09/03/2007

Oh, how terribly delinquent I have been in keeping up with this blog! This week has been a blur of excitement and fun activities. Somehow, the poor Jones Chronicle was neglected in the midst of all our fun. My parents have been in Houston since Wednesday. They will fly back to Michigan early tomorrow morning. I wish they could stay a little longer, but duty calls from Grand Rapids, so it will be with great sadness and reluctance that we will say 'good bye.'

Two times in the past week my parents have assumed night duty with little Nia Madelynn. What a treat! They had her last night, and I woke up with a start this morning, in a frenzy, worrying because I hadn't fed Nia all night! Then I remembered she was with Grandpa and Grandma. Phew! Nathan has slept here every night, in his special boat bed. We are so glad to have him back after his vacation!

Nathan seems rather monstrous compared with Nia. It is amazing how much growing can be accomplished in the space of two years! He is so much fun--and such a challenge (something about being two and throwing fits)--and being his Mom is simultaneously a trial and a tribulation. He seems unimaginably difficult in comparison to his little sister...but, I might as well savor these moments, because it won't be long before Nia is two.

The human capacity to love absolutely blows my mind. My heart seems to grow a new chamber each time we have a child! Something about it is a little addictive, but fortunately my abhorrence for pregnancy will prevent us from having 13 kids. Still, I think that the quantity of 'available love' goes up with each child. I try to imagine how BIG Jesus' heart must be: think of the vast number of children that He has! Each one of us is loved no less than the previous. Wow. "How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure."