A Rich Legacy

leg·a·cy: something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past

Legacy. It sounds like a word you only hear in books, text books to be more precise. But it is something we are all a part of. We wouldn't be here today without our ancestors, predecessors, and the things that they've passed on. Whether it be knowledge, material possessions, a "name"... something you cling to from the past. What is your legacy?

I am blessed to have a rich legacy. The legacy I am referring to goes back only one generation and it is what my parents have given to me... what they have given to their grandchildren. Something I hope to pass on.

A Legacy of Love
Today is my parents 26th anniversary. 26 years ago on April 19th my parents were poor, way too young, and in love. They got married on the front steps of a friend's house in North Dakota where they were stationed at the time. They hardly knew anyone there, but did it matter?? 26 years say no.

Mom and Dad met in the air force after dad spotted her through a window using a pay phone. They became friends thanks to their roommates and then started dating. This picture was taken on New Years Eve right before dad was deployed to Turkey:

He was gone for a year with a short summer visit in there somewhere, but was back for good in January after cancelling an order to Germany that he had originally put in for... just so mom would marry him.

Through deployments, moving state to state and country to country, a decade plus some of military life, raising three (now four!) children, struggling to get by, and hardships that I was probably never made aware of, they are still together and still in love. They serve as a wonderful example of marriage. A legacy of love.

A Legacy of Faith
Even greater and richer than the love they've exemplified is the faith that they have in HIS love.

Mom and Dad were reintroduced to a loving, personal Savior by Dad's supervisor in North Dakota, Mark Wilz. Mark will forever be a part of our legacy. Mark gave Dad a bible before he was deployed to Turkey and then got in touch with him again when he got back to the states. They started studying God's word together and in February of 86 Mom and Dad started visiting church with him. Mark was also the man who married mom and dad after convincing them not to go to the Justice of Peace; they were married at his house, on his front steps, and surrounded by the people they hardly knew from the church they visited with him!
Mark baptized them anew on (roughly) March 27th in a freezing cold North Dakota baptistry. Afterwards, they went to eat at Ground Round soaking wet. They started living their lives for Him from that day forward and it is clearly evident in all they do.

Mom and Dad have passed on this rich legacy to all four of their children and now their grandchild as well. A legacy of love and faith. One that will permeate our lives and the lives of our children and their children.

It all started with a boy looking through a window at a girl making a phone call home to let her mom know that she made it North Dakota...where ever that was.

Happy 26th Anniversary Mom and Dad. Thank you for your legacy.

Spring is in the Air!

The weather is warm, the pollen is out (sufficiently covering everything in a yellow dusting), the park is filled with children, and SPRING is here!
Let's see, last spring Eli was just starting to crawl and this spring he is talking, running (I really don't think he WALKS anywhere!), singing, dancing, making daddy proud by kicking his soccer ball... it's just crazy!
I must say, although it is hard to believe that he is now closer to 2 than 1, I am loving this stage! Especially since it is now warm enough to play and explore together outside.

Around February it really started to warm up and we started walking down to our neighborhood park to play in the afternoons. Now that it's April and the weather has been more consistent this has become one of Eli's favorite things to do after we get home from school! Aside from throwing the wood chips, Eli's favorite thing at the park is the slide and especially the really tall one, go figure! He goes down all by himself now!

In March we were able to visit lots of our friends and take advantage of the beautiful spring weather! Early in the month we met up with several of our "Mommy Group" friends! We got to spend a whole weekend with five other 18 month olds all born in September! We all stayed in a house together and it was so much fun! We went to the Parthenon one day and were able to run around outside, the other day we went to a children's museum!

The next week was our Spring Break and we went to visit our friends Jenny and Haddy. One day we went up to the North Georgia Zoo because all of the new baby animals were being born! We were able to play with all of the animals thanks to Hope, a good friend of Jenny who owns and manages the zoo. She also has an 18 month old, so all three babies had so much fun together! We held and touched a monkey, a baby wolf, baby goats, a baby deer, and many other exotic animals! So fun!

And that brings us to April! Phew! We have been busy!
For my birthday weekend we went back to Georgia and Eli was able to do his first Easter Egg hunt at the church! He caught on pretty quickly to looking for eggs with the help of Haddy! There was also a big Easter bunny at the church, which they did NOT like! I don't think they appreciated us putting them in his lap either!

We expect the rest of the season to be just as busy! This weekend we are going to visit Gram and Pap, then the second week of May we are going on our Disney Cruise(!!!!!), then we will have a BBQ at Nana and Grandpas house! Before we know it summer will be here! THEN Eli turns 2!!! Ok, let's not think about that right now ;)

Happy Spring everyone!