VBS 2013

The kids participated in our church's VBS program again this summer in June. Our good friends Maddie and Travis joined them to experience the Veggie Tale themed week. Here they are singing during the Friday evening closing.

Our pastor's sweet girls

   After the program ended, the kids could purchase Cool Whip pies to throw in their favorite teacher's faces in support of Salvation Army and the "LemonAid" stand our youth group had set up each night throughout the week before and after VBS.

 Travis wasn't sure if he should waste the Cool Whip by throwing the pie in someone's face or just enjoy the treat himself. lol :)

Guess the opportunity was too irresistible...

 Miss Reagan had no doubt about whether or not she wanted to throw the pie or eat it! :) 

 Maddie enjoyed the opportunity as well 

 Reagan enjoyed this multiple times

 and helped Missy K too since she was a little bit nervous about doing this

 After the pie throwing was finished the water balloon fight began! 

 Missy K got a little wet! lol :)

 Maddie decided she didn't want to get soaked and quickly hit the sidelines and watched the action. She cracked me up by wanting to make sure I took a picture of the spot on her shorts that was wet. lol :)

 Four cute kiddos enjoying a final lemony snack from the "LemonAid" stand

Thanks for everyone who worked on this week at St. John's! :)



McKinley Grace's Baptism - 7 April 2013

McKinley Grace was baptized at our church, St. John's Lutheran Church, here in Lexington, Kentucky, on Sunday, April 7, 2013. It was a beautiful day and we were blessed to celebrate this special event with family and friends!

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 Here is our precious girl in her beautiful dress which Grammy and Grand-Dad gave her and a bracelet her Godparents, Uncle Andrew and Aunt Jen, gave her to wear for her Baptism and someday place in her wedding bouquet. Uncle Andrew and Aunt Jen also sent McKinley a beautiful photograph of Mt. McKinley which they took and personalized it with the meaning of the name McKinley which is as follows:

 

Inspirational

Uplifitng

Extremely Bright

Highly Intuitive

Truth-seeker

 

 Anna and Tim with McKinley at church

 Charlie and Kelly Stiriz; McKinley's Godparents. They also gave McKinley a very special and thoughtful Baptism gift. They gave her a Pandora bracelet which they can add charms to as she grows. They began with an inspirational Bible charm which has a cross on it to mark this first significant day and event in her life.

 Grammy and Grand-Dad with McKinley and the flowers they and Uncle Andrew and Aunt Jen gave to celebrate McKinley's Baptism. 

 Grandma and Grandpa with McKinley

 Uncle Chuck and Aunt Julie with their fan club :)

 Chaz and McKinley - Chaz is so good and sweet with all the little guys!

 The LaBar Family photo with a happy and oh so cooperative Jackson

 A LaBar family picture minus Jackson

 Grammy and Grand-Dad with their three sweet girls

 The Lueker Family

 Three Generations of Luekers

 Missy K with her Godparents, Uncle Chuck and Aunt Julie

 Kennedy with both sets of her Godparents, Aunt Annette and Uncle Barry and Aunt Julie and Uncle Chuck - she is so blessed to have such wonderful people in her life and praying for her!

 Miss McKinley with the Hamlin Family; Barry, Katie, Lauren Annette and Michael (I remember when both Lauren and Michael were born - can't believe they're holding my babies now!)

 Hamlin and Lueker Family Photo

 The entire crew minus Grammy who had run back to the house to get McKinley's Baptism dinner going after church.

 The Stiriz Family with McKinley; Kelly, Charlie, Anna and Chaz

 Kelly and I have known each other since kindergarten. We were best friends in junior high (thanks NKOTB!) and became best friends again when we both got jobs in St. Louis after college. Kelly is just like a sister to me and I feel so blessed to have such a close and life long friendship with someone as special her! McKinley is very blessed to have her as a Godmother!

 Lauren is McKinley's birthday buddy and they also share the same middle name! I know McKinley will adore Lauren as much as her big siblings do! :)

 McKinley with Katie, who is another one of our very favorite people! We're so thankful and lucky Katie has decided to stay in Lexington to go to college so we know we'll have at least another 4 years with her! :) 

 I love this super sweet picture of Aunt Annette with McKinley and Reagan :)

 Kelly made this beautiful lamb cake for McKinley's Baptism. Thank you to Aunt Dorothy for letting us borrow everything to make it! Sorry we didn't have better timing so you all could share the day with us, but you were with us in spirit!

Thank you to everyone who made this day so special for us! Thank you especially to everyone who traveled to support McKinley on her special day! Thank you also to everyone who has given McKinley gifts. I know I'm not the best at getting thank you notes out, but we truly appreciate everything everyone has done for her and us!

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Thank you to Uncle Andrew and Aunt Jennifer and Kelly and Charlie for agreeing to be McKinley's Godparents. Thank you for such thoughtful and beautiful gifts to our precious girl and thank you for playing such a special role in her life!

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God has blessed us with another healthy and beautiful child as well as wonderful family and friends. We pray McKinely grows up knowing His love. We know all these people, and many others in our lives, will help demonstrate His love to and for her throughout her life. Thank you all for sharing in this joyous day! 

VBS Kickoff

The girls were both old enough to attend Vacation Bible School and we were in town this summer the week our church had VBS for the first time this year. I took some pictures at the kickoff at the picnic they had after church. The girls had a great time participating in a couple of the games.

 Everyone, including Daddy, enjoyed goofing off with the hool-a-hoops

 Water balloon toss