Late Father's Day Tribute

I just want to start by thanking my dad for being such a great father growing up. He showed up for every sporting event, encouraged me to do the right thing and to be thoughtful of others and most of all he modeled spending time in the word for me every day and he truly lived out his relationship with God. Now he continues to do that for my little girls. So when I started looking to meet a guy to marry, I wanted someone like my dad. Craig may not have the same personality or all the same interests as my dad, but he definitely has the same passion for the Lord and a love for people. He puts Rylie to bed almost every night and makes up stories for her, reads the girls books, takes Rylie fishing and rolls around on the floor with them until they are laughing so hard they are crying. Not only does he love them with all his heart and provide for them, but he teaches them about who Jesus is through his words and in the way that he treats me and the girls. I love you so much Craig and I could not have asked for a better father for my girls. Thank you also Randy for playing a big part in my girls lives! We are going to miss you this summer while you are in Alaska. Catch some fish for us!

Aunt Becca Returned Safely

My sister Rebecca was able to travel after school let out and just returned. She went to Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice and Athens. My future sister-in-law Jana and their friend Melissa went also. They brought back a lot of great pictures and Rebecca brought back some aprons for the girls. She found them in Italy and the girls loved them, especially since they put their names on them! The bottom of the apron says "I cooked today" in Italian. Maybe Rylie can start making dinner for us now, well at least macaroni and cheese...

Pizza with Chopsticks

I got a cool sushi set for my birthday (a very long time ago) and I attempted to make my first batch of sushi all by myself. All in all it was pretty good, but my family doesn't really like it the way that I do. As I was eating Rylie wanted to have some, so I gave her a few bites. She thinks it is really fun to use the chopsticks (but she gags on most of the sushi). So after she was done she decided that she wanted to eat her pizza with her chopsticks also.

Rylie in Seattle

So Rylie went with my parents and my brother to Seattle for 5 days to visit family. They stayed with my grandparents and hung out with my aunt, uncle and cousins. Some of their adventures included a trip to Eglon on the ferry (the highlight of the trip for Rylie) to see where my grandma grew up, garage sales, and relaxing. I am convinced after looking at all of the pictures that Rylie wore the same outfit the entire trip (her new thing is wearing something over and over again and it has to be a shirt with sleeves so that her armpits don't show). She had a really fun time and now she is a fan of garage sales after picking up a new $3 purse (her very own Burberry). I don't know how to keep up with my oh so stylish 3 year old.

My One and Only

Rylie went on a trip to Seattle with my parents and my brother this week, so Ella and I have been hanging out a lot! It has been fun to see her try new things and talk a little bit more. She has the sweetest, most hilarious little personality, that is finally able to come out, when her talkative, 3 year old sister is gone! Ella tried on Rylie's sunglasses and was posing, oh so lady like for me! I am thankful for this alone time with my sweet Ella girl!

One Word for You- Pictoria!

So, this is not really a blog for advertising, but I did want to share some amazing one year pictures that our good friend Val took of Ella. She has a website: http://www.pictoriaphoto.com/ and she takes amazing pictures, so you should check her out! Ella did a pretty good job, but she fell apart when we tried to put her in the grass. My sweet baby is growing up!

Little Green Book

So, we are a Bible reading family and Rylie has 3 Bibles that she reads from regularly, but her new favorite one is a little green one, that she has been carrying around everywhere. The other day, I wanted to just relax and read for a bit, so she plopped down beside me with her Bible and said, "Mom I just love reading with you." Then she turned and looked at her little Bible. I read for about 3 seconds and then she said, "Hey Mom, I have finger nails." "Hey mom, we hold our books with our thumbs." "Hey mom, you really like to read just like me." "Hey mom, what is your book about." You get the idea. So finally I was thrilled when she wanted to go outside and play. I watched her put her little Bible in the pouch of her sweatshirt and head outside. When I checked on her a few minutes later, this is what I found.




I am so thankful that I have a daughter who already loves the Lord and I pray that she continues to grow closer to Him!