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

 Sophia loves playing with our bat and ball and is actually really good at it! I think she will be a great t-ball player.

The broom experiement this Spring

                                           A day at the zoo with Dad

                                           After the color run 5k at the state fair grounds

                                                         My little cowgirl

                                                             curly sue

                                                       @ the Little Falls Zoo

                                        Part of Kevins secret photoshoot Mothers day card project

                                                         Teddy bear Park in Stillwater

                                                     on the inflatable in Hayward

                                                    She loves writing her name

                                              At the South St. Paul Parade

                                                          More from Teddy bear park

                               A sweet shot from my Great Aunt and Uncles 65 wedding anniversary party

                                              "Look dad, its like Im purpalicious!"

                                               She loves the Slip n Slide at my parents house!

                                                The kids at before the color run

                                                 Cooling off, its been a ridiculously hot summer

                                                Sprinkler Action

                                                               VBS year two! She loved it!

                                                         Watering plants at the Cabin

We have dog sat a ton this summer and she loves brutis (he actually loves her too)

The wedding

Sophia was in our friends wedding this past weekend. It was her fourth appearance as a flower girl so is well seasoned. :-) We joke about renting her out with our photography services.

We were doing the photos at this wedding so I was a little nervous how that would all work, helping her and managing to take pictures in a wedding where the time line was super crunched. I was so pleased with how the day went though. The wedding was for our pastors Son and he married a beautiful young lady from our church. So basically our whole church family was there. Sophia sat with a family we love, the Delahunts. I packed a little purse full of snacks, a pen and a piece of paper in case she became restless during the service. She did wonderful and they didn't have to bring out the purse at all! She hung out with her Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Metraus during the Appetizer hour while we took the pictures. (The Bride and Groom didn't see each other until she walked down the aisle, so most pictures had to be taken between the ceremony and dinner)

Here are a few pictures from the day so far, will add more later, we have too many other projects to finish up this week before we can dive into the 2,000 we snapped that day. :-)

Liam is 2!

Our handsome little Liam turned two yesterday. TWO!! Can you believe it? I sure can't.

This boy is messy. He only know two volumes- whispering or SHOUTING! He is messier than I could have ever imagined and minutes after a bath he is already stinky. He laughs when he toots and has been known to give Wonder Woman a dip in the toilet. He is desperate to be like his big sister and will do anything she does. When given a Cars birthday balloon he told me to "Pop it Mama. I dont yike it. Take it, TAKE IT Mama! I want kitty bawoon!" Sophie had a Hello kitty themed birthday this year and he just wanted to be like her. (He has warmed up to his cars balloon- good thing since my parents brought him one too!)

He is also tender hearted, he trys hard to please us and will run to confess his sins immediately. When corrected he immediately melts, sinks into us and asks for forgiveness. I pray that his heart will stay soft every day. Every night at bedtime he yells for "BIG HUGS!" he just about takes your neck off and will whisper awwwww in your ear as he hugs you. It is so sweet. He teaches me patience. He understands jokes and loves to tell them.

Happy Birthday Liam, we love you!!