Happy Birthday, Choncho!

The Thomases brought their super delicious cake pops. Thanks, Bonnie and Josiah!

April 22nd was Jonathan's 5th birthday. We celebrated with a huge backyard BBQ with lots of his little buddies. One thing we all admire in Jonathan is his warm, endearing personality. He is everyone's friend and the proof of this is in how many little guys came to the party from so many different places--church, preschool, Lego league, and Beacon Hill. May you win many to Christ with your love, sweet boy.

Update

This evening Dad emailed me:

"Word comes from the Ogborns that little Madeline is doing well following a very difficult night. Thanks a heap for your prayers and praise God!"

Please Pray For This Little One!

I received this email from my dad concerning the relative of a coworker:

"Would you mind putting a prayer request on your blog for Madeline Ogborn, the daughter of one of the fellows in our office (David)? Madeline was born in the September, 2007, so she is Abby's age. Last night she took a bad fall backwards and hit her head. From what we hear, she started to "seize" and they are watching very closely. That's all I know, except that David's supervisor has asked for prayers from all of us here."

Ressurection Day 2009

So What!?!

Last Thursday was super busy, so you can't blame me for having to make brownies at 6:30 in the morning. There was simply no other time in the day to do it. And could I really say no to these early birds who just wanted to help? A little brownie batter before breakfast never hurt anyone.

A Little Encouragement We All Need to Hear

First go spend time with your babies, then read this blog post from Girl Talk.

Our Father's Care For His Children

Everyone's talking about budgeting and saving money. We are not the experts, but we do try to joyfully live within our means. This week we could not, no matter how hard we tried. Here's what went down:

First, our ever-faithful '92 Cadillac DeVille broke down on the way to Devin's work. $500 to get it back up and running. But, hey, that's better than a $400 a month car payment, right? And we can tighten our belt for one month, no problem.

Then our van had to go in for a routine maintenance check-up. Unfortunately, they found many things that needed replacing, and almost none of it was covered under our factory or special extended warranties. They were just regular stuff like shocks, brakes, and filters. Over $1,000 later, we had our van back. Gulp. That was a big one.

Then comes the unbelievable part.

2 parents sent in tuition checks for Devin's homeschooling class over 4 months overdue, totalling $475. If we had received them on time, they easily would have been spent on Christmas joy.

Then the anonymous envelopes started coming in. (Thank you whoever you are!) $100 gift card to Target, $20 gift card to Starbucks (yum!), $160 in cash.

Devin tutored an hour after school-$25. Ok, how much is that now? $780. Whoa.

Then we received $80 to a fancy restaurant and free babysitting as a wonderful thank you from his mock trial team. And free movie tickets came in the mail from some kind of airline rewards program from 2001.

All this week; I'm not joking. And to my recollection, I only told one person about our car issues.

Equally amazing things are happening with the school. I wish I could say more, but I will later.

I shouldn't be surprised but I am. God has done this over and over again in our lives. But for some reason, I am so forgetful. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, I complain about food and drink after the Lord has parted the Red Sea for me!

The reason I've been this specific is to bring God the glory by remembering His goodness to His children. Financially, times are tough for many of us. But, like Devin told me last week, "God owns the Cadillacs on a thousand hills." Whatever trials you might be going through, He will not leave you alone, not for one second. Be encouraged.

I look forward to hearing your stories. Soli Deo Gloria!