And So He Is Blessed!

Today was Baby Dedication Sunday at our church and 9 babies, 7 girls and 2 boys including Blake, were dedicated to the Lord. We did not have any holy water, even though it did pour on us as we went in to church (maybe that was a heavenly sprinkle), just repeating commitments. The most memorable moment was when they had the family members who would be supporting the children stand. Blake's family took up an entire pew and definitely showed up all the other families. Of course Blake could not have been any cuter as he babbled quietly through out the entire ceremony.

The real blessings started to flow back at the house. My Father had put together a plethora of blessings found in scripture and everyone (16 people in all) read each one to Blake and then each man prayed for Blake. Todd and I are so blessed to come from a stong Christian lineage and we committed today, just as we did with Emmalyn two years ago, to imprint the words of God on our children's hearts and to encourage them in seeking a personal relationship with the Lord. Such an awesome task... the Lord will certainly give us guidance!

The Bug Guy...

...or so we call him came to our home this morning. As many of you may know I can not stand bugs and if I find one, a big one, in my house I have been known to put a bowl over it (which is sometimes more than I can handle) and then leave the house for the rest of the day. Bugs just are not my thing. Therefore we have the pest control people come out every month. We have had the same guy coming to our house for more than half of Emmalyn's little life and in the past she has always followed him around the house watching him spray the baseboards. Not so today! She totally flipped out and expressed to me, in between her insistent pleas to be held, that she was afraid that the "bug" guy was going to spray her. And so I am reminded how in the life of a two year old anything can change in a matter of seconds. For someone who is not incredibly flexible, somewhat flexible, but not incredibly, the constant change in my daughter's life is almost too much to handle sometimes! ;-) However, as many of you who are parents can attest to, when you see that look of panic and fear in your child's eyes you just want to sweep them up and hold them close in hopes of alleviating any uncertainities that they might have. So, I did the dishes and started a load of laundry with Emmalyn hanging on me for dear life. All in a day's work!

Some Much Needed R & R

We officially took our very first family vacation; no one to visit, no wedding to attend, no agenda! We headed out to Angel Fire, New Mexico (Todd's family has a house there) for a long weekend. We took a family from our church who has a little boy Emmalyn's age. This was a strategic move on our part in order to prevent going crazy from Emmalyn wanting us to play with her constantly. It worked somewhat! ;-) Blake enjoyed it as much as he could; especially since he was cutting his two bottom teeth while we were there. We had a wonderful time and will most definitely be returning in the years to come.

The trees were turning colors.

This was Emmalyn's little friend, Graeme. They liked getting cozy on the couch. I have a feeling we might have to keep an eye on them in the future! ;-)

Emmalyn looking down from the observation deck on the bridge over the Rio Grande River. It was pretty high up, but it didn't seem to bother her a bit!

Blake swinging for the first time!