Baptism, Take Two

I finally got video of the baptism posted (see below), but I thought that I would share some more random photos.  Below is Allegra (one of our youth) holding Lil' E.  She came over early for Bible Study one day and helped give Emmanuel a bath. 

Here is me and my man...he fell asleep and I was transporting him upstairs.  

Here are our friends, Courtney and her little girl, Zadie.  Courtney is letting us borrow Zadie's exersaucer (a really expensive toy).  Courtney and her hubby are due to have another little girl in December.

Here is a snapshot of Emmanuel's Baptism.  Karl said some really amazing things about our relationship with the Lord...but unfortunately, I couldn't load it.  He really did the best job I have ever heard at explaining infant baptism and our relationship to the Lord.  Pastor Wy, our dear friend, actually baptized Emmanuel.  In the video, I am laughing because Pastor Wy was nervous about holding Emmanuel.  

He has engraved you on the palms of His hand...

Emmanuel was baptized on Sunday!  Here are some pics of our little man in his baptism outfit (thanks, Ms. Ethel!)  He was the only one in church allowed to get away with wearing all white after Labor Day.

There is also a video on this post (thanks Chanel and Brittany).  The video is an abbreviated version of the whole baptism--we would love for you to watch it...but it's having problems loading...I'll try again later.  

(Above)  Emmanuel waited patiently on his daddy. 

(Above)  We prayed after Pastor Wy and Pastor Karl baptized Emmanuel.  We were so grateful to the Lord to have Karl and Wy baptize Emmanuel.  We really respect and admire them and their wonderful wives, Debbie and Shirley, and we felt so honored that they poured out love on Emmanuel.  Also, Eli's parents and his brother, Wil, made the trip up for the baptism.  

The verse we chose for Emmanuel is Isaiah 49:16...see, he has engraved you on the palms of His hand...

When I was in college, Erin-Ashley gave me a plaque with Isaiah 49:16 on it...and she said, "Maybe one day when Eli is a pastor, he can have this on his desk!"  EA...thanks for pointing me to this section of scripture, and it is more than just on Eli's desk...it is what we pray for our Emmanuel...we pray that he would know without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus desperately loves Him. 

Sunday was also my grandma's 77th birthday!  Happy Birthday, Grandma Myrtle!  Emmanuel and grandma will always share a special day.

Emmanuel and I make our first trip on an airplane next week to go to Kelly Marie's wedding in Nashville!  Pray for us and the people sitting around us on the plane.

Splish Splash I was taking a bath!

Emmanuel is 10 weeks old this week!  I can't believe how quickly the days have turned into weeks.  He has outgrown most of his newborn outfits..and now he's wearing 0-3 months clothes.  It's hard to believe that our little baby is now a BIG BOY!  

He's doing a lot more smiling and socializing this week!  Below is a picture of Emmanuel at our Kick-off Cookout for the Youth Group (some of our high school girls are in this pic with Lil

 E).  He also went to our HS Girls Bible Study and a moms group and over to a friend's house.  Our lives are even more busy with this little one.  

Emmanuel LOVES bath time...from the moment he first took at real bath at 9 days old (after his umbilical cord fell off), he has loved the bath.  He used to just sit back and chill while we washed him, but now he is becoming more active...and he loves to splash in the water!  Now, the only problem is that I have bamboo floors, which are not supposed to get wet--so we're going to have to figure out a healthy compromise with all this splashing!  I've got a throw rug to put on the floor, and I guess that will have to suffice.  We love that he gets so excited during bath time.  Enjoy the video! 

He's also beginning to grab hold of things..including my hair!  I thought to myself...why do I use all of these colorful mobiles and attach rings to his stroller that he can bat away--when he is just as happy hitting and pulling my hair.    

Thanks for all of your prayers...he gets baptized next week...I'll be sure to post some pictures! 

When you smile...the whole world smiles with you!

Emmanuel was all smiles this week!  This was our first official week of lots and lots of smiles.  I must admit that after carrying this child for 9 months, spending 5 1/2 hours in labor, and waking every two hours for the last 2 months to feed him--I had high expectations--I thought that he would smile at me first and ALL the time!  Boy, was I wrong.  Whenever he sees his daddy, he just smiles away.  He often looks at me like I'm crazy!  Below is a big smile.

Below is his "cool" look....a man at our church said that the girls are going to be banging down his door.  I said, "Whose door?  They've got to get through my door first, and it is locked and alarmed!" (I'm just a tad overprotective, can you tell!)

Two of our high school girls, Chanel and Brittany, tie-dyed this onesie for Lil' E.  We dressed him in it for church last Sunday!  Thanks, girls!

On Monday (Labor Day), Eli and some of the youth passed out flyers in our neighborhood about our church's tutoring program for elementary and middle school children.  They all headed back to our place to play Madden '09, but Prashauna (the young lady below) opted to hang out with me and Lil' E.  She and I baked cupcakes (with an extra special homemade chocolatey filling).  When I needed a few minutes to mix the filling, she watched Lil' E and played with him.  It was so nice to have her help for a few hours.  
After Eli and the other youth were finished, we all enjoyed cupcakes!  

Our church youth activities start up next week.  One night, both Eli and I are committed to leading high school Bible studies.  Please pray that Emmanuel would enjoy coming along with us.  We are a bit concerned about how he will do for 90 minutes in the evening, since it is so close to his bedtime.  

I am more convinced everyday that Emmanuel was the best name we could have chosen for him.  "God with us"--this is such a fitting meaning.  I am constantly reminded that we are not in this alone but that we serve a God who is sovereign and who is leading us as we raise this precious son.