:: Serenaded by Papa ::

A little tribute to Papa for his birthday

There are many reasons why we love Papa...

But one thing is for sure- This little girl ADORES him when he plays the guitar for her!

Whenever she gets unsoothable, Papa pulls out the guitar and works his magic...

Her little heart just calms so quickly and remains still as she watches her Papa and listens intently.

*Mesmerized*

"So THANK YOU Papa, for loving me so well"

-Riley Jo

Again... There are MANY reasons why we LOVE YOU and are GRATEFUL for you...

This is just ONE!

:: Coffee with Papa ::

 Levi LOVES pretending to serve coffee to Papa:

(Ya can't tell, can ya?)

AND he especially loves to kick back and join him :)

Sweet Moments

...:::* Riley Joanna : 6 MONTHS OLD *:::...

 . August 27, 2013 .

Yep- it has officially been 6 months of experiencing the pleasure of sharing life with our Riley Jo
and she is quite thrilled about it too :

 

(I know it's a little fuzzy, but it was too cute to not include :))

Memories & Milestones:

MONTH 6 ( July 27-Aug 27):

- getting up on hands and knees

- rocking back and forth

- love looking at yourself in the mirror

- rubbing gums on toys by rocking head side to side. Too funny!

- babble babble

- August 7- first crawl/shimmy along the bed to get Mamas cold coffee (of COURSE I didn't share... but one day :) ) and Grammy's Avon shopping books. You are our kind of girl!

- grab grab grab/ such a great grip! Handle your toys so well. 

- giggle fest with you and Levi together especially when he does his spin flips in the air. Precious!

- bringing your leg up underneath you and trying so hard to sit up :)

- weigh almost 13 lbs. 

- straighten your legs and stick your butt straight up in the air :) 

- still adored by your brother and you all have a blast giggling together. So much fun!

-always swinging your right arm when excited.

You are always just inches away from/ behind your big brother.

He is a GREAT little teacher

(for the most part- of course ;) )

Riley Jo... Our Baby Girl,

You have really grown in so many ways this month.
And my favorite thing to watch has been your persistence and determination.
When you want to do something, there isn't any hesitation, you just set your mind to it and keep on trying.
Makes us so proud!
It is amazing how our Creator just puts these instincts in you to naturally desire to move, and try to crawl, to grab at things, to giggle, etc... (and of course we love that He gave you a brother to help you, too)

Our prayer this month is that your life would continue to be marked by this
same PERSISTENCE and DETERMINATION.... always.
And we look forward to watching the incredible ways that the Lord continues to mold you
and shape you, in His perfect timing, and through His perfect design.

Counting it ALL JOY to care for, love, and adore you, sweet girl.

~All Our Love~
Mama & Papa

* Birthday Bash *

In July, we celebrated a national friend's birthday...

You know any time we have a reason to hang out, eat food, and make cake- We are ALL over it!

I always LOVE when he brings his precious kids over- 

Isn't his son SO cute?

His daughter is too, but she chose to give me this face for the camera this time... 

she totally started busting out laughing afterward,

don't worry :)

Levi, Jack, & Max had some pillow wrestling matches:

This smile melts my HEART!

Riley snuck in some cuddle and smile time with Aunt Beth :)

So thankful for these folks and their willingness to come help us celebrate this guy who has become very dear to us!

. Nepal Get-Away .

Back in June our visa time was up, so me and my crew headed to Nepal.

I had the best traveling crew :)

 

 Levi was a great entertainer for Riley AND

I think he LOVED having a personal travel buddy :)

Riley liked showing off her ability to be comfy

no matter where she had to sleep.

Levi's favorite part was the BATH TUB in our hotel room

aka "the pool"

 Yes, bud, yes- that's right... our very own PERSONAL pool!

We also SOAKED up the GRASS at the hotel!!!!

Craig & I ordered cappuccinos and then took the kiddos to hang out on the lawn

 

My girl and I hung out on the bench

While Papa sipped on his cappuccino while playing soccer with his little boy

(Serious multi-tasking!)

Levi even recruited a little buddy to join in the fun

 

Love watching my boys running through the grass, seeing all the beautiful scenery around us, and the best part was sitting next to this blue eyed girl:

You know we will always enjoy seeing some beautiful MOUNTAINS anytime

(although I didn't get any pictures of them this time NOR did we get to hike them)

NEXT time, Nepal, NEXT time!

WHERE'S WALDO... aka LEVI ?????

 This is how I discovered Levi one night:

Can you FIND him?

haha.

I love how unpredictable this precious boy is!

Wish I could crawl into his little mind and know just exactly what he was thinking ;)

REWIND:Anniversary Treat

Ok- so WAY back on June 23rd, 2013

Craig & I celebrated 6 years of being married!

I will spare you the saga, but let's just say, up until this year, we haven't had the best record of truly taking the time to celebrate each anniversary.

It truly is something to be celebrated...

 A full year of memories, challenges, victories, learning, growing together, loving, offending, forgiving, extending grace, laughter, serving, and the list could continue.

These are most definitely WORTHWHILE reasons to take the time and genuinely make a "Big Deal" out of it... because it is, well, A BIG DEAL!

Anyway...

This year we got away, and spent the night at a little cottage outside of the city.

It was refreshing to be away, just our little family.

Here is the tour of our "get away" spot:

 

Really do LOVE this man!

 

AAAAAAAAND the REAL reason why I chose this place.....

JACUZZI!!!!!!!!

 

Ironically enough, we both just took turns enjoying it Levi.

Haha.

And so goes the life with kids, right?

Levi had so much fun in the "pool" as he called it.

Yes, sweet boy, our very own personal pool-

Isn't it wonderful?

We also enjoyed some lounging in our PJs and watching some movies with the two most beautiful by products of this wonderful LOVE our GOD has blessed us with.

Just in case you were beginning to wonder... No we sure did NOT leave South Asia- it was still right in our back yard ;)

So grateful for my husband, 

grateful for our marriage, 

and grateful for these tiny tots and their cute toes!

SO- Here's to 6 years and to making a "Big Deal" out of that which truly is a BIG DEAL!

I Love you Craig- so glad you are the Papa of our two precious children.

Couldn't ask for a better best friend.