Having Fun!

The kids have moments now where they have so much fun playing together and I enjoy this precious time. I love seeing them so close, sitting together playing. Mommy just can't help but get in on some of the action, isn't it fun to build, explore, imagine and laugh? Here are a few of the indoor things we've been up to:

Ryan tackles Katie and she giggles while gently pushing him away.

Katie builds a tower for "bulldozer buddy" to knock down.

Katie sings the ABC Song while running back and forth with Ryan trying to keep up, laughing and squealing as they go.

Katie and mommy teach Ryan animal sounds, he's great at "mooooo" and grins at us with the others!

The three of us have a tea party.

Katie plays DVD Bingo (she can keep up with 2 different cards at once and still manages to look over MY shoulder too!)

We read books together.

Ryan pushes Katie on a riding toy.

Being Cute

Ryan at One

Ryan had his one year check-up yesterday. He's 19 pounds and 30 inches long... this is 1/2 a pound heavier than his sister when she was a year old and 1 inch shorter. He had 4 shots - ouch! but seems to be weathering everything okay. Here are a few pictures from his birthday.

Happy Birthday

Today Ryan is 1 year old!! It's so hard to believe that it's been a year already! He's such a joy to all of us. He's walking, starting to get more verbal, and just turning from a baby into a little boy! Happy Birthday Buddy! (Hoping to post a current picture later today but for now here he was on his Birth Day.)

The Last Day of School

Today is Katie's last day in the 2 year old class at school. They are having swim day and will enjoy blue jello with gummy sharks for snack. She has loved her teachers and learned so much from them this year. I can't believe that her first year of school is already over, how she has grown and changed in the past 9 months! Below are Katie on the first day of school and Katie today with her teachers.

Random Pictures

I know that no matter how much time I spend trying to format this page it will show up on the blog different... therefore I'm just going to see what happens and let you know what you should be seeing!

One picture is of Ryan during the first Magic-piston game of the series. He was cheering his team on, "Go Magic!" To bad he didn't look this happy for Games 2 and 4.

Another picture is Katie modeling a new dress she got for her birthday, notice it has Dora and three balloons - she loves that dress!
Finally there are some shots of Ryan, Katie, and mommy splashing in the pool.

Growing Pains

I'm in a growth period of life and some of that is just so painful, so introspective, so changing that I can't even find the words to share. I started out by reading Screamfree Parenting by Hal Edward Runkel - it isn't just about screaming but more about remembering that you are responsible for your reactivity to your children (and other situations/people around you). I was on a growth role and so I jumped in to two books at once (something that I NEVER do)... the first is Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul by John and Staci Eldredge and the second is The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian.
It never ceases to amaze me in these growth periods how God repeats things and so of course several sermons at church and conversations with friends have echoed many of the thoughts that have leaped off the pages of these 3 seemingly unrelated books into my heart.
That's about all that I can say about it for now, I wasn't sure how personal I wanted to get here and I know that I usually use this as an outlet for sharing about the children. Just didn't want anyone thinking that I had gone missing!

I'm just growing, one step forward, three leaps back... some tears, lots of prayers, Thank you God for this opportunity to stretch. You are the potter and I am the clay... but boy does it sure hurt to be molded sometimes and the fire is hot, hopefully in the end I will be stronger for the Lord, a better wife to my husband and a more effective mother to my children.