Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Mia's Baptism

On Sunday the 21st, we were thrilled to see Mia baptized.  She had made the decision to trust Christ as her Savior back in February which was the best day for our family.  JFBC does a special children's baptism service once a quarter, so we waited until now to participate in that.  We were overjoyed that they church allowed Ryan to baptize Mia just as they had allowed him to baptize Lily a few years ago.  What an incredibly special day.  Our hearts were overflowing!
 Mia was very excited to have two sets of her grandparents there!
When Mia was meeting with a JFBC staff person about her decision and desire to be baptized, they asked if she had any special adults that she wanted to come up and pray for her after the baptism.  Very quickly she asked if Mrs. Mausz would be able to do that.  Mrs. Mausz is the mother of Mia's sweet friend, Sophie, and Mia just adores her.  She knows that Mrs. Mausz often prayers for her (and their classmates) because she leaves sticky notes on their desks letting them know that she's prayed for them.  We were so appreciative that Mrs. Mausz came (with Sophie and Beckett) and said a lovely prayer for Mia at the service.  We are so thankful for precious friends like this!
We were glad that Wayne, Molly and Zac were able to come celebrate with us, and we appreciated Mia's teacher, Mrs. St. Hill, coming as well.
 We were thrilled that sweet Macey had also recently decided to trust in Christ and was baptized the same day.  They have been friends since birth, but they are now sisters forever!  How great that at the Henderson's request, the church allowed Ryan to baptize Macey too.  What a special moment for Ryan!  Our families were so excited for these girls!
 We were so thrilled to have many friends here to support Mia.  Logan and Eliana Payne, Rachael and Sarah Crowley, Sophie and Beckett Mausz, Mary Preston and Layne Harvey, and Danae St. Hill.  We are so thankful for sweet friends!
What a wonderful day celebrating Mia's decision to follow Christ's example in baptism!

May 1 though End of School

May is always such a whirlwind of a month, but usually in a great way!  Tax season is over, so family life is back to normal which is appreciated by all.  School is winding down which often means field trips, finishing up projects, and class parties.  The weather is often beautiful.  It's just a good time of year.  Here's what we were up to during those first few weeks.

I took a long weekend trip to Gulf Shores to rest up from tax season.  This was a much-needed and appreciated break!
 Ryan and David took a 24 hour trip to Florida to visit family, and then David stayed with us a couple of days afterwards which we always love.  We went down to the Atlanta History Center one morning which was so much fun.  Lily and I had gone on a field trip in the fall, and we were both excited to go back.  It was a beautiful day, and we all enjoyed walking through the exhibits.  It is a fascinating place.
 Cuddling up with Mia during movie night one evening.
 Lily's class went to Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield one day and had fun hiking up the mountain.  Several of the girls stuck by Ms. Keesee at the top.
 We always love having the Smith family around!
 The kids had fun picnicking in the back.
 Sparklers after dinner was tons of fun!

 I was treated to breakfast prepared by Lily and served in bed on the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend.  It was a delicious treat; I love when she makes omelets!
 Mia treated us dinner that night.  Spaghetti with a homemade sauce and dinner rolls - yummy!
 It is my honor and privilege to be called Mommy by these two.
 I had a blast chaperoning a field trip for each girl's class during the last couple of weeks of school.  I went with Mia's 2nd grade class to the Renaissance Festival which is always so much fun.  Watching them joust is always a hit though we enjoyed watching the birds of prey show and eating key lime pie on a stick (I'm sure that's an authentic food from that time period, right?).  This is such a sweet class!  I went with Lily's 4th grade class to the Botanical Gardens which is always a wonderful place to visit.  We spent most of our time in the greenhouse and edible gardens which was fascinating.  I love opportunities to go on field trips with these kids!
 Mia finished up softball season with the Lady Mets of FBC Smyrna's Upward league.  She learned a lot, hustled, and had fun.  She kept a great attitude throughout the season, and she worked hard to improve as she played.  She even tried her hand at pitching in the last game!  It was great to watch her play!
 The last day of school came on the 19th, and it was a wonderful day.  We started the day at the awards ceremony.  Lily was recognized for three items: her team winning the Geography Bee, Outstanding Work in Art, and being on the A/B honor roll all year.  She had straight A's until the very last quarter of math (which she goes up to 5th grade for).  She worked hard and earned a B, and we were very proud of her efforts.  Mia was recognized for two items: representing her house in the Poetry Bee, and Outstanding Work in Music.  This has been a great year for both girls.  They have worked hard and learned so much.  Miss Keesee and Mrs. St. Hill are wonderful teachers who have truly impacted our girls; we are very thankful for how they have used their gifts and talents to pour into each one of them.  

Even though we love Stonehaven, it's always fun to get out for summer!  After giving hugs to lots of friends, it was time to head out, and our family went straight over to The Georgian Club for lunch as a fun little treat.
 When we got home, the girls took turns pulling items out of "the summer basket" which is basket I've filled up with fun summer treats...books, Legos, snack treats, summer workbooks, nail polish, games, etc.  Basically, just fun items to get us all excited for a few months of fun!

Late afternoon we headed over to Suntrust Park for our first family Braves game at the new park.  We had a great time exploring all around, especially going in to the kids area.  Mia couldn't wait to try out the zip line and rock climbing!  We found our brick outside the stadium and visited the Mizuna store which was cool.  We had a couple of yummy treats inside too.  Even though we were all in great spirits and having a lot of fun, we ended up leaving about 10 in the 6th instead of waiting for the Friday Night Fireworks; we had two exhausted girls on our hands!
 On Saturday, we had the most gloriously lazy day.  It was fabulous.  Sleeping in, playing with summer basket items, cuddling with Decker, reading outside, and just doing nothing.

 The girls showing their favorite art pieces to me.  I love when they are creative.
 Let the summer fun begin!