snapshots [september 2013]

one year [spirited sparrow]

it turns out our sweet sparrow tricked us with her laid back infant demeanor!  we called her sleepy sparrow for the first 4 months of her life, because she always seemed to be sleeping.  & then we called her smiley sparrow for the next 8 months because she always seemed to be smiling wide.  & now we've taken to calling her our spirited sparrow because she is a determined & defiant little lady.  

some memories of our sparrow at the one year mark.

• gets around by bum-scooting, never crawling
• first word "jhat" from "chin-jhat" [khmer for "gecko"]
• most happy when being held by mama or yay-yay [ming kohm]
• sleeping through the night [...finally!]
• loves bananas, oatmeal & noodles
• makes the owl "whoo" face a lot
• only one tooth
• loves to grab mama's glasses whenever she has the chance
• we often wake up to find her standing up quietly looking out the window by our bed & she loves to look over our balcony onto the street below to watch cambodian life go by
• still known for her big, wide open smiles

seasons [ezra & daniel]

nine months [ezra sparrow]

[ezra with her papa at her uncle ben's wedding

picture by one of my very oldest friends adam giese]

While we were busy traversing the globe & visiting loved ones, our sweet sparrow turned nine months old.  At nine months she's the perfect huggable size -  sturdy enough to squeeze, but not squirmy enough to wiggle away.  Unfortunately, she's a total mama's girl, so not many others get to enjoy her tiny hugs right now.  She's not very mobile yet, still content to sit on the floor in one place (thank you, little one!).  When she does move, its a bum scoot rather than a crawl.  She hums while she nurses & as she's falling asleep.  She doesn't seem to like baby food, but goes to town on rice, noodles, & yogurt bites.  She doesn't sleep through the night, but she smiles wide & giggles all day long to make up for it.

snapshots [may 2013]

family photos [eight years!]

A few months ago, our lovely friend Chatti from Savady Photography took these beautiful, vibrant family photos for us.  We've really loved getting to know Chatti & her TJ, who played with Daniel in the Grass Snake Union band as the guitarist/lead singer.  

They've run off to Italy to get married & we sure do miss their presence in our lives here.

When we were thinking about locations for a green photo shoot in this urban jungle, we realized that the University of Agriculture, where Daniel & I taught when we first moved to Cambodia, would be the perfect place!  

So we took shots in the crop test plots, probably the only corn field in Phnom Penh!

When I saw the pictures, I nearly cried because Chatti did such an amazing job of capturing the sweetness of our little Cedar & Ezra Sparrow & the deep love we have for our family.

And now, the day I am finally getting to posting these, just happens to be our eighth wedding anniversary.  Thinking back to that beautiful, sunny Vancouver day, its crazy to think of all the incarnations our life together has had.  From Ft. Langley, to New York City, to Terrace in northern BC, & now to Cambodia.

We've spent more than half of our married days here, in this chaotic city where we've become a family & built a home.  I think we will treasure these pictures in the years to come - such lovely snapshots into the deep joy we're been given for this season.

dedicated

[phnom penh home church: december 2012]

We were filled with joy to dedicate our Ezra Sparrow with our home church community here in Phnom Penh.  Just like with our Cedar, we felt that it was important to say out loud, in the presence of our community of believers, that are we are grateful for the gift that Ezra is to our family, and that on our own, we are completely insufficient for the task of raising her.  We are now, and will continue to be, dependent on the grace & wisdom of God and the love & support of the church (in whatever form that takes for Ezra in the years ahead), in our endeavor to raise her well.  We are so thankful that she was born into this beautiful community & pray that she will find shelter & encouragement in the body of Christ her whole life long.

[dedicating our sparrow, as captured by julia's iPhone: may 2013]

A Reading of Dedication

Ezra Sparrow Talstra

Leader: Daniel and Amanda, God has given you the beautiful gift of a child.

Amanda and Daniel: We joyfully accept His gift.

Group: We join you in thanksgiving

Leader: This gift is also a great responsibility.

Amanda and Daniel: With God's grace, we accept this responsibility. We will depend on God to love Ezra unconditionally, to have patience with ourselves and with her, to care for her well, and to accept the help of our community.

Group: As your church community in Cambodia, we will help. We will happily hold Ezra, change diapers, read stories, and most of all have grace with you as you learn about caring for your children.

Leader: Jesus said: let the little children come to me. [Luke 18:16]

Amanda and Daniel: We commit to teaching Ezra about Jesus, and living in a way that demonstrate to her God's peace, compassion, generosity and service.

Group: On behalf of your future church and communities as Ezra grows, we will also provide Christ-like examples to Ezra.

Group: Daniel and Amanda, Don't you see that children are God's best gift; the fruit of the womb, His generous legacy? O, how blessed are you, parents! [Psalm 127:3-4]

Amanda and Daniel: We prayed for this child. And now we give you, Ezra, to the Lord.

Everyone: Amen!