Keilah's Puppy Debut

Keilah Grace brought home the cutest invitation to her kindergarten program a few weeks ago and we were excited to go because Daddy is finally in town now for all these things after years of missing out and it's just so much fun to enjoy these things together! I'm so thankful for the Lord blessing Jared with this job/position that makes this possible as I remember how hard it is to be alone at these things.

Keilah Grace was just so proud with her sweet pursed lip grinning at us making sure we were constantly watching her class play. They did the Three Little Pigs and and a play with a barnyard theme for which naturally, Keilah Grace was the puppy and she clearly barked her part away when the time came. It was so cute and of course, my mama's heart was bursting at the seams! The teacher figured out pretty quickly early on in the year that Keilah LOVES puppies and so this was just the perfect part for her! 

They ended the plays with a class song exclaiming their love for learning and their mothers and I hope I wasn't the only one, but I not only got teary, but out of nowhere I lost it. Yep. I sat there not only tears rolling down my cheeks, but then as I tried to hold back sobs, I began to sweat buckets. I was so embarrassed! I was beginning to make animal noises now, and couldn't seem to keep it in check. Sure I was happy and proud of my girl, but occasionally, I think of our sweet Grace, her twin, and I wonder what it would be like to be watching TWO of them.... Together. Sigh. I won't know for now, but I'm so glad we've got our gift of Beautiful Grace. - the meaning of her name.

Wasn't she just a baby? Where is the time going? She's on to first grade and pretty soon she'll be done with elementary school!! She was so excited to give me a present which I'm sure I'll treasure forever. - A plate with a sweet flower on it. Her teacher did good I think. ;) And so did Keilah Grace with her pretty amazing puppy debut.

So Long Soccer!

We wrapped up the soccer season a couple of weeks ago and our Saturdays are free for the first time since March! It's lovely I tell you. Ha! Of course, it wouldn't be soccer season unless it was cold and windy and rain and snow are usually in there somewhere too, but we lucked out the last Saturday with just wind and cold! Brrrrr! The babies turned purple after 20 minutes so Jared waited in the van with them as I hadn't seen a soccer game yet this season! ( I was always at volleyball with Alexis.) I was so excited to finally get some cheering in for Keilah Grace and Austin as I'm definetely the loud parent out of the two of us! HA! 

Austin lost the last game of the season which was tough because they had won the others. He rebounded at lunch later with a plate full of pancakes tho.

 Keilah Grace was a fireball this season with many goals and assists and she just tore it up for a 6 year old on the field running and stealing the ball away. It was fun to see that side of her come out and be so proud behind her little toothless grin to boot! :) 

Till next fall - Over and out!!!

Moorhead Track Meet

I forgot to bring my camera when I went to Alexis's track meet and I feel bad, but she had fun too and placed 1st in her running relay and 8th in the 100 meter dash in all of Moorhead. Pretty good girl! I wish I had pictures to prove it! :) 

Madeline had an busy day an although it was super windy and chilly, she didn't seem to mind. She placed in all of her events and came in 1st for the 1 mile race at 6.30! Wowzers, you go girl! She placed 3rd in her co-ed relay and 5th in her girls relay. Her high jump event she came in 2nd place (a tie with buddy Lauren!) and ended up at 3.9! I loved watching her jump along with the other girls. Those long legs must come in handy!! I only wish I had some of my own!

The littles and I had fun taking in lunch and an all day fun in the sun and wind event watching big sis score some wins. We were tired but happy when we left later and were so proud of our Madeline! She sported her ribbons proudly for her picture and wanted to her running shirt I had made for run last fall in honor of all our dear friends who've passed away from cancer this past year. We miss you Becca, Bonnie, and Beth!

Running Rivers

We ran a few different events during Fargo's Marathon weekend here in Fargo and although super warm - in the 90's, it was a blast! The boys, Brady and Austin, ran in the Kids Fun Run (1 mile) Thursday evening, and it was quite enjoyable to see their personalities come out. Austin, very competetive, gave it his all and came in 4th for his age division. There were hundreds of runners. Brady did well too, but was enjoying the social end of it too much to care if he won. He was waving and smiling as he gave high fives to onlookers the whole way. Ha! What a funny boy, but I love him and am glad he was just having fun! The little boys were pretty good sports despite the heat and had a good time being outside and the ice cream treats later that night at McDonalds made up for anyone's case of heatstroke. HA!

Friday night, Madeline and I ran in the 5k and although again, in the 90's, it was a dry heat and there was a breeze so it was manageable. I prefer heat over cold any day I say. People were so fun and the crowds so encouraging and with close to 9,000 runners, it was super crowded and shoulder to shoulder for awhile. I tried to stay back as I knew it would be a slow run for me and with my bathroom trips only 2 this time - HA! - it was!! My goal was to run the whole way, never walking, and even tho it took me a whopping 46 minutes I did it! Not a stellar time by any means, but this girl has quite the tummy on her already. My bladder felt her each step of the way I might add too! Madeline had so much fun too and "ran" into several of her friends along the way and would slow down to chat and just have fun with them. STILL, she came in 4th for her age division and finished in only 27 minutes! ( my time 2 years ago, and she's only 10! ) I'm glad she wasn't stressing about it and having fun, but I'm certain she might have won had she given it her all. She is a runner by nature. I love running but I've always had to work at it. She just moves her lil' frame with absolutely no effort it seems. Nice for her huh? :)

Well, we were both sore the next day and I was worn out I tell you as I've only ran 2 1/2  miles or so for awhile now. That 3.1 really did me in. HA! We hope if I can avoid a leg surgery we'll be able to tackle the 10k next year. We want to move up and spread out as the longer distances don't have so many people either. We'll see what happens tho.

Volleyball Finale

Volleyball season was 3 months all in all, if you count tryouts in February and although we all had a blast and this mama enjoyed her past love for this sport immensely all over again, it was good to have our Saturdays back again after so long of really early mornings and an all day event usually out of town. Alexis and the other girls greatly improved by the end of the season and she even managed to learn how to overhand serve and tried it a few times during a game. I can promise you I was not doing this in the 5th grade! They just start them younger and younger it seems! She plans on playing again next year and Madeline is excited to join the ranks of volleyball too. We'll see what happens by next February. Meanwhile, we'll do a few camps this summer to tackle some skills and try and improve here and there and just have some summer fun!

Happy Mother's Day!!

This was actually taken the week after as on Mother's Day, Madeline was pretty sick so I stayed home with her instead of going to church. Duty calls right? HA! We did go out to eat as Jared insisted and well, the fridge was pretty bare to boot. HA! We splurged and ate at Famous Daves and it was soooo good! They have a breakfast and a lunch portion on the buffet. We ended the afternoon in the park as it was gorgeous outside and had a sub for dinner via the taco shop for just me. Jared even remembered a card this year. Brownie points for him. It was a nice relaxing day and I'm thankful for each of the children the Lord has blessed us with. It is a privilege to be entrusted with them, and I don't want to ever take our "arrows" for granted. 

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Baby Bump

Well, she's made her presence known for quite some time now and although I feel great, I know my comfort zone is short lived from here on out. My legs and feet have swollen already quite a bit and my veins, well, this is a G-rated blog so I won't say anything more. HA! Dresses always make a preggo gal look bigger I feel, but who cares I figure.I've showered and put on make-up so I'll post these instead. Hee. Hee. I've started my 7th month and am officially in my last trimester. Less than 3 months now before we get to meet you princess, and we can't wait! 

Moving Madness

There really was some order I promise you. You just can't see it here. HA! Packing took about 3 weeks off and on, a few days here, a few days there, and then catch up time on laundry and grocery shopping and just living life.

I'm so glad it's over for now, but I'm sure the real relief and relaxation will come when we are in our next home, where, Lord-willing, we will be for quite some time. We look forward to that day and all He has planned for us along the way. 

Thanks to all who helped us along the way. The journey for us was long and hard - over 13 months of waiting and praying, crying out to God in wonder and exhaustion, but feeling such peace about the timing. Not because He's parted the clouds and explained it all to us, but because choosing His peace over worry and heart felt anxiety is always better. So whether you helped in a last minute cleaning frenzy at 12am before a showing, or watched my children so I could frenzy clean, or brought a meal or even two over for encouragement, or sent a card sharing your heart's concern... Or you wrapped furniture with plastic wrap because I'm nuts or moved boxes into storage or our rental home or even both. We noticed. We felt your love and support and even more importantly, we felt the Father's arms around us during the most difficult year of our lives. Empathy for those with their home on the market went up immensely, and if you have children, you really have our sympathy. HA! 

We welcomed a new baby this last year which is one of life's most joyful experiences for sure, but also one of the most exhausting and challenging, Jared and I both had leg surgeries with painful recoveries, We received some of the most devastating news a parent can receive, and then had our hands tied behind our back. I lost my best friend in the whole wide world, My Robin. There are just no words... We lost our third baby, and then, when we wondered if our hearts could bear any more pain, He began to bless and our season of feeling like Job began to unravel and slowly diminish. 

We heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time in January. We took our home off the market for a break while I was so sick with the pregnancy in February. We sold our home in March while it was still off the market. We found out we were blessed with our sweet baby girl in April. And in May, we moved to a new home (rental) where we are waiting on the Lord for the next step in our lives. I'm trying to be patient to see what He does for us in June and look forward to the end of the year holding my sweet baby girl in our new "Forever" home at Christmas. Sigh.... We have much to look forward to and even more to be thankful for. I think Harrison's body language says it all in the last picture by the sold sign.

"The Lord hath done great things for us, and it is marvelous in our eyes."