Hallelujah Party 2008

all picturesTonight was the annual Grace Church "Hallelujah Party." We have it every year to give the kids a place to go and get some candy and not have to go door to door wandering around in the dark. This way they get to dress up, there's no danger, they're in a well-lit area, there are lots of fun things to do, it's not scary for the little ones, and there's no doubt that they're going to get TONS of candy! Hannah is still too little to be able to do very much, but as always, she just enjoys watching the world go by. Next year she'll be all OVER that action! We got to see some friends that we don't get to see often: Mardy and Jamie Lange, Jeremy and Samantha Conn... and lots of friends that we sometimes miss just because it's an awfully big church and often we are up on the stage singing in choir and just don't get to see people. Anyway, it was lots of fun... and we have pictures to prove it!

Dedicated

Today we brought Hannah up to the front of our church and got our pastor to pray over her. We don't believe in infant baptism or christening or whatever, but we do bring our babies up to kind of introduce them to the church and then Pastor Bob and Ms. Loretta lay hands on them and pray for them and for their families, that the children will lead safe lives and be raised according to the Word of God, and that when the time comes, that they will come to know Jesus as their Savior. This morning when we were getting ready for church I played the cassette tape of Mikey's dedication (eight years ago, Mother's Day!) for Mikey, and then we went off to choir sound check.

Cathy and I sang in the first service as usual, and then after Sunday School my mom went and got Hannah dressed in the pretty dress you can see in the pictures.

Five babies... a bumper crop!

Cathy sat out the choir part of second service, and I was going to sit out as well but it turned out Cathy had saved one too few seats! So I ran up to the backstage door and got there just in time. Mikey was in the service with us, and so were my mom and dad. They have baby dedications immediately after the music, so I high-tailed it off the stage and walked up with Cathy (they apparently don't allow big brothers up on the stage... just the mommies and daddies and babies! ) and Pastor Bob prayed with us. Honestly, she and I were both praying along so hard that we don't remember a word he said, except that Cathy remembers him using the word "demand" because it startled her! I hope they give us a tape or CD like they did with Mikey!

Hannah catching a snooze


Mikey catching a cookie

Anyway, after that we went to Target... Cathy had made an appointment with the Target portrait studio to take pictures of Hannah and Mikey together. We were a little early, so we went down to the snack bar to get some lunch... Hannah promptly fell asleep, as you can see. When it was our turn we woke her up and went down to the studio and got some really cute pictures done; maybe once our prints come I'll be able to post a few. Afterward we stopped my Meme's house to tell her thanks for her help, then we came home and had some dinner. We had some time before bedtime so I recommended that we watch something we had recorded on the DVR. This weekend we already watched The Game Plan and Kronk's New Groove which both have pretty strong fathers-and-children themes, so I recommended that we watch a good mommies-and-babies movie... Dumbo. Actually this time through I was a little startled by the racial stereotypes in the movie... afterward we discussed that with Mikey a bit. Plus, how do you explain bottle of stuff that got into Dumbo's water and made him see those pink elephants?? But besides those things (neither of which bothered Mikey anyway because he didn't even know what was going on!) we all enjoyed the movie a lot.

Boy, though, we have GOT to quit having such big weekends. It takes me all week to rest up from them!



Yes, I agree... she IS the cutest baby in the universe!

Us At Volunteer Banquet

In the process of looking for pictures of the Eggstravaganza, I found the pictures of the Grace Church Volunteers Banquet!


Michael & Cathy at Grace Church Volunteer Banquet - March 9, 2008

If you are a member of Grace Church but do not volunteer or haven't been to an annual banquet yet... volunteer in service to God, but the banquet is a really nice thank-you! You get to relax and visit with the people you've worked shoulder-to-shoulder with all year, and you even get to cheer for your department (some of which cheer louder than others... for example - Youth department volunteers: "YAY!!!!!!!" Offering counter volunteers: "(yay?)" ) Anyway, it's loads of fun and the food is generally really tasty.

Eggstravaganza 2008

Can you find Mikey in the blue jacket?On Palm Sunday we had our annual "Eggstravaganza" at Grace Church (see official pictures here). The little kids' choir that Cathy and I have been directing (five mighty singers for the Lord!) sang a couple of songs (namely "Lord, I Lift Your Name On High" and "Father, I Adore You") and then we had the "Easter Egg Hunt", which in practice is more like an "Easter Candy Footrace". They throw a bunch of candy out on the baseball field behind the church and let the kids go crazy! It was a lot of fun... Mikey always has a blast! He was one of the first to get out to the field from the auditorium, and as you can see in the picture to the right, he got out into the candy area pretty quickly when they said "go!" Can you find him? (Click here to go to Flickr if you can't... mouse over the picture and you'll spot him easily!) And if you visit this blog on Easter, you'll get to meet the new critter friend he made when he ran out on the field!

Unfortunately, because Hannah was still recovering from her procedure, she and Cathy didn't make it out. Maybe looking at the pictures will help Cathy feel more like she was there!

Max wants to come in
and go crazy!

Pack 990 Pinewood Derby 2008

Saturday was Pinewood Derby for Mikey's Cub Scout pack, Tulsa's pack 990. I took a few pictures of him, his car and his friends; some of them need serious help because I'm still learning how to handle things like low light conditions, but some of them are fun photos anyway: Pack 990 Pinewood Derby 2008

(Mikey didn't place, even in his den. Last year he placed third in the TIger cubs, but there were only four of them in all... this year there were nine or ten Wolf cubs so the competition was that much more fierce!)