Greetings form Louisville

Hey y'all! We had a beautiful/torrentially stormy drive down to Louisville, KY on Tuesday and arrived safely to Brad and Erin's lovely home. Kurt left yesterday afternoon to start his duties at the conference, Together for the Gospel. The speaker lineup is especially good with R.c. Sproul, John Piper, John Mcarthur, Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, etc. His schedule has been packed, but it's all been good! Jayna has been staying with the Erin, thorougly enjoying her time. They had a blast at the park and the kids loved feeding the ducks. Though Maddie remained her stoic self, she seemed to enjoy throwing bread out to those overfed ducks. Isn't it the simple things that make one's day? Kurt and Brad will be done with the conference tomorrow at noon, and they will join us for the rest of the day. We will move over to Steve and Aimee's home for the next three nights, and spend time catching up with them and their growing family. We look forward to it!

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Updates on Everyone

It is strange to be sitting in such a quiet house these days. Madeline is down for a nap, and all our company has gone home. Jayna's mother was here April 4-13, and Kurt's sister and brother-in-law were here with three of their interns with Teens for Christ April 14-18. It was great to have visitors! Below this post you'll see pics from our time with Mom, and coming soon will be more from our time with Buck and Kristin.

In a nutshell, here are a few updates on all of us:

Madeline: Maddie continues to walk well, and mostly flat on her feet. She even seems to have more confidence and has learned she can hop a bit now. Within the month, we'll visit with Dr. Evans at Children's Hospital for a follow-up to get her professional opinion. In the meantime, we stretch Maddie's calves 2-3 times a day to keep her loose.

Kurt: We previously mentioned that the pulpit committee from Kurt's hometown church would be here to hear him speak on April 2. As it turns out, they didn't come as they decided to call their interim pastor to fill the pulpit position. We've decided to cast the net for both a pastorate and job on the Hill, and see where God leads. Kurt has had several congressman's offices interested in him for press secretary, and one particularly seems like it would be the best fit as we might possibly be able to live in Indiana right across the river from Louisville where Kurt would start seminary.

Jayna: I am now 18 weeks pregnant and not getting any smaller. I'm feeling well but tired in the evening. Kurt clearly knows when I've shut down for the day. We have an ultrasound scheduled for May 5. Shortly thereafter we'll announce whether it's a boy or girl, so pray that he/she gives us a good show!

As we pray about all of these things, it's easy to become heavily focused on God's material provision. And while we trust that He will provide for us in this way, we are reminding ourselves that even more important is God's glory in the midst of all of this. We know that it is for His glory and to His praise that He would provide all that we need, for He is a good and faithful God indeed.

Taking in the Capitol  

We were so glad to connect with my only relative East of the Mississippi (that I'm aware of). L-R Matthew, Cassandra, Jeff, Tina, Mom, and Maddie. Tina is the granddaughter of Mom's cousin, who happens to live in Maryland :-) 

At the Jefferson Memorial (with a helicopter above my head) 

Strolling around the Tidal Basin 

What do I do with all this space? 

Mount Vernon 

GW had an awesome view from his porch! 

George Washington must have loved his porch! The breeze was wonderful! 

Enjoying the gardens at Mount Vernon 

Still Life is so much easier to take pics of than trying to take a picture of Madeline! 

Beautiful Flowers at Mount Vernon 

More Beautiful Flowers at Mount Vernon 

Even More Beautiful Flowers at Mount Vernon 

Three Generations 

Maddie and Grammy 

A great end to a wonderful time with Mom. 

Madeline is Cast Free!!!!

After only two weeks of wearing walking casts to stretch out her right calf muscle, Madeline progressed so well that, at this point, she doesn't have to wear them! You can imagine our joy at that news. After one week of casting, Madeline made progress on both her left and right. She went from -4 degrees on her right to a range of +4 degrees. Zero degrees is flat. Today she was able to get a range of +15 degrees on each side, which was the goal! We certainly feel that the Lord has been gracious to us in this situation, and has seen fit to answer our prayers in this way.

The next step will be to meet with Dr. Evans at Children's Hospital for a follow up meeting. We will also continue regular stretching and physical therapy for Madeline as she grows. Regardless of these 'inconveniences', it is wonderful to see our daughter walking normally with much better balance and less falling. She even seems more confident and bounces around the house with a spring in her step! Madeline is a happy girl!