The Life and Times of the Watters Family

Easter and baptism

There’s a lot going on at CTK this next week to prepare for experiencing Easter with a fresh perspective. Easter is such an amazing time to remember how much we have to be thankful for and how loving and generous our God is.

Sean has decided to be baptized this Sunday and we are so excited for him to take this step in his faith. He is a little nervous about being up in front of a lot of people but he is wholeheartedly unashamed to articulate his choice to follow Jesus. Cam is going to participate in baptizing Sean, which I think will help with the nervousness he is feeling.

Easter 2004

Knowing that Sean (along with Caleb) has chosen to pursue a genuine and committed relationship with Jesus is something that I am incredibly grateful for. I know that, no matter what may come in their lives, they belong to Him. Where we are fallible as parents, God is perfect. Whatever we could possibly do (unintentionally) to “mess them up”, we can’t take away their eternal standing as a child of God. No parent gets it right all the time (how many of us don’t have stuff to go work out in counseling about how our parents raised us?). I am thankful to be able to rely on God’s grace as I parent my boys and be assured that even though I love my kids more than I could possibly articulate—God loves them more and He has a plan and a purpose for each of their lives. I have been blessed to be their mom but there is something reassuring about knowing God chose them (and all of us) and has “guaranteed their inheritance”(Ephesians 1:3-14).

REVISED: Caleb’s soccer schedule

• 3/31 9:00 am field 16/21

• 4/7 10:20 am field 18/19

• 4/14 2:20 pm field 17/20

• 4/21 1:00 pm field 17/20

• 4/28 3:40 pm field 18/19

• 5/5 11:40 am field 16/21

• 5/12 10:20 am field 16/21

I love Sean

I feel like this picture captures the very sweet but sometimes stubborn Sean. He has been really thoughtful lately, working on his attitude and I am so proud of him. Strong-willed is an understatement for this kid, but I am confident that God has an amazing plan for the areas of Sean’s life that currently appear to be weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9-10).

Right now he is thinking and praying about being baptized on Palm Sunday (April 1st). We started talking about it over a year ago and have finally figured out that Sean’s ideal plan (for it to be around Christmas or Easter and to have every single family member there) is probably not going to be possible. The big obstacle now is the nervousness. We are just going to let it be his decision– if he’s ready, he will.

Happy 25th!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad! Hope you have another 25 together!

Spring Sports

Hi, you’ve reached the Watters’. We are unable to be reached at this time. You may leave a message or look for our tent at Northwest Fields. We will be taking up residence there for the next 3 months. We’ll be sopping wet and muddy but having lots of fun .
Pray for a sunny sports season! Maybe we’ll see you out there? Look for game schedules to be posted within the next week.

loving this

Cam bought me this CD for Christmas and I have loved it more each time I listen to it. I have been listening to Jars of Clay since their first album came out in 1995. I have appreciated the lyrical quality of their music– even though sometimes I am not smart/deep enough to totally get what they are saying. My faith and walk have been impacted by their music. I find it amusing that their music kind of reflects whatever season I am in with God. This album is what I’d call “melancholy rock”. It’s good– I highly recommend it.

pictures from Caleb’s party

I had a request for pics from Caleb’s party. Check out this photo-set on Flickr to view them.

new shoes and Cam

I got these Mary Jane Crocs yesterday at Hilton’s in downtown Bellingham. They are my new favorite. I have been wanting some since I saw them on Elsie Flannigan’s blog last month. When Sara got some the other day in pink (of course) I was reminded that I wanted them. Anyway, Cam is super picky about shoes so I never know if he’s gonna hate the shoes I like. When he saw Sara’s he thought they were okay–as long as I didn’t get pink. He only has a couple things he is picky about so I do my best to try to accommodate his preferences (although he hates flip-flops and I wear them anyway). Cam’s things to be picky about are shoes and hair. He likes closed-toed, non-pointy shoes and LONG hair (well and speaking of hair, none on the legs). I can’t complain too much because ultimately if ugly shoes or short hair were important to me he’d be okay with it. He is the most flexible guy I know.

We have been working on a lot of projects around the house– kind of like spring cleaning on steroids. Well, Tuesday Cam had to have a filling fixed at the dentist and it was very painful (almost a root canal) but we still had a lot to get done on our projects that evening. He really sweetly asked me to make soup and biscuits for dinner because he was in so much pain. I wish I could say I sweetly responded with “sure honey, anything for you”, but I can’t. I was grumpy and frustrated–made the requested food anyway. By the time we sat down to dinner I was fine but I regret not being more selfless when he made the request. He has been so sweet lately (being so helpful, making time to talk, flowers yesterday) and I need to remember to show him how much I appreciate it. I watched Borat with him last night– that’s gotta count for something, right? He laughed so hard he’d have to pause the movie til’ he’d get a grip. Gotta love him, he’s the best–ever!

Daniel, a Beth Moore study

I have been in 3 different Bible studies using Beth Moore’s teaching materials over the last 2 years and I am really excited to begin my 4th study. Beth’s teaching is profound and relevant. I just checked out the promo for Daniel, Lives of Integrity- Words of Prophecy, I think it is going to be a great study. It begins April 11th @ CTK.

We’re going to the Mouse’s house!

We are so excited to go to Disneyland this May! This will be Sean and Caleb’s first trip to the “Magic Kingdom”. I have only been once before (I was 11 and Disneyland was celebrating it’s 35th anniversary), Cam has been twice (when he was 6 & 8). We are looking forward to experiencing everything at both Disneyland and California Adventure. We are excited about hanging out with Kelly and to see where she has been living for this last year.

holly and shane are engaged!

I have been waiting to post this announcement because I didn’t have a picture to post along with it. Shane proposed to Holly on her birthday (January 19th) and they have set the date for their wedding– July 8th, 2007. We are so excited for the two of them! We took these pictures today in Fairhaven, right outside of Skylark’s (our family’s favorite restaurant). We love them both very much and look forward to Shane becoming”officially” part of our family.

Caleb, 7 is Heaven!

I can’t even write about him without getting a smile on my face. He is the funniest kid- although I may be too biased to make such a statement. I love my boys and I am so grateful for both of them. I could write so much about Sean too but I’ll make this one just about Caleb since it is his birthday today.

Caleb’s presence in our life was initially quite a shock. With 6 month old baby Sean and about to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary, what could we do but wonder at God’s sense of humor. Cam laughed. I felt overwhelmed. I went into super-hero delusional mode, thinking I could take on so much more than 2 babies (too much to explain). By the time Caleb came I was in the middle of a whirlwind where the only peaceful moments I remember from the first few months of his life were the moments in the hospital before and after he was born (I picked to stay an extra day because I needed the rest). He was an amazing baby though, God knew exactly what we needed. Caleb was custom designed by God to fit almost seamlessly into our crazy life. He has always had a laid back style and was completely content as long as I was close enough to touch. He’s still that way when he’s sick or tired. He slept well at night and napped great during the day. He and Sean were instantly friends (unless I laid Caleb on Sean’s blanket– then all bets were off). Sean adored him from day one and when Caleb was a little older he adored Sean right back. I love watching them be brothers- their world together is such an intriguing mystery to me (I’ll have to do a whole other post on the brother bond that they share).

The first year went by so fast and then came the real challenges! A one year old and a two year old! I don’t think I left the house without Cam or Sara for that entire year! It was busy to say the least. Once Caleb was two it felt like every day, every month and every year got easier. Now, as insane as it sounds I want to go back to those days again. I want my boys to be little again- just for a week or so and then I’d be happy to be here again. I have had the privilege of spending so much time with them. I was present for all of the their “firsts” (first time sitting up, crawling, walking, going potty on the toilet- everything) and I cannot thank Cam and God enough for that! It’s hard to separate out the memories of just Caleb from that time- it was so much just both of them doing everything together and it’s all very surreal to me now. Most of my memories of Caleb involve dancing, (he always loved music and dancing) and snuggling.

Caleb has the happiest smile and a very tender heart. I totally appreciate his sense of humor and he really gets the timing right. I have no idea where he comes up with stuff like,”It’s like corners on a light bulb, it just doesn’t make any sense” (he gets the humor thing from daddy- that’s not my gift). He also says the sweetest things I have ever heard, like the other day when he said, “Mom, I am so glad that you are in my life. I don’t know what I would do without you. If I couldn’t have you in my life I would pick you to be my imagination friend”. How can you not love that!!

I am excited for what this next year will bring for my little comedian, encourager, dancer, artist, actor boy. He’s a great kid and I am so completely grateful that God knew that our family needed Caleb, even at such a crazy time and as always I am amazed at how God continues to provide everything we will need to raise this little boy into the man that He created Caleb to be.

Build-A-Bear

Tomorrow is Caleb’s 7th birthday! He has been counting the days (for the last few months) until we could go to “Build-a-Bear”. Our original plan was to go on his actual birthday but he was picked to be the V.I.P. (very important person) in his class this week and when you are the V.I.P. you get to bring something special into class on Friday to share. He couldn’t handle that he’d get his bear Friday night and not be able to take it in to share it with all his friends. Caleb had so much fun. Sara asked him if it was everything he had hoped it would be and he answered “much more”. I’ll post more tomorrow about Caleb- he’s been cracking me up lately and I have lots to share.