A very special Mother's Day!

All ready for church!



Pastor Charles talking to Bradley

Me, boo-hooing

sweet girl

I don't think Mother's Day this year could have been any more special than it was. This year was my first Mother's Day to be an active member of a church since we've had children. I couldn't feel more blessed, honored and privileged to have 3 beautiful children. That's why it was so special that we were able to have our children dedicated at our church. It's a very traditional Southern Baptist thing to do and I remember my parents talking about dedicating me, Wendy and Tommy at Glenwood Hills Baptist. This was such a special service from the preacher's words to the choir songs to the actual baby/child dedication part. Nick and I went up to the front with Trent and then Rachel and Bradley were brought in from the nursery. They looked so cute and were so well-behaved standing in front of the church with us. I wasn't sure how Bradley would do, especially once he spotted Papa sitting in the pews, but he did great! The preacher talked to each child, touched or held their hand and read the certificate that he had printed up for them. It had their name, what their name meant, a life verse and a blessing. Each one was so sweet and meaningful, that I want to type them word for word for you to read too. I was so emotional that I pretty much started crying when the preacher started talking to Trent. He went in reverse birth order and I cried during all 3 presentations. I just felt such overwhelming love, joy, gratitude, and honor to be a mom to such special kids. I also felt such joy and thankfulness for my own mom and how much she loves me and has taught me. Rarely do I have any control over my emotions, especially if they involve tears, so there was no chance that I was going to be able to get them under control until the entire baby dedication was over...and then I was fine. I was still thankful, but no longer crying. I took Rachel and Bradley back to Sunday school and came back to listen to a wonderful sermon. It was such a special day! We were so glad that mom, dad, Joe and Deborah were able to be apart of such a wonderful service. Then, we went to Joe and Deborah's for a yummy dinner.

The certificates read this way:

Trent Nicholas Milligan

"Thirsty, Victory of the People"

Life Verse

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

2 Corinthians 2:14 NIV

The Blessing

May God Bless you as you lead others to discover victory in Him.

Bradley Franklin Milligan

"From the Broad Meadow; Free man"

Life Verse

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32 NIV

The Blessing

May you discover freedom in Christ and help set others free.

Rachel Jane Milligan

"Sheep, Ewe; God is Gracious"

Life Verse

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

2 Corinthians 12:9a NIV

The Blessing

May God give you His grace and strength to serve Him faithfully.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Poor Nick's birthday often gets overlooked with all the May madness. This year seemed even worse with Rachel graduating from Pre-K!! The kids have made him a beautiful picture that they will give him tomorrow, since it wasn't dry today. And, we're going to eat steaks with Gege and Papa tomorrow and have cake and ice cream. But, today was pretty non-celebratory. The only special thing, aside from birthday wishes and hugs and kisses from precious children, was sausage balls for dinner! :) It really doesn't take too much to make Nick happy, just some good food and a little acknowledgement. I really am thankful for such a wonderful man as my husband! He is understanding, kind, loving, patient, thoughtful and an excellent provider. He is a fabulous father...willing to do anything with and for the kids, from baths to bedtime, to meals to playtime...even if he's tired after working all day!

We're just so blessed that he is ours!! We love you, Nick and hope your birthday was special, even though it wasn't extravagantly celebrated!!!!

Happy 31st!!!!

Thanks, cousin Alex!

what a sweet baby boy!!

Well, as though Trent is not already an easy little baby, he enjoys his swing! And, it's thanks to cousin Alex that we even have a swing! Trent enjoys sitting in the swing and looking at all the cute stuff on the toy bar and just above his head. He always falls asleep in the swing! He loves it and we're so glad Aunt Wendy and Uncle Matt let us have it!

go back to read sibling stuff

I started writing "sibling stuff" on the 25th, but just published it today...it won't let me change the date...just didn't want you to miss it!

Trent Nicholas

4 weeks old!

Trent is a very sweet baby! He hardly ever fusses, and doesn't even require much "work" unless he has gas or a tummy ache. He is a good sport when his sister and brother want to hold him, talk to him (as close in the face as possible), watch him have his diaper changed, help him get a bath and anything else. He is a great nurser and a good sleeper! Trent makes the cutest little grunty, piggy noises and is just a little sweet baby. We are so blessed to have him as our son and so thankful that he's thriving the way that he is.

Gramma meets Trent

Gramma and Trent (almost 4 wks. old)

the best group shot mom could get, but without Bradley

Bradley playing with Gramma's wooden cat...he didn't want to be in the picture

This past week, we visited Gramma and finally introduced her to Trent. She was very glad to see all of us and absolutely loved Trent. She kept saying how long he was and that she thought he might be tall. Rachel and Bradley did pretty well, but got tired of being in there pretty quickly. Gramma told mom to give them cookies and candy, which they enjoyed. Then, Rachel wanted to try on Gramma's shoes and the closet became a battlezone between Rachel and Bradley. As soon as Trent finished nursing, we packed up and left so that her closet would still be in tact. But, it was great seeing her and I think she genuinely enjoyed seeing all the kids. After we left from seeing Gramma, we met Pop at the park and ate lunch and played on a really cool playground. It was a very fun day!

Bradley's 1st "official" haircut

"I'm such a big boy...this is kinda fun!"

This isn't that fun anymore...

I'm tired of this!

The end result...how handsome!

...but the loose hair makes an itchy nose

Well, after several sloppy haircuts by me, I decided to break down and take Bradley to have his hair cut by someone who knows what they're doing. So, I took him to the barber where Nick gets his haircut so often. There was no one in there on that Wednesday morning and the barber, Jamie, said he would just trim it up for me. I was really worried about how Bradley would do, but I realized that I hadn't given him enough credit. He actually did great! He sat in the chair with no problem and even let the barber put a cape on him. He was fairly still the whole time until the last couple of minutes. At that point, he decided to take off his cape and was ready to get down. Thankfully, Jamie was done. This barber shop even gives you a lock of hair and a certificate for a first haircut, and a piece of candy. It was a great experience and I LOVE how Bradley's hair turned out. We'll definitely be returning here for future haircuts!