Dedication and Dancing

There's the little Bumgarner monkey named Luke...that was his Halloween costume on Sunday. He did pretty well - he wore it, head gear and all, for about an hour and a half while family stopped by and saw him. I don't have many still pictures...I used the video camera most of the time. In these two pics, you can't see his tail sticking out..that was the cutest.



This next picture is a Halloween classic, "Mom, why did you make me wear this costume?' picture. Check it out...





Quick Update on my 31st Birthday: The last time I blogged, it was my 31st birthday and me, Landis, and Luke were heading to Charlotte to spend the weekend with my college roommate Megan and her husband, Eric. I must say...this birthday was one of the best ones I have had. We had a blast! Another college friend of mine, Katie, and her boyfriend, Garrett, came over for dinner. We had delicious lasagna and yummy chocolate cake. Megan - thank you for the fabulous meal. Before and after dinner, we had a great time playing catch phrase....we laughed several times to the point that I had tears in my eyes. The next day - Saturday - me, Luke, and Megan enjoyed a gorgeous walk to the shopping center up the street that was having Halloween festivities and then we came back to the house for Luke to take a nap and swing in the rocket ship. Megan has no kids yet; but, when she bought the house, she also bought the swingset in the back. Well, this worked out perfect for Luke - it had a swing that was shaped like a rocket ship that was the perfect size for him. Friday night and Saturday afternoon he swung for an hour or so at a time. Luke was very sweet the entire weekend, the weather was beautiful, we had plenty of time to relax, and it was very nice to have some adult time with friends that I do not get to see a lot. Thanks again, Charlotte gang, for making my 31st birthday one to remember!

Dedication:
I have briefly written about Luke's dedication in a previous post, but I was waiting to add more details after my family sent me some pictures...well, I now have them. Before we get to the pictures, I would like to share a few of my thoughts on the dedication...


First of all, why a "dedication" and not a "christening" or some other "religious" name for it? Well, that's exactly what it was...a "dedication" of Luke to God....you see, Luke is God's property and I am just blessed to borrow him for a little while. Landis and I have a big responsibility to raise this child of God as just that...someone who loves his Father and grows up in a relationship with Jesus. This is our biggest responsibility as parents. During the dedication, Pete, our preacher, made this responsibility quite clear to me and Landis. He also laid his hands on Luke and prayed for the Lord's protection and guidance. One of the most interesting parts of the dedication was Pete's summary of what Luke's name means. Pete looked up the name, "Luke" and it means "a light". I really like that. He also looked up his middle name "Shelton" and found that a "shelton" is a place that is off the beaten path - sort of like a farm or pasture. So...Pete summarized that Luke's name meant, "a light that will shine off the normal path". I REALLY like this...I didn't look up what Luke's name meant before making a final decision on his name, but I am pleased with what Luke Shelton stands for...I'm hoping he follows in his namesake and is a light for Jesus, which will require him to go off the worldly path. Interesting, huh? :)

So...enjoy the pics below of Luke Shelton Bumgarner's dedication to God...(I should mention that I do not have pictures of everyone that was there...my mom and stepdad were also at the dedication and they are not in the pictures). Thank you to everyone who came for this special occasion.

As you can see in the pics, Luke fell asleep right before Pete started and he slept through the entire "talking" and praying part - it couldn't have worked out better. I was scared he was going to be wild in front of everyone.

Something else I should mention - some of you may be wondering why we waited until Luke was 9 months old to dedicate him. Let me explain - Pete, our pastor and Landis' uncle, was the preacher at our wedding and he is also our teacher at Bible Study and on Sunday mornings. We trust in his ability to pray in the spirit directly in line with what God is telling him and us, so we were not going to have anyone else do Luke's dedication except for Pete...we said this a long time ago before Luke was born. Well, unfortunately, Pete got very sick and had to have several surgeries about two weeks after Luke was born. He was weak and could not lift anything for several months...basically, it took 8 to 9 months for him to heal enough to hold Luke and it was important that he be able to hold him while he prayed. The timing of 10/10/10 was perfect for us and for Pete's health...matter of fact, Pete had to have one final surgery right after Pete's dedication and Pete is doing great! God is good and always has perfect timing!

Now...on to a less serious part...DANCING...Luke has started to dance when he hears music and sometimes when he doesn't hear music...he is also standing up without holding on to anything...he will not take steps without holding on, but he is getting better and better at his balancing everyday...I think he will walk very soon. Check out these videos...in the first one, he is standing without holding on and is trying to dance at the same time...and, in the last one, he's showing his dancing moves in his diaper after a bath...enjoy!!!

As always, thanks for stopping by...check back in soon...I've already got some pictures and some thoughts for my next blog...have a great weekend.