My Little 2 year old

Our beautiful daughter Ellie had her 2nd birthday a little over a week ago. It was a grand time. We spent her actual birthday together as a family, celebrating at Chuck-E-Cheese for lunch and then ending the day with cupcakes and a few family gifts. Then the next day, we had the birthday shin-dig, with mostly just family, and our best friends. The theme (since apparently you can't have a kid's birthday these days without "the almighty theme") was "Cowgirl" and she was definitely the cutest little cowgirl I've ever seen. We had a great time. I just can't believe my baby is already two. Times flies when you're having fun! Some pictures of the blessed event....
Big times at Chuck-E-Cheese
Concentrating on blowing...
Cutest cowgirl in the West
Awaiting the cake
Receiving 'Princess attire' from her Auntie Leah
A site I thought I would never see....my daughter, dressed up as a princess AND LOVING IT!

A Shining Light

There are some people in this world who are exceptional, for one reason or another. I think we would all like to believe we are among these few, but for most of us, we are doing good to maintain an "above average" status quo. The truly extraordinary ones always stand out from the crowd naturally, without effort. I feel very blessed that I have come into contact with several of these extraordinary people in my life. One of these people was Jill (Jarvis) Attebery. It almost seems like the extraordinary gene runs in the Attebery family, and that to marry into it, you must possess it too. Well, Jill did. I knew her from only a handful of encounters, through ABS retreats or her random visits to College Station. But even though our time together was limited, she left an impression on my life. She was truly a light for Christ. Her personality was full of life, joy and laughter. And even though God had gifted her with so much talent and natural ability, she was still so humble and servant-hearted. Jill left this earth to be with God this past Sunday, and her body was laid to rest today. My heart has been so heavy for her husband, Scott, who is himself a truly extraordinary man, and her newborn son, who obviously has no choice but to grow up to be extraordinary. Please join us in praying for the Attebery family. Only God's strength and mercy can carry someone through a tragedy like this. Please God, hold Scott in your loving arms and may that sweet baby boy grow up to know the spirit of his mom, through the legacy she has left on this earth.