Friday, July 30, 2010

Sweet Big Brother

Gabe and Josie had no idea I was on the deck looking down on them, but Gabe was being so sweet to her that I couldn't resist trying to capture them together. Gabe really is a great big brother...this particular day, they were apparently looking for rabbits or squirrels to see. I needed to post these today, after kind of having a rough day, to remind myself how precious these times with little ones really are. On a not so good note, poor Josie...like I said, it has been a not so great day. Lots on my mind, seemingly overwhelming things to think about/accomplish, and (sinfully) worry about-just one of those days you want to climb in bed and not come out for a few hours. Ha! That's funny to even think about:) Anyway, I was doing stuff around the house, and couldn't keep myself from crying for the life of me. I was trying so hard not to give in, because the kids were playing nearby. Josie happened to look up and see me, so I quickly turned away in the hope that she would just keep playing. Instead, she runs over to get a closer look, and as soon as she sees me crying she bursts into tears, and sobs while holding my face in her hands and repeatedly saying, "Mommy, mommy". It was so pitiful, and I felt like a rotten mom. I tried to explain that sometimes just having a good cry makes you feel better, and that it is okay to cry and that God doesn't mind us being honest with Him and sharing our sad feelings with Him...don't know if she bought it, but she finally calmed down. Oh, my. And it was only lunchtime! Thankfully, my perspective is slowly becoming more aligned with God's and things seem much better already. Ah, the peace that only He can bring!

And then there's Seth, who just asked me if I wanted to see a magic trick from 1866 and then proceeded to ask "what exactly would Satan look like if we could see him right this minute? Would he be really hideous or look kind of normal?" Keeps me hoppin'!




Love the hands on the hips on this one!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

We Love Visitors, Part 2!

Jerod (my brother), Leah, and Cayla came to St. Louis to stay with us for a few days recently, and we had a super fun time with them. We hit the zoo, the Magic House, downtown St.Louis at a huge splash pad, played a lot, etc. The kids loved having Cayla around, so much so that I had to tell them numerous times to go find something to play with & give Cayla some time alone-they adore her. It was precious. Thank you guys for coming to see us! We love you all so much.



Love this one of Leah & Cayla



Cayla LOVED the water


Seth finding a place to rest at the zoo (this is so him!)

Two beautiful girls, Aunt Leah & Josie, at the Magic House
This is the splash pad/wading pool area downtown. The kids
had an absolute blast!


Josie wanted to show how she can swim all the way under
the water. She also will now jump in the deep end (over & over!)by herself
& tread water briefly before one of us grabs her. She has never
worn water wings, so this is a big show of bravery for her:) She loves to
wear her goggles so that she can swim underwater and see things.





I just love her pure delight!






Watching themselves on the huge screen in downtown STL

Monday, July 19, 2010

We Love Visitors, Part 1!

My dad, step-mom, and little brother came to visit us recently. We had a great time with them! We hit the Botanical Garden, the zoo, went up in the Arch, and even got to see part of an air show right by the arch. The kids really loved getting to see them, though poor Griffin is almost too loved by our kids:) Thanks for being such a great uncle, Griff! We are so thankful you all came to visit us-we love you and miss you!






Saturday, July 17, 2010

Nile's birthday!

Trying to catch up, since I have been horrible about updating! We had a great time celebrating Nile's birthday...took him out to lunch (love gift cards! Thanks!)and had plenty of desserts, as the kids thought there MUST be cake on someone's birthday, even when the birthday guy wanted apple pie instead:) So, I made both to keep the troops happy. Nile always hates it when I get mushy & say too many nice things about him (publicly), so I will just mention this one lesson the kids and I have learned from him this past year:
We have seen perseverance lived out by Nile, and it has made an impact on us all. Seminary (mainly Greek)has been very challenging for Nile, and there have been many times he has just wanted to give up. We have seen him cling to God in these times, trusting in God's call for us to be here. It is far from easy, in fact, it seems as if it would be much easier to just quit...but he has not, instead, he keeps at it, one day at a time, trusting God to either see him through or reveal a different plan. I am so thankful our kids get to witness this! We love you and are so inspired & challenged by you! (Okay, that last part might get me in trouble).