Special Moments!

We've had such a wonderful time these past two weeks with friends and family visiting. First, we dedicated Ethan at our church, High Point in Arlington, TX http://www.churchunusual.com/ this morning. It was such a beautiful service where Pastor Gary Simons laid hands on each child while April prayed a special prayer. We were so blessed to have my sister, Sondra and my BIL Mazen (from McAllen, TX) and Ethan's Godparents Jim and Tina Smith with us at the service . Jim and Tina have been such a blessing and through their testimonies have made such an impact in our lives. We know that they will be a wonderful spiritual covering and encouragement in Ethan's life. After the church service, everyone came to our home for lunch and dessert. Ethan's grandmother prepared an awesome lasagne (will have to post the recipe) with all the great side fixin'. Grandpa helped so much too! Tina's parents (The Blacks) also joined us since they were also visiting. Here are a few pictures:

My good friend Suzy Moravick, from upstate New York, was also visiting during the past two weeks attending courses for her residency as she is pursuing her PHd in clinical psychology. We met back in 1995 while I was living in West Lafayette, IN working for State Farm and she was completing her undergraduate degree at Purdue University. We met each other at Silver Mountain Coffee shop while we were both working there part-time. Before we knew it we were best of friends. Well, I relocated to Dallas, TX in 1997 and she went on to New York to work on her Masters. We stayed in contact throughout the past 10 yrs but our paths never really crossed again until recently. It was such a blessing to see her. I didn't realize how much I missed our friendship and the times we use to share. Although, it has been 10 years, I felt like we had not missed a beat. Suzy is such a sweet and beautiful person with a passion for Jesus. I know that God is going to use her in a special way to touch the lives of many hurting people and be instrumental in bringing them into the kingdom of heaven. She will be back in Jan 2009 and we can't wait to see her then!!

I have been so touched these past two weeks with past relationships being rekindled and new relationships being birthed. God is so awesome in how he knows exactly how and when to surround us with those who can encourage and speak life in to our souls. There was something that Mr. Black (Tina's father) shared today that I thought was worth posting. He said..."it takes a little man to make you feel little but it takes a big man to make you feel big." It is so important to surround yourself with people who can encourage you and build you up because in life there always seems to be things around us that can makes us feel so insignificant.

Stayed blessed everyone....with lots of love from Texas!!!