taste of heaven

My current header picture is one of my very favorite pictures of the 2 special boys in my life. Yes, it's a bit dated already, Stevie was a mere 3 months old then. I made that photo into a canvas for Matt for Christmas. Um, let me rephrase that. I had that photo made into a canvas for Matt for Christmas with an added a verse to it:


(feel free to click on it to see it larger)

Yes, Stephen was so skinny at that point. It makes me a bit sick to think about that time period, just after my surgery feeling awful and little man struggling, but all is well now, and his cheeks are good and chubby. Anyway, I'd like to share a little about that photo and some of the reasons I love it so much. First of all, Stephen is cute and Matt is handsome. Check. Mostly, I just love the look on both of their faces. Stevie is just studying his daddy. Matt is just loving on his little boy. Stevie is completely content. We were both having difficulties at that time. He was a hungry boy and he would wear himself out so when food was offered, he would fall asleep....which became a vicious cycle. Despite that, what I'll call a stressor, despite that stressor in his life, he is absolutely completely content looking into his father's face. I love his little hand gently touching Matt's face. We melted every time he started to do that with us. Well, we still do, but now a hearty grab usually follows. So Stevie is completely content, basking in the attention of daddy. He doesn't need his pacifier or that burp cloth (which was used for spit up but also a snuggle buddy). Those are tossed aside while resting and spending time with his dad in that moment. And look at his daddy's big hand next to him. Stephen is so secure. There are so many things we're already learning as Stephen's parents. Many of those things direct us to the love of our Father. The verse that came to my mind when I see this picture is that one from 1 John, which is shown above. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" Wow. The look in Matt's eyes, is just a glimmer of how lovingly our heavenly Father looks at us. How I want to be like my son, despite the stressors in my life, to be absolutely content in the presence of my Father, to toss aside the worldly pacifiers, and gaze into Him, study Him, and learn from Him. It truly is a gift and an honor to be called children of God.