KY comes to MA

In late April the Johnsons came from their old Kentucky home to check out life in the Bay State. Much fun was had by all, even if the babies didn't sleep much :)

Visiting the Cape Cod Potato Chips factory was at the top of the list. The girls were being cute and holding hands :)

This turkey decided found it necessary to keep a close eye on us.

And then to stand on the compost pile . . .

We went to Brewster to watch the herring run. It was chilly, but entertainment by the gulls was well worth it.

Do you see any jumping fish? I really could see them when I was taking the picture, but not so much now.

Ms. Meghan braided Sarah's hair one morning.

Funny photo shoot :)

"I'm a big kid!"

He's good :)

National Seashore time.

"CHEESE!!!" :)

Fun times at Heritage Museum and Gardens in Sandwich.

She is in love with the carousel!

MegaTrip: The Conference

Part Three in a series chronicling our first big family road trip. 

Thursday and Friday were spent at the Together For Adoption Pastors' Conference, put on at Southern Seminary for pastors interested in adoption or in leading adoption ministries in their churches. We did the sorts of things that people do at conferences: sing, listen to preaching, attend breakout sessions, and meet people. But what most people want to know is what we got out of it, what our family's future holds, and our hopes for OBC.

We don't know much about our future, but we did leave the conference with a greater burden for caring for widows and orphans. I have been praying that God would put that burden on our hearts, and it appears He is.

As OBC moves to a period in which we concern ourselves more deeply for the lost around us, I am praying that we will also concern ourselves with the suffering around us. Perhaps God will use Emily and I in that change. He is awakening us as a people to the needs our lost neighbors have for the Gospel- perhaps that compassion will make us also more sensitive to the physical needs of the poor.

For the Cooks, we've resolved that any adoption or foster care we may one day do would be done only as an answer to God's call to care for the poor. We've been tossing the idea around for a while, led now to this part of the journey. Adoption is a central theme of the Gospel, and we would love to picture it by adopting children of our own. But the desire for that picture, or the picture of a multi-ethnic family, can't be the reason we adopt children. They aren't tools in our plan to preach the Gospel we love- they're orphans we're called to love because of that Gospel. So we're just going to love them and see what God does. Nobody preached that at the conference but, strangely enough, God used them all to remind us of it.

The main thing we got out of it was a deeper appreciation for the Gospel that has saved us. How great the love lavished upon us all that we should be called the Sons of God! And be given the spirit of sonship- that we should call Jesus our older brother. Who is like the Lord?

God has been very good to us indeed. And he's patiently working in our hearts to bring about that kind of mercy from us as well. Will we adopt children one day? Will you one day have a family member who isn't a part of our family right now? We don't know, but we are looking for ways to care for widows and orphans. When you do that, as some families in our church have found, you can wind up with a fatherless child in your home and a heart to adopt it. Knowing the goodness of our God, that could be us one day.

MegaTrip: Memories in Louisville

Part Two in a series chronicling our first big family road trip. 

Who would have thought that the sight of a simple apartment building would bring tears to my eyes, that I would be excited just to walk into a bookstore, or that a chicken sandwich would mean so much. I was full of surprises this day, I guess. 

After two days of driving, we were finally free to feel like we were on vacation. Our conference was a day away, so we spent a day seeing many of the people and places I loved in Louisville.

After a cup of coffee, a little Acts of the Apostle,s and some Huckleberry Finn, we took a simple walk around Southern's campus with Meghan Johnson and her two daughters. Walking the halls, seeing the renovations, and raiding the bookstore. We also saw our host Raymond's new office- a symbol of his new job at the school and departure from the restaurant world. I told Emily stories of fireflies on the big hill, and Raymond told us the strange tale of the Mummy on display in Southern's library (ask us about that one.)

Before driving to lunch with some friends, I suggested to Emily that we drive by our old apartment for a quick look. We have several memories here: a bathroom crumbling from mold, a porch somehow smaller then the hammock in it, and re-purposing an office/guest room to make an office/guest room/nursery. But when we pulled up, it came over me to tell Sarah the story of bringing her home to it in the baby carrier. "Sarah, this is the spot we pulled into on your first car ride, to take you home. Actually, it was that spot right there." That was about as far as I got before the vividness of the memory took over so greatly that I broke down. I don't know if I've ever had a more clear memory of something. People who I didn't know and haven't seen since were shouting for us, Emily's mom had made a sign to welcome her home- I had forgotten how joyful we were. Emily had to ask a few times if these were happy tears, because I just couldn't stop them.

We were about halfway to Chick-Fil-A before I finally did stop. Lunch with the Johnsons and Metcalfs was a treat. It seemed like such a short time since none of us were married, and now there are 5 children between the three of us. I think the most comforting thing about this part of the trip was the ease with which we could pick our conversations right back up.

That evening I got to take Sarah down to Eagle Heights Baptist Church to see our brothers and sisters there, and the into Morton's for a quick visit. Emily and Josiah stayed back to get some rest, but I had a hunch that everyone really wanted to see the little girl who had won their hearts as a baby. Sarah hammed it up with ease.

After talking late into the night with the Johnsons again, we headed to bed and did our best to rest up for the conference. It was a conference about Adoption in the church, and we slept wondering how God would lead our family and our church when it came to the growing Christian adoption movement.

Recent Pictures

First off, here's our most recent Pregnancy Picture, taken three weeks before the due date:

The fireflies are in full swing here in Kentucky.  We've both had some fun catching them and taking pictures along the way:

That last one is of the sunset at the park we were visiting.  The light exposed in the camera a strange way, so I (Dave) played around with it in an editor and came up with this.

Thunder 2010

Pictures of fireworks need little to no introduction.  There were fireworks!  Here they are!