Nathan's Dedication

We had Nathan dedicated a couple Sundays ago and it was a really neat little ceremony. At our church, Pastor Chad dedicates a group of babies at a separate service from our other Sunday services. He calls each family up to the front of the sanctuary and talks about the spiritual significance of each baby's name before praying over the baby and his/her parents.

Pastor Chad noted that Nathan, which means "gift from God", is obviously a fitting name for a son. He actually spent more time on the meaning of Michael, which means "Who is like our God?" He read from Psalm 113:5: "Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high...?"

My prayer for little Nathan is that as he grows, he will always walk closely with the one and only Savior, living his life to fulfill the unique purpose that the Lord has for him. As a mom, it's amazing to think that anyone else could love my two boys more than I do, but I know this is the case. I know without a doubt that the safest place for my boys is when they are walking in the will of the Lord, so it is with a grateful and willing heart that I, along with Tim, dedicate our boys to Jesus to use for his kingdom.

The pictures taken in the sanctuary are pretty dark...sorry!

A Visit From the Yanskeys

Tim's sister Christy, her husband Kevin, and our nieces Kayla (9), Morgan (6) and Brooke (2) came from Missouri a couple weeks ago to visit us. They stayed in town for a few days before heading to Myrtle Beach for a couple more days. Tyler had a ton of fun playing with his cousins. I think he especially enjoyed Kayla, who was so great with him.

While they were here, we went to the zoo, which was definitely a highlight for Tyler. Even though we took him in April, he was very excited to see all the animals again. The weather was perfect with a high in the mid-80s that day, which was great for Nathan. Speaking of Nathan, he was content to be held in the Baby Bjorn all day. I really can't get over how happy and content he is 98% of the time.

It was great to spend time with Christy, Kevin and the girls. I know Tyler will be excited to see his cousins again when we head to MO for Thanksgiving.

Brooke could not get enough of holding "Baby Nathan".

Kayla was a big help with Tyler, and here she's keeping Nathan happy, too.

Boys at Play

One afternoon a couple weeks ago, Nathan was contentedly playing in his bouncy seat and Tyler was loading up a tractor and trailer with crayons (he came up with that on his own). There was nothing special about this particular afternoon, but both my boys were happy, which meant their momma was, too.

3 Months Old

Things have been pretty busy around here, so I'm just now getting around to posting pictures of Nathan at 3 months old. Three months old? Is that even possible? The first three months have absolutely flown by for me. My baby boy is smiling, laughing, cooing up a storm, doing the mini push-up, and last week he started rolling over from his belly onto his back. Nathan means "gift from God" and I have to say the name fits him perfectly. The Lord sure knew what he was doing when he blessed our family with this little treasure.