Following Him

In early June, we had some family pictures taken by Jesse Krull.  She really did a fantastic job!  But one thing we had seen on Pinterest and wanted to do, was write something on all of our feet and then take a picture of it.  We had forgotten to do so that morning so when we got back from pictures we sat down to plan it and get the letters on our feet.  I threw out some ideas that related to family, etc...and then Gracie said what about In His Steps...that wasn't quite enough letters so I said, "What about 'Following Him'?"  So we all agreed got the markers going...

It was more challenging than we expected, but hey, it was worth the shot and this was the final result :)

Figured we might as well snag another family photo as long as we were all lined up on the sidewalk and had been practicing our smiles all morning :)

Grabbed a picture with the Comfort gang as well!  They had come up on Friday night to stay through the weekend to the kiddos bday party on Sunday!  We loved having them--Heather even served as our fashion consultant for our photo shoot and came along to help bring out our best smiles--THANKS, Heather!

Gracie and little man Trigg!  He is growing up so fast, and Gracie is so good with holding him :)

Addy was such a GREAT smiler for pictures that day and I just loved her cute little outfit and flower in her hair!  She is just the biggest little cutie!

LOVE that she got to wear this skirt again!!!

And this little BEAUTY is just growing up SOOO fast!  Can't believe I am about to have a second grader on my hands!

She is quite the little lady!  Lots of spunk, and huge heart and every now and then a little attitude to boot ;)

Oh, Karys...always a pose, always a song in her heart, always an encourager this little girl is :)

She really loves life and lives it with every ounce of energy she has--she is ALWAYS moving :)

"Yes, it is me!"  This little man is really on the go as well.  I was yet to get a really great picture of him on this day.  He is so busy, always on the go from one adventure to the next...He is such a GOOD baby and so carefree!  He is such a BEAUTIFUL addition to our family!

Can't believe my little man--or not so little ;) is ONE already!  The months have flown by!  I love seeing his personality really start to develop and come out--can't wait to see what kind of man God has intended for him to become!

Addy's Friend Birthday Party

Addy was BEYOND thrilled to be able to have some of her best friends over to celebrate her birthday! Because we are moving, I told all of the girls they could have a friend party this year to celebrate their birthdays and Addy thought it was GREAT to be included in that decision!  

We had such a GREAT time with Bailey, Sarae, Albear and Isaiah :)  Presents, Popsicles, Ring around the rosy, hide n seek, jumping on the trampoline and LOTS of laughter!  It was GREAT to see Addy interact with her friends :)  It was a challenge to get the big girls to leave the littles alone from time to time ;)  But for the most part we had such a GREAT morning celebrating Addy and the friend she is to the wonderful friends she has!

Last Day of SCHOOL!

 

 

 

 

Cupcakes for Kindergartners!

At the end of the school year, I tried to get together with the girls teachers and do a couple of special things to celebrate the end of the year...the end of the last year they would spend in an American classroom for a while.  Mrs. Scholtens was very wonderful to work with and some openings in the Kindergarten schedule the last few days so we scheduled a little trip to the park for cupcakes and some great playtime!  The Kindergartners were so excited to get the chance to get out of the class room as well as to play at the park:)

A picture of Karys' class after arriving at the downtown windmill park

They are such a fun bunch and definitely have a crazy silly side :)

Avery and her silly face

Karys pulling a pretty great silly face herself!

Zach showing Janeva his best silly face

Before we went to play, Karys passed out rainbow cupcakes to all of her classmates.  I loved this time! Mrs. Scholtens reminded the class where Karys would be moving to next year.  It was so great because at that time there were 2 or 3 other students who spoke of Haiti, "My mom and dad have been to Haiti"..."My grandpa and grandma have been"..."My little brother is from Haiti".  And test others asked many questions of why we were going, how long would we stay, where would we do school.  I felt like it was such a great chance for kids to learn about what we are doing and an even better chance to watch Karys take ownership of that and tell them the answers!

Karys and some of her be sties

Getting ready for the train down the slide

Karys leading the way!

Look at those smiles!  What a great bunch of kiddos!

Everyone pile on for the train!

So much fun!

Karys and Avery...They started the year a little rough, but by the end of the year Karys talked about Avery all the time and they really were great friends!

Time for a ride on the merry go round

Catching some air, hanging off the side

What a GREAT trip to the park!!!  Thanks Mrs. Scholtens for taking the time to allow Karys to make some more special memories with her classmates!