Ana's 2!

It seems as though she just turned 1? The last year has flown by and considering I've been pregnant, I am definitely thankful for that.

Anyway, back to our now 2-year-old...

• She is the quiet mischievous one of the family. In a split second can get into almost anything.
• She has no desire to waste time watching cartoons or movies.
• She speaks in full sentences, knows her ABC's, and will sing the cutest "Jesus Loves Me."
• She's a "Mama's Girl."
• When she wants something she knows we'll probably say "no" to, she asks for it in a really quiet sweet voice.
• She thinks she owns her daddy's i-Pad
  
• She doesn't really like to eat breakfast
• She was 35 1/2 in. and 25 lb. at her recent well check-up. Which could put her at about 5'10" someday. Definitely will be taller than mommy.
• She can be very shy and has to warm up to you before she'll say a word.
• She adores her friend "Katie Pie"
• Everyone says she looks like her daddy, except for Lee who says she looks like me:)
• She's more caution with most things than her sister
  
• She likes to cuddle and get back rubs before going to bed, and still likes her blankie to snuggle with
  

We did a Minnie Mouse themed birthday party for her and kept it simple this year. However, my creative husband carved this watermelon basket, which I thought was too cute.
I read in a magazine how to make these butterfly cupcakes, which turned out cute too. The wings are white chocolate....yum! and Ana had a special "Minnie Mouse" cupcake.

Newborn

Now

Love her!!!

When you feel like you can't win...

"Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and completely, not lacking anything." - James 1:2

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. THE LORD IS NEAR. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippines 4:4-7

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." - James 4:10

"...but we also rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us." - Romans 5:3-5

Through the trials of a difficult week I found/find myself searching, scouring the pages of my Bible looking for encouragement. And when I find myself still struggling I can turn to these truths that will NEVER die. My joy and my hope can be found in Christ and Christ alone, for "the Lord is near."

My birthday present

When I was in MN for my Uncle's funeral I purchased a book I'd been wanting to get for some time and called it my birthday present. Yes, I bought it overpriced at a Barnes n Noble, but I knew I would have several hours at the airport with nothing to do as I was getting dropped off early. Turns out my flight was delayed so I was even happier I had something to do. I read through about half of the book just that evening.

The book is: Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman. Really it's the story of her life, but also what she went/has gone through in the tragic loss of their adopted daughter from China. The book is about her trial, her suffering, the many ways God gave her hope to keep going on day after day. It's also a lot about adoption and how God even brought their family down that road. There are really funny parts in the book that you laugh out loud and then parts that have you glued to each word she writes.

I think and have heard the loss of a child is something that you can't really understand unless you have lost one and I see that in how she writes. I'd really recommend the book for anyone who is suffering though (and who isn't right?).

I think the last paragraph in the books sums up a lot of what she learned, "I can choose to SEE His story, or I can miss it. And I know-in the winter of our grieving and the frozen mourning of my plans that will never be and my dreams that have died-the reality is this: God's warm breath is on the move. New life is budding...and often where I expected it the least, like right inside of me."

I don't usually do "book reviews" on my blog, but I don't often get to finish whole books either. I'm usually one that starts one and then maybe about 3 years later I restart it. Anyway, if you are looking for a good read...borrow it from me, or buy somewhere cheaper than Barnes n Noble:)

More festivities

The weekend brought along more festivities, birthday and 4th of July. I was surprised on Saturday with a surprise birthday lunch with some of my girlfriends at yummy PF Changs. I must say they were pretty sneaky! Then I got to enjoy a birthday gift, a pedicure. Anyone that knows me well knows that is something I truly enjoy.

I really felt spoiled when my hubby let me go out again with some girlfriends Sunday evening. A special birthday for sure.

Monday, we went to our first ever 4th of July parade in NKY. It was such a nice morning, until the parade started, and it started to rain. Thankfully, we had prepared and brought along umbrellas and survived the light rain. It wasn't quite like the small town parade I'm used to, but it was fun and the girls really enjoyed it (especially be showered with candy).

Then Monday evening we headed to some friends to celebrate the 4th of July. We had a delicious dinner and an awesome fireworks show, put on my our hosts. Lee had the special privilege of riding on their quad and was the ride giver to many of the little ones around.

And now it's back to normal life. I've had a few moments lately where I get in the "I just want to meet this baby" mode, and now no one has to remind me that I'm pregnant anymore as life is becoming less and less comfortable each day. But I'm enjoying my girls so much. Enjoying the summer sun, the little kiddy pool we have, and the smiles that come along with it all. And guess what else? I've been reading a book which I'll have to do a review on soon. It's been really good. And at that I will say, "good night."

29-1

So, 29 isn't all that bad...after all I will be 29 for like the next 10 years right? I told Lee that and he was like, "yea, this is like 29-1, and next year will be 29-2."

It was a great birthday! It started with an extra dose of sleep my dear hubby gave me this morning. He simply closed our bedroom door and got the girls breakfast and dressed, while I slipped back into slumber.

I wanted to do something fun for our whole family. We decided to go to a park a friend of mine told me about several years ago. I've wanted to go there, but it just never seemed like the opportunity arose to go. It is about 30 min. from our house. I'm so glad we went. It was a BLAST! They had a "wet park" for kids and harbor with boats. We ended up renting a pontoon boat for an hour. It was so much fun! It reminded me so much of MI and going out on the lake there. The girls really liked it too. Ana wanted to drive the whole time. I was actually surprised cause she is usually our more cautious child, but she loved every minute of it. We saw lots of cranes, an "alligator" (aka a log) named Joey (Lee named him), and got to have a picnic lunch on the boat. After that we enjoyed the wet park and both girls had so much fun. The park also has a petting zoo and playground which we checked out. Those weren't as much fun as the other, but still a good time together.

This picture mainly cracks me up because when we had our lunch on the boat, Ana's little arms could barely reach around her life jacket to get her food in her mouth. Isabel told me she was going to take a nap on the boat. The nap lasted about as long as it took to take this picture.:)Love this girl...

and this one.

In the evening we enjoyed dinner with friends and a delicious made from scratch chocolate cake (YUM!) that is now making Jelly Belly very active in my belly.

Really? Look at all that smoke...

I'm so blessed and am grateful for yet another year!