Avery's Dedication

On Sunday November 15, 2009, Levi and I officially dedicated our precious baby girl to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Yes, it was a reason to get dressed up, to spend time with family and friends, and to eat great food, but more so than any of those reasons it was a time to celebrate the life God created and gave to us. It was a great day for celebrating!

Brother Steve, our incredible pastor, said it all when he prayed that God would continually draw her heart to Him, so that one day she will be tender to his calling and give Hm her life, just as Jesus laid down His for her and us so many years ago. Our wish for her is to crave closeness with God and to be in His word much more than either of us were in our early days (and now for that matter). Yes, she will make mistakes and we will too as parents...but we serve a merciful God full of grace for His children.

Lord, please be with Levi and I as we raise Avery toward your purpose. Help us to never deter her from the calling you place on her life, even if it makes us anxious. We know that all things work for the good of those who love You. I pray that above all else, Avery will always see our love for You. Protect our marriage and keep our eyes open to the evil that is lurking and wants only to tear our sweet family apart. To say thank you for her is not nearly enough to convey how rich our life is now that she is here. Amen!

Throughout the day of her dedication and this past week, the old hymn Draw Me Nearer has been running through my mind and I believe that it describes our prayer for her perfectly...

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.

Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.

Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!

There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.

2 Months Old!

I am a little behind on Avery's 2 month post...I have been spending most of my time with her, soaking up her incredible cuteness and trying not to think about the time I will be spending away from her once back at work. Tomorrow is the big day. I am going to work half days through Monday and then will be back full time on Tuesday. Levi will be with her this week, and then his Mother is coming next week... If you think to, please remember me in your prayers. How did the time pass so quickly?

Look at that picture of Avery, couldn't you just eat her up. She has become quite the smiler lately. It melts my heart! Levi says I am the luckiest because she will give me smiles without being provoked. As in she just sees me and smiles, where as other people have to talk to her or prod her to smile. Anyway that you get one though, it is absolutely precious. I snapped these pictures the other day when she was laying in Levi's lap. You can tell she loves for her Daddy to play with her. Right now, she loves for you to sit her up and talk to her. She still loves her swing and it is probably by far my favorite thing we have. Well, maybe behind the paci :) She is so happy in the morning when she wakes up. Both at 5:45 and then again at 9:00. I love singing and talking to her when I change her diaper. When I stand her up after a diaper change, I have started singing and helping her dance to "Stand up, Stand up for Jesus." She really likes it!

She had her first Drs. Appt. on November 2nd. She weighed 11. 10 and was 22.5 in. long. This placed her in the 75th percentile for weight and the 50th percentile for length. So she started out in life, long and skinny and now she is moving more toward the short and plump! She is adorable. Because it has been awhile since I have posted... at 9 weeks she weighed 12 lbs, at 8 weeks 11.10, at 7 weeks, 11.5, and at 6 weeks 10.12. I look back at her pictures when she was first born and I remember how gorgeous I thought she was then, but we both think she gets prettier everyday!

At 9 weeks, she spent her first night away from us. This past Saturday, Levi and I had the day to ourselves and used it to go over to Columbus to shop. My sweet Mom kept Avery from 1:00 on Saturday until 11:00 on Sunday morning. When we got back I went and nursed about 9:15 just so she would sleep really well, and then we came home. The house felt empty without her here. We are definitely a family now and feel like we are missing a piece when we don't have her. However, it was nice to get some much needed rest, relaxation, and time together. Some people say that the first year of their marriage is the hardest. I would say though that the 2nd month of having your first child is the hardest. It isn't that we argue or fight more, it is just finding the right balance of time for everything that needs to be done and then remembering to save some time for each other. It is a learned process, one that we are taking one day at a time. Thank God I have a husband though who is selfless and helps me tremendously with Avery and our home. How did those moms back in the day do it without any help? It explains why so many middle aged women are on nerve pills now!

Until next time!

Avery's First Halloween!

So even though Avery was only in her costume for about 5 minutes, we still managed to catch some sweet pictures. A lady who works with Levi let us borrow her ladybug outfit. I think Avery makes a very cute bug...what do you think? A very pretty witch (Aunt B) also stopped by to see our little bug. I can only imagine when Avery is in college dressing up for a Halloween party! I am glad I have many years to prepare! Next year should be more interesting. She will be a little over a year old and hopefully walking.