It's October.

It's October.  And this summer was realllly busy.  And I have posted anything for a month.  So here's a condensed update.  Early July our family visited the Ozarks with Mark's family.  We had blast and James loved every minute with cousins in the "YoZarks."

 

 Before leaving Osage Beach for home we made one last stop for James' first go-cart ride with Daddy.

The following week, Mark left on a 10-day missions trip to Rwanda with a team from our church.  There were few pictures taken that week as it was a challenge to single-parent but the trip was quite fruitful for Mark and the team!

 Also in July, Elizabeth (far right) and I hosted a bridal shower for our (then) sister-in-law to-be, Anna.  It was such a joy for us to do so. 

We enjoyed the planning portion, making a menu of yummy appetizers and creating coordinating decor.

 In August we celebrating the marriage of my youngest brother Jeff to his bride Anna!

 We love this girl and are thankful to have her in the family!

 Mark and I were honored to both play a part in the wedding party!  We were so grateful for Mark's parents coming to watch James and Clara for the weekend to allow us to enjoy it!

 Then we spent four weekends in a row of continued busy-ness---we were in Manhattan, Sabetha, Nebraska, etc.  It's rare that I have my picture taken.  Mark took this one in a field of sunflowers where his parents live.

 Somewhere in there we squeezed in a last minute trip to the zoo.  Gotta love the zoo...James sure does!

 Then just a few weekends ago we celebrated James' 3rd birthday with a trip to the pumpkin patch, followed by a family party complete with balloons, fried chicken, and a dump truck cake (which was quite well constructed by Mark).

 We love this boy.  He surprises us daily with his creativity, boundless energy, knack for memorizing random things, and growing independence.

 Clara is on the verge of turning ONE YEAR OLD.  Can't believe that.  Just had to include this picture of her from the pumpkin patch.

In addition to having much to do on the weekends, we've (well, mostly Mark) taken on a few home projects, including re-tiling the kitchen backsplash.  I love how it has turned out and we now just need to paint the kitchen to finish it off.  Hopefully some before-after posts to come.....

Visiting Home

A few weeks ago we took our first road trip in a while to visit Mark's parents. One of his sisters and her two daughters were also home that weekend. I always love the big-family gatherings, but it's also a treat to spend time with just a few, too. You'll notice a common theme here; Clara is a cuddler. And not just because she can't move yet...well, maybe because she can't move yet. But I like to think that she's going to be laid back and snuggly.

Elena has always been so patient with my kiddos. You wouldn't believe how young she is, just so sweet.

Staci and I helped prepare dinner and Clara watched. :)

I got a glimpse into life with elementary kids...Mark LOVED helping our niece Sophia with her science project. I mean, LOVED it. Sidenote: James was determined to call Sophia "MISS-fia".

Cuddling with Grandma. An update on Lois; she has continued to recover from surgery and has completed half of her chemo treatments. She is so strong!! I admire her for her strength, determination, and faith that God has the entire situation in His hands. We were blessed to have her and Steve join us this past weekend for Clara's dedication, too!

Typical, James is a blur. He was really into making everybody into a 'sandwich' with pillows.

Not much to say here. Clara loves her daddy, and he adores her!

Family Vacation

Three weeks ago (I'm just a little behind in posting, huh?) our family, my siblings, and parents met up at my grandparents' house, just a three hour drive from where we live. We had a fun long weekend together. With two little ones (my niece Annie was 5 months at the time), we didn't schedule much but rather just enjoyed being together for a few days.

So fun to see Mark with a little baby girl. He's so gentle with her, not that I'm surprised.

James really loved time with his uncles, Joel and Jeff. He and Joel (pictured here) have a special bond...because this particular uncle was notorious for being active and wild as a toddler. Just like James. :)

We also spent a day at the zoo. We have LOTS of zoo pictures of various animals, but I'll spare you this time. We discovered however that James is terrified of butterflies. There was a beautiful butterfly garden you could walk through, butterflies fluttering about. James clung to Mark. This is my favorite picture from the zoo. It was snapped at precisely the right moment, and appears as though James is trying to punch the poor butterfly! Don't worry; no butterflies were harmed or touched.

Family picture in the 'rain forest'. If James is looking dazed, it's because it was past his nap time. We left for home shortly after this was taken.

James adores cousin Annie. Just today he saw a picture of her on the computer and reached out to hug the screen. We took along a toy that James loved playing with when he first learned to sit up. We're lending it to Annie for a few months. I was so proud of James sharing!

We spent a morning poking around my aunt and uncle's farm. I'm not loving the scruffy look I'm sporting, but thought I ought to document the fact that I'm still growing and growing! This was taken at 28 weeks, THREE weeks ago!

Papa gave a ride in the scoop of this tractor. James was a little timid about it and Annie ended up not lasting long either. I'm pretty sure all of the adults enjoyed it, though! :)

James DID love sitting up and playing with the steering wheel of this tractor, though. He actually gave the tractor tire a kiss when it was time to go.

Downtown in the town (pop. 1000) where my grandparents live is a new coffee and soda shop. Very cute. We all walked down to have a drink. Grandma treated us to Italian Sodas!

Too cute, right? My brother Jeff and his girlfriend Anna.

Had to squeeze in one more of my niece. Isn't she a beauty? I love her!

Two Weeks Ago...

...Mark and I were in Ft. Lauderdale, FL! Mark surprised me with the trip two months prior on Valentine's Day. It was fun to look forward to!

We flew down early on Friday morning and were walking on the beach by lunchtime. (The beach is across the street from this restaurant.) Mark had picked out a darling little hotel just a block's walk from the beach and shopping/dining strip!

Our first day was the sunniest and we took advantage by walking on and laying out (for about an hour). The water was still just too chilly for me to really get in but Mark braved it.

Not sure if you can see it, but our hotel is the short third building back. It was totally charming; I'd recommend it!

Saturday we purchased day passes for the touristy Water Taxi. This may have been my favorite thing we did! It was fun to ride in and out of "Florida's Venice", gawking at HUGE homes (and being told who lived in them, such as the inventor of Alka Seltzer :) and yachts and who owned them (such as the founder of Yankee Candles, owner of the yacht "Paraffin").

Aboard the water taxi, on the way to a popular shopping district along Las Olas Blvd.

Our favorite meal atmosphere was at a restaurant called Mancini's. It was outdoor seating under twinkle lights with live music. Yummy Italian food, too! Our last full day, Sunday was really rainy so we enjoyed a museum, caught a movie, and stumbled across a neat little ethnic restaurant that was once featured on Rachael Ray's "40 Dollars a Day"'. It's specialty was Argentinian empanadas. The weather wasn't ideal for visiting the beach, but we were still thankful to enjoy some time away for just the two of us!

Whirlwind Weekend

This weekend we traveled with James by car three hours to attend a giant family reunion birthday party for my great Uncle Kenny. We were able to attend three of the five gatherings packed into the weekend. Thirteen relatives from Denmark even came to celebrate with us! Now that James is much more mobile and active, the weekend sure was a reality check for me. It makes me appreciate all the more all the family that travels with young children to get together for holidays! And skipping naps left and right was hard on all three of us. James made lots of friends with all sorts of family members he was meeting for the first time, but never stayed put too long. He loved toddling around and exploring every new nook and cranny he could find. He was completely exhausted both nights.

The first event photographed was a picnic in the park. This is my Aunt Alice and Uncle Lyle's annual event, only this year they had oodles more guests! Mark jumped on in to help grill breakfast. It was delicious!! The second event was a big cookout at my grandparents' house. Finally, there are a few pictures from the actual birthday party Sunday afternoon, a catered lunch in a town hall. There are so many family members I don't have pictures of that it's shameful. It was fun to see and catch up with a few of them, but a lot of our time was indeed devoted to chasing our little guy around! Mark was super dad and did most of the chasing!

Touring Around Town

We've been so busy! Last Wednesday our Danish relative, Vibe (pronounce Vee-beh), arrived and, while she's staying with my parents, we have been helping to 'host' her by showing her around the area. It's fun to see your own city from "tourist" perspective. I've gotten to experience a few things for the first time myself! We had been to this farm petting zoo before, but James was much more into the cows this time around. He even made mooing sounds when he saw them!

What a great view of the city!

After a nice Spanish dinner of tapas, we went to a jazz club! It was a really nice, and the music was great! Mark stayed at home to babysit James, so we'll have to go again!

Baseball! I hadn't been to a game since I was pregnant with James. The weather was gorgeous and my feet weren't swollen this time!

Unfortunately, our team lost. But we had a great time anyway. I told Vibe she looked 'all-American' in her team T-shirt and cute new cropped jean capris!

We have a few more events planned with her, blueberry picking included! First, though, she's going to spend a few days with my grandparents.

4th of July!

We were so thankful to get to spend time with Mark's family in the Ozarks over the weekend. Twenty four hours before we were to leave, James was running a really high temperature that lingered two days. He had every test imaginable run on him and were even told we should leave town! In the end, he had a virus, roseola, which resulted in a really mild rash Monday afternoon. Saturday morning, however, his fever had broken and we were able to join the rest of the family for a wonderful time! James loves his Aunt Jody. We have visits from her on a weekly basis, so he's most familiar with her.

So many cooks in the kitchen! Mark's five older sisters, niece, and mom are all in this picture!

Crawling on the dock

the best shot out of three attempts...at least we're all looking at the camera!

swim time at the pool near our cabins--Mark was doing a great job entertaining the nieces and nephews

"okay, I'm ready for more!"

coloring...

Captain Mark on the pontoon on his birthday!

"Happy Birthday, Daddy!"

Looking at the lake

This one is for Joel and Elizabeth...and my mom. My mom made the grocery cart cover (palm trees and monkeys patterned fabric) and Joel and Elizabeth gave him his cute Cubs onesie, which finally fits!