The Owens

We have friends that our in the fight of their lives. Please join us in praying for them, their family, and for little Gavin.

Check out Gavin's story here: www.gavinowens.com

Pray whole heartedly for this family. I want them to feel the prayers of the saints.

If you feel led to help them in anyway, check out Gavin's House.

Lowness of Spirit

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God..........And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation." 2 Corinthians 1:3-5,7

"For a moment I have forsaken you, But with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid my face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you, " says the Lord, your Redeemer." Isaiah 54:7-8

There is no feeling as deep as loss. If you have ever grieved a huge loss you know what I am talking about. That hole that opens up in your heart. That feeling of breathlessness, where the effort it takes to exist seems beyond worth it.

There is nothing like that.

I have had those moments. They have been few, but they have touched me so deeply, no amount of time will ever erase their memory. They have been etched deep into my heart. And even though time has passed and they have become easier to process, the memory has not faded. I can tell you EXACTLY what I was feeling at that moment, and if I dwell on it long enough, all of those emotions flood back in. Which just proves to me that I have not hid them as deep as I thought. The lay right on the surface of my everyday.

I have a dear friend who has just entered that world. I don't think it was her first time, and I am quite sure that I will not be her last. But this hurt, hurt to the core. I knew her ache...the wailing that takes place in the soul. The longing for a different outcome. The "why" questions that come like a fast moving stream. I had no words for her. Nothing a mere human can say can comfort in times like that.

But as I thought about her tragedy, it brought me back to my own. And some of those "why" questions got answered. ".......that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God". I have suffered loss in my life, trials that seemed so purposeless, just for moments such as these.

Our baby Selah would be 3 on November 28th. Sometimes I think I have moved on from that time. And then something will catch my eye and make me think of him. What would he look like? Would he have been a quiet soul, or a spirited one like London? I haven't forgotten about him. Every November I put on my Blue Topaz ring (birthstone of November) that Travis got me in memory of our baby, and I wear it everyday. It is my way of celebrating our son. Remembering that time. Remembering the pain, but also rejoicing in the faithfulness of our Lord. In that dark moment, it seemed nothing would ever be able to pull me out. I am not sure if I even wanted out. I wanted to go Home. With him. Hold him. Comfort him.

But God had different plans....."With a little wrath I hid my face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you, " says the Lord, your Redeemer.

Having Him be quiet while I lay in a heap on the floor, screaming out for answers; that was the deepest pain I had ever felt. Forsaken.

But He had mercy on me. His mercies are new every morning. And every morning I look into my son London's eyes and remember. The Lord had his reasons. I like to believe that Selah was too great for this world, so God yanked him up to be with him.

God knew we needed London. He teaches me lessons everyday. And if I had had my way, and Selah would have survived, London wouldn't be here. It doesn't erase the pain I felt during that time, but it answers some questions I longed to have answered back then.

I will never forget. And I pray for my friend everyday. That God's word would prove true and that I would be able to comfort her, with the comfort that came to me. Daily choosing to focus on the tiny (and grand) miracles that are in front of me everyday.

J

Sporty Spice

I was invited to "the club" tonight. Not a glow stick, Night at the Roxbury kind of club though. This was a legitimate, athletic club and day spa kind of club. My buddy is a member of such a club and was kind enough to invite me for an evening of tennis, swimming and hot tubing. I arrived at the club 30 minutes late due to a talkative patient I had to see. When I arrived, the front desk lady asked, "Are you Travis Avila?" "Yes I am," I responded. "Mr. Higgins is waiting for you at the court furthest from the club," she said. One could get used to this kind of treatment.

I strolled down the walkway past the lap pool, hot tub and sauna and found my friend, who had of course already run a few miles and hit enough tennis balls to make Pete Sampras look like a sissy girl. Keep in my that my hips already hurt from walking to the courts. He made me hit about five thousand tennis balls, shot from a machine that I could tell didn't like me very much. I'd never played tennis in my life, so I'm sure this was pretty amusing to my buddy. He hasn't played much tennis either, but at least he's athletic. As I was leaving the house, I asked Jenn if I looked too much like Sporty Spice. I had to scrounge around my closet to find any sort of athletic apparel. I think I pulled it off though. At least I looked like I sort of belonged.

Neither of us knew how to keep score, so we used the closest scoring system we could think of.

Ping Pong

We played two games, and he won both...but only by two points. Both games had to go into overtime, which I was pretty proud of. I thought for sure I'd throw up at a few points in the game, but I managed to keep it in and finished both games with a small amount of dignity. (He brought his wife's purple racquet, if that gives you any indication of the faith he had in me)

After a few rounds of tennis we decided to hit the pool. We swam a few laps in the pool and then hit the hot tub, where we schmoozed with some real estate broker/lawyer guy. After another quick dip in the pool, we headed to the locker room to change and hit the road. While in the men's locker room, I realized that men in general are not afraid of having their twig and berries hanging out all over the place. It was disconcerting at best.

All in all, it was a great night. Being one that doesn't typically enjoy exercising, I have to say that it felt great getting the heart pumping while playing a sport rather than running on a treadmill. Will I join the club? Well, that remains to be seen. But one could certainly get used to the lifestyle.

-Trav

Happy Halloween

London was an "Army Dude" this year. An Army dude with a new obsession for treats. He was asking everyone he ran into for candy. We went to three parties and at every one, you were sure to see London wandering around, asking every guest there for a treat. Preceded by his request was a hearty, "Happy Walloween."

Long Time Comin'

I know. I know.

You missed us.

I was so nicely informed by my family (uh hemmm, no names mentioned) that we haven't updated the blog since Oct 8th. " Really" I asked. Had it been that long? Why?

Oh right...we were busy.

Here is what we were up to.

-Trav, my handsome and ever so helpful husband, had 3 weddings this month on top of his normal, everyday job were he had his biggest month EVER! The man is unstoppable. However, with the stress of keeping all that up, the blog fell to the wayside. I tried to keep it up, but I really don't have much to talk about.

So once again, I will just talk about what I know.

Bubba.

-This month, London learned about patience in school. He had his first ever Harvest Festival, where he sold tickets and raised money for his school. In fact, he was the highest earning student for pledges, which meant he got a free meal AND a free all day pass to all the events. Funny thing though. If you know Bubba, he doesn't play games...he won't bounce on a bounce house...he won't get his face painted in a million years. So he wore the bracelet with pride, but didn't go on anything.

-London went to his first Circus. Granted it was a 1 yr old's birthday party, but nonetheless, it was a circus. Candy, clowns, games, balloon animals, and all.

-He also had his first major accident which involved chasing his friend at school and falling into the asphalt, biting through both his upper and lower lip. NO stitches needed, but it made for a bloody mess. The following day, his friend was chasing him at the park and ran into a piece of playground equipment with her head. SHE was not so fortunate and ended up with 11 stitches.

-London went the entire month without having a nighttime accident, which we decided makes him an official "big boy". Although if you ask him, he would say he is a "real boy". You know, like Pinocchio.

-His favorite movies include Finding Nemo (except any part that takes place in the dentist office), Mary Poppins (which he calls Hairy Pippins), and Lady and the Tramp (sweetly referred to as "Doggies").

-London made up his first word that he insists we use everyday. "Weeeeya". It is used like "Weeee, wasn't that fun!" Except it is bigger than weee. It is WEEEEEYA!

-He also got to go to Mimi and DadDad's house for vacation this last week. It was so much fun. He loves his Mimi and DadDad so much that when we were leaving he asked us where we were going. Daddy said, "We are going home". He cried. "I want to go to Mimi's house again". So cute. The last day we were there, he had the most amazing day. He got to go to the fire station and sit in a firetruck, then went to the airport and watched an airplane practice touch-and-go's, the saw a Reach helicopter take off, then ride a motorcycle with Dad, then drive a tractor with DadDad and then honk the horn in a REAL semi-truck. You couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He is still talking about it.

That brings us to today...where mom is so wiped out I can't write another thing. Just praying that tomorrow goes smoothly without Dad around. It has been so nice having him home and London has enjoyed it so much, it is going to be a rough day for everyone.

London at the Circus. He is growling like the lion, even

though his head is in the seal.

They both had fun.

Big owies on the lips. Poor Bubba.

Sitting in the semi with DadDad.

The tractor ride. Epic.

Trav and I visited this Castle in Napa Valley

It is actually a winery. Unreal. Would have

been more enjoyable without a 2 yr old.

A taste of where I come from.

London and his bestie Maeve. They love each other.

Eat Your Heart Out Monet

Artistic talent runs in the family. It skipped me, but I think we can all tell who got it!

This is a recent painting my mom did of my hometown street.
She did it in mostly one afternoon.

This is London's Turkey he did in school.
Also done in one afternoon.
(If you can't tell it's a turkey, you have issues)

Bubba play

London woke up from his nap and said....

"Bubba Play.."

So, we did.

Mommy and Bubby

Always finding a stick

Cheese...sucking on my nasty blankie. (trust me...it's nasty)

Finally swinging on a big boy swing.

So much more fun to drink water out of the cap.

Bummer for mom though. Wasted all her water.

Sacrifice.

Isn't that the definition of Mom?