Hand Washing

Since Ethan and Gavin are visual learners, I thought this video on hand washing was super helpful!

Just For Laughs

Brian's cousin sent this to us.  This was so good I thought it was for real!

Our Eternal Hope

Celebrating Easter at home was kinda weird this year being stuck home and all.  But despite the circumstances, we were determined to not let Satan steal our hope and joy.  So we got dressed up and celebrated this great day ever knowing that Jesus is Alive!!

Here's a He is Risen video from Fairfax Bible Church - we are at 1:08 mark

Bunny ears are appropriate for the occasion

Outdoor egg hunt included Giant Eggs

Soccer U6

Friday: Gavin officially started soccer practice

Saturday: his first game

While Brian is at soccer with Gavin, Ethan and I went on a breakfast date at Paris Baquette and then the library afterwards.

Super yummy!

Gavin's Book of Honor #3

Gavin made it to the Book Honor again and we're so proud of his accomplishment!  Here's the video from the morning news at school. Way to go Gavin!!

5 Years at Harvest

Click here to watch the video that was played during the service.

Today we celebrated 5 years at Harvest Fairfax.  What a journey it has been!  A small selfish/human part of me longed to be acknowledged and recognized for all the sacrifices:

• moved here to help the church from the ground up
• helped with Vision Nights and met weekly for 3 months
• Brian was on the set up/tear down team every Sunday, while I took care of the boys & took them to church
• Brian was the head of the Welcome Team; in charged of the monthly communion, Intro to Harvest and the church's finance
• I was in charged of the church's picnic
• we both were greeting, ushering, counting & depositing the money

However, I had prayed that the Lord would help me turn my focus - from me to Him.  To remember that today isn't about me, but it is all about Him.  HE is the one who is faithful.  HE is the one who planted this church and that I'm simply an instrument.  So I won't seek man's approval or recognition of what we've done...not even a little bit.  Because He knows what I've done and all that matter is He gets all honor and glory.  And so it was truly a joyous day celebrating God and this big milestone for our church.

Reflecting back on this post from 06/2012 and the overwhelmed feelings of uncertainty of what God was asking me to do.  Wow, we (as a church) and I have come a long way!

A verse the Lord gave me for the day:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. - Ephesians 3:16-19

Dog Pool Party



Our HOA has an annual dog swim that we've been wanting to do for several years and now we finally made it!  Kaika has only gone swimming once in Davenport when he was a puppy and that wasn't a pretty sight.  So we thought we would try again...in hopes of no drowning or rescue incident.  He didn't exactly look happy, but he did great!  He came home tired but happy he got to have a doggie playdate!

Saved By the Bell Reunion

This is epic - totally made my day.  Brought me back to 6th grade.

Dancing the Night Away

We went to a friend's wedding yesterday and Ethan was ready to dance before we even got to the reception. He patiently waited and waited and waited until it was his turn to get on the dance floor. Once he was on it, he never left it. Even at the end of the night when he ran out of steam, he just stood there and watched everyone else dance. It was so cute!

Out of the City and Into the Woods

Here's the summer to-do list from back in March which I thought I would update. We did #3 on the list today.

• walk on the bike path
  
• walk by the river
  
• hike at the Scott Co. park
  
• go to a drive-in movie
  
• go to the free outdoor concert at River House
  
• camp in the backyard
  
• camp somewhere other than the backyard
  
• go swimming
  
• go paddle boating at West Lake
  
• BBQ like crazy
  
• go to the farmer's market
  
• eat lots and lots of corn on the cob and watermelon
  
• have numerous bon fires
  
• have tiki torch nights
  
• go to the parks
  
• taken Kaika to the doggie park
  
• have picnics
  
• ride on the Channel Cat
  
• go to the zoo
  
• take a trip
  
• and many more...

First thing this morning, we headed out the house with a mission. We grabbed coffee & donuts and took our city boy & city dog to Scott Co. park for a family hike. Those two got to walk/run/roam as they pleased and were just so carefree. It was a blast! The biggest surprise came when Kaika, who was dying of thirst, decided to get into the creek to drink some water (and even walked around). That was a shocker, considering he HATES getting wet. Had to get a picture to prove it. I guess it didn't dawn on us until we got home how exhausted we were and that we had probably over done it. We all ate a quick lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon taking a loooong nap.

Memorial Day Weekend

This past weekend, Brian and I hosted a family get-together that lasted all weekend long. Mandy's family came in on Saturday and his parents came in on Sunday. We hung out, ate and...

let the kids play
and play
and play some more!
Even the doggies had fun!
The fam
I don't remember ever doing something like this before, but it was a blast! Ethan is still talking about it. We might have to make it an annual thing =0) Along with family, we also had a graduation party, a baby shower, and a pot luck that we went to. It was a lot of fun but definitely took the next day to recoup.

Hip Hip Hooray!

So as I had mentioned before, our family Christmas got postponed to New Year's and believe it or not we stayed up until midnight to ring in 2011. Of course not without a wild dice game of Farkle to keep us all awake. The only person MIA that weekend was Brian's dad who happened to come down with that same flu and ended up staying home. Ethan had a blast playing with his cousins, but most of all getting to see his Nana whom he wouldn't let out of his sight. Apparently, she was the woman of the hour or should I say the weekend.

New Riverfront

Since Brian got off of work early today, this is how we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon. What a neat area and definitely something the QCA could use! Ethan had so much fun, he did NOT want to leave. Not to worry, I'm sure we'll be back again soon.


The new Schwiebert Park across the river

Just For Laughs

If you have some time to waste check out these videos, they're hilarious!

In a life of a parent:
Dad Life
Mommy Rhapsody
and my favorite - Swagger Wagon

Nature Lover

Ethan loves nothing more than to roam free and run around in an open field. He could careless for toys but prefers rocks, sticks, grass and dirt. (I'm almost over the-dirt-under-his-fingernails and constant grass-stained clothes - I just have to keep reminding myself that he is a boy and that's what boys do). So with the gorgeous weather this week, we spent a lot of time either in our yard or at the park. Here's a rare, quiet moment of him that we caught on video:

Simply enjoying God's creation

Ft. Myers

So we're back from our vacation and returning to reality this week has been pretty rough. Brian came down with a bad cold (the one I previously had) but worse and I'm dealing with the winter misery AGAIN! Sigh. I'm trying hard to be joyful in all circumstances, but it's just not working out very well right now.

Anyway, my depressing self aside...our trip to Florida was wonderful! There's just something about being by the ocean that makes me smile and feel like I'm home again. So refreshing and carefree. We decided to take advantage of it and spend everyday hanging out on the beach or by the pool. It was awesome! Ethan especially loved exploring the 7-mile stretch of sand, playing in the water and finding all the fascinating "treasures." Boy, did he nap well! =0) Brian and I took turns during those naps for some relaxing alone time. He decided to go running & kayaking; and I chose to sit and read a magazine from cover to cover (without any interruptions) & go for a long walk. It was great! At night, we explored the city and enjoyed some live entertainment after dinner. And what better way to end the night than by drifting off to sleep with the sound of the waves crashing on the shore in the background. Don't think I could have asked for a better vacation!!!

As for the plane ride, Ethan did considerably well even though he was antsy. Flight #1: we were able to move to the bulk head seats for extra room. Flight #2: we had the entire row to ourselves. So that was a HUGE blessing! Not so lucky on the way back, but we had enough kind people on the flight to help entertain him. The biggest surprise of all was that at one point during the flight, Ethan was so tired that he eventually fell asleep on Brian's shoulder. Neither one of us could believe it - what a precious moment! Anyway, I can attest now that flying with a toddler can be done, but it's pretty stressful...just expect to entertain him the entire time. Hey, at least there was no screaming involved.

Love the sand between my fingers & toes...and teeth too!


Taking a morning stroll on the pier
Whoa, that's a big bird!
Hunting for seashells on Sanibel Island

Hanging out on the sand bar

Energizer Bunny

Two words: Boundless Energy! Ethan woke up at 4:48 am this morning and this is how he was two hours after breakfast. It appeared that his energy just built upon itself as the day went on! Thank goodness this is NOT our morning every morning...or else I might have to start the early-morning-caffeine habit.

Just For Laughs

Ethan likes bath time almost as much as he likes eating. Here's a video of him as he found another new and exciting thing to do while in the bath tub. By the way, this is exactly what Kaika does too when we bathe him...how funny!

Discovery of the Week

Since Ethan is always on the move and doesn't sit still long enough, it was hard for me to tell if he could actually sit up by himself or not. But over this weekend, he has been working hard to get from his tummy to his side and then to a sitting position. And because he has done those maneuvers so many times, the transitions looked pretty smooth! Forget just sitting up, he could definitely do more than that now! Check out this video:

Water Fun

Ever since I got Ethan a kiddie pool, I've been waiting for an 80 degree day to use it. Well the temperature didn't get up that high today, but I was too excited I couldn't wait any longer. So out came the pool (which was a lot smaller than I thought) and in goes the warm water. As I was filling it, Kaika decided to help himself to the big "water bowl." It was pretty funny! Anyway once I sat Ethan in it, it took him a while to take it all in. But then suddenly he realized that this is kinda like his bath tub but bigger and decided to splash away. The best part was when he kept rotating in a circle while on his tummy...apparently just loving it! Well, this lil' guy must have wore himself out because he took like a 2-1/2 hour nap afterwards. I have a feeling he's gonna grow up to be one of those kids who doesn't want to get out of the pool when it's time to go home =0)