Waits Family Visit

Team Whitney got some bonus Waits family time both before and after the all-family get-together in Aurora. The festivities began, as one might expect, with stuffed pizza enjoyed by all. In this instance, we took some tomato and cheese stuffed pie from Giordano's over to Millennium Park and got our grub on.
Allison took on most of the Hamilton watching duties for the night and did a great job (we tipped her in pizza).
We all returned to Chicago from our time in Aurora and spent the next day working our way to the Chicago History Museum. Along the way, the girls got their introduction to the squishy world of sushi.Allison made a valiant effort and seemed to enjoy some tuna.
Emily was equally valiant, although noticeably less enthusiastic about the overall experience.
We had no doubt about Hamilton's excitement, however, when he was offered some whipped cream by his Aunt Cristina at the Cheesecake Factory.
When we got to the museum, we enjoyed seeing the latest in cutting edge racing bicycle technology.
Allison finally realized what it would be like to actually be an Oscar Meyer wiener (a reference about twenty years before her time, I fear).
Hamilton found some hex screws holding together a display and thought it would be best to disassemble it.
We ended the day playing Dance Dance Revolution back at the house and then saw the Waitses off to the airport the next day. A good time was had by all, but a lot of energy was spent!

Family Weekend

Team Whitney had a good time this weekend with lots of family around for a family reunion/get-together of sorts. The Waits family (Tim, Cristina, Emily, and Allison) came up from Texas and John and Carolyn came up from Chatham to converge on William and Kia's house in Aurora. Team Whitney headed out from Chicago, and this is what it looked like when we got together.
Of course, we also spent much time hanging out, watching children run around, and enjoying being together.
William showed us how he motivates the praise band at Sovereign Grace Church in Aurora. This is for sure: he's seen at least a hundred faces . . . and he's rocked them all.
As always, Hamilton found his own brand of fun (off by himself climbing stairs).As always, we thank William and Kia for their hospitality in welcoming us into their home.

Hamilton's Dedication

This past Sunday was a big day for Team Whitney: it was the Sunday when we dedicated Hamilton to the Lord at church. Many of you know what this entails, and the event at Moody Church is very similar to what's done at many other protestant and evangelical churches. Each family with a child to dedicate introduces themselves and the child to the assembled church congregation and then responds to several questions about their intention to raise the child in accordance with scripture and in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. After affirming that intention, the pastor the prays for the family. Here we are prior to the morning service which included the dedication.
Unfortunately, Hamilton was not feeling well, so he looks less than thrilled about his presence at the dedication. Also, our church is very big on the wearing of name tags so we learn the names of those we see on Sunday--you may notice the one I got from the church in the picture.

Despite being called baby dedication, the event is really about what the parents vow to undertake in the raising of the child. Jenny and I cannot determine what Hamilton will embrace in the future or who he will be at our ages, but we can ensure that he is raised with the knowledge of God's truth and seeing that following Jesus made a difference in the lives of his parents. We don't practice baptizing infants at our church as we believe that every person faces a decision about how he or she will bridge the limitless moral gulf that exists between sinful people and a holy God. Hamilton has not faced that moment (he can barely decide if he wants to eat his bananas or drop them on the floor), so we cannot say right now that he is a Christian, and thus ready to be baptized. Jenny and I both faced that gulf and decided we could do nothing in ourselves to build a bridge from our sinfulness to God's holiness. Instead, we stopped trying and took up Jesus' offer that he is uniquely able to serve as the bridge between us and God . . . and that faith is what makes us Christians.

William, Kia, and their children came in for the dedication, and they did their best to grab some pictures in the (somewhat underlit) sanctuary. It was great to have them with our family for a Sunday. Here we are as Pastor Lutzer got the dedication started.
Here we are being prayed for.
We later picked up the children (such as little Paloma) from nurseries and classrooms . . .
and headed to Boston Market for a full-on Sunday after-church feast. A good time was had by all!

Watermelon

So, I know that those of you who are friends with Freeman on facebook have already seen these, but they are too funny to keep from the rest of the world!

Sharif came by with a watermelon and he documented the feeding frenzy that ensued.

Yes, I think I like this.

Can't get it into my mouth far enough!

Whew, don't know if I'll be able to finish...

...but I'll persevere.

Oh look, another one!

This is not a staged shot.

And our favorite---what can't be turned into a telephone?