On the heels of the recent death in our family, I’m hopelessly behind in every area of life right now. What to do? Take a break and do something really fun—post pics and clips of my favorite munchkins. This entry is part 1, and I’ll try to get part 2 up shortly. These boys bring so much joy to my life. May God likewise grant them joy, health, and peace all the days of their lives.
We returned Sunday night from our trip to Hickory, North Carolina, where we conducted funeral services for my mother-in-law, Lorena Moore. It was good to re-connect with family, even on such a sad occasion. She is the second of 14 siblings to pass away, and most of her brothers and sisters came to bid her farewell. The outpouring of love and gratitude was both healing and refreshing. Here is a copy of the funeral bulletin:
Speaking of funerals, today is the tenth anniversary of the death of Dr. David A. Dorsey, my Old Testament professor who I adored. I may post later today the eulogy I gave at his funeral. I miss him a great deal, as do the rest of us on the seminary faculty. He had a high view of God, a high view of Scripture, and a high view of others, even while he himself was the humblest (and smartest) person I had ever met.
Christmas was a real joy, despite the death in our family. We kept our plans in place, and the immediate family gathered at our house for several days to celebrate. The kids, of course, were adorable. They were a bit overwhelmed at times by the sixteen people and two dogs who assembled under our roof. It’s a fairly large place, but when you have two 2-year-olds, one 1-year-old, and a 5-month-old in the midst of all that activity, you get a meltdown once in a while. That said, they were all fantastic and got along beautifully.
We were heavy on the gifts for our kids and their kids this year, but Sonya and I went light on each other. We decided that our newly renovated kitchen—which was completed two weeks ago—was sufficient. One of these days I may get motivated and post a few pictures of it. We’re thrilled with the results. Next up is converting the “Granny Flat” (as we called it) to a master bedroom. We’re not in a hurry, though. We need to grieve and discern what’s next in our lives before moving any walls or reconfiguring things. A few life changes are coming, and those changes could affect what we do with the space.
My sister-in-law got me the complete set of Harry Potter DVDs for Christmas, which totally took me by surprise. I had watched them online years ago just to see what all the fuss was about, but that was during a time when I was burning the candle at both ends, and I kept falling asleep. It will be good to fill in the gaps of what I missed the first time around. I remember them being quite charming and creative with wonderful cinematography and casting. The magical worlds of Narnia and Middle Earth always trip me into the boundless, and I suspect the same will happen with Hogwarts when I’m alert enough to follow the storyline.
There’s so much more to write, but I’ll leave it here for now.
May you be supremely blessed in 2024.
Samuel turned two years old today. My heart is filled with joy at all the love and precious moments we’ve shared during these past 24 months. Words fail this writer in describing what this wonderful little boy means to me. If I were to try, I would just short out my keyboard anyway, so I’ll share below the post that Bethany put on Facebook today. We got to see Bubby this evening (after babysitting Levi all day while his parents took Samuel to Tiny Town in Lancaster), and the whole crew is gathering Saturday night for the big bash. We can hardly wait to show (and tell) him how special he is to all of us. Thank you, Lord, for entrusting this amazing little blessing to our family.
Bethany writes:
“How amazing it has been this year to watch Samuel grow and his personality shine. He truly has a kind heart. He’s sensitive, he’s silly. He’s very slow to warm up, but when he does, he’s just so much fun. He’s cautious. He’s caring. He absolutely adores being a big brother. He prefers for everyone to be together. He loves being outside, going on walks, swinging at the park, swimming, helping daddy in the yard. He would eat M&M ice cream and pizza all day every day if you’d let him. And baked beans. And French toast.
“He is so helpful and eager to do what is asked of him if he knows he’s helping like making breakfast, washing dishes, throwing things away. He has the most amazing memory—I mean, truly incredible. He talks and talks and talks, and I LOVE hearing what he has to say. He’s a little clumsy (but we are his parents, so it was bound to happen). He listens to music as much as humanly possible. He loves dancing, playing his guitar, piano, and drums. He loves water towers, silos, trucks, buses, ambulances, fire trucks, trains—he’s all boy.
“He has a few stuffed toys; he pretends to put them to sleep and then comes back to check on them. He is obsessed with Christmas. He honestly loves talking about the Bible, Jesus, and church to anyone who will listen. He makes us so proud, happy, tired, and thankful. I love who he is, and we love being his parents. Happy second birthday to our Samuel.”
Amen.
Micah and Bethany are doing such a great job as parents. Best of all, they’re seeking to teach him about (and live before him) the real Jesus as revealed in the God-breathed good book (2 Timothy 3:16)! There is no other Jesus worth showing him.
💙 💙 💙 💙 💙 💙 💙 💙 💙 💙 💙 💙 💙
Right after posting these pictures, we ran through the praise and worship songs for this coming Lord’s Day morning, which is the First Sunday of Advent. The first song was Michael Card’s “Immanuel.” I didn’t make it past the first line, as verified by the four wet tissues now on the end table next to me. The song is heart-warming in its own right, but my latest blub-fest probably had to do with the little lullaby Sonya created and sings to Bubby while he’s falling asleep: “Samuel, Emmanuel.” Our lifelong prayer for him—that he would always know and treasure that God is with him.
Speaking of “Cinderella”…
The boys are coming over tonight. They’re crayons this year. Samuel is yellow, and Levi is green. (Micah is red, and Bethany is purple.) I can’t wait to sugar them up and send them home! 🙂
Samuel and Levi are coming to our house tonight so Bethany and Micah can have a date night. We’re so excited to have them. Samuel is staying overnight, but Levi will need to go home for his feedings throughout the evening. Someday Levi will be able to stay overnight, too, which is great because the Friday night pizza/sleepover is becoming a thing, and I love it! Pancakes follow on Saturday morning. 😊
Last night we had a spontaneous rendezvous at the Fairlane Avenue Park here in Myerstown, followed by take-out dinner from Tosco’s, our local Italian restaurant. (Wherever I’ve lived, the Lord has made sure there’s a high-quality Italian place right down the street!) The weather was perfect, and we had a delightful time. I even had a “mush moment” at one point, quietly thanking God that our beautiful munchkins live so close that we get to see them often.
Oh, and fall is in the air. What could be better?
Have a lovely weekend. Be blessed.
💙 💚💙 💚💙 💚💙 💚
Samuel is only 19½ month old, but yesterday he joined his mama on the chorus of “Jesus Loves Me” at bedtime, and it took my breath away. His singing is beyond adorable, and my heart may have melted into a big fat puddle of Papa-love when I heard it. The video clip was shot after the lights went off, so there’s nothing to see. But there’s plenty to hear—pure praise “out of the mouth of babes.” Could there be any sweeter or more important message than:
Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong;
they are weak, but he is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.
💙 🙌💙 🙌💙 🙌💙 🙌💙 🙌
Last week I got a new red wagon for the boys that I can hook up to my lawn tractor. It’s our own little Knoebel’s ride—with no tickets necessary (though my next door neighbor offered me two bucks for a ride. Unfortunately, he couldn’t fit)!
Samuel likes the wagon, though he doesn’t really like the noise that comes from the tractor. We did several laps around the yard, and then I dropped him off at the garden, where he loves to help us pick the ripe stuff. As we love to say around here, “He’s the best Bubby ever.”
Levi is becoming more alert and used to our voices. It was fun to feed him for the first time last week and sing him to sleep. He is so precious, and Samuel is (mostly) gentle with him.
I just got back from church camp where I had the privilege of sharing five evening messages with a responsive and appreciative crowd. Their favorite, by far, was a sermon called “It Is Finished” from John 19:28-30, where Jesus says, “Tetelestai!” from the cross. It’s the gospel in a single word, and I got a bit exuberant preaching it!
While I was away, Samuel and Levi kept being cute, and I missed them greatly. I gathered up a few snaps and clips upon my return, and now I have some new ones to share. I may have shown a few of their previous pictures via PowerPoint during one of my sermons. 🙂 Do you remember that picture of Bubby washing the car? And the one where he’s holding a sponge, covered in suds? The camp folks are now smitten, too!
Here’s something I’ve been eager to say for the past nine months, and now I can say it: “When are the boys coming over?” Haha! Actually, Samuel was here yesterday (and it was SO good to see him). He’s coming tomorrow, too, so I’m super spoiled. I’m thinking it’s time to establish a Friday night pizza tradition at our house, with them staying overnight and having pancakes for breakfast on Saturday morning.
Enjoy a few glimpses of my cherubs. And a song that may send your spirit soaring.
💙 🩵 💚 💙 💚 🩵 💙 💚 🩵 💙 💚 🩵 💙 💚 🩵
I made a reference to Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in one of my camp messages: “Barely even friends, then somebody bends unexpectedly.”
Joy abounds as we get to spend more time with Levi. Micah revealed his first nickname: “Nugget.” So, now we have Bubby and Nuggy. 😊 Samuel is learning what it means to be a big brother, and his interactions with Levi have been charming. Mommy and daddy have been working hard to make Samuel feel special despite all the attention his baby brother needs right now. So, there are some snaps of him below, too. He’s in “Sudsy Bubby” mode. Enjoy!
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Levi is home now, settling into family life. It’s been quite an emotional week watching it all unfold. Since I’m an adoptee with no connection to my biological family, Levi is just the fourth blood relative I’ve been able to meet (after Andrew, Bethany, and Samuel). So, Levi has my genes! According to his paternal grandpa, he also has my mouth. Speculation is growing already that he’s going to be a preacher. 😊
As is our custom, I read Psalm 139 over him when he got home. Cue the waterworks.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Before any of us had a place in this world, we had a place in God’s heart. And Levi now has a place in our hearts, too. He is precious and perfect, and all of us savoring this wonderful gift the Lord has entrusted to us.
I promised some pictures, so here goes:
I was out of state last week teaching a doctoral residency (along with conducting another remote learning course, a prayer meeting, a variety of staff meetings, and even some dissertating). I couldn’t wait to get back and see our little Bubby. (Yes, and everyone else, too.) In fact, I got choked up on the flight home at the thought of reconnecting with this little munchkin and getting to make a “Samuel Sandwich” again.
What a joy to return to this adorable, pleasant, and wonderful little boy. His receptor language has always been good, and now he’s starting to talk up a storm. He said “Bible” the other day, which was another reason to get choked up. He was also the ring bearer at a wedding last week. He’s only 17 months old, but he made it down the aisle (with a little help)!
He’s the best Bubby ever, and every day I get a little more smitten. Below are some random snaps and video clips, in no particular order.
Enjoy!
💙🥰💙🥰💙🥰💙🥰💙🥰💙🥰💙🥰💙🥰💙🥰💙🥰
Out of gas, but resting up for tomorrow.
Here are a few bonus pictures that didn’t upload the first time.
Micah and Bethany are such good parents. Below are two clips that make my heart smile. The first is Mommy reading a “dino-snore” book to Samuel. He’s learned to yawn and snore at just the right time during the story. It cracks me up every time I watch it. The second clip makes me a little nervous, but it’s still adorable. Daddy gets a bit physical in mimicking the “Swish! Swish! Swish!” line of “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round” song. Please don’t drop our little Bubby, Micah! 🙂 💙
Our little Bubby has been walking for well over a month now, and the words are starting to come, too—clearer and clearer each time. His first discernible word (beyond “Momma” and “Dadda”) was “hello” several weeks ago. It was adorable.
Yesterday he said, “Gampa” for the first time—not a bad attempt at “Grandpa.” Of course, I melted. The other day we thought we heard him try to say “fish.” Today he said it again, and the kids caught it on video. It sort of came out like, “shish.”
Thus it begins—a life of ambulating and annunciating. Walking and wording. Bring it on, SamJam. We’re eager to watch and listen.
Besides, Levi Timothy will need you to talk to him…and play with him!
💙 😊 💙 😊 💙 😊 💙 😊 💙
On Mother’s Day 2021, Sonya was opening her gifts from her children. At one point she held up a gray T-shirt and started to cry. I was sitting on the other side of the room and couldn’t see what it said. I thought to myself, “I’m sure it’s a very nice T-shirt, but we don’t usually cry over T-shirts now, do we? So, what’s up with that?”
What’s up with that was the writing it featured on the front: “Best grandma ever.”
“Is this true?” she asked with a gasp.
It was. And after she turned the shirt around to where I could see it, I started to cry, too. Micah and Bethany were expecting their first child. As readers of This New Life well know, Samuel James White was born on December 1, 2021. I’ve been utterly smitten ever since.
Bethany always felt kind of bad that her mom got the news a split second before I did, so on Christmas Day 2022, I opened a similar gift. This one had a little red Christmas stocking in it with a piece of paper inside. “What in the world is this?” I thought. I was mystified—until I saw that the little paper was actually the sonogram of child number two.
I may have cried again once the news sank in, causing the others to wonder what was going on. It was my turn to be smug this time as Sonya was sitting across the room in confusion. Eventually everyone came to realize that Samuel was getting a sibling.
Last night was Micah’s birthday. We celebrated at Dogood’s Tavern here in Myerstown, and then we came back to our place to give him his gifts. To our surprise, he then gave us a gift. We had a hunch it might be some sort of gender reveal, much like they did for Samuel.
Sure enough, when we opened the box, a little white onesie greeted us with the joyful announcement:
Hello, my name is Levi Timothy.
Samuel has a brother, and that brother’s name will carry my own. Are you surprised that there may have been more tears? I’m still stunned. And I’m smitten with Levi already. This week he’s the size of a lemon.
We expect to meet Levi sometime around July 18, 2023. Until then, my prayer for him will be Luke 5:28: “And Levi got up, left everything, and followed [Jesus].” Come to think of it, that may be my lifelong prayer for him.
Until Levi makes an appearance, Samuel has the stage all to himself. So, here you go…
