Meet Mommy Lambie and Baby Lambie

Most kids have their "lovie" of some sort. Abby has her two lambies. My mom gave her one of these lambs a long time ago and she fell in love. When I realized what had happened I went to Target to buy a second one because everyone told me to always buy a backup in case it gets lost or dirty. My plan was to keep them separate, but somehow over time she has claimed them both. They each have a little satin bow on their heads that Abby loves to rub against her cheek and her ear. That is how she cuddles with them. Over time, one of the lambs lost their bow. Soon after this, Abby chose to distinguish between the two. She called them mommy lambie and baby lambie. The baby lambie has her bow and this is her usual favorite. How sweet it is to watch her love these little stuffed animals! They are certainly becoming more and more worn with love!

Is Daddy Funny?

For the minority out there that question Jason's unique humor, you will appreciate this!
Yesterday, I told Abby, "I love when Daddy is funny!" She replied, "Yeah, me too! But that only happens sometimes!"

Early Sports Fans!

The girls found Daddy's hat box today!

When I went running this morning I saw this...

A Coyote seriously ran right by me! I totally freaked out! I knew right away that it wasn't a dog, but I didn't really know what it was. I came home and told Jason and he said it was a coyote. He actually said he saw it when he was running at the local track. I googled coyote and soon found out that they weren't a threat to humans. But, I will admit that the thought of mace did cross my mind! Mace for wildlife, who would have thought!

Abby has already figured out...

SIBLING LABOR!

Fun Weekend with "Cousins"!

Gary and Dee and John and Jessica have served us this summer by watching our kids overnight several times. As a sort of thank you, we asked if we could watch John and Jessica's kids for a weekend. This big weekend just passed and we had a lot of fun! Jason and I with 6 munchkins! The girls loved their big family for the weekend and we grew exponentially in our admiration for big families! My whole plan was to take all of these pictures and video and, well, let's just say that we were busy enough that I only took pictures once when they were all seated in front of the TV! So, here they are...

More Random Memories from our Week at the Cabin

Have I mentioned how much I love my parent's cabin!  We had such a relaxing fun family vacation.  This is kind of a random post of memories from the week.  

First off, I have successfully acquired the sweet tooth from my dear father!  As was common when I was growing up, Dad had an itch to bake brownies!  With a little De Ja Vu, I took some pics of Papa baking brownies with Abby.  Katie had no hesitation jumping in there for a few licks of batter!

With the monsoon season here, the weather was perfect!  In fact, there were several times that we were downright cold.  In the morning I would wake up, put on fleece pants, a sweatshirt, grab a blanket, and go read my Bible on the back porch.  With a hot cup of coffee of course!  The cold weather also afforded some great chilly walks around the neighborhood.  I, of course being the greatest planner of all time, brought no warm clothes for the girls.  So we bundled them up in our jackets and sweatshirts.  Another photo opportunity!  These girls are just outrageously cute!


Another perk to the cabin is that my parents belong to the country club up there.  So, Jason can play golf and we can eat all the good food!  There Sunday brunch is fabulous!  The spread consists of everything wonderful about breakfast!  Since we love breakfast, this is always a highlight.  A family picture at the Sunday brunch.

Sometimes you can just tell when your little one goes through a developmental jump. Katie definitely did this week. All of a sudden she started talking and interacting in a different and older way. Her favorite word this week was "dog" and we heard it about a zillion times. She also got more and more involved in the ever longed for sibling rivalry. The usual was that she would plant herself right in front of the TV, watch, and point at everything she saw. This was one of Abby's favorite things! Poor Abby, but it was actually pretty funny!

Thankfully, along with rivalry were some very sweet, loving, sisterly moments. They really do love, enjoy, and care for one another! When we were cleaning the house and getting ready to leave, Jason turned the TV on for the girls. A few minutes later I went to make sure they were both still there. I only saw Abby so I went searching for Katie. I couldn't find her anywhere. Right when I was about to freak out, this is what I found...

Isn't that the cutest thing you have ever seen! Katie was totally curled up in Abby's lap and Abby was stroking her back! How fun it is to have two little girls!
No stories for these pictures, just a lot of cuteness!








Isn't God so good!

Jason's New Blog

Jason decided to start a blog to remember his PC year and to keep family and friends updated on his studies and our life out there.  Check it out!

Cool Mountain Air and the Fourth of July

My parents have a cabin in the White Mountains of Arizona.  Oh!  I love it!  One of my favorite places!  It is cozy, cool, the smell of pine trees, breath of fresh air, and nothing to do but sleep, eat, read, play with the kids, go on walks, and watch movies.  I am so thankful to have this special place where we can continue to build lots of family memories!  This week we were able to come up with my parents for the holiday.  It is scorching hot in the valley and we are enjoying mid-70 degree weather.  It has even been a little rainy.  It is too bad the whole going to work thing is essential, because I could stay her a lot longer!

I was into matching outfits this week.  We went to the country club for lunch and I put the girls in matching pink polo shirts and khaki shorts.  So cute!!  
A big highlight for us each year is the Fourth of July at the country club.  They go all out and have a big grill out with relay races, water balloon tosses, petting zoos, bouncy castles, face painting, fishing contests, and more.  It is so much fun!  It is totally a small town picnic!  The only problem was when the storm came with thunder and lightning and they had to shut most of it down.  Thankfully for us this happened about 2pm and we had already participated in most of it.  

Let's just say that Katie loved the watermelon!  Here was her going at it!
As usual, Abby loved the sweets!  She was enjoying her fudgesicle!
Daddy and Abby were enjoying the bouncy castles and slides!


Just because we had to leave the golf course because of the rain, didn't mean we didn't enjoy it!  We let the girls play in the rain on the back deck and they thought it was so much fun!


Happy Fourth of July!

If You Haven't Already Heard...

Jason got accepted into the Pastor's College for Sovereign Grace Ministries!  This was announced a few weeks ago at church, but I am a little late in posting about it.  Jason and I have been praying for about 5 years now about a strong desire he has had to be a pastor.  He has humbly and patiently waited for God's call on his life.  He has faithfully pursued growth in many specific areas and has sought help, wisdom, and counsel from several of the pastors at our church.  I am so proud of him and how he has walked this path.  I am so excited to see him do what he really wants to do and to be able to serve alongside him!  I love you babe!

Happy Birthday My Dear Abigail!

Abigail Faith, our precious treasure, turned 3 years old today! We had a full day planned with lots of special events. Abby knew just what she wanted. This is the first birthday where she really understood, told me what she wanted, and anticipated for weeks beforehand. This made it so fun to plan and celebrate!

The morning started off with scrambled eggs and Norweigan pancakes, per Abby's request! Mmm powdered sugar!



After breakfast, we hurried to pick up the balloons and decorate the house for her little friend's princess party! We invited some of Abby's little friends over for some swimming, macaroni-n-cheese, and cupcakes! All favorites for Abby! Thanks to everyone who came for a great time and more great memories!
We repeated the everything princess theme except for the cake. Tara gave me such a creative cake idea. I poured the cake mix into ice cream cones and baked them. They turned out perfect! Cupcake ice cream cones! Thanks Tara!

Here are all of the munchkins!






The moms had a good laugh when we looked into the front room only to find the two boys being the only ones in there playing with the dollhouse! Tara grabbed the camera and got some great shots! According to her, "Well, I guess they do have to learn to lead the home!" So funny!


We ended the day with a little surprise! Grandma came over to watch Katie and Jason and I took Abby out for a birthday date. We went to Johnny Rockets for dinner and then took Abby to her first movie at the theatre. It was so much fun! She was so cute and was making us laugh all night. It was one of those nights where I was freshly aware of God's goodness in our life and was so thankful for the amazing gift this beautiful, funny, sweet-hearted little girl really is!
Here is Abby excited about her special surprise date!

Johnny Rockets was a big hit!  She ordered a hot dog and french fries of course!  Could she be more lovable!  She really melts your heart!


We ordered Abby's first root beer float.  The first sip...
Here is what she thought!  I think she liked it!

And it is off to the movies!  Her first impression of the theatre was, well lets say filled with trepidation! A big dark place with dark hallways, lots of competing noise, enormous scary posters, and lots of big doorways with loud noises coming out of them.  Once the movie started and she realized what it was all about, she loved it!  Now she will tell you that the movie was her favorite part.  

Abby, you're 3!  I can't believe it!  You have grown into a beautiful little girl, full of life, full of joy, with such a sweet tender heart!  Our dear Abigail, we love and cherish you!  Happy Birthday!