JAMSquared

James and I attend Shepard of the Hills Presbyterian Church. We found our church while we were engaged and searching for a church that would fulfill both of our desires for a church. Our search consisted of attending numerous Christian churches. It was difficult as James was raised in a Baptist church and I grew up in a Catholic church, two Christian churches on opposite ends of the spectrum. After our marriage, which was performed by a minister friend of the family, we joined SHPC. We have not been the most consistent attendees of church, but we both think it is something important for our children (Jessica won’t be an only child) and will become more frequent church-goers.

One of the most important things for me when we were searching for a church, was infant baptism. The Baptism of children witnesses to the truth that God’s love claims people before they are able to respond in faith. Baptism in the Presbyterian Church, usually occurs during infancy, though a person may be baptized at any age. Parents bring their baby to church, where they publicly declare their desire that he or she be baptized. When an infant or child is baptized the church commits itself to nurture the child in faith. When adults are baptized they make a public profession of faith. The water that is used symbolizes three accounts from the Bible’s Old Testament: the waters of creation, the flood described in the story of Noah, and the Hebrews’ escape from slavery in Egypt by crossing the Red Sea. Unlike some denominations, Presbyterians do not require a person to be entirely immersed in water during baptism. Baptism is received only once. Its effect is not tied to the moment when it is administered, for it signifies the beginning of life in Christ, not its completion. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) believes that persons of other denominations are part of one body of Christian believers; therefore, it recognizes and accepts baptisms by other Christian churches.

Jessica’s baptism was performed Sunday, January 31st by Rev. Larry Coulter at SHPC. It was a very beautiful time in Jessica’s life. She did great. The unfamiliar situation didn’t cause her any distress.

After being baptized, Pastor Larry carried Jessica around the sanctuary so that the members of the church could see the child they were committing to nurture in faith.

After the end of the church service, we all returned to our house for a little brunch. I had to have a picture of Jessica with all of her cousins: Dawson, James’ sister’s son and the oldest cousin at 9 years old; Cameron, my sister’s oldest son; Trevor, my sister’s youngest son and the youngest cousin (just 3 weeks younger than Jessica); and Aspen, my brother’s daughter.

We also got a number of photos of Jessica posing in her baptism gown. She is such a cutie, don’t you think?

Kristy, thank you for being the lovely photographer. I could not have captured this moment without you.

You might remember this post here about the trip to Ruidoso with James’ parents and our nephew Dawson. Well, for Christmas this year, I made a scrapblog of the trip and ordered one hardbound book for James’ parents. I was quite happy with how it turned out.

Last year for Thanksgiving, we were in Tahiti and didn’t celebrate. This year, we had a newborn and didn’t want to travel so we invited James’ parents to visit. We enjoyed their visit.

Jessica enjoyed taking a nap with her Grandpa while Thanksgiving lunch was being prepared. See Monday’s post about what was prepared for lunch.

Friday morning, I made pancakes (see tomorrow’s post for the recipe). Dawson enjoyed talking to Jessica while the rest of us finished eating.

In the afternoon, James’ Mom and I went to a craft store, which wasn’t too crowded. Afterward, we all went to Dick Nichols Park, where James and Dawson threw a ball back and forth.

Saturday morning, James and I put up Christmas lights outside. We (well, I) then held a mini photo shoot of Jessica and her grandparents and some with her cousin Dawson.

This last one was taken after Jessica sneezed and had a wet fart while changing her diaper that caused me to select different pants for her to wear. Who would think a wet fart could shoot a foot away?

Last weekend was a long weekend for James and I. We traveled to Ruidoso, New Mexico with James’ parents and nephew Dawson. Initially, his sister Tami was supposed to go with us also, but she couldn’t get off work. The trip was a lot of fun.

Friday, June 5, 2009

We left Midland about 9:45 AM for the 6-hour drive to Ruidoso. Our first stop once we arrived was the Billy the Kid Scenic National Scenic Byway Visitors Center.

We stayed at the River’s Edge Cabin. It was a really nice cabin, although the river out back was disappointing since the embankment was under construction. The cabin had games and we played an hour long game of Uno after arriving. I eventually won. Dinner was at Cafe Rio, which had excellent hand-tossed pizza. We then went to Pillow’s Funtrackers, where we played a round of miniature golf.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

We lucked out. Saturday was one of two free fishing days a year. So we dropped off Joe and Dawson at Grindstone Lake to go fishing. They had a raffle for the kids and Dawson got a New Mexico button-type pin and a goody bag filled with things like pencils and a Smoky the Bear ruler. While they fished, the rest of us went shopping in mid-town. Lunch was at Lincoln County Grill and it was quite tasty. After some relaxing at the cabin, we drove up to Monjeau Lookout. We climbed the many steps to the top of the solid rock tower built by the CCC in the late 1930s. Today it is used as fire station lookout. At 10,356 ft., the view from the top was spectacular. You could definitely tell you were at a higher elevation since it was 5-10° cooler and quite breezy at the top compared to down in Ruidoso.

After driving down the steep, mostly dirt road from the lookout, we went to the Flying J Ranch for their chuckwagon supper and western stage show. They had pony rides and gold panning for the kids. Dawson found 5 tiny pieces of fool’s gold. There was a gunfight between the “sheriff” and the two “outlaws” in the street of the “western village” before we went into the theater/dining hall to find our seats at table C6. After the dinner bell was rang by a little girl named Kate, we were directed table by table to the serving line. Dinner consisted of chicken or beef, beans, a foil-wrapped baked potato, chunky applesauce, a biscuit, and a piece of spice cake. After everyone finished eating, the Flying J Wranglers put on a show that consisted of  western singing and some comedy and was very entertaining.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

After spending the majority of the morning relaxing at the cabin, we went to Kidz Konnection, an awesome playground where James had as much fun as Dawson.

We then had lunch at Casa Blanca Restaurant. They served tasty Mexican food and had excellent service. Afterward, we dropped Dawson and Joe off at the cabin since Dawson didn’t want to go to the horse races and it was very windy. The rest of us then went to Ruidoso Downs, the first time I’ve been to a race track. The first race we watched was the 6th of the day. James picked #4 Eyejesslovelouisiana, Olivia picked #5 Jess a Candy Gal and I picked #10 Jess Sippin. If we had actually bet, Olivia would have been richer as #5 won. We also watched the 7th race, a Thoroughbred race before heading to the Racehorse Hall of Fame on the second level of the grandstand. We then caught the 8th race from the second level of the grandstand.

We cooked Salmon Macaroni Bake at the cabin for dinner, followered by viewing Kung Fu Panda before going to bed.

Monday, June 8, 2009

We left the cool cabin getaway by 8:30 AM New Mexico time and arrived back in Midland at 3:30 PM. James and I had initially planned to continue back to Austin, but ended up spending the night and getting back to Austin on Tuesday.

For my in-laws, I decided to do a combination Mother’s Day/Father’s Day gift. I made a scrapblog of the trip we took in September 2007 together. We went to Nashville, Tennessee for Barrett and Rachel’s wedding and did some sight-seeing while we were there. We’re giving a hardbound book of it to them this weekend when we see them.