Hockey Star

Time to drop the puck!

Headed to the penalty box already...I thought hitting furniture was legal.

Shaking hands with my greatest fan....Yes, I will sign your pacifier.

This fan won't quit following me onto the ice. Does he want to lose a tooth?

Man, that's a rough game...I need a snack break.

Blessed....

Pa and Papa, you are the best grandpa's in the entire world. Our boys love you both to pieces & look forward to any minute spent with you. Anthony & I are also grateful for the examples you were to us growing up. We certainly never lacked for love from our fathers and for that we will always be thankful. It was great fun to be with you yesterday and celebrate how special you are to us.
And to the Uncles :), one day I know that you will both be spectacular dads. Until then, our boys are just really lucky to get your undivided attention and have two really fun & energetic playmates. Luke just loves his Uncle Blake & Uncle Mike. He prays for you both every night & looks forward to any time with you :)!
Anthony, you are the most amazing daddy. Our boys are so, so blessed to have you as their playmate, best friend, example and SUPERHERO (seriously, when Luke was asked on a preschool worksheet something special about his daddy, he told his teacher that his daddy was a superhero) :)! Luke and Cade are blessed to have a daddy who loves God & seeks His wisdom on how to parent them. Thank you for praying for and with them. I love how Cade arches his neck as far as he can to find you in any room - grinning from ear to ear. And Luke is ready for play time with his superhero 24 hrs. a day! Happy Father's Day to three very special men. We are indeed BLESSED!

Most Improved Swimmer

Well, today was the last day of Luke's two week swim class. After week one, Luke still had quite a few skills to accomplish before receiving his badge. He would come out each day telling me that he didn't swim through the hoop and didn't get his badge! He would head back to the gate telling me that he would tell the teachers to give him his badge. :) On another day after he told me he didn't get a badge, I asked him "why?", and he said, "I don't know mommy, you tell me!" Great news...determination and hard work is always rewarded! :)Into the second week, Luke came out with some of his teachers holding a Dipper badge. They said he had "exploded" that day and definitely earned the badge. Today we finally got to go see what the little fish has learned over the past two weeks. Anthony and I arrived having no idea what to expect remembering the day we took him to my parent's pool to "practice" a few weeks ago.... Luke was very attached to the floaties and was much more interested in playing pirates in the spa or showing us all the cool swimming tricks his toy fish, Sherman, could do. He was in no way enjoying the "practicing" part of swimming. In fact, he wasn't excited at all!

Today Luke received the Most Improved Swimmer award in his class. This is the only award given in the class and Luke was so proud. :) Mommy and Daddy were also happy that our money resulted in some improved swimming...and a little bit proud of the little fish as well. Luke can swim right through that water! It was great fun to see all the kiddos swim - in their own little ways!

RoughRiders & Famous Chicken

Last night we met some dear friends at the ball park & took Luke to his first ever baseball game!! Luke and his precious little girlfriend, Camie, had so much fun watching the game, bouncing in the bounce house, playing on the playground, meeting Daisy (one of the mascots), eating cotton candy/peanuts/hot dogs and watching the Famous Chicken who just happened to make an appearance! Luke got a game program as he walked into the stadium & on the front was a picture of the Famous Chicken. The entire game Luke desperately wanted to show his program to the Chicken and tell him that his picture was on the front. Luke kept holding the program up and trying to show it to the Chicken while he was out on the field. Luke really wanted to break the big news to the Chicken that he had a book w/ his picture on it. Luke went to bed w/ the program last night and has been carrying it around much of today. He still wanted to give it to the Chicken as we were leaving last night, but I finally convinced him that the Chicken "made" that book for him. That seemed to really make Luke happy and he never asked to give it to the Chicken again. Oh, and Luke also got a chance to give the Chicken a high five at the dugout, but there just wasn't time to show the Chicken his picture! :)
As we were leaving the ball park, Luke looked up and said, "But, I thought it was going to be my turn to go play out there." I think Anthony instantly got chills and nearly passed out! We told Luke that one day we would be glad to let him play professional baseball (and you can be sure that on the way home I made it very clear that we are supporting him now and when he hits it big at the ball park one day, he better remember his mommy and daddy). We definitely enjoyed our Summer night at the ball park. Go RoughRiders!

WaterColor

I finally got hundreds of pictures downloaded & sorted from our trip to Santa Rosa, Florida - WaterColor. I love playing photographer on vacation & have my camera handy every second, so I had a hard time picking just a few to blog.



What's Not To Love About....
Waking in the morning to a "Baba brewed" cup of Costa Rican coffee & sitting on a balcony overlooking the beauty of WaterColor.... Bike riding through Seaside towns..... Hanging at the pool and beach for hours... Watching our kiddos enjoy a gigantic sandbox and all kinds of beach fun.... Eating lots of mighty fine "food stuff" and critiquing restaurants along the way :).....Ice Cream....Shopping with my mama..... Being spoiled silly on Mother's Day by the entire family... Relaxing... Playing..... more relaxing and did I say ICE CREAM from Sugar Pies!

This year we had another wonderful time at the beach with our family. It was made even more special because we were able to be a part of my brother and almost new sister's engagement. Blake, the romantic in our family, surprised Laura with a dream-come-true engagement on the sugar white beach as they walked into a spectacular sunset. We were blessed to be there afterwards to video them walking back, take pictures and celebrate with them. Congrats Blake and Laura. May you experience great joy during this time!

Some other trip highlights..... watching Cade enjoy the sand and water for the first time was an absolute joy. He loved laying his face right in the sand & eating it too. He would splash so hard in the water and squeal with excitement. Baba and Mama followed closely behind Cade on the beach trying to catch him before handfuls of sand entered the mouth. So, if he looks a tad swollen in the pictures it may be all of the sand meals he enjoyed. We are pretty sure Cade had a ball on his morning bike rides as Daddy or Papa pulled him around in his bike trailer, but he seemed to have a very serious look on his face during these rides. I can only imagine what the Cadester was thinking as he bumped his way from one Seaside town to the next!

Luke, our social bug, made friends with EVERYONE he encountered at the pool & beach. It is hard to even describe in words all of the funny stories we have of Luke's "encounters" with new friends. On several different occasions, Luke managed to find someone on the beach with a cooler full of drinks. He knew how to time it perfectly and before we knew it the hooligan was walking to us w/ a juice box in hand and a huge grin. Mommy was of course so embarrassed that her "precious" would walk up to a complete stranger asking for a drink or saying, "I am so thirsty". Luke thought it was super cool that everyone came for his "beach party" & that some brought juice boxes. Luke made a different little friend each day on the beach & would run and play with them until it was time to go. He often managed to end up with their toys or try to boogie board on the waves w/ boys that were much older and skilled at "boogie boarding" or whatever they were doing :). This made Baba a bit nervous and also meant a lot of chasing for Daddy as he tried to make sure Luke was leaving friends play areas with only his body and not their toys. He had every beach toy you can imagine, but all of us mamas know that other kiddos toys are much more fun & worth taking (even if it is the exact same toy from the exact same grocery store in WaterColor).

However, I do believe the best "Luke" story happened on our 3rd story balcony where he spent a lot of time playing. It was not rare to find Luke yelling down at people as they rode by on bikes, pushed strollers, took leisurely walks...etc. However, on this particular morning I woke to find a pajama-clad Luke yelling at two men that were eye to eye with him on a very large machine that had them standing way up in the sky (I have no idea what it was but the contraption was fascinating to him - I think it was a boom lift or cherry picker type machine). These men were taking pictures of something in the distance & were up very, very high. I walked out w/ my cup of coffee to relax for a bit and found Luke carrying on some serious big boy talk with these men about what they were doing. He asked many times if he could help them. All Baba and I could do was stand by watching, laughing & hoping soon they would make their way down and escape from curious George.... I mean Luke! Both of these guys, architects working on a building project for the resort company, were laughing at him but only one of the guys was talking to Luke. And then we heard Luke yelling to the man that was talking with him, "Hey, can the other boy talk?" I thought both of these guys were going to fall off the huge machine that was holding them hundreds of feet up in the air because they were laughing hysterically. Luke has certainly never met a stranger and is so curious about all that is taking place around him. We should have named him George :)!

Thanks for loving us Baba and Papa and for taking us on this wonderful vacation. Enjoy these pics.... until next time....

"Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
God, I'll never comprehend them!
I couldn't even begin to count them—
any more than I could count the sand of the sea."
Psalm 139: 17-22

Praying for Chapmans

My heart has been so heavy and sad all weekend for the Chapman family who lost their precious daughter, Maria, last week in a tragic accident- (http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/). I can't get their family off my mind & there are no words at a time like this.
Like many of my friends, I grew up listening to Steven Curtis Chapman's music. The Chapman's are tremendous advocates for adoption and the fatherless. One of Luke's favorite bedtime stories is an adoption book written by Steven and Mary Beth Chapman (Shaoey and Dot) . They are an amazing family and have used their influence in mighty ways on behalf of the orphan and fatherless. We admire them greatly. Anthony and I also had the opportunity to hear Steven & his daughter Emily share at an adoption conference last year in Colorado. It was a refreshing evening to sit and listen to Steven Curtis Chapman encourage all who were at this adoption summit to "continue on" in their "adoption/orphan care work". He really made us all feel so special (like we were the famous ones) - what an incredible guy. We are heart broken for their family & praying.
Father God, hold this family ever so close as they "continue on" in the days & months ahead. Trusting that you will carry them through this unthinkable time.

Beth Moore's blog and the scripture she shared on LPMs Blog....

The Living Proof Ministries blog will go dark for three days as a representation of silent mourners sitting beside our friends and co-laborers in the Gospel, Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman and their children. We pray that this small effort will serve as a reminder to all who visit here to go face down and intercede for this dear and loving family at this terrible time of loss. We have chosen three days as a symbol of resurrection as we plead with God to comfort them, tend deeply to each one of them, and raise them in the months and years to come from this place of unimaginable grief.

Faithful family of God, our deepest thoughts, love, and prayers are with you and will remain with you for many months to come.

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" Revelation 21:1-4

Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly.
-Beth Moore - LPM Blog

Happy Birthday Nona!!

We had a great time celebrating Nona's birthday at our house! We enjoyed dinner and a DELICIOUS bundt cake - http://www.nothingbundtcakes.com/ - one of my new favorite places! I would highly recommend this precious cake place for any occasion when you want to splurge a little. Hope you enjoyed your B-DAY Nona.