olivia's baptism...

was one of the most special days i have experienced as a mother.  i have prayed that my children would grow up with a faith in christ and that they would have a relationship with him, but i have also known that my desires are not those of His and that was a decision and a relationship that only He could foster.
the journey to this day began several months ago, so let me start there...
on april 1, 2012 olivia felt the Lord speaking to her and confessed that she was a sinner and that her sin separates her from god, that she understood that christ loved her very much and came to earth to die on a cross for her (and all those who believe) so that she can be perfect in god's eyes and have a friendship with Him forever.  i'll admit i thought she was too young to understand all of that, but god reminded me that He is in the midst of this conversation and was completely capable of helping a little girl who truly has a heart for the Lord understand how very much He does love her.  we rejoiced with her, prayed with her, and continued to seek Him in fostering this new relationship.  olivia was a little nervous about talking to our pastor about what god was doing in her life and she was REALLY nervous about being in front of our whole church family to be baptized so we took baby steps over the next several months.  we encouraged her to continue to ask questions about her faith and new relationship.  we prayed for her heart and her confidence.  soon enough, in god's perfect timing, olivia was ready to talk to our pastor.  yay!!  god is so faithful! she spoke with our preschool minister about her decision and she gave us some great tools to continue on this faith journey with olivia.  fast forward a few more months, olivia was excited (and still a little nervous) to share her decision with our church family.  so the sunday she got her first grade bible, olivia shared with our church family that decision she made to ask God into her heart and that she wanted to be bapatized. we thanked God for giving her the confidence and step out of her comfort zone.  now that brings us to today...

our family was all there to celebrate with olivia.  mark watched from the stage since he was leading worship.  that actually made the day extra special.  ;)

another one of my greatest sources of joy-worship on sunday mornings with  my church family lead by mark and the worship band.  thankful for their gifts and how they use them to serve God.  

ellis asking o about her decision.

praise god for this day, this little girl, and for being an amazing god that cares about our olivia so much that he spoke to her and gave her a passion for him.   i stand amazed and so very thankful!

Matthew 28: 19-20

^"19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with youalways, to the very end of the age.”

soccer saturdays...

our saturdays this fall were spent on the soccer fields.  it was jack's first season of soccer and olivia's third season.

happy to report that jack's team, the dortmund dragons, had a great time each time they took to the fields but didn't ever win.  jack did score three goals the one game i missed due to surgery! :)

coach john and coach fish with the might dragons!!

typical look for jack running on the field. 

olivia's team, team lyon, had a great season!  they won second place in their division.  it has been so much fun to watch these girls learn the sport together and work as a team.  way to go LYON!!

pony tail down celebrating with her team after a win!!

coach C and his fab team lyon!!  :)