and this passage has sure served me in that way.

"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?" (vv. 12-14)

Yet, this God who rules over all loves His children. Though I am "like a grasshopper" (v. 22) compared to His greatness, and He is the one who "brings princes down" (v. 23), the following is also true, "Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

He both rules and reigns over all, and cares for His children as a Father for His child. What a good God we serve!

This week the three of us visited the Great Falls. They were only a twenty minute drive from our house and were beautiful. We hiked on a trail, ate a picnic lunch along the falls and enjoyed hangin' together as a family. Charis loves riding on her daddy's back if you couldn't tell from her ear-to-ear grin. As I look at this picture, I realize I didn't do the best job of capturing the beauty of the falls since I was so focused on my beautiful family. You get the idea though. To those of you pc families reading, I highly recommend you visit.

Yesterday, I had the joy of going to school with Stephen. Kenneth Maresco taught on Biblical Fellowship, and wow was I grateful the wives were included. At many points during the day I was amazed that the Lord would allow me to sit under such rich teaching.

At lunch, Stephen and I had an hour and a half, you read that right, an hour and a half, to talk through various applications of what we were learning. Not only was I excited to have this much alone-time with him, but it was very beneficial for both of us. We were able to evaluate fellowship in our marriage, our friendships at home and our relationships here.

I must say, while I loved my time at the pastors' college with him and learned a lot, I know I couldn't attend day in and day out as he does, faithfully working and studying and listening. I've got notes comin' out the wazoo from just 5 hours of lecture! I cannot imagine multiplying that by the number of days he goes to school. On top of that, I recognize that the typical stuff they learn is much weightier than what I heard. I respect Stephen so very much.

Can I also mention that God has answered our prayers and provided a wonderful babysitter here? She watched Charis the whole day while we were away, and Charis didn't cry even once. Not only that, but K said that when she put our little girlie down for a nap, she was so excited (from being with the babysitter) that she hardly slept. How sweet. We are blessed.

We had our first care group with the Ricucci's last night and boy were my socks knocked off. Stephen and I were the first to share our testimonies: how we were saved, how we met, etc. Following that, everyone had a couple questions to answer and two of them are as follows.

What has been the richest experience of God's grace since your arrival? Stephen and I are grateful for the family God placed us with. He sure knew what He was doing. We get along with them well, laugh a lot and have rich fellowship. Specifically, I am learning a lot as I observe L's life, how she trains her children, loves her husband, cares for her home, loves the Lord, counsels her friends and the list could go on and on. My prayer is that by God's grace, as our family grows, I will remember some of what I have learned here.

The second half of my answer is how I have been blessed by the rich counsel and friendship I have found in Betsy. From chats at numerous meetings to a phone conversation to being under her leadership at the ladies' meetings, I have greatly benefited from my time with her already. She is dear and her wisdom is invaluable. Last night I asked her if she could come home with me after our time here is up. Ha.

What has been the richest experience of God's grace in your marriage? This one didn't take much thinking. Since we arrived, let's just say the pace of life has been a tad bit faster than that of our small town back home. Stephen has more demands on his time, we are living with another family and we have a number of meetings with the other students and wives. That said, Stephen has consistently kept Charis and I his priority. He is good about taking time for the three of us to be together each day. He is faithful to talk to me, and he doesn't do any of this solely out of a sense of duty. He forsakes laziness and selfishness and tenderly cares for his family. I am amazed.

On a different subject, the following picture is from Gym Day. Each Thursday, all of the pc wives and kiddos have one big play-date at the church's gym. The children run around (or army crawl around in Charis' case), get all their energy out, and during the last fifteen minutes all the daddies come down and spend time with their families. What a bright spot in my day!

Beside our families, friends and church, there is something Stephen and I greatly miss about home: the Steelers! Oh how we took for granted those Sunday afternoons when we cheered on black and gold in our cozy familyroom. Not so much anymore. The games don't regularly play here. However, this Sunday they played on prime-time. I enjoyed the first half of the game with Stephen, but fell asleep for the second. Cuddling on the couch like the good 'ol days.

Fortunately, at my baby shower, M.B. hooked us up with some suh-weet Steeler baby wear. Here, Charis styled her pretty-in-pink outfit, and as you can see, she's real enthused. GO STEELERS. For this year, M.B. has given our girly a black and gold cheerleader outfit. Pink was fine when we were in Steeler territory, but now that we're in MD, she's got to wear the team colors so there's no mistaking it.