A Visit with Great Grammy!

4 months old!

Andrew: 4 months old, 17 lbs strong
AKA: Buddy, Bubbles

Andrew is already 4 months old! He is growing so fast!
We love our little guy and are so thankful God blessed us with a little boy. He has an amazingly quiet and sweet disposition, and is always ready to smile. I can't change his clothes without making him giggle. He is also starting to reach out and grab things which is fun to watch and such an amazing developmental process. My favorite part of the day is when he reaches up and grabs my face. He is such a sweet boy! He has an amazing ability to vocalize as well. When he cries he says "Mammammmammaa" already.. not sure if it is on purpose or not. He also tries to talk to me and uses all kinds of sounds and noises. It is adorable. His sisters love him a lot and are constantly giving him hugs and kisses and playing with him. Kalena loves to pick him up and walk around with him, even though he is a little heavy for her. Katelyn loves to give him big bear hugs which I must regulate to make sure Andrew is still breathing. Sara is always talking to him and giving him sweet kisses on his head. He lights up when he hears their voices.

I pray that as Andrew grows he will be safe, healthy, and strong. I pray he will come to know Jesus Christ at an early age and worship Him alone. I love this little boy with all my heart!!

Katelyn is Two Years Old!!

Our sweet Katie-baby is 2!!!
We can't believe how fast she is growing up. She is a busy little one, with so much curiosity and energy. I am kept on my toes all day long keeping up with her. Katie has amazing hand coordination and is even able to put on shoes quickly and can get almost any container or package open with little effort. She is very strong and can even get our sliding door open or shut past the tough spot where the door sticks (occasionally Sara will ask her for help :) Her vocabulary is really coming along and she is consistently using 3-4 word sentences. She surprises me with phrases like "Im fine" and "Don't worry". Her favorite phrases are "Watch me mommy!" "Sara, are you awake? Im awake" "Oh Andrew is so cute!", "I miss you" "I love you" "May I have cheese please" "I would like a warm bottle of milk" and her favorite things to do are play with blocks, baby dolls, and cook in her new kitchen she just got for her birthday.

This morning when she woke up and we all said happy birthday to Katelyn, she went around saying happy birthday right back to each of us. It was so cute and Kalena and Sara thought it was quite funny!

I thank the Lord Jesus for two sweet years with precious Katelyn. She is a gift of joy, laughter, and love. We are so blessed to be her mommy and daddy and pray she will come to know Jesus's love for her!




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Kalena's First Day of School

Kalena started school this year at NorthCreek Academy. Her first day of school was so much fun and was loaded with emotion for Justin and I as we said goodbye to our little girl for the first time. Gone are my carefree days where every minuet is spent having fun with no thought of school bells and uniforms. Fortunately she only goes to school from 9-12:30, so we have the rest of the day together. I will cherish these days with her, knowing that next year she will be gone all day. The thought of it makes my heart so sad!!

I started thinking through all the ways I want to spiritually prepare my kids for school. Here are the areas I want to teach through with them every year before starting school, and throughout the year: obedience right away all the way with a happy heart, how to be a peacemaker, why we strive for knowledge (Proverbs), gossip, understanding appropriate behavior and inappropriate behavior... I am sure I will update this posting through the year when things come up.

I pray, as my little girl begins her school days, that she will be trained up in godliness, and that schooling will be refining, sanctifying and that we will all grow closer to the Lord though it. I pray she will gain the wisdom that leads to godliness.

A Ladybug Birthday!

Our sweet Kalena has turned 5!! We had a wonderful Ladybug birthday party on September 17th... complete with 1500 live ladybugs, complements of Kalena's uncle Mark. The party started with Scruffy the "puppet with a heart" and Justin doing a little biblical counseling lesson for the kiddoes (...check out www.amazehealingwings.com, Scruffy has a heart/pocket on a string that you can pull out of him and put things in. It is a great way to tangibly teach kids about their own hearts) Certain yummy tasting delights, along with scripture, were flowing out of Scruffy and the kids loved it! Then we did some games, crafts, ladybug cupcakes and an aphid piñata. We did not have a ladybug piñata because that would have been horrible to hit a ladybug with a stick.. but ladybugs eat aphids, so it was a very appropriate to have a little green monster (we called an aphid) as the piñata. We are so thankful to all our family who helped out (and contributed the live bugs :) Grammy had yummy sandwiches for all the adults, mark got drinks, Emily helped decorate, Hannah and Jessie helped babysit... it was a fantastic day!

Kalena was so excited to turn five. She is so full of energy and curiosity. I love every minuet with our sweet five year old! I wish every day would just slow down so that I can just sit and cuddle and talk for hours with her!