This morning I was reading the blog of this amazing young woman who has already faced her share of struggles and heartache in a very short 28 years of life. Although it seems most of her struggles have taken place in the last 3 years I imagine leading up to this she had times of struggle. Anyway, as an adult I am daily learning how God works on this fallen earth and how as humans we can choose to cope with the sorrow. I can’t even begin to summarize her story in a short entry so I will just attach the blog address and if you feel inspired (and have a few moments to read and probably cry) to see how God can be glorified in the darkest of moments then go ahead and read some of her insightful thoughts.

http://conorbootheandgirls.blogspot.com/

I don’t actually know her I just stumbled across her blog through a friend of a friend but I think her story is universal of suffering, sorrow and finding joy amidst these!

Well this weekend was off to a great start with a session of Beth Moore Live!!! My wonderful mother-in-law treated me to an early birthday gift of the conference taking place at Pacific Coloseum in Vancouver. Many people are on the “Beth Moore” bandwagon with the studies and what not which at times makes me feel skeptical. However after attending her conference I feel relieved, uplifted, refreshed and encouraged.

As a teacher she is down-to-earth and extremely passionate. She clearly understands her place as a vessel for God to use and regularly makes the point to encourage people not to glorify her or put her on a pedestal but to place their praise in God’s amazing work. She spoke on Hebrews 4:12-16 and just spent the entire time breaking down each verse.

Friday night was chapters 12&13 and she had us memorize it (sorry to say that I haven’t quite got that down yet). The praise during that segment was fabulous. Definitely professional but not a performance. This morning started bright and early at 8:30am (which meant a 6:45am start time) with praise time, I’m not sure how some people manage to have so much energy that early. The first part of the morning was chapters 14&15 and then a short break and finishing off with chapter 16. There were two very significant aspects of this weekend that touched me. I think basically since reading “The Shack” I’ve been really struggling with God as someone who does not have a “dark” side. He is completely love and although He will judge us and seeks justice He is not a vengeful God who seeks only to see me struggle. He truly wants to prosper me, not in the money sense but in the spiritual sense. The second aspect with understand our need for mercy and grace and the difference between the two. She defined mercy as “God holding back that which we deserve for our sins” and grace as “God blessing us with what we NEED because He loves us”. So she had us write down one things that we need to receive mercy for and then one thing aspect of grace we needed. Then as we closed the session she asked that we each hold up our booklet with something that we needed God’s mercy from and something that we needed God’s grace for. As 1500-2000 booklets floated in the air Beth prayed God would see each person’s request and grant their specific need. Then she told us that was the last time we could ask for that from now on we had to just shower God with thanks at His wisdom at fulfilling that need in HIS TIMING!

I was so encouraged not to walk away feeling like I was on a spiritual high and just waiting for the “letdown”. I knew this was something that would be impactful for me in months and hopefully years to come. Although I came emotionally, physically and mentally exhausted I knew it was worth it. God is good all the time, All the time God is good! How can we possibly feel any differently when we see how he continues to fill our lives with blessing despite how little we deserve them?

Well after saying that we’d made it through the season untouched we got touched!! Jake came down with the flu last Saturday evening and only started to feel better on Monday at which point Lanae and I both got sick until Tuesday evening and then on Wednesday night Sam got a mild case of it. Thankfully James’ has not gotten it (he was the only one to get the flu shot) and we really hope it stays that way. He’s been pretty healthy though and working out like crazy and such so I’m sure that’s affected his immune system as well.

Life around here has actually slowed down a little. We’ve had two weekends of being at home as a family and not rushing off for some activity or another. I’ve rather enjoyed playing games in the afternoon with my kiddos and spending a lot of time with my dear husband.

The kids are growing like weeds and keeping us busy. Between laughing, loving, learning, disciplining, etc. I rarely have a moment to reflect. There are those amazing moments when God’s goodness shines through so clearly that you can’t mistake His presence in your life. We had a moment like that not this past Sunday but the Sunday before when Sam and were discussing some family news and he felt inclined to immediately pray for health and safety. I was overwhelmed by his sincerity and certainty in God’s faithfulness to us. I knew in that moment that God is blessing our efforts to raise godly children and although we have and will face many trials He is above all!

Anyway, so here are a few pictures of my lovely family.

This is my dear husband finding some quiet time with his daughter and like any good daddy does he’s actually playing “My little pony”! Isn’t that so sweet.

And here she is…Miss Canada. Okay so I’m a little bias but we think she just gets cuter and cuter. It’s amazing how little girls can be so “girly” at such a young age. Lanae is one determined little girl and knows what she wants. We’re praying that God will give us patience and perserverance in raising this beautiful girl.

My sons who are trying so hard to find their groove with each other. They are doing well for the most part and this was one of those time when they were quietly playing “Rescue heroes football” together. They have many moments of bickering but they love each other. There is no doubt about that.

Oh yeah and #4 (yet to be named)! Yes the last installment of the Davenport family is set to join us on or around October 21st. We are all very happy. Sam is the most ecstatic, I think. James and I are very thrilled but definitely quite content to make this our last one. Jake and Lanae don’t have much of an opinion yet but Jake is fascinated with other babies right now and I’m sure he’ll enjoy this one. Lanae is using her Cabbage patch on a regular basis and pushing it around in the stroller so hopefully her natural instinct will help her adjust easily.

So for the moment that is all we have to share but I’ll be sure to keep you all updated a little more regularly on the comings and goings of the Davenports.

Although I wouldn’t expect to have any avid lurkers on my blog I’m sure there are a few of you who regularly check in to see if I’ve updated anything.

I have to be honest, I haven’t taken any pictures during January (I know a whole month and my children will never know what happened during that month. Nothing much exciting just the regular things in life.

We’re doing very well here in the Davenport household. Keeping busy with work, school, life with toddlers, etc. Nothing really new to report just that we’ve made it through the flu season untouched so far. I’m glad the see that most other families are healthy and happy!

Okay so as promised here are the pictures of my little lady’s first birthday. We had fun opening the little girly things (many of which she is still too young for but none of us could resist the typical girl toys). I enjoyed making her cake and it turned out pretty good (mostly in looks but I’m workin’ on the taste). We had a pretty typical one year old birthday party with few children and way too many adults but our families enjoyed the time together.

She wasn’t really sure what to do with the gifts at first so she just started by carrying them around.

This little outfit was picked up by my sister-in-laws! I love it with the longer sweater and sweet little boots. And the Cabbage Patch doll that James and I spent a good 45 minutes picking out. It had to be just the right one (not bald, no teeth so it didn’t look like a chipmunk, cool clothes, etc).

This gift was from James’ grandparents. His grandmother decided every little girl with big brothers needed a bathrobe. This was confirmed the night they were visiting and all three kids came zooming out of their bathtime stark naked.

Of course Lanae’s first birthday party would not have been complete without my daddy being able to attend since he’s only home one weekend of every month.

So for the sappy things that Miss Christa is usually so good at posting on her blog about her children on their birthdays!!

I have to say that having a “baby” girl is really not that different than having a boy aside from the obvious physical differences. It’s only in the last few months that I’ve begun to notice the different character traits in Lanae that I would not likely find in either of my boys. She is quicker with many things including walking, sign language, understanding, etc. She also “speaks” differently. With a much higher voice, a lot more cooing and singing sounds than grunting and heaving. Her hair is longer than her brothers was and her features are much more feminine. I have yet to really observe personality traits that are a direct result of her hormonal makeup. She is very tough like her big brother Sam and little seems to phase her physically. She is already very outspoken and seems intent on sharing her opinion quite regularly, not unlike her other big brother, Jake.

I think the biggest difference I’ve observed is in the sweet tenderness that emerges on a more regular basis from my husband and two sons. They are all so gentle and loving towards her and care if she is hurt or upset (not to say the boys don’t take the opportunity to tackle her every now and then). It is wonderful to see the kindness they show her and how it often extends to me as they begin to understand the world of females through the eyes of a little girl.

I know Lanae has been a blessing to our family in so many ways and will continue to bring a unique perspective and dynamic to our family that I cherish so much. Being able to experience being a mommy is amazing but being able to share the joys of raising boys AND girls is an unspeakable gift that I will continually praise God for.

Okay so here are a few pictures of my sweet children all ready to head out Trick ‘o’ Treating.

Okay so here are a few pictures of my sweet children all ready to head out Trick ‘o’ Treating.

Grandma got this costume for Lanae @ Winner’s. She was out shopping one day and couldn’t resist the cuteness!

Here is our special giraffe boy. He had so much fun going door to door and having his pail filled. At one point he said to James and I, “I LOVE candy, I LOVE trick ‘or’ treating”. It was very cute and thankfully they haven’t been too obsessive with the candy (most of the time they don’t have more than one piece every two days).

Here is Spidey. Sam had fun picking out his costume and as you can see he has the pose down pat (don’t worry though, he hasn’t and won’t be seeing the movie anytime soon).

And the three sweethearts together. As you can tell Lanae was getting a little tired of being in her costume.

I will be updating my photos shortly to show off my cute children dressed up for Halloween but I just wanted to post a quick Happy Birthday to Lanae. As of 4 minutes ago she was one year old. I am remembering being overwhelmed because her birth was so quick. My most vivid memories are first of James driving like a wild man trying to make it to the hospital in time and the second, of me yelling that Christa was not going to make the birth and her bursting into the room, “I’m here, I’m here”. I’m glad you made it lady and when we do it again I might consider letting you come a second time (maybe in the car with us just in case you have to help deliver the baby).

Anyway, Lanae is such a joy to all of us. She is sweet, beautiful, good-natured and just so much fun. I can’t imagine our family without her. I know she’s going to be a go-getter and a talker, I know she gets that from me. I’m so excited to see what kind of woman God is going to make her but also just enjoying the little girlyness that is right now.

Thanks for letting me share.

Alright, so I’ve managed to download and edit the pictures I wanted from the 183 I took since my last picture update. Since I just updated my blog regarding the happenings in our home I don’t feel the need to do a lot of talking so I’ll stick with the pictures for now. Oh and I’m only putting on some of the most recent ones in order to keep it from getting too long.

This one I love because it was the first time sitting on daddy’s shoulders and she clearly loved it.

Here are the boys at the Apple Barn petting the baby goat

Me and my little girl

These are James’ grandparents who were out visiting for Thanksgiving from Ontario. It’s cool that our children have great-grandparents on James’ side because all my grandparents are gone.

This one was funny because Jake leaned over the edge of the pig shelter to see the piglets and one of the piglets jumped up to say hello and his snout got Jake on the nose. It scared Jake quite a bit and he refused to look at them again.

Here are my sweet children

I was just having some fun with Lanae in the leaves and they turned out pretty good

Oh and here she is petting the sheep. She loves animals and giggles away when she has the chance to get close to them

So I have been neglectful of my blog once again and of course have a whole bunch of pictures I could download but have not taken off my camera as of yet! I figured I would at least post an update about our family even if I did not include pictures.

Well as some of you know I recently started a job teaching ESL three days a week. It was literally a Godstop (for those of you who have done Beth Moore bible studies you know what I’m talked about) and I can’t say anything other than thank you Lord!!! The kids are between 9 and 16 years of age in the particular program I’m working in and I have four students 11, 12 and two 13 year olds who attend school full time and then come back to the “academy” to continue learning english. We work together from 4-7 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. So far I am finding it challenging but also enjoyable as we also discover the differences in Canadian and Korean culture. The pay is excellent and I only have to have childcare from 3:30 until James gets home from work. I still get to spend the day with Jake and Lanae, pick Sam up from school and help put the kids to bed. Anyway it’s been a blessing.

While all that has been happening our little family has continued to live life. Lanae has started to WALK! She is not yet 11 months old (that will be this Friday) and she is charging ahead trying to keep up with her big brothers. She also has 5 teeth and tries chomping everything she can possibly get her hands on. She has a fiesty, determined personality and all I can say is watch out. She is not going to be a quiet, subdued little girl. Ohhhh, I can’t imagine what James and I have to look forward to during her teenage years.

Jake is growing like weed as well. He is especially inclined towards numbers, letters and intellectual type stuff. I imagine he will be very studious but he takes every chance he gets to be a ham as well. I can’t believe he’s already three, where did the time go??

Sam is doing well at school. Still adjusting to the full days and being in a grade 1/2 split class. His teacher says he is a delight and listens very well to instruction (okay, seriously who’s kid is she talking about? j/k). He also lost his first tooth this past week and was so excited since all his friends have lost at least 3 or 4 already. He’s playing soccer right now and will actually be happy when that finishes because he’s been feeling like he needs more of a challenge (the kids at this level just learn to do some drills and work as a team). James and I are probably going to be putting him in the “academicals” program next year which is much more serious and in preparation for competitive soccer.

James is busy, busy, busy with work and still fully enjoying his job. I can’t thank God enough for putting in this place. James is a loyal worker and he deserves the recognition he is receiving at this job.

So for now that’s it and I’ll be sure to post some pictures when I have a chance.