Friday, June 26, 2009

Water baby

Second time swimming

She loves it!

Swimming with the girls!

Best friend Ellyann Thomas

Annaliese is sitting up (sharing a toy with Ellyann in this pic) and scooting like crazy.  Today she got some rug burn on her knees.  I'm sure her skin with toughen up and she'll just get faster from here on out!

Annaliese & Ellyann leaning watching sports with their dads.  Virginia and I are pretty sure that they'll be the girls that actually know what football penalty was called (and explain it to their mothers) and know who to pick in the basketball playoffs, yet will still be sweet and girly as well.

Summer yummer

I love the crunch of a FRESH green bean straight from the garden!

Getting a few awesome ripe strawberries just makes it feel like... Happy Summer!!!

This was one of those awesome what-should-I-make-for-dinner moments at like 6:30, went out to the garden, came back with zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and basil and tossed it with some whole wheat pasta and... wahla!  A super yummy healthy dinner without having to go to the store!

Andy made these awesome stuffed tomatoes today... these were stuffed with BLT & ranch and he also made some with guacamole.  We'll also be making more stuffed tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and basil.  

Monday, June 22, 2009

Dedicated unto the Lord

I am reminded of Hannah's story of God's faithfulness in 1 Samuel as we had Annaliese dedicated in our church yesterday.  It is amazing to think that exactly two years ago, we were mourning the loss of our first baby at 9 weeks into the pregnancy when the baby's heartbeat disappeared from the ultrasound just days before Father's Day 2007.  This came after a couple years of yearning for a baby and was followed by 7 more months of doctor visits, medication, ultrasounds etc.  In his own time, God again graciously granted us the gift of a child without any medication or other intervention and allowed me carry Annaliese in my own womb, even as we had begun the process to adopt in early 2008.  Now, she is a joyful baby, growing and learning new things almost daily and we couldn't love her more.  We give God the glory and humbly ask him for guidance and grace to be godly parents.  

As Andy has said before, we were already obligated to raise her up in the Lord and in our hearts we've already dedicated her to God.  But it was a blessing to share this with our family and congregation, especially on Father's Day.  She was a ham, smiling and waving both hands at the church and trying to eat Pastor Jim's microphone as he prayed for our family.

"I [Hannah] prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. 
So now I give him [baby Samuel] to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." 
1 Samuel 1:27-28a


After the service we joined our family at my parents' house for a yummy meal.  Annaliese enjoyed her peas and as her Auntie Jenn Jenn said, she could be a Gerber baby commercial for peas (although I usually steam/puree them myself).  She loves vegetables although I've been trying to get her to eat more fruit to make things easier for her down below.  She prefers veggies so much that I have to sneak the fruit in by mixing it with veggies!  I hope that she continues to love veggies, but I also hope that she gets some relief from having to push so hard!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Lazy

So, I never posted pictures for our weekend in May with our UNITE friends (young married fellowship from Calvary SLO).  It was SO MUCH FUN... we've grown from 5 couples to 5 couples with 5 kids and 1 on the way!  Anyway, at least Kayla has pics on her blog.  

P.S. A funny story about bath time with the 4 older kiddos (Logan 2 1/2, Lucy & Tobin 1, Annaliese 6 months)... after the bath they were all in the living room dancing in the buff to the stereo music supplied by Chris, when Justin said "Ok, first one to pee wins!" 20 seconds later, "We have a winner!" and Annaliese got the prize!



Also, here's a link to the rest of the photos from the Texas trip, y'all!