My Daughter, My Sister

My daughter, Lily, is now my sister in Christ! Last weekend she prayed to receive Christ and became my sister through the work of Jesus Christ. This morning she was obedient to the Lord and was baptized at our church, Buffat Heights Baptist. BJ was honored to baptize her. And being overwhelmed by the joy of participating in such a major event for his daughter, he choked up while sharing Romans 10:9 "...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

This picture was taken immediately before BJ and Lily stepped down into the water. Schaeffer, Griffin, and I watched from the side of the baptistery (Charlotte is not pictured because she was in the nursery). Griffin was so sweet to congratulate Lily as she was climbing the steps out of the water. He hugged her and said, "Yay, Lily! You did a great job!"

My prayer is to see each of my children receive salvation and to witness their baptisms.

Lily's baptism on Sunday, April 28. A wonderful day for our family!

My Little Cuddle Monkey Turns 4

I just can't hardly believe it! My little Griffin turned 4 years old today. He's a bundle of...joy, cuteness, mischief.

Natural Dyes

I came across this while researching the "purple-red" dye discovered by the Phoenicians (circa 1000 B.C.). The Phoenicians' color-of-royalty dye comes from a certain sea snail. The list on this website made my creative wheels crank. Check it out!

And the Art Fair Winners Are...

I'm proud of Schaeffer and Lily for the artwork they submitted this year at our homeschool co-op's art fair. Schaeffer won "Best in Show," which is an honor given to only two elementary students for their work. Lily won a "1st Place" ribbon for her entry, which is an honor given to only one student from 1st and 2nd grade combined. I'm a very proud mama!

"The Night the Death Angel Passed Over" (Notice the two figures in the top right window of his painting. He specifically wanted to add a head of a dad and his son. How sweet is that?!)

"This is My Father's World" (This is Lily's interpretation of a girl band rockin' it for God!)

1st Annual Easter Tailgate Party

BJ and I have often talked about how much effort some folks spend leading up to a big game like the Super Bowl or the SEC Championship. Yet we spend so little effort leading up to a big celebration like Easter. This day is like the Super Bowl of Christianity! It's a day when our churches have standing room only or they conduct their worship services in theaters, stadiums, and coliseums to make room for all who want to celebrate. We have joked, what if people actually threw tailgate parties outside these facilities to extend the celebration over the whole weekend? What if people tried to nab a parking spot anticipating the crowd on Sunday? We see this displayed nearly every Friday and Saturday in the fall when the Big Orange crowds take over downtown Knoxville and UT campus. It's exciting, there's a certain camaraderie in the air. What if we experienced that over the weekend when the whole community celebrates the resurrection of our Lord? So...we organized a 1st Annual Easter Tailgate Party in the parking lot of our church. It was so much fun! We grilled hot dogs, roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. The kids (and adults) played four square and rode bikes and scooters on the paved lot. We celebrated until sundown. I hope this becomes an annual event for us, because it sure was fun spending the evening before Easter Sunday with church family.