My parents visit Colorado

 It was SOO wonderful to have my mom and step-dad come visit us for a few days in September! 

We had such a lovely visit and enjoyed every second of it! 

We took them to Daniel's park to see the amazing views of the mountains at sunset. 

 We also went up to Idaho Springs and hiked St. Mary's Glacier. 

Mom and I shopped in the little town and we all ate at 

Beau Jo's Pizza- a Colorado must-experience restaurant.  

SNOW on the glacier! 

Mom and I did some shopping on Old Main Street in Littleton- SO FUN! 

We also stopped by Red Rocks to see the views! 

 It was sad seeing them go. Thanks, Mom and Tim, for a great visit! 

Come back SOON!!! 

Natalia's {ONE} Year Owl Birthday Party!

 Our sweet little niece, Natalia, turned one year old! 

She is just precious! 

 Aunt Emy made this cool tree out of cupcakes and 

I made the little fondant owls to put on the branches! 

 Natalia also got her own owl smash cake. 

She didn't like being messy:) 

 Sophia really wanted to get Natalia a football. We found a pink one at Target:) 

 I think she liked it! 

Days 11 and 12- I MISS MARK!!!

I am to the point today, where I miss him A LOT and want him home. The kids are doing great and are behaving well, overall. My family and friends are all so supportive and helpful. I am not meaning to sound ungrateful. I just miss Mark's face. I miss his presence. I miss being able to hold his hand and kiss. I miss driving next to him in the car. I miss cooking for him. I miss talking in bed at night when all the kiddos are asleep. I miss watching The Office reruns with him over and over. Today was the first day that tears were shed on my part. Saturday cannot come soon enough! 

This weekend was nice. It was slow which was good. I spent much time in the Word this weekend and it truly refreshes the weary soul. It is quick and powerful! Praising God for showing me more about Himself, my sin and the Gospel thru my study. 

Saturday morning, I woke up to a VERY quiet house. Grandma and Grandpa took the kids overnight Friday. (THANK YOU guys so much!) I can't remember the last time I stayed in the house all alone without any other human being in it. It was sorta scary  I was able to meet some girlfriends bright and early for breakfast at TOAST in downtown Littleton for a few hours. It was wonderful. I then walked around downtown with Rob and Julie for a bit. Stopped in at a new little tea shop and met the owner, Carol, who educated me and helped me pick out a nice organic earl grey loose leaf tea. 

(Think I'll be visiting there more often)

The kids had a BLAST with Grandma and Grandpa and came home with lots of fun stories and explorations to tell! 

Today is Father's Day and we were able to spend time with Grandpa. 

We are so blessed to have him in our lives. 

Thanks for all the time you spend with the kids making them feel so loved and special! 

I love that little Natalia is in the corner of this pic:) She is just the cutest little baby! So much fun! 

I am also reminded of my dad, today. I miss him. He will be gone 15 years this August and those memories I have from my childhood are very sweet and precious. I wish he could have met my husband and my children. He would have loved them. 

And I cannot forget my step-dad, Tim. He entered my life in my teens and loved me like his own daughter. He showed me Christ and what true love looks and acts like. 

Wish I could be in PA today to give him a hug:) 

We will celebrate Father's Day with Mark, next Sunday!

Love you, babe, and thank you for being a "daddy whose in the mix" and showing our children by example the love of our Heavenly Father! 

love this old picture:) 

Tonight, Elijah knew I was sad and he told me that he will be the daddy since he is the only boy in our house right now. He rubbed my back and told me that he will sleep in his bed half tonight and then come in and cuddle me the other half since daddy is gone. Love that kid:) And he really likes carrots lately. It's a weird fact but true. He eats them every day when he wants a snack. Hopefully he will have good eyesight. 

Mark has been busy this weekend with Vacation Bible School (500 kids) and preaching. They gave him a live chicken after he preached his sermon as a gift and thank you. Mark said they will probably butcher it and eat it together. We got to wish him a Happy Father's Day today, briefly. Monday (basically now) they will build another home in Kitali. Please pray that God will continue to grant safety to their team and opportunities to share the Gospel.

Days 4 and 5- Mark to the Kibera slums and Mark preaches/ Yard sale at our place and hanging with family and community

Busy and fun weekend here. Saturday we had a yard sale and the kids set up a lemonade stand. It was cute and they had fun and made some cash:) Saturday night we enjoyed dinner at Red Robin thanks to a sweet parent of one of the teens going to Africa who gave me a gift card to use while Mark was away. Such a thoughtful gift!

Saturday I talked with Mark and the team had a busy day in the slums of Kibera. They painted walls at the WEEP center and played and visited with the people there. They did update their blog with some great pictures! Sunday, Mark was able to preach to preach at Bishop Abel's church and he said it went well. They then played with the kids and made them all lunch. I chatted with Mark a little tonight and they were up very early to head to a rural Massai school. I miss him!

Today, we worshipped with the body of Sola and then headed off to Grandma and Grandpas for lunch. After lunch, we headed to the creek and the kids waded a bit and were able to touch some cool crayfish that people were collecting in a large bucket. It took them a while but they finally held them:) They love spending time exploring with Grandpa!

Tonight we had community group at our place with Cameron and the Halls. We missed Ada, Ashlie and Lisa! I was glad Elijah had Rob and Cameron to rough him up a bit. He really misses that when Mark is gone.  I love that these men love my children and invest time into their little lives.

And we finished the weekend with a dip in the pool at night:)  Bedtime can be at 9:15 during the summer, because its summer- right?! The kids were sure happy to up late swimming:) Such fun memories!