It takes a village...

As a new mom(and yes, I am still referring to myself as new), you often here the quote "It takes a village to raise a child". In our ambitious American culture, this quote is often preached, but rarely practiced. Our jobs and life takes us away from the village of our childhood. Because of our ambitions to be independent, to create exciting careers, or to experience new life we are often far from the protective shelter of our familial support system.

Lane and I are five and a half hours away from our loving safety net. There have been times in this new adventure affectionately called parenthood that we have felt isolated and have struggled to figure out how to make our life work. However, with love and friendship we have started to build the village that will raise Maddox. Our village is tiny but it is priceless. It is composed of old and new friends, co-workers, and yes, it includes our amazing family. This village is necessary because without it, I know that we could raise our child, but I know with the presence of all these people in his life he will be a better son, a better friend, and eventually a better husband and father.

Today we celebrated Maddox's baptism. Lane and I committed ourselves to raising our child as a member of Christ's family. Part of the ceremony involved recognizing the people in Max's life and their commitment to him. We were lucky to have some of our "village" there to participate and their presence meant more than Lane, Max, or I will ever be able to put into words (if Max was to try and put it into words it would sound something like this "ball, da-da, ball, uh-oh, ball").

Here is part of Maddox's village that has the hope and prayer that he will always know that he is a child of God and a very much loved son, grandson, nephew, and friend.