Thoughts of Easter

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

- Nicole Nordeman "How Deep the Father's Love for Us."

Made to Walk

I've been a very very very bad blogger, I know. It's been about 3 weeks since my last post. Ugh. Well, I have a good reason... wedding season has started back up, along with this fabulously delicious weather and I've just been so darn busy.

Oh, and one more thing. Camden started to walk. And he wants to go EVERYWHERE.

I'm convinced this boy was made to run. Even his delivery doctor said when he was born..."He's gonna run out of there since he's so late!" Although he does not walk totally on his own, he does not want to crawl. He just wants Mama's hand to walk him wherever he wants to go.

In three weeks' time, I feel like he has grown up so much. His language and communication in particular have developed incredibly. He's mimicking a lot of words, and will ramble off lots of "words" together and look at you like he's trying very hard to tell you something important! Baby Jack came to visit us last week (along with Aunt Christina) and he would point to Jack and say "Ack!" This is also the same noise he says for "snack," but I'm pretty sure he means Jack. He will not do it consistently, but he will do some sign language that we've been teaching him: water, please, more and all done. Another major development: Camden now has 11 teeth! He's gotten about 4 of those in the last month, poor guy.

We have had some amazing weather these past few weeks... who would have guessed we'd be wearing summer clothes in March?! This time last year, I was uncomfortably pregnant and we had just had a minor snow storm! We have been eating lunches out on our deck and afterwards, we'll explore all the fun, bite-sized things we can find... most notable acorn hats, which look surprisingly like cheerios. Great!

I cannot believe it, but my baby is almost one. He'll be 11 months old next week and is just as wonderful as can be. This is SUCH a fun age, and I'm so thankful for every day I get to spend with Camden. Can we just hit pause please?!

Aunt Christina and Jack came to visit us last week... we spent the evenings outside enjoying the weather! Jack is such a happy, little thing!

My little explorer.

He's not sure about the grass, but he LOVES the mulch. Especially when he grabs big handfuls of it and throws it!

A little kiss for his Mama.

Cousins! It is so fun to see them together each time we visit! They interact more and more... they are so fun with each other now!

Happy Birthday to my big sis, Christina!!! One year closer to the big 3-0! We celebrated with sushi, cupcakes and champagne :)

A little clip of Camden walking!

And a little clip of the boys wrestling... it's starting early!

Snow Day + 44 Weeks

We had some snow the other day. After a week of 60+ degree weather, snow was the last thing I thought we'd get! The daffodils don't like it at all, and it's strange to watch the budding trees of spring get covered up with icy flakes. The birds were still chirping, but the air was quiet. A clash of seasons, not really expected. By the end of the day, the snow had all melted, the sun was shining and it was 50 degrees again. I don't understand it.

After his nap, Cam and I bundled up and braved the cold. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he didn't like it when I made him stand up by himself so I could take a picture! No smiles, really...he just observed.

We went back inside and cuddled together for a while. He actually sat still on my lap while I sang songs and he played with my fingers. Next winter, he'll be old enough for hot chocolate with marshmallows. This year, I'll take the quiet afternoon full of cuddles.

Camden is 44 weeks this week - he just passed 10 months old. I can't believe it. I know I've been saying it all along, but where has my baby gone?! He's so busy, he just wants to explore everything. He doesn't sit still for long.

My sweet, baby boy is still there though. I put him to bed the other night, like I always do. I pick him up, we say our prayers, I sing him a song and hand him his pacifier while wrapping him up in his blanket. Mid-way through the song, he picks his head up and looks at me, takes his pacifier out of his mouth and gives me a big {open mouth} kiss. He put his pacifier back in and then rested his head back on my chest. Right after that, my heart melted and it will never be the same. This boy loves his mama and I will remember that moment forever.

10 Months and such a big boy.

New Zealand: Part 7

God is great and mighty. I am small and weak.

Never has that been put into perspective more than this trip to New Zealand. I have never been witness to such natural wonder and majesty than the landscapes we saw on our trip. The geothermal activity (which is still very present in Christchurch to this day) shakes the earth and it's evident everywhere you turn. The mountains and hills of the country are immense and we were all left in awe. How could anyone question the existence of our God? His hands shaped the earth and the very unique land that we saw.

One of our major trips within New Zealand was to Cape Kidnappers in Clive, New Zealand. It was part of the Hawke's Bay Reigon, but around the other side. We took a tractor tour out to the point to see a Gannett Colony. The tractor took us 15 miles out to the cape - through water and beaches - to see these birds. I don't know what I was expecting when they told me "tractor tour out to the cape" but I wore my brand new white jeans, my best Tiffany's jewelry and my leather flip flops. Thankfully it wasn't as messy as I had expected, but it was a great adventure and well worth the bumpy tractor ride with a tired baby in full sun.

The cliffs of the cape contained numerous places where earthquakes had occurred and you could point out the fault lines - where the land had separated. It was amazing (having never experienced an earthquake or seen the effects of one) to see how such huge masses of land could be moved so much.

Anyway, we saw the smelly birds, but I couldn't go up to the colony itself due to a hungry AND sleepy baby, so I sent Joey up with my camera and he took some really amazing shots. Also at the top of the cliffs, there is a world-famous golf course called.... Cape Kidnappers. Apparently it's in the top five most expensive golf courses to play. But can you get a load of this view?!

After the tour, we all had lunch at Mission Estate Winery, which is the oldest winery in New Zealand! I'm pretty sure you can buy their wine in the States, but I haven't been able to locate it yet. Wine was great and food was really good, too!

You can see the fault lines here where the arrows are pointing. Pre-earthquake (in the 1800's), the white lines used to match up. Now, not so much. The gap is huge though...look at it compared to the size of the red tractor.

I'd like to point out that at this point in the tour, we were actually IN the water (on a tractor). My feet were almost above my head so as not to tarnish my white jeans (really - what was I thinking?!), but I still had my camera going.

Ugh, gorgeous. Joey took the next few pictures.

Breathtaking, isn't it?

You can see part of the gold course in the distance closer to the water.

The colony. From what I heard, it smelled soooo bad. I guess it would if their nests are made out of dried seaweed and bird droppings!

Hey look, it's me!!

Heading back... the sky really is this blue and the water is so clear and the most lovely shade of turquoise.

New Zealand: Part 6

Well, I've been a bit behind the ball lately on blogging the pictures from our New Zealand Trip. Sorry! Here are a handful more from the middle of our trip.

One day, all the guys took a day trip up to Taupo to do manly things like mountain biking, ATV tours through the jungle and drinking beer by the lake with a healthy sampling of Fish and Chips. Since Amanda and I stayed back with the kids, we ventured out to a local petting zoo which was AWESOME. I've never been to a petting zoo before, but I'm pretty sure the US would never have anything like this. Chickens and {aggressive} ducks wandering about, baby lambs hiding out under picnic tables, Ostriches sticking their heads out of the fences to get your fingers... It was all fine, and that's what I love about other countries: people are responsible for themselves. If you don't want to get bit by an Ostrich or licked by a Llama, then stand back. Anyway, all of the boys had fun there... Andrew spent most of the time chasing the ducks and chickens around, while Ben thoroughly enjoyed feeding the animals copious amounts of corn. Camden just liked squealing with joy and kicking his legs when the animals came near him (I carried him in the Baby Bjorn).

Anyway, we spent the afternoon there, then headed back to the apartment for some lunch and a nice walk. We were both drinking wine promptly at 8:00 bedtime.

One of the next days, we all went separate ways and did our own things. Nick, Amanda and Joey took the two boys to a glow worm cave up near Rotorua while Bobby and I went back up to Taupo to hike one of the volcanos. We had intended to hike Mount Doom, but we missed the bus that took us up there. It turned out fine because Camden wanted nothing to do with being in his hiking carrier for long!

The drive to and from Taupo is incredible. I think that's why we went back so many times. It's a windy, country road with no shoulders, but the views are amazing. Like, breathtaking. The only problem is, there is nowhere to stop and take pictures! When we finally braved the road to stop, I just couldn't do the views justice with my camera. I cannot begin to tell you how beautiful this place is.

This guy was just too cute.

"Ello there. Can I taste your chin?"

This furry guy was a little intimidating. His neck was surprisingly long and nimble. I was worried he might snatch up Camden.

Feeding the Billy Goats.

"Lookin' Tasty."

Ben got to hold a guinea pig!

Seriously, these guys were vicious! Their heads could fit through the fence, so they had no problem exercising their neck length to reach your handful of corn.

Le petit vache goes "moo!" This is about the only animal name I remember in French, so I've been teaching it to Camden.

Help me, Rhonda. I almost took this baby home with me. I fed him all of my corn and he was a happy, little lamb. We even bought Cam a stuffed lamb to take home with him.

They had some strange birds, but this one was beautiful! It was hard to take pictures of them through the fence, but this one turned out the best.

It is true that sheep are everywhere in NZ. This field was across the fence from the zoo.

Ferdinand. Anyone else read that book as a kid?

This one I will never understand: New Zealand has Deer farms EVERYWHERE. I had never seen a deer up close, let alone have one run UP to me! This little "dear" was so sweet and looked just like Bambi!

Precious face.

I think the only picture of the three cousins together. Andrew took a break from chasing chickens to show Camden something. It was also sweltering hot and this was about the only shade.

Andrew chasing the little sheep. (Please note Lou Ferigno look-a-like in the background).

Back at the apartment. It's hard to believe that just 2 months ago, Cam was just starting to pull himself up on things. Now he's close to walking!

The apartment was amazing... on the top level was the kitchen and dining/living area. It was all windows that opened up to a wrap-around balcony. The fresh air felt so good blowing through. Divine.

Hiking up the volcano! I was already out of breath... but I couldn't help myself by singing "Climb Every Mountain" from Sound of Music all the way up!

Giggles... before they turned to anger.

The view! This is the same lake we took a sail on earlier in the trip.

I did such a poor job with the scale here, but do you see the sheep?!

We sang "Old Mac Donald Had A Farm" all the way down the mountain when Camden lost it at the top. It was the only thing keeping him from screaming his head off. Poor guy was just tired.

The windy road to Taupo and a few shots on the way back.

And a little video from the hike: