Birthday Boys

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

-2 Corinthians 4:17-18

John is 5 today!!  (Hopefully you get this on Tuesday, January 21st.)  Wow, it is hard to believe our baby is a big 5-year-old now!  We feel incredibly blessed to get to be the parents of this joyful, bright, sweet spirited child.  In addition, we are inspired by his hard work, tenacity, and perseverance.  John teaches us so much about the Lord, what truly matters, and the unseen greater realities the Lord desires us to grasp.

Of course, we also remember Warren on his birthday and love him always.  We cherish the 19 days we had with him (plus the months of bonding on bed rest when I was carrying the twins) and also celebrate his eternal life in heaven.  Some of the sweetest moments of our lives were getting to hold them both on our chests.  What a gift these twins were and are.  They keep us anchored on the earth and God’s purposes here, yet also focused on our true home in heaven.  Warren and John changed our lives forever, and our lives do not make sense without any of our sons.

As most of you may know, our other big announcement is that we welcomed our fourth son into the world on Thursday, January 9^th!  We are thrilled with our precious Andrew Kellam Stone.  We praise the Lord and thank you for your prayers… this whole experience has been entirely redemptive.  Full of peace and joy!  We had a wonderful experience delivering in a new hospital, and the labor and delivery (second VBAC) were so smooth!  My doctor was even on call.  Andrew is a perfectly healthy and very content baby.  My recovery has been easy too!  We feel so blessed and love the full, rich feeling of being a family of five here on earth.  John and Daniel have adjusted well and have been wonderful big brothers to their newest sibling.

A little about Andrew’s name…  In the Bible, Andrew was Jesus’ very first disciple.  He left everything to follow Him!  The Bible says Andrew, at once, recognized Jesus as Messiah.  What faith, and what a great example for us all!  In addition, Andrew was known for bringing others, like his brother Peter, to Jesus.  We pray all of these things for our son.  Kellam is Meade’s mother’s maiden name.  We wanted to honor “Maddie” along with the Kellam family.  Meade cherished his grandparents, and I am grateful that I knew Meade’s sweet grandmother before she passed.  We are thankful our children are surrounded by so many family members who love them!

You are a significant part of all of these celebrations, and we thank you for continuing to be on this journey with us!   

Birthday celebrations: