The LORD gave…

We found out not too long ago that God had given us another child.  Although we had some fears about the daunting task of raising a third child the possibility of getting to know another little Boys filled our hearts with joy.  I was reminded of how creative and wonderful God is when I looked at Owen and Lucy and now a third child was going to be another wonder in our lives.

And the LORD has taken away…

On December 6, 2011 it was confirmed by our doctor that Bekah had a miscarriage.  I was reminded of the sting of death, the curse of sin and the reality of loss.  We could not have anticipated the blow of loss…but it came.

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return…

Sadness has slowed down the busy.  So many things that have risen to the status of ‘importance’ in my life have been toppled over by loss.  Work.  Money.  Stuff.  Pride.  Slowing down to consider our loss reminds me that when I first came into this world I didn’t have any of those things and when I leave, it shall be the same.  All I have is Christ.  I have nothing and I am nothing apart from my Creator.  Without Him, I’m not a dad, I’m not a husband, I’m not a son of God, I’m not a man; without Him I am nothing.

Blessed be the name of the LORD…

And yet here we are with whom God has given us.  Yes we have one another, Bekah and I.  We have Owen the ‘great’ and Lucy the ‘sweet.’  We have these amazing blessings all through Christ.  He is our Creator.  He is our Savior.  He is our Eternal Hope.

Job said it best when He went through the worst, “blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Thank you for your prayers and compassion.  Bekah is doing really well.  Owen gets it and wants us to ask God for another baby.  Lucy just loves life and shoes…or boots.  She’s 2.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

(Job 1:20-22 ESV)

Two years ago our family met a new joy – Lucy Austen Boys.  Even though we can’t wait to see the girl that God is going to make her in the years to come, we’ve already seen so much love for life, a funny sense of humor, a passion for shoes, a sense of fashion (that we don’t quite understand yet) and a love for her family….. and everything she calls “mine.”  Today, we thank our creative Creator for our daughter, Lucy.  Happy birthday, Lu!

Blake here.  Taking this moment to draw attention to my wife (which I know she loves) and the excellent mom that she is.  I know it isn’t Sunday yet but due to some pictures she’s been editing and the fun that we’ve been having with our family I wanted to acknowledge that Bekah is an amazing mom and I see it most when I look at her amazing kids.  They LOVE to have fun and do so because of the environment that their mom creates at home.  She makes it easy and free for them to be kids.  I love that.  Her kids aren’t just good at having fun but they are intelligent.  Again and again I am amazed at how much Lucy can communicate and Owen sounds like a twelve-year-old most of the time.  I believe it is all because God has given them a mother who takes time to listen to, speak to and know her children – Bekah, you are a great mom.

The Boys Family is once again changing!  We would like to take this moment to officially, blogically, welcome Samuel Harrison Boys to the family.  Sam was born to Ryan & Lindsay Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 5:38pm weighing in at 8lbs at 20.5 inches long in Jacksonville, FL.  We can’t wait to meet him face to face but for the time being we are so excited for Jack, Kate, Lindsay, Ryan & Dallas as they welcomed Sam home today.  May God bless Sam – that his eyes will be opened and that the Father will draw Sam to Himself through the Son.

There’s something to say for just spending time with family.  Lucy got to spend a fun day with Mom and Dad out on a lunch date the other day…we think she had a fun time.  Nothing too fancy, just mac-n-cheese and some banana pudding.  We know there is going to be one day where we’ll look at our kids and think, “Where has the time gone?”  At least for this day we were able to say that the time went to one another.

Daddy’s Girl, originally uploaded by b&bcamera.

This is Blake kissing Lucy as a newborn. Bekah recently entered this into Pioneer Woman’s photography contest.