Photo Fancy

“The apple doesn’t fall
far from the tree”

-?-

Judah loves our Iphones. First he loved the bubble game. (you create bubbles and then pop them before they fall of the screen.) But when he found out that you can take pictures with the phone he wanted to take pictures of everything. Out of nowhere he will say: “I want to take a picture of that” as he points at something. It is nice to see what he is looking at. Even though most of his pictures have either a partial finger in the photo or are completely moved and blurry as a result of it. I have taught him that he is not allowed to touch my camera. I can leave it laying within his reach and he won’t touch it. But now that he can play with our Iphones he seems to have gotten the ‘photo-bug.’ Seems like he fell from my tree =). We will just have to see how long this will continue. Perhaps I will need to invest in another camera. (Judah took this picture)

Residency

“People without a vision perish”

-Bible-

I (Joshua) will attempt for now to give you an insight into Amy’s life. I haven’t seen my wife as much as I would like in the last few weeks. That’s when I was home. It has been nice to receive a real paycheck. But I think that she has been working more than an average of 80 hours a week. Her first day she came home in tears questioning herself and her capabilities. She has a lot of pressure on her to make the right decisions and to know exactly the right information. I for one know that couldn’t do it. But then she got to do OB/GYN her second day. She worked the afternoon in a clinic for underprivileged women. And as we all know that is where here heart and vision lay. So when she came home she was excited to say the least. Now that we re in her third month of residency I can tell you that even though there are hard days, and sometimes even months, she really loves what she does. Especially this month, which is probably the hardest month of this year. She gets up at 3:30AM and leaves by 4:15AM and comes home anywhere between 7PM (on an easy day) to 10:30PM (on a harder day) only to do it all again the next day. But she is doing what she loves to do. She is doing OB/GYN this month.

Riding his Radio

“People without a vision perish”
-Bible-


“but why?”
-Judah-

Judah has entered the ‘but why’ phase. This can be very annoying but most of the time it is fun to see what he is wondering. We went biking and he wouldn’t steer his wheel. As a result he crashed into the planter, Kate’s car, and fell (as seen above). When i told him to steer his natural response was... you guessed it. But why? As I explained to him that his steering wheel points in the direction that the bike will go and that by changing that you decide where you will go. followed by one of his, “but why?” I go on and tell him that the bicycle follows the first wheel. He asks “but why?” As you can see i try to give him one chance to understand what I tell him. I try to explain it to the best of my capabilities. Yet sometimes I simply answer with “because I said so”, followed by “because I am your dad” and then by “and that makes me the boss”. You see sometimes playing the ‘chain of command’ card works but most of the time is is followed by a “but why”. He always seems to have the last word. In this case (the bicycle case) I gave up and told him to just try it. And thats how I ended up with this picture of him picking up his bike one more time. And believe it or not but he got it. He rode down the block after this very picture. And then he told me to come get him because he was tired. And because I was so proud of my little cyclist I went and carried him and the trike home =)

Home Sweet Home

“That work, and not idleness,
is the indispensable condition of
happiness for every human being.”

-Leo Tolstroy-

So we’ve moved to Chicago. It has been fun getting to know our new town. Amy has started her residency and worked 96 hours her first week=). Judah and I are enjoying biking, the park and the library among other things. At home we are painting, drawing, reading and doing al kinds of other fun things for Judah’s development. I have come to realize that even though I have been struggling with not knowing what I want to do in life. I meed to make sure that I don’t neglect other areas in my life. Coming to this realization has made a big difference in my days, especially with Judah. I am taking time to get in physical shape. I started running in addition to biking every where. At this point this my be only some days instead of most days but it’s a major step in the right direction. I am also working on my photography. Getting it organized and building portfolio and that kind of time consuming stuff. Reading is another big one. Right now I am reading up on the Cubs, man what a great history. I am also reading about wine, I am taking my wine-knowledge a step further. I am loving it. We also have been visiting Willowcreek church and it has been a blessing to my walk with God. He is good and faithful, to Him be all the praise, Shalom.

Rejuvenation

“But as for you, brethern,
do not grow weary in doing good.”

-the apostle Paul -

Christ says in Matthew 11:28-30:

“Come to Me, all who are weary ad heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble
in heart, you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My
burden is light.”

Man has this been true in my life this week. Last Monday I told God that I was tired and didn’t know what to do. What am I supposed to do when I grow up? I was tired. I thought that I couldn’t go anymore. I was convinced that I didn’t make a big difference in God’s kingdom. I asked God to be clear to me and to give me strength. The very next day my drywall-guy John tells me that because of our conversations he accepted Christ in his heart. Isn’t that the greatest thing you can imagine someone telling you? It is to me. Man did God tell me that my labor is not in vain. God is good. and what an honor to play such a vital role in someone’s life. This has just lifted my spirit. I know that God is not done with me yet. He will continue to use me and that is and honor and and inspiration in it self. I am rejuvenated by His Spirit daily. Halleluja. Praise be to god.

Uncertainty

Let us therefore come boldly
to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace in time of need.

- anonymous -
(Hebrews 4:16)

Amy has received several invitations for residency interviews now. Chicago is the one that she seems most excited about. I am very excited that these developments are taking place. However it has been very hard on me for the last few months. I know that we are moving away from this area in May 2008 but I don’t know where. At times I find it very hard to participate in what is going on here, because I know that it will not last for us. I cant commit to anything I seem to have given up on everything and yet I don’t let go. It is so double. The Bible says that people without a vision perish. I guess that that is where I find myself. This uncertainty of where we will go in May is just hard to plan around. What kind of job will I have, will we find a good church, will i find friends like the ones that I have here, where will we live, etc. I have tons of questions and no answers. All I can do is trust in the Lord, after He is faithful and Good.