Leap for joy in the presence of Christ

This post will be lengthy, but well worth it. June 12th, I found out that Dan and I were expecting our 3rd child. July 20th, the same day as the deadly shooting in Colorado, we went to our first ultrasound, looking forward to seeing our baby for the first time. Unfortunately, the baby did not have a heart beat. We learned that our baby had gone to heaven a couple of weeks earlier. Dan wrote our congregation the following email, because we had shared the news of our pregnancy a few weeks ago. I am soo thankful for the husband that God has given me, but also thankful for the wonderful pastor he is for me and our church.

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Luke 1:39-45-- At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.

 

These words have been of great comfort to Angela and me over the past couple of days.  A couple of days ago, Angela and I received the sad news that Angela had a miscarriage.  First off, let me say that, while we are both sad, we are also both full of comfort because of these words from Luke chapter 1.  While, on this side of eternity, we will never know if this baby was a boy or girl, while we will never know if the baby had brown or blue eyes, we do know one thing.  We know that just as John the Baptist lept in the womb of his mother Elizabeth, when he was in the presence of Christ, so also our baby for seven or eight weeks, lept in Angela's womb, every time he or she was in the presence of Christ. 

 

Even though this baby was only seven or eight weeks old, this baby was a sinner, conceived in sin, as all people are.  Therefore this baby deserved to die.  But out of love for this baby, Christ died.  Out of love for this baby, Christ rose.  Out of love for this baby, Christ won forgiveness for this baby and conquered death for this baby.  In a miracle that cannot be comprehend by our logic, the Holy Spirit even caused this baby to believe and leap for joy, when this baby was in the presence of Christ, so that this baby can receive those marvelous blessings, won by the death and resurrection of Christ.  Therefore this baby didn't really die, even though Angela had a miscarriage, but is alive right now, living with Jesus in the joy and peace of heaven.

 

That is why Angela and I are comforted, even during this tough time in our life.  We know the love of God.  We trust in the love of God.  Even though we may not completely understand why God would allow this hardship to come into our lives, we know the blessings that God has given our baby through this hardship.  He spared this baby from evil, from tragedy, from disaster and took this baby immediately to heaven to live with him forever. 

 

One day, Angela and I will join our baby there.  One day we will get to meet our baby, though probably a little later than we first anticipated.  Christ has died for us.  Christ has rose for us.  Christ has won forgiveness for us and conquered death for us.  He has even granted us faith in him, allowing us to receive those marvelous blessings.  We know that God will keep us in the faith, even through this hardship, and any other hardship that we face.  When we finally leave this world, we will get to go to heaven and live with our baby, live with Jesus, and live with all of God's saints for all eternity.

 

So Angela and I will continue to leap in the presence of Christ week after week after week.  We will continue to make sure that we are fed with Christ, the Bread of Life, through the Word and the Sacraments.  Not only do we, most importantly, want to live with our Savior for all eternity, experiencing joy and peace that is beyond our imagination, but we also want to meet our baby, who is currently enjoying that blessed place. 

 

I pray that you have that same motivation as well.  I know that all of you know someone, who is currently enjoying the blessed peace of heaven.  Maybe it was a baby that was miscarried and only lept in the presence of Christ for a few weeks.  Maybe it was a parent or grandparent, husband or wife, sister or brother, son or daughter or just a good friend, who got to leap in the presence of Christ for many years.  Whatever it was, I know that you all know someone currently living in heaven.

 

So I encourage you to continue to leap for joy in the presence of Christ.  Make sure that you hear God's Word.  Make sure that you receive his Sacrament.  This is how the Holy Spirit keeps you in the faith.  By remaining in the faith, you can have the confidence that one day, whether it is a year from now, or a hundred years from now, you will get to enter heaven and enjoy eternity with your God and with your loved ones for all eternity.     

Dreaming of fall....

Who's ready for fall?

Me, me, me, me, me, me!!! 

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it's 

coming anytime soon. 

3393 Miles in the Blue Van

I am finally starting to recover from our vacation and getting back into the swing of things. It didn't help that Dan went out of town for three days, a day after we got home. Here's a glimpse of our trip!


We took a little trip to my Grandma and Aunt and Uncles' farm. We were hoping to catch my Grandma, but she was attending a funeral. We still looked around at some of the huge renovations taking place on the farm. They are installing a robotic milker! (and bunch of other improvements) My Uncle Jeff suffers from MS, so this is going to make farming much easier for him and his family.
 

Of course we had to stop and see some cows. 

 

I love the landscape in Barre Mills. 

Molly got right up close with those cows! She loved it.

 

Then we headed over to Dan's sister's house. Dan's brother from California and Dan's parents were also there. Anna and Molly got some quality time with their cousins and aunts and uncles.

 

We visited a nearby farm. My niece, Greta, has no fear. She held this chicken with no hesitation!

Of course Anna sat in poop.

 

Cousins!
Anna-2, Molly-1, William-3, Henry-8 months, Greta-2

 

 

 

 

Anna loved their dog, Martini. My Dad and Peggy also have a golden retriever named Ginger who she loves as well. 

On Thursday, Dan and I left the girls and started our journey to Georgia! We stopped in Nashville the first night and went to a couple of bars. This bar has dollar bills that people write on taped all over their walls.

 

These are our good friends and travel companions, Cassie and Jeremy Husby.

A good friend of ours who is a pastor in a suburb of Atlanta was getting married and Dan was a groomsman. Here we are before the wedding.

Jeremy, Dan (the groom), and Dan.

It was HOT everywhere we went, but it was especially bad this day, because the reception was outdoors!

The wedding favors were fans. Dan was trying to cool off. 

After the wedding, we headed back to WI to my brother's house. The girls had been there the whole weekend. Here is my niece, Emma, showing off the afghan I made her. :)

We went to the pool a couple of times to cool off. 

Of course we attempted another cousin picture, and once again, Molly was screaming. 

Anna-2, Chloe-7, Ben-3, Molly-1, Emma-10, Aidan-6

All in all, it was a great vacation. The 3393 miles spent in the van were not that fun, but it saved us a lot of money, and could have been worse! We are happy to be home, but are already looking forward to heading back next June for my cousin's wedding!

My First Afghan!

I just finished my first afghan! I'm pretty proud of myself. I've never done anything bigger than a hat or scarf, so this was definitely a big project. I started plenty early (February, I think?) because I knew it would take a while for me to complete. I'm glad I did, because I lost motivation as our temperatures started to rise and the last thing I wanted on my lap was a blanket! I finished it just in time to give to my niece and god-daughter, Emma, who turned 10 on the 11th. We'll give it to her when we see her next week!



It's a simple chevron pattern in green, yellow, and white... Packers colors! I found this great pattern here. It's by no means perfect. I'm mostly a self-taught crocheter, so I'm sure there a billion mistakes. The edges are not completely straight and it's not quite as long as I hoped. I hope Emma enjoys it all the same. It seems like a great blanket to curl up with a book.

Jenni- don't let Emma see this! ;)

Back to packing. We leave tomorrow!! 

Giggling goodness

It's was a busy week last week. Dan was gone until Wednesday, we went to two Brewers games (unfortunately, they stunk it up big time), we celebrated my birthday, our 6 year anniversary and Father's day all in the same weekend! Anna was so confused by the end, since we were telling her to say something different everyday. This week is VBS and getting ready for our vacation! We leave on Sunday! Yipee!! Because of that, I'll be MIA for a while, but here is some giggling goodness to get you through. :)

Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead

Dan has been away at district convention in the sprawling metropolis of Waco, Nebraska since Sunday night. The girls have been doing really well for me, thankfully. That doesn't mean I'm not counting down the minutes until bedtime each night, but overall, they've been nice to me. To break up some of the long days, I had planned to go to a children's farmstead with a friend and her kids on Monday. That morning, I got an early text message from her husband, telling me that she was in the hospital in labor! She wasn't due for another 4 weeks, so it was bit of a shock. She gave birth to a beautiful baby boy that day and God kept his loving and protective hand over them. They are both doing well, and he was released from the NICU this morning! It worked out well for the girls and I to stay home that day, since it had been a very busy weekend.  Yesterday, I was feeling brave and ambitious, and decided I would take the girls to the farm myself. I always hesitate to take them places by myself since it can be hard to keep two toddlers in tow. I was worried it would be a disastrous trip when Anna had a tantrum in the parking lot because I put her in the wagon, instead of letting her do it herself. (Miss Independent!) Thankfully, a threat to go back home calmed her down and she was fine the rest of the day. I'm so glad we went. The the farm had a ton of animals, beautiful gardens, and lot of things to keep little hands busy,



Source


There was a pen of baby goats. Anna and Molly loved chasing after all the little goats, trying to pet them.



Molly had no fear, and was very excited to touch them!

She was loving life. :)

This one thought her sandals looked tasty.

I was an unprepared mommy, and didn't have any quarters to buy food to feed the goats, so Anna tried to improvise with some rocks. The goat wasn't having it. 

 

 

 

 

They had bigger goats in pens, and the girls loved them, too. 

They also had some calves and a grown cow the girls LOVED. It must be the Berg in them. :)

 

 

We didn't stay very long. We could have stayed much longer if lunch and naps weren't a necessity. I'm sure we will be going back soon. The best part was that admission was free! I'm looking forward to taking the girls back with Dan.