That I would be less: July 2012

Daycare fun

This past year we had the pleasure of watching our friends daughter Brynn everyday. We truely grew to love her (Sophie accidentally called Brynn her sister the other day and I laughed but can see how she feels like that a bit)

Brynns Mom is a teacher so we only get her one day a week for the summer and we miss her terribly! But, at the same time we now watch two other little ladies. My friend Jess' two girls; Taylor and Kendal. Our big crew has a lot of fun together. It gives Sophia more playmates and all the kids fun together. They can work on sharing and play time manners and putting others first. Its a blessing to our family as we stay home and work from home.

Here are some pictures of the crew (mostly phone photos)

My sister

In January my lovely sister moved to Australia. She is going to C3 College in Sydney and also staying on weekends and breaks at Aunt and Uncles place in Newcastle. (Actually they are my Moms cousins but we've always called them Aunt and Uncle)

She has had her challenges while there but it has been such a joy to watch her grow spiritually while there. Hearing her talk about her passion for Christ and about the things she is learning through scripture has been awesome. We love to Skype with her, Liam plays peek a boo and all sorts of games over the phone. :-) Technology sure makes life easier far and away.

We all dream of winning the lottery to go visit her but I guess we would have to buy a ticket to even have a chance. Ha, not going to happen. It would be amazing and she will likely be there for a few years. I hope my parents are able to take a trip to visit, that would be so nice for them, her and Becky and Kev.

We are so proud of you Ash! Praying for you daily.

(Photos from a shoot we did before she left of her and her friends)

The Color Run

This past weekend I participated in my first 5k, The color Run! It was soooo fun! They blasted you with this colored powder (cornstarch and color) as you ran through different areas. Then at the end there is a count down and everyone throws theirs in the air at the same time. It was pretty cool. Well, not literally, it was ridiculously hot even for 8am. It was so stinking hot. But, we did it and had a great time. The kids, Kevin and my Mom cheered us on and got powdered a bit themselves too. I would definitly do another 5k, but im not sure I could find one that would be as much fun. :-) There were 18,000 people at the Fair grounds for the race and it was packed.

Sweet & Sassy Sophies Summer

Sophia is almost 5! She is excitedly planning her birthday party and loving every minute of summer.She loves having our daycare kids here and is such a "little Mama" to each of them. We started reading chapter books together every night and she loves it! I wasn't sure if she would take to reading with pictures but we flew through "The Little Princess" and are currently halfway through "Mary Poppins" She laughs at the right times, has awesome prediction and imagination skills and begs me for one more chapter. She can't wait until she can read herself. We will start school soon and thats what she is anticipating most.

Sophia loves her brother and yearns for "alone time" from him sometimes too. They really are best friends. Her other best friend AJ moved to Texas this Spring and she is still heartbroken from that.

She is my thoughtful gal, she is loving figuring out real life application for verses she has learned. She sometimes fights learning them (though so good at it) but when the real life situation occurs, she often will bring up verses while out and about and think on practical application. It is a joy to my heart. She also has been sitting through our big church services now that shes 4. I was really worried how it would go as our services are really quite long (hour and a half) but it went way better than I could have expected. We have our days of course, that she goes to the bathroom more than Id like or whispers for snacks or pens, but overall I really enjoy having her in there. We have challenged her to draw things she hears the pastor say and its fun to see what she really understands. Or occasionally she will get really excited if she hears Pastor Lonetti talking about something they've learned about in Sunday School or that we have read at home.

Heres some photos from summer (a few from spring, most cell phone photos)

sassifrat