Baptism

This morning, Sarah and I were baptized!!  It was amazing!  I was actually baptized in the Catholic Church when I was a newborn.  Then, when I was a kid, I asked Jesus into my heart.  I just never got baptized again after knowing what it meant to have Jesus inside me, and it has always bothered me deep down.  Last week at church, the sermon focused on finally deciding to get baptized in preparation for our church's semi-annual "Baptism Bash" this weekend.  I was officially ready to take the plunge!  They also talked about being baptized in Sarah's Sunday school, and she decided she wanted to as well!  We have been taking her to church since she was a baby, and before she was even born, Bryan and I bought her a Bible, so we were so happy that she made this decision all by herself!  This morning when getting ready for church, Sarah said, "I asked Jesus into my heart 3 times this week because I wanted to make sure He got the memo!"  She cracks me up--and hopefully Jesus too!

 

Bryan--who was baptized as a teenager--was so sweet to take these pictures for us.  He was so happy for me and Sarah and gave us big hugs and kisses when we got back to our seats.

Love!

It was such a special day, and it was even more special to be able to do it with Sarah Bear.

A Day at the Park

A couple of months ago, we went to our favorite park and had a wonderful day together!

 

 We started the day with a little picnic.

 

 Then, while Sarah was girly and blowing dandelions,

Jackson just wanted to play football!

This makes my heart happy.

We flew kites, and the kids loved it!

 Sweetness.

 I love this one so much!!

 He's the cutest 29-year-old kid I know!

After spending time flying kites, the boys decided to play a game of football...because that's what boys do...especially these boys!

Although J is only 3, I think Bryan has already taught him that football comes right after God and family!

These two melt me.

 Jackson running while his pants are falling down is a daily sight!

This was the best partial family picture we could get with all of the wind!

Heading back to the car.

After the park, we went to a local soda fountain!

 

Sharing...

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4th of July!

After Christmas, our favorite holiday is the 4th of July!  It's such a fun time that we love spending together and eating food!  Usually it's just the 4 of us, but this year, Bryan's Nana called on the morning of the 4th and asked if she could come over--the kids were really excited to see her!

 

Love this picture so much!!

The kids made a flag on a canvas with their sweet hands, and Jackson tried to hang it on the wall!

I thought it would look better on the table next to a mason jar with flags.

The menfolk grilled!

We had sweet tea...obviously!

Bryan's steaks were awesome!  I love when he grills!

We had lots of strawberries and blueberries.

 

I also made macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and roasted broccoli.

 

Patriotic pretzels are a must!

In keeping with years past, Sarah and I made our red, white, and blue cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting!

 Love!

 

Jackson wanted to be in a picture with Sissy and Mommy, but he didn't get the memo to "smile!"

Bryan's Residency Graduation

On June 8th, Bryan graduated from residency!  It was a long 4 years--which followed a long 4 years of medical school and 3 years of college!  We were so excited when his big day finally came around!!  Residency involved several weeks where he worked over 100 hours.  It meant leaving the house on some days at 4:30 in the morning and not getting home until 10:00 at night.  Residency included call nights at the hospital in which Bryan got no sleep.  But during residency, great things happened to our family as well:  Jackson, owning our first home, and working really hard as a family to make it all work!

 

To begin the day, I made Bryan eggs benedict--which is our usual "way to go" breakfast!

Even though graduation caps weren't part of this graduation, I couldn't help but make some of these cuties!  Besides, Reese's are Bryan's favorite!

All day leading up to the big event, Jackson kept talking about going to "Daddy's grauation!"

Cheese!

Sarah was so proud of her Daddy!

Had we known the photographer was going to set up his equipment in front of our seats, we wouldn't have sat there!

Bryan's residency class--plus one of the spouses!  Ha!  When you work over 80 hours a week together, you become great friends, and he's really going to miss seeing them on a regular basis.

Love!

I cannot even begin to convey how proud I am of my husband!

 

Bryan's Mom, Dad, Nana, and my Dad all came for the big day!  Bryan's Mom helped out immensely with Jackson--which included taking him out of the auditorium for a bit during the ceremony because he kept yelling "Daddy!" and clapping even when he wasn't supposed to be!  But after Nana talked to him, he behaved perfectly for the rest of the graduation!  Nana knows how to work magic!!

Grandpa and Jackson

Way to go, Papa Bear!

 

Although graduation was at the beginning of June, residency didn't actually end until June 30th!  It was pretty hard for Bryan and his classmates to go back!  Ha!  One of the weeks that Bryan had to work was after we'd moved 5 hours away from San Antonio for his new job.  That was definitely hard for all of us, but luckily, the whole thing is over now!