A Baptism!

 In early June, we had the joy of seeing our little girl be baptized.  As Christians of a particular persuasion, we believe that baptism is a very significant moment.  Since all people are sinful from the time they are conceived, even little children carry the taint of sin.  They need rescue from condemnation, just like adults, and God offers His gifts of grace and freedom from sin through the holy waters of baptism.

That's why it was such a joyful day to have several members of our family make the trek out to spend the weekend with us and witness our little girl being baptized.  She is now part of God's chosen people, washed of her sin, given the gift of the Holy Spirit and a new, eternal life in Christ Jesus.

While we take baptism very seriously, we also recognize that it is a very joyful time.  That's why we were glad to have this action shot of the actual baptism, which her daddy had the joy and privilege of conducting on behalf of God and His people.

Baptizing the Little Girl

 Such a joyful occasion.  Now we are more than merely a family in this world, but we share a faith connection in Christ Jesus which unites us in God's eternal kingdom forever.  So this is truly our first "family" picture from a spiritual sense.

Our New Family!

We so much look forward to teaching our little girl about the faith into which she was baptized.  She now bears the name of God in her soul and heart. 

We also recognize that we play a vital role in the nurturing of this faith.  She needs to hear the stories of our faith, and to come to know about the God who would go to such lengths to rescue her.  This is even more important given the fact that we know our adversary, Satan, basically sees her with a bullseye now that she is God's child.  So we look forward to the joy and challenge of teaching her and raising her in the Christian faith.

Please be praying for her and for us in this wondrous faith journey!

Lots O Updates

Time is flying by!  So much has happened since I last blogged, and really, let's face it, my blogging has been terribly sporadic this entire pregnancy.  After our post-Christmas trip across state lines, we took off on a jet for Texas to visit Scott's family in early January.  I was nervous about flying with Baby at 22 weeks pregnant, but everything seemed to go smoothly including our connection and layover in Dallas each way.  We made good use of our layover with 30+ minutes of walking, so that helping my legs immensely.  Still, flying is much less comfortable with a baby on board.

We were able to spend 4 days at Scott's parent's house where he did a lot of this:

...helping babysit for both of his sister's kids.  That occupied most of our days, which was very tiring for me (I took naps every day), and in the evenings we were able to gather for family dinners and such.  His family even had a baby shower/family gathering of sorts for us in celebration of this baby, so that was quite fun.  We got a lot of nice things for Baby (or gift cards to purchase things for Baby once we returned home) and the best part was, everything fit into our carry-on luggage!  (I don't have any pictures from the shower because someone else was taking photos and we were busy mingling with family and church friends.)

We did come back with a few treasures from when Scott was little- a homemade blanket, booties, and an outfit that his maternal grandmother made for him before he was born (in gender neutral yellow and green- perfect!).  We also brought back the baptismal gown that he was the first to wear in his family (8 or 9 others have worn it since him).  It was made with remnants of his mother's wedding dress, so it will be very special for our baby to wear that at his/her baptism in June!  (Yes, we already have the baptism date set before the baby is even born...we need to help people make their flight plans and don't want to wait until Baby is too old...he/she should be 5 weeks +/- a week or two.)  Scott and I were both baptized around 4 weeks old.

We even had time for a family photo before jetting off for home.  No, we did not plan to match with other family members.  Good thing for fluffy (the stuffed animal) in the picture, otherwise I would have been alone in blue!

Then we were back home for a few weeks and into our work routines.  Classes started up for me again, and I'm only teaching one class this term.  I wasn't sure if I should do one or two, but decided to start cutting back before Baby comes, and boy am I glad I did.  One class means I'm teaching 3 days a week and it's nice to be able to work from home the other 2 days.  We have so much to do around the house before Baby comes, I'm glad I have the extra time to do that now, even though it doesn't feel like I have enough time to do all I want to.

Not long after we got back, I came down with a killer cold.  I finally ended up at Instacare with bronchitis and a sinus infection- not fun at all.  3 weeks later, I think I'm finally over it.  Seems my pregnant immune system is quite susceptible despite my best efforts (sleep, exercise, fluids, healthy eating) to stay healthy.

That illness really put a damper on my house cleaning/organizing projects!  Pregnancy wise, I've still been feeling good and motivated to work, but it seems my body has been telling me it's time to slow down already.  We're at 29 weeks now, and I finally put a baby ticker on the blog.  I figured since it's 3rd trimester, it's time!  All continues to go well with Baby and we're now seeing the doctor every 2 weeks!  Hard to believe we are at that stage.  We had our 1st childbirth class last night and continue to prepare our home and hearts for Baby's arrival.

Last week, we took our last flight before Baby arrives.  We had a direct flight to Minnesota to visit my family, but I was a lot more uncomfortable traveling at 27-28 weeks than I was at 22 weeks.  I still felt good, but it was much harder to sit on the plane for the 2 hour flight even with getting up to stretch 1-2 times.

We had a quick 4 days visiting my family as well.  We got to meet our newest niece for the 1st time.  Scott did a lot of this:

We started calling him the "Baby Whisperer" with his ability to calm and soothe her.  I can't wait until he's able to use those skills with our baby!  We were able to stay in a guest suite at my Grandma's new place, which was super close and convenient to everything we had going on that weekend.  We had breakfast every morning with the 55+ crowd and then our afternoons and evenings were pretty full with family stuff. One night we celebrated my brother's birthday.

The next night we celebrated our niece's baptism during Saturday night church.  It was extra special because Scott was able to participate in the service and do the baptism for her.  Here's brother, wife, and baby in wife's baptismal gown after the service.

Here's my almost 28-week belly.

The last day my family had a couples' baby shower for us in Grandma's party room, so that was fun.  We were able to see family and some of my high school and college friends that we haven't seen for ages.  Everyone brought their favorite children's book for Baby, so we're well on our way to establishing Baby's library of books, which is perfect for both of us book lovers!  Again, I don't have any shower pictures yet because my aunt was taking all of them.

We were again thankful for the chance to celebrate this baby with family and friends that we don't see enough.  Now our traveling days are done for awhile as we have no more travel plans as a family (yet). We imagine travel will be put on hold until at least the fall, maybe longer.

And now the countdown is on until Baby's arrival...hopefully 11 more weeks.  We have lots planned in those weeks that I'll tell you about in upcoming posts!

21 Gun Salute

In all my life, I have never had the privilege of attending the funeral of a war veteran for our country. At least, that is, up until this week. Last week, I posted about Carrie's grandfather passing from this life to the next, and how thankful we are for the hope of resurrection and new life through faith in Jesus. Her grandfather expressed his faith in Jesus, and we both have the certainty that he is currently attending the great marriage feast in heaven.

However, when he lived his life in this world, Carrie's grandfather was a World War II veteran. He was a paratrooper, and got dropped more than once during the invasion of Europe. We got to hear a few of his stories when we last visited him, even though he truly was so humble that it was difficult to hear a lot about his adventures.

Having survived the war, and the many years since then, he was eligible for the honor of a military burial. After the funeral service at the church at which he was a founding member, we drove out to the nearby burial ground for veterans. Though it was cold and drizzly, we gathered under a small shelter, during which time the honor guard went through their ritual. Perhaps the hardest moment for all of us was when the 7 guns sounded their three times, as taps sounded, and then, as the folded flag was given to his widow. Overall, it was a very emotional time.

We can never repay those veterans who have fought in the preservation of our freedom. It doesn't matter if they fought in such distant wars as Word War II, or in the many current or recent conflicts that have erupted around the world. In the same way, we can never repay Jesus for the fight He fought on the cross, and the freedom we have because of His willing sacrifice.

Saying "Goodbye"

There are always times in life where we have to say "goodbye". Sometimes it is when friends move away, or when we move away. At other times, it is when someone is permanently taken from us in death. Today is such a day for Carrie and I.

Carrie's grandfather, her dad's father, left this life earlier today. Last month, he was diagnosed with colon cancer (never a good thing), which had spread throughout his body. Over the past few weeks, Carrie has been able to talk with her family, including her grandfather, and was able to talk about faith matters and the like. While those kind of conversations are never easy, she has handled them with a great deal of grace.

We mourn today because of the death of her grandfather. However, because of our belief in God, and in what God has accomplished through Jesus and the cross, we believe that we will see her grandfather again in God's enduring kingdom. This means that, though we have sorrow now, we also can be thankful, and even joyful, that the end of life in this world does not mean the end of life. Instead, we merely enter into a life that is perfect and will never end with God, through Jesus.

Our hope is that each and every one of you will know this same kind of hope, which is yours when you put your faith and trust in Jesus.

Hello 2010!

As we changed calendars on our wall, taking down our beautiful 2009, and putting up a nice 2010 one, we want to wish you all a most blessed New Year. We hope your celebrations were all safe and filled with fun and joy.

Moving into a new year is always a good reason to look back and reflect on the year just completed. Our review included quite a bit of travel to various parts of the US (for me, it included places like Minnesota, New York, Minnesota, Colorado, and, oh, did I mention, Minnesota?; while for Carrie it included Texas, Minnesota, Minnesota, (no that's not a stutter) and Georgia). The frequent flier miles should really be piling up, right?

We completed our four year commitment to my leadership program, bringing an end to a wonderful time of learning and growing. We both have been so excited to have been a part of this program, and know that we are better off for our participation.

We also did manage to squeeze in some time to work. Carrie continued her work with international students, and we continue to be thankful for the opportunities God has given to us in providing for our life. Her employment allowed us to replace my old car early in the year, and we are so thankful for all that God has given to us. I also continue my work, and have had both joys and sorrows, but I do have to say that I get to work with an overall pretty fantastic group of people.

In terms of personal achievements, we both had a few significant ones. I made it a goal to run a half marathon (yes, that's 13.1 miles!), and ran one in late August, finishing in a whopping 1 hour 50 minutes. This goal has introduced a new feature into my life (running!!!!), which I now do several times a week. As part of a lifetime goal, I also want to run at least one half-marathon each year.

We faced our share of difficult times throughout the year, and know that God will continue to show us His care and love. We are so thankful for all the people who have supported us through the difficult times of life.

As the year rounded to a close, we were also overjoyed to have one of Carrie's overseas friends come to celebrate Christmas with us. It was her first time to see snow falling, and so we had the joy of taking her skiing, sledding, and having snowball fights. Ah, it was almost like being a kid again.

As we look ahead, we face the coming year with a great deal of excitement. There truly is no telling where God will lead us through 2010, but we do know one thing; we are excited to be in His hands as He leads us there.

Happy New Year, everyone! And God bless us, every one.

Wedding Pictures

Finally, they are here, wedding pictures from my little brother's wedding. I don't have that many as I left that up to the professional photographer, but we do have a few snapshots of the day to share. Scott and I had the privilege of each being part of the wedding party- he as a groomsman and I as a bridesmaid. The colors for the wedding were lemon and lime. Here you can see us all decked out in our fancy gear.

Meet little bro's wife and my first sister-in-law. If you look closely you can see little bro in the background having his picture taken.

They had all of their pictures taken before the wedding ceremony, so after the wedding was over, the wedding party was off in a trolley for some cruising around town. Middle brother, who was the best man, started the champagne toasting before we had even left the church.

Here's the wedding party in the trolley. You can see both lemon and lime colored dresses. The bridesmaids all wore yellow and the two personal attendants wore green.

It was fun that both of us were in the wedding party because that meant we got to cruise around in the trolley together with everyone else.

We made a few stops along the way for drinks and snacks. Here's all the kids- little bro, me, and middle bro.

Middle bro and little bro even found time to relieve some of their Duck Hunt days, or perhaps they were just getting ready for the duck hunting season.

Here we are at the restaurant afterwards, all seated at the head table. We had a great meal followed by dancing and more dancing. We were exhausted when the night was over.

The next day we got together with both of the families for gift opening and more time together. Scott and I were so thankful we were able to be a part of little bro's wedding, and we're so happy to welcome little bro's wife into the family. We wish we lived closer, so we could see them more, but we are thankful for the time we get to spend together when we do.

Wedding Rehearsal

I mentioned in a post awhile ago that we were in MN for my little brother's wedding in September. I'm finally getting around to posting some of the details. (I actually have two younger brothers, but this is the youngest of the two; hence, my reference to him as little brother.) D and S had their wedding rehearsal on a Thursday night because S is a florist, and she was planning on doing all her own flowers on Friday.

After the rehearsal at the church, we were off on a boat cruise on Lake Minnetonka. I was a little nervous about how the weather might be in MN in mid-September, but it was a perfect evening. The temperature was warm and the skies were clear.

Here's the happy couple dressed in red and black for their big night.

The sunset was amazing on the lake. It seemed to take over the entire sky.

We had dinner and cake on the boat on the lower level here. The middle level was also covered, and the bar was located there. The top level was open for relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Wedding pictures will be following soon.

Valentine Adventures in Snowland

This past Saturday was that well-loved holiday of Valentine's Day, a day filled with love, romance, and being together with the one you love. And what could be more romantic than a nice little stroll with your dearly loved one up the side of a mountain to watch the sun as it sets in the west over another mountain? Sounds truly romantic, doesn't it?

That was Carrie's plan when she saw a little announcement in the local paper last week. The local nature center was offering a sweetheart's day out for Valentines. For a really low price, a couple could meet up with others, strap on some snowshoes, and go traipsing down one of the local mountain paths to watch the sun set. Then, everyone would go back for a nice cup of hot chocolate and some Valentine cookies. Ah, romance.
So you see Carrie and I all bundled up for our trek. She did so much to line up this fun little adventure. She took care of the planning, and so it was, with camera in hand, we set out for our little adventure.

Now, Carrie being the picture taker that she is, couldn't resist showing you what her snowshoes look like. Here you see her lovely feet all warmly wrapped up in her boots, with her snowshoes attached. With straps all tight, and bundled up, we were on our way!

Now, I'm a pretty adventurous guy. So of course, we get out on the path, walking through the snow, and I simply had to lay down and try to make a snow angel. Let me tell you, it's a lot harder with snowshoes on than it looks. (They also make my feet look incredibly large!)

As I said above, the goal of the hike was to watch the sunset with your dear one on Valentines Day. However, God had other things in mind. Instead of a sunset, we watched snowclouds roll in, dropping about 3-4 inches on us during the hour-plus hike. However, God always provides something to remind us of just how incredible and loving He really is. When we got back to where we had parked, what should we see but a few deer out grazing in the winter snows.

All in all, this turned out to be one of the very best Valentines Days we have ever had. Who knows, maybe next year will find us out ice fishing somewhere! Hope your Valentines Day had a wonderful adventure as part of it!

A Week of Celebration

What a week it has been! This has been one of the best birthday/anniversary weeks I can remember because the celebrations have gone on for a week. The celebrations actually started last Sunday in Texas. My in-laws planned a little surprise bday party since we were in town.

They had a number of candles to light, since I am getting so old. And the candles were sparklers, which took me awhile to blow out. Thanks to the ceiling fan for finally helping it come to an end. The chocolate cake was the first cake of the week.

After returning home, the next celebration was our anniversary on Weds. Flowers were in store to help with this extra special celebration.

Fireworks were in store for the next celebration on Thursday (Pioneer Day). We were able to sit in our driveway with a perfect view of the fireworks display.

Friday we celebrated with a trip to the opera. Our town runs a month long showing of 4 operas every summer. As long as we've lived here, we've never been. It was time for a change. We saw "Into the Woods." I think Scott enjoyed the show even more than I did, and I was the one who had to gently coax (ie. drag) him into going as an anniversary/bday celebration. He enjoyed it so much, in fact, on the way out he suggested we buy tickets for "1776," which we are going to see tomorrow.

Sat. was the big day. The day I entered a new decade of years. It was a little scary for me, but I had so much fun receiving things in the mail, it was all worth it. One box was filled with numerous gifts...the exact number of years I was celebrating. If you can count them all, you'll know how old I am.

This is what everything looked like after it was opened.

Well, I guess I gave away my age. Oh well. According to my in-laws, I am still wild at 30. What a treat it was to open the various cards and packages. So much creativity went into people's gift giving for this milestone birthday. The signs that I had to display around the home, the humorous cards, the 30 happy bdays, the gift cards, pearls from China, and so many more displays of affection. Thank you for all of your well wishes. It helped make turning older just a little bit easier.

Finally, just as the celebrations began with a cake, they also ended with a cake. Cake #2 was from Scott on Sat. What a week of grand celebrations. Thank you to all! What do you think- am I still wild at 30 as these balloons say?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

My dearest Carrie,

As you celebrate your special day today, I want you to know that I wish you a very Happy Birthday! You mean so much to me, and I am simply awed that I get to share my life with you each and every day. You deserve nothing but the best on this special day.

I love you! Have a very very very Happy Birthday!

Your husband

Happy Anniversary!

Happy anniversary, dear husband! It's hard to believe it's been 3 years since our marriage journey began. It seems like, however, that we've been married much longer than that because we've already built such a strong foundation together. I am so thankful for that.

Thank you for the many ways in which you make my life better. I would not be the person I am today without your support, encouragement, companionship, and challenge to be better.

What a joy we've had together these past 3 years. I can only hope that we have many, many more years together in the future! I love you so much.