March 2nd - April 10th, 2014

Hi Everyone!

The past five weeks have been pretty eventful. Here's what we've been up to...

We had a significant ice storm come through in March. The power was out for about two days at our house. But, we were really lucky compared to others who were out for over five days.

 I had to share this picture. We were praying that God would protect our house from branches falling (especially since we just put it on the market) and look how these branches landed! Perfectly between the railing!

 All around town for the past several weeks folks are clearing branches and fallen trees. There have been piles of branches in front of almost every house waiting to be picked up. Blake and Seth got to help the big boys when Micah took them to go help clear at a friend's. 

 Even Owen got into the action!

 A highlight of the past month was when I got to travel up to Maryland for the day to see Jonathan off before his deployment. Scott and I drove up and picked Will up in VA. We spent the afternoon together and had a great time. 

 Jonathan arrived safely in Afghanistan and says that he's doing really well for the first week. We are so proud of him!

 Big Stuff. Our little "Owie" is doing great! He's 13 months old now and gaining weight and growing, albeit slowly. He has gone from walking slowly to running and even climbing the kitchen step stool. He is so expressive and is making all kinds of a baby talk lately. He has learned how to point with one finger and say please "peez", bye bye and "Wow!". :)

 Last weekend I was able to attend a women's retreat with our church. There were about 50 ladies attending this year. It was great to get away for a few days. Although, it was hard to leave my Owie! :)

 Tuesday of this week we took a tour of a local dairy along with some friends. Made me miss my days in Kansas. 

 Blake found the peeeerfect place to sit on the hay ride. :)

 Owen was not too sure about the animals there.

 Serious playtime around here. 

 Look at those lashes! Owen gets more compliments on his eye lashes than I ever have. He gets it from Micah's side of the family. 

 What is it with boys and sticks? Blake loves to carry this stick around the use it to help him jump off the deck. 

 Blake asked me this morning if his shirt looked good tucked into his pants. Suuuure. Who am I to cramp his style? Typical homeschooler look... here we come.  :)

 Seth is 3 1/2  now and doing really well. We are about three months into a strict gluten diet and it seems to be helping his overall disposition. He still maintains his reputation of "Sethy Sethy Quite Contrary" around the house, but we are seeing a lot less outbursts. He has a very sweet and caring side that comes out when he is taking care of Owen. He is learning his colors and some of his letters. He doesn't know what they are called, but he can write some letters. Probably just because he's trying to keep up with Blake. He does not like to learn them right now which is fine. He has plenty of time. He'd rather be out playing a sport of some sort. Everything is a competition with Blake. Whoever finishes their food first gets to boost "I beat you!". Seth may not be in the lead academically, but he seems to be more coordinated when it comes to physical activity. 

Blake is 4 1/2 now and is our typical first born around here. He is learning by leaps and bounds. He's reading and writing. He likes to sit down and write stories, just asking for help with spelling. Here is one of his stories: "A fox ran into a chicken house and ate all the eggs and chased the chickens away."


Other News

Scott has signed the dotted line for 4 years in the Navy! He is hoping to qualify for training in the SEALS program which would mean at least a 6 year commitment. He is hoping to be shipped out to boot camp sometime in October.

We have had 7 showings on our house in the past six weeks! We heard yesterday that we may have someone who is seriously interested in making an offer. Should find out soon if that materializes. Still on the lookout for our next house. There are a lot coming out on the market, but so far we don't feel like we have seen "The One". You can be praying that God brings along just the right place for us and we are confident that He will. :) 


Funnies

Sitting at the table after a meal, Blake announces "I like football, basketball, soccer and baseball" Seth immediately chimes in with his favorite things, "I like football, basketball, soccer and Julia."   Ever since we had a playdate with some friends of ours and their daughter, Julia (12yrs old), Seth has been quite taken with her. On the way home from church he whispered to me, "Mom, I said hi to Julia today".   Oh dear...3yrs old?? 

Blake on when we move: "Mommy, will we dig up the grass around the house and take that with us too?" :) Let's hope not!

Blake has been struggling with the realization that most people older than him know more that he does. We were at some friends house for dinner and their dad (who happens to be a high ranking officer in the Navy) saw Blake bringing his plate to the trash, he thought Blake was going to throw the plate away and said something to him. Blake told him that he was just scraping the plate and then bringing it to the sink. The dad he was sorry and it was no problem. Blake replied, "It's okay. You were confused."    :)


Hope you all are doing well! 

Until next time, 

Kari, Micah, Blake, Seth & Owen