Washed By The Water

Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." -- Acts 2:38

Baptism is a beautiful thing.  It is an outward illustration of the spiritual cleansing we experience when we are saved by our faith in the Lord.  The picture of the water cleansing our flesh so that the Holy Spirit can cleanse our hearts as we trust in Christ is priceless.  So much of faith is conceptual, but this visual is stunning.  Today we witnessed as several displayed their faith as they took the plunge--and John was one of them.  :-)  John was baptized as an infant, but had never previously taken this step of faith as an adult.  It was a long time coming and we couldn't be more thrilled to have been witnesses to this event.  And the stories behind this baptism make the day even more memorable.  :-) 

John was recently moved to make a date for his baptism.  He didn't make a big fuss about it or call a bunch of attention to it, rather he made mention of it to me and then he signed up.  Because of this, the kids kind of found out last minute that they were going to sit in service rather than go to Sunday school classes to enable them to watch Baptism Sunday service.  We are still pretty new to the church, so we really don't know how everything works there yet.  I had only seen one baptism service, but because it was at Easter, the format was somewhat special.  John had seen one service like they had today where the congregation celebrated communion and baptism in one day.  That helped him out a bit in anticipating how the flow of service might go because he signed up for baptism a little late and missed out on the baptismal preparation class (our church does the class as a help for understanding, but does not require it.  They want all who are willing to participate so they even allow for baptism decisions to be made on that day--it's really nice).  We were kind of prepared, kind of not exactly sure how the morning would flow, but we were there and as ready as could be--John at least had swim trunks.  :-)  When the Pastor called for all of the baptism participants to go get changed, John grabbed his stuff and stepped out.  Our church provides towels and the "I Trusted Jesus" shirts for everyone who gets baptized (those shirts are awesome by the way). 

One by one, the participants filed back in to the sanctuary where the troughs of water were set up (warm water by the way).  The believers took their turns making their statements of faith and being immersed.  I quickly realized that I was in a not-so-favorable location to get good pictures of this milestone, so I called on Jozsef to move closer to the action for photos.  I figured we could both document and I could filter out the best photos.  Jozsef gladly got up and headed straight for John.  I was a bit surprised.  I expected him to get closer, but he boldly went right to the front.  :-)  With Jozsef at his side, John was greeted by Pastor Jordan who asked John, "Who will baptize you?  Your son? (Jozsef's been getting to know the staff at church since he's been serving and John often sees the staff as he carts the boys back and forth for youth group).  John answered that he thought one of the Pastors would baptize him (Jason, our lead, or David, our adult ministry Pastor, whom John had been getting to know).  Jordan was content with that answer.  Then John quipped, "Hey Jordan, my son has a twenty spot for you if you hold me down just a little bit longer." (Jordan had made this joke at one time not long after we first met him--he's a great kidder).  Jordan chuckled and told Jozsef, "I'll hold him down, you bring him up".  They all laughed and then Jordan told John he would do the baptism.  John was good with that. So they began walking toward the stage together. John was the last of the group to be baptized at our service.  As they are walking, Jordan asked Jozsef, "Are you sure you don't want to baptize your dad?"  And before Jozsef could answer, Derrick (the lead youth Pastor, whom Jozsef works with) said, "Yeah!  I'll video for you!" to which Jozsef gladly agreed and just like that, it was set--Jozsef was slated to baptize John.  John was introduced to the congregation, he was asked to testify to his faith in Jesus, and then Jordan says, "And John's son is going to baptize him"--which was news to John.  :-)  John chuckled and said, "OK" and Jozsef proceeded with the honors. 

John gets in and is introduced

John is asked to testify to his faith

Being in the audience, I was surprised (but delighted) to see Jozsef baptize John.  Afterward, I expressed my surprise and John said there was a story behind that.  He told me of how three days ago, he had the thought, what if Jozsef were to baptize me?  He dismissed the thought deciding it was somewhat unconventional.   Then this morning, as we were sitting down for service, Jozsef leans over and asks John what he thought about the idea of Jozsef baptizing him.  John again dismissed the idea and said "no thank you" to Jozsef.  Then the service started and the baptism, with the conversations already outlined, started.  I laughed.  God had prepared John without him really realizing it.  :-) 

Jozsef baptizes his dad

John is washed by the water and has a happy soul

But it gets better.  Later this afternoon, Jozsef told me he had a back story to the baptism. Apparently, at the Easter baptism service, Jozsef began to think about how awesome it would be to be able to baptize his dad and his younger siblings who have yet to be baptized.  He decided to pray about it. Even though Jozsef wasn't sure why he felt moved to baptize them, he felt the call on his heart, so he asked God to bestow him the honor.  Flash forward to this morning, when Jozsef leaned over to ask John what he thought about the idea of him having the honor and John turning him down.   Jozsef told me that he didn't expect John to say "yes" but he had to ask.  So when John turned him down, he was okay with it.  Then Jozsef found himself in line with John when Jordan asked if Jozsef would be doing the baptizing.  Jozsef laughed and said, "I'd like to, but I'm just here to video."  Jozsef fully expected that to be the last of it.  He was caught off guard when Jordan asked again, as they were walking to the stage,  "You sure you don't want to baptize your dad?" as Derrick chimed in and took the phone so that Jozsef was free to participate.  Jozsef saw his in and took it.  Y'all, I'm telling you, God always gets His way!  That whole thing was beautifully orchestrated!  God moved everywhere and everyone who needed to be moved so that His original suggestion to John (His plan) was carried out.  And y'all, it was beautiful!  I laughed.  God moved--perfectly.  :-) 

All baptism participants are asked to sign their names on the trough to commemorate their day

It's official :-) 

I have no idea what the significance is of Jozsef baptizing John, but God made sure it happened.  :-)  Today was a really good day and all the thanks goes to God as as He moves in us and for us so that we get just what we need, even if we don't think it's the right plan.  His love for us continually amazes me.  <3 nbsp="" p="">

John in his awesome I Trusted Jesus shirt, soaking wet, and super happy. 

Seasonal Photos

Since it is birthday season, it is also the time of year that we update what the frames in our house are holding.  I had to find us a new family photographer, which is no easy task, but I was very pleased with the lady I found.  Heather was fun and flexible and though she really doesn't know us (yet) :-) she did a good job at capturing classic kid looks.  We kind of did a double duty shoot in that we needed all new family pictures, but we also needed Senior pictures for Jozsef (yep!  it's already that time!)  Heather did a lot of work in one hour and we walked away with some great memories!  Thank you Heather Photographers!  We look forward to future shoots with you.  :-)

Since we packed a lot in, I'll try to highlight her work here.  We started with a family shot and then broke down the groups from there.

After which we focused on each child and took a few couples shots.

The kids did a great job even though it was quite chilly (the sun looks amazing here but it was the first day without rain in a couple of days and the first day of decent temps in at least a week).

Jozsef will be 18 this year and graduates in June.  He's applying to schools and jobs and looking forward to his next chapter.

Nikolas is 15 now and will be finishing his first year of high school in June.  He's kind of anxious to be 16 so that more doors will open, but he's also realizing that with age comes great responsibility.  Thankfully, he's starting to realize the value of the few years left he has of being a minor.

Connor just turned 11 and will finish 5th grade in June.  He's excited because here, 6th grade is considered junior high which means he gets to enroll in all kinds of fun stuff! 

Sonja will soon be 9 and is finishing 3rd grade in June.  She is a bit jealous that Connor gets such a big bump up next school year, but she's taking it in stride.  She's another one I wish could slow down, but then, she's been competitive with the boys from the beginning! 

Riley is 7 and will be finishing second grade in June.  He's perfectly happy spending his time alone in his room creating and imagining things with this Legos and other building supplies so he's pretty happy that his work load isn't as heavy as the older boys.  He says he wants to be a nerd.  :-) 

Hannah is about to turn 6 and she's finishing kindergarten in June.  Ever the baby in the family, Hannah is enjoying her space in last place and is in no hurry to move up in most regards.  She's very imaginative and enjoys her time to dream and play.  Enjoy it little one!  

We even caught a few silly moments--which I love.

It's so nice to have good family photos to adorn our walls.  :-) Oh and those Senior photos, you'll have to wait for that post.  :-)

Kicking off May

May is a very busy month for us--always.  Between holidays and birthdays we pretty much have an activity a week.  Connor's birthday kicks off the month for us and it's a double whammy of a celebration as his birthday falls on May the 4th, which, for all of the Star Wars fans of the world is just the coolest day ever as everyone walks around saying May the 4th be with you! 

Connor loves that his birthday falls on Star Wars day, and though I was really rooting for him to last one more day in utero so that he could continue the birthday date streak that we had going (6/6, 4/4--and he should have been 5/5...) I do love that his birthday is on Star Wars day and not Cinco de Mayo (which, by the way, had he been born on 5/5 I was going to claim Intl. Midwifery Day over Cinco de Mayo).  :-)  Naturally, Star Wars has become part of his yearly celebration, usually in the form of a movie marathon.  This is separate from whatever birthday activity he chooses (he gets bonus for landing on a "holiday").  :-) 

This year, Connor really wanted to see the newest Marvel movie, so I took him and his chosen sibling (Jozsef) for a lunch and movie afternoon.  We had a great chicken wing meal and Connor got a birthday scoop. 

Then we hit the theater for a matinee of Infinity Wars.  The movie was action packed and very entertaining.  We had a wonderful afternoon.

The boys were waiting in the lobby before the movie started.  They were enjoying the comfy seating when they realized the ceiling was mirrored.  :-) 

In decorating the house for Connor's birthday, Nikolas devised this tissue paper version of Vision to adorn the wall.  It looked pretty good! 

That evening, we had dinner, cake and gifts with the rest of the family.  Connor chose a peach cake (a nod to his first Georgia birthday) and we all enjoyed another Star Wars movie to round out the night.

Happy 11th birthday Connor!  One step closer to teen status and so much more to come!  We love you! <3 p="">

Nikolas is Another Year Older

The Easter week was packed for us as right after Easter, Nikolas turned fifteen.  Nikolas has created a tradition of touring the town for his birthday.  He has a handful of spots that he likes to visit to comprise his day.  He was very excited to figure out that the move would not deter him from his tradition as we were able to find all of his favorite spots.  So on his birthday, we hit the road to tour the town.  First we had lunch at Panera. 

Nikolas loves their bread bowl soups.  Fueled up, we stopped at Trader Joe's for chocolate covered raisins.  After which, we stopped in at Barnes and Noble for books and coffee.  The evening was spent at home with family for dinner and cake.  This year, Nikolas made his own cake because he really wanted to experiment with a jello cake recipe.  He had envisioned a blue color gradient, but unfortunately, it turned out mostly the same shade of blue throughout.  The good thing was that the color had no bearing on the taste and everyone enjoyed jello with a dollop of cool whip. 

The siblings were very creative for his birthday too in making cards and Minecraft messages.  They are getting creative with how they light the candles and create pyrotechnic effects in their worlds.  It's pretty neat! 

Happy birthday to a man in the making--our dear Nikolas!  We're so glad you're here! :-)

Easter

Easter was right after my birthday this year.  Being new in the area, we didn't have much in the way of plans, so we stuck to options that have worked well in the past.  We attended church, dyed eggs,

 had an egg hunt, watched classics like The Ten Commandments and Risen, we used the Resurrection Eggs to review the story of the Crucifixion,

we had a confetti egg toss and battle, and we enjoyed a good dinner (not necessarily in that exact order). 

The kids were happy with the day as were John and I, so I'd count it as a holiday well spent.  :-)

Spring Has Sprung

I'm way behind on blogging, for several reasons.  Much of life's daily duties consume me and my time.  School takes precedents over most and still there is much to do.  We are still getting used to life on the east coast, and though having real seasons to experience is very nice in many ways, I'll tell you, when winter goes long (as it apparently has here this year) many things get delayed.  So when spring finally perked up, the pace picked up in everything.  And so I am late, but better late than never, so here goes a string of posts to catch up before spring runs into summer!

We'll start with my birthday since that's when the season begins.  My day was lovely.  The weather was absolutely perfect, and since the snow had finally gone, the flowers were enjoying their chance to see the sun.  John took me to spend the afternoon in the gardens.  It was quite nice with plenty to see and much peace to absorb. 

That evening, I was presented with a homemade sushi dinner coupled with a recipe surprise by Nikolas (the boy loves to cook and it's cool).  He made for me wine jello flower balls.  They were delectable and quite pretty. 

John topped off the evening with a homemade tiramisu which was super tasty.  The kids were very crafty in the cards and gifts they gave me.  I even received a Minecraft cake with fireworks! 

Sonja and Connor collaborated in making this Minecraft "live card".  It was pretty cool! 

Nikolas drew this card for me.  I love to see that the art we study is paying off.  :-) 

It was a very nice day.  :-)