I Love my family (cont.)...

Again, more pics of my trip home...
- Elizabeth, Kelli and Grace
- Papa Wes & Maddie
- Me and my Daddy!
- BBQ Whiz Uncle Roy and Christa


 

Friends for Life

While in Ohio, I also got to meet up with my good friend Sarah. We had talked about getting together because we were both going to be home at the same time (she lives in Florida). I know her favorite spot is the Polaris mall for coffee and letting the kids get their energy out in the play area. I happened to go to the mall with Carissa, my cousin Jamie and all of our kids one day, and as I pulled up I realized that I hadn't called Sarah yet about getting together (the mall made me think of her!). As God would have it, she was already there in the play area with her kids!! How nice to get to fit in a visit and hugs!! Sarah and her husband just found out they are expecting after eight years of trying for a biological child! They have two adopted boys from Russia - soooo cute! God is so good and I was glad to be able to give my congrats in person and snap a quick picture. Below is a picture of all of the kids. From left to right - Jake (my cousin's little boy), Ainsley (Carissa's little girl), Maddie, Kaden (Sarah's little boy), Grace holding Faith and Riley (Sarah's other little boy)
 

Our recent trip to O-HI-O! Go Bucks!!!

Two weeks ago, the girls and I and my dear friend Carissa and her daughter Ainsley made a trip to Columbus for a weekend of fun and family. I'll write more about the family time above, but following are some pics while hanging out at Mom & Dad's. The second night we were there the girls had a blast dancing in the living room with Papa Wes. Mom & Dad have started a record collection with more than 650 records! They even had an old console fixed and so in the evenings they like to listen to old records. The girls were dancing to one that my sister and I used to have as kids - Disney Disco. It was so funny to see them form a line around the living room (with Dad in front). They all decided to hold onto his belt buckle and they giggled the whole time. Then Nana Heidi got them all settled down with a bedtime story - Aren't they cute? I love my parents!!!

Big 1st Day!!!

Well, it's here and I can't believe it! Just yesterday she was Faith's age and now she's off to Kindergarten. We are so excited for her - this is such a big deal and she couldn't wait to go, but it is with mixed emotions that we send her off to school. She will be going every Tuesday and Thursday with alternating Fridays. Grace's day starts by being dropped off to school by her Daddy at 7:45am and then Mommy picks her up at 3:15pm. At least we get to ease into the school thing this year - next year it will be every day! I praise the Lord for her and pray that she will continue to grow into the young girl He wants her to be. That she will not just go and obey her teacher and make new friends, but that she would be an example even at this young age and honor the Lord in all she does! Children indeed are a blessing from the Lord! There's a picture of Grace below with her friend from church, Kaitlyn Uminn. Kaitlyn's dad is Quinn's best friend Tom. It's so neat that the girls get to be in the same class together!


 

Look Ma No Hands!

Faith loves playing in her exersaucer - here are a few shots! Isn't she a joy?
 

My Sweet Faith!

This is the face I see when she gets up in the morning or from a nap or just all the time. What a sweet girl, always bright and smiling and happy. I took the camera in on Friday so I could catch her waking up from a nap. She heard me, rolled over and gave me this precious smile. I can't describe the feelings of love and adoration I have for my girls - they definitely are gifts from God!! 

My girls the drama queens!!

The girls were playing with Playdoh at the counter this weekend and I wanted to take some pictures. They would not give me a straight face with a smile, but were hamming it up and being so goofy. Maddie has a thousand faces - you can't help but love the kid! So here's our dramatic pose for Mommy! 

Clifford the big red dog!

My niece Chloe just turned one this past Friday and I was honored that Harm asked me to help make the cake for her birthday party. This is something I have vowed to do for my kids' birthdays as they are growing up and time allows. I love to do it and feel that I get better with each time I practice. The difference this time was that I didn't have to plan a party or food or decorate my house - my job was just the cake! It was a blast and I had a fun time talking with Harm and showing her how to go about it. They came over for pizza dinner first and then the guys watched the kids and all fell asleep down stairs! Harm and I stayed up until they left around 12:50 am!!
This is the first time I have tried a suggestion my friend from church gave me - to put wax paper over the picture you want and then outline the character with icing. Next you turn the wax paper over on top of the cake and press the outline into your cake - peel off the wax paper and viola!! You should have your image and then you can start decorating. When Harm wanted to do a Clifford cake, we couldn't find any cake pans with him on there, soI suggested this and I must say I am so pleased with the way it turned out! Probably my best yet! Had to brag - thanks for indulging me!!


 

The ramblings of a busy mom...

I finally had some time to update our blog!! This summer has been so busy for us, starting with the death of Quinn's Grandpa (see blog down below). From then on, we were and have been on the move! In another few weeks it will be time to get ready for school and speaking of that, here's a picture of my big Kindergartener being silly and helping Dad set up for a shot.
This summer has been full of fun including almost three weeks in Ohio for the girls, two for Quinn and I. They love staying at Nana's house and we also got to see my family a lot and they loved that too!
I wanted to mention a big thank you to Aunt Cindy and Uncle Roy for having us over so much and for our birthday dinner out at Carrabbas (what a treat!) and for swimming and mini-golfing and the list goes on... I'm just bummed we never got any pictures from the mini-golfing. The girls had never been before and they loved trying to get the ball in the hole! Afterwards, Kelli and Berner took us to ColdStone Creamery for ice cream - another fun treat (thank goodness I wasn't on Weight Watchers at the time cause I enjoyed my ice cream!).
After a long and frustrating car ride home with all three girls by myself (and on my birthday no less) we attempted to settle back into home life, but not for long. Quinn turned 30 that same week and I ran around like a crazy woman trying to finish up details for a surprise BBQ we threw him (see blog below). Then Quinn had a minor surgery and was out of comission for a weekend. After that Quinn and I spent two weeks trying to put together a slideshow for our church to celebrate our Pastor's 20th anniversary there and the fact that he was moving to California for a new ministry. Yep, Pastor Gregory is now in California and we are looking for a new Pastor. It's been hard for our church, but I know that this is God's doing and He has the ultimate plan in mind (even though right now we can't see it)! You could say that we were a bit over-extended during this time with our kids, managing the house, sorting through pictures, other church responsibilities, sorting through pictures, helping out with Vacation Bible School at church, babysitting, Quinn doing photography gigs, did I mention sorting through pictures???
As of the night before the Farewell/20th Anniversary Celebration we still had 977 pictures we had to cut down to say 300? It was a challenge and we had total tunnel vision those two weeks, but we got through and it's all done! Whew! It's no wonder that the next morning I woke up with a terrible head cold and was sick all last week! This week is my get everything in shape week (I'm having a Pampered Chef party next Tuesday). You can imagine what my small house looks like with three kids and after weeks of neglect!! It's a Federal Disaster area!!
Through all our busyness, however, God has been good. As always - He is Faithful and He loves us - what a comfort to know that in our crazy life and times, He is right there with us!
I must add that He has been good to my husband in providing business for his love of photography. The word is spreading around church and we even have had some calls from people that our church friends have talked to wanting him to take pictures. I am so proud of him and I think he is doing such a great job. He took some family portraits of our Pastor and his family before they left town and they came out just great!! We pray this is the start of something good for our family. If you haven't checked out his photography site, the address is at the top of our blog page! He has been so busy I don't know if he has been able to put some more recent shots on there or not.
Well, I know I have rambled on enough - life is busy for all of us, not just Quinn and Sam, but I just wanted to fill you in on what's been happening this summer. I haven't updated the blog since the beginning of June! It was driving me crazy! Thanks for indulging me in my long rantings about our life - may God give you a great week!
P.S. Oh and if you want to check out most of the events I mentioned, read the blogs below - they are in order of most recent on down to the last time I blogged in June!! Enjoy!!

Parade, Polls and Pool!

The last week in July was the Byron Days Festival Parade. It was hot out again, but we all had a great time and the girls got tons of candy (so much that we donated it all to VBS at church!). We sat with friends from church during the parade - Kurt & Lisa and family. Afterward they invited us to go for a swim at their pool - beautiful!!! We had a great day together as a family! I love summer!

Surprise!! It's your birthday!

For Quinn's 30th birthday I planned a surprise BBQ in the park with friends and family. We had a great time and want to thank all who came to make it special for Quinn. I've posted lots of pics on the blogs below, so keep scrolling! Faith was all tired out! Last pic is of Rod & Barb and girls!

Party Pictures

In order...
-Harm & Scott
-The Pikaarts
- Nita & Uncle Denny
- Tom & Jan


 

The Party Continued...

Pictures are...
-Quinn and his best friend Tom!
-Our Second Cousins!
-Chloe with Nana & Papa!
- Joy & Micah (Quinn's cousins)