Leaving and pictures....

Ok, so here are just some recent pictures of our happenings.......

Leah and Logan are both doing 4H this year. One of the things Leah is doing is "quick breads." The gal who leads that up took all the kids on a tour of our local public school's kitchen. Leah got some pics, but this was my favorite. How grown up is she?

Asher has been a little picky lately when it comes to food. He won't even open his mouth for me after a bite a two. I thought maybe he would like it better if he could feed himself. Oh, he loved it, and he made a HUGE mess!

Holy Bloody Massacre Batman!! So Leah was doing dishes the other night and all of a sudden she relatively calmly says "dad, could you come in here?" Ryan had just sat down, so he asked what she needed. Leah goes, "there's blood all over the floor." So, I hopped up and sure enough, there was blood all over the floor. Leah was like "I have no idea where it is coming from." Well apparently she had knocked her heel on our misplaced stove (that is a whole other story), said "ouch" and went along her merry way. She had no clue it was bleeding all over the place. It was a nice little gash and took a little time to stop bleeding.

Last Sunday was such a great day. I wish more days were like that. Ryan had a very busy week last week and I was (no kidding) pretty much a single mother. The weekend was busy also, but we were all together at home on Sunday and it was just fun. It was hot, so the kids got the sprinkler out and played in it four hours. I finished our garden and Ryan put an electric fence around both gardens. We worked really hard all day, but it was just nice. We grilled out steaks and all the fixings, including strawberry shortcake. Just a beautiful time being together.

Madeline swinging and Asher checking her out.

Finishing off dinner.

Sprinkler fun (even though you can't really see the sprinkles).

We leave in a couple days for our annual fishing trip to Canada. I really love that trip, oddly enough. It is such great one on one time together on an incredibly beautiful lake. I enjoy the thrill of fishing and the laid back feel of the trip. This year will be interesting with Asher.....

On a final note, my good friend has a scheduled c-section for her baby a week from today. Things do not look good, but we are all praying for healing of their sweet baby and peace for all involved. Please, please continue to pray for them. They all weigh heavy on heart these days......

Julie

Asher is ONE!!!

My sweet baby boy is one today!! I overwhelmingly feel just thrilled to have him here. I am amazed that he is our son, I am amazed that God placed us with this precious baby. He is a beautiful completion to our family. We missed Anna and Gideon's first birthdays (we missed Gideon's by just a day-we were in Guatemala picking up Anna) and I am just so happy to have Asher with us.

Asher is a very happy guy (especially now, after his tubes) and is laid back until his temper fires up. His favorite thing to do right now is to crawl and explore. He is ALL over the place. It is crazy. He never just sits and plays with a toy. He may drag a toy with him on his journey, but that is it. Asher is also a thrill seeker, probably more so than any kid I have. He is also very tough. He been through quite a bit and he just amazes me at his resilience.

Here is the birthday boy this morning....

These pictures were taken at his big party last Friday.

Leah made his smash cake. It is a farmer to go with our farm/barn theme. It didn't take Asher long to go from this.............

.....to this........

Want some?

As you can see, he LOVED his cake. We literally had to strip him down and wash him in the restaurant sink.

Our cute little farm cake and cupcakes.

Leah's farmer smash cake (pre smash of course).

Here's Gracie at 3 1/2 weeks with the birthday cousin (she looks thrilled, huh?).

This picture is funny to me in my weird little way. I accidently poked Asher's face while "he" was opening presents. I felt so bad..... But now it is kind of funny. Asher got so many sweet and thoughtful gifts!

Singing "Happy Birthday."

Man, have I said lately how much I love this kid? Tonight we are going to have a simple little celebration with just our immediate family. Probably just at a local restaurant. He still has a few more gifts to open and I'm thinking he will get his first ice cream sundae tonight!

Julie

She taught him how to "click."

Madeline, in spite of all her "stinkerness", can be such a sweetheart. And, she adores Asher. If he is crying, she starts singing "Baby Mine" (usually right in his face) and Asher almost always settles down. She pays tons of attention to him (they all do) and just now she taught him how to click his tongue. It was so cute. She was clicking her tongue to get him to stop fussing and all of a sudden Asher started clicking also. Madeline was quite proud of herself for teaching him. :)

Julie

Please keep praying for my friend.

The friend I mentioned in my last post did not get good news this week. If appears as if their baby will not survive long after birth, if at all. My heart just aches for her and I pray for her and her family as often as I can. I have talked to her a couple times and she is hanging in there, but I know they are all going to need constant prayer support. It looks as if she will deliver the baby by c-section in 2 or 3 weeks.

Our weekend had been busy but good. Last night we celebrated Asher's 1st birthday with everyone and that was really fun. Tonight we had a surprise party for Ryan's mom and dad. Her birthday is today and his is in a few weeks. We did a pig roast and boy was that yummy! Pics will come soon.

Julie

Could you pray for a very good friend of ours?

I just got off the phone with a really good friend of ours. Ryan and I have both know her for years and in the last 3 or 4 years our families have become pretty close. Anyways, she is 32 weeks pregnant and she had her first ultrasound today (they usually opt out of U/S's). She had been feeling lots of extra pressure and she is measuring big. The ultrasound revealed that her baby appears to have hydrocephalus. The severity of it is unknown. My friend has an ultrasound tomorrow at Ohio State and they will find out more and maybe take the baby soon. This same family lost a little boy about 8 years ago only 2 days after birth. I know my friend is is scared and really unsure of how things will turn. They are pretty strong Christians and I know their faith is strong, but I also know they would really covet any prayers they could get. Her ultrasound is tomorrow at 1:00.

Thank you!

Julie

Asher did well today...

Just a short update.....

Asher did really well today during surgery. I guess his ears were a mess. The tubes were and will be a very good thing. They were much needed. His ears are still draining and he was pretty fussy, but I actually got a smile out of him once we got home. I gave him a bottle of diluted juice and we rocked together for a while. He is now sleeping soundly in his Pack N Play.

Thanks for the prayers!

Julie

A couple busy weekends of celebrating!

It seems that we are just heading into a clump of celebrations. Fun times, but busy times.

My sweet baby girl will be four tomorrow. Seeing her little face on our computer screen for the first time really seems like it was just last week, not 3 1/2 years ago. Anna totally captured my heart the very first time I saw her. She still captures my heart. Anna is a little charmer. She loves animals and she has amazing eyes. She sees things before anyone else does and she is very perceptive. Anna can be very quiet and shy, but she can also hold her own remarkably well when needed. Anna is so loving. I can't imagine life without my baby girl.

Here is the earliest picture I have of Anna on my computer. This was taken in August, 2008. So Anna was a little over two.

This is celebrating her third birthday last year at the park.

This was taken last month at Easter. Look at how big!

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Tonight we are celebrating Mother's Day with my side of the family and a bunch of birthdays (including Anna's). Tomorrow we will have dinner with Ryan's mom and family and later in the day celebrate Anna's birthday again.

Monday is Asher's surgery. I am not worried per se, but I will be happy when it is done. I feel bad for him though. Even though I know he is a trooper, he has been through a lot and I just want him completely better and done with all this. His surgery is at 10:45 am. Prayers for my little man would be great!

Next weekend is Asher's big first birthday celebration and a couple other parties. So pretty much we will be party-ing hardy-ing around these parts. I will try and add pictures as I have them!

Julie