Charles Addison Wauhop

One year ago I had the privilege of writing a short biography about the life of my dear Father-in-love. I thought I'd share that here, today, in celebration of his one year with the Lord. We sure do miss you, Poppy, and are looking forward to worshipping our God with you forever!

 

Today we gather together to celebrate Charles Addison Wauhop, Jr. Not because he was a faithful husband of 34 years, or because of his godly example to his two sons, nor because he was an extraordinary Poppy to five beautiful grandchildren. We are gathered to celebrate Casey because of one relationship, without which Casey would have had no hope - he was a child of God, a true believer in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And today he is rejoicing in Glory with the Lord.

Casey was born May 23, 1954 in Yokosuka, Japan to his parents Charles and Joan Wauhop. As a young child he also lived in Germany. Casey primarily grew up in Falls Church, Virginia, where he attended Falls Church High School and graduat- ed in 1972. To his final day Casey maintained great friendships with many of his childhood friends.

Casey met Nora Monick on a blind date arranged by mutual friends. They were married on January 3, 1981. Together they enjoyed life in Alexandria, Springfield, and finally settled in Burke, Virginia. After three years of marriage they welcomed their first son Tim. In November of 1987 their son Robert joined their family.

The Wauhop family began to expand quickly when Tim and Joni were married in October of 2008. In July of 2009 Robert and Ashley were married, as well. Casey was promoted to Poppy as grandchildren began to fill hearts and homes. Jacob and Maggie were born in September and November of 2011. Charlie came around in June of 2013 and Adelynn was born in October, 2014. The latest addition, Lucy Lane, came this September 30th in God's perfect timing and was able to meet her Poppy shortly before he met the sovereign Creator.

Casey was an avid golfer and a five-time "Myrtle Beach Invitational Tournament" champion. He was a passionate Nationals and Redskins fan, for better or worse. He coached both sons baseball teams. Casey enjoyed playing the guitar with his buddies, "The Fretwalkers." He worked hard at both UPS and FedEx for many years. He both attended and served with the youth at McLean Bible Church for eighteen years. Casey and Nora began attending Immanuel Bible Church almost four years ago.

In December of last year, Casey was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Immedi- ately he was a great example of peace and confidence in Christ to his family and friends as he lived out Philippians 1:21, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." By God's grace, Casey remained faithful until his final breath. From now and for eternity he is without pain, sin, or tears as he worships his Savior. 

Update of Charlie ❤️

Almost three weeks ago I took Charlie to get an allergy test. He has had severe eczema since he was a baby, maybe 6 months. It ebbs and flows, but never ever goes away. Lately it had gotten worse and his pediatrician recommend an allergy test. We did it. 

The very next day she called with the results. She said that he tested off the charts as far as allergies towards every type of grass (yay Georgia summer 😁) and dog dander, as well as cat dander, (but shouldn't everyone be allergic to cats?! 😜). Anyway, she proceeded to spout off a list that included wheat, cows milk, peanuts, soy, shrimp, walnuts and mold. Wowza! Not what I was expecting. She advised us to schedule an appointment with an allergist ASAP and to immediately eliminate wheat, cows milk, and peanuts from his diet. Bummer. 

So, fast forward to today. It has been over 2 weeks with no wheat, milk, and peanuts - quite a feat for us! And his skin was looking worse than ever. No positive change to be noticed. Also, he was consistently complaining of belly pains. So sad 👎. Finally our appointment with the allergist was today. 

We learned lots of things. It was half "hooray!" And half "o no!". But, the long and short of it is that his food "allergies" have pretty much nothing to do with his eczema. The only food the dr said for him to never eat is walnuts, and for now to continue avoiding peanuts and soy. Yay! Donuts for everyone 🎉😉 !!! 

His eczema, however, doesn't seem to be the kind he's going to grow out of. It seems more that it's something he will be battling for most of his life, unless the Lord changes his skin. With that, the doctor gave me a detailed and LONG list of things to begin doing daily for my boy. It will take time and effort. It will definitely affect our daily routines for at least the few weeks until we get into a good rhythm with some of the treatments. But, I'm very hopeful and thankful for something that might help him! 

Once we can manage it a little better, he won't have these terrible flare-ups, Lord willing, and his life will be much less itchy! And then hopefully if these more hard core things help, we can just go to regular management and moisture! 

Pray for him, please! It's hard to be itchy all the time. His legs are bright red and bleed almost every day! That stinks. 

Pray for me. Please pray that I would find it a joy to serve Charlie in this way. Pray that I don't see this as an inconvenience, but as an opportunity to be an example of Christ to him! ❤️

My Dear Sweet Lucy,

It took both time and perspective to write about the very special season in which you entered our family. Deep joys mixed with hurt surrounded your birth. And while the stories of each of my babies births are intimate and unique, I have found yours to be supremely so.  

I found out that a new baby was coming shortly after the new year. That baby was YOU. We were surprised and excited (and a little nervous about baby #3!). We began planning for and anticipating another Wauhop little. If you would have told me that nine both short and long months later I would find myself in another state, not my home, not my doctor, not my hospital...not my plan... Let me back up a little.

One of the sweetest and most godly men that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, my father-in-law, Daddy's dad, and your Poppy was very sick. He was dying of pancreatic cancer. Grammy told us it was nearing the end and that we needed to come now. I was 38 weeks pregnant with you. All (almost five!) of us were packed up and in the air, bound for Northern Virginia within about 4 hours of Grammy's news. 

Poppy was in the hospital the first day and a half we were there. Then he came home on hospice care. Days passed. They were long days full of friends and family coming and going, saying goodbye to your sweet Poppy - he was so loved! It was a really special time, but it was hard, too, because I was large and uncomfortable and taking care of Maggie and Charlie away from home and in a delicate environment. Things didn't change much that first week. However, it became increasingly obvious that a new little life would soon be among us! Everyone would comment on how they couldn't believe I was going to deliver my baby away from home. People's comments ranged from, "I can't see your angel wings." to "Isn't that going to be hard?" 

I can honestly tell you, my dear, that it was. It was really hard. I had yet to fully come to grasp the fact that I was not going home to give birth to my newest baby. Everyone had such high hopes for the joy that would come with you. Everyone felt they could bear the weight of this trial, because of the great excitement that comes with a new baby. And they were so right. But inside i was struggling. Here, arguably two of the weightiest events, literally life and death were staring us in the face and your daddy and I had to decide what to do. 

Who plans these things? Only God. Only a God who orchestrates everything according to his perfect will, each event, each life, each death...! 

At the time, and even still in my flesh, it is easy to see how much was taken away from me. I didn't get to have those last few weeks and nights alone with my husband. I didn't get to finish my "nesting." I didn't get to bring you to our home. I didn't get to spend time recovering. We didn't get the family time I had planned on... On top of all of this, my husband, my best friend, was losing his dad! A he was a really great dad, your Poppy. Every choice seemed wrong. No choice could be made without a profound sense of loss. But looking back, thinking rightly, I can see so much that was gained! 

The Lord so richly blessed us with you - a perfectly beautiful and healthy 7lb 2oz baby girl with deep blue eyes and my nose. Wow. I am as sure of God's sovereignty and his goodness as I am of the fact that you are my daughter. It is only by his grace that I was not crushed under the heartache and trial of those weeks. He is so kind. 

And you, my dear, have been such an indescribable joy to this family. These last five months you have grown into the most beautiful, round little treasure. I am always saying how I think that one day your perfect cheeks might explode with pink hearts and rainbows because you just smile so big. Goodness. I could eat you up, my littlest love. 

We miss your Poppy. But we trust in God's perfect grace and timing in all things. And although you will never know him in this life, I sometimes think about how you might be like him - I pray that the joy of Lord is always on your lips, as it was for him. And maybe you will love music and my chocolate  chip cookies (a trait which I couldn't say comes solely from Poppy, but still 😉). We will see!

I could write for days about you and your birth and the weightiness of it all. But this I know is true: God is good. He reigns. And He is for us - what better thing could ever be said of us! To God be the glory, great things He has done! 

Clark Kent Is On the Bus!

John 4:7-15

 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)

The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock."

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."

This is a story with which most any church goer is pretty familiar. Jesus teaches us how to worship him, in spirit and in truth. But in my reading of Desiring God (which is a must-read, by the way!!), Piper used this passage to comment on prayer as our fuel for joy in God, and it really struck me. I could hardly finish reading through this paragraph before I was so driven to worship my God in prayer...and to ask! Because the God of the universe knows me and is aquatinted with what is going on in my life and I had to come to him! He is the living water. In Him is the power for that work thing you're struggling with, or that seemingly unmanageable toddler or fill in the blank. In Him alone is the power to do all things for His glory (2 Cor 9:8). 

Please read, and pray to the GOD who can {whatever the need, whatever the situation}! Piper writes, 

"...'If you just knew the gift of God and who I am, you would ask Me - you would pray to Me!' There is a direct correlation between not knowing Jesus well and not asking much from Him...'If you knew who was talking to you, you would ask Me!' A prayerless Christian is like a bus driver trying alone to push his bus out of a rut because he doesn't know Clark Kent is on board. 'If you knew, you would ask.' A prayerless Christian is like having your room wallpapered with Saks Fifth Avenue gift certificates but always shopping at Goodwill because you can't read. 'If you knew the gift of God and who it is that speaks to you, you would ask - YOU WOULD ASK!'"

Boom. 

The Sanctification of [This] Mom

"The days are long, but the years are short." You've heard that cute, trendy little saying before and figured by that estimation this year should be over by tomorrow. ;) Ha!

So let's get into it. I have been feeling sorry for myself. I have seen myslef choosing anger or selfishness or complaining - or all of the above. Just typing that out is super humbling. I was recently reminded that complaining is telling God that what He has given me isn't enough. Guilty! I told Robert just the other day that I find myself becoming frustrated with bad attitudes and bad potty timing...  I don't raise my voice (usually) or act out, but my heart feels angry and I am sure my children can tell. In the moment I actually think that I will feel better if I let myself get angry. Which is a lie from the pits of hell. Because let me tell you, it is infinitely better when God's amazing grace allows me to respond with patience and joy!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... Being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done. But it is such a sanctifying blessing in my life. The JOY that I feel when Charlie laughs is unbelievable - his squeals, his honest to goodness cuddles, that smile that takes up his whole face, o my soul, that boy melts my heart! And my Maggie, as much as she tries me each day, her brilliance and beauty thrills me to no end. She has such an imagination and is so funny, and goodness, when she learns to control that spirit of hers, look out world...oh, I hope she loves Jesus with all of herself one day! 

I got a little off topic there, I'm not trying to convince you, or myself, that I love my children and think they're just the best. God certainly knows that I do. 

But what do I do when I feel alone and frustrated and self-pitying? What is going to be my motivation not to sin on days that are hard? The joy from tickle-monster and lunch eaten with a good attitude is awesome, but is it enough to transcend my flesh?! The motivation cannot just end with the fact that my children are little for only such a short time. Ultimately, the end goal must be that everything I do is for the glory of my Savior! Each sandwich I make or sweet potato I purée, every booty I wipe, each song I sing, and tiny hand I hold, when done with joy and gratitude and patience is done for God's glory! 

This really got me, David Brainard once said that he had never made a sacrifice! He lived such a meager and sacrificial life to bring the gospel to the Indians. He gave until he literally died. Each time God's grace allows me die to self, for the sake of my children or my husband or a stranger - for the sake of the gospel! - I am trading my wants for a much greater good and an invaluably higher glory. These "momentary afflictions" (2 Cor 4:16-18) are just that and Heaven lies before us - if only I can remember to think eternally. Paul wrote in 2 Cor 12, comparing himself to a parent, that he would gladly spend and be spent for the souls of the Corinthian church. 

As believers our lives are supposed to be about others anyway, right? What more tangible way to selflessly love like Christ than to be a parent! Day by day, hour by painstaking hour at times, I get to practically show love to two tiny people, who sometimes have very different ideas about how I might choose to spend my day. Preferring them above myself can be the greatest joy in my day if only I consider the gospel in all things. After all, the days are long, but the years are short; and I highly doubt I'll look back and think I gave too much or "lost too much of myself" as a mommy. Instead, maybe by God's great and faithful grace my children will one day rise up and call me "blessed."

Perspective and Maggie

I have been so very amazed lately at the little girl my baby has become! How in the world did the worlds sweetest baby girl turn into the most beautiful little toddler? She speaks - non stop - and runs and builds and destroys and counts and sings and tries to jump and rolls and has a sense of humor?!! A sense of humor?! She is hilarious! And everyone who has seen her can attest to how amazingly stunning she is. I'm not even bragging or trying to be prideful, but she is just a gorgeous child! (Must be good genes from her daddy!). She can count to 11 most days, and can identify most of the letters of the alphabet. She repeats everything.

She amazes me with the memory she has. She loves to talk to Poppy and Grammy on Skype/FaceTime. And even though she barely actually dances at dance class, she talks about it all week. She kisses her brother at least a dozen times a day. She likes to sing the same songs over and over again, like "My God is So Big!" and "Jesus Loves Me" and "Patty Cake" and "The B-I-B-L-E" and "Mr. Sun" and others. The other day she started to sing "Amazing Grace how sweet the noise..." all by herself and I could have cried; it was the sweetest thing!

She comes up to Robert and I all the time and compliments us, it's so funny! "Daddy, I like your shirt." And once she said, "Mommy, I like your pee-pee!" Because honestly, what mother pees in private! She loves her friends and talks about them all the time. She remembers little details about them, or things they said once and it is remarkable. She loves to read books, and has "memorized" several of our favorites. We have fabulous tea (water) parties. Honestly, one of her favorite things is water - drinking it, pouring it, dumping it, stirring it... She loves to "sit on counter" when I am cooking. The other day she drew a curved line on the ground outside with chalk, and she said, "Look Mommy, a rainbow!" I admired it and then she said, "a promise! Jesus!" (She was remembering Noah and God's faithful promise to never flood the earth again! Well maybe not all of that, but at least something!)

It is my favorite thing in the world when she she comes up to us and asks for kisses or a "big hug!" Whenever she is told to apologize to Charlie she says, "sorry Charlie...I forgive you." She's learning, haha! She is just all around an awesome kid - so much energy, so much joy, so much fun, so much imagination, and all with a little side of crazy!

Now before you go and think she's perfect - HA! Along with all these amazingly wonderful things about my darling little girl, she has a king-sized attitude and can turn up the drama at a moments notice. It does my heart good as a mama to record all of the fabulous things I adore about her. It is so easy for me to forget those things and focus on the daily grind of discipline...and all of the hard parts of mommyhood. The times when she is driving me up a wall and will not obey to save her life, the times when the house is a disaster and then she dumps her food all over the floor, the whining like nails on a chalkboard and the attitudes - Yikes! Yet...compared to all the previous paragraphs of pure joy, well, it doesn't seem as overwhelming.

Being a mommy is truly the most amazing thing. I didn't know I could love my babies so much. I also didn't know how much I'd want to run away from the house screaming at times, haha! God is so good to give me such awesome babies and to call me to be a mother. So, mommies, when you're having a rough morning, or week ;), take a second to remember just one thing you LOVE about your little one, say thank you to The Lord, smile, and clean up the crayon off your counter joyfully as unto The Lord.

Perspective and Maggie

I have been so very amazed lately at the little girl my baby has become! How in the world did the worlds sweetest baby girl turn into the most beautiful little toddler? She speaks - non stop - and runs and builds and destroys and counts and sings and tries to jump and rolls and has a sense of humor?!! A sense of humor?! She is hilarious! And everyone who has seen her can attest to how amazingly stunning she is. I'm not even bragging or trying to be prideful, but she is just a gorgeous child! (Must be good genes from her daddy!). She can count to 11 most days, and can identify most of the letters of the alphabet. She repeats everything.

She amazes me with the memory she has. She loves to talk to Poppy and Grammy on Skype/FaceTime. And even though she barely actually dances at dance class, she talks about it all week. She kisses her brother at least a dozen times a day. She likes to sing the same songs over and over again, like "My God is So Big!" and "Jesus Loves Me" and "Patty Cake" and "The B-I-B-L-E" and "Mr. Sun" and others. The other day she started to sing "Amazing Grace how sweet the noise..." all by herself and I could have cried; it was the sweetest thing!

She comes up to Robert and I all the time and compliments us, it's so funny! "Daddy, I like your shirt." And once she said, "Mommy, I like your pee-pee!" Because honestly, what mother pees in private! She loves her friends and talks about them all the time. She remembers little details about them, or things they said once and it is remarkable. She loves to read books, and has "memorized" several of our favorites. We have fabulous tea (water) parties. Honestly, one of her favorite things is water - drinking it, pouring it, dumping it, stirring it... She loves to "sit on counter" when I am cooking. The other day she drew a curved line on the ground outside with chalk, and she said, "Look Mommy, a rainbow!" I admired it and then she said, "a promise! Jesus!" (She was remembering Noah and God's faithful promise to never flood the earth again! Well maybe not all of that, but at least something!)

It is my favorite thing in the world when she she comes up to us and asks for kisses or a "big hug!" Whenever she is told to apologize to Charlie she says, "sorry Charlie...I forgive you." She's learning, haha! She is just all around an awesome kid - so much energy, so much joy, so much fun, so much imagination, and all with a little side of crazy!

Now before you go and think she's perfect - HA! Along with all these amazingly wonderful things about my darling little girl, she has a king-sized attitude and can turn up the drama at a moments notice. It does my heart good as a mama to record all of the fabulous things I adore about her. It is so easy for me to forget those things and focus on the daily grind of discipline...and all of the hard parts of mommyhood. The times when she is driving me up a wall and will not obey to save her life, the times when the house is a disaster and then she dumps her food all over the floor, the whining like nails on a chalkboard and the attitudes - Yikes! Yet...compared to all the previous paragraphs of pure joy, well, it doesn't seem as overwhelming.

Being a mommy is truly the most amazing thing. I didn't know I could love my babies so much. I also didn't know how much I'd want to run away from the house screaming at times, haha! God is so good to give me such awesome babies and to call me to be a mother. So, mommies, when you're having a rough morning, or week ;), take a second to remember just one thing you LOVE about your little one, say thank you to The Lord, smile, and clean up the crayon off your counter joyfully as unto The Lord.