Nathan's Baptism

What a wonderful and precious day! Our dear friends came all the way out from Monroe to be with us as we took our membership vows and had Nathan baptized. The service was beautiful and Nathan was so sweet snuggling with Pastor Jon!

Here we are with Pastor Jon and Stephen, our elder, listening as Pastor Jon speaks of our responsibilty to teach and train our children in the things of the Lord. I love that not only do Andrew and I vow to fulfill our responsibility to disciple our children, but the entire congregation stands and vows to provide that guidance and discipleship to my children as well. It's a beautiful picture of covenant community.

After service, we took our two families to Chuck E Cheese's so that the kids could play and the grown ups could talk. Although with two two-year-olds, I think we spent more time checking on them than talking! When it was about time to go, we gave the kids a "heads up" and told them to use up the rest of their tokens. Alek and Levie had a whole bunch left and when asked why, they responded that they had been going up in the big climbing tubes to rescue small children that had got lost or stuck! Our little missionary couple!

By the time we got home, we had just enough time to take a nap before heading back to church to end a glorious Lord's Day with evening worship. Sundays are always the highlight of the week, but this one was extra special and full of wonderful memories.

I've Done it Again

I hate when I get so caught up in "life stuff" that I don't take the time to post, because now that I am taking the time, I don't know where to begin!I suppose I'll start with school since that is primarly what this blog is about. We had a great week off, despite our colds, and are just finishing up our second week of the next three-week block. I'm realizing that our current schedule is not allowing for enough time with Nathan and it's expecting too much from Noah. I've been working on tweaking things a bit, giving Alek more of an opportunity to work independently, allowing me to spend more time reading to Noah and Nathan, and giving more one-on-one time to Noah. I'm still working out the kinks, but I'm sure we'll come up with a workable routine that benefits everyone.

I have enjoyed, over the last couple weeks, discussing with my dad our views on how salvation comes about. It is always a good thing to dig into God's word under the direction of the Holy Spirit and to challenge and sharpen one another to a greater understanding of Christ. We don't agree on everything, but it is a blessing to have open lines of communication and to study the Word of God together.

We are getting very excited for our trip to Myrtle Beach during our "off" week. We've been doing a study on oceans using Oceans for Every Kid by Janice Van Cleave and the Oceans Project Pack from Hands of a Child. It will be great to have time doing some "hands on" stuff while we are at the beach.

The other exciting news is that, on Sunday, our family will be joining the church that we have been visiting for the last several months and Nathan will be baptized. We love this church and the people that will be our new church family. I am so thankful that God has led us to this particular body of believers. Our small group is starting next Friday, so we're hoping that it will provide the opportunity to really get to know some families that we haven't had a chance to meet yet.Whew, I guess that about does it. I would say that I won't leave another huge gap like that, but I know myself well enough to know better. :) Just stay tuned!