Spring Highlights: Birthdays

DALE
Dale's birthday was in February and I actually don't have pictures of this event. But I surprised him with tickets to a Silvertips Hockey game, a local team. He didn't even know where we were going until the stadium was in sight. It was so fun! We got to sit 2 rows behind the Plexiglas - is that what that stuff is? Anyway, whatever it is, I'm sure glad it's sturdy b/c there were a lot of guys slamming into it along with the puck. It was so exciting and full of non-stop action. We even got to see a couple of fights, which Dale especially enjoyed.

KAITLYN


Kaitlyn turned 2 on March 14! She has become such an enjoyable little girl - very sing songy and funny, with her own brand of humor. She LOVES books, dancing to music, riding her "bikcycle" as she calls the tricycle we have, throwing balls, and staring at people. Seriously, she's an observer, especially when she doesn't know someone. She just stares. And I think it makes some a little uneasy. Her favorite song, which she asks me to sing EVERY night at bedtime is "Jesus Loves Me" and she sings it quite well herself. I often try singing other songs, but it never works. This is her one request. She also loves her big sister and wants to do everything Hannah does - good or bad! They play hide & seek together, read stories together, steal candy together... play house together - one day she may not appreciate that Hannah sometimes has her playing the dog. :)


Kaitlyn loves Elmo, so she was very excited to have an Elmo-themed party. Although you really can't tell in this picture. :) We had a very cool Elmo cupcake cake, until someone began to eat a cupcake with the black icing, which left them with black teeth and lips, for quite awhile.... not so sure about that black icing!

























Hannah's two little buddies, Jacob & Nickolas, and their families, joined us for the festivities and had a fun time helping Kaitlyn break in her new toys. Here she is riding Rocket (from Little Einsteins) with the help of Nickolas. Then she and "Jabeb", as she calls him, are checking out the books and puzzles.



























And kids of all ages love blocks. I think Dale and Mark were having a tower-building contest.


























We were glad that Dale's mom got to come in for a visit just a few days after. The girls always enjoy having Grandma in town!


























GRAMMY
My mom's birthday is just 2 days prior to Kaitlyn's, so while they were here visiting we got to celebrate with her too! We took Mom out to Anthony's Diner, a great seafood restaurant overlooking the Sound. Then we came back for some chocolate cake!

Moms

Being a mom is the best, but probably one of the hardest jobs in the world - or so I think. We want to hold on to our children, yet we're constantly faced with letting them go in one way or another. After all, the ultimate goal of parenting is to raise a self-sufficient person who can go out from us and make their own mark on the world - and hopefully a positive mark.

Dale did an excellent job Sunday of teaching from 1 Samuel 1. This passage is about a woman named Hannah, who could not have children and so desperately wanted a son. She vowed that if God gave her a son, she'd give him back to the Lord. So, God did bless her with a baby boy. And after raising him for about 3 years she handed him over to the temple to be raised by Eli the priest. She wanted him to be raised in the house of the Lord so his life would be service to God. But the temple was far away from her home and she'd only see him once a year after she left him. In our culture, this seems so bizarre to do something like this. But the point Dale made was that she was only able to do this because her purpose in life did not depend on her son. Her joy and satisfaction was found in God, not her child, even though she prayed and waited so long to have him. We are only able to let go of those things in which we don't look to for ultimate fulfillment. That spoke a huge message to me. When most every part of my world revolves around my children, it's easy to make them the center of it. They are a huge priority and I treasure them as amazing gifts from God. But, I cannot find my purpose in them. My purpose & fulfillment in life comes from the Lord. Right now, part of that purpose includes molding 2 little lives, but one day they will be on their own. And at that point I don't cease to have purpose, and certainly don't cease to have joy and satisfaction - as long as I'm finding those things in God, who has promised to never leave me. So, it's a great message and one I'm sure I'll continually have to remind myself of... especially the day I have to let Hannah go to her first day of kindergarten.

Here's my two sweeties on Mother's Day.













And here's my mom & dad.













My mom is a great mother who I'm more grateful for the older my kids get. She put up with a lot from me - more than I even know I'm sure! Yet, she didn't give up. She continued to do what she thought was right in disciplining and training me so that I could grow up and go out on my own. I know that hasn't been easy, but she's been a trooper and has continually shown unconditional love and support in all phases of my life. And for that, I'm very grateful.

Kindergarten Orientation

Tonight we took Hannah to her future elementary school for Kindergarten Orientation. It was really nice. They fed us dinner and we mingled with the other families. Then the kids gathered for some songs. Although Hannah was still checking things out and sat back quietly to observe. We've learned, even in a fun environment, if it's new, she has to warm up to it first. She stuck to me like glue until we got to the kindergarten classrooms. She was pretty intrigued by the "Word Wall" up on the board and wanted to do it right then. Then she noticed the reading corner and hunted down some books that she also has. When it came time to go back to the gym for a story time she didn't want to leave. I guess that's a good sign! But being in the classroom increased her comfort level enough that she was right on the front row and involved during the interactive story time. Before we left we asked her if she wanted to meet the principal. We walked up, Hannah stuck out her hand and said, "Hello, my name is Hannah." like such a big girl!

I didn't have a single emotional moment until we got home. Dale was getting the girls ready for bed upstairs and I was looking through the bag of material the school gave us. And then it hit. Once again, I'm thinking how did we get here? All of the sudden she's about to be in school 5 days a week! At least I've got until Sept. to get myself really geared up for this. Will I be ready?

"Teach us how short our lives really are so that we may be wise." Psalm 90:12

After an unintentional and lengthy break from my blog, I'm returning. Or at least I'm going to attempt it. I've really missed it, and apparently some of you have too. I've gotten more than several hints! :) So, here I am finally!

The quick pace of life has made me realize just how short our lives really are. And what we do with our limited time is crucial. I'd like to say that because I haven't spent endless hours on a computer blogging that I've been making the most of my time. Hopefully, that is mostly true. But, inevitably, at the end of the day, I feel like things are left undone, words are left unspoken, and I've probably missed or forgotten something. One lesson learned is that I cannot do everything - especially everything I think I should be doing! But, lately I've found myself feeling like so much has happened in the blink of an eye. As if I've just awoken from what I thought was a brief nap to find that weeks have passed. When did my baby become a 2-yr old with the ability to carry on a conversation with me? Have we really been in Seattle almost a year? And those pictures STILL have not been hung? I could go on.....

Time is certainly flying! And it is of the utmost importance to be diligent and intentional with what time I am given. So, in all that I do, whether work or play, I am striving to be wise with my time, tending to the most important, which is not always the most immediate or the most obvious. Anything left undone after that... well, I just have to be okay with it.

Loving It!

I love.......

1) that Hannah and Kaitlyn banter "I love yous" back and forth almost every day. "I love you Kaitlyn!", "I wub oo Hannah!", and so on. It's the best!

2) that Hannah is so excited to teach Kaitlyn how to pray. She offers examples of what she could say and then Kaitlyn folds her hands, bows her head and says, "Dear God.." (mumble, mumble, mumble ) "Amen."

3) all the funny and sweet things that come out of Hannah's mouth. Here's just a couple.... 1) When I told her she was growing up too fast and asked her if she was going to keep growing up, she said, "Yes, but I'll always be your favorite Hannah." And this is true!.... 2) Almost every time she's finished picking up her toys in the play room she expresses concern that her friends will come over and just mess it all up. (As if she doesn't mess it up every day all on her own!) She's even said to me before, "When they come over, can you tell them not to mess everything up." To that I say, "well isn't that what it's all there for?"

4) the mischievous looks that are becoming more frequent on Kaitlyn's face. Her eyes say, "I'm up to something you have no idea about!"

5) that Kaitlyn carries her blanket around like Linus, and must love our fabric softener, because she does nothing but hold it up to her face and sniff.

6) that Kaitlyn could play peek-a-boo and sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" all day long.

7) that when Kaitlyn gets an owie, she comes running to me to kiss it and as soon as I do, it's magically better and she's off running again.

Wishing You a Merry Christmas!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

New Connect Church Promo Video

Here is a new promo video Dale recently filmed and created for our church. Enjoy the Seattle snowstorm that occurred while filming.

Let it Snow!!

We have had so much snow this week! Sat. night it began snowing so that we awoke to a beautiful Sunday morning. It's been so cold that Tue. we still had plenty of snow to play in. I believe this was Kaitlyn's first experience with snow she could actually play in. She liked crunching in it with her boots.














Hannah liked pegging us with snowballs!














Then yesterday it began snowing again. It snowed and it snowed and today it snowed and snowed some more. This is the view from the back of our house....














...and here's the front.














We had a lot of fun playing with some of our neighbor friends today. I only wish the pictures were a little better. We have a new camera and I've not gotten accustomed to the settings yet. Hannah and Elissa had fun making snow angels.




























Kaitlyn and her little buddy Jacob, who we get to play with every week. I think this is how it went down.... J: Would you like to go sledding with me? K: Well, I don't know. I've never been sledding. J: It's okay. I'll sit in front and protect you from the cold wind.














K: Oh, this is fun! Faster, faster!!














Hannah had a blast too. Our friend Ben really got a work-out pulling all the kids around the park! He was so sweet.

A Visit from Friends

Our friends, Tricia and Brenda, came to visit the first weekend in November. Actually they really just came to see our girls, but that's okay! :) They are two of the many wonderful people in Nashville that loved on our girls and provided hours of free babysitting! We sure had it good! It was an encouragement to us to have them here and to be able to let them see our lives here up close.

Saturday, the girls and I gave them a good tour of Seattle. We ate at Ivar's Fish Bar on the Sound, fed the seagulls, walked through Pike's Place Market and made a stop at a park on Queen Anne Hill overlooking the city.














Kaitlyn gave us some good camera action....










































However, this is what Hannah thought about having her picture taken. No amount of coaxing was going to get her to take a good picture on this day!














We love you Brenda and Tricia!!

Halloween Block Party

Here it is almost Thanksgiving and I'm just now updating about our big Halloween event. Well such is life for me right now - running a bit behind. Connect Church sponsored a block party at our house Halloween night and we had fairly constant crowds for about 2.5 hrs. It was definitely a success! And I imagine, based on the response of our neighbors, if we don't deliver something similar next year, everyone will be disappointed! We are so grateful for all the help we received to put on this event and for the outcome of the night!

We all had a great time...... Dale and I especially enjoyed meeting more of our neighbors and getting to visit with them while the kids played. In fact we were so busy having fun I didn't capture much of it on camera I'm afraid to say! But here are a few pics.....

Hannah as Aerial, along with some of the other Connect Kids, taking a break from trying out the jumping castle before the neighbors arrived.














Our little Care Bear with Daddy.














Our garage was decked out in Halloween decor and stocked with popcorn, coffee, hot chocolate and crafts for the kids.





























Some neighborhood kids playing a game under the tent.

October Fun

I'm a little behind on my updating. So here's a little glimpse of all the fun we had as a family in Oct....

Here's the girls w/ Grammy and Paw Paw. Kaitlyn and Paw Paw really bonded on their recent trip here. She couldn't get enough of him!




























Here they are "heading" upstairs for bed.














Hannah was a frog on "Dress Like an Animal Day" at Preschool.














Thanks to one of my neighbors, we got free tickets to see "The Green Sheep" at the Seattle Children's Theater and had a blast. Unfortunately, my battery ran out so I didn't get any shots of the stage where we were placed in the "sheep pen" while we helped the actors look for the green sheep. It was so cute and tons of fun! But I did get a sweet sister moment just before going in.














Happy Kaitlyn...














Hannah and I went to a local pumpkin patch with her preschool class. Here she is having fun w/ one of her favorite preschool friends.

Kids Say the Darndest Things.....

Here are a few of our latest favorite sayings from the girls....

Hannah:
"Mommy, I like you. I think we'll keep you." (Maybe she thought she could trade me in? I'm glad, after 4 years, that she's given me a satisfactory evaluation!)

After a discussion about heaven. Hannah asked if our house would be in heaven. I told her that Jesus is preparing a special house for us to live in there. To that she responded, "Can God paint? Because I want Him to paint my room pink."

"Daddy, you're special."

"Mommy, you're the best mom in the whole wide world that I've ever had!" (One day I'm going to think to video this to play back in about 10 years as a reminder!)


Kaitlyn:
"I want cookie." (This is her favorite thing to say.)
"Happy, happy, happy!"
"Hold me." (With arms extended.... who can resist?)
"Boo!" (She loves playing peek-a-boo.)
She's just way too cute for her own good at this point.

Victoria

In honor of our anniversary, Dale and I had the amazing opportunity to spend 3 days in Victoria, Canada a little over a week ago, thanks to my parents who came up to stay with the girls and gave us a generous anniversary gift! We traveled by way of the Victoria Clipper, which sped along at a steady 30 miles per hour or so, getting us there from Seattle in about 2.5 hours.














These next 2 pics were taken from the balcony of our room on the 11th floor of The Executive House.




























We were told that High Tea at The Empress Hotel was a must-do. So, we did, to Dale's chagrin. Actually, he was a pretty good sport and we had fun. But, it's quite a dainty and upscale affair. One we'll probably only do once! This is the Empress.... We were told that there is actually a hotel within this hotel that is very exclusive - only for those who can afford it, such as the Queen of England, who stays there on her visits to Victoria.














The tea and "crumpets" were wonderful! What are crumpets anyway?














Gratefully, this was our only scheduled event.... We enjoyed wandering around Victoria on foot, exploring streets full of shops and restaurants. Some of what we saw on foot....

1) Parliament - Victoria is the capital of British Columbia














2) Craigdaroch Castle - We took the very interesting tour and learned a lot about the Craigdaroch family and their rise from poverty to immense wealth by way of the coal industry. Interestingly enough, the wood used in the elaborate woodwork all throughout the castle is white oak from Arkansas!














A view of the city from the castle tower room.














3) Seals! - 3 seals had made their way to the pier by some houseboats and restaurants and a woman was feeding them fresh fish.














We also took a "harbour hop" on a Harbour Ferry, to the relief of our exhausted feet that had been walking all over the city for 3 days!














While on it, we spotted this boat, which was used in WWII for something (now I don't remember for what), and on which Winston Churchill has traveled.














After our tea experience we rented bikes for a couple of hours, which boosted Dale's sense of manliness a bit I think. This is my favorite picture from our ride.














I must add, that on our ride back from Victoria to Seattle, we met a woman from TX. There are Texans EVERYWHERE! :) Ironically, her name was Tina.