Baby Dedication

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward." Psalm 127:3

Sunday while we were at church we had Sydney publicly dedicated to the Lord. We did this for several reasons.

First, we had her dedicated her because we realize that this little girl belongs to the Lord. We realize that we are responsible for raising her to love and serve our Lord.

Also, we had her dedicated because we realize she is a precious gift from our heavenly Father. It is not by chance, or just because we wanted a baby that we now hold little Sydney, it is because God chose to give us this baby!

Third, while standing before our friends and family in the church, we resolved to raise Sydney with God's interests in view. We purposed with all our hearts to love and provide for her. We resolved to train her away from her own sinfulness and point her towards the Creator and Redeemer of her soul. Oh, how we need the Holy Spirit's help in training, raising, teaching, disciplining and loving our daughters!

Lastly, we dedicated Sydney to invite others to celebrate with us and ask for accountability as we raise her. We wanted to welcome others into our joyful celebration of Sydney's life and also we know without a doubt that we need the help, observations, and insights from those around us!

After church, our family came over for a dinner in honor of little Sydney. We spent some sweet time worshiping our Sweet Savior and thanking him for the precious gift he has given our family. We also prayed for all the little girls and that God will rescue their little souls and draw them near to Him! What a glorious day that will be!!

Sydney on her dedication day! She was so happy all day!

Great Grandma Deaton holding Sydney!

Sydney in her dedication outfit!

Woo-Hoo!

Mark and Sissy (my brother-in-law and sister for any of you who may not know them) have finally sold their house! They are packing up and getting ready to go! Earlier in the year our church planted another church on the west side of town. Mark and Sissy have been going to Grace Church (that's the church plant church) since it began. We have been praying with them for their house to sell since they put it up for sale months ago. Please pray with us that everything will go through this week on the sale of their home and that they will find something else quickly that matches their likes and budget!

Ainsley, Madeleine and Emma - getting all packed up!

Geocaching!

2 Mondays ago, Steve, two of our friends and I went on a double date and did a little thing called "geocaching". If you've never heard of it, it is almost like a treasure hunt! People hide all kinds of items all over the place and you use a GPS to locate where the item is hidden and then the fun begins! The first one Steve picked for us to do was in a swamp behind an apartment complex. Kylene and I made it about half way and then decided we would let the guys finish looking for that one! The thought of coming face-to-face with a banana spider (or worse) was a little to frightening for me! We found 2 out of 3 that evening! Then on Saturday we decided to take the girls out to UCF and look for more...people hide them EVERYWHERE! It was so much fun. Reagan was so excited to go on her first geocaching adventure after her nap. We searched for almost 2 hours in the UCF parking garage and when we were about ready to give up I spotted it! Steve found one more that day hidden in some woods beside a pond and Reagan was able to trade out her first treasure! She traded a yo-yo for a toy car! We've decided that geocaching may be more fun for all of us when it gets a little cooler! 100 degrees is a little warm for hunting for small items hidden in large outdoor areas! Steve took us all out to eat afterwards.Steve and Reagan walking on trail at UCF.

We found it! Reagan's 2nd Geocache find!

Reagan found a little car in the box that she wanted to keep!

Sydney was so tired when we were done with the day!

I just had to add this sweet picture in!

Sunny Day Fun Day!

Thursday we decided to just have a fun day!

We made cookies (see yesterday's blog)!

Reagan and Sydney watched Barney and Sesame Street!

We played in the Elmo Sprinkler!

Reagan took a little drive and we washed our cars!Reagan had a popcicle!Sydney played in her entertainer!

And when Daddy got home we went to the park!

Whew! What a day!

The Way to a Man's Heart...

Is through his stomach, right?!?! I would definitely say that's so for Steve! Periodically I'll ask him what is romantic to him because what we think of as romantic is usually totally different! His answer more than once has been when I have cookies baked for him when he gets home! So, I thought I'd share with you a favorite recipe of ours...MONSTER COOKIES! These are sure to make my man smile when he gets home! You may want to try making them for someone to show them how much you love them, too ;)!!

MONSTER COOKIES

½ C Butter – softened
1 C sugar
1 C plus 2 T firmly packed brown sugar
2 C Peanut Butter
3 Large Eggs
1 t light corn syrup
¼ t Vanilla Extract
4 ½ C regular oats, uncooked
2 t Baking Soda
¼ t Salt
1 C M&Ms
1 C (6 oz) Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Beat butter at medium speed until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add peanut butter and next 3 ingredients; beat well. Add oats, soda, & salt; stir well. Stir in Chocolate pieces and chips. Drop dough 4 inches apart from ¼ C measuring cup on lightly greased sheet. Press into 3 ½ inch circles. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Yield: 2 ½ dozen.

Oh, and YES Steve! There will be Monster cookies ready for you when you get home today!
MMM...let's mix in the sugar!
Reagan helped by tasting everything. She liked the peanut butter, but...

She liked the M&Ms even better!

Girly Girls!

What is biblical femininity? Am I biblically feminine? How do I raise girls who are feminine? These are a few questions I myself have asked over the years. Reagan is at the age where she loves dressing up. She has her purple high heel shoes with jewels on them, her tinkerbell dress, her little tutu, and hats galore! She loves lipgloss and painted fingernails and getting her hair curled for church. She is for the most part a very girly girl and we are so glad! But I have to ask myself if I am training her to be biblically feminine. I know that most of the women I see on magazine covers or on TV may be all dressed up and act like women, but the majority of them are not seeking to glorify God, but are seeking to magnify themselves. Through books I've read and messages I've heard, the woman who is biblically feminine is one who is not inward-focused. She's is a helper. She seeks to show compassion to others and she is devoted to making her home a safe-haven. She is gentle and kind. She values male and female distinctions because she knows that this is God's design and order. She is not threatened by male headship. She knows that submission has nothing to do with staus. Submission has to do with function. It is the way God has ordered life in the kingdom, and it is good because God is good! She is a woman who earnestly prays, who refreshes others, who serves her family, the church and the lost.

It is sobering to think I am the one who my girls see and observe most of the time and they are going to learn so much from my example; so I am drawn to examine my own life. They will learn how to grow in feminity not only through times when I am sitting and training them, but more so by how I respond and serve my husband, my attitudes while I am running errands or making dinner, my tone of voice as I am correcting them, the words I speak while I am on the phone, etc.

So, how do we pass the legacy of biblical womanhood on to our daughters? Here is a list of suggestions (certainly not exhaustive) from the book "Building Strong Families" by Dennis Rainey from the chapter on how to raise feminine daughters by Susan Hunt:

First, we must remember that God has given us every resource we need. He has given us His Holy Spirit. We have the very power of God within us to give us grace and wisdom for the task, and we must pray for the same power to be at work in our girls. It is the power of the gospel that will transform them!!

We must diligently teach our daughters bilblical truth from His Word and pray that the Holy Spirit will apply that truth to their hearts. (Psalm 119:9, 11)

We should pray for hedges of protection around our daughters. Select portions of Scripture and pray them into our girls' lives.

We must teach our daughters that living for God's glory is beyond their ability. It is a work of grace. We should teach them to flee to the cross for grace and mercy, and then to become a stream of grace and mercy to others. They will learn this best by seeing us live in this way.

We must be wise! We must be aware of cultural influences, and we must warn our daughters of the dangers of ungodliness.

After reading more on this subject today, I am freshly aware of my need for my Savior and for his grace! And I am so grateful that He gives us all the grace and mercy we need for each day when we call on Him!! Today, I hope you too are freshly aware of God's mercy and goodness in your life!

She Did It!!!

Reagan decided to go potty on her "little girl potty" today!! She only went once, but we were all so excited. We clapped and cheered and jumped up and down! I can hardly believe she is big enough to go all by herself even though we have been trying for months (on and off). Hopefully she'll start going more and more on the "big potty" and we'll only have to buy one size of diapers instead of two!

Reagan also got to hold a Katydid (it looks like a grass hopper only with longer wings). Steve finds all kinds of bugs in the yard while he's mowing Saturday mornings and she likes being able to hold whatever he brings her way! I like observing them both from behind the sliding glass door where I know nothing is going to jump on me!!

Here's Sydney pushing herself up while having some floor time with her Daddy. She loves her little floor mat and the bright star that hangs above it and plays music!

Reagan is such a great little Mommy. Here she is giving Baby Chelsea a bath. She likes taking her for walks and giving her bottles, too. Tonight she even helped me give Sydney her bottle!

Every day I watch these little girls I am amazed at the gifts God has given me! Reagan makes us laugh all the time with her funny little questions and cute sayings.

Today was a fun and mostly relaxing Saturday, but it was also sad for me. (It will be for Reagan, too, once she realizes what it meant for Liam to leave in the big yellow truck!) Our neighbors moved to south Florida and we sure are going to miss them! When we first moved into our house we met Sean and Christina and little Sean and Chelsea and since we've been here we've been able to watch little Liam come into the picture! Christina stayed home full time after Liam was born and it was so nice having someone a couple of doors down to talk to during the day and for Reagan to have a little buddy to play with. It's fun to see who God brings into our lives for certain seasons, but it is sad to see that season come to an end. Thank goodness for email and digital cameras!!!