Isn't She Lovely?

Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful?....That song is playing in my head as I look at pictures of our sweet Katie girl. She is a gem. A real peach and a plum. :) My beloved and I have been so enjoying Katie as a baby. When she focuses just right on you you can always tell because she breaks out in the sweetest of smiles. Here are a few pictures of the lovely lady.

I have to say she is making my case for baby #4 real easy! Why #4 you might ask? Well, simply for the fact that 4 is an even number and it just suits me. My cousin told me, when I said we were going to have a third, that we simply had to have a fourth (with no prompting for me!). Her reason was that if we ever went somewhere, say Disney Land for example, then everyone would have someone with whom to ride. No one would ever be the odd man out. :) Don't you love the logic? :) I do. Thanks for all the help, you sweet Katie girl you.

Up North II

As mentioned before Kiersten's 6th birthday fell while we were up at my grandparents' cabin. It was special and fun because it was the first birthday we had celebrated with my family. My mom got her the baby doll she has been asking for for the last month or so. Ever since the arrival of Katie, Kiersten has been wanting to play with a baby doll. Not sure yet whether this will last or if is just a passing fad. Anyhow, she made me a little bit embarressed when she boldly asked my grandma if they got her a gift as well. We'll have to work on this, since this isn't the first time she has been so bold about asking others for gifts.

Birthdays aside the kids' did get to spend quality time with both my grandparents and my mom and her beloved. Here are a few snapshots the Isaiah and Kiersten getting some love. :)

Isaiah snuggle right up with my grandma in the morning for a snack. This has become his usual picture face- the squinty eyes. What a nut!

Here is Kiersten with her new baby doll :) (Amy is her name) and both my grandparents. Grandpa is quite the teaser and there has been an outstanding joke the last few years with him being mr. wonderful. I had actually found a mug with mr. wonderful on it and brought it up. Not so sure if grandma will love on me after that, but I have moved into a special place in grandpa's heart! I'll have to find a similar type mug for grandma. Can't let grandpa's head get too big! :)

And lastly we have Kiersten sitting on the swing with my mom and her beloved. Kiersten had such a good time with Grandma Darlene! She hardly left her alone and even went looking for her while she was in the bathroom! Thankfully Grandma is a good sport and treasures all the time Kiersten wants to have with her. Although Kiersten was a bit jealous if Grandma wanted to spend time with the other two grandkids'. She actually asked me to take Katie from Grandma so she could play with her. I had to set her straight, especially since my mom hardly held Katie. She had to learn the lesson of sharing not just toys but people as well.

We definitely had a wonderful time and look forward to going up again next year. It is only a few hours drive and is always such a blessing. I treasure the time with my grandparents. Being one of almost 40 grandchildren, time alone with them has always been hard to come by. Anyhow, that is the trip up North. See you later!

Up North

Last weekend we went up North to my grandparents cabin. My mom, her beloved and my two brothers were there along with my grandparents. It is so nice up there. We haven't been in 3 years and just needed to get up there to see my grandparents. The place never changes. As a kid growing up this is where we took our vacations. Every year. So it is pretty special and holds a lots of memories for me.

Here is a shot of Kiersten and Isaiah out in the canoe with my brothers. You can't see the boys' too well, but Jason is in front and Jacob is in the back. The kids' were putting their hands in the water the entire ride and Isaiah was giggling pretty good. Kiersten got to do a bit more than Isaiah. My Mom and her beloved walked with Kiersten up the road aways with the inter tube and floated down a river that empties into the lake my grandparents cabin is in on. The outlet isn't too far from their dock so once you hit the lake you swim the inter tube over to the dock. She had a lot of fun and managed to escape a sunburn. She also went on a half day canoe trip with my beloved and I and my two brothers. She was funny trying to use the paddles to splash the boys' in the other canoe. She did get to hold a frog that Daddy caught for her when we stopped to rest. It was her goal for the trip. We have a shot on her camera that I'll have to upload. She did really well for the 4hrs we were on the river. Her echoes off the surface of the water were the best :) It is fitting that she got to do a few more special things since it was her birthday weekend. The little bugger turned 6! Amazing how fast she has grown up. Here is Kiersten and my Mom getting ready to walk to the river.

We also took a pontoon ride around the lake. Grandpa got rid of the speed boat several years back. He likes to cruise with the pontoon so out we went. Isaiah didn't get a nap and as you can see the boat lulled him to sleep. He fought hard but the gentle rocking won and he slept the entire hour we were out.

This is just a taste of our visit. More to come later! I will try to be a more faithful blogger and not let so much time pass between posts.

My point exactly

Well, I am not often proven right. Today my children confirmed that I made the smart move in buying some the cheaper bunk beds. I had my eye on some really nice bunk beds, albeit, more expensive. And then I found another set on-line for a much better price but not as fancy. In the end I decided to go with the less expensive for the fact that they would be used solely by my CHILDREN. As we all know children write on, dent, scratch and are in general not to kind towards the wear and tear of furniture. :)

Anyhow, I go to wake Isaiah up from his nap today and I discover, to my dismay, some childish art work added to the natural beauty the beds possess! Lucky for them (and quite frankly me too) they had done their art in pencil, which easily came off with a wipe - except where they pushed so hard with the pencil that they imprinted the lead in the wood. I am extra thankful that my head won out over my heart when it came to choosing the beds-right again, James! :)

State Fair

We went down to State Fair last weekend with some family. This is somewhat of a tradition with my Beloved and I. We just always go, and we always go around opening weekend. Now with the kids' especially because after the initial weekend the amount of animals still at the fair dwindles quite rapidly. Anyhow, we had a good time excluding the heat. It was a bit warm as you'll notice the flush on the kids' cheeks in their pictures.

So State Fair is about food...and of course a few rides for the kids'. Kiersten usually isn't into the big yellow slide, but she went this year. Lucky for us and her the slide was a little slow on the edges, where she and Daddy went, and she had a good time. She also got to do the pony ride- this was supposed to be the compromise for Isaiah doing the slide and she not. Oh well :)

Isaiah did ride the slide and he and Daddy flew down the center. The dare-devil was laughing the entire time - even when they caught a little air. He also enjoyed the little barn where they show off all the newborn animals. He kept running from thing to thing. He laughed at the chicks and saw piglets that were less than 12hours old. We had a good time and were most thankful for the Dippin' Dots ice-cream to cool us down.

Such a honey

That Katie girl is a real sweetheart of a baby. I am so thankful for how sweet and calm (for the most part) baby she is. The Lord has given us 3 blessings and this last one is equally as precious as the previous two.

It has been fun to just enjoy her. I don't remember taking the time to enjoy Isaiah - of course there is probably a good reason for that :) Although with Kiersten things went slow and we are able to relish our time with her. The Lord really has given us more patience with Katie and we are both having fun watching her.
She does give the sweetest of sweet smiles now. Her whole mouth opens up wide and she kind-of gives a little squeak at the same time. I know I am partial, as I am meant to be, but she is beautiful. Here she is resting....I don't think my beloved and I are the only ones enjoying Katie :)