Today

Today... Today was a good day!  There are so many moments in this life that I cherish and remember fondly and today held a few very special moments that I intend to treasure always.

As I was holding Cade earlier today, I asked him something I ask him often, "Give mommy kissy faces,"  which is my odd way of asking Cade to give me a kiss.  Now, Cade has serious things to do - play peek-a-boo with EVERYTHING, imitate our every move, and crawl with intentionality as we follow on hands and knees - but today, he looked up at me and gave me MULTIPLE kissy faces!  Oh, the JOY!

Later, while we were eating dinner with my parents, Cade continuously leaned over, stretched out his arms and gave me the SWEETEST little man HUGS.  Each time, he would lay his head on my shoulder and hold onto my hair to keep me snuggled close to him.  Again, what JOY!

As if the earlier moments of my day weren't enough to stop and thank our Lord and Savior - there was more...  When we began to look through the mail, a very important piece of mail drifted to the top.  It is an invitation that I have been awaiting for a very long time.  You see, when we were 5 years old, my best girl friend and I made a pact - we would be one another's Maid of Honor upon finding "Mr. Right."  Almost 5 years ago, I married my "Mr. Right."  And in just a couple of months, she will marry hers!

Tonight, when the day had already been so filled with sweet, God-given moments, I opened our invitation to the blessed event - Anna and David's WEDDING!  And again, such JOY!  I am thrilled to be a part of this special event in which my best girl marries her best guy.  [The greatest fan(s) of your life!]

Today was a great day!

Light

For many months now, Cade has been reaching his chubby little arms out and pointing to things.  He usually accompanies his point with a, "DOH!"  He gets so excited to see things up above - ceiling fans, pictures hanging on the wall, and LIGHT.  He LOVES light!

I must admit, it makes this momma PROUD.  I am thrilled that our son is DRAWN to light.  That he is EXCITED to see light.  That he RECOGNIZES light.

And my PRAYER is, just as he is excited to see light now, he is DRAWN to the ULTIMATE LIGHT, Jesus the Messiah!  And that God would use Pete and I to demonstrate HIS love, HIS grace, HIS mercy, and HIS LIGHT as we continue to raise him.

And my HOPE for our life in INDONESIA is that our NEIGHBORS and FRIENDS and COWORKERS and ALL would be ENCOURAGED TOWARDS JESUS!  That despite our shortcomings, differences, and failures, others would SEE the LIGHT of CHRIST in us and DESIRE HIM.

I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.

John 8:12

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

Proverbs 4:18

You are the light of the world...Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

Cupcakes

As I sit here writing this blog I am consuming my second (shhh, please don't tell anyone) celebratory cupcake.  While these cupcakes were originally made for Cade's special 1 year family birthday party, I am now eating them as we celebrate hitting the 50% mark of our ongoing support needs.
That's right, I said 50%!!!

Over the weekend Pete and I were notified of another precious and generous gift that puts us right over the 50% mark.  Praise the LORD!  We are so thrilled to be celebrating such a sweet milestone of His faithfulness and provision and are looking forward to the 100% cupcakes, as well!

For our precious friends, family and generous supporters and partners in ministry - go enjoy a cupcake and give thanks to our loving and caring God who is faithful to equip the called and make straight the path to Him!

Monkey Turns 1!

It doesn't seem possible that our little man has lived outside the womb for over a year now!  While we were in Texas visiting some very wonderful friends, we took the opportunity to celebrate Cade's big birthday. 

We had a blast celebrating "Sock Monkey" Style!

 Cade's friends came to eat cake and play.

The cake was so yummy!

 And got red frosting ALL OVER the Cade-man!

The boys standing around.

Opening gifts was fun, too!

 Thank you to everyone who came to Cade's 1st Birthday Party!  

We loved seeing you and are grateful for your friendship.

Reminiscing

What a difference a year makes.  A year ago today, our lives were completely different.  A year ago today, we were in a waiting game.  A year ago today, we had so many dreams unfulfilled and so many hopes up in the air.

Then everything CHANGED.  For those of you who know me well, you know that I don't particularly like change.  That I tend to fight and resist it with almost all of my being.  But a year ago today was different.  A year ago today, God blessed us in ways that have truly changed our lives FOREVER!

Allow me to reminisce:

A year ago today seemed like just another day - we had yet another doctor's appointment to determine how baby boy, our little Greenbean, was progressing and how I was preparing for his big arrival.  We would have never known as we woke up on Jan. 25, 2011 all that the Lord would do in a matter of 14 hours.

You see, Cade was past his due date, but we knew we wanted him to arrive as naturally as possible, and only in the timing of our Lord.  So as we made way to my doctor's office (shout out to Paul for being the MOST AMAZING OBGYN) we had no clue that everything was about to CHANGE.  Paul did his usual and checked my blood pressure and my body's preparation for labor and delivery.  While it seemed by body was not ready to let our little guy out, Paul was a bit concerned with my blood pressure and so, we were sent to the hospital to officially get things started.  YIKES!  I knew in my heart that it was time and I knew in my spirit that God was with us.

As I got settled in at the hospital - gown and all - I had several visitors.  Friends that will remain our surrogate family, really came to say hi and to wish us luck!  It was a blessing to see them and they truly helped me take my mind off of the impending labor that was about to occur.

Just as the doctors administered some medicine to get my body prepared for Cade's arrival, Pete received a call on his phone.  It was a call we had been awaiting for weeks!  When Pete told me who it was, I quickly said,"Answer it!"  I couldn't believe that Ron, from MAF, was calling us now, but I needed to know what he had to say.  Pete returned to the room a few moments later with a silly grin and deer in headlights look on his face.  "We've been approved and are scheduled for the Summer 2011 Candidacy class."

This was news we had been hoping and praying for throughout the entirety of our pregnancy.  It was surreal as I lay in the hospital bed, preparing to have a baby.  I looked at Pete and told him that I thought this news was more overwhelming than going into labor - WHAT?!?

In a matter of minutes we had gone from preparing to have a baby to being accepted to Candidacy - both of these things would change our lives in ways we could never have imagined, but were JUST what we had been hoping and praying for.  There is no doubt that Jan. 25, 2011 will forever be a day we REJOICE over and a memory we never forget.

A mere 13 hours later, on Jan. 26 2011, our precious little Greenbean, CADE BENNETT GREENWALD emerged.  He was as handsome as I have EVER seen and the three of us had an INSTANT CONNECTION.

A Day at the Beach

There is no doubt that Pete and I have been blessed with some of the most amazing friends and family anyone could ever ask for.  Whether it's watching our husbands shoot zombies for hours while we chat about life before, during, and after pregnancy or taking a fun trip to see manatees and play in the waves, we have friends that are with us through life challenges, family changes, and miles of separation.   These are people who keep us encouraged, help us grow, and lend us an ear or hug in time of need.  We pray we are a blessing to them, as they surely are to us.

One thing is for certain, Pete and I would not be who we are or where we are without the kindness and support of these friends.

This weekend we visited the Webb's.  When we were engaged and Pete was in school at LETU, he would call me and tell me about this couple that we had to hang out with when I moved to Texas.  I remember our very first "date".  As we walked to our meeting location - an indoor blacklight mini-golf course - we were all nervous (although we didn't find that out until years later).  Pete introduced me to his friend Amber and her husband, Micah, and Micah was introduce to Pete and I.  We proceeded to "enjoy" a round of horrible mini-golf and somehow amidst the nerves and odd choice of venue we became friends.  These are friends that I know are God-sent.  They are friends who, despite miles between us and different life circumstances, will remain a constant.  They are people we rejoice with, mourn with, and share in the big and the little life has to offer. This weekend was no different.

While there precious little boy, Ben, has grown up at the beach, this was Cade's first trip and boy was it memorable!  Our little sand-man ate the sand, threw the sand, crawled in the sand, rolled in the sand, and brought the sand to his not-so-sand-loving momma to give her clothes a more "sandy" look.  We had a blast!  Here are some pictures of our day at the beach.

Who said this water could come and take my sand away?

Snuggling with momma and getting dried off.

Sand, Where have you been all my life?

Crawling to MORE sand!

He LOVED throwing sand!

Happy Little Monkey (and Momma & Daddy)

Uncle Timmy & A Day at the Aquarium

Throughout our journey, Pete and I have met some amazing people who we are blessed to call friends and grateful to be a part of one another's lives.  One of these people is affectionately referred to as "Uncle Timmy" around our home and will forever be someone who we look up to and hope our son sees as an excellent male role model.

This week, Cade met his Uncle Timmy for the very first time.  Through a series of life events and circumstances, this week was the first time that both Uncle Tim and the Greenwald family were in the same place at the same time since Cade was born.  We have been waiting for this special time for quite a while (11 months or so, to be exact)!

Today, we spent the day at the Georgia Aquarium loving on the sea creatures and watching a fun (if a bit cheesy) show in the dolphin area.  My personal favorite was right at the entrance - a "touch pool" with sting rays (no barbs attached) and little sharks!  It was so exhilarating to stick my hand in the touch pool and feel the slippery and soft skin on the back side of the sting ray.  What beautiful and graceful creatures!

Earlier in the week I had read in Genesis about the Lord God making all the birds of the sky and fish of the sea.  What an imaginative and amazing God we love and serve, and who loves and serves us!  After seeing the sea creatures today I am blown away at the creativity and detail that He put into His creation and more so blown away that He calls us friend and is intimately acquainted with each and every one of us.  Tonight I stand in awe of our Lord just a little more than I did when I woke up today.  And to think, these are just a FEW of the sea creatures and the fish of the sea are just a PART of the WHOLE creation. WOW!

Not only did my understanding of the Lord's creativity grow today, but it was such a fun day to share with our dear friend, Tim.  Life doesn't bring us in the same area all to often any more, but he is one of those friends who you just pick right up where you left off and you let one another grow, learn, and be who God has created each of you to be.  Pete and I are blessed to call him friend and can't wait for Cade to be able to say the words, "Uncle Timmy".

Daddy, Cade-Man, and Uncle Timmy

Sting Ray/Shark Touch Pool

Daddy showing Cade the fish!

Dragonfish - SO COOL!

Beluga Whales

Cade getting up-close and personal with the fish!