trying it out

So, maybe she's still a little bit ... little for her Johny-Jump-Up, but it was fun to try!
Seeing as she is strong enough to hold her head steady now, I hung the Johny-Jump-Up from one of the few doorways in the apartment that has a molding (the one to the laundry closet), put Emma in it, and started to do dishes while she was occupied. Emma enjoyed it for a minute or two, and then started to get uncomfortable, slump down, whimper, and finally, while I was drying my hands, cry.
Not ready yet. At least, not for extended "jump" time. But I can see it being enjoyed in the months to come!

two months gone by

She's just mastered this position, and not a moment too soon! She looks around, back and forth, so quickly that she has worn the tell-tale bare spot on the back of her head.

Yesterday morning I walked in to her room to wake her up for church and found her sleeping on her side for the first time, hands by her face like her mama. Yes, two months have gone by.

self-portrait

Emma & John

Emma's Second Blog Post

Emma wanted me to share this video clip with all of you (not really, but that's what she would want me to say is she could talk!). This is a video of her waking up on Saturday morning in David's arms. We were visiting him recently in Urbana, IL (March '09).

Emma's First Blog

the goodness of Good Friday

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
Why is Good Friday good? Because God show-cased before the eyes of the whole world and for all time His great love for us. For whom? For us, His own people. Christ did not die hoping to save us. No, He secured the salvation of His people finally, conclusively, forever." -Nancy Wilson

"And the thunder crashes in the heavens and the earth grows dark in the middle of the afternoon and a man, beaten to a bloody pulp, cries from a cross between two thieves, 'It is finished!' And death is overcome." -Beth Moore

Christ was publicly shamed, beaten and tortured beyond recognition; He was killed in a grotesque manner, and yet it the end it was good. God turned His back on His Son, and yet it was good.
It is good because Good Friday is about redemption. It is about taking something as terrifying and abominable as the crucifixion of an innocent man and turning into the means of our salvation, the means whereby the filthiness of our sins is redeemed and turned into glory.

Only God could fashion the events of Good Friday into something truly good.

six weeks old