A Bright Future

Anna asked me the other day, "when is Grandma coming again to see us?"

I told her we would have to ask her.

With a big smile and puppy dog like eyes she asked, "is she going to come for my birthday?"

To Anna, her birthday is even better than Christmas!!!

Now don't get me wrong, she had an absolute blast at Christmas.  

The funny thing is that even before the holiday, she was talking about her next birthday...

...the big 5!

She is so excited for what the next year in her life will bring!!!

It makes me so happy to see her excited in anticipation for her future.

I am so thankful for her and for the bright future that seems to reflect from her heart and eyes!

I pray that the Lord will guide her way and that He would reveal to her the desires of His heart.

We're thinking of you Grandma and look forward to seeing you again.

Thanksgiving

This image reminds me of the story of the prodigal son.

"But when he came to himself...he arose and came to his father.  But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him...But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.  And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.  For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.'  And they began to celebrate."  (Luke 15:17-24)

Oh, the love of a father for a child!

A heart full of love, forgiveness, and mercy...that is what Thanksgiving is all about!!!

Thank you Father for your love and for your son Jesus, the Messiah, that has brought light into this dark world and salvation to all who believe!!!

What I'm thankful for:
- Amazing family and friends!!!
- A visit from Grandma.
- A day with no work.
- Living a daily adventure with my family.
- Health
- Opportunity
- Talent
- Encouragement
- Passion and purpose

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!!!

Look what Anna learned this week!

This past week has been lllooooonnnnngggg!!!!

The reason being that Micaiah is sick.  He has a viral rash that is very itchy and it makes him very cranky.  He has had it for 3 very llllooonnnngggg days, so I hope it clears up soon.

 Anna has had quite a week.  She learned to sound out and spell a few words all by herself!!!  She gets so excited when she learns to do things on her own.  She asked me how to spell a word and I simply told her to try to sound out the word and write down the letters.  The next thing I know, she is writing MAMA, PAPA, ANNA, and CAR all by herself!!!  WOW!!!  I was pleasantly surprised and excited for her.  She is well on her way to reading. 

Since the weather has been nice, we've been going to the local parks.  Anna enjoys riding her bike and I found a walking trail that is nearby so Anna can ride and I can walk...until it gets too cold. We've had some nice warm weather, even days that didn't require a jacket or hoodie.

For the 4th of July

The July 4th holiday always stirs in me the desire and excitement to see a good fireworks display. This year, I really wanted to take Micaiah to see them for the first time. For some reason, he likes pointing out lights, so I couldn't wait to see how he would respond to "big lights in the sky." Anna was purely excited just to stay awake until it was dark outside. She likes being outside when its dark and seeing the way the world looks different at night.

For a part of the afternoon, we spent time together at
a local community event called VillageFest in Prairie Village.

Anna enjoying the day.
I really like this picture of her because she is just so happy and beautiful!

Micaiah on the other hand, was busy eating Cheetos!

Anna really enjoyed her first pony ride!
She even got to pick out which pony to ride.
Micaiah at least sat in the saddle, but he didn't make it the whole way around.

Later that day, we met up with some friends
and went to a carnival in Parkville, MO.
We had heard from others that the fireworks display that was going
to be set off at the end was really good.
I was excited. The kids were excited.
When they saw all the carnival rides and games, they got even more excited! :)
This was Anna and Micaiah's favorite ride at the carnival.
They both really enjoyed it and didn't want to get off.
This was Micaiah's first time riding a carnival ride!
Beep, Beep!!!
Anna got to ride a few more rides as it began to sprinkle.
Then, it hit! The drizzle became a downpour! We had to run up a steep hill in the pouring rain. Thankfully Brian was pushing, I mean running with the kids in the double stroller!
We all got soaked and yet it was a lot of fun!
It was a warm rain so once we were wet, we just kinda enjoyed it and got each other even wetter!
So the rain came and we did not get to see fireworks this 4th of July. :(

Power Play

This weekend, we went to Power Play!!!
We really enjoy this family entertainment place. Anna and Micaiah play in the "kid zone" most of the time. Micaiah liked all the button pushing, especially on the helicopter. Anna has discovered that she likes to sit on the motorcycle rides and that throwing the skee balls up the isle does NOT get you more points or balls!!! Brian and I are looking forward to doing a date night here so that we can play laser tag and glow-in-the-dark mini golf.

It was a great time...and sometimes its just fun to be a kid! :)

Growth

I am very surprised by the early results of the planting project. I am so proud of Anna for taking on the responsibility of caring for her plant. She has done a great job of remembering to water the plant and make sure it gets sunlight. It is so fun to see her get excited in doing this project and I think she's learning just from watching it grow. It is getting too big for the starter cup so we will transplant it into a bigger pot. We will probably plant the sunflower and tomatoes this week. She is such a hands-on learner and very inquisitive.

I can't believe how big Anna is getting. I am so very proud of her. She is a really great daughter and big sister. Recently, she has been coming to Brian and I and telling us, "thank you for being a good papa/mama." Oh, how refreshing to my ears and heart! It is those moments that I cherish, and that encourage me to keep trusting the Lord. He truly is at work in her heart and life. She is so excited to learn how to read and is beginning to sound out three letter words. She is also working on numbers and counting to 20. She especially enjoys having stories told to her. Her favorite one is Goldilocks and The Three Bears. Every time she asks me to tell her that story, I change or add something to the story. She gets a kick out of it!
It is amazing how much love and grace Anna brings to our family.
How wonderful that, "God gave us you!" (the title of one of her favorite books).

Peace and Hope from our family to yours!

"I planted, Apollos watered, but GOD gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only GOD who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are GOD's fellow workers. You are GOD's field, GOD's building...
Let each one take care how he builds upon it."
(1 Corinthians 3:6-10)