Dancing Boy

Our little man loves to cut some rug. And now that he knows how to turn on the radio in his room, he can cut all the rug he wants. Here he is showing off his moves. (He tends to play it safe with a simple side-to-side rocking motion -- aka "the sumo"). He's also sporting the outfit my Mom got for him for Easter. Alas, as it was 50 on Easter he couldn't wear it. Today it was about 93 -- more appropriate weather for shorts.

Enjoy the video!

What a Week

This has been an interesting week, filled with thoughts about heaven. My grandpa died on Monday morning. My pastor's wife died this morning. Dave Hammond is the children's pastor at Calvary Evangelical Free Church in Rochester, MN (my home church). He's also the pastor who married us. His wonderful wife, Peggy, battled cancer for eight years. She was an absolutely amazing woman. Her cancer was such a part of her testimony and instead of turning bitter and questioning God, she allowed God to use the cancer in her life to bless so many others. I learned so much from her. She's also the one that I had "the talk" with before John and I got married. We always tried to visit them every time we made it back up to Minnesota. It's strange to think that she's now gone, but I rejoice that she is now free from pain and entering in to her eternal reward in heaven.

Times like these remind that death is not natural. It was never meant to be like this. Death is a result of our sin. But Jesus came to conquer death. His death and subsequent resurrection defeated death. It doesn't have the final word.

Faced with the loss of two precious people so close together makes me wonder about heaven. What will it be like? What happens in the first few moments you are ushered into eternity? What will it be like to see Jesus face to face? What will it be like to meet fellow believers from all over the world and from all different times?

So, yes, there is a time of grieving over what has been lost in this life. But there is ultimate comfort in knowing that both my grandpa and Peggy are in heaven, seeing Jesus face to face.

"I Can Only Imagine"

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

I can only imagine

[Chorus:]
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine

I can only imagine

[Chorus]

I can only imagine [x2]

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever, forever worship you

I can only imagine

Arizona Adventures

Brennan and I arrived home last night after several days in Arizona. We had a great trip hanging out with my parents and enjoying some wonderful Arizona weather! Sitting out on their back patio, we got to see rabbits, a jackrabbit, quail, and even a coyote!

Grandpa and Brennan enjoyed their big country breakfast

Story time

Mama and Brennan enjoying his very first carousel ride

Grandpa and Brennan enjoying the weather and checking out some of the wildlife from the patio

We went to a huge park for the playground options and discovered this neat little water park. Since we didn't have his swimsuit with, we opted to give Brennan the opportunity to check out the excitement from a distance.

Grandma taught Brennan how to sweep the patio. He sure enjoyed holding that broom!

Grandma, Grandpa, and Brennan

We flew back in last night after having an incredibly rough 24 hours with Brennan--refusing to sleep (the night before we left, Brennan got about 6 hours of sleep and I got maybe 3 hours) and general crankiness resulting from the lack of sleep. It made for a rather interesting and incredibly difficult journey home. But we made it. It wasn't pretty, but the end result of our homecoming was achieved. It was nice to be back in my own bed last night. It was also nice to have Brennan back in his own bed and to have an incredibly wonderful husband who got up with him in the night and again this morning so that I could sleep/rest more. What a treat!

On a different note, we found out the morning that I left Arizona that my Grandpa Prechel died. It's a very strange feeling to be 30 years old and this is my first grandparent that has died. Over the past several years, my dad witnessed to him and also led him in the Sinner's Prayer. We know that we'll see him again one day. My dad and grandpa talked for a bit on Sunday and he got to say hello to Brennan. We appreciate your prayers for the family!

Fun in the Sun!

Brennan and I are on our mother-son trip to visit my parents out in Phoenix, AZ. John couldn't get the time off work, so we made the long trek alone this week. Brennan did so much better on the plane than I could have ever imagined, which made things so much easier. I'm a nervous flyer to begin with, but the nerves were compounded by flying solo with Brennan and trying to figure out to entertain and contain a wiggly 15-month-old for some pretty long stretches of time in very small spaces! Thankfully, Brennan slept for good chunks of time on each flight, looked at books, ate his snacks, and generally remained pretty quiet for most of each flight. Yay! Jet lag has been making the sleeping a bit challenging. Brennan has been napping great--as long as it is on someone or next to someone. He does well sleeping in his pack and play at night (praise God!). I just need to get over some jet lag and stop getting up so blessed early (3:30am=6:30am EST). Thank goodness for naps! We spent today at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park, this great train-themed park in Scottsdale. We all really enjoyed the time spent there. There was a kid-sized train to ride, a carousel, a couple of playgrounds, and picnic areas. There was also a Pullman car turned museum that was the actual car used by four different presidents, including FDR. Pretty impressive! I'm including some pictures for our outing today that were taken off my parents' camera since I can't upload the photos from our camera without the software that's on our computer at home!

We took a train ride around the park. Brennan didn't really know what to think of it at first, but then I think he warmed up to the idea of being on a train.

Brennan and Grandma taking a break

He's discovered the joy of the slide, in addition to the joy of the swing

Stagecoach driver? About a century and a half too late...

Jailbird!

Brennan and Grandma enjoying a carousel ride

Brennan and Grandpa in the Presidential Pullman Car

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

From our family to yours, happy Easter! He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

Maymont Family Easter

My favorite spot in all of Richmond is Maymont Park. After a several month hiatus over the fall and winter, we headed back out there today for their Family Easter bash. The weather was slightly uncooperative--about mid-50s, breezy, and drizzly. That didn't damper our spirits, though! Brennan participated in the Easter Egg "hunt" (all the eggs were thrown on the lawn, making for easy finding) and visited the petting zoo. While we loved watching him have fun and enjoying walking around, it'll be more fun in coming years when he is able to participate in more of the activities.

Waiting for the start of Egg Hunt. John compared it to the Oklahoma Land Rush. Being in the middle of it with my small child and trying to avoid being trampled, I would have to agree.

He was pretty proud to show off one of his hard-earned eggs.

Taking a break to eat lunch in the only dry spot in the park.

It was a little too wet to sit and enjoy storytime, but there was plenty of fun to be had by looking at all the fun bunnies on display!

The petting zoo was probably the highlight for Brennan.

He sure did enjoy petting the goats!

Visit with Friends

Well, after a brief hiatus from blogging, I'm finally getting around to uploading pictures on to the computer and thought I'd share a few with you, as well as providing some updates on life in the Downer household.

Last weekend, we took a mini-roadtrip up to Northern Virginia to visit some friends--Dan and Kate Bredbenner and their two sweet kiddos, Corban and Eva. We had a great time visiting, catching up, and playing in a park. It's a nice treat to be so close to them!

I realize it's another picture of Brennan swinging, but this kid is a swinging maniac! He absolutely loves the swing and this picture finally captured the joy that he expresses when he gets to swing.

Some closely supervised tire swinging with Eva

The Bredbenners--Dan, Kate, Corban (age 5), and Eva (age 2)

The road trip was made more fun by the fact that we had just bought a new car the day before. Now, the car we traded in was my 1998 Mazda Protege. I bought it back in 2001 and enjoyed my car until recently. The "check engine" light turned on in 2004 and no mechanic was able to definitively tell us what was wrong with it. It continued to run fine, so we weren't worried. About a year ago, it began having problems. And then more problems. Finally, we took it to a Mazda dealer where we faced the unfortunate reality that this car was on its last leg. Repairs would cost WAY more that what it was worth. Let the car shopping begin! We settled on a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe and love it. There was a slight twinge when we traded in the Mazda, knowing what kind of condition it was in and feeling slightly bad about how much they gave us in the trade in value, but that disappeared after about an hour. Gotta love getting a new car!

John took his vacation to visit his family last month, and I get my vacation this month. Brennan and I leave in a week to head out to Phoenix to visit my parents. I'm excited for vacation, but definitely dreading traveling solo with Brennan on my lap on the plane. Prayers would be appreciated!