James' 40th Birthday

So, I love my big brother.  I've always thought he was the coolest guy in town.  He's handsome, athletic, intelligent, domestic (the man cleans and does laundry!), and loves Jesus!  I am so blessed to be his little sister.  As a part of his 40th birthday present, I made this video for him of his kids.  Enjoy.

Catching up!

Hi, friends.  It has been a few weeks since I've written.  We had a Thanksgiving celebration at the MacIver's house, Mia turned 4 years old, I turned the big 27, my brother turned the (really) big 40, and I started decorating for Christmas!  Below is a picture of Emmanuel in Bella's jumperoo.  

A huge thank you to the MacIver's (Martha is below with Lil' E) for inviting us into their home for Thanksgiving.  Martha and Doug's teenage boys, Peter and Daniel, are involved in our Youth Ministry at church (Peter was in an earlier post--he went with us to Miami).  Mia's birthday was on Thanksgiving Day and when I talked to her, she said, "I'm having a party today (meaning:  the family dinner).  I wish that you could be here."  My heart broke.  My mom said that Joshua comes into the house and takes Emmanuel's picture down from the refrigerator.  He does that so that he can "hold" Emmanuel.  Precious!

The day after Thanksgiving was my birthday.  Eli was so sweet to let me "sleep in" (I'm still getting up through the night with Emmanuel), he cooked me breakfast in bed, I went shopping (for the first time in forever)....and he did all of these other "present-like" things for me.  The BEST PRESENT that he could give to me:  Tickets to the Chris Tomlin and Israel concert in January.  So, I LOVE to worship God through song and dance...I mean...when I hear a Chris Tomlin song (Indescribable, Holy is the Lord, How Great is our God) or an Israel song (He Knows My Name, Friend of God, I Know Who I AM)...I really feel bathed in the presence of the Lord...I get so excited about heaven when I worship.  So, Eli found out that they are coming in concert TOGETHER...and we are going to go!  Hooray! 

Below is a picture of the flowers that Emily got for me!  They are so fragrant.  Thanks, Em.  Thanks to everybody for the cards and emails and phone calls and text messages and presents.  (Sweet Julia even sent beautiful earrings all the way from Germany!)  It was a fantastic birthday! 

Our little man is getting big!  He weighed in a 15 pounds 3 ounces when he went for some shots last week. (He's still in the 25th percentile for kids his age).  We also think he had his first small cold...just congestion, really.  We are so thankful that he's pretty flexible and likes people because we continue to take him everywhere.  Today (if weather permits) we hope to go to a Christmas Tree Farm and cut down a live tree!  We're a little late this year (I like to start right after Thanksgiving), but better late than never.  Emmanuel will get to experience his dad using a saw to cut the tree down.  These first memories are the best.  

Thanks to cousins, Morganne and Daphne for the blanket that Emmanuel is lying on in this picture.  They handmade it! 

Have a great week.  Check back soon for a new post!

High School Retreat!

This year's high school retreat was really amazing.  Never before have we had a high school retreat at FCF where the Holy Spirit moved so powerfully...to God be the glory!  It was a great time for rest and renewal for both the high school students and the leaders.  After our last talk, the youth had an opportunity to share what God did in their hearts...they did...and it was powerful!  People were being vulnerable and transparent...there were tears...apologies...and hugs.  Thanks to everyone for their prayers.

I thought this picture was real artistic...Emmanuel did a lot of hanging out in my sling over the weekend.
And...I couldn't resist--this is by far my favorite picture of our boy. 
Have a great Thanksgiving!  We are going over to a family's house for dinner.  Lil' E doesn't like riding in the car too much...so asking him to ride for 10-12 hours is too much (and that doesn't include the many times we will have to stop for me to nurse him).  So...we are hanging around for Thanksgiving, which is Mia's birthday (she'll be 4 years old!) and my birthday (hello, 27), which is the day after.  

Enjoy your family.  

Happy 33rd Birthday, Eli.

Eli's 33rd birthday was last Friday! 

Well, I was having difficulty coming up with a present for Eli's birthday.  We do the "traditional" thing of going out to eat, but we also get each other a creative gift each year.  My dear sister in Christ--peer mentor--co-social worker--and role model, Won-Jung Hong, gave her husband a homemade hardback book for Father's Day two summers ago.  I thought to myself, "What a perfect idea for Eli!"  Eli just loves being a daddy, and his 2007 birthday was the day that I told him that we were pregnant...so I thought this was an appropriate way to reflect on the past year of pregnancy while looking forward to our future life with Lil' E.  Thanks for the idea, Won-Jung!  (By the way, Won-Jung' husband, Davin, is an architect by day and an amazing photographer by night...check out his sight:  www.flickr.com/photos/zoesappa).

Here is Eli's birthday book.  It is called "Just me and my daddy!" (I wrote the story as if Emmanuel was telling it...so technically it was a gift from Emmanuel.) 

After Eli read the book for himself, he read it to Emmanuel.  If you look closely, you can see one of the pictures in the book of Eli and Emmanuel.  

Eli gave Emmanuel a big kiss and thanked him for his thoughtful present!  

Later that night, we headed to Red Lobster for Eli's Birthday Dinner...now we chose Red Lobster because we had a coupon and we thought that they had an item on the menu that they no longer had...anyway...it was almost going to be a disappointing birthday dinner, but then our waitress brought over the other 15 waiters and they sang Happy Birthday to Eli and hung out at our table (business is slow these days, so they just hung out with us).  Business is real slow and that's why they gave Eli this jacked-up "dessert"--it was whipped cream with chocolate and a candle...business is slow.  

All in all, we had a great day!  Now my man is 33...I can't make any "old" jokes because my birthday is in a couple of weeks and the closer I get to 30, the more I realize I'm not a teenager anymore.

We are taking the high school kids on a retreat this weekend.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to move in a powerful way--and for the weather--we don't want to get snowed in! 

Playdate at Bella's house!

My friend, Courtney, let me borrow her baby's Exersaucer.  Emmanuel has really started to love it.   Thanks, Courtney!

Earlier I wrote about my friend, Jamie, and her baby, Bella.  We had a playdate a while ago at Panera.  Well, let me tell you this amazing story...

After Eli finished running his 7 miles in the Baltimore Marathon Team Relay, we walked passed this lady with this cute baby.  I stopped to talk to her and we introduced our babies...

Well, a week later, I was in this yoga class for moms and their babies (it was free!), and the lady from the marathon walked in with her baby.  

Well, then Jamie sent me pictures of Bella and her friend, Stephanos, at a pumpkin patch, and lo and behold...it was the same baby and lady that I had run into twice!  I immediately called Jamie, and it turns out that they were friends...so the natural thing to do was to all get together! 

So, now Jamie, Shirille, and I get together once a week with our babies for a playdate, Bible study, and prayer.  We encourage one another in the Word.  It is so much fun!  Emmanuel is the youngest kid in the bunch, but he holds his on!  Since he is the youngest, I also get to pick their brains about the latest toys and milestones.  We are all learning together! 

Below are the kids:  Stephanos (9 1/2 months), Emmanuel (4 months), Bella (8 months on the 14th), and Roan (6 months--he is the neighbor's little boy, Jamie watches him).

Emmanuel is also starting to sit on his own a bit--he falls over pretty fast...but we are getting there.  We need to get there soon because Emmanuel has started to escape the bumbo (that is the baby seat he is sitting in).  I will put him in it, then he arches his back to get out of it! 

Eli's birthday is tomorrow...I'll be sure to post pictures.   Love you all!

First Black President...

The first two pictures are from our visit to Nashville--and they are especially for Mia and Joshua who come to the blog "on the regular" to check up on their baby cousin.  Mia and Joshua, Emmanuel loves you very much and we hope that we get to see you soon.  

This is Mia and Emmanuel.....

This is Joshua and Emmanuel.  **Might I add that Joshua is not even 2 yet--isn't he such a tall boy!  I think he'll do a fine job protecting Emmanuel when they get older! 

Emmanuel and I headed to the polls early Tuesday morning.As we approached the long line outside of the church, I thought to myself...hmm...I don't know how long this wait is and Emmanuel will probably need to take a nap in about an hour.  As soon as I thought that, the election judge came out of the church and said, "Hey....lady with the baby...come on in!"  I got to have a seat with the senior citizens while they all goo-gooed and ga-gaad over Emmanuel.  We ended up getting through the polls pretty quickly because of the grace that was shown to us.

As I sat down with Emmanuel in my lap to vote...this wave of emotions came over me.  I thought about my granddaddy who was a sharecropper--whose own dad was a freed slave--I thought about the many times he has faced discrimination in his life...in Tennessee...in America and how he gracious he is.  I thought about my dad, who was an avid political follower, who marched during the civil rights movement, and who participated in demonstrations...I thought about how I wish that he could have been there with me to vote...

I thought about many others who long awaited a time in our country where African Americans could not just run for president...but could run and win...I thought about Dr. King and his courageous battle for equality...I am often humbled when I think of the many who have gone before, even in the face of death to fight for justice and equality.  I thought about how Emmanuel would know a different America than my granddad, my daddy, and even myself...yes, he will still experience racism because we live in a sinful and fallen world...but he will have more opportunities because a minority, a black man, a bi-racial man, a "mutt" just like him is President of the United States of America.  It is a new day in America.

As I watched and waited like everyone else in America to see the electoral votes...tears began to form as the numbers for Obama began to increase.  When he exceeded 270--I bawled...those were tears for my grandparents, my parents, my great-grandparents....for all of those who worked so hard in the face of extreme racism and adversity so that we could have better...so that we could do better...so that we could still hold our head up high and achieve when we were called the "n" word on the playground at 7 years old...so that we could believe that God had a plan for our lives even when teachers told us that "our kind" would not make it...those were tears for me.  

Below are some great pictures of Emmanuel from this week.  He has been laughing and rolling over.  This kid loves to smile at folks. (Thanks Mona and Ms. Brenda for the outfit!)

Emmanuel looks like he is going to beat someone up in the picture...it's how he is poking his lips out...
Back to the silly pictures...

Please continue to keep us in your prayers.  Eli turns 33 on Friday, Nov. 14.  Happy Birthday, Eli!

Youth Sunday and Miami

Hey, friends and family!  Emmanuel is 4 months old now.  

(I tried to get another smile...but the red light on my camera is distracting to my boy!)

A couple of weeks ago we had our annual Youth Sunday at church. The youth led the service and Eli preached on 1 Kings 19.  It was a wonderful worship experience, and it made me look forward to worship in heaven.  I LOVE worship--I love to sing, I love to dance, I love to praise the sweet name of Jesus.  Below is a picture of some of the youth in Sunday School. 

Our Youth Group is called "YOU KNOW"--it stands for "Youth of Unique Knowledge Now Overcoming the World."  Our "unique knowledge" is Jesus Christ. 

Here is a picture of Pastor Stan with Emmanuel.  Pastor Stan preaches, plays guitar, sings, and he and his wife, Terri, have raised 5 kids (including a set of triplets)...I know, crazy, right!  

Emmanuel fell sound asleep after the 2nd service.  The poor kid was in church for 6 hours!!!  

After youth Sunday, we packed our bags and headed to the Christian Community Development Conference in Miami.  (No wonder Eli came back from Miami sick...we barely recovered from Youth Sunday when it was time to go again).  Below is a picture of three students, Sarah, Michelle, and Peter that we took with us to Miami--they were a part of a student intensive leadership conference that was being held in conjunction with the larger conference.

Emmanuel loves hanging out with his daddy.  It was his first time on a light rail!

Here is a picture of our team!  

Well, Miami was fun, but we were exhausted afterwards!  Eli got some antibiotics, and he is doing much better.  

Tomorrow is the big election day!  We will all stroll over to the church to vote.  

Until next week, folks.  Thanks for reading :)