Summer is Here!

Karis and I are glad that summer is here. Karis really enjoys playing outside. Last week, I got her pool out, and she had a blast. Justin also came up with a great idea for a sandbox, which she played in while playing the pool.

Karis is getting ready to play in her pool, she had go with Mommy on a walk first.

She decided she wanted to fill up her own pool, all by herself!

I think there are more toys than water in her pool, but she had a blast throwing them out of the pool, getting out of the pool, and then throwing them back in. She must have done that 20 times.

On Saturday, Hannah came over and her and Karis played in the Elmo sprinkler and the pool. They had more fun giving Elmo a drink and bathing him!

Summer is such a fun time to play outside. I am glad that Karis enjoys being outside. I really like it too. God is so good to us to give us beautiful weather and beautiful children. Everything we have is a blessing from Him.

Creative Way to Feed Calvin!

I guess we never realize our creative our children are until they do something really clever or just plain silly. I was making lunch for one afternoon and I watched Karis pick up some of Calvin's food and carry into the other room. She then climbed up on the chair that she had pulled out and threw his food on the ground. He ate every piece, so she did it again.

Karis is standing in the chair getting ready to drop Calvin's food.

She is very satisfied with herself and is wiping off her dirty hands!

Watering the Flowers

One of Karis' favorite things to do in the afternoon is help Daddy water the flowers. I am usually not feeling very well by the time Justin gets home from work, so he takes Karis outside with him while he waters the flower beds. She in turn gets to water my two potted plants, mostly watering the steps, but she has a lot of fun doing it.

Karis is gently watering my daises.

Look at how good her Daddy has taught her to water mom's favorite flowers!

Here is where she is watering more of the steps than the flowers.

What a joy it is to watch Karis grow. Just like flowers need water to live, Karis needs us, as her parents, to nurture her in God's Word. We are to train, discipline, and pour love out to her to teach her God's grace everyday. I cannot imagine life without Karis, and I am so excited to see what God has in store for us with the new creation He is growing in me right now. Children really are a blessing from the Lord!

Visit with Pop Pop and Grammie

On Tuesday last week, we had some very special visitors. Justin's parents came to see us, Pop Pop and Grammie as Karis calls them. We had a very short, good, productive visit. Karis really enjoys her grandparents.




The first thing she did was play with the new toys that Pop Pop and Grammie got her. She loves to stick post it notes on everything, thus Pop Pop is covered in K's.

Karis played and played until her little heart was content.

The next morning for breakfast, Grammie and Karis had a leaning tea party. They leaned and ate toast and jam. It was really cute. Karis enjoyed her first taste of jelly!

We spent the rest of the day buying and planting plants in our front yard. Grammie is a great at doing yards, so she helped me with the flower beds, and Pop Pop helped Justin remove the big ugly bridhouse in the front yard and plant a tree there. It looks much better. Thank you guys for all your help. Karis enjoyed playing in the rain and helping us too.


The next morning Pop Pop and Grammie had to leave. Karis got to tell them that she is going to "be a big sister." They were very excited.

We enjoyed our visit with them, and I know that Karis did too. She thanks God for them every night. We love you guys!

Praise the Lord, we are expecting!!

The Lord has been good to us. After 14 months of trying to get pregnant, God has answered our prayers. We are very excited! What a blessing! I am nine weeks as of yesterday. My first doctor's visit went well, and I go back at 12 weeks. I was told again that I will have to have a c-section. There is always that slight chance that maybe this time I won't have to, but God did not make my body able to have children without the help of a c-section. Praise the Lord for c-sections!
Our new bundle of joy will be joining us sometime in early December, around the 11. Karis is not really sure what she thinks yet, she just knows that she can't jump on mommy's belly anymore when we wrestle. She keeps telling me there is a baby in her belly too, like mommy's. It will be interesting and fun to see how she reacts to all this.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday. Today my dad turns another year older and wiser. I am so blessed to have my dad. A man that showed me his love daily, a man that taught me about Christ, a man that always hugged me, a man that was always proud of me, a man that pushed me to do my best in all situations, a man whose lap I still sit in, a man who loves his wife, a man who is always there, and a man that continues to show his love with his grandchildren.
I cannot imagine life without this wonderful man in my life. I have always been your little girl and will continue to be no matter how old I am. Thank you for giving me strong beliefs and strong character. Thank you for always believing in me. Thank you for being the man you are. I love you dad more than I can say. I hope you had a wonderful day playing golf.

Trip to DC with Papa John & 'Amma

While my parents were here, we made a quick trip to DC. It is only four hours away, and my mom and I have never been. We knew that taking Karis would not allow us to see everything, but we were excited to go anyway. Our trip was wonderful, and we had a great time together. I will let the pictures tell about our trip.

When arrived in DC about 2:30 on Tuesday afternoon. We put Karis in the stroller and started on our way. My mom and I took into the building that contains all the important United States documents (Declaration of Independence, Constitution, etc.), but it was not very stroller friendly so we decided it would be something to see at a better time, when Karis is older. We then went to the Art Park, which is where my parents and Karis are in this picture. Karis got to throw pennies in the water.

We then made the long trek past the Washington monument to the WWII monument, which is fairly new. Karis and I are standing in front of the water. It was hard explaining to a two year old that you couldn't throw money into this water. The monument was beautiful and very much depicted the what WWII was about.

Next, we went to the Vietnam Wall Memorial. My dad served in Vietnam, so it was very special to take a picture of him standing by the wall. Because the time was running out on our meter, we had to rush back to our car, which was clear on the other side of the "mall."

On our way back, Karis must have been really tuckered out, she fell asleep in her stroller. She has never done that. It was probably about a two mile walk back, so she got a little nap before we headed to our hotel.

The next morning we parked, and went back by the Washington Monument to head back to the Lincoln Memorial. We didn't have time yesterday to see it. Karis is walking on the stone wall that goes all the way around the Monument. It was really cute seeing her dance to the music being played by an orchestra especially since she was almost as tall as me.

My mom, Karis, and I walked up the stairs to the Lincoln Memorial. She was okay with it until I took her a little closer to take her picture. She said "Lincoln too big." She then preceded to tell my dad that she "took picture with Lincoln." Here my parents are sitting with her outside the Lincoln Memorial.

It was a special trip, and we had lots of fun. Karis learned that George W. Bush lives in the White House. My parents visit with us was wonderful. I love having them around because they love playing with Karis. I love being able to just hang out with them. Thank you for coming. I know it is a hard trip. We love and miss you very much.