The Closing of September 2010

Oh the thought that September is coming to a close....sadness that summer is gone and yet the excitement of the holidays is coming. But, before I get ahead of myself, I want to look back...look back at what September 2010 held for our family. I find myself often just running through life, sometimes not recognizing the moment and savoring those precious memories. Life is so busy and it can be months before I stop and think what in the world have we been doing and what memories have we been making as a family.

So, here is what September 2010 looked like for our house....

We went to Chuck E Cheese for a birthday party for a close friend of ours. Gabriel or g-man as we all call him. He is the son of a dear friend of mine who has down syndrome. He is the sweetest little man. It was so fun going to CEC and celebrating another year of his life!

In school, we spent almost 3 weeks studying God's creation. We reviewed each day what God created each day. It was so exciting for me, as the mom and teacher, to share that God created the whole world and that it was once darkness. They both embraced it and enjoyed coloring all the activities that we did to learn all about the beautiful creation that God created with His hands! Also, in school, they enjoyed the pool most days for recess. We are so blessed to have our pool....I love it!

Tyler and I went bowling by ourselves one day when Abi was at a play date with her BFF.  He loves bowling and with anything with Tyler, he can become so addicted and fixated on the idea of doing something. He can never get enough of the idea in his head, which often times proves to be a very challenging adventure for us. He bowled great - scoring over 100 in both games. He loved every minute of it and was kicking and screaming the whole way out. Oh well, at least time was spent just him and mom and hopefully he left with a good memory of bowling.

Abi had a play date here at  the house with her BFF, Molly. They are such two peas in a pod. They could play and laugh for hours. They went to school for a few years together during preschool. And now that moved we don't see her too often. But when they see each other, they have never skipped a beat. I pray this is a relationship they both have for a long time.

Markus was gone for 10 very long days in Texas for work. We aren't use to having him gone for such a long period of time. I don't think it would have been so bad, except he was gone for 8 days just two week prior. We survived and pray that doesn't happen again in the near future. It's much harder on the kids these days and watching your children ache because they miss their dad, just crushes my heart and makes the days harder for me.

While Markus was gone, Abi and I had fun planted some flowers in the backyard. She follows in her mom's footsteps...she loves planting. We found lots of empty pots on the side of the house and filled them with our favorites. Our porch and back yard really smile now and makes me smile when I see them. While we planted, Tyler was swimming and have fun spraying the hose everywhere. Abi would get side tracked and would go looking for caterpillars, her long lost love.

I went to Women of Faith here in Anaheim with my sister, Rebekah. It was so great to go. Thanks mom, for letting us go. (My mom now works for WoF!!)  I was so moved by Sheila Walsh and really want to get her new book about trust. She talked about fully trusting God. One question that I haven't be able to answer is at what point in time did I stop trusting? Trusting God? Trusting others? Trusting Markus? Do you feel a thin veil between you and others to protect yourself? Are you only willing to love and trust as much as your are willing to loose? Some tough questions, that I have yet to answer. A powerful weekend...one I never want to end.

We celebrated Abi's 6th birthday. It was stressing and yet so fun this year for her to be so involved with the planning and decorating. As they get older, it gets harder to not do everything they want, to make their day that much more special. She so appreciates all we did to make her day everything she had dreamed of. Oh to be 6! We are in serious trouble I know in the years to come. Lord, help us. haha.



September you've been good us. Thank you for the memories I can now hold onto.

Abi Turns 6!

My darling daughter, Abigail, turned 6 today! I can't believe it...she is growing up so fast. I love the little girl she is becoming. She has such a beautiful heart, loves to laugh, is very girly, puts up well with her brother, and has trouble keeping her room clean.....

....Side note.... she's been wanted a dog for a long time now, but mom and dad aren't ready to take care of a pet again. So, we keep reminding her that if she can keep her room clean for 2 weeks, then mom and dad would get a dog...so far, after several months we have yet to go one week. I know one day that famous day will come...but until then we are pet free and mom and dad are happy. haha.

Back on topic....

Abi loves the following....laughing, cuddle time, learning, playing and catching all kinds of insects, gardening, taking pictures, dressing up, watching movies, swimming, cooking, wearing make up and jewelry, bling-bling, reading books, singing worship songs to Jesus.

She has been taking a cooking class for the last 6 months and it is so her! She goes once a week for  1.5 hours and cooks all kinds of things. It's a good thing I have become a good cook and enjoy cooking, because she loves helping me with everything in  the kitchen. She even unloaded the whole dishwasher and put everything away and then washed all the dishes in the sink by hand and put those away. It's such a big help....surely I could get used to it! All that money for cooking class is finally paying off. haha.

I love homeschooling her because she is just the best student ever. She loves "going to school" and is so eager to learn. She is dying to read, so we are working really hard on that. We are very close. She isn't very strong with her numbers, unlike Tyler, but today we counted to 100! It was a joyous moment for me. She is also learning about money; how you can turn all those coins into "green dollars", how checks are money (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa). She loves to spend money, what girl doesn't, but also trying to teach her about tithing and saving...both are hard concepts to digest.

Abi just learned to swim a month or so ago...yes we do have a pool, but she just wouldn't take the leap and try on her own. She tends to be very timid and has a hard time reaching out and being brave....not a risk taker in any sense of word. So finally one day she decided to give it a try and swam across the whole pool by herself. Two weeks later, she is diving all the way picking up dive sticks and the nuts/peaches that fall to the bottom. Mind you, we have an 11 foot deep pool! She has turned into a mermaid overnight! It's so exciting to sit back and rejoice with her in her accomplishments.

She has a very funny sense of humor. She told me the other day that she wants to stay 6 years old and not be old like me...well thanks dear! lol! When Markus tells her that he loves her, she jokes back with him and says she likes him too! She decided one day to start asking Markus when he came home from a meeting or work - well, dad, so how was your day?!?!

Here are some pictures of her first 6 years of life....