When he was small

Here is Isaiah as he is just beginning to walk. Feb 7, 2007

Everyday Joys and Trials

Isaiah just barely stayed awake long enough to finish dinner. The last bite was followed quickly by his last blink for a little while...





Joys are abundant for us.... and trials never stay out of the way long either! Isaiah is so much fun to be with, to run after, to introduce to new things (like the little dogs that abound in our apartment complex), and to laugh with. His laugh is probably my favorite sound on earth. And this fun boy will soon be a big brother! And on top of all this, there's Matthew, who I love so gladly and grateful.... There's lots of joy to for us here!

And today I'm also especially aware of difficulty too- not just learning another language, but learning it from teachers who teach according to a radically different culture and style of education. I'm having a very hard time trying to pull something I can remember out of one of my teacher's daily ramblings and I'm having an even harder time controlling my heart to be anything Christlike as I sit through hours of this difficult and seemingly useless (but already paid for) class. The semester ends mid July. Oh for grace to live not according to every petty little preference I have, but to embrace every challenge as an opportunity to be refined and to prefer serving and honoring others even when things aren't going my way! I'm a long way off... Work in me, Lord! Change me.

Back to our joys- here are a few more photos to share:
Matt and Isaiah playing a fun round of chase around the tree















Mama and Isaiah in front of some great local architecture














Papa introducing his kendo (Japanese sword fighting) gear to "the boy"