dedication

Josiah's first birthday fell on a Sunday this year and we decided to dedicate him at our church on his first birthday.

Our church doesn't have a group dedication, we just let them know that we'd like to dedicate our child, and they make a time for it during the service. Mom & Dad came in town for his dedication and one of Daniel's old roommates, Chris, came just for the dedication as well.

It was a really sweet time. Josiah of course performed for the crowd, smiling and clapping when they clapped, etc. We do have quite the social little man. Don Beacham was the pastor in charge of that part of the service, and if you remember, Don is the pastor who we trekked the mountains of Nepal with, so it was special to us that he was the one to be a part of the dedication. After all, Josiah hung out with him for 3 weeks before he was even born! ;-)

Daniel spoke sweet words over Josiah and shared about the confirmations we had received through other people guessing his name, through a dream our sister-in-law had about his name, and well, the bright red confirmation of his hair. You probably also recall that one meaning of "Josiah" is "fire of the Lord" and well, he came out with bright firey red hair! Daniel finished our time of dedication reading the passage out of 2 Kings about the King Josiah who became king at a mere 8 years of age. He was regarded as a righteous king and the Bible says about him that there was no one like him who came before or after him. Then we prayed over Josiah, dedicating him before our friends and family, to raise him as best we can in the righteous fear of the Lord. We are asking the Lord that our Josiah would be like the King Josiah - that he would walk righteously before the Lord and that there would be none like him before or after him!

Happy Birthday to....JOSIAH

Josiah will officially be one year old tomorrow! It's so crazy to think that on this day last year our lives were so different - our little man hadn't yet arrived. It would still be a day and a half before he would enter this world. And now, 364 days later, our lives are fuller and busier and crazier! But, a good full, a good busy, a good crazy! We had no clue just how much our world would turn upside down with his arrival. No preparation, no advice can really do justice to clue a new mommy and daddy in to what life is like with a baby. And despite the sleepless nights and the crying and all of the wondering if we're doing things "right," we couldn't be prouder and more thrilled! Josiah is a gift to us.

Somehow the Lord chooses to entrust us with a living, breathing creature. And somehow, by His grace, we learn to be parents. And Jesus teaches us more about Himself and more about ourselves as we learn how to parent Josiah. There have been many days and nights that the Lord has reminded me that I am a lot like Josiah in the way that I relate to the Lord. Those moments are often humbling, yet tender. And, it's just like the character of the Lord to allow me to learn so many things about Him through the ins and outs of daily life.

We celebrated Josiah's birthday a week early with family in Ruston. The theme? MONKEYS, of cousre! We had a monkey smash cake for him, and I made monkey-faced cupcakes for his guests, and we had banana splits. It was really fun!

And, he loved being the center of attention. If you've seen him in pictures, you know that he has a smile that lights up a room, but one thing you couldn't know just by the pictures is what a social butterfly our little man is! And his party was quite the social event - 8 little cousins, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles and big cousins filled the house.

He wasn't too sure what to do with his smash cake. He was mostly mezmorized by the flame of the candle. And the fondit icing was just too thick for him to figure out. He just poked his finger in the nose of the monkey for the longest time. I dug into the cake to give him a taste or two. He liked it, but could take it or leave it.

Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us! Josiah loves all of his new toys and his Mommy loves all of his new fashionable outfits! A special thanks to Josh & Elizabeth for driving from Arlington to Ruston to be at the party, and to Uncle Sonny, Aunt Evelyn, and Donna for driving from Houston.