I just love fall. Cool weather, brightly colored leaves, apple orchards, hayrides, bonfires, candy corn, and pumpkin anything! This past weekend I took a much needed trip to visit the fam in St. Louis, see old friends and celebrate fall!! It was a blast. I spent quality time with my entire family, went to a reunion for my high school youth group, visited some of my favorite fall places, and celebrated the dedication of my sweet niece Mikail. Here's a detailed recap of the festivities...
My sister Sara is six months pregnant, expecting my second niece, Gracyn Mykenze, in February. We got to spend a couple of great "baby days" together. My mom and I ordered this awesome baby bedding that was on sale at pottery barn. It came in the mail right before I came in town. It was so fun to open the boxes and look at everything. There is a quilt and pillow with Gracyn's name embroidered. Just seeing that sudddenly made her life seem so real. The excitement is building for all of us. The baby activities continued as we helped Sara shop for maternity clothes at Old Navy, and then it was on to Target for some much needed gift registering. Those who know me well know I love Target and I love decorating. I've never registered for anything before but always thought it would be really fun to get one of those registry guns and just start scanning all the things you love...for somebody else to buy. What I great idea! Well, I was right...it's SO fun. It didn't take long for me to convince Sara to let me take control of the gun. Before I knew it I was scanning every cute little girl thing I could find. Seemed like a good time to have a little fun. Don't worry though, Sara didn't let me have total control of the gun. She drew the line when I told her I saw the perfect art for her wall...and she did not agree. I mean, who doesn't need a sign in their nursery that reads, "All because two people fell in love". Come on! Ha. Ok, I'm kidding. I didn't really want to register her for it, but I did think it would have been really funny to see if anybody bought it. We made it through Target having scanned all the necessities plus a few fun splurges. It was a memorable experience to say the least. However, I'm not sure Sara will be coming with me the first time I register for anything!
Here's Sara at 6 months and looking great!
Here's Sara at 6 months and looking great!
With niece number two on the way and niece number one now nine months old, I'm in aunt heaven these days. Mikail is more fun than ever...crawling, pulling up on everything, playing games, trying to talk and smiling all the time. Of course, if I had four new teeth I'd flash them all the time too! I got to spend a couple days with her. We even had our first outing together...just us girls. We went to shop n' save and then to my sisters to cook dinner for the fam. We had such a good time. Of course, its quite an adventure lugging around a car seat...with an 18 pound baby in it, a diaper bag, pushing a cart, putting groceries in it, checking out, bagging the groceries, getting back out to the car and then loading everything into the car and then the house. Moms are superheroes really! I have a new found respect. And I realize this experience is really nothing compared to what parents actually face on a daily basis. It really is such a sacrifice. Good thing she's so cute! :)
Baby Blues
Baby Blues
Such a poser for the camera these days.
A hug waiting to happen indeed!
Then there was the youth group reunion. I drove out to the country where my friend Rachel lives with her husband and three kids. I helped Rach shop, get the house ready and prepare food for 50 people. We spent the evening visiting with old friends...literally, some I have known since I was five...playing football, going on a hayride, building a bonfire, and looking at slides from youth group days--boy was that a trip. Nothing like photos of your most awkward stages to remind your how good it is that life really does move forward. Can I get an amen!
Bonfire building with my bro.
My dear friends Lizzy and Cherie who I've known for 20+ years.
Next was Kuntfest 2008...at least that's what I've decided to call it. On Sunday, we all skipped church (don't worry we went Sunday night) and headed out to Grafton, Illinois to a place that has been a special family spot for as long as I can remember...Eckert's Orchard. The drive there was so beautiful...along the Mississippi River, called the Great River Road. With the river on one side and bluffs covered with bursts of fall color on the other side....it was the perfect fall scene. We road a wagon out to the orchard to pick apples. The end of the season appeared to be drawing near and we found ourselves in a dilemma when all the apples were found either on the ground or up so high you could hardly reach them. But I should have known that wouldn't stop the men in my family. My brother, David, hoisted his wife, Danielle, on his shoulders and then proceeded to climb a tree with her on his back. My dad even climbed a tree. We left there with some of the best looking apples we had ever seen. Some had bruises, but we didn't care. There delivery to us was produced by a lot of love and determination. With pounds of apples in toe we began the scenic journey home. But not without a stop at the corner store where they sell the best pumpkin pie fudge I've ever had in my life. Over-dramatic? Not so much. I've searched high and low and have yet to find any that rivals it. I don't even know the name of the place. I just know its a white and blue building that sits on the corner and has a sign out front that says "Fudge". That's good enough for me.
Ok, I saved the best for last. I know, hard to believe when everything prior has been so great. Sunday night was my last night with the fam. We had the best celebration of all. My sweet niece was dedicated during the serve at her church on Sunday night. David and Danielle are part of North Church which they have been helping to plant for the last year and a half. The entire service was centered around being godly parents and then ended with a parent commitment, as well as a community commitment to live gospel transformed lives before Mikail in hope and prayer that her life would in turn be transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was similar to a wedding where the parents recite vows and make "I do" statements. And then they asked the family and church members to do the same. I committed to living a "gospel transformed life" in front of Mikail. Wow, that's quite a commitment. I was challenged to think about if I do that consistantly now with the rest of my family and was led to the realizaton that I do not. Sometimes the safety and comfort of family can cause us to be more careless with our attitudes and words causing us to look more like us and less like Christ. Is it just me??? The dedication challenged me to refocus my commitment to walk in my true identity...as a person who has been completely transformed by the gospel. And not just for me to know, but for you to find out!
Lord, I praise you for the life of our sweet Mikail. I thank you that even now, at such a young age, you are drawing her heart to your own. I pray that she would desire to know you and to love you more than anything else in this world. I pray that you would grow her into a women of great strength who will stand firm and be a voice of truth in a culture that has such a skewed view of right from wrong. I pray that you would mold her to be gentle, compassionate and gracious, who through incredible love and kindness will draw others to you.
God is indeed good!
2 comments:
Amen friend! I love that you had such a great time at home. You have an awesome family. I LOVE the pics of Mikail...SOO CUTE. Miss you!
i'm catching up on reading...if you couldn't tell.
1) dave is such a stud climbing up a tree with dani on his back. who has even heard of such a thing?
2) such fun times at the orchard. i miss fall but you did a great job describing it. i'm fwding it to all my southern louisiana friends who don't understand what it's like for leaves to change.
3) why is it that churches in the style of young church plants do such an amazing job of recapturing the essence of what has become so common place in most established churches? i love churches that go the simple route and stay true to the heart of the matter at hand. Christ in you, the hope of glory!
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