"Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is within him."  Jeremiah 17:7

I came across this scripture tonight while scanning Pinterest and it really screamed at me, it wasn't subtle at all, it nearly jumped off the page.  I think it really set itself apart because I am and always have been on a journey with the Lord.  Faith is easy for some and so much more difficult for others and I believe it is not something that comes naturally for me but a little nugget of life that I have to continually work at.  It is not that I don't believe or have any doubt in a being much greater than you or I, it is simply things just aren't how I envisioned them.  Are they for anyone?  However, as this scripture so clearly states, blessed are those who trust and have confidence.  Everyone is given faith at birth, a mustard seed if you will, but we all take it and make it our own.  I need to take my faith, trust it (and the people around me) and have confidence that even if I am not doing what I want to be doing, the Lord is blessing me.

Change...

I am not known for my eloquence and often find myself thinking grand things but never able to turn those thoughts into literary works. Take for instance my blog posts, I usually have much more impressive posts than what end up on the www. But, I sit down to write and....block.  It is this way with my communication with family and friends as well.  I am working on it but often find when the time comes to open my mouth, nothing comes out.  So, if the next few sentences sound like a ramble or don't really mesh, I have set the preface and hopefully you will understand.
Kelly and I moved "home" 8 years ago in anticipation, if that is the right word, of my Dad retiring.  We made this decision not in haste but with conversations amongst ourselves and with my siblings.  The past 8 years have been a constant change for us; We bought our first home, Kelly has changed careers, our family of 2 became a family of 4, we have struggled with family crisis', made new friends, started our first child in preschool (see her 1st day pic below) and now we are on the heals of the reason why we are "home" and have endured all this change.  My Dad retires next week.  My Dad retires next week....next week.  Eventhough it means little to my day to day operations at work.  I am scared to death.  I have always felt out of my element in the banking business and becoming a mom has not made that any better.  It is something I have come to realize I may always struggle with simply because it doesn't come naturally. 
This next change in our lives is bittersweet.  I am excited about the new chapter in my parent's life and am trying to make it a stepping stone to make me better in mine. 

From Monkeys To Motors!

Danica has been in Tennessee with her Mimi and Papa for almost a week now and so Jasper has mommy and daddy all to himself. Therefore, we thought what better time to transform his nursery into a big boy room. So out came the zoo animal theme and in came the cars, trucks and tractors and a twin bed of course! He slept like a champ the first night too! Danica was excited to here about the transformation, she wanted a picture of his bookcase to be sent to her : )
It has been strange without her and we all miss her like crazy but Jasper has been a joy! We are looking forward to meeting her at the airport in Wednesday and hear all about her trip: horseback riding, swimming, shopping, and Dollywood!

JUNE...Where did it go?

I would really like to get better at this blogging, I wish I had more time.  Speaking of time, does anyone know what happened to the month of June?  We have had a great month at our house.  Danica and I got to spend our birthdays at the Lake and then were home for about a week before I started my official 2 week vacation.  We began with a long weekend at Bull Sholls Lake with some friends of ours and then we drove home and simply enjoyed some R & R at 302 Burdick and a few day trips here and there! 
I did manage to give my kitchen cabinets a much needed face lift but as we all know one project morphs into another, and yet another.  So eventhough I accomplished one Summer goal I still have a couple more to tackle! 
Danica had her 4 year old check up last week and was over  95% in height and weight.  She is 44 inches tall and weighs 46 lbs.  All was good with her, we seem to battle allergies a bit so we are experimenting with trying some allergy medication for a month and then taking her off for a month to see if that gives her any relief. 
Jasper is potty trained!  And, I may be the minority but he was easier than Danica : )  However, I am not sure prying the binky from him will be quite as easy.

  Sea Life Aquarium

  Sibling love--and this is on the way home from the Lake--I hope it is always this way.

  Potty Treat!  No accidents all weekend, including the car trip!

  4 years old!

Big girl bike!!

We are going to be at the Lake of the Ozarks for Danica's birthday. She got to celebrate with friends on Sunday and open one of her gifts from us early so she would have time to ride!!

Summer is just around the corner.

We are eagerly awaiting the start of Summer now that Danica's first year of preschool has come to a close.  We celebrated in style yesterday at Danica's preschool with a program complete with 3 songs and a catered lunch of hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, chips, fresh fruit, carrots and ranch dip, ice cream and cookies, and to wash it all down lemonade!  As you can tell "the girls" picked out the menu.  Danica and her two classmates did a fabulous job and it was great to see them top off the year on such a fabulous note (literally)!

Jasper is on his 3rd day of "potty training" and has really done quite well, especially if he is playing outside and is naked.  He has been doing really great and we just keep working at it and not applying too much pressure.  We began the journey with tangible treats but have discovered the kid responds best to food, so small food treats is what we have resorted too--not my favorite, but it is working : ) 

We are gearing up for an exciting and busy weekend that will be capped off with Danica's 4th birthday party on Sunday afternoon.  We are looking forward to celebrating her day with her close buddies from school and with family.  Danica and I both are super excited about our pedicure appointment on Saturday, we are going to make are feet beautiful for our upcoming trip to the Lake!

Danica 20, Jasper 18 and Mommy -1

Today was the trifecta trip to the dentist. Jasper had his first visit to see Dr. Mattingly and he got two thumbs up on his brushing. He is still working on his last two teeth so his count is 18. He was not as easy to get along with in the chair as his sister but none l the less he did great! Danica still has all 20 of her teeth and no termites, unlike the Grinch 😊
Unfortunately, mommy found out that she has a tooth that has to be pulled because of an infection from a root canal and to top it off can't get an implant for 4-6 months after they pull it. Not exactly the implant I had hoped for.

E-A-S-T-E-R

We had an amazing Easter weekend, beautiful weather and company! Jasper chowed down on his first ever "corn on the cob" and loved it!

Spring has Sprung!

AMAZING that I haven't posted since Valentine's Day, AMAZING that Valentines Day was almost 2 months ago and AMAZING is the weather we have had the past couple of weeks.

We have been extremely busy at work, play and home for the past month. Some of the fun highlights are playing outside, early childhood screening and Danica reading to 1st graders!

We have already made several trips to the park, have gotten our screened in porch and deck ready for the warmer weather and are preparing the yard for the spring season ahead.

Both Danica and Jasper had their Early Childhood screenings early in March and did fabulous!

The same week as Danica's EC screening, she went with me to the Elementary school to read to some 1st graders during Reading Week. Danica read "Bears on Wheels." She did super, was a very exciting moment for me and her Aunt Lisa. She even got a few giggles out of the first graders.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We were full speed ahead with the final touches on our Valentine treats....after the kids played a little in the snow.

1, 2, 3 Read

Tonight at bedtime Danica read me a book! Remind me again how they grow up so fast.

How big is he?

Jasper's 2 year check up was Tuesday afternoon in Kansas City with Dr. John. It was not exactly what we had in mind. Jasper had not gotten his 15 month shots, they didn't catch that when he got his shots at 18 months, so we had to catch up and get shots. Well, needless to say I was not prepared for that, so neither was Jasper. Normally, we would have talked about it, taken in our binky and usually I give them a shot of Ibuprofren before as well. Jasper was not a happy camper and he did not draw the "good card" when it came to the nurse giving the shots and he cried like I hadn't heard him cry for quite some time. He slept ok that evening but Wednesday was a bit of a bear. He was extremely sore and for the most part wouldn't even walk. CRANKY!!! Today he is much better and other than some bruising, the knotting is alot better.

Other than that....

Jasper had a great check up with Dr. John and made sure to pull out all of his personality for the visit. He weighed 30 pounds (75%tile) and was 36 1/4 inches tall (90%tile).

Birthday Buzz

We had an amazing weekend celebrating Jasper's birthday with friends and family. It is so extremely hard to believe that Jasper is 2 but everyone says "time flies when you're having fun!"

Back to the Blog...

Well I was thinking the website might be more fun and easier to produce. I was wrong. The blog is so much more streamlined and alot less pressure : ) I think I was better at keeping up too.

We had a great Christmas and New Year and are well on our way to planning our little guys 2nd Birthday! We are truly blessed with so much love surrounding us and we hope that you all are blessed, peaceful and forgiving in the new year! Stay with our blog--I am sure we will have a fabulous 2012 to share with each of you.