Nate and Ashley's Big Day

The most beautiful wedding I have EVER been to. And they did a wonderful job of making their guests feel well-loved. They had such cute creative touches, like the guest book was quilt squares that we got to sign. And since the wedding was outside, they had little fans for each guest and lemonade while we waited for the ceremony to start.

Trying to put on his tie. I may be smiling, but at that point it was all a facade. I was so stressed out about this little guy!

Ceremony took place just to the left of this picture. Gorgeous day. Waterfall. Flowers. String Quartet. Singing.

(So no one noticed the little ring bearer who didn't make it down the aisle only to make a beeline for "Uncle Nate" right after the bride got to the altar).

Ashley walked down the aisle to "How Deep the Father's Love For Us." And yes, I cried a little.

How cool is this?! With a real cowboy! (I guess we were pretty close to Branson...)

Reception. Love the twinkle lights. I can't believe I don't have a picture of Sharks dancing. He was tearing up the dance floor. And after the awful struggle to put the tux on, he wouldn't take it off. Not even the jacket, til the very end.

Gotta love the cake pictures. And the cake. So good.

After all the eating and dancing, when we thought there couldn't possibly be anything more coming...there was a sweet fireworks display (it was the Fourth of July, after all.) Since you all know what fireworks look like, I won't post a picture of them. However, you don't know what Sharks avoiding the fireworks looks like. So here it is for your viewing pleasure. I am pretty sure he didn't realize that it was the sound that was scaring him. My mom ended up covering his ears and he watched quite happily after that. Oh, and see the quilt? Every family at the wedding received one and we used them to sit on during the fireworks.

[pictures all taken by Leigh Broderick]

Tree Hugger

So. Deedo is crawling.

When I say crawling, I really mean army crawling. But he is fast. He knows what he wants and he goes for it.

And what he wants is trashcans and electric cords.

Not my first choice out of all the toys in the house, but to each his own.

I do not remember this crawling thing being such a sudden change with Sharks. With Deedo, it's been a shock.

One day, he was just sitting on the floor, playing with his toys, and the next I can't put him down without him getting into something.

He is still so little, I can't believe he is moving at all.

Some thoughts and ramblings on parenting

I have been realizing this week that there are two main points of change when you add a new child to the family. The first is when you bring him home from the hospital, and your old life is disrupted by the arrival of a little person! who is your complete responsibility. The task of caring for the physical needs of a baby is daunting enough; but we also have been given the responsibility of caring for their spiritual needs too. I think that during those early days, the physicality of the baby is at the forefront of the mind, because his helplessness is evident and he is fully reliant on you for everything. It is an overwhelming time, those first few weeks when you realize that this is life now, this is life with a family.

The second main point of change is when that child starts moving. No longer do you have a tiny baby, but now a little child who can move about freely with his own will. Though we have been praying for him since before he was born, this is when I begin to understand the enormity of what is before me in terms of raising him in the Lord.

Our God is good and richly blesses us through the gift of our children. I am so thankful that his Spirit dwells within me! I do not even want to imagine the struggles of parenting without that!

I have been reading Ephesians lately and I love the verse that talks about how we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. I think that is in chapter 1. A verse full of great comfort to me recently.

Teeth

Deedo is cutting teeth in a big way. His two little front teethies have been pushing on his gums for about a month and since his gums look like they're going to explode, I am sure he will be sporting some front teeth by the end of this week.

And since the fussiness was about to make my head explode, we had to do something.

That something is this teether. I saw one like it at a baby shower last weekend and thought it looked amazing and weird. (And that's always what I go for in a teether?!)


He loves it. He can hold it all by himself (score 1), it actually fits in his mouth (score 2), and did I mention that it looks cool too (score 3)?