Back for another season...

KT- We thought we would be like Lost and go off the air for 7 months. But, we're back. So after many subtle hints here's our latest news. Natalie was dedicated on Sunday May 20th. Our church, Mars Hill, practices infant dedication instead of baptism. We have adult baptism which would be similar to profession of faith and conformation in other churches. Ryan and I attended a class and wrote a covenant. Our family and friends joined us in a room at church and Aaron Meares the children's pastor lead the service. We did do the traditional cake and ice cream after, we are still Grand Rapids Dutch at heart (we didn't serve the ham-on-bun or potato salad though, we are rebellious dutch). Here's our covenant that we wrote...

"Our Sweet Girl-

You have been a miracle in our lives from the moment we found out about you. Becoming parents has been one of the scariest and most amazing blessings. There are so many things we want for you, but we are learning to daily put you into God's hands. We can never be perfect, but know that your Heavenly Father is and He entrusted you to us. He chose us as your parents and we willingly accept all that that entails. We are so dedicated to you that we want to make a covenant with you and God today.

Natalie, we promise to love God and to love each other. We want to daily model the love that Jesus exemplified. Our marriage is one place that we can show you that love. We promised on our wedding day to chose to love each other for the rest of our lives and we made that commitment in front of God. Today, we make a commitment to chose to love you. The unconditional love that God has for us lives in our hearts for you. You will grow and change and mature. You will make decisions and chose paths that maybe we won't agree with. That will not change our love for you.

We cannot wait to see the person you develop into, and yet we want to slow time down to squeeze every last second out of our time with you. We know that all to soon you will not be our little girl anymore and we will have to trust that we raised you with God at the center of your life. We promise to recognize that you are an individual and not an extension of ourselves. And we promise to respect you in your individuality. Be patient with us as we learn how to love you best as you are, not how we think you should be.

We also promise to teach you and guide you in your relationship with Christ. We know that just hearing about it isn't enough. We want to immerse you in Him. Church will not be the place that God lives. He will live in our home right beside us. You will see us seek His guidance in all matters. You will see your parents pursue Him!

Natalie, we promise to create a safe place for you in our home where you know that you are protected. Where you know that your parents will not let harm come to you. Where you feel comfortable enough to open yourself up and take risks as you grow.

Sweetheart, we love you so much we can't even put it into words. You will have to feel the extent of our love in our actions."

Ryan had to read the covenant because I couldn't make it through the first paragraph with out sobbing, and that was just proof-reading it! Other than Natalie's dedication we also had a 60th birthday party for my Mom at Bistro Bella Vita, and she was surprised! It had to be a surprise or she wouldn't come. She is convinced that 60 is old, I keep telling her that she is still young, at heart at the very least. Natalie and I also participated in the MS walk with Jodi on team Twinners. We do this walk every year with the family and friends. If anyone is interested in how they can help or want to know more about MS give me an email. Well, this entry has gotten really long, hopefully it was worth the wait! Love you all.