Honoring My Grandfather

This past week we did our first road trip with Malia to Oregon. It was a fun trip but also bittersweet given the circumstances. We gathered with my family to put my grandfather, Merritt Daniel Middaugh, in his resting place at the Willamette National Cemetery. The service was beautiful and it was so good to see all the people who gathered to honor him. My grandfather was an amazing man who I loved dearly, and it pains my heart that he is gone.

While at the funeral, I had the opportunity to meet the military chaplain who visited on a regular basis with my grandpa. My grandpa was of the generation where you didn't really talk about your faith, so we had very few conversations regarding our faith. After talking with the chaplain I felt more comforted knowing that my grandfather and him had many conversations about Jesus and his faith. I know he is with the rest of his family in heaven now, and I am at peace with his passing even though it hurts.

Yesterday at church we sang the song Your Beautiful by Phil Wickham. The lyrics moved me to tears as I thought about my grandpa.

I see Your face in every sunrise

The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes

The world awakens in the light of day

I look up to the sky and say

You're beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night

Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright

We are amazed in the light of the stars

It's all proclaiming who you are

You're beautiful

I see you there hanging on a tree

You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me

Now you are sitting in Your heavenly throne

Soon we will be coming home

You're beautiful

When we arrive at eternity's shore

Where death is just a memory and tears are no more

We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring

Your bride will come together and we'll sing

You're beautiful

I see Your face, I see Your face, I see Your face

You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful

I pray that someday we will all arrive at eternity's shore, and there we will no longer feel the pain of death that we experience when we lose someone we love. I am thankful that the God I follow loves us so much that He sent His son to die for us so that we could have eternal life. Someday I will see my grandfather again, along with the many others I loved who have died.

Gathering with my family was a special time. It was especially important for me that my daughter Malia could meet her great-grandma. One of my favorite things was getting a picture of the women in our family, four generations gathered together. My grandma, her three daughters, my cousin, my niece, myself, and my daughter.

Left to Right: Aunt Patty, Me (Lisa), Malia, Mom (Debbie), Grandma (Dorothy), Aunt Marilyn, Stephanie, Alyssa.

Malia Merri Grace Nelson

Malia Merri Grace Nelson finally made her appearance in the world on Sunday May 24, 2009 at 2:53 a.m. Chris and I were so happy to see her bright eyes looking back at us after she was born. She was so alert as she was taking in her new surroundings! What an amazing nine months it has been and now finally we get to welcome our daughter! 

Malia's middle name Merri is in honor of my (Lisa) grandfather Merritt Middaugh who passed away on Friday May 22, 2009. She also shares a very special birthday with her great-grandma Ruth Nelson. 

We'll continue to post pictures and updates as we are able to. Right now sleep has been a big priority, so when Malia sleeps we sleep! But I promise to keep writing and sharing the fun stories of our family! 

Thanks everyone for your prayers and support over the past nine months! We are so happy to share our lives with you! God Bless!

Malia with mom and dad. 
Malia Merri Grace Nelson: born May 24, 2009 at 2:53 a.m.
Weighing 6 lbs. 12 oz. and standing at 19 inches long! 

Getting Bigger!

So here is a picture of me at 35 weeks pregnant! We're on the countdown now until our baby girl's arrival. As much as I am enjoying being pregnant, I am definitely becoming more and more uncomfortable each day. The past two weeks I have measured around my belly only to discover that each week I have grown about an inch around! We had a doctor's check up at the beginning of this week and he told us that right now the baby is fully developed and would be perfectly fine if I was to go into early labor, but her main job right now is simply to put on the weight. So here I am growing outward while the baby keeps adding on the ounces. I think she gains about a half a pound a week right now! We still have a few more things to get done around our apartment before she comes, so we are praying that we are able to accomplish those things. Next week on our agenda will be to put the base to the car seat in the car. I'll feel more ready once that is done! But everything is in God's hands, so whenever she comes we will be happy and we'll take care of things the best that we can in the meantime! 

Officially 30!

I'm officially 30 years old! Yay! It's been a long journey to get here, but I have finally arrived! Turning 30 was not nearly as bad as I imagined it to be when I was younger. I had such a wonderful weekend leading up to it and a very relaxing and fun birthday! 

Over the weekend my friend Julie came to visit me. We've known each other for about 19 years, so it was fun to celebrate the incoming decade with her. Of course she also came to town because she wanted to see the pregnant belly before the baby comes! We had a fun weekend, Julie, Chris, and I went to the California Museum of Science on Saturday and walked the rose gardens. It was a beautiful day, but super hot!

On my actual birthday (monday) I went to lunch with my friends Yuki and Meghan. After lunch my friend Dayna took me out for a pedicure (which was amazing) and while we were out Yuki and Meghan delivered me cupcakes. It was a fun and restful day! To top it off Chris and I made fondue for dinner and then played my new game Carcassonne with Dayna and Matt! It was definitely a fun birthday! 

Thank you friends for the many birthday wishes! Goodbye 20's hello 30's! 

Baby's Blanket is Finished

I finally finished making my baby's blanket! I bought some pink yarn to compliment the pink speckles on the rest of the blanket and crocheted a pink boarder around the edge. It turned out really great! I'm excited about the blanket, but I'll be even more excited when the baby is able to use it. 

CPE Graduation Day

Today was my graduation day from the CPE program at Arcadia Methodist Hospital! It's been a long eleven weeks, but a good experience. At the beginning of the internship I never thought I would see the end of it, but the day has finally come! I will miss my group tremendously, and the many people I met at the hospital both patients and staff who have touch my life and changed me forever. I don't know where God will lead me next, but I wouldn't be surprised to find myself one day back in a hospital being a light that shines for God in the midst of suffering. I loved my experience and I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to learn what it means to minister in the hospital. 

The picture above is the walkway leading to the back entrance of the hospital. I walked this path many times! I love the cross on the top of the building, and this was the best picture I could get of it!

This is the hospital chapel decorated with beautiful flowers just before our graduation!

The stained glass with a mural of the tree of life. The alter with the cross and six pots of columbine flowers representing the growth which took place in each of the six students over the course of the internship. 

This is a picture of my group! Our supervisor was not in the room when we took this picture so Rev. Amy is missing from the photo. From left to right: Bob, Gihun, Robin, Angela, Debbie, and me! This was the best group to work with and grow with over the past quarter. I will miss them. 

The Quietest On-Call Night

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my on-call nights to be quiet! Yesterday and last night were the quietest on-call times I've experienced! God was so good to let me sleep all last night. I woke up this morning so very happy!! 

Last Sunday I was on-call too, but sadly it was a difficult day and I had to deal with the worst situation ever. I won't go into details to spare  you and myself because it wasn't fun. But I am glad to have experienced it because it gave me a picture of the larger ministry of a chaplain. After Sunday I was ready to throw in the towel and quit, but Monday rolled around and I had probably one of the best days ever at the hospital. So I realized that I promised God I wouldn't make any life changing decisions regarding Chaplain ministry until I have completed the CPE program... and then continue to discern for a while after. So I haven't given up on this ministry. There is a great need for chaplains, and I love what I do in the hospital, even though there are things I wish no one ever had to deal with. But that's life, and God still calls us to minister in those difficult situations. 

So I now have two more weeks until I graduate the program. Thanks for your prayers this far friends! My experience although challenging and terrible at times has been amazing. God has opened my eyes to something new and I'm not quite ready for it to completely end. So we'll see how God calls me into ministry!