Monday, September 24, 2012

special september sunday...

started off with a gathering a first graders ready to receive their bibles.

i love my church for a long list of reasons, but this particular sunday we participated in just one of them-- our church gives the gift of God's Word to each first grader.  what a precious gift given at the time when these little children are just learning to read.  it's perfect!!  olivia was super excited to get her bible presented by our friend and now children's pastor, ivy.
o and ivy with her brand new bible. 
all the first graders that were getting their bibles with their bible fellowship teachers.
olivia and daddy looking up some verses that ivy was sharing about what the bible says about this special book.
after a small presentation upstairs in the children's area with just parents, we headed down to "big church."  there each child was called up on the stage and our whole church prayed for these children that they would seek God's Word in their daily lives.
olivia getting her bible.  she was excited to have her bible but nervous to be on stage in front of everyone.  :)
as if that wasn't special enough, at the end of the service olivia made the decision that she was ready to share some big news with her church family.  she bravely walked down front and told pastor ellis that she was ready to be baptized.  she explained to him and ivy that she god spoke to her heart on april 1, 2012 and she prayed and asked jesus to be her savior and best friend of her life, but was just now brave enough to walk forward and share that news with her entire church family.  it was so great to celebrate her new relationship with jesus with our church and now we look forward to her baptism.

olivia and some of her biggest fans after the service.   pop, olivia, gram lois, b and nana.
what a special day!  truly the lord has blessed us (mark and i) with this precious little girl.  i am so grateful that she knows him personally at such a young age and that he has given her a heart for him.  she desires to read his word and know him more.  what a gift to witness and what a challenge it is for me to have the same child-like faith that she has along with a daily urning to know him more intimately.   thank you god for allowing me to be her mommy.  

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Disney World...

was SOOOO much fun!!

we recently got back from our second fun-filled magical trip to disney world.  this trip was extra special because it was made possible by my grandparents.  after they passed away last year, they were generous to leave behind some of their life's savings to me and requested that i do something special with it.  i talked to my mom about it and we decided that a fun trip would be the perfect way to honor them.  my grandparents LOVED family and traveling.  we decide disney was the perfect spot.  this was a destination that was guaranteed to create lasting memories and a place where everyone would have a FUN time.  i really wanted my parents to come with us.  soooo, we all ended up in orlando, florida for a week full of family and precious memories i will never forget.

here are a FEW of the highlights of our trip...

five steps into the magic kingdom and we got to have a meet and greet with these two famous mice- mickey and minney!  a perfect way to start our magical vacation.
walking down main street usa, taking in the first glimps of cinderella's castle.

jack's first roller coaster.  we even talked nana into riding too!
day 2.  animal kingdom
our little family about to have dinner with cinderella, prince charming, her step mother and the step sisters.  fun evening!
quick night visit to epcot, just the 4 of us.
jack and olivia were thrilled to meet pluto!  he is a fave around here.
gramps FINALLY gets to join us.  our first stop was the magic kingdom.  (you can see jack was not happy to be taking another picture!)
olivia and merida.  be brave!
magical moment for jack.  he met BUZZ!!  he was beyond excited!
the buzz lightyear ride was a family favorite.  i think we rode it 8 times. 
meeting jake the pirate was so much fun!  we are big fans of his at our house.
hollywood studios was so much fun!  we loved the toy story mania ride and the stunt car show.  good times!
late night fireworks at cinderella's castle.
olivia waited a long time, but finally got to meet her favorite princess, ariel.
there are hundreds more pictures that capture the hundreds more smiles and memories we made.  it was truly a wonderful trip.  thanks millie and papa for the BEST family vacation.  :)