Taylor's First Time Ice Skating

My little man contemplating the oddities of life


My favorite little man


A moment between daddy and son

An Ode to my better 3/4

Tis true ... I can't call my beautiful bride my better 1/2 because that would be diminishing her role in this relationship. Therefore she is my better 3/4, quite possibly my better 7/8. To outline her amazing ... ness. In less than 9 months she's moved us 6 hours away from our home of 8 years and then moved us again 5 months later 40 minutes north. She gave birth to our beautiful son TJ, she decorated our new house for "harvest time", then Thanksgiving and now Christmas. She's hosted 2 football parties and followed me around from church to church trying to find one for us. Not only did she find us a house, pained on the inside with the bedrooms in perfect position with fruit trees in the back yard, but it's only about 3 blocks from Taylor's school. Which by the way Courtney finds time to volunteer in at least once a week and be the room mom. Those duties include take home projects that include her (and I but strictly for moral support because I haven't the knack for crafts nor the undaunting strive for perfection that she possess) staying up until all hours of the night and early morning getting projects prepped for Taylor's class.

She has nursed each of us back to health at least twice in the last 8 months. She has given me the freedom to learn my job and become better acquainted with the gym over the last 7 months. She's watched me pull a muscle in my back and sprain my ankle within weeks of each other and picked up the slack when I wasn't able to help. She's organized our house to work efficiently but more importantly she's made it into a home with her personal touches. She makes sure we get to the beach as often as possible, sometimes to hang out, sometimes for a quick walk on the pier and sometimes a quick drive by, just to remind ourselves how we've been blessed.

So to my wife I say thank you for all you do, for what you do, for everything you give.

Baby Dedication

So this weekend we made the journey to Sacramento to have TJ dedicated by Pastor Mike at Gateway, and of course, to see all our friends. It has been a very relaxing time where God has blessed us. Jeremy and Mini Higgins have graciously opened their home to us and have been the loving friends they've always been. And it was nice to stay in the old house again, it only added the feelings of being at home. As an extra blessing, Courtney's brother Tim happened to be in Sacramento for something else so he was able to come to the dedication which meant we were able to have family there which was very special for us.

So this morning we took TJ to Gateway and it was amazing to see everyone and have everyone see TJ. After worship we took TJ up to the front and Mike began the dedication. Anytime Mike dedicates a baby he spends the week before hand praying specifically for that baby to bring a word from God to that baby. As he prayed for TJ he recounted how the apostle Thomas was the first to believe in Jesus from his region and how Thomas was such a solid and consistent follower of Christ during the early days of the church. And that was what God had given him for TJ. That when he came to believe it would be a solid and unshakable faith and that he would be a witness to all those around him.

It was a beautiful and emotional ceremony, not only did we have Tim to come up with us, but a few of our close friends: Shawn and Cher Ekesala, Jeremy and Mini Higgins and Mark and Jessica Penny also came up to support us in prayer. Worshiping with Gateway was a wonderful reminder of how blessed we've been over the last 9 years. It was also an encouragement that "closed" the Sacramento chapter of our lives. Courtney and I have struggled with feeling "displaced" in SLO as we've only recently found a church to call home, it was easy to look back at where we were for so long. I think this trip has helped both Courtney and I look to the future of what God has for us. While we will retain our friends and ties to Sacramento I think we are both ready to begin looking forward and building the life that God has ready for us.

P.S. Pictures to follow