our sweet 3 month old jacob

I think that the biggest change that Jacob's 3rd month has brought has been his increasing interaction.  We are now treated––several times a day--to his amazing smiles, coos, and engaging nature...and each one of us falls more and more in love with him every day.  

Jacob continues to grow bigger and stronger all the time, and we are so happy with (and grateful for) his beautifully normal development and growth.  He is suddenly so big!  He's completely outgrown his newborn clothes, and now comfortably wears 3-6 (or 6-9) month clothing, and has moved up a diaper size as well.  His personality continues to emerge, and I would still describe him as incredibly sweet, loving, tolerant, and peaceful.  He is sleeping a bit better (regularly goes at least four hours between nighttime feeds and has given me the gift of longer stretches once or twice) and is awake and playful for longer during the day.  He loves being with his big siblings and seems to have a special relationship with each of them.  He is so accepting of their different personalities and the ways that they hold or try to entertain him, and he has a unique smile for each one.

And boy, does this little guy love his Daddy.  Just the sound of his voice gets Jacob quiet and looking around for his loving father.  

How I love that analogy for all of us--I want, like Jacob, to get quiet and look for my Father's voice, knowing that I am Beloved...trusting wholly in His care.

As Jacob has grown and we have (thankfully) developed a more predictable schedule, we've enjoyed some fun outings.  And so this month has been a busy one for our Jacob.

He had his first visit to a pumpkin patch

...which he seemed to rather enjoy :)

He is enjoying bath time so much now

And he did great with his first set of vaccinations when he turned 2 months old.  I, on the other hand, had managed to forget that whole immunization experience.  After having had a six year buffer since the last time one of my infants received shots, I had totally forgotten that initial shock, then the look of betrayal as the pain of the needle set in.  Heartbreaking for Mommy, only temporarily painful for Jacob.  Here he is resting peacefully afterwards:

He also enjoyed his first Halloween

...as part of a packaged deal

...which was part of an even larger package of silliness and fun.

He enjoyed a wonderful visit with my parents and sisters during his baptism weekend. And everyone loved getting to know, snuggle, hold, cuddle, play with, feed, sing to, and care for our sweet baby Jacob.

Amma's little Scrabble partner :)

I know that I say it all the time, but the days really are flying by.  It's hard to believe that we are now only two months from our planned departure to Africa.  So much planning and praying and preparing, and the time is almost here.  Just so, the lives of these beautiful kiddos are racing by before our eyes.  I'm grateful for the time we are taking, each day, to notice, to give thanks, and to love these little lives that have been entrusted to our care.

What a privilege to be parents.  What a joy.

christening jacob christopher

After negotiating a number of busy schedules, we had the opportunity to have baby Jacob baptized last weekend.  On the afternoon of Sunday, November 4th, we gathered with about 60 dear friends at a church near my parents' home in south Louisiana, and officially welcomed Jacob into the Christian family.

Although it sounds like a large group, we were surrounded by wonderful family friends whom I have known since childhood, and who have been great supporters and encouragers of Chris and me from the time of our wedding, through our multiple military moves and his deployment to Iraq, and to the births of each of our sweet children.  So it was extra special to me to experience this important milestone in Jacob's faith walk in the presence of so many loved ones.

Equally special was the fact that we were able to share this weekend with my entire immediate family as well as our great friends from our Greenville days, the Carrolls.  These dear folks pulled their kids out of school early on Friday and drove the almost 700 mile journey to my parents' home just to be with us for the baptism weekend.  And we cherished every moment we had to reunite, catch up, laugh and share this time with them.  Their beautiful girls were always so welcoming and gracious to our kiddos back in Greenville, and all six of them have gotten along very well since we met back in 2009.  Despite the fact that these girls are in middle and high school, they possess that awesome and unique ability to interact very naturally with all age groups.  Our girls had everyone playing dress-up, tag, and running around within minutes of their arrival.  Their presence there was a gift to us all.

The celebration of Jacob's baptism was lovely.  Our whole family joined the god parents at the front of the church, and we were so fortunate to have our old Jesuit friend, Fr. Paul, officiate.  Chris met Fr. Paul in New Orleans in the early 1990s (before Chris met me!), and he has been a great friend to us since.  He was one of the pastors who officiated at our wedding, has stayed in touch with us over the years, and also celebrated Joshua's baptism in 2001.  That sort of history is so very meaningful for us, and we truly appreciate Fr. Paul's involvement and support.

We also loved having my sister, Michelle, who has been an incredible aunt to all the kids, as Jacob's godmother,

And a few shots of all of Jacob's godparents. 

 He's a lucky guy to be surrounded by all of this love...

It was, indeed, a very special time.

God bless baby Jacob.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:26-28

looking ahead

When we were finishing up our mission formation time in Los Angeles this spring, all of our fellow pre-missionaries were busy making packing lists, preparing to say goodbye to loved ones, completing their needed vaccinations, and completing many other tasks as they prepared to leave the country for their three-year commitment.  Our family, on the other hand, was busy deciding on a homeschooling curriculum, making final plans for our transition to Houston, looking forward to a summer full of visits with family and friends, and happily awaiting the arrival of "baby brother."  Needless to say, we were in a decidedly different place than our friends.

Well now we feel like we are finally catching up.  Our homeschooling adventure is in full swing and thus far, "Powers Academy" seems to be doing pretty well.  Everyone (myself included) is learning a lot, we are helping each other to grasp new concepts, we are reading a ton, and we are finding time most afternoons for lots of other fun stuff.  That other stuff includes gymnastics and a church children's choir for both girls, watercolor class for Madison, and tae kwon do lessons (usually 6 times a week!) for Joshua.  We are thankful to have found activities that all the big kids enjoy so much, and all of which are located less than a mile from our current home.  That is great news to this mommy who is still attempting to find a good balance as a mother of four (including a very cute 11 week old who still has some frequent nighttime feeds), homeschooler, and missionary preparer.

And about that mission preparation––things are happening fast.  We obtained Jacob's passport just a couple of weeks after he was born, and we updated everyone else's.  We have all received our series of three rabies vaccines in anticipation of our move to Africa.  We have incorporated a focused study of Swahili into our homeschooling days.  We are scheduling our last medical and dental appointments before our departure.  We are planning for homeschooling curriculum at least for our first year in Africa.  We are purchasing things like solar-powered battery rechargers and portable water purifiers, as well as downloading books to our Kindles and educational apps to our iPad.  We are trying to look ahead, while simultaneously being fully present to the gifts of each day right here before us.

In addition, we are planning a much-anticipated trip to visit Greenville and beloved old friends there in early December.  We will also travel to visit Chris' family in south Georgia and my family in Louisiana, as we begin the unavoidable but necessary process of saying our goodbyes.  Ugh--that is absolutely the hardest part of this whole deal.  As with any other experience of significance, the wonderful and happy portion comes with a price.  Our excitement and joy of finally becoming missionaries means that we will not have frequent visits with our dearest ones...and that is hard.  Hard for me to not see my parents and sisters at least a few times a year.  Hard for our kids to not have that regular interaction with their amazing grandparents.  Likely harder still for those awesome grandparents to not see their incredibly cherished grandkids.  Hard to think of a life for our kids that doesn't include traditional schools or neighborhoods or after-school activities or birthday parties or vacations.  But despite these challenges, we still feel very much called to this journey.  Every step of the way, when we've met what the world might call insurmountable challenges, God has opened new doors of opportunity and shined a purpose to each experience.  We continue to hear His voice say, "Come," and we are deliberately taking the steps that we feel we should, so that we can follow.  Because we know that He has promised to always be with us and to never forsake us.  And that promise is enough––more than enough––to sustain us.

Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid

or terrified because of them, for the Lord

 your God goes with you; he will

 never leave you nor forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6