Cameron's Dedication

A couple weeks ago we had a lovely Dedication ceremony for Cameron.  It was a gorgeous summer day and similar to Nate's dedication, we had the ceremony in the beautiful backyard garden of the Spauldings'.  One of our most favorite people in the world, our pastor friend Darin Hanson conducted the private ceremony for us and all of our family was in attendance.

The purpose of the Dedication is more of a commitment for us as parents and then the larger family to raise Cameron to know that Christ loves him and to teach him about the lessons and life of Jesus, how to have a personal relationship with Christ and that God loves us so much that He sent his son to give us grace and save us.  We dedicated ourselves in a formal ceremony that Cameron would know and experience all this for his spiritual growth as a child and then he can continue on his own faith journey as he moves into adulthood.

In addition to the commitment statements, James and I also read our personal promises as parents to Cameron.  The things we want to commit to for him so he can grow up feeling loved, knowing grace, having fun, and living all his life adventures to the fullest.

It was a wonderful day and such a special little celebration.  He probably won't remember it, but we won't forget it any time soon.

**Special shout out to Uncle Ryan for capturing some great shots of the day.

Cutie loves showing off his belly button

Darin is such a blessing to us!

Reading our promises to him

Surrounded by such an amazing family

We love you Cameron!

Nathan's Dedication

On August 18, 2013 we had a Dedication ceremony for Nathan.  For those of you who aren't sure what that means, our spiritual beliefs are to have a child dedicated to Christ which means the child's parents, family, and close friends help raise the child learning about, observing, and exemplifying the love of Jesus and His teachings.  Then when the child is at an age where he can understand more and make a decision on his own, the next step would be to get baptized.  Over the years our church has gotten so large that they don't perform baby dedication ceremonies during church services anymore.  The awesome part about that is we got to create our own unique ceremony that could be intimate and personalized.

We held our ceremony in the beautiful backyard garden of James' parents' house.  It was a gorgeous sunny day and Nathan was surrounded by his closest family and people who love him.  Darin Hanson, our wonderful campus pastor performed the ceremony and we couldn't have asked for someone more thoughtful and personable.  It was a really special day and we look forward to the future day when we'll get to celebrate Nathan's baptism.

Darin asked us as parents and Nathan's family to adhere to various promises and commitments

James and I then read some special messages we wrote for Nathan--our own promises to him

Beautiful cake from Grampa and Gramma

Heidi and Jesse Fader--Nate's amazing godparents!

Nate's whole loving family.  Notice he's pointing up to heaven.  He's a quick learner.  :)

 

Thankful

I just love this time of year.  I think Christmas is officially my favorite holiday, but Thanksgiving comes in at a close second.  The great thing about Thanksgiving is it's more low key, good time with family, involves food, and doesn't include all the hustle and bustle that comes with Christmas. 

This year especially we feel overwhelmingly blessed and grateful.  It's hard to put it all into words.  The best word I can think of to sum it all up is abundance.  God's blessings this year are in abundance....even including the tough times and it was wonderful these past few days just reflecting on and celebrating all that He's done for us.

Thanksgiving is a flip flop holiday for us meaning we share the meal with one family, dessert with the other family and then the next year we flip flop.  This year we had Thanksgiving meal with the Spauldings.  James has a lot of extended family who live in town and even some who traveled into town so his mom and dad hosted 13 people for the big meal!  It was a big undertaking, but the food was spectacular (Kudos to you Barb and Jay!).  It was a wonderful afternoon of talking and catching up, telling stories, watching football, and helping to cook.  Our job this year was to make the mashed potatoes.  I have to admit--when I first got our assignment I was extremely nervous.  I mean come on...mashed potatoes?  That's everyone's favorite part of the meal!  No pressure!  But Barb gave me this great recipe where really you couldn't make any mistakes.  With plenty of cream cheese, sour cream, butter, and milk mixed in, there was no way the potatoes wouldn't taste yummy.  And I have to admit, they turned out pretty good!  Recipe is included below if you're interested. 

One of my favorite traditions that the Spauldings do is after the meal, they pass around a plate or box of truffles.  Everyone has to take a chocolate and then talk about what they're thankful for.  Without fail everyone shares a few tears, and it's such a meaningful moment.   

After a few hours at the Spauldings, we said our goodbyes and headed to the Warners for dessert.  The Warner celebration was small in comparison--just my mom, dad and brother.  But it was nice, quiet and relaxing.  We enjoyed mom's french silk pie and pecan pie while flipping back and forth between football and the movie Elf.  It was a perfect end to a really great day.  Thank you mom and dad!  (bummer I didn't get any pictures at the Warners).

The rest of the long weekend included me shopping downtown with my mom and dad on Black Friday (our annual tradition), watching the Huskies win the Apple Cup, and James and I were even ambitious enough to put up the Christmas lights and our Christmas decorations!  We'll get the tree next week.  Didn't take long to move right into the next holiday! 

Barb and Aunt Joyce with the HUGE turkey!	Jay with Uncle Mike and Uncle Jerry
The whole gang	Full and happy

Pilgrim Potatoes Recipe

5 pounds potatoes (9 large)
6 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into small chunks
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon onion salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup milk
1/2 stick butter, cut into pieces

1. Peel potatoes, cube and cook in boiling, salted water until tender, 15-20 minutes. Drain.
2. Put the potatoes and the cream cheese in a large mixer bowl. Using a hand potato masher, mash until smooth.
3. Add the sour cream, onion salt, pepper, milk and butter. Using the electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy.
4. Put into 2-quart casserole. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes. (OR may be covered and refrigerated for a couple of days or overnight, then baked at the same temperature as the turkey, 325°, for 45-50 minutes or until heated through.)

Yield: 8 servings

Meaningful Weekend

This past weekend was packed with some meaningful and emotionally powerful events. 

On Friday we attended the BENefit for the Ben Towne Foundation.  Our good friend Kristen's nephew passed away almost 3 years ago after bravely battling Neuroblastoma cancer for over a year.  He was just 3 years old.  In his memory, his parents and family established the Ben Towne Foundation to help support pediatric cancer research so other parents don't have to go through what they did.  We went to the launch of the Foundation last year and this year we learned how much has already been accomplished from the Foundation's efforts.  The Foundation helps to support the Center for Childhood Cancer Research at Seattle Children's Research Institute.  The Center is trying to change how pediatric cancer is treated.  Ben's parents spoke along with some of the researchers who are leading the way with this innovative research.  It was a very moving and special evening.  We encourage you to visit the website to learn more.  While you're there, be sure to watch the special edition of The Soup that was created just for the BENefit.


Then on Saturday morning we woke up early and headed to the Seattle AIDS Walk on Capitol Hill in Seattle.  We joined a team with fellow church members and walked with our good friends, Heidi and Jesse.  It was a fun neighborhood walk and a beautiful day.  They had an AIDS Memorial Tent where they displayed parts of the AIDS Quilt which was cool to see.  They also had an eye opening timeline of how AIDS has progressed in the last 3 decades. 


Finally, on Sunday morning our church launched 2 new campuses.  The main campus is in Bothell and this past weekend they started campuses in Sammamish and Seattle.  We are helping to launch the Sammamish campus by serving as usher captains.  Church is being held at Skyline High School which is an awesome facility.  The kids that go there are lucky!  We had a strong turnout for the very first Sunday and we're excited to see how many new people on the Eastside develop a relationship with Christ and find a new church home.  The Seattle campus is taking place on UW's campus in Kane Hall.  If any of you are looking for a dynamic, non-judgmental church that really "walks its talk" then we encourage you to check out one of the campuses.  

Whew!  Weekends are busy in the fall, but there's lots to look forward to.  Happy Fall everyone! 

We'll Get You There

"We'll Get You There" is the slogan of the King County Metro transportation department.  And what I (Megs) have now learned from riding the bus into work almost every day for 4 years is that their slogan doesn't really tell the whole story.  I feel like there should be some caveats added to that slogan such as:

"We'll Get You There. You probably won't be on time and you may have to stand in the pouring rain and cold wind waiting for us for 20 minutes, but you'll eventually get there"

"We'll Get You There along with a bunch of other people who seem like they're either coming from or going to the loony bin."

"We'll Get You There but it probably won't smell very good along the way."

"We'll Get You There and you'll have the added bonus of learning the life stories and sagas of your co-passengers because they will talk too loudly on their cell phones."

There always seems to be some kind of adventure on the bus.  I take one bus into the city from the suburbs.  That bus is actually kind of boring.  Most people are pretty normal and just need a cheaper option to get to work.  That bus is quiet and as I look around almost everyone is glued to their smart phone, listening to music, or reading a book or newspaper.  That bus ride actually feels relaxing and I fall asleep most times. 

And then comes the joy of riding the downtown bus up to my workplace.  The craziness of that bus ride never ceases to amaze me.  Some days, especially when it's really crowded or bad weather, the bus makes me cranky and I'm not in the mood to deal with it.  But over time, I think riding the bus has actually been really good for me.  It has taught me more compassion and empathy for humanity.  As I sit and observe others or listen to them tell their stories, I realize that most people in this world are just trying to get by, feel loved, or receive validation.  I once heard someone say they would never ride the buses in the city because they're too scary.  If I have learned anything from the downtown bus it's just the opposite.  It's helped me realize that the inner city isn't that scary.  It's just filled with people who are lost and hurting.   

I think a lot about my faith and actions when I'm on the bus.  I know that if Jesus were here today, He would definitely be riding the bus.  He would give up his seat for someone who was injured and didn't have health insurance.  He would sit and talk with the woman on her way to the drug rehab clinic and probably give her a hug.  He would give bus money to the homeless man.  I am challenged by this on every ride because I definitely don't always behave the way Jesus would with people on the bus.  Most of the time I'm annoyed or judgmental.  But I see the Lord using spaces like this to teach me what it means to help and support those who are hurting and oppressed.  Even if that means just giving a smile or giving up my seat.

"We'll Get You There and you might just become a better human being along the way."