Today was Ashlyn's first day of school. Ever.
An amazing moment.
It was awesome to take her into class. Sit with her while she did her first activity. Then watch her from behind one-way glass.
An emotional time to be sure. And, yes, we are the parents you come bearing a camera.
I'm kind of speechless about it... so I just like looking at this picture.
I was watching through the one-way glass from behind her at this moment. I won't forget it.
This is a recurring question from my two (almost three) year old. We have taken quite a journey in these conversations. We tackle one question at a time, starting with, "Where is God?" Each time we talk we repeat the conversation from the beginning, and every few times, a new question arises . . .
Ashlyn: Where's he (God)?
Dad: God is all around us.
Ashlyn: I can't see him.
Dad: He is Spirit. He is all around us. God is very big. God will never leave us.
Ashlyn: Why will he never leave?
Dad: God loves us. God loves Ashlyn more than Mommy and Daddy do.
Ashlyn: Where's his home?
Dad: God lives in heaven. He lives in Mommy and Daddy. And God wants to live in you.
Ashlyn: God's house is next to ours?
Dad: God lives in heaven.
Ashlyn: What is heaven?
Dad: It's where what God wants is done all the time.
Ashlyn: Where's his people?
(I don't know how that question follows . . . but it's kind of cool that it did.)
Dad: His people are everywhere. Mommy and Daddy are his people. People at church are his people. People all over the world are his people. Do you want to be one of his people?
Ashlyn: Yes. What's Spirit?
Dad: Uhhh . . . spirit is personal power . . .
(Dad is stuck on Dallas Willard's "unbodily personal power" definition . . . not real helpful for a two-year-old.)
Ashlyn: What's personal power?
(This from the girl who thinks she is not big enough to say "allergies.")
Dad: It's what tells Ashlyn's arm to move when she wants.
(Ashlyn waves her arm in the air smiling.)
Dad: God is just Spirit. God is REALLY powerful. He is very strong. That's why he can make everything. Trees. Grass. Ashlyn.
. . . For now the conversation ends . . . We'll begin again I am sure . . . This has been quite the journey, and there are some seriously hard questions that I am discovering I am not always real satisfied with the answers, or am only able to repeat philosophical answers which haven't sunk in to me enough to be really understood and expressed clearly. I love that sometimes Ashlyn isn't satisfied with my answers either. The mystery of faith.
I have become more accustomed to having one thing on me since Caleb was born, snot. He is a snot factory. And he rubs his nose on your shoulder as if it is a greeting when you pick him up.
There is little that is more satisfying than watching a son grow up. Caleb is reaching the age where I really get attached (9 months+). He has a real personality and is very expressive about how he is feeling. He has already started making sound effects like Ashlyn never did and is a rough and tumble guy. He looks to pull hair, pull off glasses, thrash around on the bed or floor, and grunts about whatever move he is going to make.
Caleb is my son, and with him I am well pleased.
It begins . . . my daughter's love for playing baseball begins tonight (softball will be an acceptable replacement since she is a girl and I usually play in a church softball league).
We had 45 minutes to kill while waiting for our table at the Olive Garden (known as the O.G. to college friends). So we went to Big 5 to kill some time. The place was stocked for the beginning of the spring season of baseball (Little League sign ups have already begun, and I am stoked to start umpiring again). There in the corner of the baseball section was the 3-5 year old gloves in pink and purple (NOTE: Ashlyn is two and a half, but will be three once baseball is under way this year).
I gave Ashlyn the choice of what color, obviously pink.
We played catch outside the store and again outside the O.G. She wanted to keep playing "catch" in the restaurant.
She got real excited when I got my glove out at home and we played catch again. She said, "You're good Daddy." She already has an eye for talent!
(FYI: That's not gum in Ashlyn's mouth in the above picture. It's her pink, of course, Triceratops vitamin.)
Tonight was the first time either Rebecca or I have heard our two-year-old, Ashlyn, say "I love Jesus."
Each night we take time (normally me, but often Rebecca) with Ashlyn to say prayers. This includes talking about our day, memorable moments, the things that made us happy or sad, people we want to pray for, and whatever else stirs up in a little two-year-old's heart and mind.
Tonight with Rebecca Ashlyn decided that she wanted to pray first. The beginning of her pray was: "God, Jesus. I love Jesus." Amazing.
This afternoon my two year old daughter took the following pictures on our Nikon D70. I think she has a great eye:
Caleb Andrew was born Monday, April 30 at 10:45pm (15 minutes after we got to the hospital). He was 7lbs 13.8oz and 20.5in long. Mom and baby are home safe.
How young does a pastor's daughter learn about the Bible? In the last week (at 20 months) Ashlyn has started using the American sign language for and saying the word Bible.
I have to say there is nothing better than coming home on Valentine's Day to find this sign on the door from my daughter. Though she had some help, she colored and glued all by herself.
Even better, upon entry, I found the house full of the aroma of Snickerdoodles. Which, as anyone knows, are some of the best cookies ever.
These things both served as a reminder of how blessed I am to have TWO valentines this year!
I've been asked a number of times what the name of my son will be (due May 11, 2007). The answer is Caleb Andrew Paterson. Yes, his initials will spell "CAP." Perhaps this will fuel a destiny of loving the game I love, baseball. Despite this coincidence, there really is a story behind the name:
Andrew is simple. It is my middle name. It was the middle name of my grandfather, Ronald Andrew Paterson. My son will carry with him the heritage of our family. Our heritage is a blessing, though of course, it is also a curse. If he honors his father and mother the Scriptures promise a long and full life. This is not simply an expression that means he must obey us. It is a calling to embrace who God has made him to be. It is a calling to accept the time and the struggles of humanity that he will face. When we can honor the reality of who we are and when we are, then, we will have a long and full life. Andrew, is a calling.
Caleb is the diversion, the progression, the next step beyond what I have known. Caleb, a Hebrew name, means "faithful, or devoted one." It also doubles as the word for "dog" (sorry buddy, it's true).
First, you must understand that Israel is God's chosen people, who by being grafted in by Jesus the Messiah, our family can now say is our people and our story. In our story, their is a man named Caleb. He is unique in his time. His generation sits at a crossroads with God and Israel's destiny. They are camped on the edge of the Promised Land and led by God to take it by force. But first, Moses sends 12 spies to survey the land (Numbers 13). Caleb is among them, accompanied by Joshua. The scouts return and report that the Land is all that God promised. However, 10 spies spread a bad report about the challenges and Giants that the people will face. Caleb stands out and believes that God can deliver the Land just as He promised. Because the people follow the report of the other spies God leads the people through the dessert for another forty years to wipe out the generation that would not trust Him. However, He protects Caleb and says:
"But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it." Numbers 14:24
My dream for Caleb is that he would choose to be faithful and devoted to God in a way that surpasses his Fathers. In the midst of a generation that will increasingly turn away from trusting the promises of God, I pray he sees beyond the challenges and Giants of his time. He can go beyond me, beyond his grandparents. He can break the curses that have been passed down. He can enter the Promised Land. He can be a blessing. Caleb, is a destiny.
