The Cute Little Teddy Bear....And Her Dedication :)

The cutest picture ever! My little pumpkin is going to be 3 months old in just two weeks! I cannot believe how fast time is flying. Everyone asks if it is as hard as I expected to move to 2 kids. My answer is usually yes and no. The sleep pattern (thanks to God! --- and Kylie Noelle) is getting so much easier. I love that part. It really depends on the day whether or not I would consider it "hard"...just a challenge ;) But, more than anything, I love these girls. They are the best. I am sooooo incredibly grateful and blessed that I can stay home with them. I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't imagine (and feel awful for) those parents who are having to take their children to day care. I don't think I could do it. Though, like those parents, if I had to, I would....It's just so hard to imagine! I am so blessed and I know it, especially considering how Michigan is doing economically.

Speaking of our little pumpkin, she is getting dedicated to the Lord on Sunday at church. Rob's family is coming up from Ohio to share this very, very special day with us. As parents, we feel this is probably one of the most important things we can do. For those of you who don't know what it means, it comes from the book of Samuel. Hannah prayed and prayed for a son. And God blessed her with one (eventually!). When Samuel was born, Hannah gave him over to the Lord basically declaring, "He's not mine, Lord, he's yours." We'll do the same with Kylie on Sunday. Whatever God wills for her life....though we're hoping she'll join McKenzie on stage as a worship leader... :)....Whatever God wills, we pray He will use her as his vessel to accomplish grand and glorious things. Not that she hasn't been His all along, but we are publically declaring in front of our church and family that she is His, no matter what. Then, when Kylie is old enough, when she accepts Jesus as her personal Savior, she will be baptized as an outward expression of her faith. This is what modern-evangelical Christians term as a person being "born again". That decision, however, is up to Kylie, not us. We pray that she will see Christ reflected in us and that she will choose Him at an early age and never waver. Rob made that decision when he was very young (I want to say 13, but don't quote me on that!) and I chose to accept Jesus and be saved at 17. I was a senior in high school and turned my life over to the Lord completely on May 4, 1995. I will never forget that day. It's when I learned that my relationship with Christ is about just that...a relationship. It's not a religion. There's no formula, no special prayers, no dogma to follow. It's simply surrender yourself humbly at the feet of the King. And every day, I remind myself that I have to surrender. Because when it all comes down to it in the end, it's not others we live for. It's God. And we pray (and ask that you'll join us) that BOTH of our beautiful daughters will understand, seek, and pursue God with all of their hearts from now until the end. That they will actually see Christ reflected in us and pursue Him passionately. It's our greatest job as parents, we believe, to instill this in them.