Monday, July 26, 2010

3 Months



Sarah also turned 3 months old on Sunday. Of course I have to say the typical, "I can't believe she is already 3 months old!"



Fun things Sarah is doing these days...(these are more for my reference in the future so sorry if they are a little boring!)


  • All smiles in the morning. Getting her up in the morning and seeing a happy cooing baby is the best part of my day.

  • She has found her hands. She loves looking at them and then watching them move to her mouth.

  • She also pulls her legs up to her chest and rolls to her side. Before long she'll be rolling over!

  • She talks back! It's really cute (for now anyway!) to make noises for her and listen to her make them right back.

  • She loves watching lights and the fan. She will lie on the floor and stare up at the fan for almost an hour! Great entertainment!

  • She is sleeping 11 to 12 hours at night! I credit Baby Wise with that feat! Around 7 or 8 weeks she was sleeping at least 9 straight hours!

  • She eats 5 times a day and the times are pretty regular, 8 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 5 pm and 8 pm.

  • Bed time is 8:30ish and morning wake time is anywhere from 7:30 to 8 am.

  • She takes two really good naps during the day. One from 9 to 11 am and one from about 3 to 5 pm. A few cat naps in between.

  • As she has always been, she is still content to be by herself on the floor or a flat place. She loves kicking and moving her arms so being held or sitting in her carseat is too restricting for her liking...believe me, she HATES the carseat!

I adore this little baby girl. I am so blessed to be her mother!


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Baptism


Sarah's Baptism was so special on Sunday. Sarah was baptized along with her friend Anna, the daughter of our friends Tandon and Shawn. Shawn's dad baptized Anna and our pastor, Chris, baptized Sarah. Two sets of grandparents came to celebrate along with Aunt Betsy, Aunt Kati and cousin Carter. Even our great friends, the Walkers, traveled back from Conway to witness Sarah and Anna's baptism! We had a special ham dinner after church and birthday cake for Grandpa Jim and Papa Larry. Wish we would have taken more pictures with the family but in the hustle to get home and finish lunch I just didn't think about it. Thanks to everyone for coming!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Infant Baptism?

Among our friends and family (outside of our church friends...obviously) we would definitely fall in the minority when it comes to the topic of infant baptism. When we joined Trinity Grace Church the idea of baptizing infants was extremely foreign and, at the time, somewhat heretical. Upon studying more into the reformed theology beliefs, my ideas began to change. Once we knew we were going to have a baby, I had no doubt that I would baptize my child(ren). This can be a very controversial subject and one that I am very open to debate. Before I go on, let me be clear of one thing. I do not believe that baptizing my child in any way "saves" her. I only pray that she is called by God to his family. That is up to Him...not me. However, the whole predestination topic can open a whole new can of worms :). I ultimately believe that baptizing my child "sets her apart" (from children of non-Believers) and challenges us to continue to raise her in a body of Believers.



R. C. Sproul has a fantastic chapter about infant baptism in his book A Taste of Heaven. There is nothing in the Bible that explicitly teaches or commands the practice of infant baptism. Sproul challenges all believers to take this highly controversial issue with an extra measure of forbearance. This is a debate that rests ultimately on inferences and implications drawn from Scripture, not on explicit teachings. However, both sides cannot be correct...God either wants us to baptize infants or not. Here are the main parts of Sproul's chapter...



There are 5 main arguments against infant baptism. First, Believers' Baptism (BB) folks believe baptism is a sign of the faith of the person receiving the sacrament. Second, BBers also believe there is a mandate to baptize linked with repentance. Third, a BBer may point out that there are no examples of infant baptism in the New Testament. Fourth, a BBer would note that there are no examples of infant baptism until the 2nd century. Lastly the practice of circumcision in the OT communicated the principle of ethnic separation b/c redemption was accomplised through a nation of people by biological inheritance. In other words, the method of redemption changed from biology to theology.



Let's quickly visit the Reformed view of each of the BB's views. First, the Old Testament sign of the covenant was circumcision. This was given to infants so the New Testament sign of the covenant, baptism, should also be given to infants. Second, in the case of adults, or people capable of cognitive thinking, the procedure is to repent and then be baptized...if they have not come to that point before. However, because infants are not capable of cognitive thinking, they shall be given the sign of the New Covenant as they are children of a Believer(s). Third, there is Scriptural evidence for baptizing infants. There are 12 incidents involving the baptism of people in the NT. 9 of these clearly involve adults but 3 of them make mention of "households." The record says "so and so and his household were baptized" (Acts 16:15, 33, 1 Cor. 1:16). We are not sure what "household" means but we do know it refers to children. Fourth, the practice of infant baptism appears to have been very widespread in the history of the church. At the time of the early church, the NT Christian community was much more in tune with the historic continuity of the covenants, and nobody questioned giving babies the covenant sign. Lastly, the NT makes clear that people in the OT were saved in the same way they are saved after the coming of Christ. "Abraham believed and it was counted to him as righteousness." (Gen. 15:6) Not because he was baptized, but because he believed. Clearly, parental generation and propagation of children does not guarantee anyone's salvation. Even a baptized child has no guarantee of being a Christian. The NT makes it equally clear that this was also the case in the OT.



Ultimately, the OT sign of the covenant (circumcision) and the NT sign of the covenant (baptism) have a wealth of things in common, the most significant being that both of them are signs of the covenant of God with His people, and both are signs of faith. Circumcision was so important to God in the OT that he threatened to execute Moses when Moses delayed in giving the covenant sign to his children (Ex. 4:24-26). "



So, in conclusion, we have chosen to have Sarah baptized this Sunday. I welcome any and all questions but please e-mail me if you disagree or want to debate. As we look forward to this coming Lord's Day, I pray that my daughter will someday be called to the family of God. I also pray that we can raise our daughter as Eunice raised Timothy...(Paul speaking) "but as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." (2 Tim. 3:14-15)

Pics to follow Sunday's special day as we will also be celebrating two of Sarah's grandfathers' birthdays!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Fun Photo Friday

Here are a couple of pics from the 4th that I didn't have when I made that post. Carter and Sarah are 8 months apart. I'm pretty much planning on them being best buds...although Sarah doesn't look so sure in that second pic.

Daniel and I tried out the Baby Bjorn yesterday and I must say we really like it. SJ liked it too because she fell asleep on Daniel's chest halfway into our walk. It was super sweet!


Thursday, July 8, 2010

Playgroup Fun!

Sarah has made a bunch of friends lately! Ok, not really but, sort of...she has been hanging out with some pretty fabulous babies once a week for the last month or so. I think that play groups are going to be an important part of Sarah's life. These dates will be where she can learn some valuable lessons in sharing, socializing, fellowship, etc. Not to mention that these dates also give mom some much needed adult conversation and fellowship :). I love that most of the kids are around the same age. 3 of the babies are all within one month of each other!
Kellen (2), Millie (1), Riley (1), Macy (9 m), Anna (4 m), Elisa (3 m), Sarah (2.5 m), Jude (2 m)
(Don't miss the moms in the mirror above the couch!)
Jude is thinking, "Get these girls off of me!"
Sarah might already have a crush...she has some stiff competition though!

Jude is like, "Really mom, do I have to?"

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Happy 4th of July!

We spent Friday night at Daniel's parents' house with a celebration of Daniel's birthday. Connie fixed steak, fresh corn on the cob, homegrown squash, rolls and homemade blackberry jelly followed by chocolate cake and homemade ice cream. Yum-o!! (that's for you Betsy!) I love spending time with my in laws on their porch that overlooks the pastures.
Saturday we headed to Tulsa to see my family. Sarah had 4 outfits to celebrate America. I missed getting a pic of her first outfit.

This was also Sarah's first time to actually get in the pool. The water was a little chilly so she didn't last long. However, she did seem to enjoy sunbathing on the raft!
Here are a couple of pics of Grammy and Papa with their grandkids. Papa had to hold both at the same time, isn't that a cute pic?!?!
One of our best friends, TJ, spent the weekend with us as well. He gets the credit for introducing me to Daniel back in 2003! D's sister Betsy also spent the weekend with us. Thanks for hanging with us Aunt Betsy!
And lastly, here is a family picture that I finally approve of!