A Few New Photos...

Here is what we've been up to in our absence from the blogosphere.


Easter Sunday- right after church...It was a very cold windy day. It started raining as soon as the kids were done with the egg hunt.
Katie was taking a rest on her way to get the next egg. She proudly filled her basket.
My little sweetheart.
Hamming it up in the bathtub.
Dustin's MBA graduation.
Katie bug loving her new chair.

More pictures to come of Katie's first Disneyland trip and also pictures of projects around the house.

The Busy Days of our Katie Bug!

Can you tell she likes her new boots? I told her we needed to take a picture and she actually stood in one place and gave me a cheezy grin =)

Katie was all ready to run errands today. Nevermind that her socks don't match....the boots will cover them up =)

She's my very busy girl these days. She has to check everything out. I have been working on painting the hutch above and she was right in the middle of all of it.

Our Katie bug is super fast these days. She's off into the next room before I can get a new diaper on her. She takes off giggling and flapping her arms in excitement. Notice the wipe in her hand. She was wiping herself down with it.

This picture is probably about a month old now, but I put Katie's hair in a ridiculous pony tail and she gave me such a funny expression.

I love observing her every day. She picks up on so much. Today she had my bible study book and a pen and was trying to draw a picture. She showers me with kisses now and always provides me with a funny Katie story to tell Dustin when he arrives home. I feel so truly blessed to have this little one in my life everyday.

Merry Christmas

Wow! What a week. We celebrated Katie's first birthday yesterday and enjoyed Christmas Eve as a family. What a different Christmas Eve than the one we had last year....ha! Thank you to all of our friends and family that helped to make Katie's 1st Birthday extra special. We are so thankful that our little one is surrounded by friends and family that love her.

Merry Christmas from our little family to yours. May you take some time this Christmas to kneel in thanks to our God for sending his only son to the world so that we can have a greater understanding of our God and accept the gift of salvation.

Here are a few photos....More to come of Katie's birthday and Christmas!

Christmas Eve at the Mission Inn. (Katie was super tired from her birthday yesterday and Christmas Eve service. )

10 Month Update

Ok....so Katie is 10 months for the next 10 days! She seems to learn somthing new everyday. She loves to play and get into everything. She is crawling all over the house very quickly and has taken 3 steps! She smiles and giggles very easily. I love that she has learned that when she smiles first she can get me to smile. She also will laugh if I tell her how funny she is. She loves to take walks and explore. She can say Mama, Dada, and all done. She's also starting to use the hand signals that we've been working on. She gets excited and kicks her feet when offered food that she loves. She also always wants a sip of what I'm drinking. It's usually water so I oblige her, but she doesn't get it when it's what I call an "adult beverage". Which usually means its hot tea or apple cider. Since I've posted last we've been to Apple Hill to pick pumpkins and Halloween has also passed. Dustin is now through with going to class on Fridays and Saturdays! Hallelujah! We're thrilled to have more time as a family, more time to work on projects around the house, and time to fellowship more frequently with our church family. We're beginning to realize Thanksgiving is just around the corner and so is Katie's 1st birthday and Christmas! Wow, Lots to plan! 1st Birthday Party plans are in the works!

We hope we have a chance to visit with each of you over the holidays dear friends and family. Isn't it wonderful to have a time of year set aside specifically to remember to thank our Lord for all of his abundant blessings? I know I so often am like the Israelites wandering in the desert and grumbling and complaining. I often forget to thank God for his provision for my family, or I forget the next day and am grumbling in my heart again. May we remember to thank our God for his care for us...and if you call him Lord, may we remember to thank him for his saving grace that He would save such a wretch like me even when I complain like a wandering Israelite.

Late September Fun!

Katie loves strawberries! We went out for Japanese Buffet and she ate them one after another. She wasn't interested in the little cut up pieces, but wanted a strawberry to hold.

Playtime with Aunty Mandy!

We celebrated Dustin's 29th birthday this week.

We baked lots of cookies for the church bake sale and Katie was very interested in what was going on. She kept peeking in the oven. It was fun to have her crawling around the floor and eating in her highchair while I worked. I can't wait until she's old enough to help bake cookies with me!

Playtime! She loves her leapfrog learning table!