Sponsors and God Parents

As most of you know, Jeff & I have belonged to the First United Methodist Church in Katy for several years... we attended for a while before that magical and mystical force of the Holy Spirit prompted us to join this wonderful and supportive congregation. We love being a part of the church family and in that awesome building we have celebrated joining with both our children, celebrated the life of our daughter with a wake and a funeral service, and we have cried and knelt at the alter searching for relief from the pain of grief. We have laughed and cried and had so many joys... we are so blessed and so grateful to have Christ in our lives and to have God, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost brought even more alive by such a kind and caring clergy. We always feel the love they present and we know how blessed we are to be a part of this awesome, living church. Thanks to Marlin, Lani, and Pam for bringing this gift to use.

In stating our dedication o Christ, we feel it important an valuable to assign sponsors or God Parents to our future child. W have chosen Bud and Shelley Hannes to spiritually guide our child into the future and they have agreed to take on the role. So, when we baptize this child, Bud and Shelley have agreed to stand witness and provide testimony to their commitment to our baby that they will help guide them in the ways of the Lord.

Bud and Shelley have been the so loving and supportive during our grief journey. W were given a wonderful opportunity to enter the lives of the Hannes family. Jeff and I cannot think of two more dedicated, loving, committed friends that have God in their lives to take on this role. Neither Jeff nor I were raised with God parents,but we have had many friends and watched as they have been blessed with this extended familial role. We know we want that for our child, that you can never have too many people in a child's life to help them grow and become the wonderful adults that we plan for them to be. And what a blessing for the Hannes' to have a front row seat with rights to advice... LOL. Isn't that what we all want, free reign to give advice????

Anyway, Shelley is a wonderful woman, I admire so many things about her. She is dedicated to each task [placed before her and always exceeds expectations. She has been there for me, day and night, even taking off work to be by my side during the toughest grief days... she loved my daughter like a mother and was able to support me while also caring for her own heart and that of her son, Nick. I often laugh when I refer to her as my BFF (inside joke),bu really I couldn't ask for a better friend. She is conservative, her life is dedicated to the Lord, she is often the voice of reason, and has the ability to think through each situation presented to he. In so many ways, she is a stronger and better person than I am and I truly admire her, which is how she was chosen.

Jeff was given that task of choosing the Godfather... so we discussed Bud at length. During the coarse of our grief, we were blessed to get to know all sides of Bud. He is a strong man and excellent role model. His sons have been raised well. But, beyond all that seen to the outside, there is a soul that has touched us beyond words. His friendship is deep and sincere, he is so compassionate and loving, and he was able to comfort our souls in ways we cannot describe. He is everything e admire in a man: dedicated, caring, strong, respectful, honest, communicative, and most o all tender hearted with a strong commitment to family and friends. Our child will be lucky to have these two a Godparents and we are pleased t announce them to the blog.

Well, today I am home with the water softener installation and helping Cheri remodel the guest room and finish the baby's room. I can't wait... this is going to be a great day... Even tough I had to take off work to be here for all the workers: the pool is looking so good in the backyard and the water softener is going to be great, too. We have so much going on! HOLY COW! and there will be more... lots more before Jake's graduation at the end of May. As alwasy... thee is more to come! XOXO