Big Brother, Little Sister

The Circle of Life!

For my birthday mom gave me tickets to see "The Lion King" at DPAC in Durham. We saw the show a few years ago and LOVE it! When we first got the tickets I thought it would be such a long time away and I would have a baby that was a month old by then! Wow time flew and this week we enjoyed a wonderful outing together. It was the first time I left the baby for more than 15 minutes! She and her daddy did a great job (thanks to wonderful help from Aunt Lulu too!) When we got home we took this picture of all of us, Juel included, dressed in our 'animal print' pajamas in honor of the occassion!

Meeting Her Future Dance Teacher

"Miss" Debby and Inga came by to meet little Juel and to bring a nice meal. It was such a fun visit! It made me imagine a day when she will put on her little blue leotard and first pair of tap shoes!

Sweet Pea

Adjusting

Tyson is beginning to adjust to life with a sister! When I am here by myself with both children, he likes to help me and mostly ignores "baby." Sometimes he really wants to hold her and if she cries he screams "ot oh baby" over and over, then shoves a "maci" (paci) in her mouth! I love these sweet pictures of him reading to her. He just babbled along like he really knew how to read and showed her the pictures on every page. PRECIOUS! I was sitting with them in her room and luckily had the camera.

Three Weeks Old

Deacon Ordination

Travis was asked to serve as a deacon at our church. Growing up I have seen several people become ordained. Each time I felt a since of pride as well as God's love surrounding the person. I have never felt so proud of Travis as I did this day. We feel very blessed that God wants to use him to serve. Travis did not feel worthy of the position, however, he was willing. That is what God asks of each of us, that we are willing to do our best to love, serve, and represent Him.
This is a letter written by our pastor at Kings Mountain Baptist. It was a surprise to Travis during the service:

Dear Pastor Cottrell and my brothers and sisters of Pearce Baptist Church,
Greetings! Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I learned recently that you have selected Travis Smith as deacon and will be ordaining him this coming Sunday. I would love to be there. I would like to offer this word of affirmation for Travis' selection and a word of encouragement to him. Travis came into my life as a youth. I have seen him handle adversity in the death of both parents. I have seen him develop spiritually into a man who loves the Lord and wishes to serve him. I have watched him make a wise selection of a godly woman in Laura for his wife. I have witnessed the two of them serve our Lord together in Romania. My only regret is that they are not still in Kings Mountain.

Travis, I love you and am proud of you. In truth, the First Baptist family is proud of you. The deacon position is an honor, because your Church family has selected you. But more than an honor, it is a post of responsibility. Be to Mark, your pastor, what you have always been to me-a friend. Be to the membership of the Church what you accepted when you accepted the position of deacon- a servant. Be to the community what they need- an example and faithful witness of Christ.

It is with deep affection and great joy that I join the Pearce Baptist Church family in thanking God for Travis and Laura and pledging my prayer support.

Thankfully His, Sincerely Yours
Bro. Chip Sloan

It was very special that Travis was ordained on the day that we dedicated our baby girl. I am so happy that my children have a daddy that loves Jesus, enjoys church, spends time reading his bible, and prays for our family.

Blessed is the man who trusts the Lord...He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth fruit in its season; whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:3

Dedication

On Sunday January 16 we dedicated our sweet Juel Elizabeth Smith at Pearce Baptist Church. It was a very sweet service led by our loving pastor Mark Cottrell. He challenged us as her parents to raise her in a loving christian home. He asked our family to promise to pray for us and guide us as she grows. (Family present: All of her great-grandmas- Grandma Juel (very special considering her health), Grandma Raye, Grandma Abernathy, Grandma Rhonda, Uncle Mike, Uncle Wilford, Uncle Myron, Aunt Barbara, Uncle Hill, Aunt Faye, Brian, Karen, Will, Aunt Pat, Terry, Anna, Aunt Karen, Uncle David, Uncle Jerry, Deborah, Matt, Allison, Nolan, Sarah, Michael, Miss Kim, Shannon, Jessica, Jame, Carter and Big Brother Tyson) Finally he challenged the congregation to prayer and support. I sang the song "Find Your Wings" to her as Travis held her and smiled. Tyson clapped his hands and cheered loudly three times during the service. It was precious. We will always remember this special day.

Celebration

I love having people come to my house. So, despite the fact that I had just had a baby 2 weeks prior, I wanted to have my friends and family come to our home to celebrate after Juel's dedication and Travis's ordination. My AMAZING second mother, "Miss" Kim volunteered to make baked spaghetti for our meal. It was delicious and I deeply appreciate her love and support! Aunt Karen made desert, Grandma Raye made sweet tea, mom made salad and bread and I made the bed (lol)! We really enjoyed having our home full of the people we love so much!

Grandma Abernathy

We were so happy to have Travis's grandma come for a visit. Her name is Eleanor "Elizabeth," and we are also happy to have our baby girl share her name. Juel actually has the middle names of both of her grandmothers (Edith Juel, Eleanor Elizabeth). We also like the name Elizabeth because of my middle name and my best friend's daughter's name too (They share a birthmonth/ year/name and hopefully a life-long friendship)!

Our vist with "Ma" was short, but very special. Travis's Uncle Wilford brought her here in honor of Juel's dedication and Travis's deacon ordination (more to come). She brought lots of Christmas gifts and had a fun time with Tyson. She also is BFF with my grandma, so they were able to spend time visiting. We hope to see her again really soon.

Favorites

Two Weeks

Photo Shoot

Grandma's Maternity Leave!

Seeing as I was just on maternity leave 20 months ago (wow) and work part-time I did not have many sick days. Travis had to donate most of his days to me...that's where GEE comes in! We were so lucky that she could take off over two weeks to help me with the TWO babies! It was especially helpful because I could not pick up Tyson. It was especially FUN because mom and I love being together! Although we did not do very much other than take care of babies, we had an absolute blast. We both kept saying that it felt like we were on a fun vacation together! Some of our highlights were dressing in matching pajamas, taking pictures, watching "Rudolph" with Tyson (over and over), visiting Grandma Juel (again in matching pajamas), playing with all of Tyson's Christmas toys, organizing Juel's closet and laughing non-stop! I am so lucky that my mom is my very best friend and my babies are so blessed to have her as their "gee"!