2008 and 2009

After Christmas, it was just too much to stay on my feet working, so I left work and stayed home, a decision I never regretted.

In His Light, by Greg Olsen*

In April, Colin was born. When I first heard his cry I had never heard anything more beautiful in my life. Maybe you remember that I had wondered last year whether the Lord knows happiness as great as his suffering. The answer then came to me: Yes. The Lord knows joy. He knows happiness to match His pain.

My experience in parenting is teaching me how to love in the same way that the Lord loves.

Overall, the first year as parents was blissfully uneventful. Colin was a healthy, sweet natured boy who made everyone he met fall in love with him.

There isn't a whole lot for me to say personally about the year as mostly it revolved around Colin. My world became very small.

My dad remarried, which I am sure was an adventure in and of itself, but that's his story. We also met some great family and friends. That's about it.

In 2009, Aaron and I were expecting again. We also decided to move to Logan, UT for Aaron to attend Utah State University. That was a rough summer and fall. Our friends were very generous and patient, but we just couldn't get settled in a place of our own, so we came back to Michigan at the end of the semester.

What was wonderful about the experience was that the difficulty made our little family stronger.

This is not my most entertaining blog entry; but as a rule, simple, normal things happen when you start a family. I like it that way.

You may have noticed, if you are following this blog, that I'm not focusing on the painful parts of life that much. I might make a minor gripe once in a while when it's funny; but for the most part the only times I've mentioned the dark parts are in reference to how my life is better for the experience.

I don't think people like to read whining and complaining. For my part, I hate the "Woah is me" stories that so many people tell online, or worse, over the pulpit at church. There's enough negative energy in this world without my adding to it. When life gives you lemons, have fish for dinner.

*About that picture and link. It is to Greg Olsen's online gallery and store. I can usually tell one of his paintings, and his art is all over the internet, but seldom credited to him properly, which is a dirty crying shame. Click the link and you'll be in his store and see more of his amazing paintings.