Happy Easter!

We sang "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" in our service today, and I was struck by the beautiful lyrics. What a reminder that God has truly blessed us by sending his Son to die the death we deserved. May God bless you on this Easter Sunday as we celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection.

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!

Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!

Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!

Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!

Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!

Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!

Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia!

Where's thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!

Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!

Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia!

Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia!

Praise to thee by both be given, Alleluia!

Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!

Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia!

King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia!

Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!

Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia!

Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!

Here are some pictures of William from this morning. My mom made this beautiful outfit for his first Easter.

The Fam

We took a few pictures over the weekend, so I thought I would post. Here is the little man in his outfit that I smocked for him. Before church this morning, he spit up all over my dress. I handed him off to go change, and he had a blowout on Hunter's pants. Then, I put this outfit on him and put him in his crib, and he managed to pee all over his outfit. I really wanted him to wear it to church because I know he will grow out of it in just a few weeks, so I just put it in the dryer for a few minutes. He then had another blowout at the restaurant after church and got poop on it, too. So, here he is in all his glory...I don't think you can see any of the bodily fluids in the picture.
We also managed to get a semi-decent family picture yesterday. William isn't looking at the camera, but it's close enough.

TuPPerware

OK. I have been told by multiple persons (who will remain nameless at this time) that tupperware was spelled incorrectly in my previous post. Usually, I utilized the spell check feature, but I forgot yesterday. I am embarrassed that not only did I spell tupperware wrong, but I have been pronouncing it wrong for my whole life (or at least as long as it has been a part of my vocabulary). I had no idea. Why has no one told me before now? So, I am now aware that it is tuPPerware and not tuBerware. Thanks to everyone who let me know the error of my ways.

Two posts in one day...

I know, it's crazy. I'm posting again. But, I wanted to put up a few pics. This week, we have been pretty relaxed around here. I made a HUGE to-do list so that I can get things finished for graduation and to start work. One of the things I wanted to do was clean out the dreaded tuberware cabinet. The tuberware in our home seems to multiply daily. Where does it all come from? (I know, it should be "From where does it all come?" but it just sounds better like this.) Anyway, not only does it multiply, it multiplies with mismatched tops and containers. I have thousands of lids and thousands of containers, but none of them match. Well, yesterday I faced the task head on. Here are some pictures... I don't have any pictures of the finished product because I think I need to buy some organizational products for my tuberware. Is is weird to buy containers for your containers? HJ probably thinks so but I've got to try something to get the tuberware monster under control. Some day I'm going to invent some easily store tuberware with lids attached to the bottoms.

This is the cabinet where it all has to fit...

Look at this...how was it all in there? (There's William in the background having some tummy time)


I thought I'd include this close-up because it shows that he is, indeed, still blue eyed and blonde haired...

We tried to get William ready for a walk last night while he was mid nap...We put his coat on him and he stayed sound asleep. It must be nice to be a baby!

In other news, I went to William's future daycare today to meet with the director and see his teachers. He is starting part time next week since I have some school things coming up. Also, I don't want to drop him off for a full day the first day he goes. I need some adjustment time. I went in his class and looked around...what a cute group of kids. There are two new boys there that were born the same week as William, so he will have some great little friends.

Video Trial Run

My parents got us a video camera for Christmas so we can record our little man in action. We have taken lots of videos already, but most of them involve HJ or me acting completely ridiculous while William stares at us like we are crazy. Seriously, it is difficult to get babies on video. But, I did want to figure out how to save them on my computer and then upload them to the blog. Here is my first attempt...William's smile in real life.

Warning: Grossness Ahead

This...

Is what William had to say about this...

Yikes!!

9 Weeks

Look at this sweet smile...

2 month update

William had his 2 month check up last week, and he is doing great. I just thought I'd post his little stats for all the fam.

Weight: 11 lbs 9 oz

Height: 22 3/4 in

Head Circ: 39.5 in

We had quite the busy weekend. After Match Day, Rach came to stay with us for a few days. She was so helpful to me...changing diapers and playing with William so I could get some things done around the house. I have a feeling that she and William are going to be buddies. Here they are after William messed up yet another outfit. Thanks for staying with us, Rach! We miss you already!

We also went to the equivalent of medical school prom this weekend. My parents kept our little man for us so we could party...we stayed out to the late hour of 10:30. Here is our pre-prom pic.

The ball was at the Peabody Hotel, so of course everything was duck themed. This was a real hit at a table full of med students and a few duck hunters (Hunter and Del). I took some pictures of the progression of my dessert. We wanted to eat every bite of all of our food since HJ's meal alone cost $50, but I must admit I did not actually eat the duck head. It was just too much white chocolate so I moved it to HJ's plate for the sake of the picture. We all thought the rasberry sauce was a bit morbid for an edible duck, but it definitely tasted good.

Well, I'm off to change a blow out. Have a great Monday!

Here are some pictures from the big day. As you can tell, William is thrilled to find out where he will live for the next four years...

Well, we are officially going to be in Memphis for four more years. Thank you to everyone for the prayers and encouragement as we went to interviews and waited to find out where we would be. We are so thankful that we get to stay here where we have met so many wonderful friends and where we are so close to our families (and William's grandparents!). We have grown to love Memphis over the last four years. So many endearing qualities. For instance, you can take any piece of furniture out to the curb (even an old sink) and it will be gone in 30 minutes. And sometimes, in the morning, all of Memphis smells like old fried chicken (what is that)? Seriously, we really do love this city. We are looking forward to see how God works in our church and in the city, and we are thankful that He is allowing us to be a part of it for four more years.

8 Weeks

Well, tomorrow is the big day...please pray for us as we find out where we'll be for the next four years. William is 8 weeks old this week. I really can't believe it. It has gone by so quickly, and yet I can't remember what it was like to not have him here. He is such a sweet, sweet boy, and we are enjoying every minute with him. A little update...today he rolled over twice. I think he just hates tummy time so much that he was desperate to get back on his back. Anyway, I just wanted to put a few pics up of him with just his socks and diaper. How cute! I'll let you know soon what we find out tomorrow.

7 Weeks

William is getting so big! His sweet little cheeks are filling out and he is starting to get some rolls on his skinny legs. As you can see in the pictures, he is losing some of his hair. I love his reddish blond hair, so I hope it comes back the same color. For now, he has a nice receding hair line.

Next week will be a big week for us. I have some things to do for school, so I will have to leave him for more than a few hours for the first time...sad. Then, Thursday is Match Day, so we will find out our destination for the next four years. I should definitely be here for my internship, but then we could be moving. The options are Memphis, Nashville, Houston, Birmingham, Chapel Hill, or Louisville....or nothing, but we won't think about that yet. On Friday, we head to the pediatrician for his two month check up and shots. Here are some pics from the last few weeks:

Love this face

First airplane ride with Mommy

Love my elephants

Cute Boy


Am I going to have as much chest hair as Daddy someday?

Like Father like Son

Hunter's mom gave me a picture of Hunter in his going home outfit and the outfit, so we put William in it for a few pictures. He was pretty cooperative at first...

But then...

A few of my favorite things...

Bath Time

Reading with Daddy

Vibrating bouncy chair, blankie, paci...what's not to love?

4 Weeks Old

Rocking the blond mohawk

Trying to catch a smile

Hating the snow suit

On Sunday, Elizabeth Wiggs took some pictures of William for us. Check some of them out on her blog.

Our little buddy

A few more...

Prayer for this Child

I think I am finally fairly up to date with the pictures. Sweet William is changing everyday. Here are some pictures when I was trying to get him to look at the camera (in other words, I was trying to move the camera to wherever he was looking). This turned out to be more difficult than I had imagined, but I got some cute shots anyway.

Here is part of a Sara Groves song I have been listening to...Prayer for This Child. In the past 2 weeks, my first taste of motherhood, I have learned that everyday with a baby is a new lesson in faith.

I only have two eyes - be all seeing

I only have two hands - be everywhere

I do not know enough - to be all knowing

I give this baby up into your care

I do not know how, how to pray for this child

I want to guard him from everything wicked and wild

but in the trial, in the trial, I learned to hold on

And in the trial, in the trial, I learned to hold on to the heart of God

Meeting the Family

Last Saturday, William met his great grandparents and some more of his aunts and uncles. He slept through most of it, but we can show him the pictures later. The picture at the top right is of all the William Woodrow Jones'- Senior, Junior, III, and IV. The bottom middle and right pictures are of William with his three aunts and three uncles...don't you like the symmetry?

I am still trying to catch up on my picture posting. Here are a few more from the hospital, coming home, and the first bath. More to follow soon, I hope...

Sweet little guy

William in his coming home outfit...he is obviously thrilled

Mommy, Daddy, and William about to leave the hospital

The first bath was not a happy experience.

Here are a few pictures from the big day...



The "still pregnant" picture is when we are leaving for the hospital at around 6:30 am on Tuesday morning. I started having contraction at 2 am, and we decided we would definitely be going to the hospital by about 5. We got to the hospital at 7am (notice the snow on the ground) and had William at 7:01pm. The pictures at the bottom of the collage are William meeting his grandparents, Aunt Meg, and Uncle Dan. We are still wondering where William got his blond hair.

Welcome to the World, William!

William Woodrow Jones, IV was born on January 20, 2009 at 7:01 pm.

7 pounds, 15 oz. 20 1/4 inches.

I know the blog has been neglected for some months now, but I wanted to start it up again so our family and friends who are out of town can watch our little guy grow. Here is one of William's first pictures. I'll post more of the story later, but we just wanted to say thank you for all of your prayers. William is such a sweet blessing, and we are so grateful to have him as the newest addition to our family.

Hello again...

Well, I am reentering the blogging world once again, hopefully this time to stay. But, as you might have figured out, my schedule can get quite hectic. I wrote this song last year for HJ, and I was inspired to share it by these two. They are coming to our city for a concert next week, and I can't wait. They continue to write relevant and good music. So, about this song. I wrote it for HJ because I still look forward to him coming home everyday. I know its only been almost three years, but I am thankful to have a husband who listens to me and loves me and is forever being patient with me. I know it is not a masterpiece, but here it is...



Six years ago we met in the fall

Football and kisses and shooting stars

Couldn't seem to get you off my mind

We were so young so how did we know



CH: Hurry home, Honey

I'm waiting for you

To talk about nothing and everything

How was your day and what should we eat

How about the city and theology

The rich and the poor and you and me



Three years later and many more words

Late nights and letters and oceans traversed

Sugarless madness and swedish disease

Days just waiting for the phone to ring



A sixty-four mustang and a thunderstorm

Down on your knee on a porch with a ring

Diamonds and sunsets and dreams come true

Hurry up, honey, cause the times movin' slow



CH



One more year and lots of tears

A job in an office and medical school

New city, new home, new husband, new wife

We were so young so how did we know



CH



Two years later on a Friday night

Football and kisses and shooting stars

still can't seem to get you off my mind

Why don't you sit and stay awhile

Strangers

Here is a quote about Christians from the second century (I actually saw it on another blog). I only hope that I can look like this to the people around me, but I fear that too often I am different from the world in the wrong ways. I speak different and shy away from the poor and sinners, instead of trusting that God will provide and looking different because I love the poor and the sinners.

"For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. The course of conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines. But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred."
- Mathetes, Epistle to Diognetus