JJ tiene dientes!! JJ has teeth!!

Hace un mes y medio, vi la primera senal de dientecitos en la boquita de nuestro chiquito! Pense que era temprano, como recien tenia 4 meses y medio, pero vi algo blanquito, asi que puse mi dedo en su boquita y senti apenitas dos cositas puntiagudas en la parte de abajo de la boquita de JJ! Desde entonces los dos dientecitos de JJ han crecido y ya se les ve clarito (como en la foto de arriba). Ahora cuando meto mi dedo en su boquita tengo que tener cuidado ya que duele cuando muerde con sus dientecitos filudos. Dios le sigue creciendo a nuestro chiquito y cada avance nos da tanta emocion y nos llena de accion de gracias a nuestro buen Dios que nos da tanto gozo con la vida de Josuesito. Gracias a todos ustedes que han orado y siguen orando por el. Confiamos en que Dios le seguira dando salud y buen crecimiento.

About a month and a half ago, I saw the first sign of teeth in our little JJ's mouth! I thought it was pretty early, since he was only 4 and a half months at the time, but I saw something white, so I put my finger in his mouth and sure enough, felt two little sharp bottom teeth! Since then, JJ's two teeth have grown and are clearly visible now (as you can see in the picture above). Now, when I put my finger in his mouth, I need to be very careful, as his bite hurts with his new sharp little teeth. God keeps growing our little one, and every little advancement makes us so happy and fills us with gratitude to our good God who has given us so much joy with the life of little JJ. Thank you to all of you who have prayed and continue to pray for him. We trust God to continue giving our son health by His grace.

Casita de JJ

This is JJ's home. That's big brother jeremiah on the phone with one of his girlfriends!

Bath time!

JJ got a bath tonight and loved it! Here he is munching on his bath buddy 'el cangrejito'. That's 'the little crab' for you anglo saxons! :)

That's our boy!

I love this picture of Jer holding JJ up in the air. Since the Son of God slain for the sins of the world loves diversity, then we should too. JJ is half Ecuadorian (latino) and half American (caucasian). He is being held by his "brother" Jeremiah who is african-american.


I also love this picture of JJ in the headband. He already loves balls. I can't wait to play him in ping pong.

Thankful!

I don't want to write much and take away from the picture. Here is my bride, my love, my best friend, Valeria. And here is squirm, my son, my other best friend, Joshua Jr. Notice JJ, he is always alert, observant, and eager. And also notice the cross in the background. Jesus, the King of all, died on a cross for us.

I'm a dad!

I still am not able to fully grasp that I am a father. On Wednesday, little Josh will be 6 months old. He is growing like a weed. His dirty diapers are getting much much worse day by day. He now eats rice and vegetables. And he makes me so happy.
I cannot believe I am a father.
I don't deserve this little guy. I don't deserve to have a beautiful smiling giggling kid who always looks for me, finds me in the room, stares at me and watches me very intensely, and can discern my voice from many. God has been too good to me in giving me little Josh. I love him so much. The other day I kept telling him that I don't want him to grow anymore because soon he will be so big he won't want or let me kiss him anymore. I love to kiss him...and tickle him, and wrestle with him, and throw him in the air just to see him light up. And I love to talk to him. The two of us go for walks. And when we do... we talk. I tell him all sorts of things. I tell him how much I love his mom and how thankful we are for her. I tell him how I cannot wait to teach him to play baseball and basketball and to teach him how to mow the yard. I tell him often about Jesus...how Jesus changed my life and can change his too. I love being with him. When I come home from work, it gives me the best feeling in the world. Its like he knows when I am arriving. I cannot wait until he can crawl or walk to greet me at the door.
I can't believe I am a dad.
I don't deserve this invaluable gift, but I accept it. I gladly, excitedly, and humbly accept it.
Oh dear God, please make me a good Dad to this boy! Thank you for him.

What a Father!!!

I am blessed beyond words to have Josh as the father of my little baby! He is such an amazing father... I knew he would be years ago after seeing him interacting with all the kids at church, but now with our own little one, I see it 100 times more every moment of every day! I know Josh is humbled and overjoyed together with me that God has allowed us to come to the point of celebrating Father's Day in our own family. We realize what a precious gift from God it is to be parents and every Father's Day from here on out, our hearts will always be praising our good God! This month, as we have celebrated Father's Day, I have reflected a lot on what kind of a man God has given us in our home. He is truly not just a hard-working provider, but a very loving, involved man in each of our lives. I enjoy seeing him changing JJ's diapers, singing JJ to sleep, giving JJ a bath, taking JJ for a walk, playing with JJ...and even more, through everything that he does, he is faithfully teaching our son and instructing him in the way of the Lord. This is the type of man I had prayed for! JJ loves his daddy and it is so obvious, as he smiles so so big everytime Josh comes home or near him. I thank our Heavenly Father, whose grace at work in my husband makes all this possible. I pray that JJ would grow up admiring and imitating this man of God, who we love sooo much!

The above picture was taken on Father's Day at a club here in Fairdale where we had lunch after Josh got the opportunity to preach at church. The bottom video is a very short video of how happy daddy makes JJ when they play together. Enjoy!