Perhaps the second most special day of my life!

I say that because something truly amazing (at least to me) happened in church today.  Here's the story:

So today was a wonderful day!  We had nursery duty at church this morning and enjoyed loving on some sweet babes.  We had 3 sweet little 12 to 18 month boys who were just precious!  One little boy reminded me so much of Evan because of his light red hair, blue eyes, and cheerful personality!  We do nursery duty at the early service so that we can still attend our regular 11:15 service.  Today was a special youth day at our church, and our youth greeted attendees as they drove into the parking lot and entered the church.  They were wearing their "Advance" bright green T-shirts and were just truly an inspiration!  The message was brought by a special guest speaker to go along with the series "At the Movies."  It showed how God's message can really be found all around us...yes, even in the secular movies produced by Hollywood!  They showed a clip from the movie "Up" and I really want to see that movie! 

Anyway, the preacher's message was just a beautiful telling of the fundamental Christian story of salvation through grace, and at the end, the preacher led a salvation prayer for anyone in the congregation that desired to accept Christ as their saviour.  After the prayer, the preacher emotionally asked if those who had said the prayer would raise their hands.  The preacher counted over 200 hands raised, but I got very teary when I looked down and saw my little 3 year old son raising his tiny little hand.  Wow!  That is humbling.  Now, I am not so naive to think that he really knows what salvation is all about, but he knew and listened closely enough to know when the preacher said he could lower his hand and he kept it up until then.  I know that he has begun to realize that Jesus truly "loves" him by seeing His love through us, his devoted parents!  He stated, not questioned, to me one day recently "Mommy, you love Jesus."  It wasn't like he was asking me, but more like he was stating a fact that he had noticed!  Children really have a special way of reaching and touching our hearts!  It's like they are built-in receivers of God's messages to us all!  I just hope we can continue to nurture Evan's love of Jesus! 

So when do children reach the age of "accountability" when they are ready to "accept" the gift of salvation?  I think the age is different for all people.  For example, one of my earliest memories of church was sitting beside my biological mother one Sunday and "feeling" led to go to the altar when the preacher gave the call.  I couldn't have been more than 4 or 5 at the time, and I just felt this strong pull, but I was too shy to move.  I am so thankful that my biological mother loved me enough to take me to church.  I also remember leading some kids I taught in Children's Church in the salvation prayer one Sunday because they expressed an interest in knowing Jesus as their saviour! 

Eddie the Forester Goes to School

So a couple of weeks ago, Evan's school wanted parents to volunteer their time to go and visit the school and talk about what they do for a living.  Eddie does tons of school programs in his job as a forester for the State so he is very comfortable in this environment.  Plus, he has tons of cute stuff to give out like Smokey Bear coloring books, stickers, etc.  The kids loved his "fire truck" the best and wanted him to spray them with water.  Ha! 

Here are some pictures Evan's teacher sent me that she took of the fun that Mommy missed:


The forester arrives.  He had to turn his lights on, of course!



Forester Eddie tells the kids all about Smokey Bear and how to prevent forester fires! 



Um, what's in the box, Mr. Eddie?



Circle Time!  Daddy shows the kids a cross section of a tree and shows them how to count the rings!



The kids gather around the fire truck to see where the water is kept.



Spraying the kids with water.



And of course, the kids ran away!



Evan loves to help Daddy spray water.  Daddy is definitely his hero!



And the kids come back.



Forester Eddie and the Preschool Class!

End of Year Party ~ 2010

Well, we did it!  We made it through our first year of law school.  Our group has mastered balancing careers, family, and law school.  A large contribution to our success has been the bond that we have developed with our classmates.  In one year, I feel like I will always share a special bond with this group of friends.  It has been a roller coaster ride as we have worked tirelessly to make it through week after week of late night classes, studying for exams, writing memorandums of law, etc.  To celebrate the completion of our first year, we decided to have a big party.  Mandy and her husband, Flint, volunteered to host our group in their lovely home with a stunning backyard.  Everyone brought yummy treats to share, and we just had a great evening filled with food, fun, and laughter! 

Here are some pictures of my fabulous new friends:


Our fabulous group!



Just the beautiful girls!



Oh my, what a good looking bunch of guys we have!



Richard, Eddie, Karen & Pikiswa hangin' out at the party. 



Just havin' fun!



Three of my most favorite guys ~ Richard, Eddie and Tyler



Mandy and Karen share some laughs.



Great picture, girls!



Me and two of my favorite guys, Richard and Tyler!  I "heart" these guys!



Tyler and two of his ladies, Jolee and Karen.  Of course, I am still his favorite!



Tyler says, "I'm da man!"



Some more of the group hangin' out at the party!



This group braved the heat and humidity to hang out in the yard.



Crystal poses for a picture.



Brooke havin' a good time.



Bill looks on as his lovely wife entertains the party goers!



Check out these beauties ~  Me, Jolee, Brooke and Karen



The late night partiers!

Take me out to the ballgame!

So for Mother's Day, we spent a fun-filled afternoon at a good ol' baseball game.  Sherry's cousin Erin's husband had a bunch of tickets to his company's skybox at the Charlotte Knights stadium, and it was Family Day so it sounded like a great opportunity for Evan to have some fun.  We headed to the game and were surprised how light the crowds were.  We usually only go to the game on the 4th of July which is always super crowded, but this game was the exact opposite.  Evan enjoyed watching the game, riding the carousel, meeting Homer and Caroline the dragons, and even running the bases on the field!  Erin's family joined us so Evan enjoyed showing Brent how to run like a big boy! 

Here are some pictures of the fun:


When we arrived, Evan had to get his picture taken with the big baseball (actually a water tower painted to look like a baseball). 



Daddy and Evan enjoying the game.



Our lovely family picture at the ball game...yeah, right!  Mommy and Daddy were lookin' rough!



Here comes Homer!



Homer and Caroline paid Evan a special visit in the skybox!  Wow!  Evan was floored!



"Hey, guys!"



Hey Evan, where's your hat?



"Hey, you took my hat!"



Evan rides the carousel.  As soon as he saw this little dinosaur, nothing else would do!



Another beautiful shot of Evan on the carousel.



Mommy and Evan go down the big slide together.



Mommy tried to stay with Evan, but when she started going, she couldn't slow down!



Now, here's a slide he can handle!



Cousin Brent arrived, and we took him to see the carousel.



There's that sweet smile, Brent!



Brent smiling at his Mommy.  Our boys love us!



Brent wanted his Mommy to ride the carousel too.  She was a good sport about it!



Evan runs the bases!



My baby looks so little on this big field!



Brent and his Daddy running the bases.



Evan rounds 3rd base after high-fiving Caroline!



Brent and his Daddy round second base.



Homer greets Evan as he crosses home plate!



Brent's Daddy gives Homer a high five for Brent!