My sweet friend Heather delivered twin boys yesterday, David and Samuel. I took this photo of Samuel looking at his father, Mauricio, while the nurses cleaned him up and checked him over. Each time Mauricio would speak, Samuel would open his eyes and look right into his face. What a special first-time experience! And imagine how many more are in store!

Welcome to our world, boys!

Sometimes it is great here; sometimes you will wonder what kind of mess you have been given. But all the time I hope you’ll know how special it is that you came and shared some life with us at all. To life!

Some updates.

This week is Macy’s second birthday! (On Thursday.) Look at how she’s grown:

She and Dan share a birthday . . . you can imagine this is one my favorite days of the year! To celebrate, Macy gets a weekend with Grandma Kathy, the big kids get a weekend with Grandma Cheri, and Dan gets to play with his band, findingBethel, at the Crossover Festival at Lake of the Ozarks. I’ll be with him. AND, we’re planning to pick up a new puppy. I didn’t think I’d want another dog so soon after losing Chuck, but our house feels a little empty without a furry blur under our feet.

I’m also planning to leave my computer at home over the weekend. My new BFF Anne Jackson talks about this on her blog, the importance of unplugging now and then to give yourself a break from the attitudes and tensions that come with constant connectivity to infinite miles of information. I’ll still have my phone that gets emails, so I won’t be totally disconnected. I’m just hoping to remember what it is like to read a real book and interact with humans (and a puppy) without googling for the answers!

To close, here is a video of Dan and Macy – the birthday duo – at Christmas time. It showcases Dan’s playing a little and it is a perfect picture of Macy’s determined spirit as well. (And, don’t worry, she isn’t going to fall off that piano bench. Relax.) Enjoy! Happy random summer weekend!

Dan and Macy at the Piano from Felicity White on Vimeo.

Besides the terror of Finals Week, a humiliating Mathematics placement test, a sick child, etc., the final straw on Thursday evening was when our happy dog, Chuck, was accidentally hit by a car in front of our house. He died later that night.  I would like to consider this post an apology to anyone who has loved and lost a pet because I probably used to make fun of you. Now I’ve joined your ranks. I can’t believe how much I have cried over the last couple of days.

I’m not ready to blog eloquently about him or neatly list all the reasons why I know I’ll be back to myself soon. Instead, I’m going to take a break. Probably just a week or so, but I wanted you all to know. Don’t worry about me, my heart has been broken before, I know it mends well! It just seems like a good time to indulge in a mini-sabatical.

I thought I’d post this picutre just to make sure you all found me!

Changing blogs has been a project of my husband’s. He bought the domain, found a hosting service, and has spent hours tweaking and adjusting. I feel kind of like Truvy at the end of the movie Steel Magnolias. (Strangely enough, this is the character played by Dolly Parton! Is this woman on my brain or WHAT?) Truvy’s husband drives her up to a surprise second location for her beauty shop downtown. Surveying the pink and lattice-work store front she squeals, “I’M A CHAIN!”

For some reason that’s how I feel, only it is more like, “I’M A DOT COM!” My husband is so wonderful. It is easy to stay motivated toward your goals when the person who loves you best and knows you best not only supports you but even pushes you to pursue more.

This post is for you, Dan! Love you!

(And Serenity has a new home, too!)

1. You get to see where you came from. I turned 34 on Friday and realized that I remember when my mother was 34 years old. But instead of making me depressed, I actually felt better. I mean, my mom is loving her life right now. Her kids are grown, her grandkids are cute, and she’s pursing her dream of writing professionally. At 34, I see I’ve got a lot to look forward to.

2. You get to see where your going. Dan was gone on my actual birthday. We celebrated the night before and  I made plans for a pizza/movie night with the kids. The funny thing was how the kids kept trying to make the night special. I didn’t have cake, so Jesse wanted to put candles in my dessert pizza. None of my gifts had been wrapped since Dan took me shopping and my mom gave me money. This didn’t seem right to Ada. She wrapped up a tube of lip gloss that was ALMOST full and threw in a small package of SweeTarts. At 34, I see I’ve got a lot to look forward to.

3. You get really fun stuff. Gold earrings (from Mom’s money) mean I can wear earrings again – I have very sensitive ears which translates to needing more than $10 to buy earrings! A stylish gray scarf, coordinating gray pants (think Audrey Hepburn), and a night out with my husband means I’m recharged and refreshed. 3/4 a tube of pink glitter lipgloss means I’m the best-loved 34 year-old in my house! : )

My husband’s younger brother visited this week, thrilling my children and giving my husband a longed for piece of home. It was actually his brothers that I met first. They won me over with their boyish sweetness and made everything super easy for Dan! His Dad and Mom and sister were pretty great, too; I knew them all before I knew Dan.

Last week one of my Bible College students referred to the time before she made solid decisions to live as a Christian as the time when Jesus courted her. That made a lot of sense to me. Do you remember those days before you actually made up your mind to associate yourself as God’s? How did Jesus court you?

For me, it was by showing me His family, the Church. I grew up in a wonderful Christian home and a great Bible believing church. My parents’ friends demonstrated lives of true faith in many different forms: as professionals, as missionaries, as ministers, and as everyday people just trying to do right. None of them were perfect, of course, but they loved me and they loved God and I knew that. It was like God was showing me how great this family could be if I wanted in.

Dan’s family did the same thing, wooing me with their affection for each other and their interest in me. Now Dan and I are hopefully building the same kind of culture in our home, a place where other people want to be.

It is an analogy I had never considered: the way God courts us. Can you think of anything that God did before you started living as a Christian that looking back you would consider an act of courtship? How did God win your heart?