"Is Daddy flying in a hot air balloon?"

We drove a few miles out of town to a balloon festival with some friends on Friday night and watched about 40 hot air balloons take to the sky. It was an amazing sight! The kids were glued.

Monte left for a business trip today, and when I told Beren that Daddy was leaving, he asked, "Is he flying in a hot air balloon?"

Nienna turns one!

Nienna Joy turned one year old on Tuesday, August 1st. She's been taking steps for a while, but started really walking around the day before her birthday so she could show off for everybody at her birthday party. On Tuesday, we were surrounded by most of our closest friends in Des Moines to celebrate.

We dug into the cake and ice cream, none with as much gusto as Nienna! The cake isn't in this picture, because it was upside down on the floor at that point. After cleaning her up as much as possible, we all gathered in the living room for her dedication to the Lord. We never had a baby dedication for her at church, so we decided to do it now while we had the opportunity, in this intimate setting, with the friends who would be most involved in Nienna's life. Our hope and prayer for Nienna is firstly that she will come to know the Lord at an early age. Monte also hopes that she will become a woman of faith like the widow who trusted God and gave Elijah her last meal (1Kings 17:8-16). Galadriel's hope for Nienna is that she would become a woman of wisdom (Proverbs 2:1-11) and that her JOY in the Lord would be obvious and contagious throughout her life, in good times, and in the midst of trials (James 1:2-3 and 1Peter 1:6-9) drawing others closer to God. After sharing these scriptures, we prayed together, thanking God for Nienna and lifting her up before the Lord, who is the only One able to change the heart. Our friends also prayed for wisdom for us as parents. We were both so increadibly encouraged and heartened by God through our friends that day!