no more sudoku

Last night around 10pm, Matt, Hazel & I pulled into our driveway from a very long weekend & a very long week. We had the absolute HONOR & JOY of spending the weekend with the amazing folks at Spring Creek Church in Milwaukee, WI. We shared about Eliot & about what our lives of missing him are like now. We were blessed beyond words by the folks there...we pray & hope they saw more of God's face through what He's done in us.

It's been a while since I've flown anywhere. In the past, I have equated airports & airplanes with a good book, some quiet down time, great people watching & if I'm lucky, an empty sudoku puzzle in the airline's magazine. I learned very quickly that traveling with Hazel means no more sudoku.:)

Hazel is now 5 1/2 months & we flew with her for the first time. In the hotel, we swam with her for the first time. Through everything, she did great. She was exhausted pretty much the whole time, but did wonderful. We are proud parents. Here are a few pics of our weekend adventures!















As you can tell by the last picture, we come home a bit tired. But life goes on & we actually move from our house today. This is the house where Eliot lived. It has been very emotional for me (Ginny). Part of me wants to stay in this house forever because it was the last place I held him & within these walls the Spirit of God moved & loved & worked in inexplicable ways. I keep having to remind myself that I get to bring each memory of Eliot with me. If you are the praying type...pray for our hearts during this move.

Weekly Question (please rename me)

Upon getting some great feedback from the question that was posed a couple of weeks back, we have been prompted to make a question somewhat of a weekly deal.

Please leave your answer as a comment. Of course another option is to e-mail us your answer if that floats your boat, but we would love to allow others to see your feedback, and some of our best feedback last time came via e-mail.

Also, we need some catchy, witty, trendy name for this deal..."weekly question" is the best we have come up with. Embarrassing. However, as Miss Thing has recently rescinded her week of approval of sleep, our creativity is waning. In fact, if none of this makes sense, chalk it up to the fact that I am only on this thing in the middle of the night in order to help me try to ignore her cry and the nagging inclination that I am a terrible father for not coming to her rescue.

With no further ado, the question:
In preparation for our Milwaukee trip...what is a one sentence definition of grief that best sums it up for you?

By the way, a friend of ours left us his sweet camera as he headed to Mexico for a while. Thanks. Pictures have been a'plenty, and some should be coming (I have also not forgotten my coming reply to the e-mail I received).

O, but wait.....what is that? Silence :) We win. Good night!

rEcess

MM: The first Friday of each month, we get to be a part of a great night put on by 99 Balloons. "rEcess" is a 4 hour respite night for special needs families in Northwest Arkansas. It has become a guaranteed highlight of our month. We have been amazed to meet such great families and kiddo's. Each week offers so much to learn as I look at these kids and at our volunteers who give up 4.5 hours on a Friday night to make a child's week. It is without a doubt something we have not done, but, rather been a part of.

This last Friday was, as always, a great night. One thing that struck me, this week in particular, was the willingness by some stellar leaders to enter the world of the child they were working with. Most times, this meant leaving behind the put-together facade we each have honed with years of practice. And by doing so acting, well- foolish.

It takes both humility and grace to undertake such an adventure. You cannot teach a volunteer to seek connection. There is no training manual with instructions regarding leaving all you have come to understand at the door, and re-learn it all as they see it. But many do just that in order to gain a connection, or possibly a smile, from a child who does not naturally connect with the world around him or her.

Humility & grace. A couple of ideals I usually only grasp for, or strain to see in my typical day. But there it was on display, blazing for all who would see. The manifestation made possible only by ones willing to shed respect and become weak- all the while unaware that I was even watching, much less being challenged to leave my own pride behind.

#7...We did it.

MM: If all good things must come to an end, how do you explain that this is too? Thanks for humoring us on this blog experiment of 7 posts in 7 days. We have enjoyed hearing from many of you and have even enjoyed racking our brains when we had nothing worthwhile to type.

Great feedback is rolling in on the question posed in #6...please take the time to respond if you have not. It has truly been remarkable to hear of some altering moments in your lives.

This post will be somewhat of a preview for the next blog post of significance that I see coming from me (Matt). By significant, I mean the next post that I actually get to sit down, sip coffee, and think long & hard on. Thus, it may not be the very next post, but it is coming.

I have received a few e-mails that are best summed up by the following summation: Thanks for telling Eliot's story. We are so sorry for you and your family. With that said, can you explain to me how this is glorifying to God in the least bit?

I have asked a particular one of these petitioners if I could post their e-mail to me and my response, as I am sure they are not alone in their question. But I do feel that this may require an extra large cup of coffee (I refuse to learn what a particular store calls their sizes).

We plan on posting at least weekly. But plans are made to be broken.