... and here they are

the pics from the dedication service and a few of the cookout with our family afterwards.

just looking back on these pictures makes me smile and gives me great HOPE and joy! it was so wonderful doing this with other dear friends.

it was a special day indeed and God even allowed the weather to be "just perfect."

enjoy!


before the dedication, jade (sister) and anna (cousin) giving gracyn some hugs and support! :)



our friend crystale giving logan a cute little greeting



crystale and her lincoln, also getting dedicated. he is one month younger than logan. we're excited about this little friendship in the works! they even look quite alike! :)



rob (our fearless mini church leader and one of our dearest friends) giving the prequel to the main event


our friend erik ( a pastor and other dearest friend) performs the dedication for each family separately and praying for the child(ren). it was special and great!



a close-up on the prayer/ dedication of our sweet boy logan



the dunn's (lincoln - in blue, was dedicated)



the fleckensteins (gracyn, the youngest curly haired cutie, was dedicated)



our family unit



the wrights (both sweet boys were dedicated)



the martins (the precious twin boys were both dedicated). love this picture of robin and toby laughin'... :)



aunt sara and uncle corey getting in on the celebration! :) love this pic...



sara trying to give logan (aka... her near future ring bearer) a kiss but zach is trying to hold 'em up! grammie and g-dad looking on...



afterwards, just our family and few friends came back to our house for a little bbq and celebration!



aunt jackie and uncle jean marc came for the fun, too... my mom and dad were also at the dedication but for some reason i don't have a pic of them with the boys... :) oh well, next time!



sweet joy and me. love you!!!



logan still all smiles after a great day! gotta love him! :)

dedication

dedicating our youngest boy to the Lord in a fun little ceremony this morning.



this is no joking matter. jerry and i are committed to living our life to the fullest for Christ and HOPING and praying that Zach and LOGAN seek after God with all of their hearts.

we had a similar service held for zach at his first birthday party.

today we are committing to the Lord in front of our family and friends along with our mini church.

we pray that they will see Christ in us. we HOPE they take up their own cross and follow HIM.

exciting stuff.



pictures to follow...

oh, panama!

jerry and i have just returned from a week in paradise. for our 10 year anniversary, jerry took me to a little island off of the coast of panama. 3 plane rides and one boat ride later, we landed in bastimentos, panama - home of Red Frog Beach. it was simply gorgeous there. we were right smack dab in the middle of a rainforest. the sounds and sights were just awesome. looking at this beautiful nature, we just thanked God for all He has created. it also gave us great HOPE and much needed alone time with each other!!! our house there is amazing and we can't wait to go back and bring the boys with us!!!

a special thanks to my parents for watching our precious little ones. we love you and appreciate it so much!

to our family and friends... we can't wait to show you a whole new and fun and relaxing and adventurous experience!

enjoy the pics *** but please note the pictures just don't do it justice! :)

hasta luego! :)


on hiking trail



can you see the red frog?



on bridge in rainforest



the pineapple growing by our front door



relaxing



enjoying time together away from our boys



beautiful beach



jer on a hike



goofing off after a day of snorkling



saw some cute dolphins swimming around us



on boat to paradise



a romantic stroll...



hooray! praise God for this beautiful place



hanging out on the beach



great view!!



back at the house...

10 YEARS!!

today on April 15, 2000 at 11am i married my best friend.

didn't realize how wonderful, challenging, exciting, awesome, life-changing, and lovely it would all be when i married a boy named jerry.

sure, we've had our ups and our downs, but overall our marriage and life together has been like no other. i love him more today than i did the day we married. he has provided such a wonderful life for us. we have been blessed with the two most beautiful boys in the world and the adventure has only just begun.

below are just a fraction of some snapshots of moments in our life together...

we are wiser, more HOPEful than ever, less cautious, grateful, determined and desire God's perfect will in our lives.

happy anniversary babe. love you so so much!

let's go another 10 and "to infinity and beyond"... :)



my family 2010


the day logan was born 2007


easter 2010


halloween with zach 2006


christmas 2005 the year zach was born


this past weekend 2010


still love each other 2009


me and my man

inspiration

God... he always gives me inspiration. love Him!

in my bible study at church, we are reading about different women in the bible. it has been very interesting to soak in all the different characteristics and morals and decisions that make up these particular women. I am enjoying seeing how and why God focuses on particular women over others.

on that note, a few bible verses have captured my attention and i thought since they inspire me to be a better woman after God's own heart, HOPEfully - these same bits of scripture will inspire you as well.

take a look. read each word. think upon each one, pray about each one, and try to live according to each one...

in Christ,

me


Ephesians 4: 29-31

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice."

wow. real. good. stuff to ponder. think about what it would be like to truly have a thought life like this and speak the truth in love clearly. think about how our relationships with our spouses, children, family, friends, neighbors, and strangers would change...



James 3:13-18

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every evil practice.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness."


LOVE that last part, don't you? will we let our influence be driven by self centered-ness which leads down the path to manipulation? OR will we let our influence be the God-centered kind which leads to wisdom. hmmmmmm..... :)

(*thanks to the bible study teachers for their wisdom in helping me understand things better myself! :) )


have a blessed day!

easter part I & II

this easter was really really fun!

my sister and family came out from indianapolis the week before and we had a great time playing and just being together. we had our easter egg hunt as well as dinner with them on saturday - because they had to get up and leave early on sunday morning to get back!

sunday we went over to my favorite in-laws :) and some precious friends and family joined us to celebrate Jesus. we had a really wonderful time then, too.

all in all, we've just had a great week and beautiful weather and i find there is so much to be thankful for and HOPEful for!


below are some pics from the weekend... :) enjoy!



my parents with mr. 13 year old. i call him my "gentle giant"



my cute parents



zach and cassie on easter sunday. great friends.



z with his basket. so excited about the hunt



getting ready for easter hunt on saturday with sister's children



mom and shannon. love this picture



me and my sis. love her



madison and reagan showing their baskets



uncle lee with the little ones



me and my sweet joy on easter sunday - chillin'



jarvis children on gator at braatz farm on easter



"uncle" jerry taking the girls on a ride around the alpaca farm after easter dinner



on good friday we hiked around in the wildlife refuge... here's a shot of all the cousins on a log. love all the faces!



georgia and logan. buddies. cousins. adorable



grandma with the little munchkins



sweet sophie with her grandma (my aunt jackie) on easter sunday. cute little smile



mr cheese with his basket on saturday easter egg hunt




my family of 4



boys swinging on easter - watching their friends on the gator with daddy



all the cousins together.
they had so much fun together! looking forward to next time!

happy easter

easter... my absolute favorite holiday.

why?

frankly, if you're a christian, i think it should be yours, too. i mean, our beautiful Saviour died and ultimately rose again from death. how cool is that? what a fantastic event to celebrate!

i love you Jesus.

thank you for dying for me.

thank you for taking on my sin.

thank you for rising again!

hooray!!!