Three months!

Levi Blaze,

I know I say this frequently, but it's hard to believe that another month has flown by! You can't really be three months old already, can you? So much has changed in the last four weeks. You have become quite the communicator, no longer satisfied with just crying when you want or need something. You coo, you talk, and you even yell in protest sometimes. Admittedly, all three of those categories are as adorable as can be.

My heart soars when I look over at you in the morning and you are just looking at me, smiling with your mouth and your eyes, with your dimple peeking out of that chubby little cheek. That moment is fleeting because you are ready to eat, but I completely cherish it.

We've settled into a routine now, which is fun! You eat, then play, then nap. "Play time" varies from laughing and cooing at your mobiles (the one over your changing table is still one of your absolute favorite things) to sitting in your bouncer and playing with the hanging toys to "tummy time" to looking in the mirror at that mystery baby smiling back at you.

You are becoming a strong and mighty little fellow. You want to stand up all of the time, and when on your belly, you have started pushing up just enough to see. You have established your preferred eating position, and if I try to rotate you, you actually resist. Or, in the few times I've been successful in moving you, you just go right back to the way you were, with one hand behind your head, just chillin'.

You grab things now, purposefully. Sometimes it's my hair, sometimes it's your bouncer toys, and sometimes it's your pacifier. I am amazed at how quickly that coordination developed, and I give you my finger to hold all of the time.

You love your daddy. No matter what we are doing when he gets home, when you hear his voice, you always look up to see him and smile. The two of you have quite the conversations, whether he's swaddling you, changing your diaper or just holding you.

I'm so thankful that I get to spend every day with you, and I can't wait to see what the next four weeks bring us.

Love,

Mama

Our little hippie:

Mr. Cool Guy:

Sacked out with Grandy after our Easter lunch:

Relaxing in the Bumbo:

Thailand t-shirt

I have a fundraising option for anyone out there... and I suppose if you can't put a shameless fundraising plug on your own blog, where can you put one?!

As I mentioned earlier, we are so excited to get to go to Thailand this summer! We are currently in the midst of raising funds to help our team get there. One of our team members designed this t-shirt that we are selling for $15/shirt (or any donation over $15). The shirts are really soft, and I think the design is great! For anyone not in Norman, we're happy to mail a shirt to ya. Let us know if you want one! The order deadline is May 16.

Happy Easter!

Someone is pretty excited that Jesus is risen!

Happy Easter, everyone!

Caption this

This is one of those pictures I'd like to submit to a "caption this" contest...

Exciting plans

We are so excited about this news. I mean, REALLY excited!

As we've mentioned before, we are in the midst of a discipleship training school through our church. The school has been so transformative for us, and at its conclusion, teams are sent out to put into practice the things learned throughout the 10 months. Well, Team Park gets to do this in... THAILAND!

We are fortunate that Gib was able to take off from work, so the three of us will be embarking on an incredible adventure at the end of June. We'll be collaborating with a ministry in northern Thailand called Hannah House. The ladies of Hannah House will act as our translators as we work in Burmese refugee camps and minister to people in local prisons, schools and orphanages, and on the streets.

Traveling to Thailand to serve has always been a dream in our hearts, and we can hardly believe that in a matter of weeks, it will be a reality. Approximately 20 of us (including kiddos) make up Team Thailand:

The trip costs $3,000 per person, so our team total is significant. The last few weeks we've been busy planning and executing fundraising efforts. Last weekend was a car wash, which was a blast! Here you can see the Gibster working hard:

And this is one of my favorites. Baby on the hip, washing the car - that's dedication!

Levi was on hand to lend his support from the stroller:

Over the next few weeks, we'll be doing more events - a garage sale, 3-on-3 basketball tournament and a coffee house night. If you're out there and feel like donating to the cause, we won't turn you down!

Our family will also be consuming delicious Thai food in the coming weeks to prepare. I don't really need an excuse to motivate myself to do such a thing, but we have to get our systems ready, right?! Haha!

We are counting down the weeks until June. Thailand, here we come!

Life group wedding

Last night, Team Park didn't go to bed until 2:30 a.m., just like the old college days. The difference is that this time, we actually had a great reason to stay up so late (other than Levi)!

One of the couples in our life group got married in a courthouse just over one year ago. It wasn't the wedding they envisioned, so for their one year anniversary, our life group decided to throw them a wedding. That's right, a true wedding with music and a wedding party and food and all of the fun things that make wedding celebrations so much fun!

I can't take any credit for this brainchild - a few of the life group ladies put their heads and talents together and came up with a plan that was brilliant. Then, they delegated. My job was that of Beverage Woman, so I provided the water, tea and punch. That, I could handle! So last night, the big event happened, and it was AMAZING!

I wish I had photos of the reception to post - it was a wedding wonderland with lights and tulle and candles and tons of food and... the list goes on! Within our life group, we have several gals who not only have the vision to make an empty room into a romantic reception, but they also have the skills to bring their vision to fruition. The bride looked beautiful, the food was delicious, the music was dance-worthy, and best of all, we were able to celebrate this precious couple's vow renewal.

What made this wedding especially meaningful for me, and I think everyone involved, was seeing our community come together and be just that - a community. Acts 2:42-45 says, "All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need."

I can list plenty of reasons why I love our life group community, but living out this Scripture is at the top of the list. We have had many nights where someone in the group has mentioned a need, and within 24 hours that need is met. And we are talking some big needs sometimes.

For the wedding, people pooled not only resources together, but also time and talents, and the end result was beautiful. Someone created the wedding invitation, another person made a three-tiered wedding cake, another sketched the reception design, others brought candles and table cloths and vases and serving pieces and music. A group donated teeth whitening services, while others took care of party favors in the form of a candy buffet. One person did all of the flower arrangements, another made cake balls, and another brought chocolate fountains. Still others cut up fruit and made salads and appetizers to serve. A professional photographer in the group volunteered her services as a wedding photographer. Some of our lifegroup musical talent provided music for the wedding/vow renewal ceremony. A guy in our lifegroup served as videographer, even on his birthday. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. And the end result was a far cry from something you might envision when you hear that a group of people volunteered to make this happen. The result was something you would expect to see after paying vendors thousands of dollars to make it happen.

Countless people spent hours and hours planning and meeting and then coming together to make the vision come to life this week. And they did it not out of obligation, but out of love, for the couple and for each other. I witnessed the group in action late into the evening the night before, and also just before the wedding as everyone was in a frenzy getting last minute things done. Not one cross word was spoken and no one complained, no matter what unexpected things might happen. It was so neat.

L&J, I hope this wedding was a blessing to you - but what I know for sure is that it was an absolute blessing to be part of. I feel so fortunate to be doing life with all of these folks.

Here's Levi with two people who laid the foundation of our life group. Chris and Julie led our group in the beginning and we love them! Chris officiated the ceremony and Jules sang (he's our lead pastor and she is the worship pastor). And yes, Levi is in his go-to tie onesie for all formal occasions!

I don't have a pic of Josh and Becca (current LG leaders) from last night, but they lead our group well. They'll probably get their own post down the road!

Jireh

We are coming off of one very full but very refreshing weekend! Our discipleship training school met all day Saturday and Monday night, and Sunday brought the regular morning church service and the bonus of the World Mandate Tour that night.

Along with another couple, we went to World Mandate last year, and I attribute it to being an important catalyst for changing the way I see God. It was that amazing! This year, because of some scheduling conflicts, the conference moved to September. Thankfully, they decided to do several mini-versions this month in various locations, and Norman was one of them. It definitely has us excited for the full-blown event later this year!

The teachings and the worship were highlights of the weekend, but one moment in particular was the sweetest of all. Levi's favorite song is "Jireh," written by Jonathan Gulley. We know this because it is literally the only song that relaxes him and frequently puts him to sleep. This is funny because if you listen to the song, you'll quickly realize that it's no lullaby!

We love the song, too, and I love watching Gib sing it to his son, who is cradled in his arms, slowly losing the battle with sleep. We sing it in church service sometimes, as well as in our training school. Every time it's sung, everyone goes wild, which is so fun. I imagine that Levi heard it enough during my pregnancy that it's comforting to him.

Well, Jonathan Gulley was in town this weekend to teach on Saturday and attend the events on Sunday. Our pastor called him on stage Sunday morning to sing Jireh, and the place went absolutely nuts - it was a blast! We had the chance to introduce Levi to him, and I know it may sound silly, but it was one of those moments that really moved me. Perhaps it's knowing how life-giving the song is, as I love the lyrics and the song itself. Perhaps it's because we got a firsthand experience to hear Jonathan teach, and know how genuine his heart is. But whatever the case, it made for a very sweet moment.

Jonathan shared that the song was written very quickly - that it was one of those songs that just came from the heart as they were preparing for a trip to Africa. He laughed because as a pastor, he has spent considerable time writing sermons and songs, and yet this song is the one everyone remembers. Of course, it was funny for him to hear that it put infants to sleep!

I wish I'd had my camera for the big introduction, but nonetheless, here is our little frog-outfitted boy ready to head to the World Mandate Tour: