SIR Liam

Today we had a dedication and birthday party for 'the boy'! a house full of precious friends and family. it was a rich blessing for us to have our son celebrated . .
Andy and I renewed our vows as a part of Liam's dedication. . promising to raise our son in such a way that God would be honored; committing to love one another and honor God with our marriage and friendship as we navigate parenting!
A friend of ours; Chris Payne did the dedication; and told us after we prayed for Liam that he wrote 2 words down this morning as he was preparing for today. . Strength and Courage.
We spend so much time as God is knitting our babies together in the womb praying for our babies, praying for health and protection, but also praying about their name.. . truly believing that a name is to speak blessing over the child.
Liam means 'unwavering protector'. So it is no mistake that today as we prayed for our son that God has made him Strong {'it is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect' psalm 18:32} and is making him Courageous {Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." deuteronomy 31:6}

{thanks to my sweet friend sharon for catching these moments today. . .while we enjoyed our baby boy!}

Liam Boy is 1!!!!

Liam boy turned 1 today!...officially at 3:55pm this afternoon! we celebrated by eating cupcakes in the front yard! there was absolutely NO question whether or not he'd eat it.....he and lillibug laughed at each other COVERED in blue and green icing....{promptly followed by bathtime}!!!!

The Castle

Cinderella's castle is as I imagined. The silver is set. The tables and furniture of dark wood. The coats of arms hang proudly from the perimeter of the dining room and the light streams brightly through stained glass. The familiar 'magic' of Disney seems to float across the air with the melody sung by our dinner hostess, the fairy godmother and accompanying mice. I chew my prime rib slowly, enjoying a break from the typical theme park food, anticipating my poached pear for dessert. I look across the table to a pile of blond curls laying on the table. Somewhere underneath lies the face of my daughter, now at rest after 2 days of theme park fatigue. She held out as long as she could. It appears the intense early summer heat, dehydration, and poor nutritional content offered by the park restaurants have led to this moment, what was to be the culmination of this once in a lifetime event. 30 minutes ago I was enjoying a respite from the heat, taking in the sights and smells of Disney from the cover of the castle as Arin was confirming our reservations. A slight, cool breeze was a welcomed accompaniment to the shade. Music was playing overhead as I began to study the construction of the castle, marveling at the detail of it. To think that a sketch of a mouse started all of this...suddenly I feel a strong tug at my right hand. Looking down, I see the wide eyes of my daughter, currently a replica of her princess heroine-Cinderella, excitedly trying to get my attention. Looking at her, I smile. Daddy, she urgently implores, 'Will you be my prince!' The numbness in my brain from 2 days at the Magic kingdom was pierced by these words. An awareness that a signpost had just been raised, indicating the presence of something significant crept over me as I took her hands and danced with her in circles beneath the shade of Cinderella's castle. Moving in circular rhythm, our eyes were locked and the joy on her face moved the deepest places of my heart. No one was watching that moment. It was only us. As the waltz was replaced by some goofy cartoon song, I knelt in front of her and whispered, 'Lillian, I will always be your prince.' The glow of her smile indicated a signpost had been raised in her heart as well.

After a week of time-share presentations, thunder mountain and splash mountain (both with Lillian), jungle cruising, meeting princesses, eating turkey legs, etc-my lasting memory from Disney will be this moment at the castle. It is the love between father and child that adds the magic to the Kingdom.

all the girli-ness!!

Our trip to Disney was one of THE MOST AMAZING things we've EVER done! {this side of babies}
Living in Florida before Andy and I we were married; I'd visited Disney World at least 10 times. . . but taking Lillian was like nothing we can even begin to describe!! we all laughed hysterically. . at Elle and Lilli telling each other they could see Cinderella's castle!!!!{not quite out of south carolina}....there was only a small handfuls of 'are we there yet?'

what blew us away the most... was the innocence in a child's belief of the imaginary and this was something that only Disney can invoke! God has given our lillibug this sweet, gentle, creative tender spirit. . . and we most definitely shed a few tears watching uninhibited joy, surprise and anticipation on our daughters face!

where all the princesses live. . . .

Disney or Bust!

Early monday morning we set out on one of the most fun adventures in parent-hood...
Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida!

This year for lillian's 3rd birthday all she wanted were princess dresses! we have sleeping beauty, snow white, belle, and of course Cinderella. . .

so we are headed south. . to sunny HOT florida...with 'Belle' and 'Cinderella' dresses in tow. . . ready for their debut in the magic kingdom!!!

We are spending 2 days in the Magic Kingdom. . dinner with Cinderella. . ride dumbo at least 5 times, teacups til we dizzy ourselves and hum 'its a small world' 10000 times, eat a turkey leg in frontier land{what andy's most excited about}. . the list continues!!

we are so excited to see the delight on lillian's face!

we're going with the clark family. . . ryan, sharon, and the 'bean' as we all call her.....
elle is lillian's best friend!!! no doubt we will need ear plugs from the girly squeals. . .

ryan and sharon are expecting their 2nd baby this fall. . .
we are all looking forward to spending some special time with our girls. . celebrating their love and joy for life, their imagination and obsession with princesses!!

we are siezing a moment in one of the most magical places!!

baby in the making!

13 weeks to go! we officially enter our 3rd trimester this week! this peek at baby#3 was over 6 weeks ago. . .we get another glimpse in 4 weeks! we're completely excited about the delivery room surprise of boy or girl! neither of us have a 'feeling' one more than the other.

'peer pressure'

so i'm feeling a bit behind the times. . recently becoming a 'facebook addict' we seem to be lagging in joining the masses in having a blog site. . . so. . . . welcome to the guthe family blog! hope you enjoy reading about our family and our crazy days juggling 2 tiny monkeys and getting ourselves ready to be out-numbered by baby #3!!