Jonathan turns ONE!

We had a party for Jonathan 3 days before his birthday! Such a special time with a few friends from church over and lots of food and ball-themed cupcakes! Then on his actual birthday, we went to the park and played a lot and took a few pictures together! It was a super special day celebrating our second born, our little blessing, sweet, smiley, content, adventurous Jonathan Lee Garraway! Enjoy these photos recapping that fun week!

We had a ball-themed party!

It was fun decorating these cupcakes!!

A little outdoor battle going on while dinner was being prepared!

The grill masters at work (don't you just love their oh-so-natural-looking pose?!)

So thankful for these sweet friends, Cassie Woodward and our pastor's wife, Charity Brown!

The kids are very intent on devouring their dinner!

Our family! :)

Opening gifts!

Ready to blow out his candle (well, watch big brother blow it out for him!)

He dove into that cupcake and didn't come up for air til he was done!

I've never seen a kid devour a cupcake so fast before!

"Mmm, me like sugar!" :)

My little blessings in matching PJ's, on the night before Jonathan's first birthday!

Goodnight, 11-month-old!

A year ago.... wow, so much has changed in a year!!

The happy one-year-old at the park on his first birthday!!

He loves standing up and watching David play at the playground!

Love my little birthday boy!

He loves his daddy!

Can't believe how big he is....makes me wanna cry!

My three boys....could I ask for anything more?!?

Big boy David! He is such a sweet big brother to Jonathan!

Happy birthday, Jonathan Lee Garraway!!!!

Jonathan - 11 & 12 months old!

Well, as usual, the months have ZOOMED by, so I'm going to play catch up and post Jonathan's 11 AND 12 month photos/stats together here!

Jonathan started crawling right after turning 11 months old and boy, was he off! He wanted to go everywhere, explore every nook and cranny, touch everything...whew! What a busy little man! I guess he feels like it took him this long to finally crawl, so now he's got to make up for lost time! He has really started getting more verbal and experimental with his baby talk! He does GREAT with his sippy cup (can hold it himself while he drinks) and is almost weaned (I need to wean him in time for our trip in August, where we will leave both boys home for 5 days!). It has been so much fun watching this little sunshine boy grow and develop. He brings so much joy to our family each and every day!  

The little birthday boy! How is he one already?! On August 14, Jonathan celebrated his first birthday! He has loved being home, exploring all around our house (that he's just now really seeing and experiencing for the first time!). He loves playing with our kitchen set, especially! He got fully weaned (quickly and easily!) in time for his first birthday. He loves ALL food, eats like a porker, barely chews, puts multiple bites in his mouth at a time and practically gives mom a heart attack with his scarfing down of food! But we are thankful he's such a good and non-picky eater! He got his 8th tooth in time for his first birthday, and just has the cutest toothy grin! We sure are thankful for this little gift from God and have enjoyed this past year with him as part of our lives!

Journeys in July

At the beginning of July, we got to attend family camp in NJ with the church I grew up in (Faith Baptist of Queens, NY)! What a special time to enjoy God's beautiful creation with so many dear friends from my childhood! 

Best part: PopPop and Grandma were there!!  Since it was a special weekend celebrating the church's 40th anniversary, they brought back the pastor who began the church in the 70's as well as my dad (who pastored it for 26 years) and Pastor Swanson, my dad's associate pastor for all those years! What a special time! 

So thankful for any chance we get to see family! :)

Rocking chairs just their size!

On Sunday, July 5, we had a special patriotic day with Lighthouse Baptist Church in Horseheads, NY!

The next week, we headed to NYC to film our new short film, "Silent Witness"! So thankful for these guys (especially Josh, in the middle) for all their time and willingness to help us out with this film! We'll post a link when it's finished and available to watch on youtube!

Filming "Silent Witness" in NYC

While in NY for those couple weeks, we stayed in the home of our friends, the Cherians. One day, their daughter, Julie (one of my childhood friends) and David and I enjoyed a walk at a park nearby!

Swings!!!

Sunday, July 12, Caleb preached and we sang at the church I grew up in, Faith Baptist in Corona, Queens! So sentimental for me to be back!!

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Pastor Thomas Overmiller's house (he married one of my best friends and is now the pastor of FBC!). David had so much fun with their kids and all their legos!!!

David got to attend this VBS and he had SO much fun! Here he is wearing his "listening ears"!

David and his buddy, James Overmiller, at VBS.

So much fun to be back at my old stomping grounds! :)

Snack time!

One day, Julie watched the boys so Caleb and I could go on an early birthday date! (Caleb's birthday was the next week)

These two (David and James) are two peas in a pod...just like their mommies were at their age!

Blessed with an amazing crowd and a wonderful week of VBS here in Queens, NY!

Little David, almost 3! Growing up so fast! 

Love his sweet, friendly, comical, fun-loving personality :)

Precious little Jonathan, now 11 months old! Where is the time going?! :) He is so laid back, happy, smiley, and becoming more and more adventurous! Shortly after turning 11 months old, he finally learned to crawl! 

After Queens, NY, we headed to Bowie, MD for a week of VBS at Woodlawn Baptist Church the 3rd week of July!

Having a quick dinner in the church nursery before VBS starts!

Since Caleb's 29th birthday was Monday, July 20 (we drove all that day to get to WBC for our first night of VBS that evening!), we had a little party for him on Tuesday night after VBS with our friends and hosts that week, Pastor Tyson and his family.

Nothing better than some amazing food and some wonderful fellowship with friends to make a birthday party exciting!

And you gotta have cake! 

I surprised Caleb by making this copy-cat version of Coca Cola Cake (from Cracker Barrel) for him! He LOVED it!

And you can see why! :)

Picnic!

Park fun! This guy not only started crawling this week, but he also loves to stand while holding onto something! Now he can enjoy the park playground a little more, which is so much fun!

Little cheeser!

We had a wonderful Sunday with Faith Baptist Church in Berne, IN to close out our summer meetings on August 2nd!

We are so thankful for the kindness showed to us by each and every person we've met and church we've been with! It's been a whirlwind of a summer, we've been all over, we've had many adventures, made many new friends, and seen God move and work in a mighty way! This summer we hit the 4,000 mark (approximately!) for how many souls have come to Christ through our ministry! 

To GOD be the GLORY!!!!