Fun in the Sun

We have had some pretty crazy weather here this spring! Some days it will be 50 degrees and pouring down hail and rain and then the next day it will be 80 degrees with bluebird skies. On the latter type of days we try and spend as much time outside as possible.

On this day Natalie and I had just finished our first "long" training run for the Dublin Marathon that we are planning on doing this fall and were drinking fruit smoothies on the patio to cool off, once we were done with the smoothies Annsley had a ball playing and chewing on the straws, here are some pictures...she is just too cute if I do say so myself!

Wordless Wednesday

11 MONTHS!!!!

Have 11 months really gone bye since we welcomed you into the world sweet baby girl? Thinking back to that day we brought you home from the hospital, you were so little and such a string bean but the space you took up in our hearts was already so big. During the past 11 months that space has just grown and grown as we have seen you grow and develop into the beautiful, happy little girl that you now are. We love you SOOOO much. Each day your smiles and giggles brighten up our every moment and we so look forward to the little hugs and snuggles you give us. You are one of our BIGGEST blessing Annsley and we thank God for choosing us to be your parents.

At 11 Months you:

• love to welcome daddy home by meeting him at the door in your little walker with a BIG smile




• have started to "crawl", though it looks a little more like you are trying to do some sort of funky Yoga
  
  
  
• enjoy being with mommy in the kitchen
• would eat Cheerios ALL day if we let you
• have started eating some table food
• have decided you do not like and will not wear cloth diapers
• have started pulling yourself up on things if you can reach them

• RUN in your walker, around and around the dinner table
• like to play chase
• have been to 6 different countries




• are very expressive and LOVE to talk but still don't say any "real" words
• have started sitting in a big girl car seat and are facing forward, which you enjoy
• like asparagus, olives, and portobello mushrooms
• have 6 teeth in and are currently working on 2 molars
• are starting to learn some sign language, like "more", "eat", "thank-you", and "please"
• LOVE being outside in the sunshine




• still get so excited to see Lucy and look for her when we say "Kitty"

Each day you learn so much more and it is so wonderful to be able to share in each new experience with you. We love you all the world peanut!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Tulips + Windmills + Friends = Fun in Holland!

This weekend we went to Holland with some friends from church. The main reason we went was to visit the Keukenhof Gardens, where thousands of tulips and other flowers bloom each spring and millions of people from around the world come to see them. We had a BEAUTIFUL afternoon in the garden, the sun was out the skies were blue and every color of the rainbow was splashed across the ground. It was amazing and truly a blessing from God because it poured rain all morning and just as we were driving to the gardens the sun came out and the clouds stayed away the rest of the day.

We also went in to Haarlem and visited the home of Corrie ten Boom, a Christian woman who hid Jews from the Nazis during WWII. Later she, along with her father and sister, were betrayed and taken to a concentration camp. Corrie was the only one to survive the camp and was released after the war. The book and movie "The Hiding Place" tell her incredible story of bravery, love for others, and above all else, her love for God.

This was Corrie's room where they build a false wall for hiding those from the Nazis. There was room for 6 people standing up in this little hallway of a room.

We arrived in Haarlem a bit early so before we headed to the ten Boom Museum we hit up the local open market and took in the sights of this quaint old city.

We had the perfect ending to the perfect day. We took a short drive to the beach, where we watched the sun set over the North Sea as we ate dinner on the patio outside.