5 years ago....

today is my boy's 5th birthday.

zachary ryder braatz

he is the most adorable, handsome, sweetest, smartest, humble, and inspirational boy.

we look forward to seeing how God will continue to use him.

we are excited about his continual growth.

we look forward to watching him grow into a man of God.

we love seeing him bring HOPE to others, as he sure has shown us the power of it!

we love you baby! may this day and every day be just as beautiful as you!

happy birthday!


in the hospital with my newborn love


running in ocean with my son, via excellent photography of friend, noelle roberts


my 5 year old

i've got a boy who....

goes poopy on the potty!!!

hooray!!! :)

summertime

wow! it has been a really wonderful summer so far ... and it's only july!

all of the braatz children met up in long beach island for some fun and we had a GREAT time! it was relaxing and we couldn't have had a better weather week.
i'm including some random photos from the week as well as some other photos from the fun we've had thus far...

may you continue to be blessed this summer, remain HOPEful in your journey and praise God for it all...

love you....



me and z on the beach


the thomas's



me and mom. zach took this picture, great, huh?



my silly boys



jason, monique and cutie sophie




zach and me on the beach



grammie and the boys at sunset



mr free spirit



eating ice cream



monique and her girl in the ocean



@ the barnegat lighthouse



being silly with tessa



at fantasy island



on g-dad's shoulders



up in the pumpkin and logan picked the pink one! :)



on a train ride



in the car... zoom zoom



g-dad and boys



my friends robin and michele came to visit for the day... love them!



love this



tessa in all her glory



me, momma and courtney



jer and me on the beach



my handsome hunk



courtney and z



sweet sophie



z splashin in water



all cousins and grammie



all the ladies



logan trying out big boy bed. he did great!



z @ alligator pool



logan - a proud american!

"it's like riding a bike"

our sweetest oldest boy Z got new wheels a few weeks ago. we got the boys matching "Car" helmets and knee pads and were HOPING for the best! :)

Zach actually has a very hard time riding bikes or using his "core" strength in general. (many autistic children do) We decided to make it our mission to do lots of things this summer to inspire him to and strengthen him and help him along his journey. we were probably (truth be told) expecting huge issues but this day ended up being wonderful.

after a horrible melt down by the two of them in target (awesome), we came home and once again HOPED for a day of fun!

success! :) he had some difficulty but always tried and when he moved he was really proud of himself. such a proud moment!

now, logan was another story.... :)

enjoy the pics!



zach allowed us to put the helmet on and he KEPT it on! hooray! isn't he so cute?



logan "allowed" us to put the knee pads on him. he's not sure of the situation, though...



daddy was showing Z the ropes. giving him pointers, while logan looked on..



riding the bike all by himself!!! look at that face! :)



very happy and a little smug. hee hee!



we had a smaller trike for logan to try but he had to wear his helmet... not gonna happen!



after a fun time, zach drew this cute little turtle! that's my boy! :)

... 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! :)