The Wedding

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Kelly was an exceptionally beautiful bride. One of my favorite moments of the day was when John (one of 2 ring bearers) was screaming for freedom from my arms just seconds before his wedding debut, when we rounded the corner where the bridal party was lined up to go down the aisle. Frantically trying to calm him, I whispered in his ear, “John, look at Aunt Kelly”. As he turned to look at her, the screaming instantly stopped and his mouth hung open in awe as he saw her beauty, a big smile fell over his face. He did a precious job of jogging down the aisle to find his daddy, we were proud!

My dad performed the ceremony and that made me proud too. My mom played the role of babysitter to John and Ben during the wedding. I don’t know how I could have survived the weekend without her help! Ben of course was his usual sweet and calm self. He slept in his stroller during most of the evening. When he was awake he was being passed around to family and friends. Every time Chris and looked up someone new was cuddling him!
The wedding was proceded by quite a celebration. Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Goranson for
giving us, the guests, a party to be remembered. The flowers, the food, the dancing, not to mention the TV which was surrounded by all the U of L fans (groom and bride included) made the evening spectacular. John danced for 3 hours straight and had the time of his life! For me
the best part about the weekend was that I now have a new sister whom I love. Congratulations Derek and Kelly.

Ben’s Baptism

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This Sunday Ben turned 4 months old and was baptized. Since many family members were in for Pop’s birthday we thought it would be a good time for the baptism. We were nervous for how John would act in the front of the church, but he did suprisingly well- other than calling out dad’s name a couple times and for spotting cousins in the congregation. It is always special to have Dad perform a baptism, it was especially precious that Dad asked Pop to come up and to pray for us and Ben. That was a suprise to us and one that brought many tears. Pop has also written a beautiful prayer for Ben which is framed in his nursey. Also, Dad chose to have “Great is the Faithfulness” sung after the baptism which is our Sloop family song and was sung at Anna’s memorial service and John’s baptism. This also brought many tears. In our recommitment to Christ and in Dad’s challenge to Chris and I he told us that “Kyle” Chris and ben’s middle name means “near the chapel.” He encouraged us to always keep Ben near the chapel, near to Jesus. Chris and I feel so blessed by the 2 boys God has given us to love and to nurture and to raise knowing and loving him. Oh how we love our boys! Happy Baptism Benny!

Ben’s Baptism

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This Sunday Ben turned 4 months old and was baptized. Since many family members were in for Pop’s birthday we thought it would be a good time for the baptism. We were nervous for how John would act in the front of the church, but he did suprisingly well- other than calling out dad’s name a couple times and for spotting cousins in the congregation. It is always special to have Dad perform a baptism, it was especially precious that Dad asked Pop to come up and to pray for us and Ben. That was a suprise to us and one that brought many tears. Pop has also written a beautiful prayer for Ben which is framed in his nursey. Also, Dad chose to have “Great is the Faithfulness” sung after the baptism which is our Sloop family song and was sung at Anna’s memorial service and John’s baptism. This also brought many tears. In our recommitment to Christ and in Dad’s challenge to Chris and I he told us that “Kyle” Chris and ben’s middle name means “near the chapel.” He encouraged us to always keep Ben near the chapel, near to Jesus. Chris and I feel so blessed by the 2 boys God has given us to love and to nurture and to raise knowing and loving him. Oh how we love our boys! Happy Baptism Benny!

93 years young!

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This weekend my sweet Pop turned 93. He has the energy, wit and mind of a much younger man and we are all so blessed by his 93 years. We had a big celebration weekend. All of the Davis children ( mom’s family) came into town along with spouses and children, and Dave and Melissa came home too. We had a party at Traditions ( Nana and Pop’s favorite Mennonite Buffet) followd by presents, stoires and a 15 minute video my mom had made of pictures of thier whole life ending with pictures of our children. The video also had their favorite hyms and scriptures on it. Mom worked so hard and it was such a gift for my grandparents. Pop is a one of a kind man. He loves Jesus more than anyone I know and cares more about people coming to know Jesus than anyone I have ever met before. I have never been with Pop in public where he hasn’t shared his faith with someone, including the waitress at his birthday lunch. He is adorable and he and Nana are so cute together. They have been married nearly 63 years and still spend a couple of hours every morning in prayer and bible study together. It’s pretty unbelievable to know that there hasn’t been a day in the last 28 years of my life where my name hasn’t been spoken in prayer by them…and now for my husband and children. I am a blessed grandaughter. We love you Nana nd Pop!

Dave Wilcox

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Last night my family had the awesome, once in a lifetime opportunity to attend a Dave Wilcox concert hosted by my brother for 40 of his closest friends. He won the concert in a contest he entered. We are all huge Wilcox fans and the whole night was just cool. He played for a couple of hours- talked lots, sharing great stoiries about his music. His personality is so refreshing and his spirit so unique. He has a new album that just came out yesterday- you should get it for sure…”Windstream” i think. Anyway- a special thanks to my friend Laura who babysat our kids so we could go…and for dad who bought our dinner…and for David who won the contest.

Anna’s 3rd Birthday

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It is the morning after Anna’s 3rd birthday and we survived. It was a hard day and a sweet day as I imagine will be the case forever in regard to anna…bittersweet. Chris stayed home from school which was such a gift. Kristen and Beth came over first thing with bagels for us and a children’s bible they found with Anna’s story in it. I had been searching to no avail. The gift is so precious. We went out together to find a book for the boys in Anna’s honor ( a birthday tradition). We found a precious book which speaks of loving no matter what and no matter how far away. We watched Anna’s video in the afternoon. I have only seen it a few times and Chris had not been able to watch it since the memorial service. We piled into bed with John and watched it together. It was John’s first time watching the video and he was very tender with us as he watched it. He kept reaching out to hold our hands as we cried and hugging us. Thank you David for your labor of love in making it. It is a priceless treasure. Another treasure came this weekend in the mail from John and Laura Hatfiled. John wrote a precious song for Anna a couple of years ago and he recently recorded it. The beauty of the words and John’s voice and the effort and emotion that went into creating it are priceless. He writes of Anna, tender moments in the hospital with her and his thoughts regarding her life in heaven. We have listened to the song many times over the last few days. Last night we went to mom and dad’s, where we all gathered for dinner and cake. My neices made cards for us and Anna that were precious. We recevied so many phone calls and even flowers from a couple friends. We cannot thank you enough for remembering her and us. Here are a few pictures from February 25, 2008.

Anna’s 3rd Birthday

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It is the morning after Anna’s 3rd birthday and we survived. It was a hard day and a sweet day as I imagine will be the case forever in regard to anna…bittersweet. Chris stayed home from school which was such a gift. Kristen and Beth came over first thing with bagels for us and a children’s bible they found with Anna’s story in it. I had been searching to no avail. The gift is so precious. We went out together to find a book for the boys in Anna’s honor ( a birthday tradition). We found a precious book which speaks of loving no matter what and no matter how far away. We watched Anna’s video in the afternoon. I have only seen it a few times and Chris had not been able to watch it since the memorial service. We piled into bed with John and watched it together. It was John’s first time watching the video and he was very tender with us as he watched it. He kept reaching out to hold our hands as we cried and hugging us. Thank you David for your labor of love in making it. It is a priceless treasure. Another treasure came this weekend in the mail from John and Laura Hatfiled. John wrote a precious song for Anna a couple of years ago and he recently recorded it. The beauty of the words and John’s voice and the effort and emotion that went into creating it are priceless. He writes of Anna, tender moments in the hospital with her and his thoughts regarding her life in heaven. We have listened to the song many times over the last few days. Last night we went to mom and dad’s, where we all gathered for dinner and cake. My neices made cards for us and Anna that were precious. We recevied so many phone calls and even flowers from a couple friends. We cannot thank you enough for remembering her and us. Here are a few pictures from February 25, 2008.

Big Ben

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I can hardly believe that ben is nearly 4 months old. He is such a big and happy boy. He is a sweetheart and we are having so much fun with him. He smiles and coos all the time ( eats all the the time too) Here ae some recent pictures that display his precious smile and round cheeeks. He definitely has his daddy’s mouth and personality. His hair always looks red in pictures. It’s actually much less red in person. We’re hoping it will keep getting more red.

Back to the Bluegrass

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Last weekend, Ben mom and I made a trip to Kentucky! Chris suggested I needed some time to myself ( before the baseball season begins) to get away and to introduce friends and family to our newest little arrival. It was great fun to be with friends I hadn’t seen in a long time. I stayed with Laura and John and was able to spend time with Karla and Nicole too. I also went by the pregnancy Center and got to talk to Janet for a long time. It was great having my mom along on the trip. She was staying with her sister Grace, but offered to babysit, so Laura and I went to dinner at my favorite Bella Note. I was sad that Raegan and her Mallaney were in Hong Kong visiting her sister and her new niece Maddie Rae and I missed by only 2 days. I also went to Louisville to be with the Kelty’s. My mother and father-in-law were the only Kelty’s that had met Ben. It was great fun to hang out at Derek and Kelly’s new house and to be with everyone. I hated that it was a short trip but I came back refreshed. Chris and John had a lot of fun while I was gone. Admittedly it was great to get home to John. It was the longest I had been without seeing him. He greeted me at the door with a huge hug and “Welcome Home from Tucky!!!” Now he likes to play the “Mommy comes home from Tucky” game. I of course love this game becasue it means lots of hugs, “I love you’s and I missed you’s!!!” Okay, so the game was my idea!! It was a short trip and I’m sad I didn’t get to see more friends. At the end of March Chris and I will travel back together with our kids for about a week for the occassion of derk and Kelly’s wedding. My parents will be going too because they have asked my dad to marry them. So fun! Though I have lived in Harrisonburg for most of my life, kentucky will always feel like home!