Halle Joy!!!

Hallelujah!!

Kaye & Halle are safe & sound after seemingly forever on bedrest,

Halle Joy Birdsell
was born April 4th
at 5 lbs 11oz
a sweet ball of precious JOY!

I sure do wish I was there to cuddle you sweet one. We miss you so much!!!
Your life is such a precious gift to us! Your Mommy & Daddy have worked SO hard to keep you safe! Bless the Lord for them; they love you more than you know!!

I LOVE this job!

I seriously can't think of a better job than this! Trust me, I sure have my days. But when I'm intentionally walking in joy & contentment, I just can't thank Jesus enough for my husband and sweet boys!

A friend sent me the book Created to be his Help Meet at a particularly discontented time (Thank you Daphne), and it handed me a direct challenge: PRACTICE contentment & joy. It really takes focus and intentionality to walk this road with thankfulness. It's amazing how hard it was at the beginning and how easy it's become! I have to PUT ON thankfulness. It doesn't just happen! And I can see the fruit of it in our marriage!

And boy does this play into EVERY area of my life! --finances, provision, parenting, housework, laundry, friendships, church, serving, hospitality...fill in the blank!

So...speaking of these little blessings. Here's you a sweet little update!

Mister Jude

In Concert

We've got ourselves a Music Man over here people! You'll almost always find this little guy with a guitar in his hands....or an imaginary one. Lindsee's dad gave him a ukulele (pictured below), but in his little world anything from a spankin' spoon to a hand-held mirror is a guitar! I sure wish I could post you some videos! But it's not working! ..maybe later!
When Jude doesn't have a guitar in his hand, he's driving cars. What could be more typical than a little boy loving cars?? But I'm not complaining! It's just oh-so-cute! He loves making "hills" in the rugs and driving over them again and again! It occupies him for hours!

Imagination is his THING. In January we went to see Dr. Rusty, and who did Jude soon become?
None other than, "Docker RussY". In case your imagination isn't as sharp as his-- the pink thing on his head is a stethoscope. :0) He examined his Aunt Mary's heart, ears & throat and (thank the Lord) she came away with a clean bill of health. Unfortunately, his daddy was given a shot-- but don't be mistaken, it was covered with a band-aid. :0)

The kiddo still LOVES to read and is memorizing books easily these days!! I was amazed and inspired when Rachel posted this video of Josiah helping her read a book. I thought Josiah was a prodigy, but apparently 2+ year olds have a knack for this sort of thing. When reading one of our "regulars", we like to play a little game where we don't read the last few words of the sentences and let Jude fill in the blanks. And MY! He articulates so well! Next step: Capitalizing on that ability to memorize- for learning scripture!

So everyone thinks their kid is special right? Well, I don't know if "special" is the right description here...maybe unique or bizarre, but this Jude-bug LOVES him some hummus- which he so admiringly began calling "Tummus" after re-uniting with Josiah whose dad's name is "Thomas". Don't you love it?

Enjoying some "Tummus"

And what does Jude love EVEN more???
Two things-- cuddles & Brennan!! And boy does Brennan love him too!
No one can evoke giggles from Brennan like Jude can!

On a more serious note, our little guy is learning about Jesus! He's learning what it means to be kind and obedient. He's aware of when he is and isn't being a blessing to those around him. He's building some great skills in apologizing and forgiving. AND He's got his please, thank you's, and "mother-may-I"'s down pat (well almost!) It just blesses my heart!

Now...

Brennan Boy
Is an all-smiles giggle monster!

Crawling has just opened up a whole new world for us! You know with some babies you think, "When this kid crawls, it will be the END of my freedom". But with Brennan it's been just the opposite! He and Jude get to interact more and Mom has more time for Jude-- which just thrills both of us to pieces!

This little sweetie has recently started with "Ma-Ma" and the other morning greeted his daddy with a giddy "Da!"

Curiously Handsome

This kid is FLEXIBLE. We often find him sleeping and playing in contortionistic ways! His Grammie is sure he'll be a gymnast!

Ha! I don't know WHERE this expression came from!!

In other news, Jon returned from Louisville at the end of January, and we were MORE THAN THRILLED to have him back! What would we do without him?

In February, we traveled to College Station, San Antonio, & Friendswood, enjoying some great time with friends and family...just not quite enough! My sister, Mary, blogged about our time in San Antonio here. My camera was dead so she got all the cute pictures!!

And FUN NEWS! We've signed a lease and plan to move to Louisville, KY at the beginning of April!! This has been a long time coming, and we're thrilled that the Lord is leading us there now.

Blessings to all of you, and sorry for so much silence!!
Sally

I Love 'Em

i love you Lil' Bit!

Four Years and Counting- Still Feels Like Home

Thanks Sweetie. I have to say you beat me to it! I love you, I love you, I love you!! I know better now more than ever the power behind those words!!

"Feels Like Home"
Somethin' in your eyes, makes me wanna lose myself
Makes me wanna lose myself, in your arms
There's somethin' in your voice, makes my heart beat fast
Hope this feeling lasts, the rest of my life

If you knew how lonely my life has been
And how long I've been so alone
And if you knew how I wanted someone to come along
And change my life the way you've done

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
It feels like I'm all the way back where I come from
It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

A window breaks, down a long, dark street
And a siren wails in the night
But I'm alright, 'cause I have you here with me
And I can almost see, through the dark there is light

Well, if you knew how much this moment means to me
And how long I've waited for your touch
And if you knew how happy you are making me
I never thought that I'd love anyone so much

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
It feels like I'm all the way the back where I come from
It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong
It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

At our wedding we danced to this song.
I thought I knew what Home felt like.
I thought the love we had was at its climax.
Oh, how I was wrong!!
Now that we've lived and loved for four years,
traveled the world
and been so out of sorts for so long,
I've found that where ever we go--
You are Home to me.
I take my best friend to (almost) every bed I sleep in.

And you listen to my ramblings, my hurts, and my girliness.
You balance me and make me wise.
You make mistakes and admit them.
And always forgive mine so readily.

I love your love.
I'm addicted to it.
Almost as long as I've known you, you've been my very favorite.

But it's hard.
VERY hard.
Sometimes suffocatingly so.
I lay in bed with tear stained eyes and wonder how we'll make it.
But then grace sweeps over me.
and over you.
Not necessarily at the same time.
And suddenly we have perspective
that it's going to take work.
But we're committed to trying
and not giving up.
And boy is it worth it!

I love you, I love you, I love you. I love how loving you helps me grow, teaches me to depend more on Jesus than ever before.

Because all of this is about Jesus.
If I miss that, I miss everything.
I long for our kids and the world to see Him in our marriage. May His powerful love be evident in us!!
I want to love you well. I want my love to refresh your soul.

This year I'm praying for more grace in my perspective.
I want to see you and love you like Jesus does.
I don't want my idealism to fill me with disappointment.
I want grace to fill me with thankfulness.
Jesus help me!!

I love you Jon.
I love walking this road with you.
Who knows where it's leading, but I'm ready!!

I miss you sweetheart!!
(Jon left for KY yesterday and will be gone for almost a month!! We already miss him TONS!)

Happy Anniversary Sally!

Fall 2004 (Engagement Picture)

Today marks four years . . . . four wonderful years of marriage. This is a rare post (rare because I [Jon] am posting something). Special events call for special posts.

A lot has happened in four years . . .

- We both graduated college (yes, we were married at 20 and 19; both before finishing school)
- We have moved from College Station to Houston to North Africa, back to Houston, and Lord willing, to Louisville
- We have worked in the business world and cross-cultural ministry
- We have added two precious boys to our family - Jude (born in College Station) and Brennan (born in North Africa)
- We have experienced mountain tops and valley lows
- We have experienced the Sovereign Grace of a good, good God

I love you Sally! Thank you for four wonderful years! You are an excellent wife, super mom, and beautiful women of God!

Love,
Jon

Fall 2008 (The Estes Family)