Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy 4th Birthday Noah!

Noah turned 4 on March 7! We actually celebrated his birthday in St. Louis, but had his party this past weekend at Play World. I can't believe 4 years have already gone by. It seems like just yesterday I remember holding a little baby boy in my arms who was so wiggly and with wrinkles all over his body and the sweet baby smell and softness of his skin nothing can compare to. Where does the time go? Now, he doesn't like it when I call him my little boy. He insists now that he is a big boy because his is 4 years old. He is asking all sorts of interesting questions; some I don't even have the answers to. For instance, this morning he asked why is it foggy outside. I am embarrassed to say that I really don't have any clue why some days are foggy. He also asked today if we are on top of the earth. I had to think about that one and explain to him that we live on the earth. I have a feeling the older he gets the harder the questions come.

He is still my sweet little boy! Always will be. He continues to be thoughtful and kind to his sister and to Travis and I most of the time. We love him dearly and I know I am trying to hold on tight to all the innocence he possess right now and trying to cherish every memory I have with him.
I don't have any pictures right now, but they will come. We love you, Noah!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

We give Him all the glory.....

yes, I am talking about the main man upstairs. It seems like when good things happen, it is easy to give Jesus the glory, but something doesn't go so well, it is so hard to praise him. Well, I want to share a little story that turned out amazing in the end even when things didn't always go as planned.


These are our great friends, Laura and Adam, whom we have developed a wonderful friendship with in the last 4 years. Laura is Travis's good friend Daniel's little sister whom we also love even though he and his wife, Jill, now live in Texas. Well, ever since I met Laura she has voiced how much she wanted to be a mom. She wanted to start a family right after she got married at the early age of 21 but Adam wasn't quite ready. So, they enjoyed a little honeymoon time for a few years. Almost two years ago, they started trying to have a baby. They tried for over a year and a half and still no baby. They went to doctors and tried medicine for 6 months or so and still nothing. Laura and Adam presented themselves with such grace and maturity. I know it must have been hard, especially for Laura, since she babysit everyday other peoples little ones. She has loved them like they were her own, I can attest to that firsthand. They never lost faith and they were such an inspiration to me. At the end of the year, they decided to not try any more medicine for awhile and just give everything over to the Lord.
So, here's the great news. A couple of weeks ago Laura and Adam showed up at our house to tell us that they were expecting. Yeah!! Travis was so excited that he picked Adam up and shook him. I was so thrilled and stunned at the same time. I couldn't believe it. I think I was just as excited or maybe even more to find out they were expecting than I was when I found out I was expecting my two. They never lost faith that the Lord would give them a baby one way or another. Laura has so many other miracles of God to share from this time and I have been trying to get her to start a blog to share her journey. So, if you are reading this Laura, you now have to start you a blog.
I personally never experienced having to try very long to get pregnant or never even had someone close to me try so long without getting pregnant. I know from reading blogs and hearing stories that this is so common now. I pray for you guys who are struggling with this at this moment. My heart goes out to you and my prayer is that you continue to give God the glory because He will see you through this.

So, this post is dedicated to our dear friends Laura and Adam. We love you guys so much and can't wait to go on this journey with you. We pray for you and this baby everyday. You two are such an inspiration to us. We are so blessed to have you two as friends!



Monday, March 9, 2009

Meet me in St. Louis!


Travis and Brett!

What a beautiful picture this is!

These were my favorites!

The kids dancing at the reception!

This weekend we went to St. Louis for Travis's cousin Brett's wedding. He married a very sweet girl named Lindsey! I remember meeting Lindsey the day of my wedding reception six years ago. They were so cute together. Shortly after my wedding, Lindsey found out she had Non-Hodgekins ?? Disease. The had to go through chemo for a long time and Brett stuck by her side through the whole process. She is currently in remission now and more beautiful than ever. We were so thrilled to be part of their big day! It was absolutely a gorgeous wedding on a perfect sunny day! Thanks for including us Brett and Lindsey!

We decided to make it a little vacation for the kiddos too! While Trav played golf Friday morning, the kids, memow and I went to the City Museum. This place was awesome. It was a hands on facility where their were mazes for the kids to participate in, slides and all things the kids could climb up. Their favorite was riding the train by themselves as many times as they wanted. The hotel we stayed at had an indoor pool and so kids enjoyed swimming. Well, Noah enjoyed swimming and Ally like sitting on the steps. She was a little frightened to get in. Hopefully, this summer she will not be as afraid.

So, the wedding was at 1:30 and the reception didn't start until 7, so a van was rented to take the wedding party around St. Louis to take pictures at different places. I also got to go and see as well. We first went to a sculpture park, then to Union Station and lastly we went to Forest Park. I thought this was such a great place for pictures because there was this huge fountain in the middle of the park and it made such a lovely picture. It was right at sunset, so the sun wasn't shining in anyone's eyes. They are going to have some wonderful pictures! I made Trav sneak a few in with me too! The reception was amazing as well! They had a bluesey type band that did an awesome job. Noah and Ally loved every minute of the dancing. Thanks to Memow and Pepow for watching them while we got to tour the city with the wedding party!

Overall, it was a great weekend besides the rough weather we encountered on the way home. Travis and I never said it at the time, but we both thought we were going to be in a tornado. After it was over, we talked about how much we prayed during that half hour or so. We are thankful we made it home safely in the end.
Posted by Picasa

Travis and his cousin Danae!

The happy couple, Brett and Lindsey!


At Forest Park!
Posted by Picasa

The rehearsal dinner!

Brett and Lindsey


My cutie pie!
Posted by Picasa

Noah climbing some kind of maze by himself.

Ally had a to have a pic with the horse!

Swimming in the pool!
Posted by Picasa

Noah sliding down a ramp!



They loved the train they got to ride!
Posted by Picasa


City Museum

See the bus on the roof!
Posted by Picasa