Feb. 2nd - March 1st, 2014

Hi Everyone, 

As you've probably assumed by the fact that I haven't posted an update in a while, we have busy around here! The biggest news is that our house is officially on the market! We had our first showing this morning, so we'll see if we get a bite.

We have been looking for a new house and have found a few that are options, but we aren't sure that we've found "The One" yet. Of course we won't be able to place any offers until after ours sells. 

My Wonder Man make quick work of a needed remodeling of our laundry room. He's pretty much amazing!

Before....

After...

Not bad for his first time tiling, huh?



Dad's knee is mending nicely. He is able to drive and get around pretty well now, even without a cane at times. Physical therapy is pretty difficult, but he's making good progress. Glad to have him around. 

Owen sat with Pappy during church last Sunday and was surprisingly still. 

Blake's portrait of Pappy and his hurt knee. :)

Since our last update it snow again. Only this time, it was for real! I think we measured about 6 inches in our backyard. 

We've spent some large chunks of time indoors lately. Yes, nanas are allowed to have two favorites at the same time!

 It can get pretty crazy around here. 

We let out some steam at an indoor bounce-around place. Owen was in heaven! I was amazed he didn't come down with any illnesses after all the things he licked and put in his mouth there. :)

Sometimes we have to get creative when finding things to do.

Lots and lots of reading goes on around here. Lately, I've noticed the boys are wanting something more than the short (and usually just fun and silly) library books. So, we are starting some chapter books. It's fun to see them get into the stories and look forward to hearing what's going to happen next. We read a simplified version of The Secret Garden a few weeks ago and they really enjoyed it. 

Our other big news is that we celebrated a special birthday on Thursday. Owen turned one! We have a tradition of having just family over for dinner and a party for the boys' first birthdays. 

A few gluten-free preparations...

Thank you for the sweet card, Moms and Pops! Each of the boys have a box to put special letters and cards in. 

It's times like these that I envy the octopi species. Owen wanted so badly to grab the shiny flame on the cupcake and Blake and Seth wanted so badly to "help" Owen with his cupcake. 

We are really proud of our little guy and pray that he will grow up to love and serve the Lord with all his heart.

Made out like a bandit at gift-opening time. 

Funnies

Seth asked what Daddy's eye drops were for the other day and I told him they helped when your eyes were itchy. (As he is rubbing his eyes) Seth says, "What about if your eyes are rubby?"

On the eve of Owen's birthday Seth asked, "Will Owen be able to run tomorrow when he's one?"

Somehow Blake got the impression that when we move from this house we would be leaving all of our belongings behind. We asked him, "Don't you want to bring all your toys with you?" and he said, "Well, I think I want to see what's in the new house first".    :)   Why bother packing up your toys if there are better ones at the new house? A valid question!

Hmmm...other news... 

Jonathan is being deployed to Afghanistan on April 4th. He is going for a 4 to 5 month deployment to a non-combat area. He will be working in the intelligence area so (supposedly) it should be safe. He is looking forward to it. 

Well, I better go. We are headed out the door to look at some houses-yay! Got to take advantage of these weekends. 

Hope you all are doing well!

God bless,

Kari, Micah, Blake, Seth, and Owen

Jan. 18th - Feb. 1st, 2014

Hi Everyone, 

Here's what we've been up to...

 Went to a concert by Love & Valor last week. Micah's younger brother, Jesse, started the band and we get to go listen to them once in a while. They are very talented and it's always a treat to get to listen. Seth got a "special" drink at the concert...apple juice... :)

 We have a nice day or two scattered between the too-cold-to-play-outside weather. Owen is just starting to get to walk around outside. He thinks he is big stuff now. 

 Of all the toddler and baby-sized scooters, cars and tractors we have in our garage to choose from, Owen only wants to "ride" on the boys' bikes. Of course, he can't reach the pedals, but still loves for me to push him around while I hold him and make many laps back and forth down the driveway. He cries whenever it's time to get down. He wants to do whatever the big boys are doing. 

 I thought this was a funny pose! :)

 Making good use of our wagon. I guess we'll need to get another one for the next three or four kids to fit in. ;)

 The boys have been interested in board games lately so we got Candyland and Memory. I was surprised at how well they played the Memory game! Micah says Candyland is a "girl game", but what about the Lord Licorice? 

 Dad underwent knee replacement surgery on Thursday and is doing very well. He's a trooper! He is expected to be released from the hospital tomorrow (Feb. 2nd). Scott is staying with him all next week to help out while he recovers. The boys at I went to visit him yesterday in the hospital. Seth brought their plastic guitar toy and played him a tune and Blake drew him some pictures on the Magna-doodle. One picture was stick figure of Pappy with an X over his right knee. A sympathy card? When we drove into the parking deck, Blake said, "Wow, there are a LOT of people here to see Pappy!". 

 Got some snow the other day! I figure you can calculate how long little boys will actually STAY outside and play in the snow if you add up the amount of time it takes to get dressed and divide that by about ten. :) Totally worth it though!

 One of several breaks to warm up. 

 Some preferred to leave frolicking in the snow to others. 

 Something fascinating about being able to eat off the ground. (snow that is)

News...

Micah and I met with a realtor on Wednesday and we are beginning to pray about when to put our house on the market. We have a great realtor working with us and feel confident that he will do a good job both helping us sell and buy the next house. We would love to find a place with plenty of room for the boys to play and explore outside. We'll see what God provides. 

Owen turned 11 months old on Monday, can you believe it? We will be celebrating his first birthday later this month. Crazy! 

Funnies....

"Can we have scrambled toast for breakfast?"  - Seth

Blake and Seth ask me at every meal if they can help. On one occasion I lost my helper when the chopped onions because too much to bear.  "The onions make my eyes spicy" said Blake. 

"Your extracting me, Blake!" - Seth, when Blake is trying to get his attention while Seth is busy looking at books and doesn't want to be bothered.

Hope you all have a good rest of the weekend!

Kari, Micah, Blake, Seth and Owen

Jan. 3rd - 17th, 2014

Hi Everyone, 


January is usually a time of both getting back into our usual routine and getting started with new ones. Micah and I spent some time planning for the year and we are looking forward to seeing how God might use us. Here's a few pictures of the Bumpkins... 

Let's just say Blake and Seth are reeeally enjoying the Nerf guns they got for Christmas...  :)

 Finally gave in to the boys' begging to help with laundry the other day. 

So one day as we were getting ready for some event, I put Blake and Seth in the bath tub and left the room to finish tidying up the house. Owen toddles into the bathroom to "watch" the boys play in the tub.  A few moments later I hear a splash and this is what I found when I came running into the bathroom. What's wrong with this picture? From that point on Owen now gets to join them in the tub with his bath seat- much to his delight. 

Below are some pictures I have been waiting to post until after Christmas. For my birthday in September, Micah gave me a photo shoot of the family. Photos were taken by Rob and Aimee McDorman at: mcdormanphoto.com. They did an excellent job!

 My Man, aka "Hunky Chunk"

News

Looking back at 2013, Micah ended the year exceeding his sales goal by about 80%! Almost doubling the amount that he hoped to sell that year. Way to go Babe!

Owen waved goodbye for the first time last week. He is saying a few words like "Di Di" for bye bye and "Mum, mum, mum..." for Mommy. However, he only calls for Mommy when he is tired, hungry or hurt. :-/

Blake finished reading Collection 1 of the Bob Books. I'm impressed every time we read together at how quickly he learns! He taught himself how to write letters and likes to write messages along with the pictures he draws.  He occasionally asks how to spell things like dog, cat, snail, but otherwise figures it out himself. 

Seth can now write the letter H and lately has enjoyed strumming on their guitar and making up songs. Still Blake's shadow.

With the addition of Owen last February, our little house on Gurney St. is, for the first time, starting to feel a little snug. All 1,184 sq ft of it is dearly loved and being used at it's max potential. I've enjoyed the simplicity of having a small home, but it's getting close to the time to move on. If you think of it, pray that God would give us wisdom and good sources of counsel about all the details that come with looking for our next home. We view our home as a place of ministry and hospitality and we want to keep that our focus through this process. 



Funnies

"Mom? Why is it so froggy outside?" -Seth noticing the strange mist obscuring our view of the backyard. 

I forgot to post this last time. On Christmas day we woke up and excitedly gathered our stockings to open them. Just as we were about to dig in, Blake says with enthusiasm and a SMILE on his face, "I hope this isn't the worst Christmas ever!".            Nothing like starting out Christmas morning with lowered expectations. LOL

As you know, the boys are all about pretending they are someone or something else lately. Yesterday, Seth exclaims, "I'm Uncle Jonathan because he's in the Navy and he saves the world!".        Go Navy! 


Hope you all have a good weekend!

Kari, Micah, Blake Seth, and Owen

Dec. 9th - Jan. 2nd, 2014

Happy New Year!

Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year. We are so blessed to be able to share the holidays with our family. God is so good to give us loving and caring parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.. We were reminded over the holidays how "rich" we are to be a part of not only our flesh and blood relatives, but also the family of Christ. 

 A bit of cleaning before the company arrives. Owen has officially "taken off" walking! He is crazy fast around the house and I've noticed today that he is spending very little time staying in one place playing with toys. He is literally constantly walking around the house with some toy or object tightly grasped in one or both hands. He is a bundle of energy!!

 What a joy it was to add a stocking to our mantel this year! 

 Micah's grandma, Sharon, at one of several Christmas parties we went to. She is an amazing cook and always surprises us with the desserts she whips out. 

 Kate, Noah and Roger arrived safely on Dec. 22nd and we had a fun-filled ten days together. Like last year, our house was full to overflowing with family. We had a great time together. Stayed up way too late, ate way too much dessert, watched way too many movies, and were reminded way too vividly of the fact that we are not as young as we used to be. :) The sleep deprivation was totally worth it. 

Jonathan also got his leave approved to join us for the whole time. Will and Dad were also there for Christmas, so we had just about everyone. We missed Joy and James though. :(

 Blake and Seth were in heaven with all the people willing to play with them. 

 The boys got to meet Cousin Roger for the first time. He is just precious. I realized that our boys are not blessed with the "calm gene" like Roger is. Roger was so sweet, he would just sit on Kate's lap while she sang to him and did hand motions together. When I try this with Owen, he likes it for about 2 seconds and then it's a wrestling match to get him to sit still on my lap while we sing a song together. :)

 All their new Christmas outfits. Thanks Grandma Ensmenger! 

 Roger and Uncle Will

 One of a few very serious games of Monopoly. 

Below is what happens when you try to take pictures of two very busy baby boys. :) 

 Finally clothed and in their right mind. ;)

After a full Christmas season we are spending today writing thank yous, wading through new toys, getting back into our routine and remembering the good time we had. January is an exciting month for us as we take some time to reflect on the previous year and set new goals for the coming year. Micah and I usually take a day or two and do some planning for the coming year. Every company or business needs goals to work towards and our family unit needs them too. 

Hope you all are doing well and looking forward to this next year!

Love, 

Kari, Micah, Blake, Seth and Owen