Today our family celebrated Abigail Jane’s fifth birthday.

There is something special about this little lady. From the days of pregnancy until today, things are just different when Abigail is around.

Hope’s pregnancy with Abigail was different than the other children; it was fraught with complications. At birth Abigail weighed ten pounds, and the birth itself was by far the most difficult. For awhile I thought the two midwives were going to break Hope in two as they labored to birth this baby.

The events surrounding Abigail’s birth were also somewhat unusual. Here are some highlights:

-Two weeks prior to the birth we bought a boxer puppy for Kathy.

-Around that time our cat gave birth.

-Our oldest daughter Karen was in a cast and was unable to assist in anything.

-Emily slipped on some stones and broke open a huge gash on her nose.

-In my haste to get her to the emergency room, I ran over Hope’s dog (a sheltie).

-Our washing machine flooded twice.

-We had an appliance fire in the kitchen.

-I had an important appointment scheduled with my boss on June 26. For months I had been telling Hope she could have the baby any day except that one. Abigail was due on July 6 and since all of our babies had been born later than their due date, June 26 seemed safe. Of course she was born two weeks early on June 26, causing me to miss my appointment.

-We had a poisonous snake lurking around during this time that I finally killed right after the birth.

Needless to say, the Lord preserved us through these events and through all of them we still delighted in the fact that He gave to us another daughter.

Abigail is known as the Sunshine Girl. She brings a unique pespective to everything. Her exploits have become the source of family legends, so much so, that some of them were committed to a family comic strip named, “The Adventures of Abigail.”

Abigail is a Daddy’s girl, and is usually the first to run out of the house to greet me when I arrive home from the office.

I am thankful God blessed us with this little daughter.

Here are some of my favorite Abigail pictures.

My grandmother (95 years old) holding 5 month old Abigail.

About nine months old.

Age one birthday.

Do you think you can open that mouth any wider (age one)?

Mother, this is the proper way to play the piano.

Now I understand what snow is. What’s next?

Ready for adventure (one and a half). It was around this time that the many escapades of Abigail were, due to constant telling and re-telling, compiled into what is known today as “The Adventures of Abigail.” These adventures detail the events of life from the fertile imagination of Abigail (also known as ‘The Ab’). The last frame shows the reality of the situation. Click here to view.

This is a fish (age two).

Cute and knows it.

Learning to bake apple dumplings with big sister Karen (age two).

First time to the beach at Mustang Island, TX - age three.

Age three at a playground in Kerrville, TX.

Most of our children learned to ride a bicycle (without training wheels) at age five or six. Not Abigail. She mastered the bicycle at age three and a half.

Fishing at Beaver’s Bend, OK at age four.

Abigail’s first trip to the dentist occurred at age four. What an experience!

Abigail submitted an Everyday News Report about the Grand Canyon at age four. Click here to listen to the report.

The day began with dark clouds on the outside, but bright hearts on the inside.

The birthday celebration started with balloons and breakfast, made to Abigail’s order.

A trip to the park began well but quickly ended in rain.

Plan B was a trip to Half Price Books, a family favorite. Rarely do we leave that store without armfuls of books.

Lunch was a “tea party” with pigs in a blanket, Pringles, and pudding parfaits. Interesting menu, wouldn’t you say?

Abigail delighting in her pudding parfait.

Click here to watch Abigail open a birthday present.

Dinner was at Jason’s Deli.

The cake was by Kathy.

Click here to watch Abigail with her cake.

We have delighted in this little girl from the beginning…

…to now. May God bring her to Himself in His time.

Psalm 144:12 …that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace…

In the course of about ten days, three of my daughters will have birthdays. We take time for each of them to celebrate the event of another birthday and to remember God’s providence in their lives.

There is a special relationship between and father and a daughter. I have six daughters, and I take this to mean that God has given me six distinct opportunities to learn the lesson of fathers and daughters.

Among many things a father should nurture a daughter’s spiritual affections, helping her set them on things above.

A father should protect the purity of his daughter at all costs.

A father should cast the vision and put in place a plan to help a daughter fulfill her biblical calling.

A father should help his daughter find a husband.

A father should guard the heart of his daughter.

A father is a daughter’s knight in shining armour.

One daughter in my home is named Kathy, whose nineteenth birthday we just celebrated. As I think back on her life and her impact on the family I am grateful for what God has done in her life and how he has blessed my family and me through her.

Here are a few favorite pictures.

The pregnancy of Hope with Kathy was not planned or even anticipated, but oh, what a joy and delight when we found out she was on the way.

Here is Kathy at five days old.

The Davis family particularly blessed us in those years. One blessing was the use of their home and property just about whenever we wanted. Many pictures were taken there, including this one of Kathy at one year old.

Trying to drink from the sprinkler at two years old.

In the early years we were practically destitute and rarely could afford family outings that cost anything. In Tyler was a wonderful zoo that was free, which we visited constantly over the years. Finally it became a family tradition to take our children there by their first birthday for pictures and a time of family refreshment. Here Kathy is looking at the monkeys (three years old).

Four years old and posing for a picture in our neighbor’s back yard.

Kathy has always loved animals. One of our first was a kitten named Misty. Within a year of so she had kittens, and then more kittens, and then more kittens (eventually 49 in all).

Kathy with Misty at six years old.

Every Spring some friends of ours, Charlie and Lois Pittman, hosted a huge celebration in their back yard, usually around Easter. This was always a delightful time to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. Charlie and Lois were the ultimate hosts and are still a model to me of what true Christian hospitality should be. This picture was taken in their back yard when Kathy was nine years old.

Soon after Hope and I married, my parents moved from New York to Arizona (that’s a story in itself). During one visit my Dad and I, with Karen and Kathy, hiked up some hills in the desert in Tucson. This picture was taken when Kathy was ten years old.

Kathy has spent much time learning the art of homemaking. Here she is at twelve years old with some dresses she sewed.

Kathy with her boxer puppy, Joy, at age fourteen.

Teaching cousin Jessica some sewing tips (age fifteen).

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When Kathy was fourteen she took a cake decorating class. This led to some more classes and eventually, some clients. At age fifteen she decorated her first wedding cake.

A Hope Chest is an important item in the life of a girl. In it rests the dreams, hopes, and future of a daughter preparing to be a wife and mother.

Kathy received her hope chest at age sixteen, purchased from an Amish craftsman in Ohio.

Vacations are particular high points in my family. Every one has been a blessing and an enjoyable event, without exception. When Kathy was sixteen, we took our first beach vacation, on Mustang Island located near Corpus Christi.

Here is Kathy, with her protege, Kimberly, after a visit to the USS Lexington, harbored in Corpus Christi.

Kathy models a Regency dress that she made for a Vision Forum Father-Daughter retreat, at age eighteen.

When Kathy was eighteen she completed her formal homeschooling studies. We held a graduation ceremony for her at a place called Polly’s Chapel, located in the Hill Country of Texas. We combined that event with a family vacation in the surrounding area.

Here Kathy is crocheting a baby blanket, which she eventually gave to a family at church who had a baby that year.

Kathy and Kimmy at Polly’s Chapel.

For this year’s celebration I had the privilege of taking Kathy out to lunch and spending some time with her. Here are some highlights of that day.

Kathy often reads stories to her younger siblings, so they chipped in and bought her a Jemima Puddle Duck, a character from the stories of Beatrix Potter.

Kathy and I had lunch at the Pantry Restaurant, where they are known for their excellent pies. Here is Kathy eating a Banana Split Pie.

How do you make a good enough birthday cake for a cake decorator? Make something she has never made herself. Take a chocolate cake, punch it with holes, drizzle caramel into the holes, then top with a combination of whipped cream, cream cheese and butter fingers. Amazingly good!

Kathy receives presents from her family.

The best present of all is the love from little sister.

So what does a daughter do that has graduated from homeschool, is still at home, and not married? I’ll have more on that in a separate post, but in my family it is called the “window of opportunity.”

Today my second oldest daughter celebrates a birthday.   God has blessed us with her for nineteen years.  I’ll be posting more thoughts on this in the next few days.

Kathy and I at Callaway Gardens in March, 2006.

Three year old Kimberly Joy has been learning to bike. 

Kimmy thinks she’s ready. 

Here we go!

At full speed.

How does it look?  Am I doing it right?

Are you sure?

OK, I’m off.

Click here to view a short video clip.

Job 38:37  Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven…

(Taken from our backyard yesterday evening)

This past weekend we spotted a turtle in our yard, a rare event. 

This one had just finished laying eggs.  When done she headed for the other side of the house.

Unknown to Mrs. Turtle, our boxer, named Joy, was waiting to greet her.  

My first attempt to photograph this resulted in the dog seeing me with the camera and leaving, because she is afraid of the camera.  Can you believe it?  Click here to view.

Finally, I had to go in the house and photograph through the window so our ferocious and vigilant watch-dog would not see me with the camera and run away.  Click here to view a short video clip of Joy and turtle greeting each other.  Through the clip you will see the dog looking up to the right.  Hope was standing on the porch and had to keep telling her to “get the turtle.”

Almost five-year-old Abigail demonstrates her culinary skills in the making of a homegrown, garden-fresh blackberry pie.  The ending result was greatly valued by all, especially when included with ice cream.

Over the years Hope and I have sent each other letters and cards, especially when we were apart.  This began right after we met.  One summer we were apart for several months and sent letters and cards to each other almost daily.  Some were serious, some were humorous, some were informative, all were precious.  I got so carried away with this that once I wrote a letter on a roll of toilet paper, rolled it back up, then boxed it up to send (we still have it).

Today I was cleaning out my office and found several cards Hope sent to me over the last several years.  There usually is not a special occassion associated with these, they just show up out of the blue.  They are all meant to encourage me in my walk as a Christian, husband, father, and lately, church elder.  They do.  They have been to me my balm in Gilead, a fruit of my co-laborer, and a lifter of my spirits.  Sometimes they are quite humorous, such as this one.

Today we had new roof put on our house.  All of the expense was paid for except for about 15%.  We are thankful for God’s provision.  I am also personally thankful that I did not have to do any of the work.

The process begins.

Pieces of foam make it easy to maintain balance and traction on the steep portions of the roof.

The new shingles being laid.

A big improvement, don’t you think?

Before                                               After

As this time of reflection on the past comes to an end, I have seen again that I have much for which to be thankful.

God has given to me far beyond what I deserve, in terms of friends, family, and especially my co-laborer in this life, Hope.

May He grant us another 25 years of continued blessing.

Picture taken on June 5, 2007.