Best Quotes this Week

Addy: Mom, I love all the stuff God made, like trees, clouds, colors..

Dad: Addy, did you put your toys away?
Addy: Well, I didn't take any more toys out...?

Addy (after being scolded by Dad for disobeying): Dad, that's NOT how you talk to little girls!

Big Weekend at the Chapel

This weekend we celebrated the end of a 6 week series, Journeying in Faithm with a Baptism service for the whole church on Sunday AM. We had the students from MS adn HS come join the adults and had 2800 people in the two services combined. The best part was that Josh McDowell was in town to speak as well. Josh has written over 100 books on the historicity of Jesus including his best selling More than a Carpenter and Evidence that Demands a Verdict. He delivered the message on Sunday morning as well as speaking to us on Saturday night, to the WM Students on Friday, and then to our High School kids and parents on Sunday night. Here are some pics from the great day. (You can download his message on Why we can trust the Bible as Truth online from the Chapel site here.)


Check out his belt, it is literally a seat belt sewed together. He lives in CA, and has a house in Mexico, and totally dresses like a guy from the West Coast.


Somehow we fit in 38 baptisms into two services as well as giving Josh 30 minutes to talk. That was a logistical nightmare all week, but our Communications and Productions team was amazing at making it happen through video and printed materials.


We were so honored to be able to go out to lunch with Josh on Sunday after church along with some of the team that planned the entire weekend.

Here is a look at how crowded the Student Ministry room was on Sunday night as other churches sent their youth groups over as well. Many parents wanted to come hear him speak again as well.

Happy Valentine's Day

Cool site allows you to load pics into any shape collage.



At our annual Father/Daughter Valentine's Banquet.

On the Move

The monkey walk. Well, he can't walk from this position, he just seems to love being in it.


Later he tried to climb up the step from the sunken living room, with no success.

Leftovers from Coleman's Party

This was Addy's decorating of Coleman's gift, she drew the Lee family.

Pic of the Week

Uh oh, now the fun really begins...

Again with the Dress up!

So Much Love

The other day, Mom comes into the playroom and finds Jax wearing a new hat that big sister put on him. We think it makes him look like a Russian Czar or the Nutcracker Toy Soldier, we can't decide. He is such a good sport with her, allowing her to do most anything to him without complaining.




Then when he went to his bouncy seat, she put the hat back on and then covered him in blankets in case he was getting cold.


On our family date night, without any prompting, she shared her birthday ice cream with him. It was so precious.



Here is the now infamous Jackson fauxhawk he wears most weekend to parties and dinners.

Some New Favorite Words

Here are some words that Addy has not quite mastered

Cinder-brella (for Cinderella, influenced by umbrella, we think)
knock-ulers (binoculars)
Mag-a-nets (bet you didn't know that word had three syllables)
Lellow (Yellow)

then to top it off, Ms. Precocious says to me the other day...
Dad: Addy can you show me how this toy works?
Addy: Dad! I don't know, I am only a little girl!

Dancing Queen

Dad made this video of Addy to show at her party.

Some other January Highlights

Jackson's dedication with two other couples from our small group, Addy and Jack in the bath/sink together, and two sleeping beauties.




This hat is too much and Jack loves.

Dad was happy to see that Jax favorite sleep position is on his stomach with his arm around a pillow, or in this case a bed buddy, which incidentally, is how Dad and Grandpa Ritner sleep.

And then there is Addy, who never sleeps alone. Her bed buddy count is up to about 25, and she can tell you which one is missing, or stuck between the bed and the wall.

Jax getting some love

Making our Annual Theme Cake

So we gave Addy the chance to pick out her own birthday cake and since we were going to have a princess party, she choose this castle. So we had our work cut out for us, but it came out pretty good, with some extra construction work on the four corner flags that were made of Twinkies and upside down sugar cones. Addy helped with all the decorations, eating three candies for every one she put on the cake.