Beach Boys

Ah....the sweet sound of the waves and the wonderful smell of the ocean! Thank goodness we got to take a little break from this dreadful weather and enjoy the beautiful California coast. The Westmoreland's were gracious enough to invite our family on their yearly trip to San Diego! We stayed in Encinitas and enjoyed cool 65 degree weather and loved every minute of it! Clay grew up going to San Diego and was fortunate enough to live their for a summer ....Surfing mostly:) So he was especially excited and chomping at the bit to get in that water and surf!

There is one hot spot for the family when it comes to breakfast and I'm almost hesitant to share it because it really is San Diego's best kept secret. The Hide Away Cafe seriously has the best breakfast in the world...and its nothing but a small room and kitchen. Diners Drive Ins and Dives baby!! Guy would die if he found out about this place, its that good!

So, here we are about to enjoy Cinnamon rolls the size of your face and the best Huevos Rancheros on the planet.

The boys loved the beach! Little Dilly's favorite thing to do was pick up rocks.....go figure!



His other favorite thing to do was sleep. Here he is

day 1........






Day 2.......

Day 3........and on and on he slept.

Grandpa and Dallas taking a stroll along the beach.

Its no surprise that taking two toddlers to the beach is no easy thing when you have to take umbrellas, formula, snacks, enough juice to fill a bathtub, blankets, toys and coolers! So a BIG thanks to Grandma & Grandpa for all the help!

Daddy and his Dilly Bar

Mommy and her Dilly Bar

I'm not going to lie...the water was actually pretty darn cold but okay for sticking toes in!

This was supposed to be a car, but they made it whatever they wanted it to be!

The sun came out after a few days and the boys started to really get into it. Its amazing to me that there's a whole ocean about 20 feet in front of them and they're amazed by a bucket of water with a rock in it.

Dallas had a permanent sand stash. Gotta love it.

We started digging motes and Dallas had a ball just walking in circles in it.

I think I had more fun playing in the sand than the kids did!

I thought this might scare Dallas, but I think he liked it. He's so little it didn't take long to dig the hole, but I'm still finding sand in the craziest places....you can imagine!

When Dillon was awake he loved walking around picking up little rocks. It was the cutest thing.

Oh Dilly! I found the sand between the kids toes so irresistible I almost ate them right off!!

Even though the water was chilly, that didn't stop Clay and I from catch'n a few waves.

Clay's long time friend, Dan Gutman lives in San Diego and came out one afternoon to surf. It was so fun to sit on the beach and watch the two of them because they are both so passionate about surfing and love it love it love it.

Those were some gnarly waves bra!

Oh how we'll miss you San Diego, but hopefully we'll be back again next year!!

I Will Go to Him, but he will not return to me.

This will be my first blog entry on our family page. Heidi had set this thing up two years ago as a way to inform and publish the current events of our family. To be honest it was out of our character to do this, but due to the family that the both of us have out of state we thought of this as a way of allowing the people we love to be involved in our family's most valued "gifts"; our children. With that being said the reason I was moved to write this entry was for several reasons. One, that I wanted to publicly talk about the miscarriage of our third baby. Two, I wanted to theologically be able to explain this to the people that read this. Third, my wife pours herself out into the ministry of motherhood and this is a weighty topic for her, so I wanted to take the role of blogger.

I titled the entry from a passage from 2 Samuel 12:23. This passage of scripture is quoted from King David after loosing his son seven days after his birth. In its context David's son was born Ill and had just spent 7 days crying and fasting for his son. After his son had died, David cleaned himself up and went to worship God. David's men were confused and did not understand why David was so quickly ready to live again. David's full response was in verse 22 was "while the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, "who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live."But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."

I chose this passage to lead the direction of this post because it is so deeply rich. Personally, Heidi and I both experienced this and more importantly the theological implications of this are huge. Heidi and I received the news days before the heart dropping reality of the miscarriage that the baby may not be destined for life here with Heidi and I. Days later it came to pass that at 11 weeks along our baby had actaully died at six weeks. Truth be told, God had prepared my heart for the news because he whispered to my heart that the baby was with him. I still prayed that I wasn't hearing this correctly, but when Heidi had called me in tears I new that God had spoken first.

David new what this meant for his son. Quoting David again, " I will go to him". Go where? To where he is lying? To the grave? Where is his son? David new his personal destiny upon death ,which was to be with Christ in heaven. So where is David's son. With Christ in heaven! That's where David is going, so therefore that's where his son will be. I love this. I live because of this. This is the Gospel. The good news of Jesus, right here one thousand years before Jesus pointed right back to the men who had spoken about him.

This is why I said the theological implications of this are huge. David is a clear sinner, but David knew that "salvation comes from the LORD."( Jonah 2:9). David's son could not make a choice for Jesus, therefore the choice had to be made for him. There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God." (Romans 3:10-11)

So what? What does this mean for our baby number three. One detail is that our baby was never born. So what does that mean? "For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb." (psalm 139:13). Scripture makes it clear that God creates every detail about us. Jesus said that every hair on our head is numbered. (Mathew 10:30). I think what drives this home is a verse in Luke 1:14 where God is speaking about John the Baptizer. "He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth." John, not even born yet was "filled with the Holy Spirit". How did this happen? John wasn't sinless. "In sin my mother conceived me." (psalm 51:5) We're all born in sin. So how did John get "filled". God "gave" himself to John.
The gospel is God!!! "For it is by grace you have been saved,through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Did you catch it? It is the gift of God. Salvation is not a gift, like a present. It is God himself. Graciously and freely giving himself to us.

I'm gonna drive this sermon text home here. Heidi and I were crushed by the loss of baby number three. We loved the baby for six+ wonderful weeks. Jesus created this life for himself as he creates all life for himself. "All things are created by him and for him."(Colossians 1:16)
Referring back to the original title of the blog, we will have to go to where the baby is because he wont return to us. It's crucial to understand at this point that I am not by any means teaching universalism, meaning we all go to heaven. Jesus spoke of Hell more than anyone in the bible. I think ultimately what the message I wanted to get across to all who will read this is that
our baby's life belongs in the hands of Jesus. There is no difference in being six weeks in the womb or sixty years old. We all are human beings belonging to a sovereign God. God can take our life at any time, because it was his to begin with. God lied down his own life in the person of Jesus, so that in return we may have eternal life.

Thank you for reading this

Clay