Claire's 1st b-day party

We had Claire's 1st birthday party Friday night (28th). We had most of the family here and some friends from Springfield. It was a beautiful night so we were able to hang out on the deck and in the backyard. Claire didn't care too much for her cake, but she loved the icecream and candy corn! I will post pictures very soon.

Little sayings I miss

When we lived in Chatham Luke would always say "see you at church" instead of good-bye. He used to say this to almost everyone even if they didn't go to our church. Some of his favorite people to say it to were Mr. Hamilton and Nathanial.

He would say it so much that when we laid him down for a nap or bed time we would say good-night and he would say "see you at church". We started saying it back to him and he loved it.

I didn't think much of it until the other night when Seth said it to Luke. Then it hit me, Luke doesn't say it anymore. I don't know if it is because of the move or something he grew out of. But I miss it!

OKC/TX Vacation

Once Seth took Boards we headed south for vacation.

We went to OKC to visit the Blomgren clan, our best friends from college. We have been blessed to get to see them about once a year since we graduated. It is always a wonderful time. We saw them last right after Claire was born but with no Blomgren kids. This time all the kids were together, 6 total! All the boys had a blast and the two little girls did well bonding too! We didn't do much but hang out and talk and eat. It was so relaxing.

While in OKC I was able to see a couple other friends from college: Marina and Debra. I hadn't seen Marina since graduation and we had a wonderful time catching up and making bows! I hadn't seen Debra in 1 1/2 years so I hadn't met her little boy Nico. It was great to visit with Debra and meet Nico (he is such a doll).

We left OKC and headed to Dallas to visit the Burbridge's. They are friends from Springfield who moved a year ago. We have missed them so much. Luke loves them. I mean he really loves them. They are family to us so they have family names: Uncle Chris and Aunt Vikki! Luke always wants to see Uncle Chris. We hadn't seen them in 7 months, but Luke took to them like he always has.

We were able to go to church and worship with the Burbs which is definitely one of our favorite things to do with them. We also just hung out, ate, swam and went to Cabela's! It was a marvelous time with marvelous friends.

The kids survived the drive back home. The vacation was wonderful but it was good to get back home too!

Memories from the past 2 months!

We had a wonderful month living with my parents! The kids loved it, especially Luke. Every meal time he would ask Papa to come give him a kiss. He always wanted just one on his cheek and not for Papa to do a "drag" kiss down his cheek. Papa always obliged! Luke loved waking up and seeing Grandma Katie every morning and going out to feed the fish.

Claire was great too. She really got to bond with Papa and Grandma. She starts going crazy for Papa and opens wide for a big kiss! She also really started "crawling" there too. We say crawling but it is more like waddleing on her bottom. It is the craziest thing ever. I really need to get it on video.

We have also loved having Seth around so much more. We have had pretty much every meal with him the last 2 months. We were used to hoping for one meal a day. It is wonderful to feel even more like a family. We all love the together time.

Crazy Life

Well, it has been a very long time since I posted anything. Let's see what has happened:
1. Packed up the house in Chatham
2. Moved to Salem to live with my parents
3. Bought a house in Salem
4. Closed on our house in Chatham
5. Moved to our new house
6. Put in new flooring, bought appliances, blinds and couches for the new house
7. Organized and unpacked

All this with two little ones roaming around, two dogs in need of excercise and Seth studying for Boards and preaching!!

We are here and now settled and LOVE our new place!